Sunday, December 23, 2012

Cruise - Royal Caribbean International - Legend Of The Seas


I have travelled on the Star Cruise, Virgo before but this was my first time  travelling on the Royal Caribbean International, Legend Of The Seas. My cruise started from 31 October 2012 to 3 November 2012. We boarded the cruise ship  at the new cruise centre at the Marina Bay, Singapore. The Marina Bay cruise centre is quite isolated. There is no public transport. It was rather inconvenient as compare to the cruise centre situated at the Harbour Front which is accessible by buses and MRT. Cruise passengers going to the Marina Bay cruise centre can reach the terminal only by private cars or taxi. We hired a maxi cab to ferry us there as we have 5 of us travelling from the same location. The taxi fare was S$50.00. We paid S$60.00 for the return trip. The service we got from the maxi cab driver was very good. He picked us up on time and driver was friendly. Our cruise itinerary was Singapore-Penang-Malacca-Singapore. We checked in at the cruise centre at noon and had our lunch on board. The cafe served international buffet. My rating for the food served was fair. Not that fantastic. The cafe sitting capacity was unable to accommodate the in flux of passengers. Many people had to carry their food to scout for the seats. For the following meals, we had decided to dine in the Romeo & Juliet restaurant that served western food. The same table was reserved for us through out the whole journey. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same restaurant. The service from the same waitresses was excellent.
The cruise will call at the ports of Penang and Malacca. We planned to stay on board through out initially as we have senior citizens in the group (of course that also including myself). But we changed our mind and went for a free and easy land tour when my niece managed to contact a private tour guide whom she knew from her last visit. It was a seven seater coach. The  guide will bring us to places that we requested. In Penang, we went to a bakery shop buying the Chinese authentic almond biscuit, black pepper biscuit and lotus paste biscuit. The biscuits were very good. We regretted that we did not buy more when we tasted back home. We also tried the Penang fried Kuay Teow(rice noddle). The fried Kuay Teow was damn good. We order 2 plates for sharing. We wanted to try the Penang fried oyster that opposite the fried Kuay Teow store. But it was closed for business on that day. What a waste! Next we stopped by a road side stall to sample the Penang durain. It was worth the trouble. Our last stop was at the Plaza Gurney, an up market shopping mall in Penang before we returned to the ship. It was a memorable trip.
   






                                 Marina Bay cruise centre 

                                      Cruise ship model

                                                                   Cruise terminal

                                                                Cabin access card

                                                           Spacious room with balcony

                                       Cabin view from balcony

                                                                Fire drill before ship sails

                                                             Passengers at assembly point
                        

                                                                        Tender boat

                                                             Cruise ship top deck

                                                                Cruise ship jogging track     

                                                                Tug boat assisting ship sails  

                                                              Cruise ship away from terminal

                                                                Relaxing at the lounge     

                                                              Photo taken from cabin balcony 

                                                          Two seniors waiting for dinning table
                                                 
                                                                          Salad dish

                                                                           Beef steak

                                                              Fried fish with rice

                                       Western dish

                                                                               Dessert

                                                             Rain clouds view from cabin balcony

                                                                           Breakfast

                                                                 English breakfast

                                                                  Double fried egg

                                                                       Scramble egg

                                                                   Good breakfast

                                                        Penang island at the back ground                                                                                          
                                                    
                                                          Arrived at Penang- Malaysia

                                                           Authentic Chinese bakery shop



                                         

                                         



                                                                Durain stall owner

                                                             Our private 7 seaters coach

                                                                    Penang Durain

                                                            Eating durain at the road side stall



                                                            Penang Char Koay Teow

                                      


                                                                      Plaza Gurney

                                                                   Back to Penang sea port







                                                            Group photo taken after dinner

                                                         Performance by the restaurant staff


                                                                  The grand finale