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Nix111

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    Spectrum of the Seas - Live Review

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

     

    I’m lucky enough to be sailing on the brand-new Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas, its only its third sailing I think so I thought it might be helpful if post a live review as there is very little information available online currently.

     

    Firstly, a little background, I’m Nicky, 47 travelling with my 11-year-old son Finn, we are regular cruisers, cruising 3 or 4 times a year all around the world. Cruising as a solo parent is just brilliant, something for both me & Finn and excellent child care if I decide a few hours in the spa is in order!! We have cruised with P&O, NCL, MSC and RCI but I definitely think Royal Caribbean is my favourite, this is our first cruise as Diamond status and I’m loving the perks! Loyalty does pay off…

     

    The cruise is a nine-night Exotic Asia cruise from Singapore to Shanghai taking in two stops in Vietnam Phu My and Nha Trang and Hong Kong for an overnight stay the a few sea days and Shanghai. Somehow or other my 11 year old son has managed to turn this cultural trip into a tour of Far east theme parks so trips to Universal Studios Singapore, Hong Kong Disney and Shanghai Disney have made it onto the itinerary!

     

    We started the trip with a two day stop in Singapore, we flew Manchester to Singapore with Lufthansa via Frankfurt, good flights although I didn’t think their business class offering was as good as Emirates or Etihad, food choices weren’t brilliant and service was a little lack lustre although that could have been due to the fact it was an overnight flight and staff were tired. We arrived on time and immigration was swift, cases waiting for us and then a transfer to our hotel. We booked the trip through our travel agent as a tailormade and she arranged all transfers as part of the package. The transfer company had been in touch pre-flight via WhatsApp to arrange pick up location and this worked brilliantly, just what you need after a long flight.

     

    We stayed two nights at the incredible iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel (it’s the one on three towers used in lots of Singapore photos), it is absolute five star luxury from the moment you arrive at the hotel, bell boys whisked away our bags we were offered water at check in, given an upgrade to a high floor (45 with a view of the Gardens in the Bay with the beautiful light show and artificial  trees). We arrived in our room to find our luggage already there so a quick change and headed to the amazing roof top infinity pool which spectacular views across Singapore. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy, so we bagged a few beds and enjoyed a casual dinner poolside watching the sunset while I had a glass of red – perfect start to the holiday.

     

    Thanks to time difference, jet lag (and a lie flat business class bed) we were wide awake so jumped a taxi to Singapore Zoo for the Night Safari, this is listed as one of the top attractions in Singapore on Trip Advisor and we weren’t disappointed. I totally recommend it if you are looking for something to do pre-cruise. The zoo is about a 35-minute taxi ride (about £30 fair) or you can take public transport train and bus. The Night Safari was around £25 each I think and great value. We arrived a little earlier than our allotted time and were directed to a safari bus ride, we then took a narrated tour of all the nocturnal animals and saw Lions, Zebras, Tigers, Elephants, Flamingos, Hippos all at really close range and apparently without glass / barriers (although I suspect and hope there were some big troughs or ditches between us and them!!) it was a magical and memorable experience. After the ride we walked the Wallaby trail and enjoyed time in the wallaby walk through experience and saw the Tigers up close (but behind glass). Finally exhausted we jumped a taxi back to the hotel for sleep.

     

    The next day was a trip to Universal Singapore, we are big Universal fans having holidayed there in Orlando at Easter and I was intrigued to see how the Far East version  compared, I pre booked our tickets online and also added Universal Express Unlimited which allows you to jump queues and board rides in minutes, it was around £40 extra each and I SO recommend it, queuing in tropical climates is no fun and this meant we could experience all the big rides in the park in minimal time. It doesn’t have quite as many huge rides as the USA version and sadly no Harry Potter world, but it does have some really excellent rides including the Puss in Boots ride and a Madagascar boat ride and a fabulous JurassicPark water ride, we were thrilled to get soaked after the incredible heat and humidity of the midday sun. We lunched al a carte at the waiter service KT’s grill and enjoyed excellent pasta dishes with great service. Around 4pm exhausted by theme park fun we jumped a taxi back to the hotel and entered the air-conditioned heaven of The Shoppes a huge designer mall attached to the hotel. We took a boat ride (yes in the mall!) then enjoyed a little retail therapy (Lego for Finn and dresses for me) before heading back to change for dinner. Pre-dinner we took a stroll to the Gardens on the bay and watched the amazing light show set to a 70’s and 80’s soundtrack. I’d booked a table at LAVO Italian restaurant, Tower 1 at the hotel, this is a roof top Italian with spectacular views across Singapore. The food, wine and service were incredible and the perfect end to our Singapore. I really loved Singapore this visit, and it definitely left me wanting more I’m thinking of returning for a half term February break next year.

     

    Saturday morning, we enjoyed a fabulous roof top breakfast in Spago in tower 2 and an hour or two around the pool before packing for a 12-noon transfer to the cruise.

     

    Once again transfer was well organised and seamless, we arrived at the port, gave them our luggage and went to check in. We are staying in a junior suite, so we were greeted by Suite reception staff and whisked through check in giving them paperwork for transit visas for Shanghai, it was all very professional and seamless (I was fearing the worst if I’m honest as it’s a new ship and new itinerary). We were on board within 20 minutes of arriving at the port and heading to the Silver Dining room for lunch. Sliver Dinning is a new concept and replaces Coastal Kitchen, personally I think it’s a brilliant idea and I much prefer it to Costal Kitchen. It’s a dedicated lounge and restaurant for suite guests, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members and has a buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch where the food offering is absolutely amazing (Fillet steak for lunch!) and a lounge / bar area. There is also Gold Dinning on board which I assume is for the top-levelsuites. We have booked an ultimate dining package allowing us access to speciality restaurants for lunch & dinner so probably won’t use Silver at dinner but it’s a lovely oasis at lunch and definitely beats the chaos of the Windjammer.

     

    After lunch cabins were ready so we went to find ours, we ae staying in a junior suite on deck 6 with a huge balcony, it is beautiful, so much storage, 3 wardrobes, loads of drawers, a good desk space, min bar, hair dryer etc and toiletries by L’Occitane including shampoo and conditioner. The complimentary bathrobes are a nice touch.

     

    Muster was well organised and fairly painless, no life jackets in rooms so no need to take, watched an amusing video (James Bond pastiche) although not sure how useful it was in communicating the key points there were many no English-speaking nationals looking very confused! (thankfully I’ve done around 30 musters so know what we are doing!) then back to the room to unpack.

     

    One of our cases was confiscated by security as I’d packed (the allowed!) 2 bottles of wine, note to self but them in hand luggage in future! We explored the ship and booked Jamie’s Italian for dinner. A quick change (thank heaven its casual tonight!) then a pre-dinner G&T at North Star Bar then a 7.30pm flight on the North Star an observation pod on an arm that rises high above the ship and rotates giving you spectacular views, it’s a little like the London eye and lots of fun (and all included in your cruise fare). After the flight it was time for dinner at Jamie’s Italian, thankfully unaffected by his recent announcement of putting the UK chain into administration!! We had an incredible dinner, Finn had the kid’s spaghetti and I had lamb chops, polenta chips and greens the he had ice cream and I had a huge cheesecake. We made the 10.15pm comedy show in the theatre which was very funny and thankfully not too blue then we ended the night watching a Swedish rock band play lots of Roxette and a little nod to Norway with Aha! They were brilliant and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them later the cruise. One final night cap in the very lively piano bar and then it was time for bed, a great start to the cruise, I already love this ship!

     

     

    • Like 1

    Star azipod propulsion problem

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted · Edited by Nix111

    We are on 22 December sailing and trying to adopt a glass half full approach, 3 ports lost and a 50% refund seems fair however it would be nice to hear it from NCL rather than a cruise critic news article... Apparently someone on our sailing has called NCL and they say nothing has been agreed yet - let's see.... Keep us posted and hope sailaway goes well Nicky

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

    Harmony of the Seas 29 May live blog and persicopes

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Just sat in our hotel, waiting for a taxi to the port, our boarding time is 1.30pm but I am SO ignoring that :) heading over for 10.30am to chance our arm.

     

    I've been lots of reviews / news articles about unfinished work but it sounds like the situation is much improved in last day or two and as I'm a glass half full kind of girl I'm sure we'll have an amazing time regardless!

     

    I'll post my first periscope later today and s blog post tomorrow.

     

    Any questions / queries just shout!

     

    Thanks

     

    Nicky

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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