gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 #1 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hello everyone! I have migrated over here from the Carnival boards for a little while to bring you my review of my Mariner of the Seas cruise! Get ready to be taken along on my adventure of a lifetime through four countries in Southeast Asia for two amazingly awesome weeks. My name is Kimberly, and I'm a 35 year old single, solo traveler from Atlanta. This was my 15th cruise, 13 of those on Carnival and now I've had the chance to sail Royal Caribbean for the second time. My first Royal cruise was on the Navigator of the Seas to the Mediterranean in 2012. Here's the link to the review for that one. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1734004 I got asked a lot, why this itinerary? My response- why not??!! I love traveling to new places and experiencing new cultures. Over the last year and a half, in addition to cruises, I've vacationed quite a bit throughout Latin America. I was initially contemplating a return to South America to Peru (for Machu Picchu of course) but decided I wanted to do something different. As much as I love cruises, I'm beginning to love land trips just as much, maybe more. Royal Caribbean has some awesome itineraries to many exotic places all over the world, so I got to combine both a cruise and land trip. I spent 5 days in Singapore before the cruise and 2 days in Hong Kong after on my way back home. My friends, family and coworkers were intrigued and asked a million questions about Singapore before I left. Will it be warm there? Yes, it will be. Singapore has a tropical climate. Do they speak English? Yes, indeed they do. Is it safe there? Absolutely, this is one of the safest places you could ever visit. Where is Singapore exactly? Located in Southeast Asia, 1 degree north of the Equator. I have a lot to cover about Singapore, so please be patient with be as I promise I will get to the cruise, Malaysia and Thailand. LOL ;) My reviews are very detailed and very picture heavy, and thus take a long time to put together. Please be patient as this will not be finished overnight. There aren't many reviews out there about the cruises from Asia, so hopefully this will help those of you cruising from Singapore (or considering it) in the near future. I hope this review might somehow inspire many you to get out of your comfort zone and travel to some new places. I say all the time that God created this world way too big to not see it all and that everyone should experience a different culture at least once in your life. Also I want you single women afraid to travel by yourself to see that you will be fine doing so and can have a lot of fun on your own. I made a movie "preview" for my last cruise review which turned out to be a big hit, so here's my preview for this review. WATCH THE VIDEO | | | | \/ WATCH THE VIDEO | | | | \/ WATCH THE VIDEO | | | | \/ czlzXGsV5Gs Are y'all ready for this? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroQueen Posted November 9, 2015 #2 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Yeah!!! Another GAPearl review. I love your adventures and fashion. Keep it coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalliekae Posted November 9, 2015 #3 Share Posted November 9, 2015 We've traveled to many countries, but have not been in this part of the world so we're looking forward to your review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted November 9, 2015 #4 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I am so excited for this review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Singapore- Day 1 After an hour and a half flight from Atlanta to Chicago, 13 hours from Chicago to Tokyo, another 7 hours from Tokyo to Singapore, plus layovers, I touched down after a total of 30 hours of traveling. When I arrived it was slightly after midnight local time. Singapore is 12 hours ahead of east coast time, so it was noon the day before back home. A friend of mine from the Philippines warned me about the bathrooms. :o I love that they have free luggage carts to help you get through the airport. I suppose I still look somewhat decent after more than a day of traveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozebabe Posted November 9, 2015 #6 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I have my bowl of popcorn.....let's go! I love your TR's. Some travel related company should snatch you up. Yours are so interesting and fun. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into these wonderful pictorial accounts of your travels around the world. One of theses days we will bump into each other on a Carnival ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozebabe Posted November 9, 2015 #7 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Singapore- Day 1 After an hour and a half flight from Atlanta to Chicago, 13 hours from Chicago to Tokyo, another 7 hours from Tokyo to Singapore, plus layovers, I touched down after a total of 30 hours of traveling. When I arrived it was slightly after midnight local time. Singapore is 12 hours ahead of east coast time, so it was noon the day before back home. A friend of mine from the Philippines warned me about the bathrooms. :o I love that they have free luggage carts to help you get through the airport. I suppose I still look somewhat decent after more than a day of traveling. Damn girl....you get extra points for traveling in a dress and heels. BTW you look like you just arrived at ATL for your first leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Before I forget, I would like to say thank you to two CC members that live in Singapore for all of their help! Iluvcruising2 was kind enough to respond to my emails as I was planning my trip and asking for suggestions on things to do. Cruiserinsg was a member of our the roll call and gave all new members a warm welcome to Singapore, and he kept us all updated on the haze situation over there (more on that later). Thank you guys! :) I changed my money before leaving and the exchange rate was slightly better in Singapore. It was way too early to check into my hotel without being charged for a second night, so I paid $58 to stay in the airport club lounge called The Haven for a while to kill time. The Haven is fully equipped with snacks, drinks, showers, wifi, etc. You can even pay a little extra to have a private napping room. I was much more comfortable here than I would have been sitting in the airport terminal on a hard seat. Price list for The haven. Lots of snacks out for you. I also was served a free breakfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalenalei Posted November 9, 2015 #9 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Looking good! Thank you for this. We will be on Mariner in Dec with almost the same itinerary. I appreciate the hard work it takes to compile a review. Excited to hear more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #10 Share Posted November 9, 2015 When my time was up I took a taxi to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, where I would be staying for one night. The ride cost $21 and took less than 15 minutes. It was a little after 7 am when I arrived. The front desk agent was going to let me check in, but there were no rooms available in my category since it was so early. I was able to leave my bags with the bell stand and headed up to the gym locker room for a long, hot shower before heading to the pool. The infinity pool of the Marina Bay Sands is the main reason I chose to stay here. Any time you see one of those lists with the top 20 pools in the world, you will see this pool somewhere on there. I was hoping they sold day passes for twenty bucks or something, but no such luck. You have to be a registered guest for access and rooms here don't come cheap by any means. I have never paid as much as I did for a hotel room and was hesitant to do so, but a friend talked me into it. Kim, will $300 break you? No.... Will you regret not staying there later? Probably.... Just book the room. It ended being more like $375 by the time you added in taxes and fees, but this was a once in a lifetime bucket list kind of stay. This was only the beginning of me experiencing that #SingaporeIsExpensive. Let me not worry about money for a few minutes and enjoy this view! I'm literally on top of the world! The pool food and drink menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted November 9, 2015 The pool area was crowded all day, but I always saw empty chairs around somewhere. There were photographers in the water taking pictures that they would sell to you later in a folder with your picture on one side and a picture of the hotel on the other. I was expecting them to tell me $25 or so, but no, it was $90! For a PICTURE! #SingaporeIsExpensive. Y'all have lost the good sense God gave you to think I'm paying that much for a picture I don't even like. I'll pass. More of me at the infinity pool. What an awesome morning. This looks so much more dangerous than it really is. Selfie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #12 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I finally left the pool at noon to go check into my room, which was a king room with a garden view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted November 9, 2015 This is the beautiful view I had of Gardens by the Bay. Good golly that haze. I spy a cruise ship! Time to go do some exploring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14Terry Posted November 9, 2015 #14 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Fantastic review! More please! [emoji1] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted November 9, 2015 The mall attached to the hotel is huge, like Mall of America huge. There were mostly high end, high price stores. Enjoy a gondola ride if you can't make it to Italy. Every woman's dream! I had lunch at the food court from an Indian restaurant. The food was $14 and some change, but I accidentally left the remaining $5 on my tray when I left so the meal really cost me $20. :rolleyes: Imported fruit from the USA. #SingaporeIsExpensive. A bottle of lotion from Bath & Body Works was $24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seannyice81 Posted November 9, 2015 #16 Share Posted November 9, 2015 This is gonna be sweeeet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Looking up at the towers. I went back to my room for a quick 30 minute nap and woke up 5 hours later, feeling very refreshed. LOL I guess I was more exhausted then I thought. I didn't go to sleep the night before leaving for the airport since I had to finish packing and doing last minute things around the house, and the only sleep I got after that was on airplanes. I hadn't slept in a real bed in 3 days. The casino. I won a few dollars on a slot machine. There are some unique games in the casinos here that I had never seen before. It was fun to walk around people watching. One observation I had was that I never noticed any cocktail servers like you would see in a casino here in the US. There were tables with free bottles of water, coffee and cappuccino machines, and self serve soda fountains, and pretty much everyone was drinking one of those nonalcoholic beverages. I don't think I saw a single person with a cocktail or even a bar anywhere inside. Back up to the 57th floor for some the pool's evening view. This view is unreal! Edited November 9, 2015 by gapearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted November 9, 2015 Author #18 Share Posted November 9, 2015 It was 10 pm by now. Over at the rooftop bar/lounge they were charging men a $38 cover to enter (not worth it IMO), but ladies were still being admitted for free. I was looking forward to having a drink while enjoying the view, but remember that #SingaporeIsExpensive LOL. I swear, if you want to give up drinking, come here. The starting price for a glass of wine was $24 and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that. There was some good people watching up here too. The guys at the table next to me asked the two girls they were chatting with, "So do you do a lot of drugs in Russia?" followed immediately by "Are you religious?" The girl and guy I was sharing a high top table with looked they were minutes away from a hello, what's your name, wanna watch Netflix and chill kind of encounter. :D I wasn't trying to be nosy, but.....ok I'm lying. Yes I was being very nosy. haha When she finished her $30 glass of champagne he bought her she ditched him, so he and I started talking. He was a local and we had some good conversation for a while. The crowd continued to pick up and I left at midnight to head back to my room for a much needed good night's sleep. The bar with a small dance floor and the DJ booth behind it. Lots of people were hanging out tonight. This is the last thing I saw before I went to sleep. Singapore part 2 up next.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachiekeen Posted November 9, 2015 #19 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Sheesh and I thought an $18 martini was outrageous. Thanks for doing such a detailed review of places I will probably never see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisexlife Posted November 9, 2015 #20 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Wow Kim! I am beyond excited to hear about your adventure! You're off to a great start! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbri Posted November 9, 2015 #21 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Looking forward to your review!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserinsg Posted November 9, 2015 #22 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Looking good! Thank you for this. We will be on Mariner in Dec with almost the same itinerary. I appreciate the hard work it takes to compile a review. Excited to hear more! Glad you found yourself into here. :) Was about to suggest it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazycatlady82 Posted November 9, 2015 #23 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Kim-your leopard shoes you wore...are those from Shoedazzle? Swear I have those [emoji3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eveanddavid Posted November 9, 2015 #24 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Thankyou so much for sharing your Singapore adventures, am really looking forward to your cruise review next ! We are taking the same one 22 January ! Eve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setting sail for fun Posted November 9, 2015 #25 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Loving your review! Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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