Meals on the cruise are served at specific timings; Once you missed it, you have to wait for the next dining hour or have your meals at the specialty restaurants, which are payable. So, because of that, we got our asses out of the bed for breakfast even though we wanted to laze around longer.
The breakfast at the Palace Restuarant was beyond my expectations once again. From the freshly made pancakes to the hot bowl of Chinese noodles, it was all so yummy. We wanted to order more from the menu but we were too full as we took some items from the buffet line as well. It was definitely a hearty breakfast.
After we were done with our breakfast, we walked around the cruise for a bit (because we were too full) and found ourselves back at the reception area. It was quite happening at that area as there were people enquiring about the activities for the day, there were people getting ready to disembark for their day-trip to Melaka / Port Dickson, and there were people getting ready to play Bingo!
Since the Bingo game was starting, we quickly bought a Bingo card over the Box Office counter and joined in for the thrill and excitement of it.
Which we did not win. We were really very close (about 2 numbers away) but nope. Hahaha. Should have gotten 1 Bingo card each instead of sharing 1 card. Increase the chance of winning, y'know. Though each Bingo card was not cheap and for each session of Bingo, a new card has to be purchased in order to play. So, that's that.
After the Bingo game, we walked around their casino area, stopped by MIXT, a bar that serves innovative cocktails, for a drink and had a chat with the bartender while he was making us a drink each. We try as much as we can to fully utilise the full open bar package we have, but there's only that much alcohol boyfriend can drink and only that much mocktails I can drink.
Soon, it was time for lunch. We made our way to the specialty restuarant, Umi Uma, which our butler had helped us reserve the night before. It was time for some Japanese Teppanyaki! And the chef who cooked our lunch was Chef Joel, a funny, nice and entertaining chef who made our lunch a lot more enjoyable than it already was with his skills and performance. He really brought Teppanyaki to the next level for us man.
Both of us ordered the Salmon Fillet Set Lunch and boy what a great choice we made. It was really good. The set lunch came with a side salad, miso soup, salmon fillet, mixed vegetables, fried rice, and matcha dessert. For most of the Teppanyaki I've been to, the food were usually quite salty. But this is nothing of near that! It was so flavourful and of the right balance of saltiness to the point that you can choose to eat with or without the side sauces.
Truly amazing - both the food and the performance.
Lunch was nothing but awesome! But, we were so full so we decided to go and have a look at their arcade, glow bowling, club (which was Zouk), sports area and shopping area to see what they have to offer. Basically, most of the activities are, again, payable (not cheap), except for some activities in the sports area such as the waterslides, ropes course, mini-golf, table tennis, basketball, etc, which are also the areas that are most crowded with people as well. So, there's either a queue or you have to wait for the facility / equipment to be available for usage.
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| This was taken early in the morning at about 10am. |
Aside from the crowded sports area, the next most packed place on the cruise would be the main pool. Or should I say that it was the most packed place on the cruise? It was insanely crowded in the pool that swimming in it was I M P O S S I B L E.
But lucky for us, we have access to the Palace Pool, which was completely empty and quiet. There was no one using the Palace Pool except for us, and never have I ever been to a pool with no one else around or in it at all! WOOHOO!
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| Empty pool, sunbeds, and jacuzzis for us to use. |
I cannot deny that the peacefulness and quietness at the Palace Pool was truly amazing. We were able to relax fully and we get to float and swim around without having to worry about bumping into anyone! We even get to use the jacuzzis without having to share with anyone! Feels like as if this was our own private pool.
And the best part was that there were also jacuzzis at the back if we want to relax in the jaccuzi while looking out / enjoying the vast endless ocean view! How awesome is that?
I really love it at the Palace Pool. It's beyond words. After swimming and floating around in the Palace Pool, we wash-ed up and went to the Palace Lounge to have our high-tea. Even though we were still quite full from lunch, I just couldn't give the high-tea a miss. IT'S HIGH TEA!
I really don't know how many times I had food coma on this cruise trip. All I know was that I seem to be eating non-stop from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep. So yup, we had food coma after having our high-tea so we had to retreat back to our room and nap it off. This really is Eat, Sleep, Chill, Repeat.
Lucky for us, we have a Circuit Training class to attend at the Crystal Life Fitness in the evening. Time to work off those calories! It was supposed to be a group class but the group attending the class was only the two of us so it became sort of a Personal Training class. OMG, it was so intense that our muscle ached so bad and our energy drained. But it felt really great to work out so intensely after all the eating.
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| View from Crystal Life Fitness Reception Area. |
Tucked in the far end of the Crystal Life Fitness was the Bridge Viewing Room. The room had a model of the cruise ship we were on, information about the cruise and a viewing gallery into the Bridge, where we get to see the Captain and his crew at work. Amazing.
We headed back to our room to wash up after our mini-tour at the Bridge Viewing Room and headed down for dinner (you see what I mean?) at the Seafood and Prime Steakhouse by Mark Best.
Oh, it was so posh and we did not expect it to be that posh! I felt underdressed even though I was already in a dress.
Dinner started with a basket of bread, butter, and some cured meat. Ah, my love for sour dough.
For the appetiser, we chose to have grilled seafood, which was not too bad. It was okay.
The main course was the highlight. Since we cannot decide which to have, we order both the steak and the salmon to share. Yum yum. Both were so good but if I had to choose, I would go with the salmon. Crispy skin and soft tender flesh of the fish. Plus, the sauce and sides came together amazingly well too. Perfect.
So far we have been really indulging ourselves with all the great food that the cruise has to offer. I wanted to also try to food provided at the Palace Restuarant but I simply couldn't eat anymore. There's only that much space my tummy has. I was too bloated.
As the night was still very young, we went to roam around the ship, which seems to come alive especially at night. The casino was bustling, the bar was filled with people, there were lights, music, and dance. So much happening all around us.
We went to play the last game of Bingo, in hopes that we would win the jackpot or even the mini-pots is good enough, but we (obviously) did not. So we moved on and managed to catch the last musical show, Some Like It Hot, at the Zodiac Theatre.
It was a mad rush for us as the show started at 10pm and we only went to the Box Office counter to enquire about its availability at 10pm (because we were playing Bingo). Apparently, palace guests get priority seats, and even though the show has already started, we were still ushered in by the host via the side entrance.
We were late, but still, we get to sit at the front row, in the middle, which was awesome because we did not need opera glasses to get to see the performers on stage. They were literally right in front of us. Plus, for short people like me, there's no one to block my view.
I love watching musicals so so so much. But sadly, the tickets to a musical are always so expensive, even for a seat that is the furthest away from the stage. Plus, I will rather not go for the show than to buy tickets for back seats even though they are cheapest. Because, to me at the very least, the performers would be too far away for me to enjoy the watching show and I would end up just only enjoy the music. Then what's the point right? Maybe it's just me.
Anyway, I really love the sound of Saxophone.
The dances were exhilarating, the music was awesome, and the singer (with the beard) really has a great voice.
Since it was our last night on the cruise, we did not want it to go to waste. So we took our night walk across the cruise (again), drank as much as we are able to from the bars, caught a movie at the Zouk Beach Club's Cinema at Sea (open-air cinema), and simply soaking in all the vibes.
We ended the night by playing the slot machines at the casino, which we walked away with nothing but our winning of 10-cents from one of the machines.
The next morning, also our disembarkment day, we woke up to a gloomy weather (that's how we felt). By the time we were at the Palace Restuarant for our breakfast, we were able to see Marina Bay Sands at a distance, which meant that the trip is really coming to an end.
Since we still had some time left before disembarkation, we took our last walk around the cruise before heading back to our room to pack up. The good thing about being in the Palace Suite is that we get a slightly later check-out timing, hence we did not need to rush. Plus, we can leave our luggage with the concierge at the Palace Reception until we are ready to disembark.
Bills settlement and passport collection was a breeze as everything was processed at the Palace Reception. It was fuss-free, crowd-free, and quick!
Disembarkation was not as chaotic as I imagined it to be as well. But that would probably also be because there was a priority for the Palace Guests, similar to that during embarkation, which we did not get to enjoy because we only upgraded after we board the cruise.
I'm loving how relaxed and pampered we get to be on the cruise and I would definitely want to cruise again. Maybe on a different cruise line the next round.
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