Making waves
By Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-06 11:09
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More Beijingers ready for voyages on cruise ships. Li Jing reports
Life on the high seas was just the ticket for Clair Ouyang.
In the summer of 2009, Ouyang, her husband, their parents and two children embarked on a cruise at Tianjin port.
It was a six-night voyage to Jeju Island in South Korea and Fukuoka and Nagasaki in Japan.
At 52,926 tons, the immense size of the Costa Classica surprised the two children - a son, 3, and daughter, 5 - who kept jumping and screaming to express their excitement. Ouyang was pretty impressed, too.
"I grew up in Beijing, a city with a shortage of water. A journey to the sea was what I had dreamed about since I was a child," said Ouyang, 40.
Cruising, as a luxurious approach to travel, entered the mainland market in the early 1990s.
But at that time, "most guests on board were from Guangdong and Fujian provinces, with Hong Kong and Singapore as home ports," said Chang Jiayang, who works for the cruise department of China Peace International Tourism Co Ltd., a major travel agency.
To most people in northern China, films such as Titanic and If You Are the One are as close as they've gotten to a cruise ship.
"Unlike those in port cities, such as Shanghai, locals in Beijing seldom have a chance to see a cruise ship in person, not to mention a personal experience," said Suo Yan, a director of the cruise department from Feifan International Tourism.
The lack of recognition and promotion also contributed to the underdevelopment of cruising in the country's north, she added.
For many local residents, the cost and familiar Asian cruise destinations have made cruising less attractive than more traditional vacation modes, Suo said.
But the Tianjin departures, just a bullet train away, are attracting the attention of Beijingers, industry insiders said.
After the construction of a new Tianjin Port in 2007, cruise companies started to set up branches in Beijing.
Costa Cruises made Tianjin its home port for its cruises to Japan and South Korea starting from 2007 August.
"What makes a cruise unique is not the destination, but the journey itself," Ouyang said.
"During the time on board, we've kind of 'had to' meet different people due to the confined space. Tourists become a big family by the end of the trip."
Tickets, at 6,000 to 7,000 yuan for each adult passenger - was one inducement for Ouyang because the trip was largely all-inclusive, with most entertainment and meals covered.
"With five meals a day, from five-course dinners to pizza and hamburgers, one of my parents gained two kilos in the end. She was very happy about that, because she was too thin," Ouyang said.
"Dinners are among the pleasures of a cruise trip," said Ma Nan, the marketing director of Beijing UTour International Travel Service, another agency which had led several cruise group tours.
"It is a good chance to experience Western delicacies and life," Ma added. "You could enjoy a dinner for two or three hours, as you are not in a rush to the next destination as in land tours. The time slows down on board and it is really relaxing."
A cruise can also be a mind-opening journey for many northern people who have never been to the sea.
Ma Nan's first cruise dates to 2006. It was a five-night cruise from Hong Kong to Okinawa, Japan.
She feared seasickness but the journey turned out to be fine.
"To my surprise, everything went well on board. The cruise ship is stabilized and standing on it just like standing on land," she said.
"The programs on board are more exciting and richer than I expected," she said.
"From dance parties to gym classes, from song and dance performances to comedy and magic shows, it is impossible to attend all and explore the cruise ship before disembarking."
She said women need to pack dresses, high-heeled shoes and cosmetics for a pleasant cruise trip, because of the plethora of parties.
"The most popular one is the captain's evening party," she said.
On that occasion, the captain, senior staff in uniform extended greetings to guests, danced and sang with passengers, she recalled.
"Life on board is different from my daily life. It seems like a several-day party, leaving no time for boredom," she said.
Ouyang relished the sunsets and sunrise from the ship deck.
"Lying in chairs on the suite balconies, seeing the sun dye the sea and sky red, windswept hair, sunglasses - I felt like I was in a sweet dream," said Ouyang, who is planning her next cruise trip with family this summer.