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Super Star Virgo


little poppett

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walabe - With Singapore airlines you probably have the best chance to obtain a seat you are happy with.

Suggestions : Find out which type of aircraft you will fly in. Go to http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/company_info/siastory/fleet.jsp and click on cabin layout for that aircraft, then choose the seat you like - alternatively try www.seatguru.com

Then contact your local Singapore airlines office and request that seat. If you booked online, you can choose your seat via your booking. [excerpt from their website: Economy Class customers are able to make specific seat requests on all our flights (except for flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) for tickets purchased online. Customers who book their flights via travel agents or SIA offices may request for window, aisle, or emergency exit seats at point of booking. Certain conditions apply for allocation of the emergency exit seats. )

Also, from 48 hrs before your flight, you can do check-in online, at that point you can select or change your seat.

Hope this helps.

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We sailed on the 8th of July for the first time. It was absolutely a great experience. We had booked a balcony cabin on the 10th deck and the kids (15 and 10 yrs) had the inside state cabin opposite ours. Virgo was crowded (peak holiday time) but very well organized. Everything ran on clockwork precision. The staff is most helpful . The boys had a ball, made friends and were on their own most of the time. We did the usual round of bar hopping and watched most of the shows(all worth it). We ate and drank at most of the restaurants. Its truly a 'chill out' place. If you want to escape the crowd , you can just go up to your cabin and relax on the balcony.

 

We did not get off at Penang as we wanted to enjoy the ship and its activities.Also because we had already spent 8 days in KL and Langkawi prior to joining the ship. So we had a taste of the Malaysian hospitality. We disembarked at Phuket and went into town . We had spent 10 days in Phuket 6 years ago and wanted to check out places for old times sake.

 

Thank you to you all, for all your input and detailed information on this board. It made our planning and apprehensions so much easier. And as they say that cruises are addictive..... we sure would like to go back on yet another one.

 

Happy sailing......

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Hi all - been reading for a fair while off and on. We (my wife and 14 yr daughter) are departing on the Virgo on 6 Sept which I guess is 14 days away as I type. I think we have a Balcony room or something. My last cruise was a couple of years ago on Carnival Triumph out of Miami to Carribean which I found pretty poor and not worth the $$.

 

I'm not overly enthusiastic about the coming trip, but I can see how everyone on here rave about their experiences so will accept all your views! I also know attitude is averything so will buck up in time!!!

 

I'm already a big fan of the ports we visit having spent some weeks in all of them in previous trips, though fail to see the point in saying we are going to KL, when in reality we get, what, 3 or so hours after travel?

 

Anyway, am wondering if there is any other reader going on the same trip? Always looking to make new pals.

 

Plus are we able to have guests onboard when we do get into Port Klang? I would suspect not, but...?

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Kryton , guess you are talking about 5 nights Pearls of the Orient departing Singapore Sunday 09/09/07 ? on SS VIRGO .

Relax we had a ball on VIRGO only one problem our cruise was too short . It is a great vessel with an outstanding crew and customer service . The inclusive restaurants are very good, and the extra fee ones - well, just sensational - book early in the day as demand exceeds the space available. Your daughter will have a ball, with all the on board activities and the sheer size of VIRGO .

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Kryton , guess you are talking about 5 nights Pearls of the Orient departing Singapore Sunday 09/09/07 ? on SS VIRGO .

Relax we had a ball on VIRGO only one problem our cruise was too short . It is a great vessel with an outstanding crew and customer service . The inclusive restaurants are very good, and the extra fee ones - well, just sensational - book early in the day as demand exceeds the space available. Your daughter will have a ball, with all the on board activities and the sheer size of VIRGO .

 

Sorry, yes that sounds right, we leave Aus on the 6th and spend a couple of days singing in Singa's, no banging in Bangers this year, but we do go to Phuket......

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Yeah. I'll be at the first bingo on the sailing(theres one on embarkation day if I'm not mistaken). If you will like to meet up, approach the bingo sales counter and I'll be there or around the area(the staff will call me over).

 

Hope to see you. Take care :)

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ssv and BlancaTrueba - have a great time on what is still our favourite ship :)

 

ssv - you seem to just about live on the ship ??? It must be nice to be able to just take a taxi to the cruise pier (without long car and/or airline trips beforehand)

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Hi All

 

We were looking to cruise on Virgo but our travel agent in New Zealand who is a Malaysian lady said Virgo is just a gambling ship as there are no casinos in Singapore people (mainly asians just go on the ship to gamble so the atmosphere is not that great.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Thanks Davian

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Westaussie - thanks, are you planning for your next cruise already?

 

Boeckli - thank you too. Its fortunate like you've said - I live near Harbourfront, no need for 8-hour flights or long car rides(I have motion sickness on all kind of transport except planes and ships). I like Virgo very much too and its been my "home" for 8 years already. I cruise regularly thus many staff do recognise and know me.

 

I feel that SSVirgo is getting tired, lost its "gleam" I would say that exist on new ships interior and exterior wise. Perhaps another drydock with major professional cleaning is required.

 

Edit:

 

Davian - If you go aboard the Virgo on a weekend trip, it definitely will not have the cruising atmosphere. However, a cruise with Sunday departure feels like and is a regular cruise with atmosphere similiar to other international ships. Virgo's an authentic cruise ship similiar however slightly smaller compared to NCL Pearl, RCCL's Voyager OTS etc with all the facilities(except bowling etc.)

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SSV - yes! Already booked on Gemini from Bali to Fremantle in November and Sun Princess to Vietnam, etc in May.

 

Davian - we've enjoyed cruising on Virgo but, yes, I would say the majority are there for the casino - on the bright side, that keeps alot away from the other public rooms and pool!

 

Vera

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Davian see you are based in NZ .

 

Both VIRGO & GEMINI operating out of Singapore are great vessels and I have found the atmosphere on both vessels to be terrific. Provided you pick a longer cruise like 5 - 7 nights you will find plenty of Aussies and Kiwis and Europeans and a sprinkling of To & Froms ! Yes there are Asians with families etc but the longer trips are more resort style cruising, and whilst gambling and casinos are available - they are there on most cruise boats these days. Activity wise there is a full program of activities on both vessels, great food, outstanding service, and wide variety of entertainment .

Check out Star website at http://www.starcruises.com/itineraries/index.html for details of SS VIRGO 5 Night Pearls of The Orient cruise, and SS GEMINI 7 night Straits Adventurer cruise both departing Singapore .

 

Alternatively as a Kiwi SS GEMINI is doing a Summer Cruise season in Aus over Summer 07/08 and longer cruises are available - again itineraries are on the above link under Australian cruises.

 

Caveat Emptor - beware of Travel Agents who often try to steer you away from one cruise product to another (for which they receive a higher commission in many cases!.) Your travel agents advice is generally not correct, whereas the Wasa Queen out of KL and Superstar Aquarius and Star Pisces operating out of Hong Kong are in fact just floating casinos that go out for a daylight or overnight cruise as a floating casino . Hope that straightens things out for you.

 

Finally my cruise companions on Gemini last May were advised against Gemini as travel agent said it was gambling ship . Those folk said that Gemini was the most enjoyable and best value cruise they had experienced in 10 years of cruising across the world and have booked again with Star already.

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Davian - Like with all things, people's likes and dislikes vary :) - it all depends on what you want to see/do/experience on your cruise vacation.

We have sailed on the Virgo six times and thoroughly enjoyed the lot! Experiencing people of different backgrounds and cultures for us is part of the fun - we have just sailed on the Gemini for 7 nights (with lots of Aussies etc.) and found the experience not as interesting (partly to do with the ship and partly with the mix of passengers).

Have you cruised before? How well does the travel agent know you? Has she sailed on the Virgo herself?

At the end of the day it's YOUR cruise and what YOU make out of it.

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Hi everyone.............

 

We're back from a wonderful trip on the SSV, followed by 7 nights in Bali. :D

 

We were aboard from 19-25 Aug having never cruised before. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are now hoping to cruise the Carribean. SSV we found to be great - although we had a few hiccups. We thought embarkation was soooooooo slow and q'd for 2hrs for immigration! There were only 4 staff members at the immigration desks and so this seemed to be the problem! Once on board we were allocated cabin 6535 (level 6) - BEWARE - if you ever have the misfortune to be allocated this cabin/area of the ship. We were underneath the Karaoke bar, (open and always busy from 10am until 4am!!) and also right next to the stairwell. The noise was awful and we could literally sing along to every word on the Karaoke, whilst lying in bed - and to add insult to injury, we could hear clomping up and down the stairs all night!!!. After complaining twice, we got allocated another cabin on level 8 - keeping our existing cabin also for convenience. I don't want to scare anyone here, but thought I would just make people aware of this cabin/area of the ship.

 

The cruise was busy, but we never felt crowded or cramped. We enjoyed the shore excursions and did the full day Penang - sightseeing with buffet lunch. Our guide was Tang and he was very knowledgeable and funny. We visited many temples and had tri-shaw ride around the sights.

 

At Phuket we did the Sea Canoe excursion (as highly recommended by Veronica). This was one of the highlights of our holiday and I would say to anyone considering this to go do it - it was fantastic. Again, our guide on the ship, TukTuk was fabulous and the sea caves beautiful.

 

When SSV docked again in Singapore, we decided to stay onboard - however, you can disembark for a few hours.

 

We opted for the afternoon excursion to the Megamall in KL. We didn't fancy the all-day 12hr trip which involved a lengthy coach tour. KL is busy and traffic congested, but we arrived in good time and managed 3hrs at the mall. We found the large supermarket/dept stores to offer the best value - CarreFour had some good bargains and lots of variety. When back on board we heard that some of the other afternoon excursions had not gone so smoothly. The sightseeing/shopping with the Petronas Tower visit had been held up in traffic and the mall visit was reduced to a quick 20min stop-off.

 

The staff on board were all very helpful and courteous - housekeeping kept our room immaculate. The ship looked well kept and all the carpets looked fresh and overall it was always clean in all of the public areas.

 

Changing money on board was also very easy - so anyone worried about money for excursions, (as I was) need not be concerned at all. Reception were always very helpful to deal with any questions.

 

We loved the shows, bingo, and activities and joined in a lot of the games - we were picked for the 'not so Newlywed' game and I must admit, it was a little emarassing, but great fun!!!

 

Mike Michaels was on board and his magic show was fantastic-well worth a look. The restaurants were very nice and we loved the BBQ up by the Parthenon pool - wow what a spread!!!! Unfortunately, we didn't get a timeslot for the Gala dinner :( :confused: :mad: - probably my fault for not handing in the booking form until the Monday morning, (early) when I should have acted with more speed on the night of departure - Sunday. I didn't realise that you really do have to be quick - so a word of warning - please get your request in early!!! We ate at the Indian buffet that night and it was very enjoyable - albeit quite spicy!!

 

We really felt we packed a lot in and made the most of our cruise. The operation of the shorex was slick and disembarkation was smooth.

 

I'm sure anyone sailing soon on the SSV will have a great time - I hope that I can now be of help to anyone with questions -as everyone here was great with anwering mine, pre-trip!

 

BTW - our pre-cruise stay in Singapore was fab and we loved Sentosa Island and the Singapore sling(s) :p at Raffles. After our cruise, we went on to Bali and stayed at the Melia Bali-Nusa Dua - which was very luxurious and a fabulous end to our holiday.................the 17hr total flying time back to the UK was not so great, but hey-ho it was all very much worth it and a wonderful experience.

 

Regards to all

Lisa

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hi Lisa

My husband and I are going on the cruise on the 21st oct. we are looking forward to it and we are on deck 11 with balcony. one thing that has been concerning me is weather or not it is a hassle to have items of clothing ironed. also i am not sure what to pack, i no i will pack to many clothes. what sort of things did you pack??? so when you went on the excursions and looking at the temples i guess you would just dress comfortable. at night on board did you get dressed up. hope to hear from u soon with some ideas

thanks

judy

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In those parts of Asia the temperature is always much the same, only the humidity varies from dry to wet season from comfortably bearable to just bearable.

 

Pack smart casual , and comfortably loose casual (but not tank tops and thongs ocker stuff) . The dressiest requirement is Captains Gala Dinner which is most often Tuesday night . For guys just long trousers, casual shoes, open neck shirt with collar, and casual jacket is quite adequate . (Certainly not many neck ties to be seen, and as for monkey suits well leave that to the Hospitality Manager !) . Ladies just a nice dress and shoes you would like wear to an informal dinner party, plus some type of wrap if you feel the cold.

 

Hope this helps .

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Hi Lisa - lovely to read your report and that you enjoyed the cruise looks, like all of us, you're now hooked on cruising!

 

Glad too, that you enjoyed Bali, it is a relaxing, lovely place and from Perth just over three hours away! Yes, I know what you mean about that 14 hour flight but from here, travel to Europe/US is something we just have to put up with so hope you will get back this way someday!

 

Vera

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Hi Lisa

 

So glad you enjoyed your cruise and especially pleased that you enjoyed the Sea Canoeing in Phuket..........I'm usually hesitant in recommending trips as not everyone likes the same thing so I'm relieved.:D Hopefully one day I'll get to Bali.

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:D Hi all

 

Thanks for all of your kind comments.

 

Judy: I took far too many clothes as we also had a week in Bali after our cruise. Some never saw the light of day and I regret over-packing. If I could pass on one tip, it would be to take a few mix and match outfits that you could dress up for the evening. Don't take too many warm clothes - I packed several light jackets and again, they never came out of the case. I had a very nice Pashmina that was great for slinging on when the aircon got a bit icy.

 

The only formal night was the Gala dinner - apart from that everyone seemed to be casually dressed during the day and I agree with Kuldalai, a nice dress or skirt teamed with sandals will see you through the evenings. My hubbie took 5 pairs of long trousers and 5 shirts, but to be honest, only one pair/smart shirt came out on 2 evenings! If you hang up your clothes as soon as you are in the cabin, the creases should drip out pretty quickly. You could always hang clothes in the bathroom when you are having a shower and the steam should ease the creases.

 

There was an offer on board for laundry - you could fill a bag for $50 and the clothes would be washed and pressed - the offer was valid for Tues and Thurs. The bag was quite a reasonable size and we fitted lots in. It was all delivered the next day immaculately pressed (better than I could ever do!) and we were very impressed with the service. I also used the pull out line in the bathroom and washed out t-shirts, smalls each night. My other tip would be to take some clothes pegs - I am glad I did as the clothes could be pegged onto the line rather than slung over it - reducing the drying time. For excursions, wear comfy, cool clothes. The temples in Penang didn't have any particular dress code (i.e. you didn't need to cover up). However, out of courtesy, I would not wear short shorts or singlets/vests or anything showing mid-riff etc (not that anyone would want to see my belly ;) ) and didn't see anyone wearing skimpy clothes apart from around the pool. I hope this of of help to you?

 

Veronica: The Sea Caves were incredible and one of the best days. Our son had a fab time and our guide TukTuk was brilliant with him. It is thanks to you and your fab report that we did the excursion, so thank you again:)

 

Vera: You are very lucky to be so close the Bali. What a wonderful Island. We have never travelled to the Far East and it was such an experience that we would love to do it all again and will definitely love to explore more that way.

 

Mike - definitely hooked. Planning the next cruise - which we hope to combine with a week at a resort somewhere nice. Poss Caribbean and Orlando? Loved SSV and it has many lovely memories for us :)

 

Nighty-night all (or good morning!!!)

Lisa:o

tan is fading and it is getting cool here now in Blighty :(

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