Almost a year back, the grands went cruising over the New Year and before the end of the cruise, decided to book another one and asked if we wanted to join. Back then, COVID restrictions were stricter but ok, why not?!
With no restrictions now, the only downside was the crowds. But let me start from the top...
With no restrictions now, the only downside was the crowds. But let me start from the top...
Day 1 - Thursday, 24 Nov
Ours was the 5D4N round trip to Penang and Phuket on Spectrum of the Seas by Royal Caribbean. We booked the 11.00 am check-in and were right on time. But it was too crowded at the taxi drop-off point to meet the grands so we went in after dropping off our suitcase. In the end, we didn't manage to check in together with the grands which led to some messiness.
Five of us were split into two rooms to combine with the grands to get senior discount :p When we checked in, the staff issued our room / ID cards called Sea Pass but the grands did not get theirs. After we boarded, JieJie got them to reissue and our old cards had to be discarded. Tip: All in the same room should check in together.
Anyway, the cruise check-in happened before immigration. Then the cruise collected our passport and directed us to a safety briefing upon boarding. And the fun started!
Our rooms were not ready yet so we headed for a buffet lunch at Silver Dining. Now, there are various dining options, depending on your room class. We were in Sky Suite so all the complimentary dining options were available to us. The dining settings at all the complimentary dining rooms were western, i.e. bread plate, forks and knives, and glasses. I had to give the kids a quick lesson the day before coz we eat local - no knife!
4G wasn't working properly even though we were still in SG. But we managed to connect to the cruise wifi over lunch using our check-in details. Wifi was part of our package so quite convenient. Even the kids got online with their own phone later.
After lunch, we registered the kids at Adventure Ocean aka kids' club before heading to our rooms on deck 13. We anyhow entered a room and later switched with Mum coz each room was set up according to the number registered - Kai and Yang were to bunk in with Mum and Dad, and Yu with us.
Going up the gangway
Kai relaxing...
A partition in the room separated the bed with a sitting area where the long sofa was converted into a bed at turndown. Two TVs but rarely used. Two entries to the bathroom but I locked one to be safe! Two basins with mirror in the bathroom so you can see your expressions as you poop *.* Haha! Yu wanted to use the bathtub but no, very cold...
Coincidentally, the boys and AhYe wore matching shirts!
We went searching for adventures. The Seaplex had a lot of things going on. We didn't have sneakers on so didn't bother with the sports in the middle. Found a motion game that the kids couldn't get enough of. Then Yang agreed to try archery - not easy!
Yu in mid jump in a motion game
Pose with resting bumper cars - when they were set up later, the queue was too long and we didn't join in
The kids didn't eat much for lunch so had hotdog buns for a snack
Very happy :)
After a few tries, he shot down a ball, yeah!
Kai found rock climbing which became his fave activity
Photo source: Dad or Ah Yee
Yu climbed pandas *.*
Foosball!
"The slides were super fun!"
Yang looked a bit big for this slide?
But we didn't go back to the slides after this time. Maybe too small, too short. Maybe there's a guide and a queue. The kids preferred to stay in the pool instead. Kai said it was deeper than he was tall so it was better than at home. Ah well!
The cruise set off while we were in the pool, about 4.30 pm. By the time we got to Gold Dining for dinner, we were somewhere out there.
Sunset from the lounge area
Cheers!
Two of use couldn't get in the picture above so here we are!
Btw, that mojito was probably my first cocktail since I was first pregnant?! Very pleased with this happy hour drinks thingy :)
Yang's steak
Yu's burger
Kai's bolognese
Photo source: Probably Dad :p
Yu got a banana split but he couldn't eat 10% of it!
Sito and I had scallop and lobster minestrone soup, and a filet mignon. Desserts were molten chocolate cake and apple pie.
JieJie arranged to celebrate Mum and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary - champagne and cake :)
Next on our itinerary was Silk Road, a show like Cirque due Soleil. Each guest was allowed one reservation for this show. To be honest, I couldn't understand much of it *.* Just watch interesting parts like the contortionist.
Posing just before the start of the show
But that wasn't the end - Sito grabbed some pizza for supper, haha!
Day 2 - Friday, 25 Nov
The night before, the kids played games on their phone after showering and slept very late. I don't know about Kai and Yang, but Yu slept in. He got up on his own at 7.00 am for water and asked what was for breakfast but went back to sleep without responding to my reply :p
So Sito did some work on the balcony
My sleepy baby
Watching TV but he posed for me when I asked :p
As Sito had more work to do, I eventually brought Yu to the bumper car myself. The session started ahead of time so even though we were early, we had to wait a few sessions. But we managed to skip a session as they had one car with no takers - I'm a seasoned single rider so I jumped at the opportunity! Yu's legs weren't long enough so he held the wheel while I stretched a leg over to the pedal :p
Sito arrived just in time to take photos!
Finally time for breakfast - honeydew, watermelon, Taiwan sausages and milk for this one!
We eventually met up with the rest. Kai had done a couple of rounds of rock climbing. I joined him in the queue but just before our turn, it poured! So sad... Had to cheer up with lunch - steak sandwich, brownie and apple crumble all for me! Sito came to lunch later due to work :(
He made an angry face - this was before the rain!
We approached Penang over lunch. As Adventure Ocean was first-come-first-served, we very kiasu and reached there before 2 pm opening time. I had packed extra mask, tissue, Sea Pass, jacket and water bottle in their bag. But we were told they would only need their jacket. Tip: Adventure Ocean provides everything! And, tip: kids do not need to hold on to Sea Pass!
Then we went back to the room to rest until it was time to disembark. Actually, we were nua-ing and only realised we could go down when we saw people walking outside from the balcony! Seemed like we missed the announcement in the public area; couldn't hear well from inside the room.
We booked 90-min foot massage via WhatsApp earlier in the week - RM78! Walked 30 min to get there and it was so worth it! We also found other places - 90 min for RM68-88. My legs cramped up as usual but this time was quite bad so I skipped the 10-min shoulder at the end coz the low seat made my cramps worse.
Passed by street art and a food street on our way back to the ship. Had fried carrot cake with duck egg - my first duck egg!
My rickshaw uncle :)
"Want a ride?" "Let me think about it..."
Wrapped in paper
Despite the carrot cake, we went to Silver for dinner - no kids! No "sit up straight", "stay in your seat", "don't speak with your mouth full" etc :p
It was supposed to be formal but it didn't look like anyone bothered! Tip: No need to pack formal gear.
Had crab cake, hee :) Then we picked up the kids. Meal times at Adventure Ocean = pizza only... But our kids love pizza!
When we dropped them off, they were in the same room. When we picked up them, Kai was in another room coz, I guess, more kids in his age group arrived. The boys said there were 11 kids in total. Means many families brought their kids to Penang. Well, not guilty :p
This evening, we went for another show - The Effectors. We had popcorn which was gone before the show even started but it didn't matter coz the show was so good! All boys were watching with interest. But Yang dozed off towards the end - think too tired, poor thing...
The day of the week could be found in every lift - Yu discovered that the tile could be changed :)
Waiting for the show to start
As we left the theatre, Yu saw the guy rounding off each show. Think that was the creative director? Anyway, Yu just suddenly turned to him and asked where he lived! The guy said he lived on the ship :) Yu seemed ok with the answer and left. So cute!
Mum and Dad watched the later show. I got the kids to go to bed at 10.30 pm as it was going to be an early day. Us too. Apparently, Kai and Yang were asleep by the time the grands were back :)
Day 3 - Saturday, 26 Nov
Yu slept in every day. I learnt to wake him when I heard Sito start the shower, got him to take his vitamins, and wash up so that we would be ready to go when Papa was done. So we were always the last to get to breakfast.
This day, we had to be up early coz our shore excursion meeting time was 8.15 am. The thing was, Adventure Ocean opened at 9 am. During pickup on Friday, I asked about this and was told about early bird. When I called the desk, I was told to call back later but before 10 pm. When I called at 10 pm, I was told to call back the next morning at 8 am. When I called at 8 am, I got the voicemail!
Tip: Call the concierge which linked me to the manager for Adventure Ocean. He got my request and promised to call back in 10 min and he did - to say we could bring the kids over right away!
The kids were eating / fooling around so we took them while the grands went to prep for excursion
After dropping the kids off, we went to the Royal Theatre to find the grands, and waited for our bus number to be called. A tender boat brought us to Patong beach where we boarded our excursion bus. First stop was a cashew nut factory where I learnt that cashew nuts are individually yielded from the plant - a lot of work!
Then we visited a private museum with lots of old stuff like spittoons, typewriters, gramophones and tingkats - yes, all in the plural! Also strolled along the streets for a while. Bought mango sticky rice and mango smoothie - oh so good!
Next were two temples - Big Buddha and Chalong. Couldn't see the Buddha relic at Chalong very well but Mum put it very well - it had seen us!
Lone bird on the beach as we approached on the pier
A sculpture of a cashew nut - just the tip attached to the big fruit
Love these spittoons!
Very nice skies and views coz it was on higher ground
The massages were very tempting at only $10 for an hour?! But we didn't have a lot of time and we were tired from the sun, even though it was drizzling a little near the museum. So we went back to the ship. But we did not get the kids immediately, heh :p
First, we had hotdogs
Then we went for a trivial - kids were better at this!
Random poses in the casino!
All closed coz we were not in open seas
I looked like I was touching the nose but I wasn't :p
My foot! :p
At dinner, the serving staff was so kind to ask after the kids but no, we decided to pick them up after dinner :p They had pizza for lunch and for dinner, oops... But did I mention they like pizza? :p
We wanted to go for the magic show but Yu needed to poop so I sent him back to the room. Sito came back too as there weren't enough seats. We tried to catch the afternoon show but again this boy had to poop *.* Ah well, his brothers enjoyed the show, as expected, and despite their complaints of "a show again?!"
Brought Yu to eat instead - Sito ate too :p
This boy ate quite a bit of fruits
Then we went for karaoke!
Yu waited patiently with us. So when he asked to play games on his phone, I agreed immediately. Needless to say, it was another late night...
Oh, after the first day, I wore my jacket whenever I was indoors. The aircon was quite cold and I developed a runny nose. I also packed a jacket for Sito but he never used it. Kai and Yang used theirs in Adventure Ocean while Yu used his often. Tip: Pack accordingly next time!
Day 4 - Sunday, 27 Nov
We started with pool time. Then we got them out to register for the Flowrider - basically getting a wristband. Only Yu couldn't take it due to his height. But in the end, Kai and Yang didn't want to do it.
Kai and I went for rock climbing. It drizzled a little just before our turn. This time, we were already wearing shoes and harness! But it stopped and I went first as it was the easier wall; Kai wanted the more difficult one. I was going up when it started raining again!! I was getting tired - gosh, this was no joke! And I thought I didn't want to get caught in the rain at this height so I stopped.
But lucky again, the rain stopped and Kai managed to scale his wall. But he slipped so didn't manage to go all the way up, sighs. Hope to bring him rock climbing back in SG.
It really started raining when we were both on the ground. The kids all went back to the rooms while I went to find Sito who was queueing for the Flowrider. It was a pretty long wait! Tip: Register for it early and go queue when it opens. We were watching others do it - some well, some less so. When it was Sito's turn, he gave me his ring for safekeeping, haha! And he did very well!!
Me on the wall - I tried not to look down!
Surfing on the Flowrider!
Managed to get on his knees too!
We went to Seaplax after lunch. The kids spent a lot of time on the motion game. Yang did especially well - first to score more than 10,000 points! Yu was too small to be detected by the machine haha!
Sito grabbed some pizza and ice cream to eat while watching the kids. Kai decided to get a hotdog bun - he can eat quite a bit now!
Then, Kai and I went to queue for the bumper car.Yang and Yu went to queue for archery with Papa. But somehow, they gave up and joined us for bumper car.
Yang's brothers watching him play
Those were our three cars!
Funny belly flop competition - these two were very interested and voted for their faves!
The emcee was very good. Same guy who rounded up the shows. Sito again grabbed some snack food nearby to eat while watching :p The kids were happy to snack too!
And then, it was time for our reserved activity - Skypad, aka controlled trampolin! We found a long line and realised a reservation doesn't mean no queueing. Tip: All parties must be present in order to be given a wristband coz they looked at the app for the number. Only then could we join the queue.
Unfortunately for us, even though we were the first of the 5 pm reservations to arrive, I was the only one in the queue when they started giving out wristbands. They were upstairs running about as Yang discovered a glass walkway - he called it a challenge :p
Anyway, I called and called via WhatsApp but no one heard my calls. Luckily, Sito came into view and I waved him down. By the time we registered, I had to let three families go ahead. More waiting....
Finally wearing harness!
Kai went up first, then Yang
Only managed to capture this coz I was next
Ah Yee caught a shot of both of us in the air!
I think I squealed a few times. That free fall feeling! I was reminded of how I couldn't swing myself too high in the playground when I was a kid. I was braver in my teens and 20s though, haha!
Dinner was a little late due to the Skypad. By then, the kids had had quite a bit of experience ordering their own food. They read the menu themselves and decided on their mains and desserts and drinks. We were free to view our menu leisurely...
Very friendly with Uncle Ronaldo
So dramatic when cutting his steak!
We were quite tired by then. Maybe it was all the waiting that day. We decided to let the kids do their fave thing - play games on their phone - and go jalan jalan on our own. Turned out Mum wasn't planning to head out anymore so Yu went over to join his brothers.
Sito was considering another cruise. I don't mind but I wonder what the kids would like. They were definitely not keen on waiting. And Kai didn't like Adventure Ocean. Anyway, we picked up a brochure with dates for the next year.
I developed a tummy ache and had to go back. We never came out again, haha! So in the end, we didn't sleep too late. Called Yu back and it was that. All of us were tired...
Random find during our short walk
Day 5 - Monday, 28 Nov
Time for home! We had breakfast, rested a bit in the room and left.
Woke to find us in SG
Yu found a ship passing by
Joining the crowds to disembark - got led to a shorter line after this stretch, yeah!
So that was the end of our cruise. It was fun, mostly when the kids were not complaining about waiting or food, or when they were taken care of by professionals! We ate a lot of desserts, which were great, haha!
Last night, Sito was googling for various cruise options, and found one round the world cruise! Eh hello, wait 10 more years ok... Kids must go to school :p
I think if we go on a Royal Caribbean cruise again, we will probably get one level down - cheaper. Less frills like happy hour drinks but those were good to have, The kids also prefer Silver Dining as they could help themselves to the buffet.
And one last tip - maybe we should have put the many many unused hangers into the drawers coz they were gently knocking into their neighbours very often! The ship was very stable but the hangers feel the waves more than humans!!