China Floats Second Cruise Ship and Orders Ships for International Market
China marked the next milestone in its efforts at expanding the domestic cruise industry with the float-out of its second large domestically built cruise ship. Built for China’s Adora Cruises, the ship will enter service this year, and the company reported it intends to order two more cruise ships and take an option for a third newbuild.
The second cruise ship, named Adora Flower City, is an enlarged version of the first domestically built ship, which was based on a design developed by Carnival Corporation and Fincantieri. As is typical in the cruise industry, the design was enlarged to increase passenger capacity and add amenities. The Adora Flower City will be 141,900 gross tons when completed, with a length of 341 meters (1,119 feet), compared to the first cruise ship, Adora Magic City, which is 136,200 gross tons with a length of 324 meters (1,063 feet).
The extra 17 meters (56 feet), the company says, gives the ship a more elegant and slender look. The space permitted them to increase the number of passenger cabins to 2,130 (5,232 maximum passenger capacity) compared to the first ship, which has 2,125 passenger cabins (5,246 maximum passenger capacity), and to redesign the cabins. They highlight the extra size permitted by doubling the size of the central atrium and a redesign of public spaces.
The Adora Flower City will feature 26 restaurants and bars, a theater, a gym/spa, enlarged shopping mall, and children’s spaces. Adora says it is a comprehensive upgrade from the first ship, both in space and technology, including interactive technology in the cabins. The design features a flower theme in keeping with the vessel’s name and association with Guangzhou in Southern China, which is known as the Flower City. Adora reports that it increased the essence of the Chinese culture and the Chinese cruise experience aboard the ship.
The company also entered into a memorandum of understanding with China State Shipbuilding Corporation for the design and construction of two additional cruise ships and an option for a third newbuild. CSSC’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding built the company’s first two cruise ships. It said the new ships will be a Chinese design with the goal of delivering the first ship by 2030.
The ship was floated last weekend and today moved out of the dry dock to the outfitting berth (Adora)
The Adora Flora City is reported to be 95 percent complete. It was floated last Saturday, March 14, and underwent incline testing, and the loading for test and release of the 18 lifeboats before being floated out to the outfitting berth. CSSC highlights the complexity of the construction, noting the ship has over 4,700 kilometers of cabling, nearly 40,000 square meters of public space, and thousands of systems with more than 20,000 pieces of equipment and over 25 million components.
Construction for the second cruise ship began in August 2022. CSSC highlights that it shortened the construction period by eight months compared to Adora Magic City. It says efficiency was improved by more than 20 percent during the construction.
The new ship is scheduled to start sea trials in May. It will be delivered in late 2026 and will homeport at the Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port in southern China near Hong Kong. The Adora Magic City is homeported in central China at Shanghai, and the former Costa cruise ship, now Adora Mediterranea, mostly sails from Xiamen.
The company reports the new ships will permit it to continue to plan its overseas homeport operations. It said it will accelerate the pace of Chinese cruise expansion to the international markets.
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