Singapore Cruising is getting underway again with the resumption of cruises in November. The Singapore Tourism Board has announced that the pilot scheme will begin with itineraries offered by two lines that are based there − Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean - beginning with a short itinerary for the newest Genting ship, World Dream, leaving Singapore on November 6th 2020.

Genting/ Dream Cruises were one of the first lines to restart cruising, Explorer Dream has been running short itineraries from Taiwan since July 26th and its success there has led to Gnting being given the green light to resume cruising in Singapore.

“We are delighted to be the first cruise ship to restart operations here in Singapore and to give a much-needed boost to the local tourism industry,” said Mr Michael Goh, President of Dream Cruises. “We hope to bring back the joy of cruising with safety being paramount.”

Initially these sailings are only open to Singapore residents and are being advertised as “seacations” - short round trips with no ports of call. All guests will have to present their Singapore Government contact tracing TraceTogether Token or App at check in. SIngapore Tourist Board has developed a mandatory CruiseSafe certification programme, which includes stringent hygiene and safety measures throughout the entire passenger journey – from tests before boarding to disembarkation and tracing beyond it. As part of the measure the ships will sail at 50% capacity or less and all passengers will undertake Covid19 testing before boarding. There will other precautions such as the extended cleaning routines, mask wearing, reduced capacities and social distancing between groups of passengers that we are seeing on other cruiselines.

Royal Caribbean International, will begin sailing on December 1st with Quantum of the Seas offering short ‘Ocean Getaways’ of 2 to 4 nights. RCI are implementing enhanced health & safety protocols including testing and continuous screening, upgraded filtered ventilation and air conditioning systems and upgraded medical facilities and care.

Royal Caribbean are offering a 100% FCC should a guest or any member of their travel party test positive for the virus prior to the cruise or a full refund if a guest tests positive whilst onboard. The line will also cover Covid-19 related costs such as the initial tests and an insurance of up to 25,000 SGD per person in for onboard medical expenses, any required quarantine and travel home, this is the first time a cruise company has committed to a specific level of Covid cover.

Hopefully it wont be too long until we see this again!

The Singapore government will be monitoring the situation closely before extending the scheme out to cruises visiting other countries. At present there are not even any tourist flights into Singapore so this is a long way from the beginning of the resumption of International cruising but every little green shoot gives us hope and the standards set by Singapore should help other countries make their own plans. Hopefully #wewillcruiseagain soon!

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Happy portExploring!

My Iconic Singapore snack! Tiger Beer and Satay!

Love

Cathy

xx

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