Cruising Is Back: What It's Like to Sail on the 'Maiden Voyage' of Genting Dream

As countries are starting to open their borders to tourists in the region, the recently rebranded Resorts World Cruises celebrated its first sailing last June 15. Esquire Philippines was on board the 'maiden voyage of the Genting Dream uner a new cruise line brand. The ship sailed to high seas from her homeport in Singapore, welcoming over 1,000 guests on board. The occasion heralds Resorts World Cruises’ arrival as a new Asian luxury and dynamic lifestyle cruise brand dubbed as ‘Resorts Cruising at Sea.’ 

Genting Dream

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

“On behalf of Resorts World Cruises, I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards Singapore Tourism Board and the relevant authorities, our travel partners and valuable customers for their continuous support in making today’s sailing and launch a success,” said Resorts World Cruises President Michael Goh, who is a familiar face in the cruise industry. “We look forward to creating more unique and memorable experiences for our guests with each cruise voyage from ship to shore.”

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Built in 2016, the ship itself is fairly new and came from Genting HK. Resorts World Cruises took over the ship, which sailed under the previous brand Genting Cruises. 

“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, Goh said.

“Resorts World Cruises will have its headquarters in Singapore and is committed to making Singapore the leading cruise hub in Asia,” said Tan Sri KT Lim, executive chairman of Resorts World Cruises. “We also appreciate the support and trust of the Chinese leasing banks in allowing Resorts World Cruises to charter the Genting Dream.”

Inside one of the Palace Suites

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

We spent a quiet afternoon with Goh as he shared his insights and the current challenges in the industry, how he plans to steer his new company back to profitability in the new normal, and what to expect from the Resorts World Cruises experience. Here’s a few things we learned:

More jobs for Filipinos

About 40 percent of the ship’s crew of 1,650 are Filipinos. This means over 660 new jobs for our seafaring kababayans in the marine service industry. Goh says that this is just the beginning.

“We cannot just operate with one ship, we will have more ships in the coming years,” he said. Filipino crews are considered one of the best in the service industry since they communicate well and put a lot of heart in their work, Goh added. 

Some cabins offer adjoining rooms for passengers traveling together as families

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

Brisk sales

Goh said the new cruise brand is showing much promise and that he is pleased about the sales performance of RWC. He revealed the company has so far sold over 20,000 cabins from June 2022 until March 2023. 

“We are very encouraged by that,” he said. “All our business partners from Malaysia, Philippines, India, Thailand and Singapore are very excited about this development.” Goh also said that once the company starts to have more ships, they would bring back sailings to the Philippines as well. Manila was one of the ship’s previous port-of-calls. Adding that the weather-dependent and seasonal nature of the PH market creates some opportunities.

The 360 Bar offers daily entertainment

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

Filipino passengers are the best

Goh said that Filipinos know how to enjoy and make the most out of cruising.

“I would see groups of 10 to 20 Filipino passengers having fun and making up their own activities and even wearing the same type of clothes,” he said. “They even have pajama parties on board and really know how to have fun.”

Sailing market is getting younger and more diversified

Because of the pandemic, the cruising industry began to tap younger travelers who previously did not consider cruising to be a travel choice. Goh said that these passengers have begun to discover that there are many fun things to do while travelling on a cruise. The Genting Dream, for instance, has 35 restaurants and bars, entertainment shows, spa treatments, a fully equipped gym, bowling lanes, zip lines, and even a six-slide waterpark and pools.

“We are the only Halal food certified cruise line in the market,” Goh added. This opens up a huge market to travelers with special dining needs previously not available in any sailing markets.  

Palace Suite passengers have a private pool deck

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

New normal is almost normal

Passengers are required to get an antigen test 24 hours before boarding the ship. This makes guests feel more confident and allows ship management to impose lesser restrictions while sailing. Wearing of masks is only required indoors and there are sanitizers in every corner of the restaurants and facilities. There are many open spaces like the pool deck, and al fresco dining areas one can feel safe to relax and just chill.

Genting Dream has received Singapore’s very stringent CruiseSafe certification, which operates with high standards in safety and precautionary measures in accordance with international guidelines. 

This ship is huge

Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream is a mega cruise ship. The 18-deck ship weighs 150,695 gross tons and can accommodate as many as 3,352 passengers. With a space ratio of 45 gross tons per passenger, it is considered the most spacious cruise ship in Asia. And with a crew of 1,650, Resorts World Cruises says it will have the best service with the most crew per passenger compared with any other ship in the region.

There are various types of cabins consisting of Interior staterooms, Oceanview staterooms and Balcony staterooms for that stunning panoramic view at sea. There are also 142 exclusive Palace Suites, which is a ‘luxury ship-within-a-ship’ at the top deck, including their very own exclusive restaurant, bar, sundeck, spa, gym and other facilities with butler service. Genting Dream says that with this, it plans to cater to a wide demographic that will provide an international cruise experience exceeding its peers.

RWC further says that it aims to position itself as the leading and best cruise line in the region for Asian and internationally sourced passengers, providing diverse international experiences, which can also be customized by every traveler.  

Photo by Resorts World Cruises.

This July, Genting Dream will launch its sailings from Singapore to Bintan and Batam islands in Indonesia; to Kuala Lumpur and Malacca (via Port Dickson) and Penang in Malaysia. It also announced more sailings from 30 September 2022 - 28 April 2023 Departures, including the following:

• 5-Night Penang / Phuket / Langkawi / Port Klang Cruise (Sun)
• 5-Night Surabaya / North Bali Cruise (Sun)
• 5-Night Malacca / Penang / Phuket Cruise (Sun)
• 3-Night Penang / Langkawi Cruise (Sun)
• 3-Night Phuket Cruise (Sun)
• 2-Night Malacca (Port Dickson) Cruise (Wed)
• 2-Night Port Klang Cruise (Wed)
• 2-Night Bintan Cruise (Fri)

For more information, visit www.rwcruises.com