Sailing Away With Royal Caribbean

This is the last year we can go on a holiday during the non-peak period, hence this year we will be doing 海陆空 holidays.

Voyager of the Seas 

For 海 (sea), we chose to sail with Royal Caribbean . Since we booked relatively early, we got to choose our cabin. 

cabin #1694

So we picked a Deck 10 Junior Suite at the rear and it turned out to be wonderful, except for the vibrating engines at night.

Looking in from balcony

looking in from the doorway

the sofa transformed into another bed

shaded big balcony - Perfect!

the tiny wash area

Deck 10 was good because we were a level below the Windjammer restaurant, the swimming pools and the open deck. Taking a suite at the rear, meant we got a big balcony which was shaded. This proved to be ideal because we like to hang our wet swim suit and towels at the balcony. Even if it rained, we were sheltered.

We boarded the ship on a Monday before noon and headed straight to the Windjammer for lunch. But it turned out there were too many people and we had to sit out at the deck. It wasn't too bad, because we got a table near the window. I had my lunch, which was not too fantastic but okay to fill my hunger pang.

The boys only had some spaghetti and fries. After which, we went to different levels to check out what's in store for us.

one of the many dining options

the Theatre for many performances

infrastructure within the ship

We learnt that the cabin would be ready after 1.30pm so the younger boy went back with the dad while the elder one followed me to secure performance tickets for the night. At about 3pm, we received news that our luggages were brought to our cabin. By 5pm, we started sailing away for our cruise holiday.

This was a 5D4N cruise with port stop at Penang and Phuket. Penang stop was on Tuesday late afternoon and we had only that 4 hours to go for a short excursion before we had to sail off.

We hired a local driver who took us to the Upside Down house. It was very crowded on that day. We had to take a queue number to go in. Upside Down house resembled a trick eye museum except the staff was there to assist you in taking photos.

one of the wacky photos we took

Penang stop ended at 7pm, with a hearty dinner at one of their local eateries and a quick local product shopping. It was also at Penang, we bought a lot of bottled drinking water. In a cruise ship, it was either you pay for bottled drinking water or you purchase a beverage card at SGD26 daily to enjoy an assortment of drinks. Husband thought it would be more worthwhile for me to order my cafe mocha individually than purchasing such card.

We booked a shore excursion with RC for Wednesday Phuket stop which turned out to be not a smart move. We were brought to places which the boys didn't enjoy. The only saving grace was the air con coach ride throughout.

Thursday was a sailing day so this was the day we enjoyed their facilities. I had a go at their gym, then we went for a dip. The pool was small and it was not possible to swim without splashing at others.

We also went to the open deck to see what's happening out there.

rock climbing

Gym

Spa pool

Flow rider - for those who game to try
 body surf or board surfing

Besides the buffet at Windjammer, where we had our daily breakfast. We also went to their speciality restaurant to dine. We purchased a 4-times experience package and had 2 dinners at their Izumi Japanese Restaurant. I really enjoyed their sashimi and their hot stone seafood.

the maki which were very good

very fresh sashimi
(tuna, yellowtail, halibut, salmon and amberjack)

cooking your own seafood
(lobsters, salmon, prawn, scallops, together with
mushroom, asparagus, carrot and cabbage)

octopus appetiser 

Onboard of Voyager of the Seas, RC partnered with DreamWorks Inc and there were daily Characters from various DreamWorks animation e.g.. Kungfu Panda, Shreks, Madagascar, doing evening parade or doing special character breakfast. We missed it all because at 5pm, the boys were still be napping or just woke up from their nap. Breakfast at 8.30am was too early for us during holiday. We only managed to catch a magic show with Duck Cameron and Ice show which was an ice skating performance. 

Disembarkment was conducted early too, we had to be out of the ship by 9am. That meant we need to be up and ready for breakfast by 7.30am. It was too early for me and my main grouse for this cruise holiday. 

Other than that, we also had dining experience at their main dining hall (Sapphire Room) which Bernando waited on us for that 2 dinners. He did origami for the boys at our last dining in the Sapphire Room. We had enjoyed our dining experience with him. I also have to mention that the housekeeping attendant, Putu, who was very helpful throughout our stay. 

origami shirt for Matt

origami frog for Jon

The cruise holiday was crowded with many nationalities. While the adults did not particularly enjoy the cruise holiday, the 2 boys were asking when would be the next cruise. I doubt we would sail off anytime soon. The next holiday would be on Air (空), for an Autumn experience in Japan.