China has become one of the more highly sought-after cruise markets in recent years, and companies are positioning themselves to make a splash.

On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean International announced that Tianjin would be the new port city for the cruise line's third Quantum-class ship, Ovation of the Seas. The ship, which is under construction, will be Royal Caribbean's fifth in the region.

"Cruising has become very popular for Chinese consumers and Royal Caribbean is already capturing their imaginations with our industry-leading cruise ships," Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean CEO of international operations, said in a statement Wednesday. "In addition, we are significantly expanding our investment in the training and employment of Chinese talent."

In April, Royal Caribbean announced that its newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, would make its home base in Shanghai (Baoshan), starting in May. Ovation of the Seas is another other Quantum-class ship, and plans call for the cruise liner to set sail in April 2016, the company said.

With the new ship, Royal Caribbean will have the largest fleet in China, with homeports in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen.

Among the Quantum line features are simulated skydiving and surfing machines and the North Star pod, a glass aerial observatory that takes guests 300 feet above the ocean. Some of the ships include Chinese cuisine such as xiaolongbao (steamed buns).

Royal Caribbean, based in Miami, is the second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Cruise Lines, with five subsidiary cruise lines.

Carnival, the first global cruise operator to enter the Chinese market, controls more than 55 percent of the market, according to company data. Carnival plans to have four ships homeported in China by next month.

China is now Royal Caribbean's third-largest market by revenue, trailing the US and Europe, but still a large increase from a few years ago, Bayley told The Wall Street Journal this week.

Adam Goldstein, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, told China Daily in January that there are still some big jobs to do in terms of building consumer awareness in China, including familiarizing travel agents with the concepts and packages behind cruise ship offerings.

In 2014, 10 million Americans boarded cruise ships, compared with about 700,000 from China, Carnival said. But that China figure increased 79 percent year over year, according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The number was just shy of the 701,000 total passengers from all other Asian markets combined in 2014, CLIA said.

A 2013 report by the Asia Cruise Association estimates the Asian market will grow to nearly 4 million by 2020 from 1.3 million passengers in 2012, with close to 1.6 million coming from China.

One of the Ovation of the Seas' initial trips will be a 52-night voyage from the United Kingdom to China, with stops in Barcelona, Dubai and Singapore.

jackfreifelder@chinaailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 03/26/2015 page2)