Ready to lift anchor

All cruise companies have temporarily canceled voyages that start from Chinese homeports following the novel coronavirus outbreak, resulting in a suspension in the world's second-largest cruise market after the United States.

Shanghai's Wusongkou Cruise Port welcomed its last group of tourists on Jan 29, as they disembarked from a cruise that'd returned from Japan. Cruise ships can still anchor in the closed port for free.

However, major overseas cruise companies remain confident in the Chinese market's potential.

Chinese ports received 976 cruiseliner voyages carrying about 4.9 million inbound and outbound passengers in 2018, according to the Annual Report on China's Cruise Industry 2019. Wusongkou received nearly 56 percent of the tourists.

Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute's deputy director Ye Xinliang estimates that some large cruise companies will lose 700 million to 1 billion yuan ($100 million-$143.3 million) by the end of February, while some small operators will lose over 50 million yuan.

Since Spring Festival, companies have arranged for customer service staffers to remain on duty to handle refunds and rescheduling requests in a timely manner.

They're also optimizing on-board products and services in preparation for the resumption of voyages. And they're providing online training for partner travel agencies about products and sales.

The government is also offering support.

Shanghai's culture and tourism administration recently held an online conference with cruise companies to listen to their advice and adopt relevant measures.

Costa Group Asia's president Mario Zanetti says: "I believe that once the warm weather comes and the epidemic situation is controlled, demand for travel will return immediately. Our role is to continue to carry out the instructions and advice issued by the relevant government authorities and the World Health Organization to ensure a safe and comfortable cruise environment."

Costa Cruises has increased crews' public-health training. And it will enhance sanitation and disinfection. For instance, all frequently touched surfaces in public areas will be disinfected at least three times a day.

"We are optimistic toward the development of the Chinese cruise economy and will continue to invest in the market," Zanetti says.

Costa Cruises' second ship customized for the Chinese market－the Costa Firenze－will arrive by the end of 2020, as scheduled. It's designed with the vision of providing an artistic Italian experience at sea.

He believes the most important thing is to recover consumers' confidence. Costa Cruises will work with industry partners toward this end once the outbreak is contained.

A total of 705 of 3,711 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess were confirmed to have the virus, and six had died, as of Monday, after the ship returned to Yokohama, Japan, on Feb 3.

The virus is believed to have spread quickly among passengers after the Japanese government ordered passengers to remain in on-board quarantine for two weeks.

The ship was operated by Princess Cruises, which is owned by the US-based company, Carnival Corp.

Princess Cruises has canceled all trips that start from Chinese homeports throughout 2020. Sapphire Princess, which was scheduled to come to China this year, will instead sail around Australia and New Zealand.

Princess Cruises will promote its overseas routes in the Chinese market this year, meaning that travelers can fly to overseas destinations to take cruises. The company plans to resume trips from Chinese homeports in the future.

Swiss-headquartered MSC Cruises China is sticking to its plan to bring its MSC Bellissima to China in June. It expects to start trips from Shanghai, Tianjin and Qingdao throughout 2020.

"We're working with travel agencies to persuade tourists who've already paid for their voyages to reschedule for the next ones several months later, by offering cash coupons that can be used for on-board consumption," MSC Cruises China's president Helen Huang says.

Customers who book at least two months in advance will enjoy free Wi-Fi and a ticket to the Cirque Du Soleil circus.

The MSC Foundation has donated 100,000 medical masks to China's central government, especially for prevention and treatment in the epidemic's most-affected province, Hubei.

Huang suggests that cruise companies establish health-declaration systems to obtain information about passengers' health and travel histories.

"All cruise companies from the United States and Europe carry out strict public-health standards," she says.

"For example, we offer hand sanitizer at the entrance of every restaurant. Such procedures as disinfection will be stricter after the epidemic."

Huang says one of their cruises has about 10 cabins with separate air-conditioner systems that can be used for quarantines.

She understands it may take time to restore confidence and hopes to work with professionals to promote public health aboard ships.

"Chinese book cruises through travel agencies. So, cruise companies don't have their contact information. Our guests can check in online and provide their basic information in advance. Such an approach should be promoted," she says.

China Tourism Academy research fellow Huang Huang agrees it'll take time to restore confidence.

"The epidemic's influence is temporary," he says. "Cruise companies should improve safety and infrastructure."

Huge Chinese demand for cruises remains, he explains. And the market penetration is very low. Many Chinese haven't yet taken a cruise.

Huang believes the current paid-annual-leave system is a major reason that the cruise market's growth has slowed in recent years.

China's paid annual leave is five, 10 or 15 days, depending on the number of years of employment. Western countries offer more.

"Chinese travel peaks around public holidays like National Day. Cruise companies have to offer big discounts during slack periods," he says.

"Chinese could travel more during times other than national holidays if they had more paid annual leave. That would better balance supply and demand for cruises. It would help the industry to develop."