Royal Caribbean International announced that for its first Asian year round deployment in 2010 on Legend of the Seas it will be offering cruises of three to eight nights to a multitude of popular destinations.
There will be an extended season in China with plans for Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong as homeports.
The year round deployment schedule will begin after the conclusion of the cruise line’s second consecutive seasonal deployment in Asia. The key highlight will be the extended season in China with around 40 sailings ranging from five to seven nights.
The homeports will include Shanghai featuring the recently opened Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, Hong Kong and for the first time, Tianjin. Legend of the Seas will then head south to Singapore to offer a series of short cruises in southeast Asia for the 2010 winter season.
Michael Bayley senior vice president, International, Royal Caribbean Cruises said, “We are very encouraged by our successful first season in Asia and since then, we are keen to offer our customers even more cruising choices in the region as Royal Caribbean raises its presence here with our year round deployment.”
“Extending our season in Asia and the breadth of our upcoming Asian itineraries reflect our commitment and the importance of Asia, and especially China, as an integral part of Royal Caribbean’s international growth strategy. We see strong prospects in Asia as a destination market as well as a source market especially with the burgeoning growth of China, India, Japan and Korea,” he said.
Anticipating a swell of visitors from within China and worldwide to Shanghai for the World Expo 2010, the cruise company is planning to enhance its offerings out of Shanghai that call at popular Japanese and Korean destinations.
