Over 100 Passengers Stuck in S’pore Due to Overbooked Genting Dream Cruise

By
Lin Jiawen
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While going overseas during the school holidays, regardless of the mode of transport, is an exciting thing for most, it wasn’t the case for the hundred-over people who had to remain in Singapore instead of getting to go on their cruise trip due to the Genting Dream Cruise being overbooked.

And for those who’re wondering if your eyes are playing tricks on you because “Didn’t Star Cruises/Genting Cruises/whatever else fold a while back because Genting Hong Kong declared for bankruptcy?”, well…

It’s complicated.

But there’s a blue cat that can explain this entire incident better than me, so here you go:

So basically, Genting Hong Kong (which used to own Star Cruises) filed for bankruptcy, BUT the chairman of Genting Group bought the Genting Dream ship to run it under a new cruise line called Resorts World Cruises, essentially “reviving” Genting Dream from the dead.

And the ship owned by this cruise line has retained its original name and is still called Genting Dream, as seen from how it is Resorts World Cruises’ “flagship”.

And the reason why the chairman of Genting Group isn’t affected by Genting Hong Kong’s bankruptcy is that Genting Hong Kong basically runs its businesses by itself despite having the word “Genting” in its name.

(That, and that Genting Group is the true OG.)

So, TLDR: Genting Dream is owned by different people now, but still has the same name despite its original parent company closing down.

But a “revival” of the Genting Dream proved to be insufficient this time round, evident from the number of people who didn’t end up getting to set foot on the ship in the end.

More than 100 People Ended Up Not Being Able to Board Genting Dream Ship

The latest trip taken by the Genting Dream, which is a four-day and three-night cruise that starts from Singapore, passes by Port Klang in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and then comes back to Singapore, departed from Singapore just yesterday (4 September) night.

And as those who’ve taken trips on cruises may know, the boarding point is at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, which was packed with excited travellers and families looking to enjoy their break during the September school holidays.

However, more than one hundred passengers-to-be were informed that the cruise was actually overbooked right before they boarded the ship.

Of course, this left the travellers asking for answers, with many of them going up to the check-in counters and staying in the waiting areas to try and solve the issue.

People Only Left at Night, Ship Delayed its Departure

At about 7pm on Sunday (4 September), reporters from Shin Min Daily News saw disappointed individuals packing up and exiting the cruise centre with their luggage.

A passenger interviewed by the reporters also explained that there were more than 100 people who had come all the way down to the cruise centre before they were informed about the overbooking situation, leaving them with no ship to board.

When speaking to Shin Min, a 43-year-old father of two surnamed Yang expressed his family’s disappointment at the arrangement and explained that he had planned for his family to take a cruise since both his daughters are having their school holiday now.

Mr Yang, who had already taken leave off work to enjoy the vacation, said that he intends to bring his children to Johor Bahru instead but is concerned about the possible traffic jams and lack of hotel rooms available during the holiday period.

Apart from Mr Yang, a lady named Mdm Zhuang also shared her disappointing experience.

The 72-year-old had planned to travel with seven other people and the group had booked three rooms in total.

However, they were told at the cruise centre that one of the rooms was unavailable.

After waiting at the cruise centre from 5pm to 8pm, the group finally gave up and

Another disappointed passenger, 72-year-old Madam Zhuang, was supposed to be travelling with seven others. They had booked three rooms but one of them was unavailable.

After waiting from 5pm to 8pm, the group decided to leave the centre after realising that there was no solution available for them.

The cruise’s departure time also seemed to have been delayed due to the overbooking issue, for it had yet to set sail even by 8pm.

There were also still customers with booked tickets who were still in the waiting area.

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Resorts World Cruises to Process Refunds for Affected Passengers

When responding to Shin Min, Resorts World Cruises confirmed that its Genting Dream Cruise that departed from Singapore on 4 September had been overbooked and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

A spokesperson expressed the company’s gratitude towards the passengers who were willing to change their cruise dates and added that all customers affected by this incident will be issued a refund.

On top of that, these passengers will also be offered free cruise passes of the same class that they had initially booked for the 4 September cruise. The passes must be used by 28 April next year.

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Featured Image: Shin Min Daily News

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Lin Jiawen
Email: [email protected]