Super Star Virgo

[kuldalai]

Old rule of travel from veterans who say first pack what you think you need ; then halve it and when you get home you will find there are still things that you have not worn . After 30 years of travel strictly abide by this and people are horrified at how small my case is , but it is so much lighter to carry around as one gets older . The secret is thought and planning for both guys and gals in planning mix ' n' match outfits . That way you can get so many different combinations and looks from a small number of items.

 

Both GEMINI & VIRGO tend to offer special heavily discounted laundry deals just before return to Singapore as home port . So if you want it done on board then perhaps wait till the second last day and watch STAR NAVIGATOR for the laundry offer .

[ssv]

Mike Michaels will sign-off this coming Friday and will NOT be coming back until at least May 08.

[Riviera 30]

Hi all

who's Mike Michaels?

Cheers

Les

[ssv]

Mike Michael is a mechanical magician.

[BlancaTrueba]

Dear all,

 

We just disembarked from the SuperStar Virgo yesterday after a 4D3N journey to Phuket and Langkawi since last Sunday. It was simply great, one of our best holidays ever!

 

We didn't have the long queue problem while embarking as experienced by Lisa, perhaps it's because we're holding the red access cards for balcony class. We were allocated cabin 10610 which is perfect, very close to the lifts in the middle of the ship and as ssv has pointed out, there's no public area above we didn't have the noise problem as experienced by Lisa.

 

My only disappointment is that they didn't offer the Langkawi Cable Car shore excursion, which I had planned to take. So we took the Kuah town transfer trip with a stop-over at Underwater World, the kids really loved it. In Phuket one day earlier, we took the "shop till you drop" tour and we visited several shops (cashew nut factory and a supermarket) and a big shopping mall (Central Festival Market) around Phuket town before heading off to Patong, again for another shopping. :) Both in Phuket and Langkawi, the ship berthed at both ports (Phuket Deep Sea Port and Awana Porto Malai Port) so we didn't have to use tender boats to reach the shore.

 

It was also a busy cruise, perhaps it's because our trip coincides with Singapore's school holiday. We loved almost all the activities on board. Our kids loved watching the performances at Lido (not the topless show, of course ;). The kids also had a great time with some activities at the childcare centre (including a party on Sunday which was free).

 

I and my wife had the gala dinner at Bella Vista (while the children had their own gala party at the childcare centre), and the food was not so great, or may be I'm not really getting used to fine dining meals. :) In my opinion, the food at the Mediterranean Buffet is much better! The kids also loved the "kids section" of the buffet since they can take the food themselves. And they also had a blast at the Neptune pools for the kids. Too bad we didn't manage to see Mike Michael in action, since it was quite late and the kids were very tired after watching the gala show at the Lido.

 

ssv, sorry we didn't manage to look for you, there were so many things to do on board, and so little time! Wish we could stay on board longer...

[ssv]

No worries. I was in 10600. 3 cabins away!!! LOL

[walabe]

hello all once again,

thanku all very much for all the information you have given me on the washing etc. just one other question i have is with the beds i no they push the beds together so is that the way they stay or are they made up as a double bed. do the bed sheets get changed daily? and do you get clean towels daily. is there a need to pack a beach towel?

do any of the restuarants on board have seafood?(fresh)

regards

judy

[ssv]

There are 2 types of bed in Balcony room(I assume you've booked Balcony class)

 

2 single beds, they are made as separate bed just that both are pushed together

 

Double bed, its a double bed.

 

 

Sheets are not changed daily just arranged and straightened.

 

Towels left on the floor will be changed. If hung, will not be changed.

 

Live seafood(I've seen live lobsters and fish) is available at Noble House at least, I'm not sure about other ala-carte outlets. Seafood from inclusive restaurant is pre-packed but fresh.

 

Anyone booked for the Nov 18 5-night cruise or Dec 30 New Years Eve cruise to Penang to Phuket?

[furballPerth]

Thanks for all the great insights everyone. The year is flying by and my much-awaited cruise is getting closer! Very exciting. From Lisa's comments it sounds like the shorex to Megamall is the best option if you just want to do a bit of shopping. I was going to do the one that went to Bukit Bintang but it sounds like Megamall is a better option (I think from memory it is out towards Petaling Jaya, so closer to the port). Do others agree? I don't really want to spend most of my time stuck in a traffic jam.

 

Thanks for all the great tips everyone. I really enjoy checking this site out.

[BlancaTrueba]

hi furballPerth,

 

If the Megamall in question is the Mid Valley Megamall, yes it's much closer to the Klang port compared to Bukit Bintang. Bukit Bintang is within Kuala Lumpur city centre (pusat bandar) and is more prone to traffic jam. Mid Valley Megamall is in the south-west outskirt of the city, closer to the port.

 

Hope this helps, thanks.

[Riviera 30]

Hi Blanca Trueba and SSV

Is the dock in Phuket the same one that Gemini will dock at? How close is it to Phuket Town, walkable distance or need for taxi ot tuk tuk?

Cheers

les

[ssv]

There is only 2 docking place for Star Cruises - Deep Sea Port or Anchor off Patong Beach.

 

I dont know if Gemini has seasonal dock change as well like the Virgo(Winter - Tender, Summer - Dock). If its the dock, then yes, its the same.

 

The DSP is approx 20mins away by taxi after hailing one outside the port(15mins walk). Rates for 3 to and fro is about 500 baht total for Phuket Town(haggle! some quote up to 1500baht)

 

Limited tuks tuks are available and if you have enough people(8-10), prices can go down to approx 30baht pp.

[Riviera 30]

Thanks SSV

Last time I was there I only paid 100 Bht from Phuket Town to Patong Beach. I will most certainly haggle. Any info on Internet Providers in SG who support all or most of SE Asia.

Cheers

Les

[ssv]

100baht!!! Could that be before the tsunami or?

 

Before the tsunami, the crew were able to get 200baht, but for now 500baht is the norm. Maybe the tuk tuks will be cheaper, I did not ask them for price as there were only few around.

 

At the port, do try the banana pancake, its at the foward side where fruits etc. are sold. Chocolate syrup and condensed milk is added, which might make it too sweet. Personally I ask the stallholder(a male) to make it more crispy and add a little condensed milk only. Yummy!!

 

There are no dedicated plan for global roaming except for the blackberry in Singapore but the ISP do have an agreement with iPass which allows user to login to hotspots(only 3 in Phuket) at ~0.25USD per minute.

 

It will be more economical to use the internet cafe in Phuket Town with rate going by the hour(I think its 20baht? Forgotten, sorry)

 

Last but not least, Enjoy your Cruise!!

[Riviera 30]

Thanks SSV

yes it was before the tusumai. I will try the deserts.

Cheers

Les

[Lisa-UK]

Hi all

 

FurballPerth- we opted for the Megamall (Midvalley) as our 2nd choice as we wanted to go to the newer one (sorry can't remember the name). However, there wasn't enough uptake for the shorex.

 

Megamall was nice - not the brightest or most modern of Malls, but there was a good choice of stores. We found that the supermarket places were cheap . Electricals were well priced as well (comparing to the UK - don't know about Aus).

 

With SSV talking about yummy desserts - in CarreFour we bought some Mooncakes and they were very reasonable and the boxes they came in were lovely. However, the girls at work didn't like my Mooncakes - they look like a bit like pork pies and you can choose from various flavours/fillings - they are quite a heavy cake. We cut one open and inside was a hard boiled egg yoke!! Not our cup of tea! So they are still sat there on the desk :confused::eek:

 

Have a lovely trip...........I envy you.

 

Anyone wanna Mooncake ????

 

Lisa

[deck 9 001]

Hi Lisa,,,, I'll take your mooncakes, I love them! I especially like the ones with red bean paste filling. Yummy.

The egg yolk ones are traditional and I like them too. Shows you how long I've been living in Asia;)

 

 

Best,

Mike

[ssv]

I just bought 4boxes of White Lotus Paste mooncake yesterday! Without egg yolk though as I cant stand the smell and taste. =D

 

The new mall you were referring to, could it be 1 Utama? A new wing was added to the existing section maybe last year.

[boeckli]

Not sure that I have ever tried mooncakes - will be in Singapore late next month, so have made a (mental) note to check them out. ssv - Would I best buy them in a supermarket?

[Westaussie]

Mike/SSV are mooncakes available year round? From memory, and that was a long time ago, we could only buy them in September around the festival time. Boeckli, if they're still around in October, you can buy them almost anywhere, we used to get some sweet ones which I preferred!

[deck 9 001]

Hi Vera, I don't know about Singapore, but here in Taiwan there are certain Bake Shops that sell them all year, or a reasonable facsimile. Of course now that the Mid Autum Festival (Moon Festival) is coming up, there are street stalls all over town that sell them. Some of them can be quite expensive!

From well known bakers, one moon cake can go for $NT500 ($US 15/AUD18.38). But of course these are larger and have more costly ingedients in them.

 

I tend to stay with the more "common" ones:D

 

Mike

P.S. Is you eye all better now?

[Lisa-UK]

Hi

 

Mike - Mooncakes - sold - you can have 'em!!!! :D

 

SSV - Yes, thanks - the mall we wanted to visit was 1 Utama - out of interest, have you been?

 

Back to Mooncakes - I also saw them on sale outside of Raffles. They had a lovely stand and were promoting them - you could also taste samples and the cakes came in a lovely Raffles tin. One of the ladies on our cruise had a tin and I think she paid quite a lot for them. We paid around £4 (S$12) for 4 small ones in a beautiful wooden box - but that was in KL. They also did savoury mooncakes as the promoter asked if I wanted a chicken filling:eek: . I didn't realise that when the pack said 'double yolk' you would get exactly that - like Mike's piccie. Doh - I thought it referred to the richness of the cake mixture!!!! :confused:

 

I love trying new foods and always try and eat the local speciality.

 

regs

Lisa

[deck 9 001]

Lisa, can you give me a rain check (or better yet, find someone else) on your Moon Cakes, as I seem to be running out of room in my flat to store all the ones I have:D

 

I better start giving them away as dessert at my restaurant:rolleyes:

 

Mike

 

Moon Cakes,..Moon Cakes,,,,,come get your Moon Cakes!

(some chance!):eek:

[Westaussie]

Watch out Mike - I might turn up on your doorstep for a mooncake!

 

Lisa, I take it then, that you didn't try a "hundred year old egg" in Singapore/KL!! They're a sort of hard boiled egg preserved in something and are black. Mike and SSV can probably give us more info I didn't have the courage to ever eat one, I think my parents said they were ok!

 

Thanks Mike for asking - the eye is getting better slowly.

 

Vera

[deck 9 001]

Hi Vera, Hundred year eggs, Thousand year eggs, or Century eggs, they are all the same, just different names. I personally like them, but mixed with Tofu, as in the below photo. Just plain, they can be a little nasty. But to each his own.

 

 

Here is a link that gives info about these eggs. Actually, it's quite interesting.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg

 

Mike