Genting Kicks Off New Asian Luxury Cruise Brand
Genting Hong Kong’s latest vessel, the Genting Dream, has arrived in Hong Kong, kicking off the operations of what Genting bills as the city’s first home-ported luxury cruise brand.
That brand, Dream Cruises, will take advantage of the burgeoning demand for cruising in East Asia with runs between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, plus longer itineraries to Vietnamese ports.
The 3,400 passenger vessel is specifically designed to cater to Chinese and other Asian customers, and among other amenities, it has an onboard theater which will feature performances based on the TV contest "China's Got Talent."
Following a trend towards exclusive, separate high-end accommodations, the Dream will also feature a ship-within-a-ship: the "Dream Mansion" – two decks segregated from ordinary luxury accommodations and offering an even higher level of personal service. Dream Cruises says that the demand for these suites has been especially strong.
“We designed the ship essentially as a floating, luxury, integrated resort, and we are confident that Genting Dream will make her mark as the newest 'must-experience' vacation attraction for both local and international guests," said Dream Cruises president Thatcher Brown. "Genting Dream will cater to multigenerational families with all inclusive activities, the finest Asian and international dining and unforgettable entertainment, with service that is genuinely Asian at heart and international in spirit."
She has a sister ship in the works, World Dream, which will be delivered in late 2017.
Genting Hong Kong recently bought its own German shipyards – at Wismar, Warnemunde and Stralsund, now known collectively as MV Werften – and it has big plans for building out its fleet using their capacity. MV Werften will build four river ships for Genting's Crystal River Cruises over the next two years. It will also build two much bigger Global-class oceangoing ships in 2020 and 2021, plus an Endeavor-class expedition-size ship in 2019.