China Is the Last Frontier, and Century Cruises Makes It Bookable
My friend Theresa Chu-Bermudez just got back from a fam trip to China with Century Cruises, and by the end of our conversation, I wanted to book the trip myself.
Theresa owns Get Out! Custom Travels, co-hosts The TIN Lounge podcast with me, and has a real talent for finding destinations most advisors haven't fully discovered yet. This time, she joined me on 7 Figure Cruise Business to go deep on Century Cruises and the Yangtze River, and the way she described it made it clear why this product deserves more attention than it's getting.
If you have clients who feel like they've been everywhere, this might be the answer neither of you has thought of yet.
Who Is Century Cruises?
Century Cruises has operated on the Yangtze River for decades, but for most of that time they were subcontracted to the more familiar river cruise brands that run in Europe. Those companies would offer a "China product" using Century's ships and operations behind the scenes.
After COVID, as China started reemerging as a destination, Century made the decision to operate fully under its own name. The river cruise portion is part of the experience, but it's not the majority of it. Century builds a full land experience before and after the cruise, which is what makes the trip feel so immersive.
One important note on the ship itself: don't picture a typical European river cruise vessel. The Yangtze is enormous, and Century's ships can hold up to 600 guests. It's closer to a small ocean-going ship than the 150-180 passenger barges you'd see on a Rhine or Danube itinerary.
The Itinerary: What Clients Actually See
A typical Century itinerary looks something like this:
Clients fly into Beijing and spend two to three nights there, seeing sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. From Beijing, they fly to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. Next is Chongqing, a city of over 33 million people, where they board the ship. The cruise itself runs four days through the Three Gorges. After disembarking, the trip ends in Shanghai.
All in, the full experience runs about 14 days, with the river cruise making up four of them. The land portion is where most of the iconic sightseeing happens, and the cruise adds the scenery and landscape side of the trip through the gorges.
Who This Trip Is For
According to Theresa, the ideal client for this product wants to visit China but might feel nervous doing it independently. They have an adventurous spirit, not just toward activities but toward culture and new experiences in general. Century's BDM, Steve, told the group before their trip that every single day would bring something they'd never seen or experienced before. Theresa said he wasn't exaggerating.
This is a client who wants that level of newness, but in a format that feels organized and taken care of. It's a hybrid: adventurous, but supported.
On budget, Theresa places this in the premium to mid-premium range, but notes that China is priced well compared to a destination like Europe. Her advice: price it out before assuming it's outside a client's range, because the value tends to go further than expected.
Who This Trip Is Not For
This is not the trip for a client who wants an all-inclusive beach week. There's some downtime built into the river cruise portion, but the bulk of the experience is active, exploratory, and culturally immersive. If a client's idea of a great vacation is laying out and not leaving the resort, this isn't where to send them.
Mobility is also a real consideration. Many of the included sites involve significant walking and stairs. And clients who want only familiar food, or who aren't open to trying new things, are likely to miss the point of the trip entirely.
What Makes the Experience Stand Out
Theresa mentioned a stop that isn't always on the standard itinerary but can be added for groups wanting something custom: a water town outside Shanghai, with canals that bring Venice to mind. It became one of her most memorable moments of the trip, partly for the scenery and partly for the historical through-line. China's connection to the Silk Road and figures like Marco Polo gives advisors a genuinely compelling story to tell clients before they even leave home.
She also pointed to a live show included on the itinerary that the group wasn't fully prepared for. The scale of the production left the entire group stunned. And a day trip to see pandas in Chongqing turned out to be a highlight nobody expected to hit as hard as it did. As Theresa put it, captive pandas outside of China often seem subdued, but the pandas in China are exactly as playful and goofy in person as they appear online.
What Advisors Need to Know Before Booking
There are a few practical details worth flagging for clients. US passport holders need a travel visa to enter China, though there is a 10-day visa waiver available for shorter trips, with specific documentation required.
Beyond the paperwork, Century's pre-trip cultural briefing from BDM Steve is part of what makes this product easier to sell with confidence. Advisors who haven't been to China themselves (which, as Theresa pointed out, is most of us) get a real advantage from having a supplier partner who prepares clients this thoroughly before departure.
Century also attends several industry events, including the Travel Agent Forum, GTM, Cruise World, and ASTA, so there are multiple opportunities to connect with their team in person.
Theresa is already planning to bring her own group to China with Century, and mentioned that future fam trips are in the works. If this destination is on your radar, or your clients', now is a good time to start building familiarity with the product and get in touch with their BDM directly.
Theresa and I covered a lot more in the actual conversation than what's captured here, including more detail on what a day-to-day on the trip looks like and why this product is such a strong fit for clients who've already done the obvious destinations.
