At a ceremony in the Papenburg yard's covered building dock II, Genting HK chairman and ceo Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay placed a coin under the 740-ton keel block for good luck.
'We are glad to see that our first newbuild for our new brand Dream Cruises is now starting to take shape. The ship will offer many special features for the Chinese market,' Lim said.
The block is among 92 that will form the 151,000gt ship, scheduled for delivery in autumn 2016. Genting Dream will launch a premium sector brand for the Genting HK group, supplementing Star Cruises for the contemporary market and Crystal Cruises in the luxury end.
'It is our great pleasure to build these new ships for the new shipping company and to continue our long-standing business relationship with Genting Berhad, which began nearly 20 years ago with the construction of the SuperStar Leo,' said Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft.
The second ship for Dream Cruises, World Dream, is scheduled to follow in 2017.
