The inaugural festivities will take place aboard Majestic Princess in Shanghai on July 9, as the culmination of weeks of celebrations, as well as featuring traditional Chinese, contemporary Chinese, and western-inspired cultural performances taking place between Rome and Xiamen.
'It is a great honour that Yao Ming and Ye Li have graciously accepted our invitation to officially name Majestic Princess at our celebration welcoming our newest ship to China,' said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises.
Now retired, Yao Ming played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association.
'Yao Ming is globally recognised for his success in China and the United States, truly embodying the "East meets West" spirit of our international cruise line,' Swartz added.
Yao Ming and his wife were both born in Shanghai and were team members of China’s national basketball teams.
Yao Ming is a global ambassador of basketball, an 8-time NBA All-Star, and most recently, an inductee into the NBA Hall of Fame.
'We are honored to serve as the inaugural cruise ambassadors for Princess Cruises and officially name the new Majestic Princess,' said Yao Ming.
Majestic Princess is currently sailing on a 49-day journey from Rome to Shanghai, retracing the ancient Chinese maritime Silk Road trade route before arriving at Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal to begin her first homeport cruise from China on July 11, 2017.
Majestic Princess will deploy to Australia from September 2018 to March 2019 and then return to China.
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