Cruise ships sailing from Chinese homeports represent approximately 7.6 percent of the worldwide cruise industry market capacity, according to the 2020 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
That is up well over 10 percent from 2019, driven by new ships and new operators, and capacity is expected to continue to accelerate with the additions of the Costa Firenze, two Global-class ships from Dream Cruises, the MSC Bellissima and the Wonder of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International to the market.
The five new megaships heading to the Chinese market will be introduced between 2020 and 2022 and represent over 22,000 new berths.
Carnival Corp.-owned Costa has the biggest Chinese presence, with the Atlantica, Serena, neoRomantica and Venezia in the market, plus the Firenze debuting later this year, combining for over 14,000 berths and an estimated 32.8 percent of Costa capacity, according to the 2020 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
Another Carnival Corp. brand operating in China is Princess, but only with a short summer seasonal program. Carnival Corp. has roughly 6.5 percent of company-wide capacity in China.
Royal Caribbean International has three ships serving the Chinese market, including the new Spectrum of the Seas on a year-round basis. For Royal Caribbean Cruises, China deployment makes up around eight percent of company capacity across six brands. In addition, Royal Caribbean executives have noted a strong outbound market from China on recent company earnings calls.
Genting Cruise Lines has significant capacity in the market as well, with the Genting Dream sailing from Singapore and sourcing passengers across Asia. The World Dream, meanwhile, sails year-round from Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The Explorer Dream has a seasonal program sailing from Chinese homeports. Another Genting brand, Star Cruises, has two ships, including a year-round Taiwan operation and seasonal deployment in China.
MSC Cruises currently has the Splendida in China, which will be replaced by the newer and bigger Bellissima, representing about 8.5 percent of MSC’s capacity in 2020.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings exited the Chinese market in 2019.
Local operators include Bohai Ferry and Astro Ocean Cruises, each with one ship year-round in China.
