The Blue Dream Melody entered layup in China earlier this month after completing a final cruise for Blue Dream Cruises.

With the brand pausing its operations indefinitely, the vessel was withdrawn from service in its Beihai homeport on January 4, 2026.

For its final sailing, the Melody offered a two-night cruise to Vietnam that featured a visit to Halong Bay before returning to China.

Citing hardware updates and ship maintenance, Blue Dream Cruises announced plans to suspend guest operations in late December.

While no further plans for the ship have been announced at press time, sources in Russia reported that the vessel may soon be heading to the Russian Far East.

As previously reported by Cruise Industry News, the 1,218-guest ship may be deployed out of Vladivostok as part of a state-backed plan to launch a cruise line on Russia’s Pacific Coast.

Built for AIDA Cruises at the Aker MTW in Germany, the Melody was originally launched as the AIDAvita in 2002.

The 42,200-ton vessel served the German market through early 2020, when it was taken out of service due to the covid-19 pandemic.

After two years in layup, the ship was sold to Turkey-based Beta Marine, which later resold the vessel to Blue Dream Cruises.

The ship underwent a major refurbishment in China before launching service for the company in June 2024.

In addition to the Blue Dream Melody, Blue Dream also maintains the Blue Dream Star in layup in China.

Originally built for Royal Olympic Cruises in the early 2000s, the 836-passenger ship was the first to launch service for the brand in mid-2023.

With Blue Dream acquiring the newer and larger Melody in early 2024, the Star was withdrawn from the company’s fleet a few months later.

The 25,000-ton vessel is currently laid up at the port of Shanghai, where it arrived in early November 2025.