Genting HK’s World Dream Sold to Cruise Saudi and Renamed Manara
The last cruise ship from the former Genting Hong Kong operation, Dream Cruises’ World Dream, has been sold in Singapore. Details have not yet been released but local observers are indicating that the vessel was renamed Manara today while still in the Singapore anchorage and re-registered with a new homeport of Majuro, Marshall Islands.
Singapore’s High Court listed the cruise ship among the assets sold as of February 24. A spokesperson for the court confirmed the sale saying the details would be published as an official notice in the Singapore Government Gazette on March 3.
Built in 2017 by Meyer Werft, the 150,700 gross ton World Dream was largely based on a design developed for Norwegian Cruise Line. Genting Hong Kong has taken control of Norwegian as an investor in 1999 starting a revitalization of the U.S.-cruise brand building a series of ships at Meyer Werft. Norwegian introduced the Norwegian Breakaway in 2013 and a sister ship the Norwegian Getaway in 2014. Genting Hong Kong ordered two nearly identical ships named Genting Dream and World Dream which were used in 2016 and 2017 in Asia to launch the company’s new brand Dream Cruises. The cruise line suspended operations early in 2022 after the financial collapse of Genting Hong Kong.
While the identity of the buyer of the cruise ship has not yet been confirmed the rumor is that she will begin sailing in the Middle East being linked to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build a cruise operation as part of its expanding focus on tourism. Al Manara is the name of a luxury hotel in Aqaba, Jordan. DNV, the ship's class society, reflects that the ship is now being managed by Columbia Cruise Services although the registered owner remains the same on the listing.
Cruise Saudi recently announced a joint venture with the luxury hotel and resort Aman Group to build a yacht cruise ship in Italy. Saudi Arabia had previously said it is targeting having five cruise ports operating in the country and surpassing one million cruise passengers by 2028.
The World Dream came under the control of the Singapore court in May 2022 as the liquidators worked to resolve the bankruptcy of Genting Hong Kong. The ship was arrested by KfW IPEX-Bank in March 2022 as the financial institution that had financed the construction of the ship for Genting HK.
The cruise ship was surveyed in October 2022 while in a warm lay-up and being maintained in the Singapore anchorage. The report indicated that she was in excellent condition and ready to resume operations. However, a December auction conducted by the sheriff of Singapore failed to produce a buyer.
Speculation had centered on Resort World Cruises, which was launched in June 2022 by Malaysian businessman Tan Sri KT Lim, the founder of Genting. The new cruise line was the successor to Dream Cruises including chartering the sister ship Genting Dream, which Genting HK had previously sold to an investment group of Chinese banks. Resort World Cruises however recently added a second ship chartering the former Explorer Dream which had also been operated by Dream Cruises.
The sale of the World Dream completes the vessel sales with the ships from sister cruise line Star Cruises sold for scrap, except for a smaller ship which will be operated by a charity. The ocean cruise ships and the Crystal Cruises band were sold to new investors, while a German start-up acquired the river cruise ships. The new build Global Dream was sold to Disney Cruise Line which plans to introduce it in 2025 while the blocks that were to have been used to build Global Dream II were sold for scrap.