KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Disney Cruise Line has inked an agreement with the Singapore Tourism Board to deploy one of the largest cruise ships in the world to Singapore starting in 2025.

In a report on Wednesday (March 29), industry magazine The Maritime Executive said Disney confirmed the previous rumours that the company plans to deploy the Global Dream cruise ship acquired in the bankruptcy of MV Werften to Asia, marking the first time that one of the ultra-large cruise ships has homeported in the region.

The magazine said news of the agreement with Singapore comes as work is beginning at the shipyard in Wismar, Germany, more than a year after the bankruptcy of the yard which was controlled by Genting Hong Kong.

Disney announced in November 2022 that it was acquiring the incomplete cruise ship and would work with Meyer Werft to redesign and finish the ship for its cruise operations.

Under the terms of the agreement with the Singapore Tourism Board, the as yet unnamed cruise ship will be homeported exclusively in Singapore for at least five years.

Singapore Tourism Board chief executive Keith Tan called it an important milestone for Singapore, highlighting that they expect the cruise ship will become “an attraction itself, and is expected to boost the tourism sector in Singapore for many years to come”.

During a press event in Singapore on Wednesday officials said the addition of a Disney Cruise Line ship in Singapore has the potential to add millions of local and foreign cruise passengers across the five-year period, including fly-cruise passengers who arrive in Singapore by air.

It is also expected to bring about significant spillover benefits for the wider economy. These include greater demand for port and ship-related services, as well as on-ground spending in Singapore for the lifestyle and hospitality sectors.

Disney said details, including the name of the ship, its itineraries, and onboard experiences would be announced at a later date.

The cruise line previously said it anticipates lowering the capacity from Genting Hong Kong’s plans for a passenger capacity of up to 9,500 people with 2,500 cabins to approximately 6,000 passengers and 2,300 crew.

The cruise ship, which will be approximately 208,000 gross tons and 1,122 feet in length, is being called the world’s largest based on its passenger capacity.

In addition to being the first time Disney Cruise Line has homeported in Asia, it will be the first cruise ship over 200,000 gross tons to homeport in Asia.

Royal Caribbean International had planned before the pandemic to homeport its Wonder of the Seas (235,600 gross tons) in China, but so far the Oasis class has operated in Europe and the Caribbean.

MSC Cruises put its MSC World Europa (215,863 gross tons) in Dubai this winter, and now the ship is repositioning to the Mediterranean.

Dream Cruises, which had planned to operate the ship, announced plans for a large amusement park, water slides, shopping mall, Asian spa, and Cineplex, as well as a range of restaurants, bars, and a large casino.

A spokesperson for Meyer Werft recently reported that negotiations were underway with Disney to finalise the exact scope of the conversion work.