The AROYA in her new livery departing from Damen Verolme in Rotterdam-Botlek heading for Bremerhaven  Photo : Willem Holtkamp ©

The WORLD DREAM was abandoned when parent company Genting Hong Kong went bust, but it is now set for a re-launch after a very traumatic life under previous owners The iconic ship's exterior design is no longer, after it was rebranded Formerly known as a the
WORLD DREAM ship, it was part of a pair of vessels being auctioned off after parent company Genting Hong Kong went bust.

Alongside it and its sister ships GLOBAL DREAM – later bought by Disney – GLOBAL DREAM II, GENTING DREAM, EXPLORER DREAM, SUPERSTAR AQUARIUS. SUPERSTAR GEMINI, STAR PISCES and The TAIPAN, were all also up for sale.However, it was later saved by Cruise Saudi for an undisclosed price, given a total refit and has been renamed AROYA. It will launch later this year, becoming the temporary home of 3,362 guests from December .It will float around areas such as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and be targetted for use by the Arabian cruising market. But this means there will be no booze in line with Saudi laws so could put off Brits looking for a holiday in the Arabian sea.

The no-expense-spared Aroya cruise has a strict ban on alcohol, and is warning passengers not to bring CDs or any magazines that “violate public decency” on board too.Joerg Rudolph, president of Aroya Cruises: “We are delighted to have officially renamed our first Aroya Cruises ship to Aroya. The name evokes a sense of wanderlust and excitement, which passengers feel from the moment they step aboard."

“We are looking forward to the launch in December 2024. A new very modern form of vacation is being introduced by Aroya in the Arab world.”Despite the new future, the ship does have a dark past as it made headline news when its final journey under the previous owners ended up with all passengers on board trapped on the ship after a Coronavirus outbreak was detected.

It had, at the time, 3,800 passengers and crew who were forced to spend three weeks trapped on the ship at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong when three passengers caught the virus.Eventually, after nearly a month, they were allowed off after every single crew member was tested, – passengers were not as they had had no contact with the infected Chinese nationals during the trip.

Source : dailystar