Royal Caribbean to base newest ship in Shanghai

A leading international cruise company is seeking opportunities to benefit from the Shanghai free trade zone and hopes it can add value for its approach to the market, a top executive from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd told the Global Times Monday.

Leading global cruise company Royal Caribbean Cruises is going to base its newest ship in Shanghai, from where it will start its cruises next summer, the latest move in a race to capture a bigger share in the growing cruise market in China.

The new ship, Quantum of the Seas, contains 18 decks, with a capacity to carry 4,180 passengers, and has various kinds of entertainment facilities such as a skydiving simulator and an indoor basketball court.

It will make its home in Shanghai in 2015 after short winter sailing out of New York and will ferry travelers from Shanghai to South Korea and Japan.

"Chinese market has tremendous potential… we also hope more overseas tourists come to China," Adam Goldstein, President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, told the Global Times Monday.

"The Chinese cruise market has entered a booming period currently and many international cruise companies hope to grasp a bigger market share in China," Zhai Yaohua, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Cruise Ship and Yacht Association, explained to the Global Times Monday.

Besides Royal Caribbean Cruises, many other cruises companies have also sped up their plans to enter the Chinese cruise market.

For instance, British-American cruise company Carnival Corporation also announced in May that it would redirect a European liner, Costa Serena, to Shanghai as a means of supporting the company in tapping into the surging demand in China.

Shanghai is the home port to some international cruise ships, including Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of the Seas and the upcoming Quantum of the Seas, the Costa Crociere-operated Costa Atlantica and Princess Cruises-operated Sapphire Princess.

Shanghai is taking the leading position in the domestic cruise industry, and with the size of the population in Shanghai, the local government can create good infrastructure to allow big ships to anchor at the port, which is the main reason that Royal Caribbean chose to cooperate with Shanghai port, Goldstein said.

"With the natural geographical advantages and better infrastructure facilities, Shanghai is definitely the priority choice for those international cruise companies. It's hard for it to be exceeded by other port cities in the domestic market for the long term," Zhai said.

Since 2009, the Shanghai local government has spent 1.59 billion yuan ($260 million) to build the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal and 1.26 billion yuan on the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal.

So far, Shanghai is the only city in the domestic market that contains two cruise terminals.

There are also other port cities that are capable of allowing cruise ships to anchor there, such as Tianjin, Xiamen and Yantai.

Compared with the advanced international cruise companies, the Chinese domestic cruise industry is still far behind.

"Due to the lack of professional cruise talent and related facilities, as well as some regulatory limitations in the domestic market, there's still a long road for the development of the Chinese domestic cruise industry," Zhai said.