Passengers opt for cruise control on ocean waves

Ctrip.com International Co Ltd, the largest online travel agency, expects cruise vacations from Chinese ports, such as Tianjin, Shanghai and Sanya in Hainan province, to increase 60 percent to more than 70 this summer.

"Oceangoing holidays to Japan are expected to double with new routes planned to Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Kumamoto," Ctrip, the leading booking platform for cruise excursions, said in a report.

The China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association is just as bullish, predicting the number of passengers to reach a record 1 million this year.

But then, major cruise operators see China as a crucial market as they look for growth opportunities.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has switched the company's most advanced oceangoing liner, Quantum of the Seas, to sail out of Chinese ports, including Shanghai and Tianjin this year.

"The new cruise liner will improve the firm's capacity and quality here," Liu Zinan, president of North Asia and the Pacific region for Royal Caribbean, the world's largest cruise operator, said.

Costa Cruise Line also has big plans in the region. The company already runs three cruises from the Chinese ports of Shanghai and Tianjin to Japan and South Korea, and will add one more next year. A destination has yet to be disclosed by the company.

"We are keeping a close eye on the China market and we are optimistic about future development," Buhdy Bok, president of Asia and China for Costa, the world's second-largest cruise liner company, said.

While the domestic players are small, Bohai Ferry is looking to expand its market share. Last year, the company bought the Voyager liner from Costa and renamed her Chinese Taishan.

Bohai Ferry runs 68 cruises, sailing from Yantai in Shandong province, and Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, to Fukuoka and Sasebo in Japan. Other destinations are Incheon and Jeju in South Korea, and Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Keelung in Taiwan.

"We plan to launch longer and more creative voyages in the next three years," Yu Xinjian, general manager of Bohai Ferry, said.

"These will leave from Shandong's home ports to Russia's Far East and from Sanya, in Hainan province, Shanghai and Zhoushan to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines."

Obviously, Bohai Ferry will need to increase its fleet and plans to buy two liners in the next five years. Costing 1 billion yuan each, they will be designed and built in Shandong province and will carry 5,000 passengers when they come into service by 2020.

"The cruise industry in China is promising," Zhan Li, general manager of Bohai Cruise, which is owned by Bohai Ferry, said. "But we need time to expand."