Luxury cruise targets Asian travelers
By Zsarlene B. Chua
HONG KONG-BASED cruise and resort operator, Genting Hong Kong, has launched the upscale sister to its 23-year-old Star Cruises line in hopes to tap the “large and rapidly-growing high-end market in Asia,” according to a company press release.
Dream Cruises, which the company touts as the “first-ever Asian luxury cruise line,” will be welcoming its first ship, Genting Dream, which is expected to arrive in Singapore on Nov. 4 for a two-night High Seas cruise, followed by a six-night cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong. Both cruise itineraries will include Singapore and will take the ship from Hong Kong, to parts of South China and Vietnam for trips spanning two nights to five nights.
Dream Cruises expects 60% of its customers to come from China while 40% will come from other Asian countries.
“From where we port our ship in Hong Kong is one-and-a-half hours away from the Philippines, so the Philippines for sure is a very potential market. Out of the 40%, I would say that there is a good percentage coming from the Philippines,” Michael Goh, senior vice-president for sales at Genting Hong Kong, told BusinessWorld shortly after the launch on Oct. 18 at Shangri-La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City.
“We classify this as one of the key source markets for our international [market] because it’s nearby and I think in terms of [the rise of] middle-income and affluent high-net-worth individuals in the Philippines, [the country] has been leading the last two years,” he added.
The ship — with a hull adorned with art by Chinese pop artist Jacky Tsai called Voyage of a Lover’s Dream showing the fantastical love story of a mermaid and an astronaut — weighs 151,300 gross tons and cost €1 billion to make according to Mr. Goh. It will be able to accommodate 3,400 guests along with 2,000 crew members, and will include 1,674 staterooms (“more than a hundred” of which, said Mr. Goh, will be connecting rooms for families), 1,100 square-meters of luxury retail space and 35 food and beverage outlets, including a bistro by Australian chef Mark Best and a Johnnie Walker House.
The ship will also include a “ship-within-a-ship” concept as it offers the “Dream Palace” for those who would want to spend their vacation in luxurious suites featuring “European-style butler service” and special guest privileges.
The Genting Dream has pools, six water slides, play rooms, a rock-climbing wall, and a Zouk nightclub on board. It will also offer two submersibles for those who want to go under the sea.
“Dream Cruises aims to be a pacesetter in the cruise industry in the region, With the finest Asian and international dining, exceptional service, enthralling entertainment and inspirational experiences, Dream Cruises aims to redefine vacation travel with a transformational journey at sea,” said Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises, in a statement.
Aside from the Genting Dream, Dream Cruises is scheduled to welcome another ship roughly at the same time next year — the World Dream, and that it will be the extent of the Dream Cruises fleet for now.
“I think for Dream Cruises, presently we’re planning on two ships, as of now because I think it’s [a] progress[ion]: we bring the Genting Dream first and then [in] 2017 we bring in the World Dream,” said Mr. Goh.
“We still have not decided yet [on the World Dream’s route] because we’re still kind of exploring what the itinerary would be… in terms of business, we don’t rule out any possibilities… but the first thing is we have to get our platform right — we started in Asia and we had the first ship in Asia and the rest we will be exploring further,” he added.
For more information about Dream Cruises, contact a travel agent, or visit dreamcruiseline.com; call (+632) 836-6830 to 32; or e-mail salesmanila@starcruises.com.
