Asia’s first luxury cruise line, Dream Cruises has started construction of its first Global Class cruise ship in Germany.

The ship, which will accommodate up to 5,000 passengers, will be the largest in the Dream Cruises fleet.

The ship will offer some unique features including a Cineplex, theme park, Asian spa, multiple authentic Asian dining experiences, including fast-casual food alternatives, and affordable shopping facilities in addition to luxury retail boutiques.

President of Dream Cruises Thatcher Brown also revealed at the steel cutting ceremony that the ships will be sailing to Australia, New Zealand as well as ASEAN nations.

“This is a very proud moment for Dream Cruises,” said Mr. Thatcher Brown, President of Dream Cruise. “Building on the successful debuts of Genting Dream in 2016 and World Dream in 2017, the addition of two Global Class ships to the fleet will allow Dream Cruises to offer our partners and guests more itineraries worldwide. Our plans are to have Shanghai and Tianjin as homeports in summer and then, to offer itineraries in Australia, New Zealand, the ASEAN region, and the West coast of the United States in winter. By 2021, there will be about 8 million Asian tourists to Australia and New Zealand annually and Dream cruises will be able to offer an attractive cruise alternative to a land vacation for these Asian visitors. Expanding the Dream Cruises brand “globally” goes hand-in-hand with an aggressive new-build program that will double our capacity by 2021.”

Dream Cruises, which launched in 2016 first with the Genting Dream, has won the hearts of cruisers from all around the world. The Genting Dream is now homeported in Singapore after spending a year sailing from Hong Kong.

In 2017, the World Dream was launched and is homeported from Hong Kong and has beautiful features including a special seafood restaurant as well as reoccurring partnerships with Johnnie Walker and Penfolds wine.

“After designing the Global Class ships for the last three years and investing over 210 million euros to make MV Werften a state-of-the-art cruise shipbuilding yard, we are very pleased to finally start construction on the first Global Class cruise ship,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

“These ships are not only the largest cruise ships to be built in Germany; they are also the most technologically advanced with artificial intelligence. The Global Class ships mirror the widespread use of technology and artificial intelligence by our Asians guests in their daily lives, with facial and voice recognition for most services onboard, eliminating most queues; contextual marketing to even out demand on ship facilities; automated robots to perform mundane tasks – allowing the hardworking staff to focus on service delivery – along with other artificial intelligence and digital systems. Internet, an essential service for guests to connect on social media, will be free,” he said.