Smoother sailing seen with global guest volume set to approach nearly 40m by 2027, boosting industry growth
Benefiting from the speedy recovery of China’s cruise industry, domestic and international cruise lines are actively positioning themselves for home port operations and offering diversified and creative services in the world’s second-largest economy, senior executives of cruise companies said.
“It is expected that China’s home ports handled more than 2 million passengers trips throughout 2024. The active recovery and rapid growth are expected to confirm China as Asia’s largest cruise market,” said Qiu Ling, chairman and deputy director of the Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute.
“The year of 2024 was the first year for China to resume cruises and home port operations after the pandemic. Cruises have quickly become a highly sought-after choice of
Chinese consumers who love international travel,” said Qiu.
According to Qiu, the Chinese cruise industry celebrated the inaugural voyage of the country’s first home-built large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, on the first day of 2024, and was cheered up by the return of big-name international cruise brands’ flagship cruises.
Major Chinese home ports including the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Port reported significant growth in both cruise ships and passengers.
Benjamin Bouldin, president of Royal Caribbean International China, said 2024 was an exceptional year for Royal Caribbean.
“Since April, the Spectrum of the Seas has successfully operated 51 sailings, welcoming over 250,000 guests with a high load factor. This performance reflects … the growing demand among Chinese consumers for high-quality travel experiences,” said Bouldin.
Notably, in peak travel seasons such as during the May Day holiday, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, all sailings were fully booked a month in advance, according to Bouldin.
“These results exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the resilience and enthusiasm of the Chinese market,” he said.
Last year also saw Switzerland-headquartered MSC Cruises fully recommence operations in the Chinese market.
“As the first international cruise line to depart from home ports in the Chinese mainland after the pandemic, we deployed MSC Bellissima, the flagship of the Asian market with a gross tonnage of 172,000, to Shanghai and Shenzhen home ports,” said Huang Ruiling, president of MSC Cruises China.
“She successfully completed 25 near full capacity voyages, taking more than 100,000 guests to enjoy high-quality European-style luxury cruise vacations during peak travel seasons in winter and summer,” Huang said.
While international cruise operators ended 2024 with exceptional performance, the Chinese-built Adora Magic City also closed its first year with a strong performance in the post-pandemic era.
“Since its maiden commercial voyage on the first day of 2024, Adora Magic City has successfully completed 87 trips as of Jan 15 (this year) and served over 300,000 guests from both home and abroad,” said Chen Ranfeng, chief executive officer of Adora Cruises, operator of the cruise ship.
“The majority of our guests are Chinese, and about 5 percent of them are international guests in each sailing. Feedback from our guests shows that the satisfaction rate stands above 95 percent,” Chen said.
Adora Cruises will continue to explore the Chinese market via a wider range of cruise routes. “The two cruise ships, Adora Magic City and Adora Mediterranea, will operate nearly 170 international cruise routes for both domestic and foreign guests throughout 2025, meeting the diversified travel needs of consumers,” Chen said.
Adora Magic City is scheduled to make Shanghai its major home port in 2025 and launch more than 80 sailings lasting from 4 to 7 nights.
According to cruise itineraries, the vessel will take guests to an array of destinations in Japan and South Korea this year.
Adora Mediterranea, the other cruise ship in operation under Adora Cruises, will leverage the advantage of multiple home ports including Tianjin, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Xiamen in Fujian province, Qingdao in Shandong province and Dalian in Liaoning province.
In its two to five nights of sailings, it will take tourists to popular destinations like Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.
For Royal Caribbean, the Spectrum of the Seas will continue its year-round deployment in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2025, offering a variety of itineraries that cater to diverse preferences.
Guests can choose from short 3-night weekend cruises to immersive 8-night explorations, visiting nearly 20 destinations, including Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Okinawa, Jeju Island, Busan and Nha Trang.
According to Bouldin, Royal Caribbean has curated over 100 premium shore excursions that combine classic attractions with innovative experiences, including whale watching and helicopter tours.
Deeming China as one of its key strategic markets, MSC Cruises is expected to make steady progress this year with its brand heritage and global capacity deployment set to meet the diverse needs of Chinese guests, according to Huang.
MSC Bellissima undertook a total of 25 voyages last year “covering the winter and spring season from January to March and the summer season from July to September, taking guests to popular Japanese and Korean destinations including Fukuoka, Sasebo, Kagoshima, Okinawa, Jeju, Busan and Incheon”, said Huang.
With more Chinese guests choosing the firm’s overseas itineraries to enjoy cruise vacations in Europe, the Middle East and other regions, MSC Cruises announced 127 specially selected 2025-26 overseas cruises in China, covering a total of 8 regions and over 30 countries and territories, offering more global travel options.
The Chinese cruise market’s strong comeback in 2024 and rosy outlook for 2025 is driving the global cruise market’s growth.
In its 2024 State of the Cruise Industry report, the Cruise Lines International Association said that global cruise passenger volume reached 31.7 million in 2023, surpassing 2019 level by 7 percent.
It projected the cruise tourism numbers globally to rebound to 34.7 million in 2024, and approach nearly 40 million by 2027. The report predicts that cruise capacity will grow at least 10 percent from 2024 through 2028.
“We will continue to invest in the Chinese market, bringing innovation and delivering high-quality offerings to promote the prosperous development of the Chinese cruise market,” said MSC’s Huang.
“Meanwhile, we will continue to innovate, bringing more offerings that integrate cruise travel with other tourism segments, entertainment and culture. This includes developing popular cross-border collaborations and launching cultural and tourism integration projects, such as Chinese culture-themed and festival-themed voyages,” Huang explained.
Huang said MSC Cruises is confident that the Chinese cruise market is full of potential as the overall travel willingness of Chinese consumers is improving, and as policy support and infrastructure improvements have provided strong guarantees for the development of the market.
According to Royal Caribbean’s Bouldin, the cruise operator has observed notable shifts in Chinese consumer behavior. Travelers are increasingly prioritizing quality and unique experiences over cost, with balcony and ocean-view staterooms now among the most sought-after accommodation.
“From an industry perspective, Chinese guests traveling on international cruises play a crucial role in strengthening global connections and elevating China’s profile within the global cruise industry. This dynamic not only encourages the development of tailored offerings for Chinese consumers but also enriches the international perception of China through cruising,” said Bouldin.
“The cruise economy is an industry with unlimited outlook that is deeply integrated with advanced manufacturing and modern service industry,” Zhang Weijiong, vice-president of the China Europe International Business School was quoted as saying by China Times.
“Along with the country’s visa-free policies, the entire cruise industry is gradually entering the fast lane. In the medium- to long-term, China’s cruise market is expected to reach a passenger volume of 14 million passenger trips, and the nation’s cruise market scale may exceed 500 billion yuan by 2035,” Zhang said.
“Following the commercial operation of China’s domestically built cruise ships, Chinese travelers and the local market will embrace more options,” Adora Cruises’ Chen said.
“We take advantage of our proximity to the market and a deeper understanding of Chinese consumers, which also makes us competitive in the global cruise industry.”
Committed to integrating the essence of Chinese culture into the brand experience, Adora Cruises vows to provide an innovative cultural tourism experience for passengers, offering cruise products tailored for Chinese people, and exploring a Chinese paradigm for the global cruise industry.
“In the future, we will continue to develop and optimize cruise products that better understand Chinese people, and create a unique cruise innovation experience in multiple dimensions,” said Chen.
“China’s status as the world’s largest emerging market for the cruise industry as well as the world’s second-largest cruise market is unshakable. China remains the world’s largest and most promising consumption market, which contains huge growth potential,” said Qiu from the Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute.
With supportive measures, continued opening-up and growing appeal of the China market for cruise companies, the Chinese cruise market is expected to experience positive and long-lasting growth, Qiu said.
