China is one of the fastest growing cruise markets in the world, with the huge population in China and the region, it’s essential for cruise lines. There will be 3 large ships making their debuts in 2017. The ships are currently under construction purposely for the Chinese cruise market and Asia. Cruise Hive looks into these 3 ships with the latest details we know so far.
Norwegian Joy
Norwegian Joy is the first ever NCL ship to be purpose-built for the Chinese market. The large 168,800 gross ton vessel will be known as 喜悦号 (Xǐ Yuè Hào) in Chinese and will showcase Norwegian cruise Line across the region. The ship is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and is scheduled to be completed in March 2017.
One of the most anticipated features on Norwegian Joy is the first race track at sea. This two-level open deck race track will give passengers the chance to race against each other with an ocean view. The Galaxy Pavilion will also become an important part of the ship featuring virtual reality experiences, simulator rides, and interactive video walls. There will also be 2 water slides on board, The high-speed Double Aqua Loop-free fall slide which extends from the side of the ship and The tandem Aqua Racer slide which allows guests to race side-by-side on inner tubes.
Once Norwegian Joy is delivered to NCL in 2017 it will head towards China for sailings out of Tianjin and Shanghai.
Majestic Princess
Majestic Princess is the first purpose-built cruise ship for Carnival-owned Princess Cruises and just like Norwegian Joy it too will have a Chinese name called 盛世公主号 (Shèng Shì Gōng Zhǔ Haò). At the moment the ship is under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy but once completed it will be 143,000 gross tons and carry 3,560 passengers.
The vessel will be a similar design to Royal Princess and Regal Princess but will have features onboard just for Chinese guests. Just like it’s sister ships there will be SeaWalk, a glass-floor walkway extending 8 meters beyond the edge of the ship. There will also be a world-class Casino which is usually popular on Chinese cruise ships. No doubt there will be plenty of shopping options where Chinese guests can spend all their money.
Majestic Princess will make its debut in April 2017 and will begin sailing in the Mediterranean out of Rome, Italy. After the inaugural sailing in Europe, the ship will head to its new home in Shanghai, China sailing to South Korea and Japan.
World Dream
It’s still early days for specific details about the World Dream, as of writing this article the first ship in its class Genting Dream is still to be completed for a delivery in November 2016. Genting World is currently under construction at the Meyer Weft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and it will be 151,000 gross tons once completed towards the end of 2017. The first piece of steel for World Dream was cut back in February, it started the physical construction of the ship.
The newly formed Dream Cruises has not yet released many details of the ship but we expect features and experiences catered towards the Chinese market. The vessel will be built for the luxury market just like sister ship World Dream. There will be 2,000 crew members servicing 3,400 passengers and over 70 percent of staterooms will have a balcony.
The ship will be based out of China which Dream Cruises will reveal more about in the coming months.
