Norwegian Building Cruise Ship for Chinese Guests

Norwegian Cruise Line will introduce its first purpose-built ship customized for the China market in 2017.

Currently under construction, the new ship is designed specifically for the China market with accommodations, cuisine and onboard experiences that cater to the unique vacation preferences of Chinese guests.

"Our new purpose-built ship for China will have characteristics that are authentic to Norwegian Cruise Line and yet distinctively Chinese in all of its sensibility," said Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO, Frank Del Rio. "With this new ship, Norwegian will unquestionably offer our Chinese guests a superior product and introduce a new standard of innovation and excellence into the marketplace, with an unrivaled level of customization for the Chinese consumer. It will perfectly suit what modern Chinese travelers value from an upscale cruise experience."

The new ship will be the second of Norwegian Cruise Line's Breakaway Plus class and features the line's unique style of cruising known as Freestyle Cruising.

Aboard NCL ships, Chinese guests will be able to indulge in a resort-style vacation experience, with the freedom and flexibility to spend time doing whatever they wish, from enjoying world-class entertainment to fine Mandarin, Cantonese and Continental dining; from duty-free luxury shopping to participating in any number of activities onboard; all on their own time schedule.

With a capacity of 4,200 guests, the new Breakaway Plus-class vessel will provide the same sense of freedom and flexibility found on all Norwegian Cruise Line ships, but with experiences and amenities designed specifically with Chinese guest in mind. 

To better support the company's expansion efforts in China, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has opened offices in Beijing (Guomao CBD) and Hong Kong (Quarry Bay) as well as a Shanghai office in Xintiandi.

These China-based offices support all three brands in the company's portfolio – Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises which span the upper end of the contemporary, premium, and luxury cruise categories.

"Our China offices house a dedicated leadership team uniquely focused on ensuring the success of our local travel agent partners, which is crucial to the success of our expansion in what will soon be the world's second largest cruise market," said Del Rio. "These offices will provide sales and marketing support to our travel partners whose customers not only wish to sail on our new China -based ship, but also on any of the incredible voyages around the world offered across our portfolio of brands."

The new ship will be delivered in Spring 2017. Norwegian will take delivery of the line's first Breakaway Plus class ship, Norwegian Escape, next week on 22 October 2015. Two additional ships in this class are on order for delivery in 2018 and 2019.