''Explorer Dream'' is a ''Leo'' class
cruise ship that most recently operated with
Dream Cruises. She was built in 1999 by the
Meyer Werft shipyard in
Papenburg
Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.
Geog ...
,
Germany as ''SuperStar Virgo''.
Concept and construction
''SuperStar Virgo'' was ordered by
Star Cruises on 22 November 1995 from the
Meyer Werft shipyard in
Papenburg
Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.
Geog ...
,
Germany as the second ship of the ''Leo'' class, and the second new build for Star Cruises.
She was designed specifically for the Asian cruise market.
The keel of the ''SuperStar Virgo'' was laid on 18 November 1996, and she was floated out of dry dock on 23 December 1998.
She was delivered to Star Cruises on 2 August 1999.
Service history
SuperStar Virgo
Following the transit from
Papenburg
Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.
Geog ...
to
Singapore the ''SuperStar Virgo'' entered service on cruises from Singapore on 10 October 1999.
On 24 April 2003 the ''SuperStar Virgo'' was relocated from Singapore to operate cruises out of
Perth, Western Australia due to the outbreak of the
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Southeast Asia. Initially the redeployment was planned to last only a one-month evaluation period, but ''SuperStar Virgo'' continued to be based in Perth until July 2003.
On 2 April 2008 the ''SuperStar Virgo'' relocated from Singapore to
Hong Kong as her port of departure until 26 October 2008, the redeployment coinciding with the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing. She returned to Singapore in October 2008.
In January 2009, Star Cruises installed a 100m waterslide on the ''SuperStar Virgo'' during her dry dock period in Singapore, and in January 2012, received new hull art and livery.
Between April and October 2014 she was based in Hong Kong.
From 13 November 2015 to 31 December 2015, ''SuperStar Virgo'' undertook a 48-day cruise to the Southern Hemisphere with over 20 ports of call.
From 3 January 2016 to 11 November 2016, ''SuperStar Virgo'' was homeported in Nansha, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
From November 2016 to December 2016, she continued to be based at Hong Kong.
From January 2017 to March 2017, she was based in Shenzhen and cruised to Vietnamese ports and Hong Kong.
[Press Release: STAR CRUISES CONTINUES TO AMASS ACCOLADES FROM INTERNATIONAL EVENTS ACROSS ASIA http://promos.starcruises.com/index.php/star-cruises-continues-to-amass-accolades-from-international-events-across-asia/]
Explorer Dream
''SuperStar Virgo'' was transferred to
Dream Cruises and following a US$65 million refit at Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, was renamed ''Explorer Dream''. She will operate from Australia during the 2019-20 cruise season. The ship was supposed to return to north Asia and based in Shanghai for the summer of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her deployment in China was cancelled and was subsequently laid up in Port Klang, Malaysia and sailed to various ports around Asia to load and offload crew members. In July she arrived in Keelung, Taiwan and awaited her island hopping cruises which began on 26Jul. Her island hopping cruises in Taiwan made several stops in islands of Taiwan like Penghu and Matsu, and only made a technical call in Japan without disembarkation.
Media
In the 2013, Japanese movie
Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de take place on SuperStar Virgo.
Gallery
File:Virgo ParthenonPool.jpg, Parthenon Pool onboard ''SuperStar Virgo''
File:VirgoPiazza.JPG, ''SuperStar Virgo''s Grand Piazza
File:Explorer Dream cruise ship In Bay of Islands, New Zealand.jpg, alt=Explorer Dream anchored In Bay of Islands, New Zealand, Explorer Dream anchored In Bay of Islands, New Zealand
References
External links
*
Star Cruises official website for ''SuperStar Virgo''
{{Star Cruises
Ships of Star Cruises
Ships built in Papenburg
1998 ships
Ships of the Dream Cruises