Cruise ships navigate geopolitics, local competition to tap vast Chinese market

Beijing

LIU Jing wakes at 7, feeds her 84-year-old mother and two-year-old grandson and then spends the day watching the boy play in the playground, with breaks for meals and his afternoon nap and perhaps a little TV in the evening.

That's not unusual for a Chinese retiree, many of whom play an instrumental role in raising grandkids, but Ms Liu, 57, is on board the Costa Atlantica, a luxury cruise ship packed with activities and events that she largely ignores.