MV Dreamward
| Company type | Cruise ship |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cruise shipping |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | St. Nazaire , France |
| Products | Passenger cruises |
MS Dreamward was a cruise ship managed and owned by Star Cruises. Constructed in 1992 at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard located in St. Nazaire, France, she originally sailed for Norwegian Cruise Line under the name MS Dreamward. The vessel underwent lengthening in 1998 at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, after which she was rechristened as Norwegian Dream. By late 2012, she became part of Star Cruises' fleet and was renamed SuperStar Gemini.
History
Design and build
Dreamward represented the first of a pair of identical cruise vessels commissioned by Kloster Cruise for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) from the shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique. The design featured a gross tonnage near 40,000 and accommodated up to 1,246 passengers. These ships were engineered with the possibility of future lengthening to expand capacity without requiring entirely new builds.
The lengthening process took place between March and May 1998 at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, where a new midsection was inserted into the hull. Adjustments were made to the funnel and radar mast so they could fold down, enabling passage beneath the bridges of the Kiel Canal. Concurrently, Dreamward was renamed Norwegian Dream, with gross tonnage increasing and passenger capacity rising to 2,156. A documentary detailing this extension aired on ARTE Television in January 1999.
Operational history
Delivered on 4 November 1992, the vessel was officially named on 5 December at Port Everglades, Florida, and commenced cruises to Bermuda the following day. Her itineraries included voyages from New York to the Bahamas as well as Florida to the Caribbean. Her sister ship entered service in 1993. Both initially bore early-1990s NCL branding, which was refreshed prior to 1998.
The ship gained brief literary mention in David Foster Wallace's 1995 essay "Shipping Out," published in Harper's, where its impressive size relative to other ships was noted.
Post-lengthening, Norwegian Dream operated primarily in European waters. On 24 August 1999, she collided with the container vessel near Dover; despite damage to her bow, she remained operational under her own power. The incident involved hazardous materials aboard Ever Decent, which caught fire and emitted toxic smoke; repairs for Norwegian Dream were completed at Lloyd Werft.
In 2004, ownership transitioned to Star Cruises, NCL’s parent company, possibly for resale or reassignment within their fleet. On 10 December 2007, while departing Montevideo, she collided with a barge causing minor damage and leading to port closure due to spilled cargo.
On 23 April 2008, Star Cruises reached an agreement to sell both Norwegian Dream and her sister ship to Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines for $218 million. However, Louis Cruise Lines withdrew from purchasing Norwegian Dream by September citing "technical issues," though they proceeded with acquiring the sister vessel. Subsequently, Norwegian Dream was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas; later inspected by Louis Cruise Lines and Pullmantur Cruises in Greece before undergoing dry-docking in Singapore in June 2011. She was also anchored off Penang in May 2012.
On 10 September 2012, Star Cruises announced a $50 million refurbishment that included rebranding the vessel as SuperStar Gemini. The upgrade introduced new amenities such as multiple dining venues, a show lounge, spa facilities, beauty salon, children's play area, and swimming pool. Post-refit, passenger capacity stood at 1,532 accommodated within 766 cabins ranging from oceanview staterooms to deluxe suites.
On 27 November 2016, CCTV footage captured an incident where a passenger fell overboard near Pulau Besar en route to Penang; despite search efforts and ship announcements, he was declared missing.
Following the collapse of Genting Hong Kong—the parent company of Star Cruises—in April 2022, SuperStar Gemini, along with sister ships SuperStar Aquarius and Star Pisces, were sold for dismantling. On 29 May 2022, sailing under the name Gem and flagged by Saint Kitts and Nevis, she departed Penang bound for scrapping facilities in India.
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