Iluvcruising2

Alright, we didn't spend too long in the Chapel. After the chapel, we could also visit some residence/meeting rooms of the government (or was the President), I can't remember already but those rooms weren't memorable and since they didn't allow me to take photos of that place, I have long forgotten what they were all about.

This picture was taken just outside the tourist attraction. We are on our way back to the ship now and I spotted this cactus (?). I think it was a cactus but I paused for a moment because I hadn't expected to see a cactus here.

I was sorely tempted to touch the plant but was quickly reminded by my dear wife that they had thorns and unless I wanted to bleed all the way back to the ship, I should just look at the plant from afar. Ok, "see no touch". Take photos also can. (Singlish speaking)

As we were walking, this mini train came right past us. Pretty cool. Not sure where to board the train from though. I didn't see this at the port gates earlier. Maybe next time.

Back at the historic city center, just around the corner, there was this fountain structure which apparently was rather famous. Officially, this was a Renaissance fountain in the Piazza Pretoria in Palermo by Francesco Camilliani. However, this fountain is also known as the 'Fountain of Shame'. Why? Plenty of nude figures, in lewd poses, with lewd stares etc.

Another picture before we move on.

We sailed on the Preziosa, Cabin 16008 Royal Suite. Not sure if the Divina is the same, but here is what Cabin 16008 looked like.

Cabin 16008, Yacht Club

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16008 - Balcony showcase.

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What has anyone experienced with the balcony in the Royal Suite? I realize there maybe the wind, but is the balcony useable?

Which ship? We sailed on the MSC Preziosa Cabin 16008 and they called this the Royal Suite.

It was the case when I last sailed with them but they may have changed their rules.

 

Their reason was that with their tour you definitely get back in time, even if the ship has to wait for a late tour bus. With independent touring, you may not get back before the ship sails and they don't want Te responsibility of having to look after children until,parents can make it back onboard at another port.

Thanks for the info. Perhaps it is true, with independent touring, bring your kids along with you?

I couldn't get to sleep last night so was thinking about this cruise.... and i thought of a problem. Last year my kids chose to stay on the ship with the kids club and i think you can only do that if you book the trips with the ship. Is that right?

Oh! Good question. I don't know the answer because my kids did not use the kids club on the MSC Preziosa at all.

Call me crazy but I loved the free coffee of the buffet! It was very strong, so after some experimenting I achieved the perfect balance of half mug of hot milk and half mug of coffee, Yum! Also I was pleasantly surprised by how much cheaper the drinks was then I thought it would be. You will be fine :-)

Yes, the pricing of the drinks, coffee etc on board the MSC Preziosa was pretty decent. They don't try to rip you off while you are on the ship. Very good.

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Thank you for the information. Others feel free to respond as well. Thank you.:)

I sailed in the Yacht Club on the MSC Preziosa and that has been our only experience on MSC so far.

I would think that the buffet area is available for all, regardless of your room type and experience you bought. Perhaps these videos would be useful for your reference.

Buffet breakfast in the buffet area.

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Buffet lunch.

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Buffet dinner

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Buffet at tea time

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Here are some still pictures from within the Chapel. It has an intimate yet awesome feel. You can see the MSC group here. The guide was giving them a very thorough brief of the mosiacs and the history.

Given that this place was build in the 12th Century, I guess there must be many stories over the years. This is a picture of the ceiling. Look at the detail! Amazing.

Glad that this chapel has been preserved through the centuries.

We didn't stay for too long. The kids were getting restless, can't blame them.

I caught this sign on the way out. Made me pause. Who was King Ruggero II? Year 1130 AD? Wow. Back home, I googled the name. From wiki, I learnt that this King was Roger II of Sicily. He lived from 1095 to 1154. He became the King of Sicily in 1130. He went on to become one of the greatest European Kings of those times. It appeared that this King was very open to learning, and capable men of diverse nationalities served under him. I am sure books have been written about this era of history. But what struck me most was Kings come, and Kings go. Here I am, in 21st Century, looking back at a chapel commissioned by a King way back in 1130. We are alive for a season, but Christ is eternal. This is not our world, this is our Father's world.

Oh well, I guess the more cynical among us would say, if you want to leave a legacy for the future generations to remember you, just built a nice chapel. Haha That is another way to look at the issue. For some reason, I took a picture of the tickets. Useful? Perhaps. A 21st Century ticket to visit a 12th Century icon. I can almost write a song. (Side note - there were 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 kids, but I got a bunch of tickets like these and I didn't know how to read Italian so I didn't know which ticket is for which attraction. So I ended up handing the whole pile at the entrances to the various exhibits within this tourist attraction.)

Thank you for replying!!! the tuktuk seems like a good idea! I will try to find prices for that option. thanks again!

Glad to be of assistance. :)

We stayed at Premier Inn Waterloo for 5 nights late last year. Loved it. Very good location, especially if you know how to take the buses. Had plenty of fun and good memories. Just across the bridge is the London West End, with plenty of musicals running. You could walk across if you wanted to.

I made this video for keeps. We got a room in the tower block, on the 14th (top) floor. Good views!

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We are fans of Premier Inn and almost always stay at this chain when we visit London. Cruised out of Southampton once and the stay was pretty good too.

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All that said, Premier Inn is a budget type of chain. I would imagine that the Holiday Inn would be better in terms of quality of product. They are supposed to be, anyway.

What I find amusing is that I can bring 2L wine, but since my husband wants to bring bourbon, he can only bring 1L wine. But we can each bring 1L beer too....(that's the "mix and match" I was referring to - you can't swap out the beer for wine)

Yeah. Maybe it has something to do with beer sales? They want to encourage more people to buy beer from Duty-Free, maybe. Not sure. For a fact, I don't think many people will cart beer all the way around the world. But wines and spirits - more expensive stuff. Just my guess.

Thank you for the info. We aren't physically up to going to the National Park. Would you say if we took the shuttle we would be fine to wander around the town itself? We are usually DIY people too but just thought as I had OBC might as well use it, but if we can DIY will save the OBC for something else.

Yeah, wandering around town wouldn't be too difficult at all, just nothing much to see. Perhaps they have other ship tours that bring you to nearer places, I can't remember.

To clarify on the Kinabalu National Parks (in case I gave the wrong impression), the ship's tour does not do the climb up the mountain. That is not possible to do within the time that the ship is in port. Rather, they bring you to a nice restaurant to have lunch, then on a short walk to see some flora and fauna.

Haha..BTW enjoyed watching the video of your recent cruise. :)

Thanks for your support! The review is still ongoing. I am going a bit crazy making videos.

Here are two more.

First day of 2016. Went jogging and started to rain. So I whipped out my phone to make a V Log.

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Last day of 2015. Went to try the new Downtown Line 2. Free rides.

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Last day of 2015. Was at the Jacob Ballas Garden (Singapore Botanic Gardens) with the kids. And I took the slide, which was meant for kids. Had a blast.

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Screenshot from the website of Singapore Customs - http://www.customs.gov.sg/individuals/going-through-customs/arrival/duty-free-concession-and-gst-relief

Info correct as of 1st Jan 2016.

They give you several options for the duty-free allowances. Option B - you can bring in max 2L of wine and 1L of beer.

And, if you bring in extra, just declare at the Customs office and pay the duty on the additional. I have done that before. That said, I doubt pax going on cruise will bring extra since you can't bring more than 2 bottles on board the ship, or can you?

Haha. Next time, when I retire, I should start a wine service. I'll buy the wines from the cheaper places in Singapore and pass them to the travellers when they get into Singapore. The idea is not to make money but be helplful and make new friends. Remind me 20 years down the road! :):)

deleted. double post.

Reading through my old review brought back fond memories.

Happy New Year to everybody. We are already in 2016.

Our most recent cruise is on the MSC Preziosa - the review is here - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693

I've been to Kota Kinabalu on a cruise ship (Legend of the Seas). Here is the writeup, from page 15.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813495&page=15

On another visit, I also went to Kota Kinabalu and climbed Mt Kinabalu. Here is the blog post.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/10/mount-kinabalu-sabah-borneo-east.html

To answer the question, I would recommend taking a ship's tour and visiting the Kinabalu National Park. We are usually DIY people, but the National Park is quite far away (the ride is more than 1.5 hours each way). If you do it yourself, and your hired vehicle gets into trouble or if there are jams, the ship won't wait for you. Not worth it.

However, if you are just visiting the Kinabalu town center, you could take a local taxi in. But seriously, there is nothing much to see. It is like a rustic old town. I stayed there a couple of nights.

I second getting a cab. Not too expensive and you don't have to be bothered with transfers and getting lost.

Plenty to eat at HK airport. When we fly out of HK, we usually look for something to eat. Or when we arrive into HK , we also look for something to eat.

This meal with goose meat was before a flight back to Singapore, in the public area. There are similar restaurants in the transit area as well.

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This meal also in the public area. Cafe de Coral is a well known chain store.

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do you remember how long it took you to get to the cathedral?

We walked. About 45 minutes.

If I were to do it over again, I would recommend take a Tuk-Tuk to the Cathedral. Then from the Cathedral, you can walk your way back to the ship, visiting the sites and the shopping streets along the way.

Alternatively, probably the Ho-Ho bus would work too. The cost isn't prohibitive, 10 Euros per adult.

PALATINE CHAPEL

We made it! Cost to enter was 15 Euros. Today we could see many things. I can't remember how much they charged for my kids but I think it was free of charge.

There was a group from MSC too, at least I think so. I say some of the with tour stickers from MSC, and this chap carrying an MSC bagpack.

I was pretty sure this group in front of us was from the MSC Preziosa, I think a ship's tour. Ah, I remember now, I was holding my tickets and as my family approached the gate, the tour guide for the MSC group looked at me and then told the gate attendant that I was not part of her group. Haha. Yeah, I just waved my tickets at her.

We were behind the large group from the ship, and behind us there were no more visitors. That is the good thing about travelling in winter. Not too many people. We were told that during summer, this place could get really packed. Looking behind us, there isn't that much space to stand in line either.

Getting in took a bit of time because they did security checks like airport. We had to put our bags through an X-ray. We got through that quite quickly, and went through some restoration exhibit before heading up the stairs towards the chapel.

The entrance to the Palatine Chapel is on the left.

This is the video I made while inside the chapel. It is quite a gorgeous chapel with a small an intimate feel. Dating from the 12th Century, this was a chapel for the Norman Kings. Quite a sight. Glad we made the trip, as this chapel is quite different from what we have seen in all our travels so far.

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Good morning. It is 1st Jan 2016. This morning, after breakfast, I went for a run and it started to pour. That is Singapore for you. I decided to make a video. Yeah.

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Don't worry, I am not turning this thread into a v log. Review is definitely going to continue. Give me some time to put it together. All your comments, positive or negative, help! Cheers!!

Happy New Year to you and your family. Still loving your review, photos and videos.:)

Thank you and I am glad the review is useful for you.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

 

I just want to let you know how MUCH I enjoy your excellent review! The work you put in this review and all the detailed pictures and videos are very much appreciated!

 

We never took MSC Cruise but after many cruises on other lines decided to take a look at this cruise line. You review will definitely help us to decide on MSC booking.

 

Thank you again! :)

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. Happy New Year!

The time now is 12:07AM, 1st Jan 2016, in Singapore. Happy New Year!!