Royal Caribbean is accepting reservations for sailings of its "Wonder of the Seas" - the fifth vessel in its oasis class series.
Following her delivery from the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, the ship will sail from Shanghai, China, from March through November 2022.
Most sailings from Shanghai are short, roundtrip cruises - such as a four-night itinerary calling at Japan ports Naha and Fukuoka. Two five-night itineraries include stops in Fukuoka and Kagoshima or Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Another option takes visitors to Naha and Ishigaki.
Several longer cruises from Shanghai are scheduled for the summer of 2022 - including an eight-night voyage to Japan with stops in Kobe, Osaka, Shimizu and Tokyo.
The ship will then sail to Hong Kong and the advanced Kai Tak Cruise Terminal for a November 2022 to January 2023 itinerary.
Itineraries from Hong Kong are outstanding - with a nine-day option to Korea and Japan as well as short cruises to Japan or Vietnam, the company said.
The ship's deployment to Asia coincides with rising demand for cruises from China tourists, a market that Royal Caribbean has pursued for more than a decade. In 2009, Royal Caribbean started deploying ships to China.
"China continues to be one of the most important parts of the world for Royal Caribbean," Royal Caribbean president and chief executive Michael Bayley said in a statement. "We have won the trust of our partners and the favor of travelers and built on that significantly since we first set sail 12 years ago."
Bayley said the deployment of "Wonder of the Seas" to China was a mark of the line's "strong commitment to the market's growth."
"Wonder of the Seas," which is currently under construction, was scheduled for 2021. However, its arrival was delayed owing to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the shipyard.
The soon-to-be largest cruise ship in the world was ordered well before the pandemic began and has been under construction since April 2019.
