Following a seven-month hiatus, Dream Cruises’ Explorer Dream resumed
homeport deployment in Taiwan from 31 December, bringing back its Super
Seacation itinerary.
On its inaugural sailing, Dream Cruises celebrated its fresh restart
in Taiwan and rang in the new year with guests as they embarked on a
two-night cruise that took them from Keelung to Hualian to catch the
first sunrise over the horizon in 2022.
Lin Yu-chang, mayor of Keelung, turned up in person at the cruise
terminal to greet Explorer Dream’s passengers of the inaugural sailing,
and spoke of his support for the new safe cruising measures, which
require all cruising guests to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and
to undergo mandatory PCR testing.
It is hoped that the restart of Explorer Dream’s sailings will boost
local tourism and spur the resumption of various operations within the
industry. Andy Yau, general manager of Lion Travel Service Co. Ltd
shared that “the pent-up demand for domestic travel in Taiwan has been
on the rise” due to the “ongoing restrictions and uncertainties on
international travel.”
“Cruise travel offers a real getaway journey to domestic
destinations, complimented by the offerings of a floating resort at sea
that provides total peace of mind with stringent preventive measures
that exceed the usual standards on land, which can cater to those who
are looking for a truly hassle-free and worry-free holiday,” Yau added.
Not Dream Cruises’ first rodeo
Initially, the Explorer Dream was the first cruise ship to resume
service in Taiwan beginning July 2020, welcoming over 90,000 guests in a
period of 11 months. It is also the first to resume cruising in Asia,
boasting a record of zero Covid-19 related incidents.
However,
due to the local Covid-19 outbreak in May 2021, Taiwan suspended
domestic cruising. Since then, Dream Cruises has been working closely
alongside the Taiwan government bodies to establish safety protocols for
guests and crew upon resumption of the country’s cruise sector.
According to Sally Riu, vice president – sales, Taiwan of Dream
Cruises, she attributes the successful relaunch of Explorer Dream’s
Super Seacation itineraries to the Ministry of Transportation and
Communications and the Ministry of Health and Welfare which provided
“advice and guidance over the past months to ensure that stringent
preventive measures and health protocols are in place for safe
cruising”.
Riu also shares that Explorer Dream has an exciting pipeline of
thematic sailings which include “the Lunar New Year celebrations and the
widely acclaimed Around the World on Dream Cruises series, featuring an
immersive experience of food, culture and snap-worthy decorations that
are inspired by popular travel destinations”.
Dream Cruises thinks safety
Along with the new mandate for all passengers to be fully vaccinated
at least 14 days prior to departure and to present a negative PCR test
at the cruise terminal, guests are also required to download the ‘Taiwan
Social Distance’ App and keep their Bluetooth on throughout their
seacation for contact-tracing purposes.
Since its initial restart back in 2020, the Explorer Dream has
implemented a set of measures to ensure the safety of its cruisers — the
ship’s capacity has been reduced, providing more space for social
distancing; 100% external fresh air is filtered and supplied throughout
the ship; comprehensive sanitisation and disinfection is frequently
conducted throughout the ship; and safe food and beverage handling
procedures are practised at all times.
Additionally, there’s a 24-hour medical care facility on board
Explorer Dream that is managed by a team of doctor and nurses, with
isolation wards and a number of test instruments that can detect
infectious diseases including Covid-19 within the span of 20 minutes.