Citing demand, Star Cruises is changing its 2017 deployment from Shanghai, moving to an eight-day cruise deployment pattern, according to a company release.

The season on the SuperStar Virgo, said to be the fastest ship in Asia, starts on July 6, and now extends to the end of November. The itinerary includes calls in Osaka and Kagoshima, with added calls into Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, according to the Genting-owned cruise line. 

And, Star said it is now offering interporting in Tokyo, and air-sea-land packages, with four-day/three-night cruises sailing open-jaw between Shanghai and Tokyo. 

“The average cruise length from China tends to be short, at four to five nights, with calls to secondary port cities. The cruise ship itself is the primary attraction,” said Ang Moo Lim, President of Star Cruises. “Star Cruises’ new eight-day/seven-night cruises will provide a step-change forward in the Chinese cruise experience with calls to four famous ports and bringing the cruise length to international standards where more than 50% of cruises are of seven-night duration. The extension of our itinerary will bolster its appeal to the overseas market, which we believe will attract more International cruise travellers to Shanghai.”