Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST World Cruise on the Amsterdam

[ger_77]

If I were going on this trip, I would think it wise to bring along a couple of collapsible umbrellas to help provide a little relief from the hot sun.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[RuthC]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me share your time at the temples, as I know I could never do that in person. Your descriptions were so detailed that I could feel my heart getting heavy from the heat!

It must have been exhausting, but such an experience! I'm happy for you that you were able to take this side trip.

 

Wonderful report.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me share your time at the temples, as I know I could never do that in person. Your descriptions were so detailed that I could feel my heart getting heavy from the heat!

It must have been exhausting, but such an experience! I'm happy for you that you were able to take this side trip.

 

Wonderful report.

 

Glad you are enjoying the posts!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 66; Siem Reap to Sihanoukville - while Amsterdam moored at Sihanoukville

 

Another early start – 5:30 am wakeup call – so we could be ready to leave the hotel at 7 am and be at the airport by 7:30 for our 9:30 flight. We would be leaving from the domestic terminal and wouldn’t have to deal with immigration on the way out. Our flight was scheduled to land in Phnom Penn where we would take a city tour for a couple of hours and then drive 4 hours south to the ship.

 

There were already two lines at the check in counters when we arrived, each one with about 20 people. At 7:30 am they opened a third line and started to check people in. As before our guide dropped us off at the curb and we went thru the airport on our own. We noticed that when the HAL group arrived they had some tour company people with them the entire way thru the airport, along with the HAL escort from the Shore Excursion staff. When we saw the ship group arrive for our same flight, we felt a little relief as we realized that if our flight was cancelled or delayed the HAL group would be in the same situation, and we would be able to benefit from the ship not leaving as soon as they might otherwise.

 

• NOTE: Keep in mind, that the ship will have to leave at some point, regardless of who you booked your excursion with as they have to be able to arrive at their next port on time. If you are on a HAL excursion they will bear the expense of getting you to the next port and assist in making those arrangements. Another benefit of HAL tours that helps explain their higher cost is the fact that all HAL tours come with liability insurance. If you are injured you will likely have more options for financial recovery with a HAL tour than otherwise. Even though the fine print on the back of your tour ticket says that “HAL does not assume liability” HAL, understandably, wants to limit their financial exposure using insurance and insuring any passenger, regardless of age and mobility, against all types of risks that may occur on a tour. With a private tour you assume all the risks and can avoid this expense – but assume more personal risk. There are always tradeoffs to consider.
  

 

For the first time ever during any airport check in, they asked to weigh my carry-on bag, which was 2.5 KG over the 7.5 KG limit. The agent proceeded to squeeze my bag and apparently made some determination and nothing more was said. They didn’t weigh everyone’s bag in our group, but they did weigh another one that was also over weight and they printed out a tag as if they would require it to be checked, but after a mild protest, the tag was put away and we were all able to proceed to security with our carry-on bags.

 

The waiting area had a small snack bar, free Wi-Fi and plenty of seats. Our plane was already here so that was one less thing to worry about for now. With only 20 minutes till take off, there wasn’t any move to start boarding and we heard that our flight was delayed for 40 minutes for reasons never explained in English. They did make an announcement in Cambodian, but we couldn’t understand what was said.

 

We started to board at 9:30 and walking out to the plane parked on the ramp a couple hundred yards away. This flight was on Cambodian Airlines A321. We boarded the plane using two air stairs, forward and aft.

 

 

At 10 am we were airborne, 50 minutes late, we were able to makeup sometime in the air and only landed 15 minutes late. After landing and in consultation with our guide, we decided to skip the Phnom Penn tour and go directly to the ship. Phnom Penn was north east of the and we would be going out of our way for a bit and then doubling back. We would probably arrive exactly on time had we continued to Phnom Penn but we decided to give ourselves a little more buffer, plus we were all exhausted and ready to get back on the ship.

 

Once we were on the main road heading south, we stopped and a VERY local shop selling pastries and other snacks. We may have been the first tourists here in a while and they were quite surprised to see us. They were very friendly but spoke no English. Our guide asked them if they were ready to speak English and they said they didn’t know any. With our guide translating, we quickly got back on the road.

 

Along the way we noticed a large storefront selling “Spirit Houses”. Spirit Houses are very ornate, decorative enclosures, that run from the size of a large mailbox to a small garden shed. They are placed in front of people’s homes to encourage friendly spirits to take up residence. They cost anywhere from $30 to $400 US with the size of the Spirit House corresponding to the size of the house.

 

The 120 mile drive to Sihanoukville on the two lane paved road would take 4 ½ hours including time for a 15 minute rest stop. We were only able to drive about 30 miles an hour due to slow traffic. It wasn’t that busy, but that there were a lot of slow moving farm vehicles and others not going very fast for a variety of reasons.

 

We arrived in Sihanoukville around 3:30 and were able to get a pass thru port security so that our driver could take us directly to the ship and park right by the gangway. There were shuttle busses on the pier for those that wanted to do a bit of last minute shopping in town. A large tent was set up on pier where they were selling local beer, t shirts and other trinkets. A few ladies were giving chair massages for $12 an hour.

 

After we dropped off our bags in our cabin, we went back to the pier to look at what they were selling and Judy wanted to get a massage. I sat by and read a book on my kindle and enjoyed people watching as the tour busses started to return with tired passengers. We learned later that the HAL overnight tour pressed on to Phnom Penn, saw some sights, and arrived about 6:30 pm, the all aboard time.

 

Hotel Director Henk Mensink joined our table for dinner tonight. We had a wonderful time as we learned more about his interesting career and background. We discussed the differences between a world cruise and shorter cruises and some of the many challenges he faces day in and day out. Of course we had to pose for the traditional Table 52 “Jazz Hands” photo, Henk provided a humorous twist.

 

 

Accordion player Annie Gong provided the entertainment tonight. She was quite good and surprisingly funny with a terrific sense of humor. At one point she played a country song prompting a gentleman in the front row to leap to his feet, dancing along with an impromptu line dance. Annie was born in China and currently lives in New Zealand. The late shows have about 50 to 75 “regulars” and we all try to make a lot of noise to compensate for our smaller numbers.

 

 

Tomorrow will be a sea day as we head south once again for Singapore. We had to advance clocks one hour tonight to match Singapore, but with no reason to get up too early, we really didn’t mind.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 67, Sailing toward Singapore

 

We spent most of the morning in our cabin, venturing out to attend Good Morning Amsterdam where the guests were lecturer Kate Ross and entertainer Annie Gong, the accordion player from the night before. Kate discussed how she transitioned from being a high school history teacher to a cruise ship lecturer. Annie discussed how her father motivated her to learn the accordion and let us know that her current accordion weighs over 50 pounds.

 

 

As an aside, I also learned earlier that HAL has a fleet wide policy to not replay lectures on the ship’s TV. Apparently there was some concern by the legal types in Seattle that since the lecturer’s remarks are not prescreened, they may say something that would cause more concern if replayed multiple times. There is also a desire to encourage people to attend the lectures in person to avoid having them talk to smaller live audiences. This is not something under local control and probably stemmed from some incident that caused some difficulty at some point in the past. End of cruise surveys are probably the best method to share your opinion on this with the folks in Seattle.

 

We stopped by the Queens lounge to catch Kate Ross’s discussion of Angkor Wat and her virtual tour of the sites we had just seen in person. Despite a few technical difficulties with her slides, she gave us some interesting perspective about where we had just been and helped deepen our understanding of Angkor Wat.

 

Our next events were are not to be missed crafts and Texas Hold’em. The card table is filled with regulars and is as much a social event as a card game. Everyone wins often enough so no one is really losing much money.

 

In the Atrium on deck 5 they held a silent auction to raise money for a charity in Sri Lanka to help needy folks there. Many people donated watercolors they painted in the watercolor class that has been going on all cruise. The ship also donated a variety of items from a night in one of the suites (Pinnacle if available), to cook books, casino packages and an opportunity to have a drink with Gene, Henk and Mark, the event Manager. The final price for the drink package was $50 with the night in the suite going for $195. $2000 was raised to help the folks in Sri Lanka.

 

This evening our table went as a group to the Radio Show event they held in the Pinnacle Grill. A copy of the flyer describing the various acts is on the blog under this same post. Gene and his staff prepared and performed several humorous skits modeled after radio show serials from years ago. Helping with all the voices were the Show Hosts, Jodie and Erin, the IT Manager and Barbara, the location guide. The HAL dancers were also there, playing other parts. After we were served a course and had time to finish, they would launch into a skit, taking about 10 minutes. The entire evening took about 2 hours and was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it very much. Each table had replica old time radios that we could take as souvenirs if desired.

 

 

Since Debby Bacon was also helping out with the Radio Show, they had the pianists, Connor and Michael, from the House Band fill in for her tonight in the Piano Bar. They played a wide variety of songs – taking requests – banging out the tunes on the keyboard simultaneously. They are quite talented and the show was amazing.

 

Tonight was Raffles night in the Main Dining Room. We stopped by to check out the decorations and see what the wait staff was wearing. The entrance to the dining room was decorated with a Singapore flag and some Palm trees. The wait staff had safari looking outfits complete with special hats and the menu featured items popular in Singapore.

 

Comedian Rich Shydner was on the main stage in the Queens lounge tonight. He was hilarious and everyone enjoyed his show very much. I was exhausted and missed the show but Judy attended and kept her perfect attendance going for the evening shows when we are on the ship. The entertainment on this Grand Voyage continues to be one of the many high points.

 

One of the acts we regretted missing while we were off the ship in Siem Reap was the inaugural show by the new troupe of HAL singers and Dancers. Our table mates raved about the quality of the dancing and singing and said the show was AMAZING. We are looking forward to seeing their next show.

 

 

We will arrive in Singapore tomorrow evening, arriving around 6pm. This late arrival time allows us to transit the very congested waters in the Straits of Malacca during daylight hours, making it a lot safer. While I was in the US Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV 61), in the darkness of the early morning on April 5th, 1979, we collided with the Liberian Tanker, MC Fortune, in the Straits of Malacca. The collision happened in a relatively less congested area as the Captain planned to enter the more congested areas during daylight, but we never made it that far. Fortunately no one was injured on either ship, but as the saying goes “A collision at sea will ruin your day” is absolutely true. You can see some pictures of the damage we sustained and listen to the Captains remarks afterward HERE

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

 

All Caught up with the posts!!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

If I were going on this trip, I would think it wise to bring along a couple of collapsible umbrellas to help provide a little relief from the hot sun.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

 

That would be a good idea on this trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KirkNC]

Watch out for those monkeys! On our Amazon trip someone got bit when the monkey grabbed her banana. Turns out monkeys often have rabies. The ship did not have the treatment so she had to fly home in the middle of the trip.

Edited March 13, 2016 by KirkNC

[catzcrazy]

Loving your posts!!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Watch out for those monkeys! On our Amazon trip someone got bit when the monkey grabbed her banana. Turns out monkeys often have rabies. The ship did not have the treatment so she had to fly home in the middle of the trip.

 

I was a little surprised to see so many people treating these monkeys as if they were domesticated pets. They weren't too aggressive, but you never know with animals in the wild

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 68, Singapore

 

Today will be a sea day for the most part, until we moor around 6pm at Singapore’s Ocean Terminal. Numerous ships were visible all day and in some parts it almost looked as if we were on the maritime equivalent of an interstate highway as steady streams of vessels of all sizes passed us going in the opposite direction while we kept pace with many other ships heading to Singapore.

 

It was warm and humid on our verandah, but not stifling, and with an air conditioned refuge close at hand we could stand outside for a bit and then pop back inside after a few minutes. The air conditioning in our cabin has worked great all cruise and we have never had any trouble keeping the interior temperature at 72 degrees.

 

Good Morning Amsterdam’s guest was Barbara the Location Guide instead of the previous night’s entertainer as is the normal custom. With all the travelling done by these entertainers, getting up early for a TV show may be the last thing they want to do and might prefer getting caught up with some sleep.

 

 

Barbara is always interesting and she provided a few tidbits and advice for what to do in Singapore. She will be providing commentary as we sail into Singapore this afternoon. Unlike most ports, where your passport is not necessary to go ashore, here in Singapore it is required and we have to pass thru airport style immigration stations coming and going. Based on this, Barbara reminded us to not plan on quick visits to the terminal as you we able to do in Hong Kong or other ports.

 

I stopped by the Culinary Arts Center to see Guest Chef Pranee Halvorsen demonstrate how to prepare Phad Thai with Tiger Prawns, Tofu, Bean Sprouts and Chinese Chives. I enjoy cooking and love Asian food, but haven’t been too successful recreating many of the Chinese dishes I enjoy. The Phad Thai receipe she shared is posted on the blog and I will give it a try when I get back to San Diego.

 

One of the special features I believe is available only on Grand Voyages (others correct me if I am wrong) is the noodle cart in the Lido for lunch on sea days. Every day they offer a different type of hot noodle soup, from Pho to Ramen and everything in between. The cart sits near the door to the Lido pool on the starboard side.

 

When passengers are getting off the ship at the end of their segment, there is a Grand Dollar Redemption opportunity in the Hudson Room. Gene mentioned this morning at Good Morning Amsterdam that they were out of $1 Grand Dollar Bills and that if you redeemed your $1 bills today you would get $100 Grand Dollar credit toward the gift of your choice. Gene also indicated that the prices marked are negotiable and he is willing to haggle.

 

I have managed to amass $375 Grand Dollars which is enough to get anything they are selling except the Kindle Fire. I think I will hold out till the end and see if they hold a final fire sale.

 

It was drizzling as Barbara started her narration for our arrival so we stayed in our cabin and watched from our Veranda. We are close to the stern on deck 6 so we can pop out to the deck below the SeaView pool pretty quickly if we want to see something on the other side.

 

As we closed on the Ocean Terminal, the curved towers of the residential development called Reflections at Keppel Bay were visible right outside our cabin. These buildings range from 24 to 41 stories with over 2 million square feet of living space.

 

Once we were between Singapore city and Sentosa Island we spun 180 degrees and snugged up against the pier at Harbour Front, bow facing to sea.

 

We had originally planned to go ashore and visit Raffles Hotel this evening. But as the rain persisted and we grew a little more weary, we decided to stay aboard and watch the special encore show by Annie Frances.

 

About 50 other people joined us in the Queens Lounge, and Annie did not disappoint. Her show was new and was a collection of hits from the 1970’s which was a sweet spot for most everyone in the audience. While the audience was small, it was filled with enthusiastic fans. Her final number “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy brought down the house and she received an enthusiastic standing ovation.

 

 

After the show we stopped by the Lido for what we would call in the Navy: “Mid-Rats” which is short for “Midnight Rations” and although Navy food was always pretty good, I have to admit that “Mid Rats” on the Amsterdam beats Mid Rats on most aircraft carriers I deployed aboard.

 

More pictures on the blog along with menus and every "On Location" the ships daily program. http://Www.theinsidecabin.com

[erewhon]

Thanks for continuing your interesting reports.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thanks for continuing your interesting reports.

 

 

You are welcome. Glad you enjoy reading them.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

At the Raffles Long Bar enjoying a Singapore Sling - only $21 USD will wash down by $29 USD burger!

 

 

 

I got the combo which throws in fries for free

 

Judy got a ginger ale served in a carafe!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[teamflames]

I don't like them soooo sweet (and expensive)

 

 

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[omago4th]

I was on the ship for the south pacific and again over Holidays last year.

 

the soup station was a set station on lido, my bet is that it was taken away and the "made to order sandwiches" are back there.

 

the soup was very popular, I was there most days.

 

enjoying your blog. thanks

[GeorgesGal]

I am soooo enjoying your trip; I feel like I'm sailing along with you and Judy! What stamina to be out touring those long days in the hellish heat.

 

Keep these posts coming, Pete!

 

Donna

[The-Inside-Cabin]

The view from our cabin.

 

Taking on fuel

 

 

 

 

An nice day. View of the cable car ride

 

 

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 69, Singapore

 

We took it easy this morning, catching up on sleep and relaxing before we left the ship.

 

A little after 1 pm we left the ship and headed into the Cruise Terminal. The ship is connected to the terminal by a long, folding, jetway type bridge. Once in the terminal there is a HAL rep checking cruise cards for returning guests. Free WIFI is available here attracting a handful of guests sitting in chairs checking up on email and surfing the web. We learned later that you could receive the free WiFi from the ship on deck 3 and deck 8 toward the center of the ship.

 

After passing the HAL security we proceeded down a long series of hallways, maybe a couple hundred yards, until we reach some stairs leading down to the arrival hall one level below. It looks much like the arrival hall in an airport with multiple kiosks where immigration officials check passports and visas of arriving guests. There weren’t any lines and the passport check only took a few seconds as he verified that the name on the landing card matched the name on the passport and then verifying that the passport picture matched the person standing in front of him. Next was the X-ray machines and metal detectors which were standard airport security style only with much larger X ray machines to accommodate full size luggage.

 

 

HarbourFront Centre is a large shopping center that is adjacent to the cruise terminal and sits right on top of the HarbourFront MRT station. Following well marked signs we walked thru the maze of shops to the MRT station below and found the MRT ticket office where we bought a two day MRT pass which allows transit on any bus or subway for $16 SGD , or $8 SGD a day (plus a $10 SGD refundable deposit). They accept cash or Mastercard. The MRT system is similar to the Washington DC metro system – or for that matter – any big city subway system. If you are familiar with any big city system you will be able to figure out Singapore’s system in a few minutes. If you are not familiar with subway systems, take a little more time to get your bearings and don’t hesitate to ask for help or directions to make sure you get on the correct train.

 

Before you venture into the system you need to familiarize yourself with the names of the various lines and the names of the terminating stops on those lines so you can be sure you pick the correct platform for the direction you are headed. For example we would be traveling to Chinatown on the Northeast line. Since the terminating stop for the direction we would be heading was Punggol – you would look for signs labeled “Northeast Line – Punggol 6” as opposed to “Northeast Line - HabourFront”. We only had one choice here at HarbourFront: Punggol since HarbourFront was a termination point for the Northeast Line.

 

If you desired, you could buy single ride tickets from automated machines throughout the station. To enter the station, you place your plastic ticket card on a disc located next to the entrance gates which will turn green and open once your card is validated. The machine shows the expiration date of the card / value remaining depending on what type of card you purchased.

 

Our first stop was Chinatown where we would be looking for a yarn shop called “The Golden Dragon” located in the Peoples Park Centre. The shop sold yarn in addition to other items and was more like a smaller version of JoAnn Fabrics in the USA. Judy looked around for a bit, but didn’t find anything interesting so we pressed on toward a shopping center called One Raffles Place.

 

It was about ½ mile to One Raffles Place from the Peoples Park Centre in Chinatown and while the temperature was in the low 90s the high humidity made it feel a little worse. We walked slowly and stopped in the shade often. One interesting spot was Hong Lim Park on the corner of Havelock Road and New Bridge Road. A corner of the park was labeled “Speakers Corner”. This is a designated “free speech” area available to residents after registering with a nearby police station. Judy and I each gave a quick “speech” to a deserted park and then continued on toward Raffles Place. We were a little surprised to see posters advertising a Tom Jones Concert here on March 31st. Didn’t know he was still touring at age 75.

 

One Raffles place is a large, air conditioned, multistory shopping center located above a MRT stop. We strolled the halls lined with a variety of shops and up and down the various floors. We did buy a pillow with the sunglasses smiley face design but nothing else caught our eye. We took the elevator down to the basement and caught the metro to the City Hall Station where we would walk a few blocks to the Raffles Hotel.

 

The Raffles hotel has been a fixture in Singapore since it opened in 1887. The Long Bar, famous for inventing the National Cocktail – The Singapore Sling, is now on the second floor after being moved from the lobby during the 1989-1991 renovation. We stopped into the Long Bar to get a Singapore Sling and a bite to eat. The Singapore Sling was $28 SGD ($20 USD) and soft drinks were $9 SGD ($6.50 USD). We got the “discount” combo for $62 SGD ($45 USD) which included a very good cheeseburger, fries and a Singapore Sling. Peanuts are provided at each table in burlap sacks and you are expected to toss the shells on the floor. Halfway thru our meal the HAL tour entered the Long Bar and went to a private area one floor above where they enjoyed a Singapore Sling as part of their tour. WiFi was available only for hotel guests.

 

 

After our lunch we wandered around the hotel and arcade shops. The entrance to the lobby was restricted to guests, but as long as you acted as if you belonged, you could go inside at look around. We strolled thru the lobby and the adjacent Writers Bar before sitting down in the lobby to rest and plan our next steps. You must be wearing long pants and a collared shirt to go into the lobby. Shorts and T shirts are OK in the Long Bar.

 

 

A few blocks away was the National Library Building with the main library in the basement and the reference library on floors 7 thru 14. We always enjoy visiting libraries and never pass up the chance to visit one wherever we go. The library was very nice and modern with 90% of the books in the area we wandered thru in English. They had one section called the Investors Area where many people were staring at screens filled with stock charts analyzing their next move in the markets around the world.

 

An MRT stop was a few blocks away and since we were very tired from walking in the heat we decided to head back to the ship. Once inside the Bras Basah MRT station we were faced with 4 choices – The red North South Line to either Jurong East or Marina South or the Orange Circle Line to Marina Bay or HarbourFront. Since our ultimate destination was HarbourFront we thought about taking the line in that direction. But after looking at our transit map we realized the Orange Line in that direction would take us way out of the city and while we would eventually end up at the right spot, we would be on the train a lot longer that necessary. We took the Red line to Dhoby Ghaut and then the Purple Line to HarbourFront.

 

We retraced our steps through the HarbourFront Shopping Centre, back thru the metal detectors and immigration and finally down the long hallways, past the free wifi site and onto the ship.

 

Dinner tonight was fabulous. I had the Fresh Catch Seabass (whenever the menu labels fish as Fresh Catch the fish is indeed fresh from the local area) and it was as good as any Seabass I ever had at one of the fancy seafood houses in San Diego. It was really amazing.

 

The daily “On Location Guide” advertised a special Singapore Music and Dance show in the Queens Lounge at 9:30 pm, but apparently there was some last minute glitch and the show was cancelled and replaced by the movie “Joy”.

 

More pictures, menus and the on location guides available on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Leaving Singapore. Next stop Phuket

 

 

 

 

 

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[erewhon]

Again thank you for your updates.

[MMDown Under]

Day 69, Singapore

 

We were a little surprised to see posters advertising a Tom Jones Concert here on March 31st. Didn’t know he was still touring at age 75.

 

]

 

Tom Jones is one of the Star Attractions at the 5 day Bluesfest at Byron Bay at Easter. He is also performing elsewhere in Australia.

 

Sounds like he is making the most of his trip "Down Under".

 

Thanks once again for your enjoyable blog. Makes me want to return to Singapore, which is a popular stopover for Aussies enroute to the UK/Europe.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the reports, Any more talk about the 2018 World Cruise? Is any time dining working? , thanks we just arrived in Singapore for our overnight on the Volendam . Marty

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thanks for the reports' date=' Any more talk about the 2018 World Cruise? Is any time dining working? , thanks we just arrived in Singapore for our overnight on the Volendam . Marty[/quote']

 

Nothing on the 2108 schedule. Anytime seems to be working out OK. I haven't heard any complaints but I will ask around

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 70, Singapore

 

After a leisurely morning on the ship we headed off to Chinatown to catch the Hop On Hop Off Bus and take the 1 hour Original Tour or Brown Route. We bought our tickets at the tourist information center in HarbourFront place, which is located right after you exit from the customs area of the Immigration Hall. Buying one route for the Hop on Hop Off Bus is $16 USD and would take about an hour to complete the loop. Our legs were not up to walking much today, it was still quite hot and humid. We decided to stay on the Ho-Ho bus, ride around the 10 mile circuit and listen to some commentary along the way.

 

• Note: We have been on many Ho-ho buses around the world, and they are usually pretty good, but sometimes their on-time performance is poor and occasionally they are so crowded you may have to wait for several busses until you find one with an empty seat. When this happens, the value of the Hop On Hop Off feature plummets as you are afraid to get off for fear of not finding an open seat on subsequent busses and being stranded for a while. We found that the busses in Singapore were on time and were never more than half full. You could comfortably take advantage of hopping off and then being able to hop back on at a predictable time.

 

Once again we proceeded underground to the MRT and caught the Northeast line to Chinatown, which is only two stops away from HarbourFront.

 

Leaving the Chinatown MRT stop we were immediately immersed in the center of Chinatown with all the colors, energy and enthusiasm on full display.

 

• Note: For those not familiar with big city subways please review the local map that is usually present nearby once you are off the train. Most large stations will have several exits to the street which are sometimes separated by ¼ mile or more, so it is important to take the correct exit based on where you want to go once on the surface. The local map will show the various station exits and where they will open onto the streets above. Don’t just follow the crowd to the nearest exit or you may find yourself needlessly backtracking or on the wrong side of a busy street.

 

The narrow Chinatown streets were lined on either side with shops selling clothes, electronics, souvenir items, food, massages or pretty much anything you may want to buy. Although many items are marked with prices they are still negotiable. We were is a hurry to catch our bus scheduled to leave on the half hour. We didn’t spend much time shopping now, but would take a more leisurely stroll thru this area after our Ho-Ho ride.

 

Our bus arrived only a few minutes late and we went up to the upper deck and sat in the back under the shade. The first floor of the bus was air-conditioned, but as long as we were under the shade it was fairly comfortable on the upper deck.

 

As you entered the bus, there was a tray filled with airline style ear pieces in plastic bags available at no additional charge. Next to each seat is a place to plug them in, select your language and adjust the volume. In addition to providing commentary on the various buildings and sights along the way, they provided some interesting insight into Singapore life in general. For example we learned that the number of cars on Singapore is limited and you have to buy a permit, called a Certificate of Entitlement (COE), which are available at an auction held twice a month. The COE is good for 10 years and may cost around $50,000 SGD based on the size of the car’s engine and other factors. After ten years, you have to buy another certificate but there is a strong incentive to sell cars at this point and start over. Singapore is the second largest exporter of used cars, right behind Japan. If you are interested in learning more, the process is pretty complex, google “Singapore Certificate of Entitlement” for more information.

 

One of the interesting sculptures along the way was called “Momentum” by David Gerstein. This sculpture is meant to show the upward cycle of progress, symbolizing the energy and momentum of the financial district and Singapore in general.

 

Orchard Road is probably the most well-known shopping street in Singapore and we enjoyed window shopping from the comfort of the Ho-Ho bus. We did notice one of our favorite stores from when we lived in Japan – Tokyu Hands (yes that is how they spell it) which is a department store that sells household items, craft items and stationery unique to Japan. We were able to precisely mark the location of the store with our MAPS.ME app so we could come back later on the subway.

 

We continued along the waterfront toward Suntec City Mall and the Singapore Flyer. The Singapore Flyer is one of those huge observation wheels, aka Ferris wheel, that was the tallest in the world until 2014 when the “High Roller” opened in Las Vegas which is 9 feet taller. The top 5 wheels are in Las Vegas, Singapore, China, London and Orlando. Each one was the tallest at the time it was built. I am sure that someone will be building one higher than the Vegas wheel soon. My guess: Dubai.

 

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is nearby and is the world’s most expensive standalone casino property. The structure is quite impressive with what looks like a floating beach oasis, called the Sands Skypark, perched on top of the three 55 story hotel towers. There is an infinity edge pool in the Skypark that appears as if you will swim over the edge if you get too close. One tip from one of our tablemates was to go to one of the rooftop restaurants for lunch where you can enjoy the view for the price of lunch as opposed to paying an admission to simply go to the observation deck. We didn’t have time to investigate this beautiful property but will have it high on our list of things to see the next time we are in Singapore.

 

 

After a passing Merlion Park, we headed back toward Chinatown and got off the bus where we got on an hour earlier.

 

No longer rushed for time, we strolled through the Chinatown shops and picked up a few souvenirs and post cards.

 

We wanted to head back to Orchard Road and visit Tokyu Hands so it was back on the purple line for two stops and then a transfer to the red line for one stop to the Somerset Station. The Somerset station sits underneath a massive shopping center and once we were off the train we were able to navigate thru the tunnels, hallways and escalators to find ourselves at the entrance to Tokyu Hands. We picked up some small temple bells, a small graph paper notebook and a notebook that contains white board writing surfaces instead of paper. Not sure what I will do with it, but it looked interesting.

 

Back in the subway we were now in the teeth of rush hour and the trains were almost at capacity. While we were in Dhoby Ghaut station the next train to HarbourFront arrived and was completely jammed when the doors opened and no one got off. A few people wedged on and I was ready to drive onboard like I was on a quarterback sneak, but decided to wait for the next train. The next train was almost empty and we were able to find empty seats. Go figure.

 

Once back in HarbourFront Station we stopped by the ticket office to get our $10 deposits back from our Singapore Tourist passes and then we headed over to the Singapore cable car that ran between Faber Peak and Sensota Island. The fare was $26 SGD to take the cable car for one loop starting at HarbourFront, then to Faber Peak, back to HarbourFront and then continuing over to Sensota Island and finally looping back to HarbourFront. Along the way we got some nice views of Singapore, Sensota Island and were able to “fly” over the Amsterdam and Oceana’s Insignia as if we were in our own little drone. It was pretty neat. There was an option to eat dinner while circling around between Faber Peak and Sensota, and there were two men in the car right behind us actually doing that. I think the idea of eating dinner in the cable car was better than actually doing it. It was bumpy in many spots, not air-conditioned and not really a suitable spot for dining. I don’t know if you had to finish your meal within a certain number of laps or if you could stay on as long as you could stand it. We didn’t investigate any further.

 

It was now 7pm and we had one hour to wander thru the HarbourFront shopping centre and spend our last $33 SGD. We slowly walked up and down every hallway and storefront, finding nothing particularly interesting. We decided to convert our cash to snacks that were unavailable on the ship: Snickers Bars and Orangina soft drinks. We bought the last 5 Oranginas on the shelf and added a few plastic bottles of Diet Coke with screw tops which are more convenient on the ship than a can since you can replace the cap and carry it around easier.

 

Outside the ship where they checked your cruise card, they were also collecting your passports. It was now 7:30 and we had ½ hour to get cleaned up and down to dinner. Lecturer Kate Ross, who had already eaten, joined our table briefly for some chit chat to catch up on our tales of our Angkor Wat adventure. They had more fresh fish on the menu and it continues to be excellent, but not quite as good as the Sea Bass from yesterday which will be hard to top.

 

We headed down to the Queens lounge a little early tonight and continued our conversation. Our entire table usually goes to the shows together and we have a great time. Virtuoso Pianist Filip Wojciechowski was the featured entertainer tonight and he was fabulous. He played some classical numbers from Bach, Chopin and Mozart and then was joined by the HAL bass player and drummer for some outstanding jazz arrangements. Another great night in the Queens Lounge.

 

 

As a sidebar, while waiting for the show to start, Gene was reading a long list of names of people (42 passengers) who had not yet turned in their passports. We thought it strange that speakers in the Queens lounge were not broadcasting the names so if you weren’t paying attention you could have been sitting there blissfully unware that people were looking for you. They had it all wrapped up by 10pm as Gene was on the stage to introduce Pianist Filip.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[rafinmd]

He is a regular on Crystal. When I saw him in February he was going on to a Seabourn cruise in South America but this is the first time I have heard of him on HAL. Wonderful!

 

Not only a virtuoso pianist he is also a fine human being. I was with him on a TA on the Crystal Symphony in 2012. We were heading for the dock in New York and everybody was on deck watching the New York skyline. He asked me to take a picture of him with the Statue of Liberty in the background. Since then every time I see him he has recognized and remembered me even though 4 years have not passed.

 

Roy