Genting to launch world's biggest cruise liners in Singapore from 2020

Singapore

A NEW fleet of 10 cruise ships will be launched over the next few years, with the first of the batch to berth in Singapore in 2020, said Lim Kok Thay, chairman and chief executive officer at Genting, on the sidelines of Genting Cruise Lines' 25th anniversary celebrations on Friday.

The vessels will be part of the Genting Dream line and are set to become the world's largest by capacity, with each one to carry about 9,500 passengers. This edges out current record holder Royal Carribean's Symphony of the Seas, which can carry nearly 9,000 people.

The ships will also be built much faster than the industry's current rate, thanks to Genting having bought its own shipyards in 2016.

"It solves the supply and demand equation for the cruise industry. Cruises have such a huge demand, but the problem is that there is no supply of ships to meet that demand," said Mr Lim.

"If you order a ship today, you won't see it till eight to 10 years from today, that's how bad the order book is. That's the main reason why we're forced to buy our own shipyard."

Genting's shipyards, located in Germany, can almost halve that time by building a ship within five years, with subsequent ships in the series expected to take just a year each, according to Mr Lim.

Genting is looking to capture a slice of Asia's burgeoning cruise pie, driven in particular by a growing middle class in China and India.

Cruise passenger numbers in Asia hit 4 million in 2017, up 20 per cent from the year before, and are expected to rise with incomes, according to a study by Cruise Lines International Association this year.

"With 900 million of the next one billion middle class expected to come from Asia, you can see that the requirement for a comprehensive vacation experience at a very affordable price has a lot of room to grow," said Mr Lim.

He added that Singapore would play a key role in the company's plans: "We are ready to position more ships in Singapore as part of our expansion programme."

Offhand, he was unable to place a dollar value on potential economic benefits, but Senior Minister of State for Industry and Trade and Education Chee Hong Tat said a three-year tourism partnership, signed in 2017 between Singapore Tourism Board, Changi Airport Group and Genting Cruise Lines, is expected to bring in 600,000 overseas visitors and more than S$250 million in tourism receipts.

Mr Chee was speaking as guest of honour at the celebrations which took place aboard Genting's Dream cruise ship, which features private luxury suites and butler services for the well-heeled.

The Genting chief is confident the company's initial recipe for success will continue to appeal to consumers.

"As I enter the Singapore cruise centre today, there's only two ships and its chock-a-block," he said. "It's more a question of value for money and the experience that is created."

Recounting how Genting revived ailing Norwegian Cruise Line in 2000 in its first foray into cruising, Mr Lim said Genting has built its cruises on "excellent service and using new and innovative ships to create a different experience from competitors".

More importantly, he said Genting set itself apart by introducing a "freestyle" concept of cruise vacationing, which allowed passengers to eat and do whatever they liked, whenever they liked - compared to the "regimented" way competitors looked at the market.

Currently, Genting's North American cruise business outstrips that in Asia, Mr Lim said. "But if we do it right, we can close the gap considerably."

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