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Dream Cruises’ World Dream vessel to cease operations on Mar 2

Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong files to wind up company

"CASE would like to renew our call on the Government to review sectors where consumers are susceptible to prepayment losses, and consider mandating prepayment protection in these sectors," said Mr Yong, noting consumers here had reported more than S$3 million in prepayment losses since 2019.

Consumers who have paid by credit card and wish to get back their prepayments or deposits can file a chargeback request with their banks within 120 days of the transaction. Mr Yong said these consumers will need to provide supporting documents such as booking details and payment receipt to support the request.

"We strongly urge Dream Cruises to prioritise the interests of all affected customers, who should reach out to the company, their respective travel agents or booking platforms regarding the status of their booking," said Singapore Tourism Board cruise director Annie Chang.

Ms Chang added that consumers with applicable travel insurance should also approach their insurance providers for assistance, while those without such insurance can consider approaching CASE.

CNA has contacted Genting Hong Kong for more information.

Genting Hong Kong, which is part of Malaysia's Genting Group, reported in May a net loss of US$1.7 billion in 2020 amid travel restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Genting Hong Kong owns the Star Cruises and Dream Cruises lines, which serve the Asia Pacific region, as well as the Miami-based luxury Crystal Cruises line.

The cruise operator said in January that it faced potential cross-default amounting to US$2.78 billion, following the insolvency of its German shipbuilding subsidiary .

Both chairman and CEO Lim Kok Thay, as well as deputy CEO Au Fook Yew, resigned in January .

A dream becomes a nightmare – no more “Dream Cruises” as Genting Hong Kong faces bankruptcy

On 18 January 2022, Hong Kong-listed cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Limited ('Genting HK') filed for provisional liquidation with the Supreme Court of Bermuda after it failed to secure access to liquidity. Provisional liquidators have then been appointed for the restructuring of Genting HK.

Genting HK started “Star Cruises” in Hong Kong in the early 1990s. As a leader in Asia’s modern cruise industry, it surprised the cruise industry in 1999 by making a successful bid to acquire U.S.-based Norwegian Cruise Line which was struggling, and successfully revived it. Several cruise brands were launched in the 2010s, including “Dream Cruises” in China, making it one of the biggest cruise operators in the world.

Pandemic effects

Like most cruise companies, Genting HK struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. While other major cruise operators have resumed sailings as the pandemic restrictions eased, Hong Kong’s COVID-zero policy hampered Genting HK’s recovery.

In August 2020, Genting HK was forced to suspend all payments to creditors in an effort to shore up its liquidity. As it could not meet creditors’ demands, its wholly-owned German shipbuilding subsidiary, MV Werften Holdings was pushed into liquidation. On 10 January 2022, MV Werften Holdings announced its insolvency after rescue package negotiations with the German government failed. The developments in Germany triggered a cross-default of Genting HK’s US$2.78 billion borrowings which led to it filing for provisional liquidation.

What's next

This marks the highest-profile financial casualty within the cruise industry since the start of the pandemic. Given the global scale of Genting HK’s business, it will be intriguing to see how the insolvency proceedings in multiple jurisdictions play out.

Find out more

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GHK-Genting's Dream Cruises files for liquidation

Dream Cruises filed a winding-up petition with the courts in Bermuda on January 27, 2022, making it the latest part of the Malaysian holding Genting Hong Kong (GHK) to succumb to the parent company's financial troubles.

A week after GHK, currently facing insolvency on an inability to cover debts, said Dream Cruises would continue operations to “protect core assets and maintain value”, the company has been forced to change course following the appointment of provisional liquidators to the group.

In the Friday filing, GHK said that the appointment of the provisional liquidators had triggered further insolvency events of default or termination events under all of the debt instruments of Dream Cruises Holding Ltd. and its subsidiaries.

The Dream Cruises board filed a petition with the Bermuda Court for the winding up of the company and the appointment of the provisional liquidators currently working with its parent.

However, GHK said it maintained that view that a “consensual restructuring” was preferred over a terminal sinking of the business. This, it said, would present higher recoveries to all creditors and stakeholders in comparison with a value-destructive liquidation of the Dream Sub-Group, which was the likely alternative outcome.

Dream Cruises has 3 ships in its fleet, with sailings from Hong Kong , Singapore , and Taiwan.

Another GHK-owned subsidiary, Crystal Cruises , has suspended operations, forcing one of its ships to divert to the Bahamas mid-voyage to avoid being seized by US Marshalls at PortMiami Florida .

Dream Cruises files to be wound up amid parent company woes

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Cruise operator Dream Cruises has filed to be wound up, following its parent company Genting Hong Kong's woes.

This comes two weeks after the operator said it will continue operating cruises here, even after its parent company Genting Hong Kong filed to be wound up last month.

Genting Hong Kong had failed to secure funding to help it stay afloat following the insolvency of its German shipbuilding subsidiary.

Dream Cruises is one of the operators running cruises to nowhere in Singapore. It had temporarily suspended new bookings which was slated to end on Friday (Feb 4).

The other is Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas.

In a statement last Friday (Jan 28), Genting Hong Kong's appointed joint provisional liquidators said Dream Cruises had filed to wind up the company with the Bermuda courts last Thursday (Jan 27).

Hong Kong, an Asian food and shopping haven, is popular with tourists from Singapore.

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It also added that it is seeking to appoint joint provisional liquidators to develop and propose any restructuring plans in respect of Dream Cruises' debts and liabilities.

The statement said that "a consensual restructuring will present higher recoveries to all creditors and stakeholders compared to a value-destructive liquidation of (Dream Cruises' subsidiaries), which is the likely alternative outcome".

It added that Dream Cruises' subsidiaries remain valuable, and there are "transactions which can be pursued which are likely to realise better value" for the subsidiaries' creditors, compared to a formal and terminal liquidation.

The joint provisional liquidators are in discussion with both Genting Hong Kong's and Dream Cruises' management to urgently assess the financial condition of Genting Hong Kong and Dream Cruises' subsidiaries, and to identify potential remediation plans, the statement said.

Genting Hong Kong also owns two other cruise brands - Star Cruises, which operates in the Asia-Pacific, and luxury brand Crystal Cruises, which is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

The Straits Times has reached out to Dream Cruises and the Singapore Tourism Board for comment.

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JPLs appointed for Dream Cruises

Joint provisional liquidators have been appointed by the Supreme Court of Bermuda to assist in restructuring the indebtedness of Dream Cruises Holding Limited.

Puisne Judge Larry Mussenden on Friday appointed Bermudian-based Alex Whittaker, of R&H Services Limited, Reid Street, Hamilton, as well as Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong, of Alvarez and Marsal in Hong Kong, as JPLs.

Mr Justice Mussenden made the order after hearing from lawyer Lilla Zuill, representing DCHL.

Ms Zuill told the court that DCHL is an investment holding company, a subgroup of which operates a fleet of three cruise ships.

The company was incorporated in Bermuda in 2015.

Ocean World, itself a subsidiary of DCHL parent company Genting Hong Kong Limited, holds 69.97 per cent of the company’s issued share capital and Dream Minority Equity Consortium holds 30.03 per cent.

Dream Cruises is one of three lines operated by parent company Genting.

Last month, the same three joint provisional liquidators were appointed by the Supreme Court here to assist in restructuring the Genting group’s indebtedness.

Now, DCHL has sought and been granted an order by the court similar to that requested by its parent company.

Ms Zuill told the court that Genting was the “primary source of operational funding” for DCHL.

She said there was “significant financial pressure” on DCHL and certain of its lenders have issued reservation of rights letters to the company.

Ms Zuill added that DCHL was taking “urgent action” to seek the appointment of JPLs who will negotiate with creditors regarding a “value-enhancing restructuring as opposed to a value-destructive liquidation process”.

She said DCHL had “a very viable underlying business to be preserved by a restructuring of the company’s indebtedness”.

Ms Zuill acknowledged the potential for conflict with the same set of JPLs appointed in respect of parent Genting and its subsidiary, but said there are benefits to retaining the same nominees and added that there were “contingencies in place in case a conflict arises”.

Lawyer Rhys Williams of Conyers, representing the Dream Minority Equity Consortium, addressing the potential conflict because of the overlap of JPLs, said his “client’s position is reserved in that regard”.

Ms Zuill said an ad hoc group of creditors of the company have indicated their agreement with the appointment of the three JPLs.

Mr Justice Mussenden ordered the sealing of an affirmation and exhibits on the court file by Chris Chan, which Ms Zuill told the court contained “commercially sensitive information” related to negotiations and internal business affairs.

Genting has also operated Star Cruises in Asia, and Crystal Cruises, which makes a range of round trips from the ports of Barcelona, Antarctica and Miami, including sailing to Bermuda.

The hearing of the petition to wind up DCHL was adjourned to May 6.

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Dream Cruises pledges to sail on from Singapore as owner files for liquidation and Crystal is halted

Dream cruises, part of the genting hong kong group which owns luxury line crystal and star cruises, has announced that sailings in singapore will continue despite the liquidation filing by its parent..

As Cruise Passenger reported yesterday , Genting Hong Kong will be winding up after its failure to secure funding to stay afloat. Its German shipbuilding subsidiary, MV Werften, filed for insolvency earlier in the week after running out of cash to build one of the world’s biggest ships, the 9,000-passenger Global Dream .

Despite the financial problems, the group has announced that sailings by Dream Cruises will carry on.

It said in a statement: “Certain business activities of the group, including but not limited to the operations of cruise lines by Dream Cruises Holding Limited, shall continue in order to preserve and protect the core assets and maintain the value of the group. However, it is anticipated that the majority of the group’s existing operations will cease to operate.”

Mr Michael Goh, President of Dream Cruises and Head of International Sales, Genting Cruise Lines, tells Cruise Passenger the line remains optimistic about its continued growth for Asia in 2022. It plans to identify new opportunities to further expand and strengthen the domestic market, as well as gradually increase the fly-cruise segment within travel guidelines.

“With all ships under Dream Cruises successfully operating safe cruises in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, our plan is to expand our share within these respective domestic markets by innovating and providing exciting offerings and thematic cruises,” Mr Goh said. “In time, we will identify opportunities for destination cruises within neighbouring regions in a safe manner.”

While the rise of the Omicron variant has temporarily impacted deployments in selected markets, Dream claims that bookings in Singapore remain healthy. January and February sailings are almost sold out, with Chinese New Year cruises completely sold out as well. New bookings from March onwards are also encouraging, with consumers making advance bookings with a longer lead time.

The World Dream's inaugural voyage from Singapore

Mr Goh added: “With new Covid variants emerging, we remain vigilant to ensure safety and preventive measures are implemented and enhanced to adapt to the changing situations, meeting both local guidelines and international standards. This is important to ensure a successful safe cruise operation.”

With travellers from Australia and other international destinations now allowed on Singapore cruises, Mr Goh observes that demand among international travellers is gradually picking-up.

However, it is still fluctuating due to the uncertainty of international travel restrictions − which are constantly evolving because of the pandemic.

“It will require more time and effort for the fly-cruise segment to re-establish itself as a key source market, but we remain committed in re-building this important segment for the cruise industry,” said Mr Goh.

He adds that the fly-cruise market to Singapore has always been an important source of business growth for Dream Cruises, including cruisers from Australia. Pre-covid, Dream had a steadily growing number of fly-cruise travellers from neighbouring regions and Australia, with many opting to extend their stay in Singapore with a cruise vacation.

“Despite the changes in travel restrictions, we hope to continue to develop on this trend, boosting it further with attractive on-board offerings like our successful global thematic cruises that have been well-received by guests over the past years,” said Mr Goh.

Following talks between the Singapore and Malaysia authorities on a potential sea Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), the line is also hopeful that port-of-call sailings can eventually resume. At present, only cruises-to-nowhere are operating out of Singapore.

Mr Goh mentioned that port-of-call sailings are the “end game” for Dream Cruises. The line is actively in discussion with the various port authorities to pursue and create a ‘Harmonise Cruising Standards’ for the region, in the hopes of gradually re-opening international cruising in a controlled and safe manner.

He notes that the biggest challenge for this is getting regional authorities to adopt a unified standard that can be used across different ports of calls, to facilitate the commencement of regional destination cruises.

“For destination cruises to operate successfully, there must be a consensus for cruise ships and the different countries to operate under the same standards and protocols”, Goh explains.

As for cruising trends in 2022, Mr Goh predicts that the safety and well-being of travellers remains important. He also notes an upward trend of younger demographics and first-timers boarding cruises.

“These people are becoming more receptive and interested in the concept of safe cruises, as well as the benefits and convenience of a cruise vacation,” he says.

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Dream Cruises' World Dream to stop sailing after liquidation; request for refunds must be submitted

[SINGAPORE] Dream Cruises' vessel World Dream, one of two ships that began cruises to nowhere pilots in Singapore in 2020, will cease operations after it returns to the Republic's shores on Wednesday (March 2), with the operator saying it no longer has the financial capacity to keep it going.

The death knell sounded on Monday has been anticipated and dreaded for more than a month, after Dream Cruises first said it would suspend ticket sales for two weeks on Jan 23, as its parent company Genting Hong Kong filed to be wound up at the Supreme Court of Bermuda.

Following Genting Hong Kong's statement on Monday, those who had paid deposits for scheduled sailings after Wednesday will have to submit their claims to the company, although whether these will be successful is as yet unknown.

"The company is currently assessing the impact of the cessation of operation of the World Dream, in particular its ability to meet potential refund claims," Genting Hong Kong said. "Despite the continued efforts to source and introduce external funding, the group's liquidity continues to deteriorate, given the absence of sustainable operational income under current challenging circumstances and in the face of mounting creditor pressure which poses an immediate threat to the operation of the vessel."

In the first year of the pandemic, the cruises to nowhere, so called because they made round trips out at sea with no port of call, were one of Singaporeans' first opportunities to partially satisfy their wanderlust. Launched in November 2020 with the other cruise to nowhere vessel Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas, more than 82,000 people had set sail on these two vessels by early March last year.

Of the total cruise-to-nowhere passengers, Dream Cruises' World Dream accounted for about 60 per cent. But Covid-19 restrictions continued to limit capacity, and passenger numbers still remained a far cry from when the ships could make port calls at nearby islands.

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Genting Hong Kong owns the Star Cruises and luxury Dream Cruises lines, which ply the Asia-Pacific and the luxury Crystal Cruises line headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Those who wish to submit their claims must attach their booking confirmation and payment records and e-mail [email protected] for assessment.

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Owner of embattled Dream Cruises starts new firm hiring laid-off staff, offers 'goodwill' vouchers to affected customers

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SINGAPORE — Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay, who previously ran embattled Dream Cruises, has launched a new Singapore-based cruise firm, Resorts World Cruises, which will set sail next month.

A view of the main swimming pool onboard the Genting Dream cruise liner.

The owner of an embattled cruise operator and its parent company has started a new cruise company here
Resorts World Cruises will set sail in June
The firm has hired about 70 per cent of the employees laid off by Dream Cruises
The Genting Dream ship will initially do "cruises to nowhere", though regional destinations are planned for later in the year
The new firm distanced itself from Dream Cruises but is offering "goodwill" vouchers to customers whose cruises did not proceed

The firm's ship Genting Dream will initially offer the popular "cruises to nowhere" from June 15, with the aim of adding regional destinations such as Phuket and Bali from September this year.

Announcing the launch on Wednesday (May 18), the firm distanced the new operation from Dream Cruises, and its parent firm Genting Hong Kong, which is undergoing liquidation.

However, Resorts World Cruises is hiring employees previously laid off by the former operator and is offering vouchers to customers who had bookings when Dream Cruises announced that it would cease operations in March.

At a media conference, Mr Michael Goh, president and head of international sales of the new firm, said that Resorts World Cruises has hired about 1,700 workers laid off by Genting Hong Kong, which makes up about 70 per cent of the Genting Dream's crew as well as on-shore staff in the Singapore office.

During the winding-up process for Genting Hong Kong, some creditors have reportedly claimed that they have not been paid various expenses. These matters will be dealt with by their former companies, and not by Resorts World Cruises, Mr Goh said.

Mr Goh was the former president of Dream Cruises.

Customers of Dream Cruises who had made bookings for trips that did not proceed will also be able to get "goodwill" complimentary cruise credits for the new cruise liner.

Resorts World Cruises will launch its first voyage on June 15 via cruise ship Genting Dream, which was previously owned by Genting Hong Kong.

FINANCIAL TROUBLES

Cruise ship World Dream, which was owned by Dream Cruises, ceased operations after its final sailing returned to Singapore on March 2.

The cruise liner first said on Jan 23 that it would be suspending bookings for its cruises here, after its beleaguered parent company, Genting Hong Kong, applied to be wound up.

Genting Hong Kong, which is part of Malaysia's Genting Group, reported a net loss of US$238 million (around S$320 million) in the first half of last year, as operations continued to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It reported a net loss of US$1.7 billion in 2020.

Mr Lim resigned as the company's chairman and chief executive officer in January, after the company filed for provisional liquidation.

The Straits Times reported in March that since Genting Hong Kong ran into financial troubles, at least 60 of its staff members were terminated.

It also reported that 57 staff members from companies related to Genting Hong Kong were seeking unpaid notice pay and encashment of unconsumed annual leave, among other expenses, and that it had raised the issue with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).

Asked if any of these issues would be resolved by the new company, Mr Goh said: "The dispute that they have is with another cruise brand."

He added that the dispute "is being managed" by the liquidator and TADM.

In response to TODAY's queries, TADM said it has successfully helped the claimants to recover their salaries.

But it added: "Unfortunately, some other claims like pay in lieu of notice and unconsumed leave could not be resolved in time before the company went into liquidation. For the unresolved claims, TADM has helped the claimants to file them with the appointed liquidator."

Mr Goh also confirmed that Resorts World Cruises will be under shareholder Two Trees Family Holdings, which lists Mr Lim and his son Lim Keong Hui among its directors, and is a separate entity to Genting Hong Kong.

World Dream customers who have not received refunds for bookings on the defunct cruise will be offered complimentary cruise credits.

"As a gesture of goodwill, passengers who are affected by World Dream, we will give them cruise credits that will allow them to come onboard from June 15 to March next year," Mr Goh said.

Affected customers may write in to Resorts World Cruises at reservations.en [at] rwcruises.com .

There will also be a new payment process where payments are kept in a separate account, and will only be drawn during the day of the cruise.

"The amount that (customers) pay will only be drawn during the actual dates that they are cruising, so that's definitely a very good assurance to our cruisers," Mr Goh added.

'LEGALLY SOUND, ETHICALLY QUESTIONABLE'

Lawyers and academics interviewed by TODAY said that the move by the owners of Resorts World Cruises to wind up their previous company and launch a new one is perfectly legal, even if the previous company owes expenses to their employers.

Ms Charmaine Neo of Forte Law LLC said that in corporate law, there is a concept of separate legal entities — which means that the two distinct firms, such as Dream Cruises and Resorts World Cruises, are entirely separate entities.

"All of the liabilities incurred by Dream Cruises and Genting Hong Kong will be dealt with in that separate liquidation... by separating up their separate company they have ring-fenced their liability and exposure."

Ms Neo, who is an associate director at the firm specialising in dispute resolution matters, added that even if they are owned by the same person or people, the liabilities are tagged to the company and not the people.

"Even though it is run by the same guy, it doesn’t touch him personally, because he's just either a shareholder or director, or both. It is not him who is personally responsible for the debt of the company."

The only exception is if there is any evidence of wrongdoing such as fraud, in which case criminal charges may follow the owner or owners of the company, which may prevent them from starting a new firm.

Agreeing, Mr Justin Yip, who is a partner for restructuring and insolvency at law firm Withers KhattarWong, said that while it is true the firms are legally separate, there are some limitations to this.

"If the new company or business is in the same line as the company in liquidation, it would be advisable for the owner or shareholder to make sure that assets of the company in liquidation are not being used in the new company or business."

Though it did not state its reasons, the ship World Dream that was under Dream Cruises was not acquired by Resorts World Cruises. A distinct ship, Genting Dream, was utilised instead.

The lawyers also added that employees cannot claim any owed expenses from the new company since they are considered fresh hires, but will have to take it up with the old company as is being done now.

Ms Amarjit Kaur, a partner at Withers KhattarWong specialising in labour and employment, told TODAY that unless otherwise stated in the previous contract, the "re-hired" employees at the new company are treated as new hires.

"As such, they will no longer be able to rely on tenure under the old employment agreement for the purposes of claiming retrenchment benefits, for example, if they find themselves in such a situation with the new employer down the road."

However, because it is an entirely new firm, the "re-hired" employees have the right to continue pushing for unpaid expenses.

"Given that the employee's claims are for monies due and owed to them by the old cruise company... it would be within their rights to continue to pursue such claims," Ms Kaur said.

However, just because the move is legal, it does not mean that it is ethical, one academic said.

Professor Lawrence Loh, director at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at National University of Singapore Business school, said that the move by the owners of the new firm could be seen by some as using a "loophole".

"Even if they found a legally feasible way to do things, it may not be the right way from an ethical stance," he said.

"You are owing so many of your staff money and then you set up another (business) somewhere that is totally legally distinct.

"Even though it's legally possible, from a purely doing-the-right-thing (standpoint), it is definitely something that needs to be looked at carefully."

TRIPS TO REGIONAL DESTINATIONS

While the mode of the initial cruise voyages will be the default "cruise to nowhere" that has become popular over the course of the pandemic, Resorts World Cruises will be looking to restart destination cruises in September.

The cruise liner plans to expand its itineraries to nearby destinations such as Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia, Phuket in Thailand, and Bintan and Bali in Indonesia.

"We have been very actively engaging the Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia authorities, to work out the arrangement to have the restart of destination cruises as early as possible," Mr Goh added.

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Crystal Cruises parent company faces liquidation as cash runs out

The parent company of Crystal Cruises is out of cash and soon could shut down a significant part of its worldwide operations.

Genting Hong Kong on Wednesday said it had filed what is known as a winding-up petition with a court in Bermuda to appoint provisional liquidators who can sell off or shut down parts of its business as part of an orderly restructuring.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, where its stock is traded, the Hong Kong-based cruise operator said it had no access to any further liquidity and expected to run out of cash around the end of January.

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The company, which owns Asia-based Dream Cruises and Star Cruises as well as Crystal, has been struggling financially ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a worldwide shutdown to cruising in early 2020.

In the filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, Genting Hong Kong said some of its business activities including "but not limited to" the operations of Dream Cruises would continue as its liquidators pursue a financial restructuring "in order to preserve and protect the core assets and maintain the value" of these assets during the process.

But it said it expected the majority of its existing operations to "cease to operate."

The filing did not mention the fate of Crystal specifically.

A spokesperson for Crystal on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the status of the line.

As of Wednesday morning, Crystal vessels continue to operate. At press time, the line's two main oceangoing ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, were visiting the Mexican port of Progreso and the British Virgin Islands port of Tortola, respectively. The line's new expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor , was sailing in Antarctica. Crystal also operates five river ships in Europe that don't normally sail at this time of year.

The appointment of liquidators for Genting Hong Kong does not necessarily mean that lines it operates will shut down.

In its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, the company said it was seeking an order from the Bermuda court that will oversee the liquidation process to authorize its liquidators to "assist the company in developing and proposing a restructuring of the [company's] financial indebtedness in a manner designed to allow the company to continue as a going concern."

Genting Hong Kong also asked the court to authorize its liquidators to "dispose of all or certain of the company's assets with a view to maximizing value and returns for creditors."

Genting Hong Kong said the liquidators would "seek to avoid a disorderly liquidation of the company."

In addition to the three cruise lines, Genting Hong Kong owns two shipyards in Germany that have been building ships for its brands. Both of the shipyards filed for insolvency last week in German courts as Genting Hong Kong's financial situation worsened.

The company also owns Resorts World Manila.

Genting Hong Kong is part of a bigger parent company that also includes Genting Malaysia, which owns most of the Resorts World casino resorts around the world. The two companies are financially separated and trade separately. The liquidation of Genting Hong Kong will not affect Genting Malaysia or its holdings.

All of the Genting companies are controlled by Malaysia tycoon Lim Kok Thay.

While based in Hong Kong, Genting Hong Kong maintains a registered office in Bermuda, which allows it to file for liquidation there.

Genting Hong Kong is the most prominent cruise company to face insolvency over the past two years as the COVID-19 pandemic takes a heavy toll on the industry. But it's not the only one.

More than half a dozen mostly small cruise operators have shut down since early 2020 , citing financial troubles related to the pandemic, including Spain-based Pullmantur and U.K.-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages .

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New bookings for Dream Cruises suspended until further notice

SINGAPORE - New bookings for Dream Cruises will continue to be suspended until further notice, the cruise operator said on Friday (Feb 4).

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Dream Cruises said although new bookings will remain suspended, its fleet will continue to operate in the region, including its vessel World Dream in Singapore.

New bookings will remain suspended as joint provisional liquidators are continuing to explore the state of the business.

They will also identify, examine, and explore the options available, the Dream Cruises' spokesman said.

The latest update comes about two weeks after Dream Cruises said new bookings would be suspended for an initial period of two weeks, which was meant to end on Friday (Feb 4).

Dream Cruises' vessel World Dream is one of the two cruise ships running cruises to nowhere in Singapore. The other is Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas.

Dream Cruises added in its statement that one of the primary purposes for applying to appoint joint provisional liquidators was to continue the scheduled itineraries for Dream Cruises.

The cruise operator filed to wind up the company with the Bermuda courts on Jan 27, and also submitted an application to appoint joint provisional liquidators for the company.

Its parent company, Genting Hong Kong, had also gone down the same path. It filed to be wound up on Jan 18, after it failed to secure funding to help it stay afloat following the insolvency of its German shipbuilding subsidiary.

The spokesman said: "Genting Hong Kong would like to reiterate that the appointments of joint provisional liquidators over the company and Dream Cruises are not to liquidate the companies but to identify potential remediation plans and to facilitate the restructuring of the group including Dream Cruises."

It added that Genting Hong Kong will continue to monitor the domestic situations and operational opportunities for Genting Dream and Explorer Dream in their respective markets.

The latest developments with the cruise operator has unnerved some consumers here, including one who wanted to be known only as Stella.

Ms Stella, who works in IT, booked a cruise for her family of four in April. She paid about $1,500 in total, and is torn between cancelling the trip and waiting it out.

“They’ve said that cruises will continue, but this is still quite unsettling. I don’t know what to do now because I’m not sure if I can get back my money if I cancel the trip,” she said, adding that while the chances of Dream Cruises still operating in April are uncertain, she hopes the cruise will still proceed.

Genting Dream and Explorer Dream are two other cruise ships under Dream Cruises.