Genting World Dream Casino Ship Plots Maiden Voyage in Asian Gambling Seas

Posted on: September 19, 2017, 06:00h. 

Last updated on: September 19, 2017, 05:44h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The World Dream, a mammoth 151,000-ton ocean liner built for Genting Hong Kong, is complete and ready to set sail, adding a major new player to Asia’s casino landscape, or maybe seascape.

Genting’s World Dream, ready to set sail in November
Genting’s World Dream is almost ready for delivery, and will soon head to Hong Kong, where it intends to bring a floating luxury casino resort to high rollers in Macau. (Image: NOZ.de)

The 18-story boat left its construction shipyard in Germany in late August, and since then has floated down the River Ems to the North Sea for open-water trials before heading across the globe to what will be its dual home ports in Hong Kong and Nansha, Guangzhou, in the Pearl River Delta, which sits between Hong Kong and Macau.

World Dream will set sail on its maiden voyage from Hong Kong on Nov. 17 and Nansha Nov. 19.

Rising Tide for Asian VIPs

Like its sister vessel, Genting Dream, which sailed into operation in November last year, World Dream has been conceived as a floating high-end integrated casino resort. Its itinerary will take in many of Southeast Asia’s gaming hot spots. including Boracay and Manila in the Philippines and Ho Chi Minh and Nha Trang in Vietnam, as well as trips around the Pearl River Delta.

The vessel can accommodate 3,400 passengers and 2,030 crew members, with dozens of restaurants, bars, waterslides and an onboard gaming area called “Resorts World At Sea.”

Genting has been operating casino cruises in the region for 24 years through its Star Cruises fleet, making it the third-largest cruise line in the world. Dream Cruises was launched in 2016, specifically as a luxury cruise line “conceived and built for Asia,” according to GHK President Kent Zhu.

While Star Cruises tend to be cheap, cheerful, and family-friendly, Dream Cruises aim for palatial and pricey, serving a growing demand in the region for luxury, high-end experiences.

World Dream will include the “Dream Palace” experience, described as a “ship within a ship,” offering exclusive, luxury VIP area within a ship, with spacious accommodations, including garden penthouses, with private decks and a fleet of epicurean butlers.

Sister Ship Headed to Singapore

Meanwhile, the Genting Dream will be redeployed to Singapore, with new itineraries that take in North Bali and Surabaya, Indonesia, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia, and Phuket in Thailand.

“We are excited to welcome World Dream at her homeports in Hong Kong and Nansha this November to further grow the Pearl River Delta as a cruise centre and increase the FlyCruise market in this part of Asia,” said Zhu in a press release.