One of Genting Dream’s 35 restaurant and bar concepts
EVERYTHING must be ‘premium’ on Asia’s first luxury cruise line, Dream Cruises, which is evaluating ground agents for land excursions as the first ship, Genting Dream, arrives in Singapore on November 4.
Michael Goh, senior vice president-sales, Star Cruises, said ground handlers for Dream might not necessarily be current partners handling sister Star Cruises, and the line was still open to bids from agents for the business.
“We’re in the process of appointing the right partners and it is a stringent (review) with aspects such as quality of tours and safety as top-of-mind. The agents might not be the same ones who handle Star; some of the ports are different, requiring different operators,” he told TTG Asia e-Daily at Dream’s launch last Wednesday.
Currently, the first ship is an opportunity for agents specialising in Hong Kong and Vietnam in particular. A second ship, Genting World, will debut in November next year, however, its homeport and itineraries are still under wraps.
Genting Dream will arrive in Singapore on November 4 and will offer a six-night cruise to Hong Kong through Vietnam, calling on Ho Chi Minh City Nha Trang and Danang. She will then be homeported in Guangzhou (Nansha port) and will offer two-, five- and seven-night Hong Kong and Vietnam cruises and fly/cruises from November 18 to March 26.
Bookings are now open with special launch fares commissionable to agents. A five-night Guanzhou-Danang-Halong Bay cruise is priced from S$1,070 (US$779) per person. However, the higher the price, the more all-inclusive benefits there will be.
In an interview, Thatcher Brown, Dream Cruises’ president, said price – and the associated value Dream offers – was the key that would separate Dream as Asia’s first luxury cruise line and define Dream’s clientele, 65 per cent of whom are expected to be wealthy mainland Chinese and the rest well-clad pan-Asian passengers.
His biggest competitor were not the other made-for-Chinese ships that are currently being built as international cruise lines seek to eke out a slice of the huge China cruise market for themselves; rather, it’s luxury land-based vacations, he said, pointing out a key purpose of Dream was to inspire more Asians to see cruising as a vacation alternative, enlarging the cruise market in the region.
Genting Dream’s Zouk
At the launch, Dream showed off a spanking upmarket new ship in Genting Dream, with bells-and-whistles that are on par with or better than equivalent class international ships and fitted out with facilities that are set to endear itself to Asians.
This includes no fewer than 35 restaurant and bar concepts, the largest spa at sea in the world, fireworks in open seas, a waterslide park, two submersibles, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Genting Hong Kong, which has acquired Zouk, Singapore’s premier entertainment brand, is also bringing the nightlife brand to the ocean for unforgettable parties day and night.
– Read our cruise report, Made for Chinese, TTG Asia June issue; also, the challenges of building Asia’s first luxury line, July issue
