Genting Dream accidents and incidents

February 2024Other Incidents

In February 2024, Resorts World Cruises signed an MoU with Tianjin’s "Shan Xing Hai Su" (Convention and Exhibition Center) and "Flying Pigeon Bicycle Co Ltd" (bicycle manufacturer) to host the world's first Bicycle Exhibition at Sea onboard Genting Dream.

The "bike-themed" voyages were scheduled to depart from Singapore on February 18th, 21st, 23rd and 25th.

13 October 2023Crew / Passenger Crimes

On October 14, 2023, a 39-year-old man was arrested and formally charged for issuing a bomb threat against Genting Dream. The bomb threat was reported by Resorts World Cruises to the Singaporean police on October 13th, at ~4 pm (~8 am UTC).

The incident transpired while the ship was berthed at Singapore's Marina Bay Cruise Terminal. Promptly responding to the report, local authorities (including ICA/Immigration & Checkpoints Authority and Marina Bay Terminal's security personnel) initiated thorough security assessments on the ship. Fortunately, no suspicious items or explosive devices were found.

Due to the extensive security checks, Singapore Port's cruise shipping operations on October 13th were suspended for ~2 hours, causing a delay in the passenger embarkation process which impacted ~4000 tourists.

Genting Dream left Singapore at 8:50 pm (12:50 UTC) for a 1-night/2-day cruise to nowhere roundtrip from Singapore (portless itinerary, Oct 13-15).

The following investigation resulted in the apprehension of the 39-year-old Neo Hui Ghim, around 3 hours after the bomb threat was reported.

According to court records, the man emailed Resorts World Cruises' customer service department with the subject line "Bomb at Resorts World Cruises". The email conveyed the message "Please return me back my money, else the ship will explode, and everyone will be dropped into the sea".

In view of the circumstances and the possible mental health considerations related to his actions, the man was placed under remand at the Institute of Mental Health for a medical evaluation.

The suspect potentially faces an up to 7 years jail sentence, a financial penalty of SGD 50,000 (~USD 36,500)), or both.

January 2022Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In early-January 2022, Dream Cruises canceled two consecutive cruises to nowhere (2-night roundtrips from Hong Kong) after the city’s government imposed a 14-day tightening of social-distancing measures (effective from Jan 7th) due to increasing COVID-Omicron cases. The cancellations were not related to Coronavirus outbreaks onboard Genting Dream.

The affected bookings were transferable to other Genting Dream voyages scheduled for up to April 27 (2022), except in the holiday periods (Chinese New Year /February 2 and 4, and Easter /April 15 and 17).

18 November 2019Crew / Passenger Deaths

On November 18, 2019, a 10-year-old male passenger (Alan Heng Kai Lun, from Singapore) drowned in the ship's swimming pool. The boy was found unresponsive in the pool at ~7:30 pm by a pool attendant, after the ship docked at Star Cruise Jetty on Langkawi Island (Malaysia). The ship's medical team attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation but failed to revive the kid. Local police officers boarded the ship for investigation. The body was transported to Langkawi Hospital (HSM-Hospital Sultanah Maliha).

The boy was traveling together with his mother and a friend on a 3-day roundtrip cruise from homeport Singapore (November 17-20) visiting Langkawi and Phuket (Thailand).

01 November 2019Boat Rescue

In the early morning on November 1, 2019, the cruise liner responded to a mayday call by a sinking boat off the coast of Port Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia's Johor State). The vessel changed its course and conducted a rescue operation with one of its lifeboats. The operation resulted in rescueing all the 3 men on the boat. After boarding the ship, the survivors were medically assisted and later transferred to a Malaysian Coastguard vessel.

05 August 2019Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On August 5, 2019, a 74-year-old male passenger intentionally went/jumped overboard from his cabin's balcony and into the waters of Malacca Strait - shipping channel between Indian and Pacific oceans, separating Malay Peninsula (mainland Asia) and Sumatra Island (Indonesia). The body was never found. The elderly man (Goh Hai Peng, a retired electrician) boarded the ship on Aug 4 and was not seen anymore / never left his cabin. He was reported missing after passenger debarkation (Aug 7) in Port Singapore.

In his stateroom were found untouched all his belongings, which were returned to his son Adrian. The reviewing of cruise liner's CCTV cameras showed the elderly man entering his cabin on Aug 4 (~7 pm) and never leaving it during the entire voyage. A CCTV camera captured (at ~3 am on Aug 5) a whitish figure falling from the ship and into the sea.

The incident occurred during 3-night/4-day Malaysia cruise (itinerary August 4-7) roundtrip from homeport Singapore to Penang (Aug 5) and Langkawi (Aug 6).

14 December 2018Other Incidents

On December 14, 2018, Genting Cruise Lines celebrated company's 25th anniversary on the Genting Dream ship docked in Singapore. In 1993, from Singapore started the company's ever-first cruise with the ship Langkapuri Star Aquarius (now the cruise ferry Pearl Seaways).

The special event was attended by nearly 500 VIP guests representing the government, business partners and travel agents. Guest of honor was Chee Hong Tat - a Singaporean politician, in 2018 serving as Senior Minister of State for Singapore's Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education. GHK representatives included Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (Malaysian-Chinese billionaire, GHK's Chairman and CEO), Colin Au (GHK's President) and other senior executives and staff members.

Originally established as "Star Cruises", Genting Cruise Lines was the first to introduce newbuild cruise liners specifically designed for the Asian market. In 25 years, GHK (Genting Hong Kong) served 6,5+ million cruisers, and its fleet made 7500+ ship calls in Singapore. Genting Group owns the MV Werften shipyards in Germany, and also owns three cruise brands (Crystal, Dream, Star).

02 May 2018Propulsion / Power Loss

May 2, 2018, the 3-night cruise from Singapore to Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) was canceled due to propulsion problems. The ship was returning back to Singapore from a 3-night Phuket Thailand cruise when experienced technical issues and had to be assisted to port by 4 tugboats.

During the accident, the liner carried around 3000 passengers. The return to Singapore was delayed by 5 hours. The May 2-booked customers were informed that the 2-night Singapore-Klang cruise (May 2 departure at 9 pm) is canceled due to "technical issues".

As compensation, affected passengers received full refunds plus complimentary 2-night weekday cruise (offer valid until November 30, 2018) plus complimentary USD 200 future Dream Cruises booking credit. At the cruise terminal, the company arranged for complimentary light refreshments, hotel and transportation arrangements for all affected by the cancellation passengers, plus rebooking flights (for international travelers).