My Art My Story My Fantasy

It's all about me and Yvonnezoe

[yvonnezoe]

Hello Thursday! This was the day we were a full day on the sea, cruising back to Singapore along Malacca Straits. The clock has been adjusted 1 hour forward too.

8:00 am Breakfast at Sapphire Dining Hall

We decided to try the breakfast at the Sapphire Dining Hall today as we got a bit sick of the food at Windjammer. It started later at 8am and there were two types – Ala Carte (Deck 4) and Buffet style (Deck 3). We chose the buffet option but we had to queue and got ushered to our seats where we shared with many other people on a long table. The food option is more Asian fusion, like those you can find in a Singapore hotel breakfast.

Here’s a recap of our sea-sick Day 3 and not-up-to-expectation Phuket experience: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 4/5: Day 3

9:00 am Sunbathing in Jacuzzi

After breakfast, we went back to our room to change to swimsuit and headed to the Jacuzzi at Deck 11. We chose a big one outdoor as it is warmer but not as hot as the pools. There were some people in the jacuzzi when we arrived so we had to share with them. Do remember to put on sunblock before going into the water. Don’t stay in the water for too long! 

After about 30 mins, we get out from the jacuzzi to go for a quick shower in the bathroom. We had a culture shock literally when we opened the door. Now I understand why there were double doors. We found some Korean or Japan ajummas naked and chatting happily with each other while waiting for others to vacant the shower cubicle. :O Woah. *cover eyes* I guess that’s pretty normal for them to go to the hot spring or onsen. We quickly get changed and left the bathroom.

11:00 am Boogie Boarding

We went to the FlowRider again as I wanted to give it a try. No, not posting my unglam videos here. Hahaha. But do watch out because I got my finger injured as it got bruised by the drainage when I lost control. You will need to register at the side counter and sign an indemnity form to get a hand badge before you can be allowed to enter the FlowRider. You can reenter multiple times as long as you don’t tear it off.

Afterwards, we just strolled around and played some golf. There was a rock-climbing wall too! Do check the Cruise Compass for the Open Climbing timing. It is only available at specific timing when a safety instructor is available. 

12 noon Lunch at Windjammer with a huge cake

We had lunch at Windjammer Cafe again. It’s special today as there was a huge Thank You cake on display and it was being cut and distributed to everyone. We got a slice to share. We probably got bored with the food and we ate very lightly. There’s food at any time at the Cafe Promenade if you get hungry. 

After lunch, we had some soft serve, watched the waves, and enjoyed the sea breeze.

1:30 pm Ice Odyssey and Movie

My mom enjoyed the Ice Odyssey performance on Day 1 so we thought we would catch it again. But upon reaching, all the seats have been filled and we could only stand at far behind to catch a glimpse. But it was still worth it!

We proceeded to La Scala Theatre at 2pm to catch a 3D movie, Baby Boss. Thought my mom would enjoy it but she fell asleep! Haha!

        3:45 pm Tea Time, Performance and Passport Collection

The movie lasted for 1 hour 45 minutes. By the time we reached Windjammer Cafe, they were almost clearing the food. We only had a bowl of mushroom soup.

I realized that by this day, I have taken photos of most of the spots so I didn’t take many photos today. Probably we wanted to enjoy the experience and companionship more too.

This was the day the Casino got more popular too because people got bored of other activities but never with spending money with a little hope to earning more. Because it was a full day in the open water, the casino operated the whole day.

You may also go to the service counter at Deck 5 to look at Royal Caribbean other cruise lines too.

In the Cruise Compass, there was a leaflet about the passport distribution information. The collection timing was between 3:30pm to 5pm. Depending on our room Deck, the distribution area was different. Remember to bring your SeaPass card to collect your passport. You may collect the passports for all the family members provided that you have all the SeaPass cards.

5:15 pm International Flow Show

We went up to Deck 13 FlowRider area to catch the Flow Show. It was a nice performance by the crews, with lots of splashing, laughter and clappings. Bring along a towel or don’t stand too close at the side if you do not wish to get wet. Put your phone in the waterproof phone bag if you would like to take some videos. 

          5:50 pm Photo time with Gloria

As it was the last day on the ship, we wanted to make sure we treasure any good chance to take more photos. There was a Dreamworks Appearance with Gloria from Madagascar at Royal Promenade, Deck 5. Kids were so excited and parents accompanied them to queue up for photos, so did we. The crews were very nice to help us take some shots on my phone as well. There was an option to purchase the photos taken by the professional photographer as well.

If you are keen on shopping, there will be a lot of branded item “clearance sales” ongoing throughout the day.

6:15 pm Dinner at Sapphire Dining Hall, Pack your bags

We had a wonderful dinner again served by the friendly waiter and waitress. We even took a photo with them at the end. 🙂 There was a special performance by all of them after the main courses were served.

Later in the day, luggage tags were distributed to our stateroom. We had to pack our bags and place them outside of our stateroom by 10:00pm so that the crew can help us to transport them to the port when we arrived. Do prepare a piece of hand luggage to keep items that you need for the night and the next morning. Make sure your passport is with you.

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8:30 pm Showtime “Singers Showcase”

Tonight show started earlier, at either 6:30pm or 8:30pm, starring the Royal Caribbean singers Aurianna and Shaun. It started off with the cruise director, Jamie Fentiman, and his jokes. When he noticed me (and probably some others) taking photos of him, he paused and posed for us to take some good shots of him. He then also sang a song before passing the stage to Aurianna and Shaun.

Breathtaking voices and the one hour passes very quickly. To make the best of your time, refrain from taking too many photos/videos. Just enjoy the performance! 🙂

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9:30 pm Photo time with Alex the Lion

Alex the Lion from Madagascar made an appearance at Studio B lobby, Deck 3 after the show. We were at the last of the queue for photos.

Then we walked around to enjoy some paintings on the wall.

10:00 pm 70’s Disco Inferno Street Party with the cruise director, Jamie

We went to Cafe Promenade for supper and also attended the disco party. As you can see from the video, everyone enjoyed themselves very much. 😀

    There was some lucky draw and Lotto draws afterwards until midnight which we didn’t bother to participate.

That’s all for the night!

Day 5: Back to Singapore!

We woke up to enjoy the beautiful sunrise in the sea. The ship had almost arrived in Singapore.

Breakfast started earlier at 6am for Windjammer and Sapphire Dining Room Deck 3. I can’t remember well whether it was this morning or the afternoon before that a waitress asked us for feedback. I told her about the cleanliness issue but to my surprise, she said this is nothing and very normal. She shrugged off my feedback and walked away. I was astonished by her response. Nevertheless, there was another survey sent to our emails afterwards and I have feedback the same. I hope the cleanliness of the utensils has been improved since then because I would love to go back again.

The casino had been closed in the morning as we have arrived in Singapore.

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This is the pull-down bed which I had slept on for the past few nights. Quite comfy!

Then it’s time to depart from the ship. There was an instruction sheet for departure. The debark time and waiting lounges were according to the luggage tag number and it would be called.

Once our number was called, we proceeded to the gangway located at Deck 4, the same as when we board the ship. We had to show our SeaPass cards and got them punched so that they couldn’t be reused.

Then upon arrival, we had to go through immigration check and security check as usual.

It’s time to bid goodbye to this beautiful cruise ship and the memories of these 5 days 4 nights will stay on. 🙂

This concluded my full review of this cruise trip. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing. It took me almost 2 years to complete this! Sorry for the wait. Do share with me your experience in the comments below so that we can keep the review updated. If you are still thinking whether to go for a cruise experience or not, I hope this review gives you a better idea. There are more surprises await on board! Enjoy! 🙂

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 5/5: Day 4 & 5 Hello Thursday! This was the day we were a full day on the sea, cruising back to Singapore along Malacca Straits.

[yvonnezoe]

Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again!

So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang’s great food and lots of walking under the hot sun. Not forgetting the partying after the Broadway show.

Here’s a recap of what happened in Day 2: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 3/5: Day 2

Day 1 is here: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 2/5: Day 1

If you are unsure what to pack or expect at all, check this out: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 1/5: Getting Ready

Then, when you sense a shimmer shining through the curtain and you open your eyes, you feel the world (the ship) is swaying. But just wake up la. Enjoy the sunrise from your window if your room window is facing the East. Otherwise, go to the viewing deck. You may check the sunrise time on the first page of the Cruise Compass.

Ahoy! We are leaving Malacca Straits. The waves are rougher now…

That’s where we were.

7:00 am Breakfast at Windjammer

The day should start early as we were scheduled to arrive at Phuket, Thailand at 9am. We were all excited about going ashore. However, the breakfast area at Windjammer was so crowded when we arrived around 7am. There wasn’t a lot of seats available. My mom didn’t feel very well as she got sea sick so we didn’t take a lot of food.

We found the utensils were not very clean as you could see many obvious stains of oil and food residues on them. The napkins had a greasy smell too. So, it is advisable to bring your own wet tissue to clean the utensils if you mind!

Upon sighting such uncleanliness plus the waves of the sea, we all started to feel nauseous. My mom couldn’t contain it anymore and we had to rush to find the nearest washroom. To our surprise, the washroom was full of people throwing up! Luckily there was an empty cubicle for mom to relieve just in time.

I guess the seasick got worse after food.  So if you have symptoms of seasick, know your way to the nearest washroom before starting your meal and eat light. You may pack some bread for later.

8:30 am Get Ready and Adjust your Clock

As Thailand is one hour later than Singapore, make sure you adjust your watches and clocks accordingly, i.e. 8am SGT is 7am Thailand time. (You get to sleep one hour more!)

Time to get changed and prepare to go ashore using tender boats. You will need to get a complimentary tender ticket for each person on that day at Royal Promenade, Deck 5.  Your ticket will state the meeting time and location. If you have booked a Royal Caribbean Shore Excursion, there is no need to get the tender ticket and you will board the boat first. The meeting time and location are stated in your tour ticket.

What to pack in your bag:

Sunblock, even if you are not going to the beach

Thai Baht – it is advisable to change it before even going up the cruise. The rate on board is usually not very good. When you first landed in Phuket, you have to already spend $$ and they may charge you more if you are holding foreign currency.

Water – No need to bring a lot as you can easily get mineral water (or even coconut) as long as you are going to the rural area.

Some food – just in case you are hungry when you are on the road.

Towel (if you are going to the beach) – just get from your hotel room or it can be borrowed with your SeaPass card, just note that there is a $25 replacement fee for all unreturned towels.

Masking tape if you are going shopping… I will tell you why later.

SeaPass card – this act as your passport.

Umbrella – be it rain or shine, this comes in handy.

9:00 am Arrival at Phuket

Although the ship arrived at 9:00am at the port, the ship’s clearance was done only at about 9:30am. There were announcements made in the Public Areas to call out the tendering sequence and stating the tender loading area.

Collection of the complimentary tender tickets can be done at the Royal Promenade starting at 9am. You may collect for others. Bring along the SeaPass cards of your group. You need not to queue or rush to get the ticket. It will be distributed throughout the day. Get it only when you need it. Watch out for the announcement and refer to your Cruise Compass.

After collecting the tickets, we headed back to the room for a little rest after the seasick this morning. As people were crowding at the public areas to wait for their turn to get on tender boats, it was really not necessary to rush if you are not on the Shore Excursion tour. However, based on the experience at Phuket which I will share in details later, I strongly recommend you to book a shore excursion for Phuket. You may do so online before going on the cruise. Otherwise, you may go to the Shore Excursions Desk at Deck 5 to inquire.

10:30 am Going Ashore

As the announcement of the ticket number was made at the public area and we were in our room, the sound can be quite soft. We would open the door to listen more clearly and at last just left the door open slightly.

It wasn’t too long till our turn. We proceeded to the gangway and went past the security check counter where we were to display our SeaPass card. The sky was quite gloomy when we board the tender boat. As the ship had docked, it didn’t sway much so boarding the tender boat was not very scary. The boat could probably take around 50 pax.

The boat ride was only about 20 mins. From the boat, you can have a nice view and shots of the Voyager of the Seas.

The Tender Boat

The gangway

Arriving at the port (Phuket Marine Customs Pier) was a huge disappointment… This was never pre-empted by the tour agency. They didn’t even mention the name of the port. Telling you it’s Phuket would only make you imagine the beautiful beach there which you could immediately get into your swimwear right after going ashore right?

It is so different from what I have researched. All my planned “walking” itinerary from the Patong beach to shopping mall was useless because we were at the different part of Phuket altogether! 😦 I even use Google Street view to research what to expect at Phuket and how to walk around… I happily told my mom and sis about the excitement of Phuket. Urgh.

11:00 am Welcome to … Phuket?

Yes, welcome to the eastern part of Phuket where the sea is calmer and suitable for the cruise ship to dock. But going to the western part where all the nice beach and fun is, it’s taking at least 1 hour by car ride… or more by tuk-tuk. 😦

We had a shock when we arrived. It was our first time to Phuket. Groups of locals are touting at us, selling their local day tours at 3000-10,000 Baht per pax. Seriously? That’s probably all Baht I had! Their local tours include visiting temples, Elephant or Tiger “sanctuary” (please, don’t go there! You must have seen how the elephants and tigers were mistreated and drugged in order to look calm for tourists to pet), Cabaret show, massage, some shopping… The price does not include tips and your own food.

Some tourists already know where they wanted to go and were comfortable in negotiating the taxi and tuk-tuk fare.

Some tips here:

Research where you want to go and how much is the standard taxi fare.

If you would like to go for a massage, either you can research which massage place or shopping centre you want to drop by. Alternatively, you have to feel comfortable by their recommendations (which is always bias towards those that pay them a commission).

Pick your tour, get other tourists to go together. Negotiate for a group price instead of per pax.

Share a taxi or tuk-tuk with another group if going to the same locations.

Pretend to go away and engage another driver if the previous one is reluctant to decrease their price. The further inland you go, the cheaper the price would be.

Be reasonable. This is their living hood. Once you negotiate to a price which you are comfortable, just go with it and don’t squeeze them dry.

We almost wanted to go back to the ship after strolling around the little street market for 10 mins. Most of the stall owners were Muslims.

Some drivers were still touting at us. So we thought since we were already here, may as well just give it a try. We didn’t want to go too far as the travelling time is easily 1 hour. So I told the driver we just want to go to a shopping mall, preferably Big C (because I want to buy the Big C seaweed!!). I don’t remember how much we paid exactly but it was less than $50 for a back-seat tuk-tuk.

It started to rain heavily half-way and the driver had to stop by the road to help us “wind down” the window screen made of plastic sheets. Hahaha. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience! Just make sure you hold on to the window rail when the vehicle is moving as there is no door to keep you safe.

The driver had to do a detour to a tourist attraction as part of his “company policy”. So he brought us to Siam Multi Gems and Pearl. We walked one round and came out. Sorry, we didn’t bring enough cash to buy anything there. The driver was kind and say it’s ok to not buy anything as he just needed to show them he did try to bring tourists there.

We proceeded to Big C. We set a meeting time and location with the driver and off we go exploring the 3 levels shopping mall.

We had our lunch first at a food court in the mall. Nothing fantastic. We shopped for some snacks and souvenirs. But if you shop a lot, do consider picking up an empty box near the cashier counter or ask the cashier for one. It’s usually free. Then you can pack your stuff in the box and yes, now you get to use the masking tape! Otherwise, they have the tape sold at 100Baht also la. :p

You can also find tour recommendation in The Cruise Compass. The one recommended is Phang Nga Bay – where the James Bond island is. I’m not so sure how long it takes for the motorboat to reach there though. Probably it’s one of the shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean.

3:00 pm Back to the ship

The tender boats run approximately every 20 minutes throughout the day and the last tender back to the ship leaves the dock at 8:30 pm.

We were back just in time for tea time. We feel so relieved to come back early. The ship is rather empty so we could have more peace and fun for ourselves. We helped ourselves with the food at Windjammer and it was good – much better than our lunch for sure. There was also free flow soft-serve!

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After the afternoon snacks, we proceeded to explore the ship and try out things we had not done before such as the FlowRider!

Walking around the ship – finding treasures…

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2. Go to the library. You may also do books exchange here – where you leave a used book and take another one to read in your room or bring home.

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3. FlowRider!! The FlowRider simulates a real surfing and body boarding experience. Riders must be at least 1.47 meter tall to surf and 1.32 meter to Boogie Board. Check the operating times for the FlowRider on Deck 13 in Open Hours. 

Here’s a video of someone with body boarding experience. Looks fun eh?

4. Play golf!

6:00 pm Fine Dining at Sapphire Dining Room

The food was good as usual. Here’s a sneak peek to the menu and what I had.

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7:30 pm Rest or Movie

After dinner, we went back to our room to find another cute animal (elephant?) made of a towel. There was an outdoor movie at 7:30pm so we went up to Deck 11 for a quick peek. It was The Legend of Tarzan.

9:30 pm Headliner Showtime Starring “Aussie Boys”

We headed to La Scala Theatre at around 9:15pm to secure the front seats. Trust me, it’s really worth to go a bit earlier to get good seats! By Day 3, others would have figured that out and everyone tried to be earlier.

This was a very nice and charming show by three handsome young singers from Australia. They could also sing some Chinese and Cantonese song such as 朋友 by the 周華健！The crowd went so high and they started to strip off their shirts, leaving just black singlets. Hahaha! Enjoy some photos!

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The ship started to move again during the show as you could hear the engine startup sound for a while.

At the end of the show, there was a distribution of lottery tickets at Royal Promenade which I didn’t know what we could win. We just went there for supper and go to sleep.

Time to sail back to Singapore!

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 4/5: Day 3 Woohoo! New post! Sorry for the wait again! So this is the day you had a good night sleep after one whole afternoon of indulging in Penang's great food and lots of walking under the hot sun.

[yvonnezoe]

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 3/5: Day 2

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 3/5: Day 2

As my boyfriend is entertaining himself with my blogpost now, laughing at my primary school writing, I am reminded to continue writing my Day 2-4 review. OK, to be continued. I need to get some quiet time. T.T

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[yvonnezoe]

It’s the D-day to board the Voyager of the Seas! Since our boarding time was in the afternoon (3 pm), I only took a half-day leave and worked from home in the morning. Everything has been packed nicely into our luggage and the luggage tags have been secured. In my previous post, I mentioned that there are two options to bring your luggage on board. Quick tips, if your boarding time is early (e.g. 11 am), you can choose to hand-carry your luggage or check in the luggage and pack some clothes such as swimsuit for changing. However, the queue at the custom may be long for a foreigner (non-Singaporean and non-PR), so bringing a luggage (or more) may not be too convenient. Our boarding time was written as 3 pm but in the trip reminder email, it was stated as 2.30 pm. So we went to the Marina Bay Cruise Center at 1.30pm and reached at 2 pm plus. (See the last part of my previous post on how to get to the Cruise Center)

Boarding the ship!

Upon reaching the cruise center, the bag drop counter was very obvious. There was staff to guide us as well. No scanning required, as long as you have the luggage tag attached, you can just pass the luggage to the staff in charge. As we went into the center, there were signage and staffs along the way to guide us to the immigration checkpoint. You have to get your Set Sail Pass ready. If you book the cruise through a travel agency, they should have done the online check in for you. Otherwise, you may do so yourself at the Royal Caribbean website.

Make sure you empty your water bottle in your hand-carry bag before passing the custom. Also, do not bring prohibited items as well as opened food items. You may check the RC website for the “What Not to Pack” items. There are two lanes at the immigration checkpoint: one for foreigners and one for Singaporeans and PRs. After passing the immigration, we were guided to the boarding area. We had to fill in a health declaration form as well. (Tips: if you are unsure where to get water on the ship, refill your empty water bottle now at the boarding area.) Though the queue can be quite long, there were a few counters in operation. Basically, they need to see your passport and the Set Sail Pass. The staff will take a photo of you and issue you a Sea Pass Card.

Once that is done, you are set to board the ship! Woohoooo! 🙂

In the ship!

The embarkation area was on Deck 4. The crew scanned our Sea Pass Card and we walked into the giant ship! It was so huge that you won’t feel that you were on a ship. It’s more like a shopping mall instead. Royal Caribbean (RC) Voyager of the Seas is 15 Decks tall and 1,020 feet long. Some of its highlighted facilities include 10 pools and whirlpools, basketball court, ice-skating rink, FlowRider surf simulator, mini-golf course, rock-climbing wall, Casino Royale, arcade, theater, dining room, bars, and lounges. Its guest capacity is 4,269 and it has 1,176 international crew! It’s really amazing to see people from all over the world working together on a ship! (Reminds me of Pirates of Caribbean)

Deck 4 is an ideal spot for some nice photographs. As the ship was at the port, the Casino Royale was not in operation. We took some photos before finding our way to our rooms at Deck 3.

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Our bags were already at the door when we reached our room. That was fast! However, one of the bags was misplaced at 2 rooms away. We entered the room using the Sea Pass Card. It was a small nice cozy room with a round window facing the sea. The room could fit 4 people as there was 2 additional bed on top of the ceiling which can be pulled down.

4 pm: Muster Assembly Drill

We didn’t stay in the room for long. We went to Deck 5 to explore and we found the Café Promenade packed with people. We had a coffee in a paper cup and there was an announcement made. All guests were required to gather at the assembly point on Deck 4 or 5 (where the rescue boats are) for the Mandatory Muster Assembly Drill (for emergency evacuation). At the sound of the ship’s whistle and alarm bells, we proceeded to our muster station. The muster station number is printed on the right-hand side of the SeaPass Card, where it’s written as an alphabet and a number, e.g. B11 for us. We had to mark our names and room number with the crew in charge when we arrived. I think we were standing there for more than 30 minutes waiting for all the guests to gather.  There were old folks who couldn’t take the standing and heat and have to sit on the floor. Poor them. 😦  There were some missing guests who didn’t assemble at the location and they were given serious warning. Some people commented that the announcement was made in English and probably the missing guest couldn’t understand it. (From my observation over the few days, most of the guests for this cruise were from India, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and China.) At last, the crews demonstrated how to put on a life jacket in case of emergency.

Then, back to the room! We were greeted by our friendly room attendant and we got our Cruise Compass! Well, not exactly a “compass”, it’s just a piece of paper which includes all information you need to know on board. Cruise Compass includes information such as:

Featured events of the day

Weather forecast

Sunrise and sunset timing

Open Hours of facilities, cafe, and restaurants

Timing of different activities

A sample of the Cruise Compass cover. It has 4 pages. Not showing you the full thing as a spoiler.

We went through the Cruise Compass and mark down some key activities to do. (Tips: bring along a pen or highlighter!) 

So, here’s what we do on Day 1 for the rest of the day.

5 pm+: Promenade Café and Royal Promenade at Deck 5

We wanted to grab some snacks at the café but it turned out to be even more packed than just now. We saw some crews dressed up in colourful costumes and kids looked excited! It’s time for the DreamWorks Move It! Move It! Parade. It was full of fun and laughter with the familiar Madagascar, Shriek, Kung Fu panda and other characters dancing and parade along the Royal Promenade. (Tips: To get a up close view of them, especially when you have kids who love them, try to standby at Cafe Promenade area at least 15 mins before. The characters will standby at the stairways quite early and you can be sure curious people will start crowding there too. To get a full view, I would recommend you to go up to Deck 6 or 7 balcony where you can look out at the whole stretch of Royal Promenade.) We were quite late when we found out about the show (~5 mins before show start) and even the balconies are full. So we went up to Deck 8. We get a pretty good view too!

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5:45 pm: Dinner Time for Main Seating at Deck 4

The official dining time for Main Seating is at 5.30 pm. As we were watching the parade, we were slightly late. The Sapphire Dining room at Deck 4 was already quite full but not to worry as everyone has an assigned table number. Note that some of the tables may be at Deck 3. The crew will check your Sea Pass Card before you enter the room. There were 2 waiters assigned to our cluster of tables and they served us for the other days as well. The main waiter is from the Philippines and the assistant waitress is from Russia. We were served with bread first and given a menu each. Basically we had to choose 1 appetiser and 1 entrée. But the waiter told us that if we were still not full or did not like what we had, we can have another course. We waited quite a while (about 20-30 mins) before getting our food. It turned out that one of the orders was wrong and the waiter quickly get the right one for us, so we ended up eating 4 courses for 3 pax. 🙂 When we were done with the main course, we were given another menu for dessert. Yumz! If you are not keen in the dessert, you can always order a fruit platter or coffee and tea. If you have kids, you could try ordering something the kids would like… like pizza, cakes, muffin… as long as they could find it in their kitchen, they would try their best to fulfill your request. The Waiters and Waitresses are generally very friendly and helpful!

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 6 pm: Complimentary Ice Show Tickets Distribution

While waiting for our food, I went to collect the Ice Show tickets with our Sea Pass Cards at the Studio B, Deck 3, just right below the Dining Room. (Tips: 1 representative to collect for all members will do, but remember to bring along their cards as well) There were a few timing options to choose from (both on Day 1 and Day 4). The best for us was at 8.30 pm. There was also a complimentary Welcome Aboard Pack given out at the Art Gallery, right outside the Dining Room. The pack includes 1 piece of printed art and other art auction information. You can also get a ticket for art raffle happening at 7.30 pm.

We went back to our room for a quick rest and bath.

7:10 pm: Welcome aboard show starring Duck Cameron the Magician

We missed it due to dinner. 😦

8:00 pm: Get ready for the Ice Odyssey! An Ice Spectacular

So we had our tickets ready and head to Studio B to watch the Ice Show. Studio B is at Deck 3 but it was disconnected so we had to go up to Deck 4, pass through the Casino, and down to Deck 3 again. The door opened at 8:00 pm and there was a long queue! At last we managed to find some good seats and can’t wait for the show! (Tips: Bring along jacket as it was really cold at the ice rink) I don’t remember how long the show lasted, probably 60 mins. It was so enthralling and captivating. My mom enjoyed it a lot! 🙂 We rated it 10/10. Oh, the best part is, try sitting at the left side, on the front facing first or second row. You might get invited by the performers to sit on the “throne seat” and you will be among them in the middle of the ice rink. They will interact with you and you will be the star of the night!

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After the show, we went to Cafe Promenade for some supper. They have nice muffins, cheese cakes, pizzas, coffee and tea. They serve different range of snacks at different timing and open for 24 hours! When we came back to Deck 3, La Scala Theatre was showing 3D movie – Martian. We watched for 10 minutes and fell asleep. So we went back to our room and have a good night sleep.

Extra Tips for Day 1!

If you are keen to go Casino, go for the complimentary gaming lesson at the specified timing. You may place a bet of $1 to enter into the $500 off your folio raffle.

There were 2 sessions of Outside Movie at the Poolside. Great experience, but can be quite cold at night.

Casino Royale is not smoke-free! As the casino is the “connecting point” between the front and rear deck of deck 2 and 3, it can be quite irritating if you are not into gambling and don’t feel comfortable with the smoke (with elderly and kids around). You could choose to go via Deck 5 as well.

If you were to purchase beverage package, purchase it on Day 1 to enjoy the most. There are a few options. I think if you are getting the Soda package, you get a free bottle as well. They had a booth to sell the package before the boarding area. Not sure if they accept SGD though. You can also purchase it online.

Explore and familiarize yourself with the Cruise Compass – check out the timing of different shows, dining timing. It’s really useful!

  Stay tuned for Day 2! 🙂

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 2/5: Day 1 It's the D-day to board the Voyager of the Seas! Since our boarding time was in the afternoon (3 pm), I only took a half-day leave and worked from home in the morning.

[yvonnezoe]

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 1/5: Getting Ready

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 1/5: Getting Ready

As I was doing my “last minute cruise” preparation, I couldn’t find an updated review about Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas journey from Singapore. The latest one was way back in 2014 and there wasn’t much on Cruise Critic neither. So I have decided to write a full review here to share with you the exact experience on the cruise (and shore). My family thought of going on a cruise earlier this…

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[yvonnezoe]

Who wants a yellow #OmNom ? #cute #craft #crafts #crafter #diy #omnom #pompom #yarn #cartoon #creature #pet #candy

[yvonnezoe]

#Mochi !!!! #ICannot #cute #handmade #crafts #between #chibi #plushie #keychain #softwhitekiss #food #chewy #arts #diy #artist #crafter #felt #cartoon #monster #embroidery #toocute #love #couple #lovinglife

[yvonnezoe]

The heaven of #cats. Inspired by a recent fabric print that i bought ♡♡♡. #pets #doodles #drawing #sketch #print #illustration #art #arts #artist #illustrator #draw #catsofinstagram #animals

[yvonnezoe]

Oh it rhythms! #pikachu #pokemon #pun

[yvonnezoe]

A simple handdrawn postcard for a birthday boy in Indiana. I am sending him this dinosaur to accompany him for all his coming birthdays! #arts #watercolor #drawing #sketch #doodles #postcard #draw #artist #cartoon #geraldhamilton

[yvonnezoe]

Very happy that I made my very first lucky Japanese doll charm stone. She symbolises strength, courage, and beauty! I cant wait to gift this to a special friend who has all these traits and has inspired me a lot! :) #charmstone #stone #stonepainting #painting #arts #craft #art #paint #acrylicpainting #doll #lucky #japanese #cute #drawing

[yvonnezoe]

Nyuuuu.

[yvonnezoe]

Remember those feelings - frustration, disappointment, discouraged, sadness, unfairness, demoralized, ... - caused by the selfishness, unwillingness to understand, arrogance, irresponsible act, ... - of those people. Those are the terrible feelings that I should not let another person to go through. I should never extinguish any burning passion nor motivation nor ... friendship and respect. At the same time, remember those moments when I am encouraged, motivated, and inspired. Then learn to make that happens to people around me. P/s: Thank you #teruk people for setting bad examples so that we experience how it feels and will not do the same to others.

[yvonnezoe]

People always mistaken our @liuliankia_handicrafts as angry bird. So here, finally, is an angry bird. #crafts #pompom #arts #fluffy

[yvonnezoe]

Have you ever think about #IoT and how scary it can be

Hey there, I am back on WordPress! Oh yes, I am random-inspiration driven and always let my thoughts wander around self-found #mindblown ” findings! So there are a few key timings when I tend to get such findings: when I am bathing, when I am walking to mrt, and when I wake up in the middle of the night. Done with self-introduction (in case you didnt know me well), I am going to share with you a…

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[yvonnezoe]

When you think of #IoT, when you think of the future, when you just dont want to be found. #arts #sketch #doodles #comic #cartoon #illustration #artist #pencil

[yvonnezoe]

Back with more #liuliankia #arts #crafts #rabbit #pokemon #yarnball #yarn #pompom