Carnival in China?

[Loudermont]

Just got off the Valor and one night in the Lincoln dining room there was a young Chinese man who was shadowing our server.. we chatted for a few minutes and he mentioned that he (and others) had come on the Valor to be trained as carnival was looking into running a ship to serve China. He said it would be geared for serving the Chinese people. This was new to me.. thoughts?

 

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

ONe of the new builds is being sent to China, along with one from NCL and RCL ..... emerging market with money to spend.

[Loudermont]

ONe of the new builds is being sent to China, along with one from NCL and RCL ..... emerging market with money to spend.

 

 

Okay.. that makes sense. Wasn't sure if something had been lost in translation.

 

 

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[chengkp75]

In fact, Carnival has joined in an agreement with a Chinese shipyard to build Chinese flag cruise ships, which will be crewed by Chinese, and will be exempt from the Chinese version of the PVSA, so the ship can do Chinese coastal cruises without the need for a foreign port call. Most of the ships going to China from the various lines are geared for Chinese passengers, some don't even allow bookings from outside China.

[Thorncroft]

China may end up being an unsustainable market, long term. Carnival is smart to take their time and not throw themselves at the shiny new bauble.

[Moviela]

I am hoping that a robust cruise industry opens in China. I would truly love a Shanghai to Singapore cruise with the flavors of China in the dining rooms, healing arts in the spa, and jugglers, acrobats, and Peking Opera in the showrooms.

I have no doubt it will be a success as there is a tremendous yearn to travel in China, and people actually have the means to pay for it. They will choose more economical accommodations and "locals only" ships will cater to that propensity. There are wonderful places to see along the China coast, as well as nice folks to meet and rich cultural experiences to enjoy.

[Crusin5252]

From what I have heard all shows, announcements, and crew members will speak Chinese. They will not speak English.

[Joseph2017China]

I am hoping that a robust cruise industry opens in China. I would truly love a Shanghai to Singapore cruise with the flavors of China in the dining rooms, healing arts in the spa, and jugglers, acrobats, and Peking Opera in the showrooms.

 

Multiple cruise lines already have ships in China year round.

 

I have no doubt it will be a success as there is a tremendous yearn to travel in China, and people actually have the means to pay for it.

 

It's been a huge success with more ships on the way to China, both full time and part time. Chinese people have money, in particular the large cities. China is a strange market area, where most people live by cash, and not credit. With that being said, they also have a large amount of disposable income, and they are flocking to cruise ships to shop and gamble.

 

They will choose more economical accommodations and "locals only" ships will cater to that propensity.

 

All the cruise ships in the USA are also "locals only" with a 100-200 foreigners on them. In China, the same is true but they are Chinese. The price of the cruise is about the same as in the USA.

 

 

There are wonderful places to see along the China coast, as well as nice folks to meet and rich cultural experiences to enjoy.

 

The ships mainly sail to Japan, and other Asian countries, just like European cruises sail to multiple European countries and USA sailings stick to our neighbors.

 

Carnival is probably the last mainstream USA cruise line to enter the market. Carnival will have to make major changes to their ships, to please the primary customer, and that customer, the Chinese cruiser, will not tolerate, cheap food, and poor entertainment. Carnival will have to put some money into the program to make it work.