China’s first cruise liner twice as big as the Titanic
China’s first luxury cruise liner is set to launch in 2020, and this one’s going to be big.
The China State Ship Building Corp has reportedly signed a $5.5 billion deal with Britain’s Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, to build the enormous vessel.
The yet-to-be-named joint venture is set to produce five ships which will have the displacement of 130,000 tonnes, more than twice that of the Titanic. The new ships will have the capacity to hold 5,000 passengers each and measure in at 300m, slightly bigger than the Titanic at 269.1m.
Carnival global chief operations officer Alan Buckelew said of the deal, “This joint venture is a significant step forward for the cruise industry in China and a tremendous opportunity… to increase awareness, interest and demand for cruise vacations among domestic Chinese travellers.”
The demand is certainly there. China’s tourism industry is booming at the moment, and it’s showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Analysts at the China Communications and Transportation Association predicted Chinese mainlanders could spend up to $15 million on cruise industry by 2018, which is almost double the amount of the $9 million spend on cruising in 2013.
Carnival already operates Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in China, and is planning to launch two new lines in 2017. It is reportedly bringing “ship design and shipbuilding expertise” to the venture. Carnival is expecting soon more people to be cruising out of China than anywhere in the world.
And the company isn’t just buying into China. Earlier this China Carnival announced that it would be sailing to Cuba and the Dominican Republic from Port Miami, opening a range of potential routes.
While these new cruise liners are going to be big, they’re not the biggest out there on the ocean. Here’s a list of the world’s biggest cruise liners according to Cruise Critic:
1. Allure of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
2. Oasis of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
3. Anthem of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
4. Quantum of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
5. Norwegian Epic - Norwegian Cruise Line
6. Freedom of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
7. Liberty of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
8. Independence of the Seas - Royal Caribbean
9. Queen Mary 2 - Cunard Line
10. Norwegian Breakaway - Norwegian Cruise Line
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