Playing safe on Singapore’s first cruise to nowhere during the pandemic

The World Dream mega-ship from Genting Cruise Lines set sail this month as Singapore’s first pandemic cruise to nowhere.

Passengers encountered plenty of safe measures. First things first: Antigen rapid tests at Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

On board, there’s a medical centre and an intensive care unit with a ventilator. There’s also a $134,000 polymerase chain reaction machine.

There are also seven isolation cabins for suspected Covid-19 cases and 34 quarantine rooms for their close contacts.

There are protocols to turn the ship around in an outbreak. Sailing in the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea, it could return to Singapore in less than six hours.

Passengers got contact tracing tokens which also alerted them when they were clustered too closely.

The 999-seat ship theatre’s capacity was slashed to that for 250 people - safely distanced in five zones and in seats that were sanitised.

These and other safe measures on board let passengers be more at ease with watching live performances and joining activities.

The self-service buffet - the thing many associate with cruise dining - has been suspended. Diners are served or order from a menu.