Princess Cruises has embarked on its first season of sailings from Shanghai.
The Sapphire Princess liner will homeport in the Chinese city for four months this summer, offering 24 three- to five-day cruises to ports including Seoul, Busan, Jeju Island, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Okinawa and Nagasaki. The line expects to carry approximately 70,000 passengers.
“We’re excited to be the first line to offer a genuine premium cruise option to Chinese vacationers,” said Princess Cruises’ president, Jan Swartz. “We know that they are discerning travellers, and have a great desire to explore and learn through travel and unique experiences. We’re well-positioned to provide this to them aboard Sapphire Princess.”
Princess has created a series of amenities and services for the Chinese cruise market, including tai chi classes, ballroom dancing, subtitled Hollywood movies Chinese satellite TV channels, a greater selection of retail outlets and traditional Chinese dishes, including hot pot, on the menus of its restaurants.
“The innovations we’ve developed for our first cruise season here are behind the already promising demand for our Shanghai-based voyages,” said Cherry Wang, the China country director of Carnival, Princess Cruises’ parent company. “A place on Sapphire Princess is this summer’s hot travel ticket.”
The 116,000-tonne Sapphire Princess can carry 2,670 passengers and offers facilities including five swimming pools, a casino, duty-free shops, a spa, sports deck, internet café and a golf putting course.
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