The former CEO of bankrupt Genting Cruise Lines makes a comeback with Resorts World Cruises and the Genting Dream cruise ship.

Cruising in Asia is making a comeback, as is the former CEO of Genting Cruises. A new cruise line owned by Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay will start operations on June 15. Sailing from homeport Singapore, Genting Dream will offer guests 2-3 day cruises.

The news is somewhat controversial after Lim Kok Thay left Genting Hong Kong after the company was forced to cease operations due to financial issues, which caused luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises to dissolve.

Asia’s Newest Cruise Line

In March, Lim Kok Thay registered a new business in Singapore, which announced it would be launching a new cruise line, Resorts World Cruises.

The new cruise line will set sail from its homeport Singapore on June 15, operating Dream Cruises ship Genting Dream. The company is leasing the vessel from a consortium of banks that now own the assets of the collapsed cruise company.

The cruise line is already taking bookings for the cruises to nowhere from June 15. The company also announced plans to start operating cruises to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia from September 30. Since the global pause in operations, it would be the first cruise line to begin operating longer cruises with ports of call in Asia.

There is good news for those guests who had booked a cruise onboard World Dream sailing from Singapore between March 2 and August 31 this year. They will all receive a complimentary cruise credit for the amount they paid for the voyage if they have not already received a refund from their original booking.

Mr. Michael Goh, president and head of international sales of Resorts World Cruises, said the following: “For example, if they paid $1,000, we will give them $1,000 of cruise credit, and they can come on board and cruise between June 15 and March 2023. We are giving them a long period of time to decide when they want to come back.”

Resorts World Cruises

As thousands of customers were left stranded and demanding refunds earlier this year, Resorts World Cruises is looking to revive the company under a different name and structure.

It has already announced it would look into the possibility of acquiring or leasing the cruise line’s other ships, World Dream and Explorer Dream.

However, it does recognize there is a significant amount of distrust towards what is essentially the same company operating from a different country. Resorts World Cruises will be operating entirely different from what is the norm in the industry to regain some of that trust.

For starters, all payments from customers will be kept in a separate account that will be used only before the cruise commences:

“The practice of all cruise companies is to use the cash for working capital purposes. But we have changed the practice to make sure whatever funds are paid will be kept in cash, and if the cruise itinerary is not performed, then the money will be refunded to customers,” said Mr. Colin Au, chief executive of Resorts World Cruises.

Looking To Revive Dream Cruises

While the new cruise line is not named the same, it has many of the same management as Genting Hong Kong, the company responsible for the demise of legendary luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises.

Resorts World Cruises executive chairman Lim Kok Thay said in a statement: “We started our cruise operations 30 years ago in Singapore and we are excited to again launch the first Resorts World Cruises in Singapore, the first country to reopen cruising in the region. Resorts World Cruises will have its headquarters in Singapore and is committed to making Singapore the leading cruise hub in Asia”

Resorts World Cruises is owned by Two Trees Family, which is a brand of Resorts World. Resorts World is owned by the former owner CEO of Genting Hong Kong, Lim Kok Thay.

Michael Goh, the president and head of international sales of Resorts World Cruises, is the former president of Dream Cruises and head of global sales for Genting Cruise Lines.