Costa Cruises to Homeport in Shanghai
Adds Sailings to Japan & South Korea
In March, 2011, Japan had a devastating earthquake and Severe Tsunami Impacting Japan & Hawaii. The world watched the unfolding nightmare as the country's nuclear plants were on the verge of meltdown. After the Tohoku Earthquake the cruise lines cancelled calls to ports in Japan.
Six Months Later...
The following announcement brings hope that life can be returning to normal in Japan. From August to October Costa Classica will home port in Shanghai, operating 12 cruises to Japan and South Korea. The selection of itineraries includes four-night cruises to Fukuoka, Japan, and Cheju, South Korea; a six-night cruise to Pusan, South Korea, and Fukuoka and Kagoshima, Japan; and a five-night cruise to Fukuoka and Nagasaki, Japan, and Cheju.
Costa Expansion in 2012
Next year Costa will substantially expand operations in Asia with the inaugural deployment of the 75,200-ton, 2,394-guest Costa Victoria, which will replace the 53,000-ton, 1,680-guest Costa Classica. The larger ship will offer 246 veranda cabins and increase Costa’s capacity in the region by 40 percent.
In 2012 Costa Victoria will call at new Japan destinations, including tropical Hososhima/Miyazaki; Wakayama, which boasts the country’s largest hot spring resort; Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city; the popular sightseeing cities in the Kanto Area; Yokohama and Tokyo, the nation’s capital.
Royal Caribbean International Also Returns
Starting in August and continuing to October, Legend of the Seas will be operating 11 sailings including a number of charters to various Japanese ports-of-call such as Okinawa, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Beppu, Nagasaki and Hokkaido, out from Hong Kong, Tianjin and Shanghai. These sailings are mostly based on the ship’s itineraries originally planned for this year, which do not call at the areas affected by the tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Kelvin Tan, Regional Director, Asia Pacific of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said, “Judging from the current situation in Japan, we are well-assured of the safety of traveling to Japan. Japan has always been an attractive tourist destination and its show of great resilience in the face of the recent crisis has given travelers the confidence to visit the country again.”
Other Cruise Lines
Holland America has not revised its schedule. The line had canceled cruises through 2011 and modified others in 2012.
As we hear of any additional changes for the region, we will let you know. For now it is good to see that the rebuilding continues as tourism returns to the country of Japan.
Related Blog Posts:
Cruise Lines Return to Japan (six months later, some cruise lines have returned)
Cruise Lines Return to Japan (six months later, some cruise lines have returned)
