Princess Cruises has revealed that Houston Rockets and Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming and his wife, Ye Li, will officially name the new Majestic Princess during festivities in Shanghai on July 9, 2017.
The couple will also serve as the line's Inaugural Cruise Ambassadors in China.
"It is a great honor that Yao Ming and Ye Li have graciously accepted our invitation to officially name Majestic Princess and serve as the Inaugural Cruise Ambassadors at our celebration welcoming our newest ship to China," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president, in a press release.
"Yao Ming is globally recognized for his success in China and the United States, truly embodying the 'East meets West' spirit of our international cruise line."
Leading up to the ceremony and gala celebration will be traditional and contemporary Chinese as well as western-inspired cultural performances between Rome and Xiamen.
Both Yao Ming and Ye Li were born in Shanghai and were also basketball players on China's national teams. Yao Ming is also an eight-time NBA All-Star (all with the Rockets) and inductee into the NBA Hall of Fame.
In response to the 8.0 earthquake that devastated the Sichuan Province, China in 2008, the couple established The Yao Foundation. The organization has since built 23 Yao Foundation Hope Primary Schools in the area and now seeks to extend sports education to the countryside's youth via "Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Season" projects.
Volunteers are chosen to support basketball training and organize basketball leagues to educate students about the team sport, as well as fitness and health. 2017 marks the 10th year for "Yao Foundation Charity event," the largest and longest such sporting one in China.
The next charity event tournament starts on July 30, 2017 in Hong Kong.
"We are honored to serve as the Inaugural Cruise Ambassadors for Princess Cruises and officially name the new Majestic Princess," said Yao Ming, in the press release. "I'm inspired that Princess Cruises also cares so deeply about youth development in China and appreciate their support of our foundation. We look forward to enjoying a future vacation aboard Majestic Princess, China's newest cruise ship."
As to the Majestic Princess itself, the ship caters to Chinese cruisers with international service. Also showcased are two specialty dinner menus from Michelin star chefs at Harmony and La Mer, the "Fantastic Journey" cinematic musical production show and the line's signature Princess Luxury Bed from sleep expert, Dr. Michael Breus.
Princess Cruises' new "Camp Discovery" for interactive kid fun is also onboard with family programming from Discovery Communications, California Science Center and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University educators.
Majestic Princess is now on a 49-day "Silk Road Sea Route" from Rome to Shanghai, calling on 22 ports such as Athens, Dubai, Cochin, Singapore, Port Klang and Xiamen. After arriving at the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, the ship will begin its inaugural season home-porting from the municipality on July 11, 2017.
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By 2018, a pair of 14-day Grand Asia voyages between Shanghai and Singapore will also set sail for Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, plus a late night call in Hong Kong. They are scheduled for February 25, 2018 and March 11, 2018.
Australia will then be Majestic's base from September 2018 to March 2019, leaving from Sydney and Auckland on 6- to 13-day cruises. Destinations will feature New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji and other South Pacific islands.
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