Costa Cruises has inaugurated the new international cruise terminal in Tianjin with the first port call of the Costa Romantica - 53,000 gross tonnage and total guest capacity of about 1700.
The opening of the new terminal is a major step forward in the growth in China of Costa Cruises. With the arrival of the Costa Romantica, the Italian Company is further expanding its cruise capacity in China: the Costa Romantica is joining her sister ship Costa Classica, effectively doubling the number of Costa liners deployed in the Far East. In all, the Costa Romantica will be calling at Tianjin 10 times this year. Since its debut in China in 2006, Costa Cruises has invested around 50 million euros in the region and quintupled its cruise capacity, with a total of 93 Chinese port calls in 2010.
In 2010 more than 120,000 cruise passengers are expected to be on a vacation on board a Costa ship in Asia. Costa’s Far Eastern cruises sail from the ports of Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong and Singapore and include stopovers in some of the region’s most popular resorts such as Sanya (China), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Da Nang (Vietnam), Okinawa (Japan), Kagoshima (Japan), Nagasaki (Japan), Fukuoka (Japan) and Cheju (South Korea).
“Costa Cruises is proud that the first call of the Costa Romantica, a symbol of “Italian-made” excellence and elegance worldwide, also marks the inauguration of the new Tianjin cruise terminal,” said Costa Crociere S.p.A. President Gianni Onorato. “The new terminal is a reward for our pioneering investments and work in this part of the world, carried out thanks also to the invaluable support of the Chinese authorities, the ultimate aim being to popularize a new form of vacation in China, a type of holiday that was practically unheard of before in the People’s Republic: namely, cruise vacations.”
China’s third most important city in terms of commerce and industry, Tianjin is currently enjoying rapid expansion in the cruise sector. The local port, called Xingang (New Port), is the most important commercial harbor in China’s northern provinces and also serves as the port of Beijing. The new terminal is located south of the Dongjiang port area and covers some 1.2 million square meters. The area developed in the first stage of the building project comprises 700,000 square meters and can accommodate 6 large cruise ships at a time. The actual terminal building itself has a surface area of 59,000 square meters and can handle up to 4000 cruisers, with a total of 500,000 passengers a year.
The two Costa liners currently operating in China and the Far East – the Costa Classica and Costa Romantica – offer both short cruises, from 4 to 6 days, favored by the local clientele, and longer holidays, from 14 to 16 days, which are more popular with international customers.
In the 2010 summer season the Costa Romantica will be offering 5- and 6-day cruises to South Korea (Cheju and Pusan) and Japan (Fukuoka) with departures from Tianjin and Shanghai. Meanwhile, in June this year the Costa Classica will resume her direct sailings from Hong Kong to Taiwan; then from July she will be operating out of Shanghai on 4 to 6-day cruises to South Korea (Cheju and Pusan) and Japan (Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Nagasaki).
In the 2010/11 winter season, while the Costa Romantica will be positioned in Mauritius on Indian Ocean cruises, the Costa Classica will be offering 14-day cruises from Hong Kong to Vietnam and Thailand, plus a new 14-day itinerary, which can be broken down into two 7- day segments, sailing from Singapore to some of the loveliest destinations in Thailand and Malaysia. In February, May and June 2011 the Costa Classica will once again be deployed on regular scheduled cruises to Taiwan.
In the 2011 summer season the Costa Romantica will be back in Shanghai operating on 4- to 6-day cruises to South Korea (Cheju and Pusan) and Japan (Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Nagasaki). Meanwhile, the Costa Classica will be departing from Tianjin and Shanghai on new 6- to 8-day itineraries to South Korea (Cheju and Pusan) and Japan (Osaka, Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Nagasaki).
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