This is a throwback post on my maiden voyage on a cruise ship back in 2016 (Ya took me this long to write about it lol). It is a 4 Night Penang and Langkawi cruise on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. Checking InOur cruise is set to depart from Singapore port at 4:30pm. Guest are allocated check in time from 11am onwards based on the deck of stay (This provides good crowd control as you will not need to compete for check-in with 3000 other guest all at the same time). Triggered by the kiasu cum Kancheong spirit in us for the fact that this is our first cruise trip, my family arrived at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore before 11am even though our recommended check in time was 1pm (We were staying at deck 7). The first thing we see is the counter to check-in our bags. Although it seems like a good idea as you instantly travel light upon check-in, you will only receive your bags at your stateroom after a very long delay (We received ours after 10 pm). Moral of story is to pack light so that you can skip bags check-in. We then join the queue to go through security checks of our hand carry bags. Do note that you cannot bring fresh food (packet food and/or fruits) beyond this point. After which, we come to a holding area. Staff will put up signs to direct you to the check-in counter when ready. At this counter, you will surrender your passport and receive your SeaPass card. The SeaPass card is the wonder card that identifies you, opens the door to your stateroom and keep track of all your on-board purchases. Hence do not lose your SeaPass card!!! Some other important info that your SeaPass card contains: 1. Your seating allocation for dinner (This is one of the best part of Royal Caribbean cruise as you are allocated a fixed seat for the set meal dinner) 2. This is the station number you need to report to for the emergency drill carried out on the first day of cruise. 3. You will have this logo if you purchase the drink package. I will share my view on the drink package later. I thought we can board the cruise now but nope. The real wait starts here as we were brought to another waiting area. We can finally board the cruise. Yay!!! Checking out our stateroomI book an interior stateroom for 3 adults. It consist of a queen size bed and a platform with mattress on the top right where i slept. Very small toilets but is very clean. Cruise CompassThe cruise compass is your survival guide on board as it will provide information on show times, restaurant open times, sports and activities opening times, movie screening and daily exclusive events like sales, BBQ by the pool etc They will place the next day compass in your room after the room cleaning service. Food - WINDJAMMER CAFÉ @ Deck 11You can enjoy international buffet with spectacular view here during breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. This is a free seating place so is best to come early for your meals before it gets too crowded. Totally forgot to take any pictures of the food i had here. Guess maybe is because nothing too extraordinary here. Food - Main Dining Room @ Deck 3,4,5Enjoy world class multi-course meal here during breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. You will be given allocated timing and seats for dinner. The place is spacious and grand. The ambience here is very good. We really enjoy eating here. The food here was fabulous. You can actually ask for more servings but generally it takes very long for them to serve after your order. Hence i would recommend that you ask for more during your first order. Below are just some of the dishes i remembered to take pictures of lol Love their desserts. I always order all the desserts on the menu at one go. It is here where you will received first class service. Firstly you have a dedicated waiter serving your table. Our waiter (sadly by now i forgot his name) will make a point to remember all our preferences. For example he remembered where my parents and I will seat and have prepared 2 glasses of warm water and 1 ice water upon our arrival for dinner. He will also highlight to us in the event a dish contains beef (My family does not eat beef). Another highlight taking place here is the Captain's Night on the last night of cruise. Everyone is encouraged to dress up for the meal and all staff will come out to do a simple dance performance before your meal. Food - CAFÉ PROMENADE @ Deck 5Located at the heart of the cruise, this is a 24/7 cafe where you can satisfy your craving for coffee or tea, pizzas and sandwiches at any point of time. My family always use this place as our meeting point and a cup of coffee to recharge before our next activities. Food - Room Service I decided to try room service during one of the night for fun. You can refer to the room service menu in your room. Basically you dial for room service from your room, make your order and set the preferred time of delivery and you are done. I was expecting the food to reach hot since I can set the time of delivery. However the food was cold when served. (Maybe my room too far from kitchen?). Anyway my family decided that late night cravings are better fixed at Cafe Promenade since it is not too far from our room anyway. Drink PackageThis is my first cruise. I thought if i get 1 drink package and share between my family, it will be a good deal. Hence i got the refreshment package ($28 per day) which entitles me to all non alcoholic drinks on board including coffee, tea, bottled water, sodas, juices and non alcoholic cocktails. I was given the following cup which i can ask for refill at any restaurants (complimentary and non complimentary) for any cold drinks. Some will ask to see my SeaPass for the drink logo for verification. But since i was lazy to carry this cup around and we were served drinks during our meals and we can fix our coffee craving at Cafe Promenade, this drink package becomes a bit useless. Food - Special EventsIt is important to pay attention to the daily activities in the Cruise Compass as sometimes they will hold 1 time special events. BBQ by the Pool Meet and Greet the Captain during Captain's Night at the Promenade where there are live music, dance and I keep getting my refills of non alcoholic cocktails. Drink Bonus: Art AuctionYou must be thinking, what does art auction have to do with drinks? Well this was a trick i learnt from google. Basically you can enjoy complimentary champagne during the art auction. All you have to do is register for a session, sit through the session as they conduct the auction and you will be served free champagne during the process. Yes FREE CHAMPAGNE!!!! So better register for the art auction and well just pretend you know something about art during the process. Stay tune to Part 2 of my maiden voyage on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas in 2016 where i will share more on the activities and shows on the cruise and part 3 of my maiden voyage on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas in 2016 where i will be talking about the various shows and performances i watched.
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KelvinYo. I am from Singapore. I love to travel. Follow me as I share my experiences and tips for budget travelling as well as my hunt for Ho Kangs around Singapore. Archives
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