Guangzhou Port Group and Nansha Cruise Homeport have kicked off preparations for the maiden call of the Adora Flora City.
The ship, operated by Adora Cruises, is scheduled for delivery on November 6, 2026, at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, followed by her maiden voyage from Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Homeport on November 22. The Flora City was at the Waigaoqiao yard as of early July.
The Flora City is the sister ship of the Adora Magic City, China’s first domestically built large cruise ship, which entered service in January 2024 and completed its 200th commercial voyage in May 2026.
Industry reports indicate that the Flora City’s construction efficiency has improved by approximately 20 percent compared to the first ship.
According to port and operator disclosures, the prep work underway at Nansha covers three main tracks:
- Terminal readiness — berth allocation, gangway and shore-power alignment;
- Clearance procedures — customs, immigration and quarantine workflows tailored to the ship and its projected passenger volumes, and;
- Cruise-tourism tie-ins — coordination with Guangzhou’s district-level cultural and tourism bureaus to package the season with land-side events in Nansha and downtown Guangzhou.
The maiden season itineraries have been published, which will open for bookings on May 20. The headline cruise is a 17-day “Maritime Silk Road Discovery” voyage, departing Nansha on November 22, calling in Hong Kong and Vietnam, among other Southeast Asian ports.
The sailing will establish Guangzhou as the ship’s homeport. Shorter sailings to Japan, South Korea and the Philippines will also be featured in the winter 2026-27 season.
Nansha is treating the Flora City’s arrival as more than a single-ship homeporting event: Guangzhou Port Group has been positioning the Nansha terminal as the core cruise hub for the Greater Bay Area, complementing Shenzhen’s Shekou terminal to the east.
