Nearly 3,000 Confined to Cabins After COVID-19 Case on Singapore Cruise
A Genting Cruise Lines ship on a "cruise to nowhere" has returned to Singapore after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a passenger, and the nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on board were confined to their cabins through most of Wednesday.The 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case."The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land…
Singapore Is the Global Cruise Leader—For Now
Singapore currently accounts for a third of the world’s cruises its tourism body said on Wednesday, owing to the roaring success of its “cruises to nowhere” at a time of crisis in the industry globally.Cruises have yet to restart in many parts of the world after taking a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the earliest big outbreaks found on cruise ships.The city-state launched what it called “round trips” on luxury liners in November, which have no port of call and last only a few days.
Relieved Passengers Leave Singapore Cruise After COVID-19 Scare
A Royal Caribbean “cruise-to-nowhere” from Singapore began disembarking its nearly 1,700 passengers who were confined to their cabins for more than 16 hours on Wednesday after a COVID-19 case was detected onboard, forcing the ship back to port.All passengers aboard the Quantum of the Seas had cleared a mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the virus up to three days before the four-day cruise began on Monday.Authorities said close contacts of the COVID-19 patient among the 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members on board had so far tested negative.
Cruise Ship Turned Away by Malaysia, Thailand to Dock in Singapore
Singapore will allow cruise ship Costa Fortuna to dock in the city-state on Tuesday, authorities said, after it was turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand over coronavirus fears.Costa Fortuna departed from Singapore, where it is home-ported, on March 3.Italian cruise line Costa Crociere said there were no suspected virus cases among its guests, which includes Italians. Italy has the largest number of cases of the virus outside China with 7,375 infections.The operator…
Genting Dream to Homeport in Singapore
Asian luxury cruise line Dream Cruises said it will homeport its inaugural vessel, Genting Dream, year-round in Singapore from December 3, 2017. Christened in November 2017, Genting Dream currently sails from Hong Kong or Guangzhou. With the move, the 151,300-metric-ton cruise ship will tap new markets, calling at more than 10 ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Significant growth in the Asian cruise industry over the recent years has presented new opportunities for the region, and Dream Cruises said it aims to be a pacesetter in Singapore.
India to Make Cruise Tourism Sail
With its vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage, India may get some fillip in cruise tourism in the months to come. A report in Business Standard says that a high-level meeting of the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Customs, Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Tourism (MoT) will be held in the national capital to deliberate on steps to popularize cruise tourism. Also, Royal Caribbean, one of the largest cruise lines in the world, is organizing a seminar on cruise tourism. Quantum of the Seas (QOTS), the third largest cruise ship in the world, will dock at Cochin port on June 4-5, en route to Singapore and Shanghai. The seminar on QOTS in June will involve officials from several government agencies.
‘Torch of Passion’ Guides Clipper Race Fleet into Keppel Bay
A Singapore welcome greeted the international fleet of 10 in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race as they sailed into Marina at Keppel Bay over the weekend to rousing cheers from Singaporeans, families and residents of Keppel Bay. Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation, ignited the ‘Torch of Passion', starting the welcome celebrations for the fleet which had just completed Race 7, a 4,600-mile race from Gold Coast, Australia, to Singapore. At the ceremony, Guest-of-Honor Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, presented the Keppel-sponsored Singapore Cup to the winning team from Gold Coast Australia…
“Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds” Opens in Singapore
One of the oldest and most important marine archaeological finds of the late 20th century was unveiled to the public February 19, 2011, when the much-anticipated Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds exhibition opens in Singapore, at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. The exhibition is jointly organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian), the Asian , ; the National Heritage Board (NHB), and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Shipwrecked relates the story of an astonishing cargo of some 60,000 objects carried from China by a ninth-century Arab dhow, presenting a dynamic tale of trade between China and West Asia along the maritime silk route. The cargo had lain undisturbed on the ocean floor for more than 1,000 years before its discovery near 's in 1998.
Singapore Cruise Terminal Gets TEAM Boarding Bridges
TEAM was recently contracted by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to design, manufacture and deliver three Passenger Boarding Bridges for the International Cruise Terminal in Singapore, currently in construction. The contract is a result of a competitive tender process for which TEAM partnered up with leading services specialist Singapore Technologies Synthesis Pte Ltd. (ST Synthesis). The contract calls for the delivery of three PBBs in November 2011 and the option for delivery of a fourth PBB in 2012.