Culturally enriching cruise

[zeppgirl]

I would love to hear from someone based in the US who has taken a Culturally Enriching Cruise.  What are your thoughts?  Did it add to the appeal or was there not enough entertainment in English?  

[vacationlover_mn]

2 minutes ago, zeppgirl said:

I would love to hear from someone based in the US who has taken a Culturally Enriching Cruise.  What are your thoughts?  Did it add to the appeal or was there not enough entertainment in English?  

I didn’t know RCI offered these?  Where are they advertised?

[zeppgirl]

From their website: 

What are Culturally Enriching Cruises for ships departing from Mainland China?

 

Culturally Enriching Cruises are sailings that immerse guests into the local culture of a specific country or region. On these cruises, the vast majority of guests may be from that region, speaking the native language. In addition, guests will experience the local flavor & flare during their time onboard. Some examples are:

• The Windjammer and Main Dining Room will be inspired by the region’s local cuisine. All dining venues will still offer Western options to ensure we cater to all our guests.  Should you have specific dietary restrictions our onboard team will facilitate.

• Some specific Specialty restaurants will be tailored to the region for ships departing from China.  Of course, we will have some of our fan favorites onboard like Izumi, Sorrento’s, Chops Grille, Chef’s Table, Jamie’s Italian, Vintages, and the Windjammer Marketplace. Your toughest decision onboard might just be where to eat!

• Production shows on Spectrum of the Seas®, Quantum of the Seas®, and Voyager of the Seas® when departing from Mainland China will be core Royal Caribbean International shows which place heavy emphasis on music and dancing, as opposed to language. Language for activities, comedians will usually be in Mandarin when ships depart from Mainland China.  Guest entertainer’s language will vary.

• U.S. Dollars will always be the currency onboard.

• Access to the Solarium on Spectrum of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas departing from Mainland China, is limited to gold and silver suite guests and Royal Premier pass holders. 

• When departing from Mainland China, select activities are offered for a nominal fee onboard Quantum of the Seas & Spectrum of the Seas.

* Onboard activities and dining venues may vary by ship.

[vacationlover_mn]

Interesting!  Thx!

Edited May 26, 2019 by vacationlover_mn

[MzReid]

I'm also interested if anyone from Australia where English is their first language has been on a Culturally Enriching Cruise from Singapore. Like zeppgirl, I'm interested in the quality of entertainment on board. If I don't speak Chinese, will there be any entertainment that I can enjoy?

[Balsam12]

11 minutes ago, MzReid said:

I'm also interested if anyone from Australia where English is their first language has been on a Culturally Enriching Cruise from Singapore. Like zeppgirl, I'm interested in the quality of entertainment on board. If I don't speak Chinese, will there be any entertainment that I can enjoy?

We did Singapore to Hong Kong on Voyager in March 2019.

 

There was a good mix of nationalities on board, with a large number from Germany. All announcements were made in English and German. I actually expected them to be English and Mandarin, but this wasn't the case.

No issues with anything "cultural" on our cruise, but as it wasn't a closed loop cruise, it may not have appealed to the locals as much.

 

All the triva and other things were done in English, and they actually ran some basic language classes if you wanted to learn some Mandarin. Only went to one show, and as stated earlier in this thread, it was dance and music based, so language wasn't an issue.

All this may be different for cruises Shanghai - Shanghai of course.

 

[Sail n Snow]

13 minutes ago, MzReid said:

I'm also interested if anyone from Australia where English is their first language has been on a Culturally Enriching Cruise from Singapore. Like zeppgirl, I'm interested in the quality of entertainment on board. If I don't speak Chinese, will there be any entertainment that I can enjoy?

It depends on the port you leave out of from my understanding.  We took a cruise out of Singapore in Dec and thought it was great.  The main show was in Mandarin but the other venues had English shows/entertainment.  
 

We are supposed to take a cruise from Shanghai in August and I’ve been reading almost all the acts are in Mandarin (Spectrum of the Seas was made for the Chinese market)

 

I’ve heard cruises from Hong Kong are 

more like the ones out of Singapore but haven’t done to much research on them. 

[MzReid]

8 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

We did Singapore to Hong Kong on Voyager in March 2019.

 

There was a good mix of nationalities on board, with a large number from Germany. All announcements were made in English and German. I actually expected them to be English and Mandarin, but this wasn't the case.

No issues with anything "cultural" on our cruise, but as it wasn't a closed loop cruise, it may not have appealed to the locals as much.

 

All the triva and other things were done in English, and they actually ran some basic language classes if you wanted to learn some Mandarin. Only went to one show, and as stated earlier in this thread, it was dance and music based, so language wasn't an issue.

All this may be different for cruises Shanghai - Shanghai of course.

 

Thanks Balsam12 - that's really encouraging to hear.

[MzReid]

9 minutes ago, Sail n Snow said:

It depends on the port you leave out of from my understanding.  We took a cruise out of Singapore in Dec and thought it was great.  The main show was in Mandarin but the other venues had English shows/entertainment.  
 

We are supposed to take a cruise from Shanghai in August and I’ve been reading almost all the acts are in Mandarin (Spectrum of the Seas was made for the Chinese market)

 

I’ve heard cruises from Hong Kong are 

more like the ones out of Singapore but haven’t done to much research on them. 

Thank you Sail n Snow. The cruise is departing from Singapore and I'm hoping that language won't prove to be too much of a barrier to enjoying the entertainment.

[Balsam12]

21 minutes ago, MzReid said:

Thank you Sail n Snow. The cruise is departing from Singapore and I'm hoping that language won't prove to be too much of a barrier to enjoying the entertainment.

You will find pretty much all Singaporeans speak very good English. They are also polite, well mannered and clean.

Their city is beautiful with much to see and do, so a few days there beforehand is always recommended.

[Sail n Snow]

Do a google search for - hardwarezone quantum of the seas singapore

 

It should turn up a page that discusses the current season of Voyager in Singapore.  I found it usefull before we cruised.