SuperStar Virgo to sail from trio of north China ports

Covering China's three main cruise markets

With this expansion, Star Cruises will cover China’s three main cruise markets in the south, east and north this year, after earlier deployments by SuperStar Virgo in Shanghai, SuperStar Gemini in Xiamen, Sanya and Haikou and SuperStar Aquarius in Qingdao.

Star Cruises’ expansion has helped grow the south China market to become one of the nation’s three largest cruise homeport regions in just one year. As well, in recent years, the line has developed several itineraries leading to a new record for the number of homeport deployments by the same brand in Qingdao.

'By deploying Star Cruises to the three key cruise markets in China, we are providing a variety of different cruise experiences from across China, building closer relationships with local travel agents, ports and business partners while boosting our market penetration rate and expanding further into the China market,' said Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Lines.

Kyushu's most popular ports

As a prelude to SuperStar Virgo’s deployment, SuperStar Aquarius was just positioned in Qingdao, and the positive market response has reinforced Star Cruises’ confidence in SuperStar Virgo’s itineraries from Dalian (starting Sept. 9), Tianjin (from Sept. 30) and Qingdao (starting Nov. 3). All visit ports in the Japanese island of Kyushu.

SuperStar Virgo’s four-night cruises from Dalian in September will visit Nagasaki, Kitakyushu and Fukuoka while four- and five-night cruises from Tianjin in September and October will call at Kagoshima, Beppu, Fukuoka and Nagasaki. Cruises from Qingdao in November will call at Kagoshima, Fukuoka and Nagasaki.

Key holidays

This north China program will span public holidays including the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Golden Week, important for family travelers and senior citizens, noted Ang Moo Lim, president of Star Cruises. And autumn, he added, is 'the perfect time to visit Japan with its comfortable weather conditions and extraordinary autumn scenery.'

Joint promotion with Doraemon

Star Cruises has created special programs for seniors and children. For children, there's a joint promotion with Japanese cartoon character Doraemon for a series of 'Treasure Hunt @ Sea'-themed activities. Limited-edition gift sets, special in-cabin décor and menus, and interactive workshops and photo corners with Doraemon and friends will be available. A Junior Cruiser Program featuring special activities based on the Doraemon movie will also be offered.

For seniors, SuperStar Virgo has an array of 'Gift of Time' activities such as ballroom dance parties, classic movie screenings, oldies concerts and free wedding photo shoots. Cruisers who wish to live a healthier lifestyle can attend tai chi classes with tai chi master Wang Xi’an and order from healthy menus.

Lim also noted SuperStar Virgo offers a variety of facilities for the meetings, incentive, corporate and events business.

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