On Friday, Dream Cruises by Genting Hong Kong, which also owns Star Cruises, launched its first vessel Genting Dream, touted as the first cruise ship to be built from scratch to cater to the Asian luxury market.
Among other attractions, it will host China’s Got Talent – The Dream Experience.
It is a 45-minute theatrical representation of the hit television series, and will feature the fifth season judges Vicki Zhao Wei, Liu Ye, Alec Su You Peng and Wang Wei Chung.
And for the first time, clubbers get to experience Zouk nightlife at sea, with an indoor dance club, a sports bar with billiards, a four-lane glow-in-the-dark bowling alley and an outdoor day and night party deck.
Last year, Singapore was the most visited port in Asia, but this year, it dropped to the third place with 391 scheduled calls.
South Korea’s Jeju Island and China’s Baoshan, Shanghai, surpass Singapore with 460 and 437 calls scheduled .
Nonetheless, in February, the Singapore Tourism Board highlighted the cruise industry as a key growth area.
The number of cruise passengers passing through Singapore has risen by 14 per cent year-on-year to 1 million people.
The mixed outlook for Singapore’s cruise industry does not deter some cruise operators from launching and homeporting new ships here this year and next year.
International cruise line Royal Caribbean has seen an average of 10 per cent growth in guest numbers on Singapore sailings every year since the cruise line started its regular homeporting seasons here in 2007.
It is expecting a stronger growth of 20 per cent this year and even 30 per cent next year, driven by longer seasons and larger ships.
In June, it deployed a brand new ship, the Ovation of the Seas, to Asia for homeporting in Singapore from March next year.
The US$1 billion (S$1.38 billion) ship, which took 18 months to build, can accommodate 4,905 guests in 2,090 staterooms.
It offers smart frills such as the Bionic Bar, where robotic hands mix and serve drinks in just a minute.
Its top deck houses a glass capsule called North Star that rises nearly 100m above sea level and rotates out over the sides of the ship to provide 360-degree views.
Since its 2017 March-April Singapore season opened for sale in June, it is almost 50 per cent booked, says its spokesman.
Doing particularly well are the school holiday sailings on March 11 and March 15, as well as a 12-night Singapore-Tianjin one-way cruise in April.
Says Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) head of sales Mona Foo: “There is plenty onboard for guests of all ages to enjoy. More locals are becoming aware of the great value-for-money highly inclusive packages and unbeatable convenience of unpacking only once on a trip to multiple destinations.
BIONIC BAR
The Bionic Bar, where robotic hands mix and serve drinks in just a minute. PHOTO: ROYAL CARIBBEAN SINGAPORE
“We believe that it’s a matter of time before cruising becomes one of the top vacation options among Singaporeans.”
Passenger capacity in Asia is expected to grow by 39 per cent year-on-year from 2016 to 2017, surpassing the current 3 million passenger record for the first time, says Mr Farriek Tawfik, quoting a Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
The Princess Cruises’ director of Southeast Asia says: “Cruising is becoming an ideal first choice, rather than an alternative vacation option.
“A booming consumer market and rise of the affluent group continue to drive demand for cruise travel in this region.”
His company is deploying the Diamond Princess here from this month to March next year.
“We saw high customer satisfaction for our first two homeporting seasons in Singapore, and are excited to be deploying in Southeast Asia for a third season,” he said.
Among the ship’s features is the Izumi Japanese bath – the largest Japanese bath at sea – and the Kai sushi bar. “Japanese experiences have always been a perennial favourite for guests in Singapore,” he adds.
