SINGAPORE: A Genting Dream cruise ship en route back to Singapore had to be pulled to the dock due to technical issues, and an outbound trip to Port Klang was cancelled on Wednesday (May 2).
In a notice on its website, operator Dream Cruises said: “Due to technical issues, we are required to cancel Genting Dream’s two-night Port Klang cruise departing on 2 May 2018 at 2100.”
The company said it was giving passengers affected by the cancellation a full refund, including the cabin fare and port charges.
A tugboat can be seen in this photo taken from onboard the Genting Dream cruise ship. (Photo: Singapore Cruise Society)
It also said that as a “gesture of goodwill”, it was offering passengers a complimentary two-night weekday cruise valid until Nov 30 this year.
In a Facebook post, Singapore Cruise Society said that on its way back to Singapore, the Genting Dream cruise ship encountered technical issues related to its engines and had to engage four tugboats to pull it to the dock.
Genting Dream was docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre at 6.20pm, and guests disembarked while those expecting to board for their trip to Port Klang had to be “sent home”, according to another Facebook post.
Passengers were stranded at Marina Bay Cruise Centre after their Genting Dream trip to Port Klang was cancelled on Wednesday (May 2). (Photo: Aye Thida)
One of them, Ms Aye Thida, said she arrived at the cruise centre early at 2pm. Check-in for the trip was meant to be at 5pm, but she was told it would be late due to “engine problems”. “They only informed us after 4pm that it was cancelled. Before that we were just waiting there to check in,” she told Channel NewsAsia.
Ms Aye Thida, who paid S$1,030 for two people, said she was among more than 100 passengers who were turned away at the time.
She also said that she went to the Dream Cruises office when the compensation email had not arrived by Thursday morning.
“They said they would refund to my account within 10 weeks and also offered the complimentary cruise,” she said.
Ms Evelyn Chia, another passenger affected by the cancellation, wrote in a comment on the Cruise Society page: “The cancellation was so last minute, leaving thousands of people stranded at the cruise centre departure … Terrible experience.”
Channel NewsAsia has reached out to Dream Cruises for comment.
