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ABOARD THE WORLD DREAM – Christmas came early during Singapore’s first pandemic cruise to nowhere.
Being able to see various Santas having fun on stage in the World Dream mega ship ticked off that festive box for me, even if the merry men were masked for security behind their beards.
Equally significantly, it was the gift of a trip after almost a year without traveling.
The World Dream set sail on November 6 with 1,400 Singaporeans like myself on board after the ship hibernated in the port city of Rotterdam for about seven months.
Port-of-call pleasure cruises are now being tested under a plan implemented by the Singapore Tourism Board to safely and gradually resume cruising and ultimately to revive leisure travel.
A couple of operators are offering cruises to nowhere, with Genting Cruise Lines making the first splash on November 6 with the World Dream. Royal Caribbean International will launch Quantum of the Seas in December.
Vigilance and verve
The challenge for cruise lines is to seamlessly blend greater safety with convenience and fun that attract cruise lovers from around the world.
Did I think Genting Cruise Lines succeeded in its dual tenure of vigilance and enthusiasm during my two-night Super Seacation?
The free-spirited cruiser life has been reinvented with public health measures, from mouse modules for contact tracing to mandatory masks everywhere, and all of that may be irrevocable, just like how September 11 changed the face. to fly.
Still, you might find some solace in the rules-based cruise. Halving the ship’s capacity added not only security, but also privacy to the cruise experience.
And the protocols for turning the 19-deck ship in an outbreak offered a semblance of a safe harbor, as it will be a long time before the specter of stranded ships like the Diamond Princess can fade from memory.
That Covid-19 test
But first, the Covid-19 test. Before boarding, all passengers six months and older were herded to a massive testing facility in the Marina Bay Cruise Center parking lot. The pop-up facility had been designed to clear 125 people every 30 minutes, and each test cost $ 60.
And so I started and also ended the cruise, reluctantly, with my first couple of rapid antigen tests for Covid-19.
When I inquired, the Raffles Medical Group team was available to gently explain that it was a “middle turbinate” procedure, with the swab extending about 3 cm into my nose. The swab would make five gentle turns.
Sitting in a booth with my chair facing inward for privacy, my test was done in seconds. Although there was a slight nosebleed, my rite of passage was a little better than I had imagined.
On board, I toured the medical center. It was equipped with a new real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine that produces Covid-19 test results in 60 minutes and can rule out 22 other respiratory viruses such as H1N1 and influenza. PCR tests are the most accurate available for Covid-19.
Seven isolation cabins had been set up for suspected Covid-19 cases and 34 quarantine rooms for their close contacts, in addition to the existing intensive care unit equipped with a ventilator.
Navigating the Straits of Malacca and the southern tip of the South China Sea, the World Dream can return to the shores of Singapore in less than six hours if there are cases of Covid-19.
Soap and water
Self-service buffets were discontinued in restaurants. Some outlets had automatic hand washing stations. I was soaped and rinsed my hands for about 20 seconds at a fancy kiosk that also unfolded a paper towel.
The Zodiac Theater’s 999-seat capacity was reduced to 250 people safely spaced across five zones. Like restaurants, I went in and out our separate ways.
The new measures comprised at least 40 percent of operating costs, according to Michael Goh, Genting Cruise Lines’ head of international sales and president of Dream Cruises, who was apparently everywhere on the ship to observe the first sailing and establish links with the guests. .
He saw “a lot of smiling faces,” he told The Straits Times. From my conversations with guests and some eavesdropping, the security regime didn’t really hamper his style, even if the Covid-19 screening was a hot topic of conversation.
Loyal to cruise ships
Businessman Andy Hoon, 40, gifted his daughter with the getaway after she completed her elementary school completion exam. A veteran of nearly 20 cruise ships, he was unfazed by pandemic cruise restrictions except that he had to wait for the results of the Covid-19 test.
However, with fewer guests, he enjoyed the greater space and seclusion on the German-built ship. His daughter, Inge Poetri Hoon, 12, received extra attention during a Christmas decorating class that could also end earlier, for example.
Another cruise loyalist, 22-year-old Technical Education Institute student Jonathan Koh, was delighted to be back on the seas with his parents. Unable to get her father’s car to Johor, she hadn’t traveled for about eight months. “We all wear masks and it is very safe. Cruises are not new to me and I have a lot of fun,” he said before heading to the pool.
Show time
Fun lovers like Mr Koh can play all day and continue into the night if they don’t sleep. Whether they want to zip-line over the ocean on a moving boat, have detox cocktails, or sit in an old-school barber chair at the spa, the cruise caters to different customers.
I had my fill of shows and loved the musical performance of Verry Christmas, a mix of acrobatic Ukrainian elves, a cheesy Shenyang opera singer, drifting snow, a giant polar bear, and uplifting spirit.
Like me, some guests experienced the joy and shock of seeing talented artists reconnect with a live audience after a long season of not being able to do what they love.
Other shows included Twice as Nice, a duo of Las Vegas singers, luxurious in red, who set the pandemic context of their performance with brave comments such as: “We are back here at World Dream to celebrate with you. Not even the pandemic can stop us. “
Every night, there were laser shows, although the fireworks at sea had ceased for now due to the pandemic.
I also tried a virtual reality game. For the Finger Coaster game, I drew a roller coaster track that became my virtual 500m route in a theme park, while sitting strapped to a chair with a virtual reality headset. The journey was completed with exhilarating ascents and free falls.
Zen and banquet
For the zen moments, I stopped by TV host Denise Keller’s oceanfront yoga class. My itinerary was too continuous for me to join the class, but in the final minutes, settled in my chair and guided by it, I closed my eyes and let the world of the pandemic fade away.
Talking to her later, he spoke about the beauty of “being one with the ocean” on the cruise. “Everything has changed and we adapt,” he added.
However, what has not changed is that you can still expect food in abundance. With over 35 restaurant and bar concepts, no two-night itinerary like mine could cover all outlets.
My culinary journey included Australian electrician turned celebrity chef Mark Best’s Prime Steakhouse and Umi Uma serving sushi, teppanyaki, and Korean BBQ at different corners.
And for the first time in a long time, I dined at midnight at the 24-hour Blue Lagoon, savoring fried rice, salted egg fish skin, and the festive atmosphere.
Away again
The cruise had been rainy most of the time, but that wasn’t much of a hindrance in the end.
Standing on my balcony, high above the gray monsoon waves, wild, elemental and stretching nowhere, I felt like a vulnerable point in the ocean. However, it was also liberating to feel nature unleashed and to leave Singapore.
In contrast, my well-lit suite was all cohesiveness and comfort, with a plush three-seater sofa, Nespresso machine, desk, Chinoiserie floral art, and Etro de Milan toiletries in the oversized bathroom.
Looking at the ocean and then walking into my suite, it was very much a picture of the cruise ship in a pandemic, a controlled passage into the unknown.
• The writer was featured by Genting Cruise Lines.
Sail away
WHAT: The World Dream sails from now until December 30. Two-night cruises depart from the Marina Bay Cruise Center on Wednesdays and Fridays. The three-night cruises depart on Sundays.
PRICE: Rates start at $ 359 per person, based on twin sharing.
INFO: Go to dreamcruiseline.com, call 6808-2288 or email [email protected]
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