On October 8, 2020, the GHK-owned Genting Cruise Lines announced that the brand Dream Cruises would be the first to restart sailings from Singapore with World Dream - from November 6 onwards.
World Dream will also become the newest cruise ship homeported in Singapore, offering a series of new 2- and 3-night “Super Seacation” (cruises to nowhere) for Singaporean residents during the holidays.
Mr Michael Goh (Dream Cruises' President) said that the company was "looking forward to providing cruise travel options to the citizens of Singapore after the many months of coping with the pandemic.”
“To provide our guests with the highest level of service and hospitality, we are looking within the Singapore talent pool to fill many different positions available on board World Dream. In the past, it was also difficult to recruit Singaporeans, who have many opportunities in the leisure and hospitality industry and cruise lines traditionally tended to use international crew. However, to help alleviate the severe job losses in the domestic economy due to COVID-19, Genting Cruise Lines is committed to hiring as many Singaporeans as possible to support the local economy.”
Mr. Goh continued that historically, the international crew on cruise ships had to work for 11 months with a 1-month vacation. As World Dream operated short 2- and 3-nights sailings, Singaporeans joining as the crew could work on the vessel with shorter work arrangements that could allow them to frequently see their families. That would make it very attractive for Singaporeans who had lost their jobs in the travel industry during the pandemic.
Genting Cruise Lines is to be searching for talent to fill in excess of 100 cruise ship jobs covering all aspects of operations from Marine Officers to Galley Chefs, Media Technicians, Cruise Operations, various hotel and hospitality staff as well as special Cruise Ambassadors in order to ensure the best guest relations. The "search for talent" would encompass a broad local footprint ranging from ex-maritime or naval officers and crew to the food & beverage sector and the hotel & hospitality industry.
When World Dream commences her “Super Seacation” routes, 2- and 3-night domestic sailings mean that the vessel is never far from home. Regional itineraries will provide ample shore time for Singaporeans at home.
In conjunction with the homeport deployment of World Dream in Singapore and the job opportunities provided by the resumption of cruise operations, Genting Cruise Lines remains "deeply invested in the long-range nurturing of talent for Singaporeans through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education."
Under the collaborative effort, a series of joint learning projects, internship programs, and activities will be made available to graduates and students who are keen to explore a career in the tourism-related and cruise sector.