Iluvcruising2

I will echo Debut's comments. So much information so generously given. And great videos! Thank you all.

Glad you liked the videos. It is my hobby to make videos, and very happy that the videos can help promote my country as a tourist destination. I've got more coming up!

Hey there,

 

Looking for advice from folks that have done this. Royal's schedule says they dock at 8am. I am looking at a non-stop back to the US that leaves at 11AM I know Royal is recommending no flights before 12PM using their shuttle, but is this doable if we walk off and hail a cab?

 

Thanks in advance!

You are cutting it thin. If there is any delay in docking, even slight, you will miss your flight.

Should be the same Terminal as MSC Meraviglia?

We were on the Meraviglia in Dec 17.

We took a taxi to Jaume I, to join a walking tour. There was a long bridge to cross, from the cruise terminal to mainland.

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The sailaway was fantastic as we passed 3 other cruise ships on the way out. Hear the people cheering.

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Welcome to my country, Singapore!

Which ship are you arriving on? Oh, my bad. You said RSSC, so that is Regent Cruises.

Then that would most likely be at Harbourfront Terminal. I once spotted the Seven Seas Voyager in port.

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Never heard of them till today, and only because I spotted a ship in Singapore Harbourfront bearing the name Asuka II.

Turns out that Asuka II was on a world cruise! This ship started her life in the Crystal Cruises fleet as Crystal Harmony. After 15 years of service with Crystal Cruises, she was was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha. However, in 2015, NYK sold Crystal Cruises to Genting Hong Kong.

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We were in Beijing last March (2017) and in Guangzhou last October. Overall, still ok. We brought masks (N-95), but didn't use them. I think Beijing was very nice when we were there.

Check out the clear skies in this video. Wang Fu Jing Street.

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Sky was a bit more overcast at Temple of Heaven, but didn't feel that polluted.

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Our day at the Forbidden City. Again, skies weren't clear, but I don't think the pollution was that bad.

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Ok, maybe we were in Beijing when pollution was lower.

Here are 3 videos of the Harbourfront Cruise Center, not to be confused with the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal. It is definitely more convenient to sail out of Harbourfront, because it is connected to two malls (Harbourfront and VivoCity), and also directly to the MRT station (Harbourfront). Unfortunately, due to the turning radius of the harbour and height restrictions (due to the cable car), the larger cruise vessels cannot come in here.

In this first video, I take a walk from the Arrivals area (where you get off your ship) at Harbourfront, and walk to the MRT station. An easy walk through the shopping mall. You can see all the stores along the way.

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In this second video, I take a walk from the Bag Drop area to the Check in area. As there was no ship embarking/disembarking today, the baggage drop area was not manned.

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In this third video, I take a walk from the Arrival area, to Vivocity. Take note that the Harbourfront Mall and Vivocity are connected via 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. (1st floor in Singapore refers to Ground Floor). I walked over via the ground floor. I show you some of the restaurants at Vivocity, including Jamie Oliver, Poulet and other Japanese, Mexican, German, British eateries. The British pub had a fancy name - the Queen and Mangosteen! Funny.

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I did like the food. It was a our friends special number birthday and it was cheaper celebrating together in Violet Oon then flying to America. :D

 

You have a wonderful country.

 

Julie

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed yourselves!

It is the same place. Quite stunning and we had a table outside near the balustrade. As always alcohol isn't cheap in Singapore but it was worth it for a special occasion. As can be seen in your video there is space near the bar area where you can stand and look at the view as well. It is tricky to get to the rooftop though.

 

We only had pre dinner drinks there and went to Violet Oon for dinner.

Your menu for the wedding looks very tasty.

 

I love Durian but sometimes have been unlucky in getting a not so fresh durian, then I am not keen.:)

 

Julie

You went to Violet Oon for dinner. Wow. I've heard of that place, but never tried it myself.

Maybe I can't bring myself to pay so much for Peranakan food... LOL.. http://violetoon.com/

Did you like the food?

I must say, you know Singapore very well!

More videos.

Durian! Either you love it, or you hate it.

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The Republic of Singapore Air Force Super Puma LIVE rescue helicopter demonstration!

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The Asuka II cruise ship (formerly Crystal Harmony) docked at Harbourfront Cruise Center.

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I don't want to hijack this thread, but is there a hawker center or food court close to the Marina Bay cruise center or Gardens by the Bay?

From the Marina Bay Cruise center, best would be to take the MRT from Marina South Pier Station (which is a 5-8 minute walk from the cruise center) to Raffles Place station (for Lau Pat Sat), or to City Hall station, where you will find plenty of eateries and food court at the Raffles City Shopping centre. Raffles City is also where the Fairmont is located.

Don't miss going to Lau Pa Sat (Google to see what not to miss) for the best night time food "Satay"...starting at 6:30pm they close down the street for this...so good we went two nights during our precruise. Use the MRT if necessary...very easy to do.

Yes, the nearest MRT station would be Raffles Place on the North-South line. It is about a 5 min walk from the station to Lau Pat Sat.

Yes, Marina Square area is great. Plenty of eateries, as well as a food court. In this video, I walk from Pan Pacific Hotel, to Esplanade MRT.

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On another day, I was at the Marina Mandarin Hotel. They are all connected.

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We always ate from the menu, but I think they would be happy to help where they can.

Later that evening, we had dinner at the Yacht Club. For tonight's dinner, there was lobster bisque, escargots, beef and more!

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We Set Off!

We received our excursion tickets the night before (after booking through the YC Concierge). We were informed by the Yacht Club concierge to wait at the Concierge in the morning at a certain time, and then the butler escorted us off the ship. We didn't need to assemble at the area for non Yacht-Club passengers. What was very cool was that we were the first to arrive at the bus, and hence I could snag front row seats (with the best views). We had to wait on an empty bus for about 10 minutes before the rest of the tour group arrived.

And so, we set off. The bus was full. The local guide was a middle-aged lady called Joanna, who conducted the tour in English and German. Here is the video of the bus leaving the port and heading towards Mt Pellegrino.

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Our first stop was to go up Mt Pelligrino. The views going up were fantastic. We had a great view from the front row seats on the bus. Fortunately, the roads were still relatively straight, and we didn't have to go through many bends that would have made us bus-sick. I noticed many cyclists going up and coming down. There was a good cycling community here!

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St Rosalia Grotto

It didn't take us very long to reach the St Rosalia Grotto, I think max 30 minutes from the cruise ship. Once we got there, all the passengers got off the bus, and followed our tour guide up to the mountain cave where the shrine was built. Take note, there is a fairly long flight of stairs, with no lifts. So if you can't climb stairs, then this excursion may not be suitable.

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We didn't spent too long at the St Rosalia Grotto. The tour group was punctual and all of us were back on the coach on time. So as the coach headed down, we went to the next stop. The streets of Palermo was quite crowded as you can see in the video below. Our 40 seater coach navigating very tight streets. Well, Palermo does have a rustic feel, though the place does look a bit impoverished. Some call it the 'Old World'. Sorry if this comment sounded rude, but I can't help get that feeling that this place hasn't been progressing as fast as some other places in the world. China is one such example of super fast progress.

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Our next stop was a Chinese Palace (Palazzina Cinese). Didn't do much there, just took some photos. It did strike me, however, that Chinese influence had spread very far and wide indeed.

Mondello

We also visited Mondello, which is a small borough of the city of Palermo in the autonomous region of Sicily in Southern Italy. It had a nice beach. In summer, you could rent a house here for a few weeks, just to chill. The problem with our tour, however, was that the coach dropped us off very far from the main center. It took a good 15 minutes just to walk in. Not sure why the coach couldn't bring us right into the center. Because we were short of time, we couldn't see the center much. Oh well. Here is the video.

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Last Stop - San Lorenzo Mercato

Our last stop was at some marketplace - San Lorenzo Mercato. Later on, I checked up its website.

We were given a bit more time to roam around this place. Some of the tour participants grabbed a quick bite here. The food looked to be reasonably priced. Here is the video.

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Back to ship

So, it was time to head back to the ship. I have two more videos of the journey back. The first one shows the bus taking a ride through the central commercial street of Palermo. This front of bus footage will give you a good idea of what the city of Palermo looks like.

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And, we are turning into port. See how big the MSC Meraviglia was!

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Happy Easter to you Iluvcruising. We had a wonderful six days in your city last week. Though the three hours walking we did around MacRitchie and Treetops made my calf muscles sore the next day. :)

Your city is wonderful and we had fun showing our American friends how diverse it is, from big city highlights to gorgeous green spaces.

 

Have you got any video from at or near the Smoke and Mirrors Bar on the Rooftop of National Gallery? Spending a little time there in the evening and seeing the lights across Marina Bay was pretty special.

I attended a dinner the Aura, at the Rooftop of National Gallery Singapore. Here is the video. I'm not exactly sure where the Smoke and Mirrors Bar is located. Is it at the same place?

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Another 2 random videos on Easter Sunday.

Rain, torrential rain, falling on my little backyard.

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A closer look at my young Papaya tree.

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hi, it has been a few years since we cruised with MSC. Now that their ships are much larger have they gone down the route of other cruise companies ie iPads aboard to prebook shows, meals etc.? Also do they still make all announcements in several languages all day long? Thank you in advance if you are able to reply.

Sailed on the MSC Meraviglia in Dec 2017. Important announcements will be in many languages.

During our cruise, our ship skipped a port. I recall the long announcement was made in at least 5 languages, if not more. I only recorded the English announcement here.

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We didn't have wrist bands on the cruise. The MSC for you app was enabled. It was interesting to use.

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They had large touch-screen digital signages around the ship, like the one in the video below.

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Easter Sunday here in Singapore. Back from church. Sharing with you a song from this morning's service.

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first time in Singapore and Asia. Can you take bottle water in shops, taxis and metro trains? Is the water good from the tap? Also can you take a snack and have it on a park bench in the city? Anymore things I may need to know, we have 3 days there before our cruise and are getting excited! Thanks

Welcome to my country!

Bottled water is ok. Just don't litter. You can definitely take a snack and have it on the park bench. People do that all the time.

Where will you be staying and which ship are you sailing on, if I may ask?

Here is a video of Boat Quay to share with you.

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Thank you, Iluvcruising2! I arrive next Sunday morning! Looking forward to exploring the city!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Enjoy! Where would you be staying? We stayed at the China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel. An older establishment but it was good.

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3 Dinners at the Executive Lounge

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We didn't shop very much, but I found the Qing Ping market interesting, with all the dried goods.

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We also checked out Li Wan Plaza in Guangzhou... an intimidating place. Thousands of small shops, during wholesale trade.

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Day 3 of our cruise! This morning, the ship would dock in the Italian Port of Palermo. Where is Palermo? Good question. Palermo is a city in southern Italy, and capital of the autonomous region of Sicily. The city has a long history (more than 2,700 years). More on wikipedia. Turns out that Palermo is a common port of call for cruise ships. We were first here 2 years ago on the Preziosa. Now we are here again on the Meraviglia.

Here is a video of the ship sailing into port. Thank God it was a beautiful day, with calm seas!

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Breakfast - Top Sail and Yacht Club Restaurant

This morning, we headed to the Top Sail lounge for some coffee and pastries first, before going to the Yacht Club restaurant for the mains. It was very quiet in the Top Sail lounge, and we got our drinks very quickly. The seas were very calm, what a relief! Here is a video. You will find me playing with a piece of tart on a small bowl that looks like a ship. Ok, I like goofing around.

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Breakfast - Yacht Club Pool Area

After breakfast, we headed up to the Yacht Club pool area, and discovered that they were serving a breakfast buffet there too! Awesome.

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Reserved Cabanas for Royal Suite

While walking around the Yacht Club Pool area, we saw the reserved Cabanas for the Royal Suite passengers. Pretty cool! It is a nice perk, but unfortunately the weather wasn't very warm during our cruise, so we didn't use it. Video below gives you a glimpse of the cabana seats.

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The plan today was to take an MSC Shore Excursion - Santa Rosalia Grotto & Modello. All aboard time for Palermo was 1630hrs.

If you want a creative, round about route. Singapore to Perth 4.5 hours and spend some time in Perth. Then two options.....Perth to Sydney ~5 to 5.5 hours , depending on head winds. Or, Perth to Melbourne ~4 hours. From either Sydney or Melbourne easy to get to New Zealand.

 

You can also get direct flights to New Zealand from Perth with Air New Zealand but that is an 11 hour flight.

 

The Scoot option might be good though I haven't tried them. We have done Premium Class in Silk Air and that was good. Business class on Singapore airlines is very good.

 

Julie

Oh yes, Singapore Airlines Business Class. Awesome. (Ok I'm biased, since I'm from Singapore).

Here is a flight on the Singapore Airlines A380 from Singapore to London back in 2013. Incidentally, this is my most-watched youtube Flight Review video.

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I like staying in Chinatown, very near everything. Good prices and lots to do. But in Singapore I am no longer demanding about things like hotels. In the past stayed at Sands, Ritz Carlton, Intercontinental, but I find to be a waste. As I spend very little time in my hotel room.

True. Chinatown is a bustling place. Lots to see and eat.

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Which hotels do you stay at in Chinatown?