Chinese Cruise Ship Arrested After Line Suspends Service
China’s domestic cruise market continues to go through an evolution as it seeks to expand, but it also faces challenges tied to political issues and growing competition. It is experiencing similar challenges to those seen in the West decades ago, as cruising grew from a niche business into a large vacation industry.
The cruise ship Blue Dream Melody was reportedly arrested earlier this month in a dispute with a fuel supplier. The court said a payment of nearly $600,000 was due and allowed the companies a month to settle the dispute in arbitration or the supplier to proceed with a lawsuit.
The cruise ship has been idle since the beginning of 2026, in part due to the political tensions in the region. As tensions rose between China and Japan, the Chinese government issued warnings against travel to Japan, with recent reports showing Chinese tourism to Japan is down 50 to 60 percent since the start of the year and the current Lunar New Year holiday. It is believed China pressured Blue Dream Cruises to end its popular cruises to Japan. The company had announced a new program of short cruises to Korea as well as continuing trips that called in Vietnam.
Reports were that the demand for the Korean cruises was weak, possibly in part due to the short lead time and the winter season. Blue Dream first reported that it would suspend its sailing for maintenance and upgrades to its one operating cruise ship but later confirmed it had suspended operations as of the beginning of 2026 and would provide refunds to booked passengers.
The company was started in 2016 by one of China’s regional tourist groups to encourage travel in the region. It finally acquired a cruise ship, a 2002-built 24,782 gross ton vessel that had started its life as the Olympia Explorer. Built by Blohm + Voss, it was distinguished for its fast speed designed to operate cruises in the Greek Islands, but its owners, Royal Olympia Cruises, a small operator, went into bankruptcy shortly after the ship entered service. The ship, which has a capacity of 836 passengers, went through a series of operators before being acquired by the Chinese and becoming Blue Dream Star in 2020.
Blue Dream Star cruised in 2023-2024 but has been laid up since (Blue Dream Cruises)
Blue Dream was among the first Chinese cruise companies to enter service in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic. It reported a strong early success and, encouraged by the demand, acquired the former AIDAVita at the beginning of 2024. Built in 2002, the ship had been retired by Carnival Corporation’s Aida Cruises during the pandemic. It is 42,289 gross tons with a capacity of up to about 1,300 passengers.
The company initially announced plans to expand with the second ship, which it named Blue Dream Melody, but later it laid up the first ship, saying it would focus on the larger ship. It added suites to the new ship and highlighted its operation as a domestic cruise line focusing on wellness and lifestyle. The Blue Dream Melody entered service in June 2024.
The company cited competition as one of the key factors in its demise and the high cost of a single ship operation. China also has lacked a well-developed distribution system to sell cruises, mostly depending on group sales and travel agents.
Reports in the Russian media have linked the Blue Dream Melody to the operators of one of her former running mates, the AIDACara, now known as the Astoria Grande. She is managed by a company based in Turkey, which launched cruises from Russia on the Black Sea. The media reports have indicated that planning was underway to replicate the operation on Russia’s Pacific Coast with a homeport of Vladivostok. The reports said the plan called for acquiring the Blue Dream Melody for this new market, although nothing seemed to progress after the reports in 2025.
Recently, China’s main cruise operators, including Adora Cruises, confirmed that they were consolidating their operations into a single holding company. Adora, which was started with an investment from Carnival Corporation, built one large cruise ship in China and has a second under construction, as well as a former Costa Cruises ship.
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Among the companies that were folded into the new holding company was another one, Astro Ocean, also started by a regional tourism group to promote travel. The company’s one cruise ship is now heading to Spain for the launch of a new domestic cruise line. Astro Ocean said the new management was planning the strategy for the brand, which would shortly be announced.
Single ship operators are finding it difficult to operate in the Chinese market, much as they did decades ago in the West. The market appears to be further consolidating, while limited competition has also re-entered China as international cruise lines return to Asia, albeit on a much smaller scale than before the pandemic.