The Star Cruises ship carried 1,860 passengers on the five-night cruise from Guangzhou's new terminal and called at Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Tuesday, Danang in central Vietnam on Wednesday and Sanya, Hainan, on Thursday before returning to Nansha on Friday.
Priced starting at RMB 3,499 per person, this all-inclusive cruise (excluding shore excursions) is marketed as the best value for a holiday to Vietnam and Hainan Island with the convenience of not needing to pack and unpack.
Zhu Shaodong, president of GZL International Travel Service, said the ship's deployment benefits the cruise industry in the (populous) Pearl River Delta region by providing a convenient holiday option departing right from their doorsteps.
'Our guests have really been enjoying the many new F&B and entertainment enhancements that Star Cruises has developed for these new itineraries and the market response has been very favourable,' he added.
SuperStar Virgo will continue the five-night cruise every week until November when the ship will be replaced by the new 150,000gt, 3,400-passenger Genting Dream, the first ship of Genting Hong Kong's premium Dream Cruises brand.
For the two-night weekend cruises, SuperStar Virgo is featuring guest artists appearing every Saturday for the first three months. Among them: Richie Ren, Andy Hui, Michael Wong, Tiger Huang, Michael Tse, William So, Edwin Siu, Johnny Yip and Bo Luk.
This special entertainment is included in the fare, and Star Cruises is promoting an offer of RMB 1,999 for the first passenger, 50% off for the second and no charge for the third for departures to the end of March.
A free one-hour satellite Internet connection will also be offered starting Jan. 17.
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