Thread: A start of the new era – Legend of the Seas will sail from Shanghai to Taiwan

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd’s Legend of the Seas has officially obtained approval from the Chinese authorities to operate six chartered cruises from Shanghai to Taiwan between March 14 and April 19, 2009.This makes Royal Caribbean the first international cruise company to be specially approved by the Chinese government to provide chartered cruise services within China’s territory.The planned itineraries last for six nights and seven days, featuring Taiwan’s Hualien, Keelung and Taichung as ports of call.

The first batch of Chinese cruise passengers to arrive in Taiwan will number ataround 1,700.This will be the largest single group of Chinese tourists to Taiwan since the establishment of the cross-straits ‘three direct links’.Royal Caribbean’s Managing Directorfor China Dr Liu Zinan said, “Royal Caribbean is very pleased and honored with this chance to contribute to the peace and exchange between the people of both straits. Due to our global strategies and the strong demand from other markets, even though Royal Caribbean is not able to fully satisfy its customer’s needs for chartered cruises in China,this has shown us the huge potential of the Chinese market.”
The charterer company, Amway China, is an important partner of RoyalCaribbean.The six unprecedented sailings will open up the chapter for Legend of the Seas’ Asian sailings with Shanghai as the homeport.The cruise ship is also featuring a five-night North Asian itinerary on April19 sailing out from Shanghai to destinations such as Fukuoka and Busan.


(from Cruise Buisness Online)

Wow that is impressive

I found this article about the Amway charter. Interesting.

Over 12,000 China Amway workers OK'd to visit Taiwan - The China Post