Probably best known for its Tsingtao brewery (founded by German settlers in 1903), Qingdao is located in the southeast part of the Shandong Province in China, bordered by the Yellow Sea on two sides, and a short distance from Korea and Japan.
Due to the proximity, there is ferry service from Qingdao to Japan and Korea. The new Qingdao Cruise Terminal at Little Bay is expected to officially open in early 2015.
The $800 million port will have three berths, the largest of which can hold an Oasis-class ship.
The terminal’s passenger capacity will also increase from 3,000 to 4,000 passengers per hour, enabling it to pass through 600,000 international passengers per year. The plan is to build class-A office space, a yacht harbor, recreational facilities and hotels in the area.
A source told Cruise Industry News that Royal Caribbean, Princess, Star and HNA have all entered into a strategic partnership agreement to explore homeporting and transit calls in Qingdao.
Qingdao will be one of many Chinese ports at the China Cruise Shipping event.
The ninth edition of the China Cruise Shipping and International Expo is the Asia/Pacific’s No. 1 cruise event, learn more at http://www.ccyia.com/ccs/EN/index.htm. The show takes place Oct. 15-17 in Tianjin, China.
Read a detailed analysis of all Chinese ports in Cruise Industry News Fall 2014 Quarterly Magazine, due out October 15.
Visit Cruise Industry News, the official event media sponsor and partner, at booth B31.
