Jan 15th - 18th Spectrum to Penang

[SGlazylife]

Was unsure whether or not to post this but since I managed to win a RUB I decided to post some of my experiences.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Singapore / Day 2: Penang / Day 3: Sea / Day 4: Back home

With whom and why:

Bringing my dad since I've already brought my mum and brother. It was originally a comped cruise but won a RUB and so I'll be using the complimentary Voom to post!

The ship:

Spectrum of the Seas is somewhat familiar as i have travelled on her before but never in a suite. I've been on Mariner and Symphony but not on an Oasis or other Quantum classes.

From what I've read, SotS is especially unique since it was designed for the asian market. Thats why instead of a CK we have Gold and Silver dining. I shall go forth and explore as much of the suite amenities on this trip.

 

Luckily for me, Singapore is a small country and public transportation is great. No need to fly here since I stay here and no need to book a hotel near the port. Coming from the far east on the transit system, it barely took 40 minutes to reach Marina South Pier station and walk over to the cruise centre.

This was my first Sky class experience so i wasn't too sure of what to expect but luckily the suite concierge was nice enough to send an email a few days before the cruise to explain the perks and amenities. The room was a sky balcony, so not much bigger than a normal balcony room, but with the perks of being in Sky class.

Once we reached the cruise centre, there was a large crowd as there was another ship at port as well, Celebrity Solstice. Getting through security was slow but eventually we got through and I must say, priority boarding is a game changer. I might never be able to go without this perk in the future.

After boarding we made our way to Silver dining. For lunch it was like a more condensed version of the WJ but somehow everything felt a little more high quality. I also met the chef that did chef's table the last time i was on the ship.

After lunch it was off to check out the North Star. For 3-5 day sailings, it costs $20 per pax to board so it was very empty with just my father and I to the whole place. They staff told me about iFly and so we went there next to try. No pictures there but i didn't do that well though my father really managed it out there.

After that it was bumper cars and then finally to our long awaited room.

[Sweety]

Have a peaceful and joyful cruise.

 

[SGlazylife]

After a brief rest, we went on to continue exploring. Behind the elevator at the forward, there is another single elevator for suite guests to use to get to the gold dining and lounge.

The gold lounge was in the gold dining area but we opted to go to the silver lounge instead for a drink and some hors d'eoves.

After more walking to burn the calories, we eventually got hungry and went to the gold dining for dinner. Dinner was amazing, some of the dishes were better than some of the specialty restaurants.

After getting spoiled by sky class, I wonder if i can go back to normal, and what is beyond?! Star class will definitely be on my bucket list but for now, I'm going to slowly enjoy the shows and let the food digest.

[SGlazylife]

2 hours ago, Sweety said:

Have a peaceful and joyful cruise.

 

Thanks! Having a great time now

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, SGlazylife said:

After getting spoiled by sky class, I wonder if i can go back to normal, and what is beyond?! Star class will definitely be on my bucket list but for now

Haha! No, you cannot go back to normal!

And Star, it's a slippery slope. That is the point of no return. Ask Hubby. In March 2019, that was supposed to be our, "Let's just try Star this one time" cruise. You know the rest 

[JohnK6404]

Have an amazing time!!! 

[SGlazylife]

Yesterday was a blast filled with activities and stuffed with food. The Effectors was great and my dad really enjoyed it. The Silk Road show was a bit confusing but he liked it as well.

For today we decided to take it a bit slow before we reach Penang. For breakfast we headed down to CaféTwo70 (favourite venue) and do the morning stretch after.

Got the bagel with smoked salmon and sun dried tomato cream cheese and the royal egg muffin. Decided to skip the gold dining breakfast as we wanted something light and to remind ourselves that there is also great breakfast once we sail again as normal passengers.

Walked around the pool deck to get in some steps and almost all the deck chairs were empty. For those who really love sunbathing, you should check out the cruises in Asia as i didn't see a single chair hog.

Day was cloudy with a bit of sun so after awhile heading back to the cabin to get some rest before the reaching the next port.

Extra tip while in the balcony, leave the balcony ajar so you can hear the waves while you take a nap. Feels really good and makes the room less dry.

[SGlazylife]

After a tiring day its time for an update. Went to gain some points with prime and unfortunately wiped as I stay positive thinking about the great day I had. :')

Arrival at port was at 4pm today so my dad and I went to try out the lunch at gold dining. The picture dont do it justice but it was beautifully presented in person. I think i just have bad photo taking skills haha.

We ate the Margherita flat bread, nanjing duck, cod fillet, grilled octopus, apple crumble, and the chocolate brownies. The flatbread was great but the duck tasted a bit like hainanese chicken. The cod was fresh and flaky and the octopus had a very nice charr and wasn't too chewy. For desserts the apple crumble was better, but the brownie tasted good as well. I think this suite dining is really winning me over to always upgrade to at least sky class 0.o 

After that filling lunch (we actually wanted something light so we could eat more in penang but the food just looked so good) we headed back to the jogging track to get in more steps before eventually retiring to our room to prep for the day ahead.

Upon reaching the port we were greeted by another ship, Genting Dream. For this trip we took used one of the taxi services at the pier to get us around the island. We visited a few malls, checked out the local specialty shops and went to a long jetty with shops and houses all along it. Would definitely recommend going to Chew's jetty to check out the street art as well as the scenery. Be sure to check out the local specialty products to bring home like bak kut teh (bone broth tea) herbs and spices and the local pastries. Penang is famous for its nutmeg oil but we didn't get any this time.

Finally the thing which everyone who goes to penang must try is to eat their famous penang char kway teow and chendol. The driver brough us to his recommended place and the noodles and dessert was one of the best i've ever had. Previously when i brought the mum, we took a RC tour but the food wasn't as good. Having a local driver which can bring you to smaller places can be an advantage over big tour groups.

More photos of dinner to come in the next post.

[SGlazylife]

After going around penang it was time to return to ship to rest our legs.

Being stuffed from meals over the whole day we decided to just get some drinks over at the silver lounge to wind down.

Originally it was supposed to be just drinks but since we hadn't tried the food at silver dining yet, we decided to get some to pair with our wine.

Silver dining is part WJ part MDR in that there is the buffet section but for dinner you can also order appetizers and mains from the menu.

We ordered the calamari and poached prawns and grabbed some sauted mushrooms to go with the wine which i forgot to take. Taste wise, silver dining has been a step down when compared to gold. Both come from the same kitchen as informed by my dad who was talking to the greek executive chef, but somehow the food at gold tasted better. The calamari was a bit too chewy and greasy but the poached prawns were great.

Totally stuffed we headed back to the jogging track for yet more steps before retiring back to the cabin. Dad had school assignments to finish so he stayed in the room while i went out and made some losses.

So far the trip has been great but there's only 1 day left. Going to miss the suite life once i'm back home.

[SGlazylife]

Forgot to mention!

So far we have not heard any emergency calls or any seen any eventful stuff which seems to happen to all the other live bloggers.

Maybe i haven't been paying attention but so far it's been a peaceful trip and my dad is quickly becoming a suite fan. Might be hard to bring him on other trips after raising his expectations too much.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1.  That Gold dining room food looks wonderful.  That is the way all cruise ship dining room food should look !  Very elegant.  Glad it tasted as good as it looked.

2.  Penang.  So envious.  It’s on my bucket list (along with Angkor Wat and Bangkok).  So glad you got to see it and enjoy

3.  I thought Genting had gone TU (bankrupt).

[SGlazylife]

12 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1.  That Gold dining room food looks wonderful.  That is the way all cruise ship dining room food should look !  Very elegant.  Glad it tasted as good as it looked.

2.  Penang.  So envious.  It’s on my bucket list (along with Angkor Wat and Bangkok).  So glad you got to see it and enjoy

3.  I thought Genting had gone TU (bankrupt).

Penang is great! Take a trip around south east asia in the future. Its pretty great as a destination.

I thing genting did go bankrupt but somehow started up again

[SGlazylife]

Final day at sea and we started off with breakfast at gold. They had baja eggs so got that since i've seen it being recommended here before. Breakfast was followed by more walking and finally to the anticipated taste of royal.

Just before the taste of royal i headed off to the mystery museum heist while my dad enjoyed the room. Joined with a few new friends but unfortunately didn't finish in time. Was very fun and we solved some puzzles but the rest was too hard to solve.

Dad has been really enjoying the trip and got a souvenir of the model ship while i was gone.

Taste of royal was great as expected and we got the wine pairing as well.

Was not expecting so much food as there were welcome amuse bouche on top of the menu. The bread was one of the best i've eaten and i was told it is an item at 150 central park which isn't on any of the quantum class ships.

I think going for 2 specialty meals in a day might be a bit much as we are completely stuffed. Tonight we'll be heading over back to gold dining to try the rest of the menu though i suspect dad will be wanting of the beef tenderloin rossini again.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Your breakfast looks amazing except for the sausage link(if that is what it is).  I just can’t do breakfast sausage unless it is very well crisped and browned!  But man…those eggs look perfect!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Avocado and jalapeno ? Looks pretty !

[SGlazylife]

Spent the rest of the day doing trivia and some time visiting the casino. Managed to walk away with a sizable win this time!

Had a pre-dinner snack with some drinks before the final dinner at gold. Wanted to try out some of the other dishes. The past 2 days we have been really full throughout, it was a struggle but we managed to finish all the food. There was a black pepper stir fry special so i got that with rice while my dad got the dover sole. I had the venison carpaccio while dad got the minestrone soup from day 1.

After dinner we caught Showgirls and in the elevator finally caught a glimpse of the stowaway pianist.

Dad was very impressed with the trip thus far and has been bragging to his friends about it. Maybe in the future i'll be bringing a bigger group, but my senses are telling me no. (Lesson learnt from ampurps blogs)

Also a picture of the small prize from the quizzes and part of the shopping haul on the top right.

[SGlazylife]

Woke up slightly miffed that i have to leave the ship. Went to gold for breakfast but felt it wasn't complete without cafetwo70's royal egg muffin.

Debarkation was smooth and the concierge sent us on our way off the ship. Though i feel that priority boarding was a lot more impactful than debarkation.

Now to the things i really liked the most in sky class:

1) Priority boarding - really a huge time saver, just for this alone, i think it's worth considering upgrading to at least sky class. Having the whole ship to yourself and being able to book activities first made the biggest impact right from the start.

2) Complimentary wifi - one of the reasons we needed it was my dad still had some assignments to do and the wifi was essential. For me it was a huge bonus to just chat with friends and to show off how much better my life was on the ship. Though i think it isn't necessary, it made things that much better in enjoying the trip.

3) Suite lounge - loved the happy hour cocktails though i didn't use it that much. Consumed maybe around 8 drinks in total at the lounge over 3 nights. To me the drink package isn't really worth it as i dont't drink that much, so having the lounge for some evening drinks was perfect for my needs.

4) Suite dining - the dining options for suite guests was really good and the tenderloin was comparable to chops. Also having a more private location without the crowding was a huge plus. Not sure how i'm going to get used to the good old MDR now.

Other perks such as room service and double room cleaning, didn't feel like too much of a big deal this trip since there were no kids making a mess and it was a sky balcony room, no dining table to put stuff. I wish the room was bigger but that would have probably raised the price by quite a bit.

Really glad i won the RUB and got to try what the suite life ia like. Any future cruise i'm going to be praying hard for that royal up.

[asquared17]

On 1/16/2024 at 11:51 AM, SGlazylife said:

So far we have not heard any emergency calls or any seen any eventful stuff which seems to happen to all the other live bloggers.

i am very glad for this

 

and happy you are having such a nice time with your dad. your room is nicely appointed. and i love the sky class benefits!!

LOVE baja eggs