The Royal Caribbean International has announced plans to make Tianjin as the new home for its third Quantum-class ship, Ovation of the Seas, which will be launched in April 2016.
Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean's President and CEO, made the announcement in a Beijing press conference of media, travel agents and officials.
Ovation of the Seas will be the cruise line's fifth cruise ship based in the region, Bayley said.
"Cruising has become very popular for Chinese consumers and Royal Caribbean is already capturing their imaginations with our industry-leading cruise ships," Bayley was quoted as saying.
"We are furthering our commitment by bringing two of the world's newest and most advanced Quantum-class cruise ships to the region. In addition, we are significantly expanding our investment in the training and employment of Chinese talent so they can join us in delivering our amazing and distinctive vacations to Chinese travelers."
Bayley said that the maiden sailings of the Ovation of the Seas will include a 52-night Global Odyssey from Southampton, U.K., to Tianjin. Reservation for the 2016 Ovation Global Odyssey has opened for sale on Thursday, March 26, 2015.
Ovation has five itineraries that include trips to some of the world's most iconic cities:
- A seven-night England to Barcelona cruise, departing May 3, 2016 from Southampton
- 16-night Barcelona to Dubai cruise, via the Suez Canal, departing May 10
- 14-night India and Southeast Asia cruise, departing May 26 from Dubai to Singapore
- Three-night Malaysia cruise, departing June 9 on a roundtrip sailing from Singapore
- And 12-night Exotic Asia cruise, from Singapore to Tianjin.
The chinadailynews.com reported that Ovation of the Seas is currently under construction, which is scheduled to join other ships such as the Quantum of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas in the China seas.
The report said that the five ships, which comprise the largest fleet deployment for any cruise brand in China, have used four metropolitan Chinese cities as home ports. These include Tianjin, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Xiamen.
The five ships sail about three- to 12-night journeys to destination countries such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam, the report added.
Aside from committing ships to the region, the cruise company is also training students at the Tianjin Maritime College for culinary or restaurant service career with Royal Caribbean. More than 3,000 graduates have been hired to work in the cruise ship and the company is exploring other ways to invest in the Chinese economy and help create more jobs in China.