The new cruise brand Carnival Corporation & plc's British holding company Carnival plc and its two Chinese business partners will launch in China could be based on the model of AIDA Cruises, the Carnival group's German brand, said Alan Buckelew, COO of Carnival Corporation & plc.

"We think there's an opportunity for an AIDA type brand, more focused on the Chinese market than international but we need to do research on that. In many categories, products made in China are not seen as having the same value and quality as those abroad. Services are a different animal than products," Buckelew said at a conference call today.

AIDA Cruises features food market type dining, with table service alternative dining options at an extra charge.

"This new brand won't be of any scale for five to 10 years. Initially it won't have any impact. We think that developing the China market is a very positive thing for the cruise industry. It opens up a large, vibrant market. Allows us to further diversify our sourcing."

Moving on to recent news about China's economic setbacks, Buckelew said: "The best proxy for us is outbound tourism, up 12% this year. Our yields remain strong. We put our ships where we can earn the most money. We made that investment with Costa where we were willing to take losses. We don't take losses for strategic growth anymore. The beauty of our industry is if China was to slow down we could move our ships somewhere else