Norwegian Dream departing Galveston Bay
History
Name
  • 1992–1998: Dreamward
  • 1998–2012: Norwegian Dream
  • 2012–2022: SuperStar Gemini
  • 2022: Gem
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
Cost$240 million[5]
Yard numberC30[1]
Laid down6 March 1991[6]
Launched24 February 1992[1]
Christened5 December 1992[1]
Completed1992
Acquired4 November 1992[1]
Maiden voyage1992
In service6 December 1992[1]
Out of service2022
Identification
FateScrapped at Alang, India in 2022
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and typeDreamward-class cruise ship
Tonnage
Length190.04 m (623 ft 6 in)
Beam28.80 m (94 ft 6 in)
Draught6.80 m (22 ft 4 in)
Ice class1 C[4]
Installed power
  • 2 × 8-cylinder, 2 × 6-cylinder MAN-B&W diesels
  • 18,638 kW (24,994 hp) combined
Propulsion
Speed21 knots (38.89 km/h; 24.17 mph)
Capacity1,246 passengers (all berths)[7]
General characteristics (after 1998 refit)[8]
Tonnage
Length229.84 m (754 ft 1 in)
Beam32.10 m (105 ft 4 in)
Draught7.00 m (23 ft 0 in)
Depth17.83 m (58 ft 6 in)
Decks10 (passenger accessible)[5]
Capacity
  • 1,750 passengers (lower berths)
  • 2,156 passengers (all berths)[5]
Crew700[5]

MS Dreamward was a cruise ship owned and operated by Star Cruises.[9][10] She was built in 1992 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France as MS Dreamward for traffic with Norwegian Cruise Line. In 1998 she was lengthened at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany and renamed as Norwegian Dream.[1] In late 2012, she was transferred to the fleet of Star Cruises and renamed SuperStar Gemini.

History

Concept and construction

Dreamward was the first in a pair of two identical cruise ships ordered by Kloster Cruise for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) from Chantiers de l'Atlantique. The sisters were planned with a gross tonnage of approximately 40,000, and maximum passenger capacity of 1,246 persons.[1][7] However, they were also designed from the start with the concept of lengthening in mind, making it possible for the company to easily expand their capacity without having to order entirely new ships.[11]

The lengthening was eventually carried out in March–May 1998 at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, where the ship was cut in half and a new 40-metre (131 ft 3 in) midsection was inserted. In addition to the lengthening, the ship's funnel and radar mast were adapted so that they could be folded down, allowing her to pass under the bridges of the Kiel Canal.[1][5][12] Coinciding with the lengthening, Dreamward was renamed Norwegian Dream.[1] She re-emerged at 50,764 GT[8] and with maximum passenger capacity of 2,156.[5] A documentary film about the lengthening has been broadcast by ARTE Television on 19 January 1999.[13]

Service history

Dreamward at Grand Cayman

Dreamward was delivered on 4 November 1992. She was named on 5 December 1992 at Port Everglades, Florida, and started on her first cruise to Bermuda the following day.[1] Subsequently, the ship was used for cruising from New York to the Bahamas and from Florida to the Caribbean.[7] Her sister ship was a year later named as Windward.[14] Originally both Dreamward and Windward carried the early-1990s NCL livery with a white funnel and red and blue decorative stripes on the hull.[7][15] Sometime before 1998 they received the new NCL livery with a dark blue funnel and an all-white hull.[12]

Dreamward made a brief cameo in David Foster Wallace's 1995 Harper's magazine essay "Shipping Out: On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise", when the ship Wallace was travelling on, the Zenith, docked alongside Dreamward in Cozumel. Wallace expresses his amazement at the scale of Dreamward as it docks, and at what he perceives as its relatively impressive appearance compared to the Zenith.[16]

Norwegian Dream at Kiel Canal
Norwegian Dream

Afterwards, she was also used for cruising around Europe.[12] On 24 August 1999, Norwegian Dream was involved in a collision with the container ship Ever Decent (IMO 9134244) while en route from Zeebrügge, Belgium to Dover, England. Although her bow was damaged, Norwegian Dream continued to Dover under her own power. The IMO report[17] states that the weather at the time was good with a slight sea and good visibility. Ever Decent was severely damaged, eventually listing 40 degrees to port. As a result of the collision Ever Decent caught fire and a toxic plume formed. The cargo her included all IMO hazmat classes except explosives, in particular, two containers of cyanide were a concern. Following the incident, Norwegian Dream was repaired at Lloyd Werft.[1]

In 2004 the ownership of Norwegian Dream was transferred to NCL's parent company Star Cruises, in preparation for possible sale or transfer to the Star Cruises fleet.[2] On 10 December 2007, the cruise ship was involved in a further collision with a barge while leaving the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. The collision caused some damage above the waterline that did not appear to be serious. The collision caused several cars and five containers to fall off the barge, which closed the port for some time.[18]

On 23 April 2008 Star Cruises entered an agreement to sell Norwegian Dream, as well as her fleet mate Norwegian Majesty, to the Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines, which was reportedly willing to pay $218 million for the ship.[3][19] International Shipping Partners was also interested in Norwegian Dream.[20] Louis was supposed to pay the entire $218 million upon the ship's delivery,[19] but by 29 September 2008, when the ship should have been delivered to Louis, they canceled the deal due to "technical issues relating to the vessel."[21] The deal for Norwegian Majesty, however, was completed in July.[19] In November 2008 Norwegian Dream was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas awaiting a buyer.. The ship had a brief spell in the port of Piraeus, Greece, before relocating to Kalamata on 13 June 2011 for inspection by Louis Cruise Lines and Pullmantur Cruises. Shortly thereafter, she returned to the anchor point off Piraeus. Later, on the move yet again, Norwegian Dream was sighted at anchor in Singapore Harbour in June 2011. Star Cruises confirmed that the vessel was in Singapore for a technical dry-dock. She was also seen anchored in the harbour in Penang, Malaysia, in May 2012.

SuperStar Gemini in 2014

On 10 September 2012, Star Cruises announced that it would refurbish Norwegian Dream, and rename the ship to SuperStar Gemini.[9][22] The refurbished SuperStar Gemini now housed new onboard facilities including restaurants of Chinese, Asian and international cuisines, open-deck barbecue, show lounge, karaoke, spa & health club, beauty salon, children's playroom and swimming pool. With a passenger capacity of 1,532, the vessel houses 766 guest cabins in a variety of layouts including ergonomic oceanview rooms, junior suites and deluxe executive suites.[23] The estimated cost of this refurbishment was US$50 million.

SuperStar Gemini

On 27 November 2016, while cruising to Penang, CCTV footage on SuperStar Gemini showed that a Singaporean man fell overboard 9.5 nautical miles (17.6 km; 10.9 mi) off Pulau Besar and 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) off Tanjung Kling. He was reported missing after he failed to respond to the ship's announcements before the ship docked in Georgetown, Penang.

In April 2022, it was announced that SuperStar Gemini along with SuperStar Aquarius and Star Pisces were all sold for scrap, following the collapse of Star Cruises' parent company, Genting Hong Kong. On 29 May 2022, the ship departed from Penang as Gem with flag Saint Kitts and Nevis for scrap in India.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Dreamward (1992)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  2. 1 2 Newman, Doug (15 April 2008). "Lloyd's List: Three NCL Ships Nearly Sold". At Sea with Doug Newman. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Louis acquires Norwegian Dream and Majesty". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Norwegian Dream (21462)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 436–437. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  6. ↑ "SuperStar Gemini (21462)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, William H. Jr. (1995). The Pictorial Encycpedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994. Mineola: Dover Publications. p. 40. ISBN 0-486-28137-X.
  8. 1 2 "Vessel info: Norwegian Dream"" Dimensions (21462)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Norwegian Dream Set to Sail for Star". Cruise Industry News. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Shore Excursion" (PDF). Star Cruises. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Ward (2006). p. 440
  12. 1 2 3 "Norwegian Cruise Line - Page 3: The New Fleet Livery". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  13. ↑ "Operation Ship". Offroad Reports. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Asklander, Micke. "M/S Windward (1993)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  15. ↑ "Norwegian Cruise Line - Page 2: Second Generation Ships". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  16. ↑ Wallace, David Foster (January 1996). "Shipping Out" (PDF). Harper's Magazine.
  17. ↑ Collision between Ever Decent and Norwegian Dream (PDF). Monitoring Implementation of the Hazardous and Noxious Substance Convention; Report on Incidents Involving HNS. LEG 85/Inf. 2. (Report). IMO Legal Committee. 2002.
  18. ↑ "Cruise ship, barge collide in Montevideo". Reuters. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
  19. 1 2 3 Hand, Marcus (30 September 2008). "Star Cruises $218m Norwegian Dream sale fails". Lloyd's List. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  20. ↑ Newman, Doug (18 April 2008). "Seatrade: Pride of America Not Sold". At Sea with Doug Newman. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  21. ↑ "No Dream for Louis Cruises". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  22. ↑ "Star Cruises to unveil SuperStar Gemini after US$50m refurbishment". TTG Asia. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  23. ↑ Citrinot, Luc. "Star Cruises to introduce SuperStar Gemini after a US$50m renovation". TravelDailyNews.asia. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.

Bibliography

Media related to IMO 9008419 at Wikimedia Commons

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