The cruise ship heads towards Xiamen Port. [Photo/Xiamen Port]
On April 3, the cruise ship Adora Mediterranea arrived at Xiamen Port in the afternoon with over 2,500 passengers from Da Nang, Vietnam. The same evening, it departed Xiamen International Cruise Home Port, carrying more than 2,600 passengers bound for Miyako, Japan. This marks the official commencement of Xiamen's 2025 homeport cruise operations season.
From April 3 to May 9, two premium cruise ships — Adora Mediterranea and Blue Dream Melody — will operate from Xiamen as their homeport, launching a total of nine international voyages to destinations in Japan and the Philippines.
"After the cruise journey, we also have arranged a trip in Xiamen to visit Island Ring Boulevard and Gulangyu Island," said Ms Dong, a tourist. Like Ms Dong, many tourists also plan a "Xiamen tour" after disembarking. With the increasing number of cruise voyages, the cultural and tourism economy of Xiamen will be stimulated.
China has decided to extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom starting from Feb 17.
Forty-one new port-of-entry duty-free shops have been established nationwide, with Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf, and Xiamen International Cruise Center included on the list.
