Double the fun

Double the fun

Genting adds a new cruise ship and a second home port to diversify offerings to a pan-Asian market.

The 3,400-passenger World Dream, the second ship in the fleet of the Genting Hong Kong affiliate Dream Cruises, made its debut in November last year. Photo: Robert Carlo Fiebak
The 3,400-passenger World Dream, the second ship in the fleet of the Genting Hong Kong affiliate Dream Cruises, made its debut in November last year. Photo: Robert Carlo Fiebak

Sailing on the equivalent of a floating Macau, viewing spectacular shows and enjoying all-day indoor and outdoor entertainment are par for the course on the new generation of cruises serving the growing Asian leisure travel market.

Arriving at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong for a voyage on the World Dream, one witnesses numerous Chinese families of all ages dancing to music that I am incapable of understanding, but it still puts a smile on my face.

Finding a place to watch English football or a mini mart with familiar items might be a stretch, but electronic payment cards will cover whatever we need, and in any case most passengers are fixated on what show to take in next: will it be dancing, music or magic?

Other activities to keep you busy during the daytime include a mid-sized water park, wall-climbing, ziplining, virtual-reality games, mini-golf and basketball. Nighttime means live bands and full-on dining while the card, dice and slot machines are rolling 24-7.

It you're looking for a quiet place to get away, being on a high-end cruise is not one of them. But if you are willing to pay extra, you can get your own butler along with separate access to a more exclusive pool on the bow of the ship next to the helicopter pad.

Rooms on the World Dream range from around 12,000 baht for an inside cabin with no view on a two-night cruise during the normal season, to about 200,000 baht for a penthouse suite on a five-night cruise to the Philippines or Vietnam during the peak season.

Most of the passengers are from mainland China and Hong Kong, where the ship has its home port next to the old airport. The World Dream, with a capacity of 3,400 passengers, made its maiden voyage in November, 12 months after the debut of its sister ship the Genting Dream. Both belong to Dream Cruises, operated by Genting Hong Kong, part of the Malaysia-based Genting Group. This partly explains why Dream Cruises made Singapore the home port for the Genting Dream, while the World Dream is seeking customers from other Asian countries.

Attractions aboard the World Dream include a water slide, children's water park and a mammoth bar. pHOTOS: Robert Carlo Fiebak

"We are defining our offerings and services to different market segments because this ship is built with all of our Asian customers in mind. When the Genting Dream was launched we also made certain changes to make it more suitable for an Asean clientele," said Kent Zhu, the president of Genting Cruise Lines. "For this ship (World Dream), food is a very important part of it as we offer various kinds of Chinese cuisine but we also have a seafood restaurant, a Japanese-style teppanyaki and a Korean barbecue restaurant. Things like this are what we are trying to change and adapt to the new marketplace," he told reporters on board the World Dream at its launch in November.

Mr Zhu said 88% of Dream Cruises' passengers were either from mainland China or Hong Kong and the rest were from elsewhere in Asia, adding that the company was looking to further diversify and expand its passenger base and routes.

"We are also trying to open up our family segment as well as the young segment, as you can see there more adventurous facilities on this ship," he added.

The company says Singapore makes an ideal cruise gateway for the Genting Dream because of strong transport links to the Asean region with modern port infrastructure. It sees huge opportunities to expand fly-cruise travel options via the city-state for wealthier Asian travellers.

Attractions aboard the World Dream include a water slide, children's water park and a mammoth bar. pHOTOS: Robert Carlo Fiebak

Dream Crises is the pioneer in its field in Asia, tracing its origins back to 1993 when Genting Cruise Lines introduced its Star Cruises brand in Singapore.

"From the geographical perspective, I can see that [the market] is getting more diverse while on the one hand we also see the development of the fly-cruise market and that is a very important segment for Singapore and Hong Kong," said Mr Zhu.

The number of Mice (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) passengers is also growing. Corporate customers can enjoy all the facilities on board a cruise before or after attending meetings in Hong Kong.

Genting also expects to capitalise on its land-based properties such as Zouk Club in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to attract a younger demographic.

Genting Hong Kong and its Genting Cruise Lines division, which comprises Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Crystal, now operates in 21 cities in 10 countries. Popular destinations include Boracay and Manila in the Philippines; Da Nang, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang (Cam Ranh) in Vietnam; Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, North Bali, Penang, Phuket, Singapore and Surabaya.

The World Dream doubles the capacity for Dream Cruises and its debut was well received in its new home port with notable participants at the debut including the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

A boat sails past the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Since the Genting Dream began serving the Pearl River Delta a year earlier, it had provided some 300,000 international passenger trips from across the region, Mrs Lam noted. She said the World Dream represented a major milestone in Hong Kong's rise as a cruise ship hub, as the biggest cruise ship to call Hong Kong its year-round home.

"The number of ship calls in Hong Kong this year (2017) will reach an all-time high of about 250, with passenger throughput hitting a record-breaking 850,000," she said. "That welcome news would not be possible without the support of Genting Hong Kong and other cruise lines, along with our travel trade partners and the Hong Kong Tourism Board."

Mr Zhu said that because cruising attracts a high proportion of repeat customers, operators need to constantly provide new experiences. World Dream is counting on offerings such as its new signature stage production, Sonio, featuring aerobic stunts, dancing against the backdrop of a storyboard rich with 3D visuals along with laser light and magic shows. State-of-the-art Vesaro car racing simulators, groundbreaking fireworks displays and Himalayan salt-stone massage are other firsts you can try at sea.

After more than a year of promoting Dream Cruises to high-end travellers, the best response is still coming from the mainland and Hong Kong but passenger numbers are growing from Singapore and Asean. Partnerships between Genting Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board and Changi Airport Group will further promote the city-state as a tourist destination for both cruises and the fly-cruise market. The marketing partnership, which runs from until 2020, is expected to bring in 600,000 overseas visitors and at least S$250 million in tourism receipts.

"With the existence of our fleet, our main focus will be the Pearl River Delta area but we have already started to deploy in Shanghai with Star Cruises and we are planning to visit Tianjin as well as we see opportunities in both regions," said Mr Zhu.

Apart from showcasing Asia's first laser and fireworks display at sea, the World Dream was also the only cruise ship chosen to take part in Hong Kong's revamped Symphony of Lights, becoming a 300-metre long, 18-deck canvas for laser shows every Friday.

If you have never been on a cruise ship, you will certainly get to see it if you visit Hong Kong's outdoor audio-visual feast. Failing that, there are plenty of chances that a new cruise experience will be calling at a port near you very soon.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT