Carnival Cruise Line is deploying two ships to the China market beginning with Carnival Miracle in spring 2017 followed by Carnival Splendor in spring 2018. Both ships will be based in China year round, Carnival said.

“Carnival is the world’s most popular cruise line and our style of cruising appeals to guests of all ages and particularly families,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“We attract more than 4.5 million guests a year and, as the family cruise leader, we also carry more than 700,000 children each year.”

Carnival said that specific details on the company’s China itineraries will be announced at a later time.

Carnival Miracle has a capacity of 2,124 guests and Carnival Splendor, which enters the China market in 2018, is a larger vessel which carries just over 3,000 passengers.

Carnival will be establishing operations in China in partnership with sister company Costa Asia, which has operated in the Chinese market for the past nine years.

“Given the combined experience of Costa Asia, along with other sister companies either already in the market, such as Princess Cruises, or entering the market, such as AIDA, the collective scale of Carnival Corporation’s Asia operations is unparalleled and enables us to tap into an immense network of resources and expertise as we launch our China program,” said Duffy.

Earlier this month, Carnival Corporation revealed plans to further expand its operations in China with the deployment of two additional cruise brands to serve this booming cruise market from 2017 onward.

As informed, Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises were scheduled to homeport one new ship each in China in 2017, and in doing so join Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the Chinese market. The latest announcement brings Carnival Cruise Line’s total of cruise ships setting sail for China to two vessels.

In addition, Carnival is partnering with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Investment Corporation (CIC) on a new joint venture aimed at launching the first multi-ship domestic cruise brand in the Chinese market.