Genting Hong Kong has signed an order for ten ships with the Lloyd Werft Group, comprising of two mega cruise ships for Star Cruises and eight vessels for Crystal Cruises. The signing ceremony was attended by Uwe Beckmeyer, State Secretary of Maritime Affairs, Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of the State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Martin Günthner, Senator for Economics and Port Affairs of Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman of Genting Hong Kong.
Star Cruises has designed the “Global Class” of ships for worldwide cruising, each measuring 201,000 gross tons with 5,000 lower berths. Delivery of the “Global Class” series of ships will commence between 2019 and 2020 starting with one ship a year and eventually increasing to two ships a year. The first two ships ordered in the “Global Class” series are designed with “Chinese Characteristics” and they will be the first purpose built cruise ships deployed for the contemporary Chinese market.
Kok Thay said, “Passengers on our “Global Class” ships will enjoy an international class cruise experience to all parts of the world, yet in an environment where they will feel at home, whether it is food, culture, shows, enrichment programmes or excursions. With the first two ships, we are focused on delivering a world-class vacation experience for Chinese cruise passengers at an affordable price whilst enjoying fun-filled onboard and on-land adventures in many cities in the most seamless way, without the necessity of checking-in and checking-out of airports and hotels.”
Genting Hong Kong pioneered year-round cruising in Asia 23 years ago with Star Cruises and found further success with the acquisition of Norwegian Cruise Line 16 years ago – rejuvenating and growing the line to be the third largest and most profitable cruise line on a per berth basis in the United States. “Now it is time to come home and rebuild Star Cruises with a fleet of brand-new vessels which will transform Star Cruises to be the youngest, largest and most innovative cruise line in Asia and reclaim our leadership position with our “Global Class” series of quality-built mega cruise ships,” added Tan Sri KT Lim during the signing ceremony in Wismar, Germany.
Genting Hong Kong’s stable of brands include Crystal Cruises for the international luxury cruise market, Dream Cruises for the Asian luxury cruise market and Star Cruises for the contemporary cruise market. In order to produce sufficient ships for early deliveries for its rapid fleet expansion, Genting has purchased four shipyards in Germany to form the Lloyd Werft Group, which will eventually produce two mega ships of over 200,000 gross tons each and a mid-size ship of 50,000 gross tons a year.
