China’s first domestically produced cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, has completed 54 voyages and serviced 220,000 domestic and foreign passengers after seven months of operations – an achievement reflecting the country’s ambition to win a stake of the lucrative market.
The ship – long hailed as a source of national pride, along with the country’s home-grown C919 passenger jet – has capacity for 5,246 passengers and holds 2,125 cabins. It has been fully loaded for every trip according to data unveiled at a Wednesday event organised by China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), the parent company of the Adora’s builder.
Purchase volume is used to calculate the necessary expenditures to service and supply a ship over a given period or number of journeys, which can benefit downstream industries.
The maiden voyage in early January – longer and more opulent than most subsequent trips – carried a reported purchase volume of over 60 million yuan on its own, according to a report by state media outlet China Daily.
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China’s first home-grown large cruise ship set to begin sea trials
China’s first home-grown large cruise ship set to begin sea trials
China Daily’s report said more than 95 per cent of passengers expressed satisfaction when assessing the vessel’s food, accommodation, shopping and entertainment services.
In the first six months of 2024, the Adora accounted for 42 per cent of China’s cruise tourism market, serving nearly 180,000 passengers.
The performance of the Adora and its organisational management, however, have been called into question by some users purporting to be passengers on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.
A frequent criticism concerned the food supply. Some commenters claimed there were “fights for food” and long queues for the free buffet, with “2,000 people and 1.5 hours left for breakfast”.
Another user referenced popular media depicting no-holds-barred contests for superiority: “From Succession to The Hunger Games, it’s only a boat ticket away.”
Younger tourists, meanwhile, disparaged what they saw as “monotonous entertainment activities”, joking that the square dances offered aboard made the ship into a “farmhouse of the sea”.
