Hundreds of passengers set sail on Singapore’s first “Cruise to Nowhere”, operated by Genting Cruise Lines. The ship, World Dream liner, departed into the Malacca Strait, a major shipping lane between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and will head into international waters before returning to the city-state.
Keeping the pandemic situation in mind, a raft of safety measures were introduced. The ship operated with about 1,400 passengers, almost half its capacity to ensure social distancing among the guests. The operator of the ship, arranged health screening and antigen rapid test for the guests in the cruise terminal itself, the results of which were made available within an hour.
The ship has touchless washing stations that dispense water, soap and paper towels automatically.
The ship has seven isolation cabins, turned into negative pressure isolation rooms to house suspected or positive cases, and 34 quarantine rooms for their close contacts.
Genting authorities have reportedly said to the media that operations cost for World Dream has increased by 40%. These costs went into enhancing measures on board, such as implementing contactless hand washing and sanitising stations outside restaurants and at common areas, and increasing the frequency of cleaning high-touch surfaces.
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