World Dream, the newest luxury cruise liner operated by Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises, embarked on its maiden voyage from Guangzhou's Nansha Port on Nov 19.

After a grand launch ceremony in Hong Kong, the 18-deck luxury vessel left for Guangzhou last Friday, arriving on Nov 19. The ship is scheduled to travel six days and five nights via Manila before anchoring up at Boracay in the Philippines.

The cruise liner will be operated along two separate routes, one stopping at Manila and Boracay in the Philippines, and the other docking in Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang in Vietnam. The vessel has a maximum occupancy of 3,400 passengers and provides 35 styles of cuisine and plentiful entertainment activities including concerts, dance shows, cinemas, and clubbing events to its guests.

World Dream embarks on its maiden voyage from Guangzhou's Nansha Port on Nov 19. [Photo/Xinhua] 

Genting Dream, the sister ship of World Dream set off on its maiden voyage from Nansha Port in November last year. From January to November this year, the cruise ship has embarked on 76 voyages, accommodating more than 270,000 passengers.

Nansha, an important node of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, will team up with Genting Hong Kong Limited, the holding company of Dream Cruises and the first cruise company to tap into the cruise tourism industry in Nansha, to build Nansha into a highland for the cruise industry in China, according to Liu Chaoyang, deputy head of Nansha district.

Currently, there are three cruise lines in Nansha district operating a total of eight cruise tourism routes.

As of the end of October, a total of 106 cruise liners have either made their way to or set off from Nansha, hosting more than 350,000 passengers, an increase of 20.55 percent compared to the same period last year.  

The 18-deck ship is made in Germany and can accommodate 3,400 passengers with 1,686 staterooms, 70 percent of which feature private balconies. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]