In China, where international cruises will be allowed again from June, after a 41-month interruption, the first giant transatlantic fully built in the country made its debut at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao shipyard.
The name of the giant ship with a length of 323,60 meters and a capacity of 5 thousand 246 passengers is Adora Magic City. This ship is the first of two similar ships ordered in 2016 by the partnership of a Chinese and an American company. The partnership consists of the Chinese public shipping company CSSC, of which the Shanghai Waigaoqiao shipyard is a part, and the American Carnival group. The other four, which have options with both transatlantics, will be transferred to a new company called Adora. These will be added to the two former Costa transatlantic integrated into the partnership, Costa Atlantica and Costa Mediterranea.
Launched in December 2021, the Adora Magic City will be delivered this fall and will embark on maiden voyages starting from Shanghai in early 2024. Its twin – still unnamed – is expected in February 2025. Cruises, which have stopped in China since January 2020, will begin with the Blue Dream Star, which will depart from Shanghai on June 16 in the direction of Japan, and the ships that will sail towards Japan. After these, there is an extensive cruise program during the summer months.
On the other hand, Royal Caribbean, one of the international companies, plans to enter the Chinese market in 2024 with Spectrum of the Seas. China, the world's second cruise customer market, crossing the 2017 million mark in 2018 and 2,5, collapsed in 2020 due to the pandemic and bottomed out in 2021.