Philippines welcomes World Dream
DOT assistant secretary Daniel Mercado and Dream Cruises president Thatcher Brown exchange tokens.
MANILA, Philippines — Over 2,600 passengers experienced the warmth and hospitality of the Filipinos as luxury cruise ship World Dream made its maiden call at Pier 15 of the Manila South Harbor.
“We welcome World Dream to the Philippine shores, the largest cruise ship for the year, as we continue to position the country as one of the major cruise hubs in Asia,” Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Wanda Teo said. “This milestone is another sign of the confidence and trust from cruise lines, especially Genting-Star Cruises.”
World Dream is the latest luxury cruise ship under the Dream Cruises brand, a subsidiary of Genting HK. It will offer 5-day cruise packages that will include stopovers in Manila and Boracay.
World Dream was launched recently at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong by Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman and CEO of Genting Group.
The 18-deck ship, with a speed of up to 24 knots, will have great flexibility to serve exciting Asian itineraries.
Built in 2016 by Meyer Werft in Germany, World Dream will grace the country’s seaports until March 28, 2018.
“As we broaden our cruise tourism portfolio with more exciting shore excursions and plans for our very own dedicated cruise port terminal, we continue to welcome more and more cruise passengers and bigger cruise ships for the years to come,” assistant secretary Daniel Mercado at the World Dream presentation at its Zodiac Theater.
An estimated 122,000 cruise passengers from 140 cruise calls are expected by the end of the year. This is over 90 percent increase from 72 cruise calls last year.
“With the introduction of World Dream, Dream Cruises is now a fleet with strong destination partners such as Manila. Dream Cruises is proud to be an exciting part of Genting Cruise lines’ leadership role in promoting the growing tourism and related industries throughout Asia and specifically the Philippines,” World Dream president Thatcher Brown said.
World Dream follows its sister company’s SuperStar Virgo which homeported in Manila and called at Laoag, Ilocos Norte early this year.
