Royal Caribbean Cruises, parent of Celebrity Cruise Lines, is to offload Celebrity Century to an affiliate of China’s largest online travel firm Ctrip.com.
In a deal that RCCL chairman Richard Fain called ‘an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip’, the two companies will form a joint venture to operate the ship.
"Since its inaugural sailing, Celebrity Century has created many wonderful memories for hundreds of thousands of guests, and we expect this successful history to continue as she transitions to the Chinese cruise market," Fain added.
The 1,815-passenger Century ship will remain on scheduled cruise itineraries for Celebrity until April 2015.
It will then undergo a renovation to appeal to the Chinese market before entering service as a Ctrip-owned vessel.
RCCL said it will take a non-cash loss of around $20 million by offloading the ship, which is currently the oldest ship in Celebrity’s fleet.
The 71,545-ton ship first entered service in December 1995.
"Ctrip will capitalise on our strong brand, large customer base as well as our partner’s extensive cruise operating experience, to generate great value to our customers," Ctrip president Min Fan said.
