Asia’s newest cruise brand Resorts World Cruises officially began operating when its first ship – the 3,352-guest Genting Dream – sailed out of Singapore on 15 June 2022. Since then, it has been working hard to achieve its aim of spurring the growth of Asia’s luxury cruise sector. “As a homegrown Asian brand, we aspire to take Asian hospitality to the next level, going above and beyond to deliver personalised lifestyle experiences with international offerings for our guests,” says Michael Goh, president of Resorts World Cruises. “With this aim as the core foundation of the business, we strive to create human connections and strong relationships with our guests, and complement and enhance these with our itineraries and destination offerings.” “One of our brand hallmarks is that we provide exceptional short getaway destination cruises that are infused with exciting and relevant offerings to deliver holistic experiences from ship to shore,” says Goh. “Of course, our ship itself is also a resort at sea too.” To ensure it could deliver such cruises, the brand carefully considered Genting Dream’s homeports and ports of call. “There are many elements that make ports an attractive and viable option for cruise ships, but finding one with the right infrastructure is crucial,” says Goh. “Ports should have good facilities for berthing or tendering ships, processing passengers during embarkation and disembarkation, bunkering, sourcing food, and much more. In addition, we want ports that have well-equipped terminals and provide easy access to both local transport and popular tourist attractions.” Resorts World Cruises chose dual homeports for Genting Dream, which now sails weekly two- and three-night cruises from both Singapore and Port Klang, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. “We wanted to boost Singapore’s inbound and outbound tourism and bring cruising to the doorsteps of Malaysians residing in central Peninsular Malaysia by enabling them to depart from Kuala Lumpur, which is convenient and affordable,” says Goh. “Not only are Singapore and Kuala Lumpur dual homeports for Genting Dream, but they are also major tourist destinations themselves. Guests embarking at either port will have the chance to visit both cities during their cruise, as well as Penang on three-night itineraries.” Resorts World Cruises has elevated guests’ onshore experiences by curating shore excursions that capture the unique essence of each destination. In Singapore, for example, guests can take tours that enable them to try the country’s unique cuisine, shop on the famous Orchard Road, or discover the diversity of Asian culture by visiting the traditional ethnic enclaves, including Chinatown, Little India and Kampon Glam, among others. Meanwhile, excursions in Kuala Lumpur enable guests to see landmarks such as the Petronas Towers, sample street food at Jalan Imbi, learn about Peranakan culture in Melaka, head to the Batu Caves, visit Pulau Ketam fishing village, take a boat trip to the Unesco World Heritage site of Langkawi, and much more. PL ANNER PERSPECTI VE Aiming high in Asia Rebecca Gibson asks Michael Goh how Resorts World Cruises’ itineraries from Singapore and Malaysia are helping it to achieve its goal of driving the growth of the region’s luxury cruise market A cruise guest poses with one of Penang’s famous hand-painted murals 5 6
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