I have read a lot about the cruises out of Singapore on other cruise blog sites. If you notice on RCCL's site they are described as "culturally enriching". That's code for "don't expect your normal cruise experience". None of the European or Australian cruises are described in that fashion.
The cruises out of Singapore are geared towards the Chinese markets. I've heard that the No-Smoking except in certain areas is not enforced. The first language spoken on the ship is Mandarin. And I've heard the Chinese passengers can seem quite rude as they push & shove their way onto overcrowded elevators, into the buffet lines, etc. It's not that they're intentionally being rude. It's just their culture, but as Americans, we're not used to that.
My husband and I had booked a cruise out of Singapore and then cancelled it after we read about all of that. We still may eventually try one as we'd love to see Japan and Southeast Asia. We just decided that wasn't the experience we wanted for a big anniversary celebration vacation.
Sorry you had to cancel the booking.. I would be disappointed too.
I'm from Singapore, and our working language is English. It will be unfortunate if cruises out of Singapore indeed targets Mainland Chinese pax instead of Singaporeans and its neighbours. We wouldn't want to board a cruise only to eat Chinese food (that we can get plenty of in Singapore) or be immediately transported to China fighting for survival onboard.
The lack of Solarium access will be a deal breaker for me. I'll try to get some clarity from RCCL's Singapore office before booking my cruise this week, fingers crossed!
By the way, a Japanese cruise sounds amazing. Imagine a polite, socially-aware, and orderly crowd!
Quantum Class Solarium access - Asian rules
in Royal Caribbean Discussion
Posted
Sorry you had to cancel the booking.. I would be disappointed too.
I'm from Singapore, and our working language is English. It will be unfortunate if cruises out of Singapore indeed targets Mainland Chinese pax instead of Singaporeans and its neighbours. We wouldn't want to board a cruise only to eat Chinese food (that we can get plenty of in Singapore) or be immediately transported to China fighting for survival onboard.
The lack of Solarium access will be a deal breaker for me. I'll try to get some clarity from RCCL's Singapore office before booking my cruise this week, fingers crossed!
By the way, a Japanese cruise sounds amazing. Imagine a polite, socially-aware, and orderly crowd!