Astro Ocean Cruises is planning to resume service soon. According to its website, the China-based company is set to welcome guests back onboard the Piano Land on July 25, 2024.

Sailing roundtrip from Shanghai, the vessel will offer a series of four- and five-night cruises to Japan and South Korea.

As a weekend departure, the first cruise of the restart sails for four nights and features visits to Jeju and Shimonoseki.

Other ports of call being visited by the Piano Land’s short cruises include Naha, Sasebo, Kagoshima, Nagasaki and Fukuoka.

With departures scheduled through March 2025, the itineraries are currently available for booking on Astro Ocean’s website.

In addition to short cruises, the Piano Land is also scheduled to offer a longer voyage to additional destinations in Japan.

The eight-night cruise sails roundtrip from Shanghai and features visits to Kochi and Kagoshima, in addition to Osaka – where the Piano Land is set to remain docked for two days.

Scheduled for mid-February, the cruise also features a visit to Jeju before returning to the port of Shanghai.

Laid up in Shanghai for several months, the Piano Land has been out of revenue service for almost four-and-a-half years.

With its operations were initially paused due to the pandemic, the vessel remained docked while other players resumed service in the Chinese market.

Delivered by Astro Ocean Cruises in 2019, the Piano Land underwent a major drydock at the Zhoushan Heavy Industry Shipyard in 2022.

According to local sources in China, the 70,000-ton ship went through technical and class work, in addition to hotel upgrades.

The vessel also underwent deep cleaning of its hotel areas, as well as various upgrades to its facilities, during the 45-day shipyard stay.

Formerly named Oriana, the ship was built for P&O Cruises by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

After entering service for the British brand in 1995, the 1,822-guest vessel was sold to its current Chinese owners in mid-2018