Facial and voice recognition, artificial intelligence and automated robots will be among the key features of Genting Hong Kong’s casino cruise fleet in the coming years after the company announced details of its new Global Class line, set for deployment from 2020.
Genting HK officially began production on the Global Class fleet at its shipyards in Germany last week, with the ships designed specifically for the booming Asian cruise ship market. Among the features of the fleet, set to measure 342 meters and carry 5,000 passengers each, will be a Cineplex, theme park, Asian spa, multiple authentic Asian dining experiences and luxury retail boutiques.
However, most significant will be the role played by technology with Genting HK Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay revealing, “These ships are not only the largest cruise ships to be built in Germany, they are also the most technologically advanced with artificial intelligence.
“The Global Class ships mirror the widespread use of technology and artificial intelligence by our Asians guests in their daily lives, with facial and voice recognition for most services onboard, eliminating most queues; contextual marketing to even out demand on ship facilities; automated robots to perform mundane tasks – allowing the hardworking staff to focus on service delivery – along with other artificial intelligent and digital systems.
“Internet, an essential service for guests to connect on social media, will be free.”
Genting HK said that the cabins have been “uniquely designed for the Asian family” to allow for a wider price point, while Global Class will also be the first cruise ship to boast public escalators with eight sets of escalators connecting public areas.
The ships are the result of almost four years of design and saw Genting HK invest over €210 million to upgrade its MV Werten shipbuilding yard.
They also follow the recent high-tech trend by Asian gaming companies, with Melco Resorts announcing in January that it plans to use biometric security to track casino visitors in Japan should it win a highly coveted Japanese casino license.
Genting HK’s first Global Class ship is expected to roll off the production line in 2020 with a second to follow in 2021.
“This is a very proud moment for Dream Cruises,” said President of Genting’s Dream Cruises brand, Thatcher Brown. “Building on the successful debuts of Genting Dream in 2016 and World Dream in 2017, the addition of two Global Class ships to the fleet will allow Dream Cruises to offer our partners and guests more itineraries worldwide.
“Our plans are to have Shanghai and Tianjin as homeports in summer and then to offer itineraries in Australia, New Zealand, the ASEAN region and the West coast of the United States in winter.
“By 2021, there will be about eight million Asian tourists to Australia and New Zealand annually and Dream Cruises will be able to offer an attractive cruise alternative to a land vacation for these Asian visitors. Expanding the Dream Cruises brand globally goes hand-in-hand with an aggressive new-build program that will over double our capacity in by 2021.”
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