As part of an MoU between Genting Hong Kong and the Baoshan District Government, Genting Cruise Lines will deploy its new Global Class ship from the Dream Cruises fleet to Shanghai as her first homeport.
Genting Cruise Lines will also plan to establish a cruise related company in the Baoshan district under the agreement.
Said to be the largest cruise ship to homeport in Asia-Pacific, the Global Class vessel is scheduled to be delivered by the beginning of 2021.
“Genting Cruise Lines through its roster of brands, Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Crystal, has led the development of the cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific and China for the past 25 years. As the most popular cruise port in China and the fourth largest in the world, we value Shanghai as one of our strategic homeports and remain confident of the cruise market in the city,” commented Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Lines.
“Designed for the Asian market, the new ship will feature advanced technology, innovative itineraries and provide products to meet the needs of our Chinese guests.”
The ship was designed over three years and is currently being constructed at MV Werften, Genting Hong Kong’s own shipyard in Germany.
The largest cruise ship built in Germany, the Global Class will measure 342m long and 46.4m wide. With a capacity of 204,000 gross tons, the ship will be able to accommodate 5,000 passengers in 2,500 cabins based on a twin share basis – to meet peak season capacity needs in Asia – and feature a total life-saving capacity of up to 9,500 passengers.
The Global Class ships will use facial and voice recognition in many of its onboard services to eliminate most queues; contextual marketing to even out demand on ship facilities; automated robots to perform everyday tasks – allowing the staff to focus on service delivery – along with other artificial intelligent and digital systems.
Designed specifically for the rapidly growing Chinese and Asian cruise market, features on board the ship include a Cineplex, theme park, Asian spa, multiple authentic Asian dining experiences including fast-casual food outlets, and affordable shopping facilities in addition to luxury retail boutiques.
Paving the way for the Global Class, Dream Cruises will deploy its newest ship in Shanghai beginning from April 2019 with the 75,338-gross ton, 1,870-passenger Explorer Dream.
Explorer Dream will provide more cruise options for guests by opening up routes to include Russian ports of call in addition to popular destinations in Japan.
