Disney Could Be Interested in 9,000-Passenger Global Dream Cruise Ship
After much uncertainty over the last months about what would happen with the largest cruise ship by passenger volume in history, there seems to be a buyer for Global Dream after all.
The ship, which the now-bankrupt Genting Hong Kong built for Dream Cruises, could be sailing for Disney Cruise Line in the future, according to a German news outlet.
The news was announced by the insolvency administrator for the shipyard where the vessel is under construction, Christoph Morgen. Global Dream would be completed at the MV Werften, where the ship could be under the direction of Meyer Werft in Papenburg, where Disney Cruise Line already has another ship on order.
Disney Cruise Line Takes a Huge Step
That someone would be stepping up and buying the 208,000 gross ton Global Dream seemed to be an unlikely affair as time passed since Genting Hong Kong went bankrupt earlier this year.
The 9,000- passenger cruise ship, by far the largest cruise ship to ever be constructed by passenger volume, has sat untouched in the shipyard in Germany since January of this year.
As the vessel was intended for the Asian market and specifically built to sail in Asia, the likelihood of an American or European cruise company coming forward and purchasing the ship seemed slim at best.
However, in an astonishing move, it seems that Disney Cruise Line could be willing to put up the money for the vessel and complete the construction. German news outlet NDR, a respected and well-known broadcaster in Germany, broke the news yesterday.
According to a statement by the insolvency administrator Christoph Morgen, Global Dream will be completed under the direction of the world-famous Meyer Werft from Papenburg, Germany.
Workers will complete the vessel at the Wismar-based MV Werften, where construction has been ongoing for several years now. Meyer Werft has already built ships for the Walt Disney Group’s Disney Cruise Line.
Purchase Price Not Known
Global Dream had an initial construction price tag of 1.6 billion euros. However, it is unlikely that Disney Cruise Line would be paying that amount for the vessel. The amount is expected to be just a fraction of the initial cost.
While Christoph Morgen has confirmed the purchase by Disney Cruise Line, neither the cruise line nor local Economic Minster Reinhard Meyer have made concrete comments on the news. When asked, the Minister spoke merely of confidential discussions with Disney Cruise Line.
The news is positive for the 950 employees of the former Genting shipyard where the vessel was being constructed, and who now would be able to go back to work in the construction yard. It also means that rumors the ship would be sold as scrap metal can possibly be put to rest.
A Meyer Werft employee was quoted by NDR, saying: “It is a very different picture psychologically if this large ship is finished in Wismar than if it were towed out there and scrapped somewhere in the world.”
Global Dream, which was scheduled to commence sailing this year, is only 75% completed. Cooperation between Disney and Meyer Werft to complete the vessel is more than likely. The shipyard already built three cruise ships for the company in 2010, 2012, and in 2022, Disney Wish. Three more LNG-powered cruise ships are on order.
The former owner of Global Dream, Genting Hong Kong, went bankrupt in January of this year. The direct result of the global pandemic. The demise of the largest Asian cruise operator meant the end of operations for Dream Cruises, Star Cruises, and Crystal Cruises.
Since that time, Crystal Cruises has restarted under Abercrombie & Kent, and Dream Cruises made a restart under resorts World Cruises, a subsidiary of Genting in Singapore & Malaysia.