Resorts World Cruises Resurrects Genting Ship To Launch Its New Brand
Malaysian tycoon Lim Kok Thay, former head of the now-bankrupt Chinese corporation Genting Hong Kong, has announced the creation of a new cruise line called ‘Resorts World Cruises’ as an extension of his global hotel-casino brand, Resorts World.
In a recent press release, which hailed the new line as “a new Asian luxury and dynamic lifestyle cruise brand”, the newly-formed Resorts World Cruises revealed that it will make its debut with a June 15, 2022, sailing out of Singapore using a former Dream Cruises ship, the Genting Dream.
Genting subsidiaries Crystal Cruises, Star Cruises and Dream Cruises also went under in early 2022 when the company filed for insolvency after two of its ships were seized for unpaid fuel bills and it had already run out of money to refund customers for cruises canceled due to the pandemic.
According to Travel Weekly, the 18-deck, 150,695-gross-ton Genting Dream was delivered to Dream Cruises back in 2016 and can accommodate 3,352 guests at double occupancy. According to the new cruise line’s official release, the vessel boasts a “generous space ratio of 45 gross tons per passenger”, making her “the most spacious ship in Asia”.
Despite the pandemic-era collapse of Genting Hong Kong, hospitality brand Resorts World—which Lim also controls—remains, “a global brand with 46 properties in 8 countries spanning 4 continents, welcoming over 80 million visitors a year and served by more than 30,000 employees,” according to the release. Through it, the Malaysian billionaire appears to be resurrecting his former cruise business from the ashes.
“We started our cruise operations 30 years ago in Singapore and we are excited to again launch the first Resorts World Cruises in Singapore, the first country to re-open cruising in the region,” said Tan Sri KT Lim, Executive Chairman of Resorts World Cruises. “Resorts World Cruises will have its headquarters in Singapore and is committed to making Singapore the leading cruise hub in Asia.” He continued, “We also appreciate the support and trust of the Chinese leasing banks in allowing Resorts World Cruises to charter the Genting Dream.”
In its release, the new line said that “as a gesture of goodwill to thank our vacationers for their continuous support”, Resorts World Cruises will be issuing complimentary cruise credits to passengers affected by the cancellation of World Dream (another Dream Cruises ship) voyages between March 2 and August 31, 2022, in an amount equal to their canceled cruise.