The Adora Magic City will homeport out of Shanghai for 2025 while the Adora Mediterranea will use a variety of turn ports next year, including Tianjin, Qingdao, Xiamen and Guangzhou.

The company is the number one operator in China by capacity, with two ships cruising year-round and a third newbuild set to debut in early 2027. The yet unnamed newbuild will be an enlarged sister to the Adora Magic City.

Earlier this year, the company signed a strategic agreement with the Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port as part of a bigger plan to concentrate on the South China market.

“As the first step following the partnership, the Adora Mediterranea is scheduled to homeport there starting in December,” said a company spokesperson, noting the brand’s 2027 newbuild will homeport in Guangzhou.

Long term, expect to see company ships homeporting outside China.

Other recent news includes an update to the Mediterranea, which was rebranded as the Adora Mediterranea and saw an enhancement in service offerings aboard with some product tweaks.

“The transformation preserves the vessel’s authentic Mediterranean aesthetics and artistic essence while seamlessly blending Eastern and Western cultural themes,” the spokesperson said.

On Its Own

After years of development, Adora Cruises has become an independent and full-functioning cruise line. The company was originally a joint partnership with Carnival Corporation.

“We have diligently strived to strengthen our operational proficiency across various domains, including sales, marketing, commercial operations, product design and development, hotel management, maritime operations, plus the supervision and development of newbuild projects,” the spokesperson told Cruise Industry News.

The brand’s core deployment is still composed of mostly short cruises, three to five nights, and sailing to Japan and South Korea.

But as the Chinese market continues to mature, expanded offerings include longer sailings, such as a 13-day cruise exploring Southeast Asia that is set to depart on the Adora Mediterranea at the end of this year.

Sales Channels

The company has focused on building an omni-channel marketing system and wanted a diversified sales approach.

Bookings from online channels are up, and Adora recently launched its official store on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, becoming the first brand to launch on the platform.

“We have also established our own stores on multiple online platforms, where guests can book directly,” the spokesperson said.

“We’re continuously exploring and expanding channels and platforms for direct sales. Recently, we have ventured into live streaming, collaborating with Li Jiaqi, the top retail live streamer, to jointly promote cruise products.”

The company dismissed any challenges with cruise pricing over the summer, calling its ticket pricing stable and noting the market had normal price fluctuations.

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Fall 2024