Asia' s largest and northern China' s first home port, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port made its debut Saturday, welcoming the Italy-based cruise ship Costa Romantica.
The Costa Romantica has scheduled 10 cruises to depart from Tianjin Port from June 26 to Aug.19, offering passengers a seven-day-six-night journey to Japan and South Korea, according to Zhao Mingkui, vice-president of Tianjin Port Holdings.
In 2010, two of the world's largest cruise lines, Italy's Costa Cruise and Royal Caribbean International, both chose Tianjin Port as their home port for their luxury liners.
Royal Caribbean's ship, Legend of the Seas, has scheduled 8 trips departing from Tianjin Port from July 31 to Oct.7 this year, offering passengers an eight-day-seven-night journey to Japan and South Korea, Zhao Mingkui said.
"It's the first time that we come to China by cruise. I feel very good. The customs service is fast. I plan to go to the tax-free store this evening or tomorrow morning with my wife and child," said Timo Hirvonen, a Finnish tourist.
As the first home port in north China, Tianjin Port is designed to be 11.5 meters deep, with a 1,600-meter-long coastline and six berths, and is expected to provide services to the world's luxury cruise ships, said an official of the Tianjin Port Holdings.
The first phase of the project has been completed as the development of the coastline has reached 625 meters with two berths to handle cruise ships of 220,000 dead weight tonnages capable of serving 4,000 guests at the same time. The annual handling capacity is expected to top 500,000 passengers.
