SINGAPORE - 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.
There are still Dream Cruises sailings currently running in Singapore. The Dream Cruises website also showed that there are cruise departures from Singapore scheduled in the coming days, including one as early as Friday (Feb 4)
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 two operators running cruises to nowhere in Singapore with its vessel World Dream. It had temporarily suspended new bookings, and this is slated to continue until Friday (Feb 4).
The other cruise liner here is Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas.
In a statement last Friday (Jan 28) to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Genting Hong Kong's appointed joint provisional liquidators said Dream Cruises filed to wind up the company with the Bermuda courts last Thursday (Jan 27).
Genting Hong Kong’s petition to appoint joint provisional liquidators for the company had “triggered further insolvency events” for debts under Dream Cruises and its subsidiaries, the statement said.
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 restructuring will offer “higher recoveries to all creditors and stakeholders”, compared to liquidation which will destroy the value of Dream Cruises' subsidiaries.
It added that Dream Cruises’ subsidiaries remain valuable, with potential for business transactions to be pursued in the future that could benefit creditors.
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.
The recent news has frazzled some consumers here planning to sail with Dream Cruises.
One of them is shipbroker Eunice Wan, 27, who is set to go on a four-day, three-night sailing in April.
She had booked a suite for the cruise, and had paid about $2,300 in total.
“It’s actually the first time going on a cruise for both my partner and myself. So we’re quite disappointed and uncertain about what’s to come,” Ms Wan said, adding that the trip was meant to be a birthday celebration for her boyfriend.
Ms Wan said she has not heard any news about the cruise being cancelled, and the travel agent she had booked the cruise with told her that the cruise will proceed.
“I’m just hoping for the best. I think I will just wait and keep my hopes up,” she said.
The Singapore Tourism Board’s director of cruises Annie Chang said it is in contact with Dream Cruises and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
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.
Dream Cruises currently operates in Singapore and Hong Kong, although sailings in Hong Kong have been suspended due to Covid-19 curbs.
