Adora Cruises Takes Delivery of China’s Second Homebuilt Cruise Ship

Adora Cruises took delivery of the 141,900-gross-ton Adora Flora City at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding on November 6, 2026. China’s second domestically built large cruise ship is scheduled to begin commercial service from Guangzhou on November 22, serving southern China and Southeast Asian destinations.

The handover follows the delivery of Adora Magic City on November 4, 2023. The second ship took eight months less to build, and project figures put the improvement in construction efficiency at about 20 percent.

Adora Flora City measures 341 metres long, an increase of 17.4 metres over its sister ship, and has 2,130 cabins and suites accommodating up to 5,232 passengers. Adora Cruises said the additional space was allocated mainly to public areas.

“Our second homegrown large cruise ship saw a reduction of nearly four million work hours compared to its predecessor,” said Chen Jianwei, deputy general manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.

Trial voyages and the Guangzhou season

The vessel is scheduled to move from the shipyard to Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on November 7, with its first trial voyage following two days later. Arrival at Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port is planned for November 12.

The maiden commercial sailing will be a five-night itinerary calling at Hong Kong and Chan May, Vietnam. A christening ceremony is also scheduled for departure day, with Olympic diving champion Guo Jingjing serving as godmother.

The inaugural season comprises six international voyages through January 2, 2027. The programme includes four- and five-night cruises to Hong Kong and Vietnam, an overnight Hong Kong sailing, and an eight-night itinerary visiting Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. A longer, 16-night voyage will visit Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The delivery brings Adora’s fleet to three ships. The line’s plans also include nearly 20 Adora Flora City departures from Hong Kong in 2027, spread across late March to early May, late June to late July, and late October to early November.

“The Greater Bay Area will be our strategic focus in the coming years,” Adora Cruises CEO Roger Chen said in an October interview with Cruise Industry News. He said the company planned to increase homeport operations in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Passenger facilities and crew preparations

Changes from Adora Magic City include new accommodation categories for families travelling with children. Facilities include 28 restaurants and bars, an 800-seat theatre and a 200-metre running track.

Guo Jia, assistant vice-president of product and guest experience at Adora Cruises, said mobile check-in and artificial intelligence support contactless boarding and disembarkation. Humanoid robots will also be used for dining reception, entertainment and shopping services. Food on board includes Cantonese dim sum and hot pot alongside other Chinese dishes.

The ship will employ approximately 1,300 crew members. Nearly 600 boarded on October 1, including the captain, chief engineer and hotel director, with the remaining personnel due to join before commercial operations begin.

Preparations include training in service standards, maritime regulations, safety and the ship’s products. Crew members are also testing equipment, reviewing passenger and operational flows, checking supplies and rehearsing service scenarios.

Domestic sourcing and further construction

Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, began construction in August 2022. Adora Flora City completed a 12-day sea trial in the East China Sea in May, and delivery was brought forward by nearly two months from the original schedule.

The builder used augmented reality to overlay three-dimensional design models onto the construction site, allowing workers to compare designs with installed structures through mobile devices, according to Li Jianing, assistant general manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.

About 35 percent of the vessel’s equipment is Chinese-made, roughly five percentage points above the first ship. Separately, Chen Jianwei put the domestic share of interior outfitting materials at 80 percent.

The vessel contains approximately 25 million parts and supports about 1,500 upstream and downstream suppliers, according to Chen Gang, on-site chief commander and chief designer of China’s domestically built large cruise ship project. Technical additions include two exhaust-gas scrubbers and five selective catalytic-reduction systems.

Conceptual design work has already begun on China’s third domestically built large cruise ship. In March 2026, Adora signed a memorandum of understanding with CSSC covering two further ships and an option for another. The agreement targets the first delivery by 2030 using a fully domestically developed design.