Hong Kong cruises expected to start in July for Dream and Royal Caribbean

Starting July 30, Genting Dream will operate two-night cruises sailing Fridays and Wednesdays and three-night cruises sailing Sundays.

It's also being reported in Hong Kong that Spectrum of the Seas will start July 30, with two-, three- and four-night sailings. Royal Caribbean in Miami confirmed it's been approved to sail but gave no ship or itinerary specifics, saying only there are 'still details to sort through, but we look forward to announcing our return soon.'

Vaccination requirement for 16 and up

According to local sources, passengers 16 and older will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Neither line has confirmed that. 

Step toward economic recovery

'Hong Kong’s swift action in the face of the recent fourth wave of COVID-19 has resulted in the quick reduction of recorded cases and has kept numbers low compared to global figures,' Genting Cruise Lines President Kent Zhu said. 'As well, the successful roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination program to its citizens is truly a milestone in the fight against the pandemic within its borders. In light of the improving situation in the city, we welcome the government’s announcement to allow the resumption of cruise operations in Hong Kong as a positive step towards the recovery of our economy,'

Genting Dream will redeploy to Hong Kong by June to begin the quarantine process in readiness for the July restart.

Follows cruises from Singapore, Taiwan

Both Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean have been operating sailings to nowhere from Singapore for local residents since late last year. 

Explorer Dream has completed nearly 11 months of domestic operations in Taiwan (where cruises are currently paused until June 8) and almost seven months in Singapore with World Dream, and claims to have nearly 180,000 passengers on so-far COVID-19 incident-free voyages.