MIAMI, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest travel and leisure company, today announced it will add two
ships to its China fleet in 2016,
making it the first global cruise company with six total ships
based in China. The move will
increase Carnival Corporation's total capacity in China by an additional 58 percent in 2016,
further accelerating the company's leadership position in the
growing Chinese market, which continually delivers double-digit
annual returns and is expected to eventually become the largest
cruise market in the world.
Carnival Corporation's fleet of six China-based ships will include expanded
offerings from its two leading brands in the market – Costa Cruises
and Princess Cruises – that are each adding one new ship to meet
growing cruise demand in China.
Across the two brands, Carnival Corporation will have three
year-round ships and three seasonal ships in the market,
representing the largest cruise presence in China in 2016.
Together, the Costa and Princess brands will potentially offer
about four million passenger cruise days in 2016, giving Chinese
guests more choice and flexibility in both the contemporary and
luxury segments. Based on the accelerating consumer demand for
cruises in China, Carnival
Corporation's added capacity is expected to significantly increase
the company's total number of cruise passengers in China in 2016.
Included in this new deployment is today's announcement made
during a press conference in Beijing that Princess Cruises will send its
Golden Princess ship to northern China in 2016, sailing out of Tianjin on a seasonal basis, with itineraries
visiting a variety of desirable destinations in northern
Asia. Golden Princess joins the
brand's first China-based ship,
Sapphire Princess, which has been homeported in Shanghai since 2014 and will start sailing
year-round in China in 2016. The
brand's two-ship deployment in 2016 will more than double its total
available guest capacity in China
compared to 2015, putting Princess Cruises in an even stronger
position to serve the luxury cruise segment with its exclusive
Princess Class experience designed
specifically for the Chinese market.
Costa Cruises, a leading cruise brand in China and the first global cruise brand to
introduce cruising to the market in 2006, recently announced it
will debut Costa Fortuna in April
2016 as its fourth ship based in China. Costa Fortuna joins Costa Serena, Costa
Atlantica and Costa Victoria already based in China, increasing the brand's total available
capacity in China by 43 percent in
2016.
"Our Costa and Princess brands are performing extremely well in
China, and these new ship
deployments will strengthen our growth position and enable us to
carry nearly one million passengers in 2016, as we continue
executing our plan to meet surging consumer demand for cruising in
China," said Alan Buckelew, chief operations officer for
Carnival Corporation. "As momentum accelerates in the market, we
have a significant opportunity to increase cruising demand amongst
China's growing middle class and a
new generation of Chinese travelers who are hungry for new vacation
experiences."
Buckelew added: "Our focus is on exceeding guest expectations on
every ship and really tailoring our product for Chinese tastes,
which helps create new advocates and spread the joy of cruising in
China. Through our brands, our
expanding operations and our potential joint ventures in
China, we're excited to play a
lead role in helping China become
one of the world's leading cruise markets."
In addition to expanding its industry-leading presence in
China in 2016, Carnival
Corporation recently announced that the latest ship under
construction for its Princess brand will be based in China year-round when introduced in summer
2017. Based in Shanghai, the ship
will be the first year-round international luxury vessel designed
and built specifically for Chinese guests.
Carnival Corporation is also exploring potential joint ventures
in China with China Merchants
Group (CMG) and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)
designed to accelerate the growth of the overall cruise industry in
China, including the possibility
of launching a world-class Chinese domestic cruise brand, building
new ships in China, and supporting
port and infrastructure development. These efforts support Carnival
Corporation's commitment to help China realize its goal to develop cruising as
a key economic driver for its economy and become one of the leading
cruise markets in the world.
About Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation &
plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of
10 cruise brands in North America,
Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines,
Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises,
Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK) and
Fathom.
Together, these brands will operate 100 ships in 2015 totaling
219,000 lower berths with eight new ships scheduled to be delivered
between 2016 and 2018. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies
in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and
London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only
group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the
FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc