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.

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 today, 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 staff previously laid off by the former operator, and is offering vouchers to customers who had bookings when Dream Cruises announced it would cease operations in March.

At a media conference, Michael Goh, president and head of international sales of the new firm said Resorts World Cruises has hired about 70 per cent of the employees laid off by Genting Hong Kong. He said this is about 1,700 staff.

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

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 on cruise ship Genting Dream, which was previously owned by Genting Hong Kong.

Financial troubles

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

The cruise liner had first said on January 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 (RM1.05 billion) in the first half of 2021, as operations continued to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It reported a net loss of US$1.7 billion in 2020.

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

The Straits Times had reported in March that since Genting Hong Kong ran into financial troubles, at least 60 of its staff 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 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, Goh said that the dispute lay with a separate cruise brand.

"The dispute that they have is actually with another cruise brand, and this is actually being managed by the liquidator and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM),” he said.

TODAY has reached out to MOM to enquire about the progress of the dispute resolution.

Goh also confirmed that the Resorts World Cruises will be under shareholder Two Trees Family Holdings, which lists Lim and his son Lim Keong Hui as 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,” he said.

Affected customers can write in to Resorts World Cruises at reservations.en@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,” said Goh.

Trips to regional destinations on the horizon

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, 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,” said Goh. — TODAY