Could the next Regent ship end up in China?
ABOARD THE SEVEN SEAS EXPLORER -- Could the next super-swanky ship from Regent Seven Seas Cruises be devoted to Chinese travelers?
The CEO of the luxury line's parent company hinted at the possibility this week in an interview with Paste BN.
Speaking in the $10,000-a-night Regent Suite aboard Regent's new Seven Seas Explorer, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio suggested the company was eyeing a China deployment for a sister to Explorer due in 2020.
By 2020, "the Chinese market might have evolved enough where I can see a luxury vessel for the first time being deployed to China," Del Rio said, adding "perhaps only seasonally."
Several of the biggest mass-market cruise brands including Costa and Royal Caribbean have devoted ships to the Chinese market in recent years. But so far no luxury lines have dedicated a vessel to China.
Del Rio suggested new demand for luxury cruises from Chinese travelers would in part justify the significant growth that luxury lines such as Regent are planning over the next few years. In addition to Regent, luxury lines with one or more ships on order include Crystal Cruises, Silversea Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line.
Crystal Cruises alone has announced plans to build three new luxury vessels that hold 1,000 passengers a piece. That's more capacity than Regent currently has in its entire fleet.
"China is in many regards the clincher here," Del Rio said when asked if there was too much capacity on the way for luxury lines.
"We know they have the money," Del Rio said of China's upper classes. "It's a question of whether the truly wealthy in China will want to cruise. From what I see in the development of the (mass-market cruise) space, it gives me great comfort."
The mass-market Norwegian Cruise Line brand, which Del Rio also oversees, already is selling cruises in China on a ship that will debut in 2017.
Del Rio noted that Chinese consumers already are spending heavily at fine hotels and restaurants in China, and they're known for gravitating toward high-end brand names.
"Chinese consumers buy more Bordeaux wine, more Louis Vuitton bags than anyone else in the world," he said. "Why wouldn't they also enjoy luxury cruising."
Billed as the most luxurious cruise ship ever, Explorer will be christened Wednesday by Princess Charlene of Monaco. It initially will sail in the Mediterranean, offering a range of eight- to 14-night sailings starting at $6,799 per person. It'll re-position to the Caribbean for the winter.