The Great Carnival of China
March 08, 2006
Carnival Cruise Lines, a cruise line that?s practically synonymous with American family fun, will now start offering cruises to Chinese travelers in July, its first expansion into the cruise industry in Asia. But it won?t be the Carnival Cruise Lines ships, per say, that will be sailing the waters of the Orient; rather, it will be Costa Cruises, a cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation, that will be cruising on five-day roundtrips from Shanghai.
Costa Cruises, an Italian company, will send its 1,000-passenger Costa Allegra to China. She will make stops in Nagasaki, Japan, and Cheju, Korea, starting July 3. In addition to the sailings, Costa Cruises will open offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai to oversee operations in Asia.
North American cruise operators have been offering Asian itineraries to vacationers in Europe and the United States for years. Star Cruises, a Malaysian company that is the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, has been offering cruises throughout the Orient. But this is the first time that a North American cruise operator has made a move to cater to Chinese vacationers.
Cruises from China are Carnival's first attempt to market toward Asian travelers. "We believe this is the right year to start," Costa Cruises Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pier Luigi Foschi said in an interview. "If we are successful, we will position new ships."
Costa was chosen among Carnival's 12 brands to enter Asia because "it is already very international in nature, serving guests of many different nationalities, languages and cultures," Carnival Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Micky Arison said in a statement.
China is one of the world's fastest-growing travel markets, with more than 31 million Chinese traveling abroad last year-a number many expect to grow to 50 million by 2010, Carnival said.
Several of Carnival's lines are already geared for specific markets, such as the Mediterranean, the U.K., and Germany. In fact, while Carnival Cruise Line is almost as American as apple pie, more than a third of Carnival Corporation's revenue in 2005 came from operations outside the U.S. and Ca
Costa Cruises? Allegra, which was constructed in 1992, will be renovated for about $14.4 million, designed to appeal specifically to Chinese vacationers. The renovated Allegra will include entertainment in Chinese and Asian-themed dining such as a sushi and noodle bar.
Of course, Cruise Network offers many cruise lines that cater to American travelers; cruise lines that sail from U.S. and foreign ports of call to destinations in China, Japan, Vietnam, India, and more. River cruise lines like Viking Cruise Lines and Amadeus Waterways offer trips along Oriental inland waterways, while companies like Holland America, Crystal, Seabourn, and more provide World Cruises that usually meander through Oriental waters.
So call Cruise Network today for the latest deals on cruises to the Orient, the Caribbean, Alaska, and all over the globe.
