As a countermeasure against the relevant clauses of the U.S. Section 301 investigation, China’s imposition of special port fees on U.S. vessels has been implemented for two days, and the cruise industry is also affected.
Recently, the U.S. luxury cruise ship “RIVIERA” canceled its trip to Shanghai after refusing to pay the special port fee, causing dissatisfaction among passengers. The “RIVIERA,” with a passenger capacity of 1,250, belongs to the Oceania Cruises brand under the U.S.-headquartered Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and is among the vessels targeted by China’s special port fee levy.
According to the “Implementation Measures for Collecting Special Port Fees on U.S. Vessels” issued by China’s Ministry of Transport on October 14, the special port fee required for this ship is approximately 11.67 million yuan.
Informed sources stated that the “RIVIERA” is a transit call cruise. It departed from Seattle, USA, on September 18, passed through Canada and Alaska, USA, and arrived in Japan on October 4. After completing a 9-day journey in Japan, it was originally scheduled to arrive in Shanghai, China, on the morning of October 15. However, unwilling to bear the special port fee, it altered its route to Busan Port, South Korea.
Transit call cruises generally primarily consist of ships operating transoceanic long-distance routes or global itineraries. They only make brief stops at cruise ports and typically bring high-end international tourists. Currently, such cruises are mainly controlled by U.S. cruise companies. Another type is the homeport cruise, which generally operates regional short-distance routes, has fixed homeports and short-cycle schedules, and primarily serves local tourists from the homeport, with relatively affordable prices.
In 2025, China’s cruise market overall shows a continuing recovery trend. In the first half of the year, the total number of homeport cruise passengers handled by various cruise ports was 1.277 million, a year-on-year increase of 50%; the total number of transit call cruise passengers (international tourists) handled was 57,000, a year-on-year decrease of 43%.
