Further redeployments of ships for 2015 include the surprise move of the 4,180-lower berth Quantum of the Seas from her New York base in May 2015 to Shanghai, where she will be employed on cruises of up to eight nights to Japan and Korea. She was originally to have been based permanently in New York, but will be replaced by the slightly smaller Liberty of the Seas (3,600 lower berths) from 6 May 2015. She, in turn, will be replaced by Anthem of the Seas, Quantum’s sistership, in November, following that ship’s summer season sailing from Southampton.
Royal Caribbean has the strongest presence of any cruise line in the rapidly growing Chinese market, with Voyager of the Seas being based there since 2012 and Mariner of the Seas seasonally in 2013. The Chinese market is seen as one which generates high onboard spending, particularly in the casino, and on luxury goods in the shops. It has been speculated that, once the third of the Oasis of the Seas class is delivered, one of that trio may also find her way to China.
