Princess Cruises has announced a 60-day voyage from Los Angeles to Shanghai and return to Los Angeles that includes calls at 22 destinations.

The cruise on Coral Princess will depart on Sept. 18, 2018, and is the first time that Princess Cruises is operating a direct cruise from Los Angeles to Shanghai and return trip, the company said.

Princess is also offering two shorter segments of the voyage as standalone cruises.

The first leg of the voyage on the 1,970-guest Coral Princess will start from Los Angeles and visits 11 ports over 28 days. The sailing includes a four-day cruise through Alaska before crossing the International Date Line to various destinations in North Asia before arriving in Shanghai. Returning from Shanghai to Los Angeles on 18 October, 2018, Coral Princess will visit 10 ports in North Asia, Southeast Asia and Hawaii on a 32-day cruise before ending her journey in Los Angeles.

In addition to the inaugural Shanghai-Los Angeles voyage, Princess has launched other maiden voyages from Asia this year and these were sold out due to the increasing demand among Asian travelers, the company said.

“Princess Cruises launched our new line-up of maiden voyages from Asia to meet the growing demand from guests in this region. Fly-Cruise programmes are gaining popularity among travellers from Asia who are now more open to flying to another destination to embark on a cruise. We see this trend growing among Asians who love the sense of adventure and the glamour of cruising,” said Farriek Tawfik, Director Southeast Asia, Princess Cruises.

In March this year, the Sapphire Princess sailed the maiden Singapore to Southampton cruise after the ship’s drydock in Singapore. The Sapphire Princess is now homeporting for the first time in Southampton for sailings in northern European and the Mediterranean from May to October 2018. The Sapphire will then sail on the maiden Southampton to Singapore voyage in October and commence her fifth homeporting season in Singapore in November.