LIVE from Spectrum of the Seas (Hong Kong) - December 12

[agf1583]

Hi Everybody - first time posting here and a novice cruiser.

 

This will be our 2nd "cruise to nowhere" vacation this year, having done a similar trip on the Genting Dream in October. As you may be aware, travel into and out of Hong Kong is still quite difficult with our "zero COVID" strategy, so hotel staycations and these cruises have become very popular with both the local and expat populations.

 

To be eligible for the cruise, you must be a Hong Kong resident, double vaccinated, and test negative (PCR) within 48 hours of departure (we have dozens on community testing centers throughout the city, so that part is quite easy).

 

I am an avid gambler and this will be our first cruise with RCI, so I'll definitely be joining Club Royale and looking to spend some serious casino time on the ship (with an eye towards future invites). We have also booked the unlimited dining package. Since this cruise is nothing but sea days, hoping to take advantage of lunch at many of the signature restaurants. They are also featuring two shows on the ship right now: "Show Girl" in the main theater and "Silk Road" in Two70. We have also booked Skypad (VR for me, non-VR for my husband) and some gym time each morning. We are on the fence about doing Ripcord and North Star, so we'll figure it out once onboard.

 

We booked the earliest possible arrival window (1:00pm local time) so we can get onboard quickly and book our dining for the cruise. It's an easy public bus ride down to the cruise terminal at Kai Tak. We are booked in a standard seaview cabin (deck 1, cabin 672). We have an onboard credit of about USD400 thanks to a price drop and the Best Price Guarantee (which was super easy to redeem).

 

I welcome everyone's recommendations and do let me know if there is anything specific you'd like us to check out and document. I'll hopefully be posting regular updates throughout.

[Sunshine3601]

I hope you have a wonderful sailing with great weather.  Lots of luck in the casino too!

[dsvd79]

This is great.  There is not a lot out there about this ship!

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, agf1583 said:

We are booked in a standard seaview cabin (deck 1, cabin 672

I assume that 1 is a typo?

[Ozark_Kid]

Hope you have a fun and safe trip.  I am looking forward to the live review.

[agf1583]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

I assume that 1 is a typo?

Oops yes. It's deck 11, cabin 672. And it's a Seaview balcony.

[Missusdubbya]

Bon Voyage!  I love cruising from Kai Tak

[agf1583]

Day 1

 

We arrived at the cruise terminal a little after 1:00pm (a bit later than we wanted, as the public buses were a bit dodgy). 

 

The arrival process was in 3 parts: health check (verify vaccination documents and negative PCR test), check in and receive your Tracee device (to be worn at all times outside your cabin), and security check and boarding. The whole process took about an hour and was relatively smooth (much smoother than what we experienced on Genting, where your arrival window was basically meaningless).

 

After checking in, we waited about 20 minutes before our group was called to board. There were crew members circulating in the terminal offering to book specialty dining, so we were able to book our full cruise's specialty dining through him while we waited to board.

 

Once onboard, we were directed straight to our muster station to check in and receive a sticker indicating we had attended. We had watched the video on the app, so there was no need to watch the demonstration.

 

We then proceeded to our cabin, where our keycards were waiting for us, tucked behind the room number. We dumped our luggage in the room and headed up to Windjammer for some lunch. As it was the only full restaurant open today for lunch, it was very full and hectic. Fortunately, the place is MASSIVE so we only had to wait 5 min for a seat. Each buffet island has 1-2 crew members behind it who serve you (nothing is self serve at the moment). It all feels a bit chaotic, as the crew members can only work so quickly, and the space isn't really built for the kind of queues that naturally form. Nonetheless, we were able to get our lunch and enjoyed it.

 

We then wandered a bit on Deck 14, exploring the outdoor, indoor, and solarium pools. We stopped by the bar at the indoor pool to purchase our drink packages. I got Deluxe, and my husband (who doesn't drink) got refreshment (no issues having different packages) and I enjoyed a peach margarita and they made him a virgin colada.

 

We then explored the rest of the public areas and returned to the cabin to unpack (loads of excellent storage space in the cabin) and rest. We were also able to book our entertainment for the duration of the cruise from the app. We stopped into both the Royal Theater and Two70 on our stroll and could see that about half the seats are blocked off for social distancing (but of course, the ship is also operating at half capacity).

We had a 6:30 dinner as Sichuan Red, the specialty Chinese restaurant. We had:

 

Crispy Fried Scallops - good not great
Stir-fried Garlic Broccoli - as expected
Spicy Sichuan Noodles - above average
Kao Yu Simmer Pot - the star of the meal, a whole fried fish with vegetables served in a spicy sichuan broth in a large flame-heated casserole dish

 

All that took us just north of the $70 credit included with our dining plan.

 

After dinner we headed to Two70 for the 8:15 performance of Silk Road, which we found positively baffling. Excellent performers, but the whole thing was a big 😕 for us. We enjoyed it enough, and it gives you a sense of what the Two70 space is capable of, but it would be nice to see all that technology put to better use. This was our first exposure to RCI entertainment, so I have no point of reference, but I would rate both shows on the Genting Dream above this.

 

While we were waiting for the casino to open, we stopped by Bionic Bar, where I had a mediocre blue tequila-based drink (probably my fault for choosing poorly, will try again tomorrow) and did a video call with my mom on the EXCELLENT Voom wifi.

 

Then it was Casino time! The casino on the ship was smaller than I was expecting and feels like a bit of an afterthought (as opposed to the Genting Dream, where is it a multi-level affair in the center of the ship), but there is a nice selection of machines and tables with not-bad minimums. The tables are limited to 2 or 3 players each, and it looks like 2/3 of the slot machines are turned off for social distancing (no video poker on this ship). I had an abysmal run on the slots, then turned to Ultimate Texas Hold Em, where I staged a comeback (lots of trips, a full house, and a straight). We noticed on the way out that the were limiting entrance to the Casino to keep it at the appropriate capacity.

 

Off to bed - gym time at 9:00am!

 

Assorted pics attached.

Edited December 12, 2021 by agf1583

[meg1021]

Have a wonderful cruise!  I'll be following along.  We were on the inaugural sailing of Spectrum in 2019, and sailed from Barcelona to Shanghai (even stayed on an extra week to sail to Japan).  Looking at your posted photos brings back fond memories!  Also, we're booked on the Crystal Serenity, which is owned by Genting, for their 2023 World Cruise, so I'm paying close attention to your comparisons of the two cruise lines.

[BennyBrun]

Have a wonderful cruise!  Lots of luck on the casino floor!  It is so nice to have a different perspective and looking at a ship that’s mostly exclusive to the Asia market.  Thank you for sharing with us.  If you get a chance if you can take some pictures of the casino that would be great.  I would like to compare that to some of the casinos on other Royal ships we have been on.  The Chinese food looks delish.  I have not been on a Royal ship that has a specialty Chinese restaurant.  With casino Royale usually it’s 2500 points gets you a cruise certificate for an interior cabin and you play up from there and you can select a list of eligible trips.  Speak with the casino host and ask to see if they are doing that on the ship and see the itinerary.  Have fun!!!

[sandebeach]

I am enjoying your review, I hope someday to get to see Hong Kong. Good luck in the casino! I am wondering if the casino has Instant Rewards certificate like they currently have for US sailings?  

[agf1583]

On 12/13/2021 at 1:07 AM, BennyBrun said:

Have a wonderful cruise!  Lots of luck on the casino floor!  It is so nice to have a different perspective and looking at a ship that’s mostly exclusive to the Asia market.  Thank you for sharing with us.  If you get a chance if you can take some pictures of the casino that would be great.  I would like to compare that to some of the casinos on other Royal ships we have been on.  The Chinese food looks delish.  I have not been on a Royal ship that has a specialty Chinese restaurant.  With casino Royale usually it’s 2500 points gets you a cruise certificate for an interior cabin and you play up from there and you can select a list of eligible trips.  Speak with the casino host and ask to see if they are doing that on the ship and see the itinerary.  Have fun!!!

  Thanks! As requested, see below some additional casino pics. Games currently onboard: Baccarat, Blackjack, Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Sic Bo, Roulette.

 

On other RCI ships, is there a Club Royale desk and you can sign up right away? How does it work? On this ship, your points are tracked on your Sail Pass, and if you reach 2,500 points during the cruise, you will be invited to join at Prime tier. If one doesn't reach that threshold, I am not sure what happens. But it would definitely disturb my plans to get my foot in the door of Club Royale (unless I have an AMAZING next 2 days in the casino).

 

 

 

[agf1583]

Day 2

 

We woke up around 7 and spent a leisurely morning on the balcony until gym time at 9:00am.

The fitness center was very nice, for a cruise ship. Again, about half of the machines are blocked off for social distancing, and masks must be worn at all times. I used the elliptical (which was in excellent condition) and my husband made use of the various weight training machines.

 

My husband then went for a quick breakfast at Windjammer while I finished up in the gym.

We went up to explore the Seaplex area, which we found very well designed and a creative use of space. On offer are: bumper cars, soft archery, ping pong (very popular in China), basketball, and foos ball. We also went outside on deck 14 aft to take a peek at Flowrider, Skypad, and Ripcord.

 

Lunch today was at Jamie's Italian. We were both quite hungry and (with our waiter's encouragement) we definitely overdid it. We had:

 

Meat Plank - excellent
Olives on Ice - excellent
Black Truffle Arancini - good not great, my husband liked it more than me; it wasn't truffle-forward enough for my taste
Crispy Squid - perfectly fine; if you want calamari, get it

 

Tagliatelle Bolognese - the best of the lot, very meaty and flavorful
Creamy Penne Carbonara - a good representation of one of my favorite dishes (Carbonara is actually a very popular dish in Hong Kong, in general)
Truffle Tagliatelle - also very good
Prawn Linguine - good, but does not live up to the hype of being their "signature" pasta

 

(in general, the pasta selection was on point, my favorite aspect of the restaurant; the waiter had them prepare smaller portions of each so we could try more)

 

Eggplant Parmagiana - cut legthwise, which we thought was creative, but I am accustomed to a breaded eggplant parm covered in mozzarella; this is unbreaded, baked, and light on cheese; disappointing
Caesar Salad - very good; comes with bacon, onion, and chicken breast on top
Crispy Polenta Chips - these were perfectly fine polenta cubes, but they were not crispy (they were barely crisped at all) and didn't feel at all like "chips"

 

Amalfi Lemon Meringue Cheesecake - very good, well balanced, but still quite rich

 

I also had an elderflower spritz and bellini, both excellent.

 

On balance, we found the restaurant to be very good, but not exceptional. Perhaps it's because we overdid it, but there was a sameness to all the dishes that made it difficult to for us to say "oh, I want to try that again" about any of it. Next time, I would focus on a few things that I want to try most.

 

After all that, we felt the need to walk around a bit and found our way back to the casino. I played a few machines (all of which treated me horribly) then found my way to a Blackjack table (where the limits were now down to $10/hand - nice) and played for about 2 hours on the same $200, often the only person at the table. It was very nice. It would have been even better to enjoy a cocktail while I did it, but drinks are not permitted in the casino, at the moment. I will also say I am not a fan of the "perfect 20" bonus bet on these blackjack tables. I like some of the other variations better (perfect pair, 2+3, etc.).

 

At 3:00pm, still feeling the weight of our Jamie's Italian on out stomachs, we went up for our reservations at Skypad. I had booked the VR experience, but it was not available, so we both did non-VR. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I was still feeling a bit lethargic from lunch. It was definitely a workout, and I had broken out in a light sweat by the end. As soon as my husband started bouncing, his harness wedged itself in an "uncomfortable area" but he muscled through it. Consequently, he needed time to sit and recover afterwards...so we grabbed 2 lounges by the outdoor pool and relaxed with some cokes.

 

At this point, we're thinking there's no way we're going to enjoy our 6:00 Chops reservation with all this Jamie's Italian still on our stomachs. So, I went back to the cabin and called guest services, who were able to change our 6:00 to an 8:30, even though 8:30 was not showing as available in the app. Very pleased. 

 

Tonight's entertainment in the Royal Theater (they're re-running Silk Road at Two70) was the Gold Art Duo, a team (one man, one woman) from the Ukraine who specialize in cirque style balancing and acrobatics off each other's bodies. They also had a few creative dance/comedy/variety segments - all the same two performers. It was creative, high-energy, and very entertaining. Really enjoyed it. They finished the show with a video montage about their history (they won Ukraine's Got Talent and have appeared in America's Got Talent), followed by the act that made them famous, "The Black Widow".

 

After the show, we had 30 minutes to kill before Chops, so we swung by the casino and tried some more slots, where I FINALLY had some luck. Enough to bring me back to almost even for the cruise so far.

 

Chops was Excellent. Truly a top-notch steakhouse experience. We were ready to eat, but still not quite fully recovered from lunch, so we had a bunch of appetizers, then split a steak...which ended up being the perfect choice for us. We had:

 

Shrimp cocktail - a perfectly renderred classic
Tuna Tartare - excellent
Beef Carpaccio - excellent
The Wedge Salad - a classic, excellent
Lobster Bisque - very good, once I added a dash of salt

 

16 oz bone-in ribeye - perfectly cooked and a high quality cut
Gruyere cheese tater tots - very tasty, but I would have liked to taste the cheese a bit more
Creamed spinach - a little runny for my taste and needed salt, but my husband loved it as-is.

 

Key Lime Meringue Pie - delicious and a nice refreshing way to cap off the meal

 

I also had 3 cocktails: Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade, Pink Grapefruit & Rosewater, and The Truffle (with dessert).

After dinner, my husband went to bed and I returned to the casino, where the table limits were all noticeably lower than the first ight of the cruise. I played blackjack (had a good run but lost), Carribbean Stud Poker (lost quickly), and then won it all back (and then some) on slots!

 

A question about the casino: On other RCI ships, is there a Club Royale desk and you can sign up right away? How does it work? On this ship, your points are tracked on your Sail Pass, and if you reach 2,500 points during the cruise, you will be invited to join at Prime tier. If one doesn't reach that threshold, I am not sure what happens. But it would definitely disturb my plans to get my foot in the door of Club Royale (unless I have an AMAZING next 2 days in the casino).

 

Will post again tonight. Assorted pics below. 

[BennyBrun]

I am loving the virtual cruise and thank you for having us along.  Always use you key card to keep track of the points.  The points you earned are like tier credits so under normal circumstances you have 4/1 until 3/31 to earn and make your levels but with cruising starting late this year I have not heard anything about extending the evaluation period but perhaps others can chime in on that.  If you hit 2500 points you are prime and you will receive an instant reward cruise ( not sure if that’s applicable in HK) but thats how it works elsewhere right now.   On top of that sometime next year usually by May, they will load an annual cruise benefit to your account which is good for a cruise up to 7 nights any where except Hawaii and new ship that has been in service for less than 12 months.  It used to be 8 night but Covid changed that.  Of course if I am not having fun I would stop because remember the odds are not at your favor on the ship.  Luck has a lot to do with it too lol.  Just remember that the night before you debark, ask the host to apply the points as OBC or use as free play (you can do that yourself)the points you earn expires at the end of the cruise but the tier credit will carry over until they expire.  Have lots of fun!!

[BennyBrun]

I like how they used Chinese egg plant to make the egg plant parmigiana lol… it is not the same as when they use the Italian version.  The texture is different.  I do love eating at Jamie’s.

[wolfcathorse]

excellent pictures! Who is the captain? If you don't know there's a Behind the Name Tag sheet by Guest Services, where they keep extra copies of the Cruise Compass in different languages.

Edited December 14, 2021 by wolfcathorse

[jgny]

Hey thanks for posting.  I'm thinking to do the Dec. 24th Xmas cruise so following your posts 🙂 Anything you would do differently if you had to do it again?   How's your balcony - is the size good or are you finding yourself not spending time there?  I thought you can only book activities on the app once you check in, but it sounds as if you booked even more in advance?  Keep those pics coming 😍

[agf1583]

19 minutes ago, jgny said:

Hey thanks for posting.  I'm thinking to do the Dec. 24th Xmas cruise so following your posts 🙂 Anything you would do differently if you had to do it again?   How's your balcony - is the size good or are you finding yourself not spending time there?  I thought you can only book activities on the app once you check in, but it sounds as if you booked even more in advance?  Keep those pics coming 😍

 

Some activities can be booked in advance: specialty dining (if you're not on the unlimited dining package), Ripcord, Skypad, Flowrider. Others (shows, bumper cars, archery) can only be booked on the ship. My number one tip: once you are onboard and connected to ship's wifi, go in the app and reserve all the shows you want to see for the entire cruise. I booked my top shows, but there are a few I missed that I would now like to see, but the are sold out. 

[agf1583]

Day 3

 

It was not easy to get up today, having stayed up until 1:00am due to my casino exploits, but I did not want to miss my 9:00am gym appointment. 

 

After gym/shower, we went over to Focus Photo Gallery to preview the professional pictures they took of us at Chops last night. They were very nice, but not $20 nice.

 

We had 45 minutes to kill before lunch, so went went to the casino and I continue my good luck streak on the slots. I had a big win just before our reservation time, so I cashed out and headed to lunch a happy man.

 

Lunch was at Izumi, which I wasn't particularly looking forward to. It was really more of a "we might as well.." reservation due to the dining plan. But I must say it was a very pleasant surprise. Living in Asia, we get a lot of high quality sushi, and this still managed to impress. We had:

 

Shrimp & Pork Wonton Soup - delicious broth
Tofu Ginger Salad - basic but tasty, a good light choice
Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna - fantastic!
Assorted Sashimi - fresh and delicious
Baked Snow Crab & Salmon Dynamite Roll - fabulous - the star of the meal; lots of strong, rich flavor
Champagne Lobster Roll - a much lighter taste, difficult to compare to the other roll, but still tasty

 

I also had two excellent cocktails: She's a Geisha and Spicy Okinawa

 

After lunch, my husband went back for a nap and I returned to the casino, where I somehow managed to continue my winning streak!

 

We then spent some time relaxing on the lounges on the outdoor pool deck. Even though it, Hong Kong, the temperatures are still in the upper 60s/lower 70s F and windy. Not exactly swimming weather, but I noticed a lot of parents have their children in thermal swimwear, which seems like a clever way to ensure they can still enjoy pool time.

 

Before dinner, we went to the Royal Esplanade to view the Tree Lighting and Christmas Carols with RC staff. I had 10 minutes to kill before it started, so I returned to Bionic Bar for a 2nd try, this time with a margarita. Another disappointing drink. The two I have had from that bar have both had a flat sameness to them. Perhaps it's the lack of fresh fruit, or the soda gun needs a recharge, or something. But the bionic bartender is not quite ready to fully replace his human counterparts.

 

The Tree Lighting and caroling was lively, fun, and festive.

 

Our 7:30 dinner was at DaDong Wonderland. On Spectrum of the seas, instead of the typical Wonderland menu, the kitchen has been given over to famed Beijing restaurant DaDong, best known for its version of the classic Peking Duck. The decor is all the same, and the presentation of the food is still whimsical and high-concept. There is a $75 per person cover for this restaurant (it is not included in the Ultimate Dining Package).

 

Everything on the 9 course tasting menu was exquisite and I could have ordered 5 more of everything. Easily the best meal of the cruise. We had:

 

Geoduck Clam Fillets - a tangy zip to start the meal, lots of Sichuan peppercorn oil (the kind that makes your mouth tingle) which is a staple of Sichuan cuisine and a favorite of ours

Smoked Salmon Avocado Roll - served under a smoked cloche, which was removed tableside; sumptuous with a rich, meaty taste...loved this one

Organic salad - a real surprise; peanut/mustard dressing on a bed of thick, hardy Siberian purslane lettuce (we'll be trying to grow this when we get home)

Cuttlefish soup - amazing presentation (the bowl looked like a black hole) and a nice rich broth with a hint of truffle

Lobster over Saffron Risotto - very good, but not a highlight

Grilled Beef Fillet in goose liver sauce - good beef, better sauce; tasted great together

DaDong-style Roast Duck - given the context, this dish needed to be perfect, and it was; it is served with the usual condiments (onion, celery, hoisin) plus some less common ones (garlic, ginger, pickled cucumber)

Noodles in Truffle meat sauce - excellent; nice rich sauce

Dried Tangerine Ice Cream - rich and flavorful; the waiter mentioned that one of the ingredients was butter, which I had never thought of before, but makes sense, to add a richness to the ice cream

 

 

There were two main entertainment acts onboard tonight: Leo Ward (magician) in the Royal Theater and Steve Carte (Comedy Juggling) in Two70. Somehow on embarkation day I missed reserving Leo Ward, so after dinner we ran over to the theater to see if they would let us in without a reservation....and it worked! The crew member at the theater door explained that they do keep some seat available for overflow. We scanned our cards and found some decent seats in the balcony.

 

The show was excellent sleight of hand magic. No grand illusions, but he was very charismatic and put on a good show.

 

We got out of the Royal Theater just in time to run over to Two70 for the 10:30 show, for which we had a reservation. For this show, they were turning away people at the door, so glad I had gotten it in advance.

 

The show was a bizarre mix of juggling, music (piano, ukulele, and harmonica), sight gags, and stand-up comedy. He is an American who has spent some portion of his life in Hong Kong, so he delivered about half the show in Cantonese, which the crowd LOVED. It's very rare that a gweilo (white person) makes an effort, so they appreciated that. Taken all together, a fun way to spend 30 minutes.

 

As we left Two70, we encountered the MASSIVE line of people waiting to get in for the silent disco, which started at 11:00.

 

My husband headed to bed, and I hit the casino, where I did OK for another couple of hours. Lost a little, but earned a lot of points. So I think I am now in striking distance of hitting my goal of 2,500 points for Club Royale prime tier!

 

Assorted pics below. Last Day tomorrow ☹️

 

[jspitz1]

I'm really enjoying reading and seeing the photos of your adventure.  It's giving me good memories of our previous cruise on Ovation of the seas, which looks similar.  We are booked on Wonder of Seas that is meant to leave Hong Kong in a year's time (to go to Japan).  Have you heard when Hong Kong could be opening their borders for cruises for internationals?  We are from Australia and cruise ships are still banned from entering Australian waters.  I wish Australia could have done a similar cruise concept as Hong Kong have done, and Singapore did successfully too.  Enjoy the last bit of your cruise.  

[alexgtp]

TY so much for this review.

[BennyBrun]

Good luck at the casino!  Great review and great pictures.  Certainly a different cruise experience when the ship is dedicated to the Asia market.  Now I have to make plans to get on the Spectrum lol for 2023 !  I am still doubtful that the Japan cruise will be a go for March 2022.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[jgny]

Love your photos from the last day and glad you had a little but of luck on your side for a while at the casino.  Hope you have a smooth checkout today.  

 

Q - how did you purchase the Ultimate Dining Package?  RC has both the English and the Chinese Planners (with the latter having more options), but I am not seeing an ultimate package in either (but I do see a 4 restaurant package in the Chinese planner).  

[agf1583]

On 12/15/2021 at 7:26 PM, jspitz1 said:

I'm really enjoying reading and seeing the photos of your adventure.  It's giving me good memories of our previous cruise on Ovation of the seas, which looks similar.  We are booked on Wonder of Seas that is meant to leave Hong Kong in a year's time (to go to Japan).  Have you heard when Hong Kong could be opening their borders for cruises for internationals?  We are from Australia and cruise ships are still banned from entering Australian waters.  I wish Australia could have done a similar cruise concept as Hong Kong have done, and Singapore did successfully too.  Enjoy the last bit of your cruise.  

 

Based on Hong Kong's current approach to pandemic control, I'd say a December 2022 departure is a decided "maybe," definitely not guaranteed.

[agf1583]

10 hours ago, jgny said:

Love your photos from the last day and glad you had a little but of luck on your side for a while at the casino.  Hope you have a smooth checkout today.  

 

Q - how did you purchase the Ultimate Dining Package?  RC has both the English and the Chinese Planners (with the latter having more options), but I am not seeing an ultimate package in either (but I do see a 4 restaurant package in the Chinese planner).  

 

I booked the Ultimate Dining Package on the English language planner in mid-October, shortly after booking the cruise. I wonder if they only sell a certain number of them per sailing? Or perhaps they cut off sales inside of a certain date?

 

I heard the Chinese language site has some interesting dining and beverage options not available on the English version.