Costa Cruises has shared that Costa Allegra will be making its debut in China, becoming the world's first international cruise company to have received a licence from the government of the People's Republic of China to operate in the local market, departing from ports located in Chinese territory? (7/4/2006)

Costa Allegra was due to begin cruise programme from Shanghai, marketed exclusively in China and Asia on July 3. The five-day itinerary will include calls to Nagasaki (Japan) and Cheju (Korea).

The 2006-07 winter programme has also already been defined: starting in November, the Costa Allegra will move to the south of China, operating five-day cruises from Hong Kong with calls in Sanya (China) and Vietnam (Halong Bay).

For debut in China, the Costa Allegra, one of eleven ships in Costa's fleet, was completely refurbished at a cost of 12 million euros. The objective of the restyling operation was to offer the ship's future Chinese guests a tailor-made cruise experience to satisfy their tastes, but with a European style.