Royal Caribbean sails into uncharted waters of mainland China cruise market

Chinese holidaymakers may be heading overseas at an ever increasing rate, but the holidays are heading towards them too.

Although the concept of cruising is likely to elicit a puzzled look from most Chinese, the world's biggest cruise liners are racing to get their ships to the mainland to persuade the growing middle class to come aboard.

Royal Caribbean International, the Norwegian-founded, but Miami-based cruise company set industry tongues wagging last April with the announcement that its ship Quantum of the Seas - one of its largest in the world and the newest in its fleet - would make Shanghai its home port from May this year.

It was a bold move given that the ships that call in Chinese cities, a still new and emerging market, tended to be of older stock.

Meanwhile, rival cruise firm Carnival, also keen to demonstrate its commitment to the region, moved its chief operating officer from the company's headquarters in Miami to Shanghai last September and signed an agreement with a Chinese partner to move some of its shipbuilding to the mainland.

Royal Caribbean chairman and chief executive Richard Fain, a Bostonian who has steered the company since 1988 and boasts experience in the shipping industry going back over 35 years, freely concedes that the challenges to success on the mainland are as big as the opportunities.