AndreaP43

Day 7: Sea day! All 4 of us get motion sickness yet we had no issue at all on this cruise. I packed half a Rite-Aid “just in case” and we used nothing. The lozenges came in handy for Yen who had developed a very scratchy voice. After CK this morning we had the Star flowrider - there was only one session for the whole cruise which was a little disappointing. Marcus was too short to ride so it was just the 3 of us and just one other guy so we did get about 5 goes each. Was great fun but we thought the instructors should have gone over a few things beforehand - it was impossible to figure out what progressions they were asking you to do whilst riding. We legged it from the flowrider to Jamie’s for the cupcake class where we made a frog. It was nice to do a quieter, craft activity and everyone had fun. Our fave waiter was there to look out for us too. I believe this one isn’t actually included for Star but we were not charged. Yen had booked Andrew for a whisky tasting so I took the kids to Schooner Bar for trivia. This was our first time being in a gen pop area. It was virtually impossible to get a drink. It would have been quicker to message yen the order and have a totally different bar deliver it. Most of the people in the bar looked like they should have been cut off hours earlier. We did semi ok in the trivia and then headed back to the seaplex for the escape room. Yen had organised a private session for us as the kids are both under 12 and no other Star Class passengers had signed up. Andrew got lost after his whisky tasting (he was the only person on the tasting) but eventually joined us. The kids were great at it, especially Marcus who loves math. The adults couldn’t have done less and the staff member was laughing at us the whole time. We didn’t finish Dinner back at Chops - Andrew and I both had lobster which was fantastic. Sonic Odyssey wasn’t on until 8:30 so we went back to the room to shower to save time later. By this time Andrew was half asleep from the whisky tasting and the dinner wine but he managed to make it to the show. He then slept through the whole thing. We loved Sonic Odyssey - it was well worth the later night. Day 8: last day at sea. After breakfast in CK we did the galley tour which was really interesting. Our CK maître-d took the tour. It was interesting to hear how long serving some of the staff are - it’s so rare these days to see people working for the same company for 15-30 years so RC must be doing something right. After the galley tour we did a few more rounds of bumpers and then the laser tag which was crazy fun. Andrew got the high score and I came third, the teenage boys on the other team were livid. The laser tag was supposed to be Star only but nobody other than us had signed up. Yen said her other 2 rooms didn’t really do activities and when we saw Jade she said the same. We headed back to the room as the kids wanted to do some art for the tip envelopes and go and give them out. Marcus and I went to Jamie’s for lunch so he could give Kadek his tip and drawing and Jordan and Andrew went to Izumi. We found our room attendant and apprentice on the way back so the kids could give them their tips. When got back to the room we had a lovely cake waiting. Yen had organised a thermal suite day pass for Andrew and I so we went to the suite sun deck for a while and then left the kids to run out the rest of their arcade credit. The thermal suite was dead quiet so felt like a private oasis. The kids had organised a pizza and banana split delivery with Yen for their dinner as they didn’t want to come to Wonderland and had asked Bagus to leave the bed out so they could watch Five Nights at Freddy’s. Off we went to Wonderland which was fine but very much a one and done for us. When we headed back the kids had just finished their movie and had lots of stories to tell us. Wijaya had come to clear away the afternoon snacks and had made them some lovely origami animals, Yen had popped by to deliver some gifts (kissing mugs for us, shark blanket tails for the kids) and Bagus and Iskander gave them a mini towel animal workshop when they were doing turndown. Day 9: Disembarkation. We had a later flight so stayed on for as long as possible. There was no room service which we didn’t realise so Yen bought our coffee order. We would have told her not to worry if we’d known! We had a late breakfast in CK. I haven’t said much about the CK service, our main server generally seemed very distracted. She missed items and forgot entire meals loads of times and she called me Melissa more than once… Yen came to meet us at 9 to walk us off. Disembarkation was seamless and we were off by 9.30 and in a taxi to the airport. In a full circle moment it was pouring rain again in Brisbane. I got rather teary saying goodbye to Yen. She was just amazing and was the perfect fit for us. Overall the Star experience exceeding our expectations. We very much did the cruise for the kids but turned out that we also loved it. The kids were so well behaved the entire time and really seemed to grow in confidence and got a little bit of independence. I found the blogs so helpful as a new cruiser so a big thanks to everyone who posts about their travels

Day 6: Another tender port. We were off on tender 1 and got over to Port Vila before our tour company had even set up. We booked a local tour today as they all seemed to be the same and there was not a lot of risk in not getting back in time. Again, Yen said if I had roaming to message her when we were 30 min away and she’d come over and get us as everyone generally returns from the local tours at the same time. I’ve been to Port Vila before on a resort holiday and we wanted more than a beach day so we booked a tour that did the cultural village, back to eden cascades and blue lagoon. There were 11 of us in a mini bus so not too squishy. Eventually we were on and we made our way to an unannounced stop at a duty free store. Nothing was cheaper than at home but loads of people seemed to be buying up big. Yen told us a lot of people tender over just to buy alcohol and then go back to the ship *shrug*. We then took a very bumpy ride to the cascades. The current was very strong so the kids didn’t swim - I was too scared to try to jump for the rope swing so I only got in to cool off. We then had to switch buses from our tour guide who actually spoke, to a driver who didn’t even tell us how much time we had and spoke no English. Then it was off to the Blue Lagoon with about 1599 other people and a BBQ lunch. We then headed to the cultural village with a young couple while the rest of our mini bus went back to the pier. We were about 25% confident our driver would come back for us… We arrived at the tail end of the cultural village experience which we didn’t initially realise so it was a bit disjointed and out of order. Finishing up and our driver was…not there. He eventually turned up after about 20 min so I messaged Yen to let her know we were 30 min away. She was waiting when we returned and whisked us through the line and back on. Dinner back at Jamie’s with our favourite waiter. He remembered everything about us and we had a great chat about Bali and his life and goals. He’d make a brilliant concierge/genie in the future. Show tonight was a Freddie Mercury tribute act. Absolutely brilliant and we all had a blast.

Day 4: First port day in Noumea. We booked the Amadee Island day tour through RC which was amazing. We snorkelled with so many green sea turtles and it was picture perfect. The trip was a short bus to another pier and then a 30 min boat ride over to paradise. Amadee is apparently full of snakes but we only saw one in the water. Perhaps it was the wrong (or right, depending on your mileage) time of year. A glass bottom boat, buffet lunch including drinks and Polynesian dancing show was included in the ticket and broke the day up a bit. It was very hot although the island had a lot of chairs/umbrellas and was not overcrowded. We arrived back on the ship at around 5 and there was a lot of hair washing and showers to be had. Quick dinner in CK before an early bed time after a long day. The next day was our first tender port and we wanted off early. Day 5: Mystery Island. Our genie said they only get to MI on about 40% of the cruises due to wind or bad weather. None of that here! It was perfect weather. We had booked 2 beach huts through a local tour company which we were so happy to have. They also included 2 drinks, the inner tubes and a 30 min massage. We had a quick breakfast in CK before meeting the genie. Tenders had started earlier than expected so we were on tender 4. Thankfully nobody who arrived before us seemed to realise there was another side to the island so we still got a lot of great empty beach shots. Our genie asked what time we wanted to head back and we said we had the huts till 1 so around 2pm. We thought she was asking due to afternoon snack delivery but little did we know… The huts were a great place to relax and it was nice to have a base rather than just chucking all our stuff on the sand. The kids had a blast and spent their own pocket money to hire a clear SUP for an hour. We were right next to the tiki bar so had a few Vanuatu beers and cocktails. Gotta stimulate the local economy somehow. When it was time to head back the boys had a look in the markets for some trinkets and found a few souvenirs. I had some small USD left over from our wedding/honeymoon so they used that up. We were getting hungry then so went looking for the apparent lobsters that you could buy for $50 Australian dollars. They must be invisible lobsters or we had heat stroke as we couldn’t find them. We were lamenting the gigantic line to tender back to the ship when I heard a call of “Andreaaaa” in the distance. Yen had tended over to collect us! We were on in 5 minutes and back in 15. Yen had ordered some pizza and fries along with our usual snacks to the room assuming that we’d be hungry. What a gem! There were also some Easter eggs for the kids and a 3D puzzle each which was exciting. Izumi for dinner tonight. Again, the food was fantastic but the service was lacking. They were also out of quite a lot of items including everything for dessert. Thankfully Wijaya bought us more cookies than Mrs Fields everyday we we still had a sweet treat. We went to Starwater tonight which was spectacular. Easily my favorite show.

Day 3: Another packed sea day. Andrew and I went to Pilates in the morning and were the only people there. The instructor told us that the class is always busy and then people show up late due to the time change backwards. Our genie had warned us that our phones wouldn’t automatically update - guess nobody else got the memo. Our Starbucks standing order was waiting when we headed back which we took to CK. Then it was another 2 rounds of bumper cars before the backstage tour of the Royal Theatre. The tour was some sort of Crown & Anchor event that we had glommed onto and was full of fairly rude pinns and who did a lot of interrupting and touching stuff they weren’t supposed to. The kids said the oldies were worse behaved than kindergarten kids on a field trip. The tour was interesting, if a bit long at a full hour. Lunch at CK before more time on the suite sun deck. The belly flop competition had just finished and the deck was an utter shambles. The kids blew through some of their arcade credit in the late afternoon while Andrew and I had some down time. We did sign them up for kids club but it was so disorganised and chaotic that we did not send them. They’re very mature and responsible so we were happy to let them spread their wings a little on their own. I bought a family pack of octopus plushies for arrival and the kids had a huge pink one that was spare. They took it to the arcade and asked a little girls parents if she would like it. We ended up seeing them on a tender after that and she was still holding on tight to it. Too cute! Dinner at Chops. I didn’t seem to take any photos. The food was fantastic but the service was very mid. Certainly nothing like the warmness we had received in Jamie’s. We went to the hypnotist show which the kids just adored and then did some roller skating before bed.

Ship: Quantum of the Seas - Easter sailing Room: Grand Loft Suite with genie Yen Itinerary: Brisbane > Noumea (New Caledonia) > Mystery Island (Vanuatu) > Port Vila (Vanuatu) - 8 nights Who: Andrea, 43; husband Andrew, 43 and kids Jordan, 11 and Marcus, 8. This was our first ever cruise. We would definitely go again but only in Star Class (where are my fellow suite snobs at?). We flew from Melbourne to Brisbane at 8:00 with no delays, arriving just before 10:00. In an Uber on the way to port and found the Star Class banner by 10:30. A short delay behind the B2Bs but all checked in and through security with Pier genie Elliott by 10:45 where we met our genie Yen. Straight to Vintages after muster for a drink and run down with Yen to tweak the itinerary a little. We received white WOW bands instead of purple as they had run out of purple a couple of sailings back. Room was ready by 11:30 and full of snacks, drinks and bottle of Moët for sail away. Sadly the weather in Brisbane was dismal and was grey, gloomy and raining. We didn’t meet our room attendant until the evening. We had lunch at Coastal Kitchen which was very quiet before heading off to explore the ship before the crowds really kicked in. There were 4900 people on the sailing including 1300 kids. Due to the weather we didn’t taken many pics on embarkation day. We went back to the room for sail away which was spot on 4:30pm and then headed back to Coastal Kitchen for dinner. The line for the Windjammer went all the way to the stairwell. After dinner we headed to the headliner comedy show where Yen had drinks waiting for us. The comedy left a bit to be desired so we headed off early to get an early night. Day 2: First sea day was action packaged for us. Breakfast at Coastal (we didn’t set foot in the jammer or the MDR the whole time), bumper cars, rock climbing wall, ifly, suite sun deck, lunch, back to the sun deck, Star Class bridge tour then dinner at Jamie’s. Jamie’s was easily our favourite specialty restaurant, both the food and the service were top notch and there were lots of options for the kids. Our Jamie’s server ended up being our favorite person on the ship other than the genie. No show tonight as I didn’t think Sequins and Feathers would be appropriate for the kids. I read a lot of Australian naysayers saying that nobody dressed up for any of the themes nights. Garbage! Almost everybody was dressed up for formal night in some capacity and looked fantastic.

Sorry to hear about Hailey - I know how much you were looking forward to having her again. We just received our assignment for the GLS on 27 March and we have Yen. @F1guynz Is the Star Class check in area at the terminal obvious when arriving?

Will you live blog @F1guynz? Loved the last one (hard to find Star Class content for departures from Aus). Really hoping to get Hailey as our genie after reading all your glowing comments

Easter cruise roll call. Brisbane > Noumea > Port Vila > Brisbane (8 nights) This is our first ever cruise and we'll be sailing in the Grand Loft Suite.