Adora Cruises Carnival China

Adora Cruises Ltd (renamed in June 2023 from "CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd") is a joint venture cruise shipowner company, established in October 2015. It operates the fully owned subsidiary and new travel brand "Adora Cruises" (launched in 2022 and inaugurated in 2023). CSSC-Carnival China was originally scheduled to begin operations in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand’s debut was postponed until September 2023.

CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping was founded as a joint venture between Carnival Corporation (established in 1972 and the world's largest cruise shipowner and passenger shipping company) and China Merchants Group (founded in 1872, a Hong Kong-headquartered state-owned Chinese corporation). The joint venture is majority-owned by Chinese shareholders (60%), with Carnival Corporation holding the remaining 40%. The Chinese stakeholders include CIC (China Investment Corporation) and CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation).

China Investment Corporation (founded in 2007) is the country's largest sovereign wealth fund, managing part of China's foreign exchange reserves. In 2019, CIC reported total equity of approximately USD 947 billion, and by 2021, it managed around USD 1.2 trillion in assets. CIC’s largest subsidiary is Central Huijin Investment Co Ltd (founded in 2003), which, as of 2020, held shares in China's largest financial institutions, including majority stakes in the four biggest banks (Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank, China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China).

CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation, founded in 1982) is a shipbuilding conglomerate and one of China’s top 10 defense groups. CSSC owns numerous shipbuilding companies that construct merchant, passenger, cargo, and military vessels, along with shipyards, equipment manufacturers, and research facilities. CSSC’s fully owned subsidiaries include China’s largest shipbuilders: Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (founded in 1898), Jiangnan Shipyard Co Ltd (1865), Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding (2001), Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd (1999), Huangpu Shipbuilding (1982), and Wenchong Shipyard (1992). As of 2022, CSSC was responsible for approximately 41% of China’s marine vessel output.

Adora Cruises is currently owned by China Cruises Ltd (65%, part of China Tourism Group) and China CSSC Cruise Technology Development Co Ltd (35%).

Company History

In February 2015, Carnival Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Merchants Group for two joint ventures. The MoU outlined a potential partnership to create a new cruise brand (a joint shipowner company) and to jointly develop Chinese seaports and tourist destinations.

The MoU included plans to develop transit and turnaround/homeports within China. Carnival Corporation currently serves the Chinese market through its Princess and Costa brands. China Merchants Group, a state-owned enterprise focused on infrastructure, transportation, real estate development, and financial services, is a major shareholder in China Merchants Holdings (55.4%) and China Merchants Bank (18%).

In October 2015, Carnival Corporation signed an agreement with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd (SWS, a CSSC subsidiary) and China Investment Corporation. The USD 3.88 billion deal established the Hong Kong-based joint venture "CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd" to place ship orders with SWS. The plan was to build up to five ships per year over the next 15–20 years. All newbuilds would be constructed in China and homeported there, with technical support and design plans provided by the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. SWS also builds some of the world's largest container ships (up to 21,000 TEU capacity) for CSCL (China Shipping Container Lines).

On November 18, 2022, the company announced that its new Chinese cruise brand would be named "Adora Cruises," with an inaugural launch in Q4 of 2023. The announcement was made by Chairman Yang Guobing and Managing Director and CEO Chen Ranfeng.

The company was officially renamed "Adora Cruises Ltd" on June 15, 2023.

Adora Cruises aims to become Asia’s largest cruise line by fleet size and passenger capacity, offering year-round voyages from multiple Chinese homeports.

In January 2023, the company expanded its leadership team with the appointments of Chen Yinglan (Sales Director for East China), Lin Binbin (Sales Director for South China), and Sun Wen (Sales Director for North China).

Company Changes 2023

On January 12, 2023, Adora Cruises partnered with state-owned China Telecom (China Telecom Corporation Ltd) to provide 5G Internet connectivity onboard its first newbuild, the Adora Magic City. This made Adora the world’s first cruise company to offer 5G connectivity at sea.

In February 2023, Adora Cruises partnered with Mahua FunAge (Kaixin Mahua Cultural Tourism Development Co Ltd) to produce comedy shows for the ship's 975-seat Metropol Theater. Under the agreement, Mahua FunAge will create two original comedy productions—one for the main stage and one for a bar lounge (to be announced). Mahua FunAge (founded in 2003 and translated from Chinese as "Happy Twist Entertainment Culture Media Co Ltd") is a Beijing-based company specializing in comedy films, musicals, children’s plays, and online TV series and movies, founded by Zhang Chen and Liu Hongtao.

In April 2023, Adora Cruises announced its grand stage production titled "Marco Polo: An Untold Love Story" developed for its first ship.

In May 2023, Adora signed a strategic partnership with Bloks, China’s most popular building block toy brand, to launch the first-at-sea “AI-STEAM Exploration Camp”—a supervised educational facility for children onboard Adora Magic City.

CSSC Carnival China Ships

In February 2017, Carnival Corporation and CSSC announced plans to build two new cruise ships for the joint venture "CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd." The official agreement was signed on November 6, 2018, by Michael Thamm (CEO of Carnival Asia and Costa Group) and Yang Jincheng (President of CSSC). The signing ceremony was attended by Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald, Michele Geraci (Undersecretary of State for Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development), CSSC Chairman Lei Fanpei, and other VIPs and industry representatives.

The total value of the shipbuilding project was approximately USD 1.5 billion for two newbuilds (each 133,500 GT), with options for four more vessels of the same class. Additionally, CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping acquired two existing Costa Group ships—the 2,210-passenger Atlantica (scheduled for transfer in Q3 2019) and the 2,114-passenger Mediterranea (transferred in 2020).

SWS is the shipbuilder. A second joint venture—"CSSC Cruise Technology Development Co Ltd" (between SWS and Fincantieri)—was created to provide shipbuilding technology licenses and technical services to SWS. These include project and supply chain management, component supply, and fundamental marine systems. The vessel design was customized for Chinese travelers. The first ship, Adora Magic City, was scheduled for delivery in 2023, and the second, Adora Flora City, for December 2026. The design is based on the CCL VISTA Class, with a passenger capacity of approximately 4,300.

China is currently the world's largest outbound tourism market. According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2017, around 142 million outbound Chinese travelers spent approximately USD 258 billion on international vacations. However, in 2017, China's cruise industry served only about 2.5 million passengers—less than 2% of all outbound travelers.

In December 2018, CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) announced that China is expected to become the world’s largest cruise market within the next 20 years (by 2040), driven by initiatives aimed at boosting cruise tourism and improving public transportation. According to CLIA, the number of Chinese cruise passengers is projected to grow to 8–10 million by 2025, compared to approximately 2.5 million in 2017.

At the government level, China has taken several steps to modernize its seaports for domestically built vessels, develop multi-modal transportation networks, purchase international ocean liners, extend visa-free stays for select mainland regions near major cruise ports, and enhance connectivity between airlines, trains, buses, and cruises.

Shanghai City plans to develop a major cruise terminal complex integrated with duty-free shopping, similar to the world's largest airport terminals. In 2018, China’s southernmost island province, Hainan, implemented a 15-day visa-free policy for international tourists entering the country by sea. In November of the same year, Carnival Corporation and CSSC established "CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping," with operations initially planned to begin in Q4 of 2019.

As of 2019, Carnival Corporation operated a fleet of over 100 cruise ships, with an additional 22 on order for delivery through 2025.

In May 2023, CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping announced that the Mediterranea would be homeported year-round in Tianjin-Beijing, offering short-break itineraries.

The Adora Cruises travel brand officially debuted in September 2023 with the Mediterranea, operating from Tianjin.

Adora Magic City's maiden voyage departed from Shanghai Wusongkou on January 1, 2024.

Adora's fleet is deployed year-round in Asia and homeported in China. The cruise line offers 7-day and longer itineraries that combine domestic routes with popular international destinations in Japan, South Korea, and select Southeast Asian countries.

On July 23, 2024, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd (CSSC), the shipowner and Adora's parent company, announced that its second newbuild, Flora City, would be homeported in and operate from Guangzhou Nansha.