Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA to deploy ships in China in 2017

Carnival Cruise Line and German sister company AIDA Cruises will join fellow Carnival Corporation brands Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises. They are expected to deploy ships in China in 2017.

The move will make Carnival Corporation the first company to operate four brands in China as it competes against rival Royal Caribbean International for dominance of the country's burgeoning cruise sector. Royal Caribbean has deployed Quantum of the Seas in China, which will be joined by Ovation of the Seas, meaning that two out of a fleet of five ships serving the country - seen as the world's largest cruise market - will be new-builds.

According to The Maritime Executive, the move by Carnival Corporation only means that four of the company's 10 brands will now have a connection with China. Costa Cruises has been offering cruises in China since 2006, while Princess Cruises has been in China since 2014. In 2015, Carnival anticipates over 500,000 passengers in China, up from about 350,000 in 2014.

The reports incline with the 10th Annual China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo taking place in Shanghai. "We are excited to introduce our Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises brands to our fleet in China, giving us a total of four global cruise brands in the market and a unique opportunity to provide a diverse lineup of brands and cruise offerings to Chinese guests who are looking for a great vacation experience," said Carnival CEO Arnold Donald via Cruise Industry News. "As we execute our multi-brand growth strategy in China, we are emphasizing choice and variety in our offerings to match the different tastes and preferences of Chinese travelers."

Added Donald: "As more and more Chinese are discovering why cruising is the best vacation experience, they are having a great time on our Costa and Princess brands, and we look forward to even more Chinese travelers enjoying vacations on our AIDA and Carnival brands. This is an exciting time in China for the cruise industry, and as the world's largest cruise company and the first global cruise operator in China, we are more committed than ever to helping China become one of the world's most popular regions for cruise vacations."

And just yesterday, Cruise Critic reported that the Norwegian Cruise Line declared that they were sending the second Breakaway Plus-class ship, originally called Norwegian Bliss and aimed for the U.S. market , to China instead. The 4,200-passenger ship is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard and is scheduled for delivery in spring 2017.

Moreover, the Carnival and AIDA ships that will be deployed to China will be newly built, the company said in its release, but gave no other updates about them. Carnival Corporation has already committed a new Princess ship named Majestic Princess, to China in 2017. The ship will be custom-made for Chinese passengers.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the cruise lines have been pouring resources into developing ships for the Chinese market, which has already proven to be growing. Even industry analyst Robin Farley of UBS Financial Services claims that for the past two years, a ship based in China brings in more profit than one based in the Caribbean.