New Year's on the Malaysian Peninsula: Live from the Sapphire Princess 30 Dec - 09 Ja

And so my much anticipated and long awaited journey to Singapore begins. I got up in the wee hours of the morning and made the drive to Toronto to begin my trip. As is normal for me, I overestimated the amount of delays I would encounter along the way and so I find myself sitting in the departure gate area for my first flight almost two hours early.

Here's what a departure gate looks like at 4 am:

This is going to be an epic adventure for me. I've never left North America (other than cruises to the Caribbean) so I'm sure that I'm in for quite a culture shock along the way. Will I survive this? Will I be driven mad? Or will I just say "to heck with it" and stay in Bali? My $100 converted to almost a million Rupiah! I could be a billionaire there!

My plan is to post a live-from for the entire trip so if you have any questions about the Sapphire, fire away and I'll do my best to answer them.

But first, I have to actually get to Singapore. First stop along the way: Detroit.

Hey, it's closer to Asia than Toronto. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Safe travels. Have a great time. I'll be following along.

Keith

Exciting, have a safe flight!

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You'll love it. The Sapphire is a great ship and Singapore is a great place to start your trip. So much to do there in Singapore and the ports you'll visit are a great experience.

Well, flight number one is done and I've made it as far as... Detroit. What can I say? I can't just up and leave North America in one go. I gotta build some tension; some drama.

We pushed back from the gate in Terminal 3 YYZ at 0606hrs; pretty much on time. Then we taxied. And taxied. And taxied. Seriously, we taxied so long that I thought perhaps we were popping over to Terminal 1 to pick up a few stragglers. But we didn't stop at Terminal 1 either. We just kept going. Maybe we were going to drive to Detroit.

After half an hour of taxiing, we finally went wheels up at 0630hrs. I guess the tires were finally warm enough.

Speaking of warm, the coffee maker on the plane was not functional so no hot beverages. I took that as a sign that I should just snooze for the duration of the flight.

Landed in DTW on time and taxied right up to the gate. It was a short flight so the tires were still warm so no wandering around the apron for a half hour like we did back in YYZ.

Now I'm perched in a nice comfy chair in the Delta Sky Club with a nice view overlooking the concourse so I can people watch a bit. I've had a bite to eat and I've got a coffee in hand so life is good.

Goofy side note: I just got a notification from my Hilton app that it's time to check in to my room in Singapore. So I did. Even though my reservation is for tomorrow and I'm in Detroit. I've even got an electronic room key already. Ain't technology cool?

I've got 4 hours to kill before my next flight. 4 hours to sit here and contemplate spending 13 hours in a metal tube. Next stop: Soeul.

Have a wonderful cruise, following!.:)

Will be following your update on your day(s) in Singapore.

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Following, Sapphire is a great ship.

Have a wonderful trip. Singapore is a fantastic city, so much to do and see.

Will be following along on your adventure.:)

I am looking forward to your live from thread. I love the Sapphire and can’t wait until I sail her again. I hope you post about your Singapore time. I’ve never been but have family who say it is an amazing place.

Looking forward to hearing about the sapphire. On her for first time 8th feb

Very much looking forward to this review, I have been considering both Princess a cruises and Southeast Asia for a while now, so I am excited to see your pictures and read your commentary! Safe travels!

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We are headed out of Singapore in April on Golden Princess. Following your posts.

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Greetings from Korea... well, the Incheon airport in Korea anyway. My body says it's 0500hrs but my watch tells me it's 1800hrs. The long leg from DTW to ICN is finally over. I tried my best to sleep on the flight but I never really managed more than an hour or so at a time.

I did, however, try to watch "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets". That movie was... uhh... not so good. The best part was (SPOILER ALERT) when I drifted off and slept through a chunk of it.

On the other hand, I had three meals during the flight though so at least I'm getting myself prepared for the non-stop shoving of food down my piehole that seems to be mandatory on a cruise.

I had just over a 2 hour layover in ICN before the final leg to SIN. At first I was wondering what I would do to fill the time but I needn't have worried. Soon after deplaning, I discovered that all transferring passengers have to clear through security again. The line ups were fairly large but moved relatively quickly. Still, it gobbled up almost an hour of my layover. That, coupled with my knack for choosing connecting flights that depart from a gate as far away as possible from my arriving flight, served to fill up the time.

But at least I got to throw away that expensive bottle of airport water that I bought in DTW when I went through security in ICN.

On the upside, there are at least 3 screaming infants in the gate area waiting to board the flight to SIN. I sure hope that one of them ends up in a seat behind me. Because that would be... perfect.

Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm following along. Good luck on the last leg of the flight. Can't wait to hear about Singapore.

Ohodoglover

Well I made it. Managed to sleep for about half of the flight from ICN to SIN. Deplaned and had a nice walking tour of the Terminal 4 gates.

I've grown so used to US Customs preclearance being done at the airport in Canada that it came as a bit of a surprise when I had to clear Singapore customs upon arrival. But that was taken care of with a quick passport scan and my thumbprints. Now I have this little card that I need to keep with my passport and turn in when I leave Singapore. If I lose it, they probably won't let me leave.

It's 27 degrees and humid here. It's -10 degrees and snowing back home.

Maybe I should lose the card and see what happens. :)

(Kidding. I know I'll need the card to board the cruise. I'll lose the one I get AFTER the cruise).

I know Uber is ultra popular in Singapore but I opted to go with the cheap option of the City Shuttle for $9.

It's been a long, long journey to get here but I made it. Now to try to get a bit of sleep before taking a look around.

Thank you for your posts. This cruise and ship are on our short list for next year at about this same time. I appreciate any and all thoughts as SE Asia will be new territory for us.

Well I made it. Managed to sleep for about half of the flight from ICN to SIN. Deplaned and had a nice walking tour of the Terminal 4 gates.

 

I've grown so used to US Customs preclearance being done at the airport in Canada that it came as a bit of a surprise when I had to clear Singapore customs upon arrival. But that was taken care of with a quick passport scan and my thumbprints. Now I have this little card that I need to keep with my passport and turn in when I leave Singapore. If I lose it, they probably won't let me leave.

 

It's 27 degrees and humid here. It's -10 degrees and snowing back home.

 

Maybe I should lose the card and see what happens. :)

 

(Kidding. I know I'll need the card to board the cruise. I'll lose the one I get AFTER the cruise).

 

I know Uber is ultra popular in Singapore but I opted to go with the cheap option of the City Shuttle for $9.

 

It's been a long, long journey to get here but I made it. Now to try to get a bit of sleep before taking a look around.

I'm glad you made it down there safely. What airline did you fly? How was your experience in Changi?

Love "lives" and will be following along especially since "Yellowfish" may do it next year. Will check the Atlas for your itininary. Smooth sailing! Karen

I'm glad you made it down there safely. What airline did you fly? How was your experience in Changi?

I didn't see much of Changi last night. Just a long walk from our gate to the arrivals area. I can say that at 0100hrs, the portions of the airport I was in were all pretty quiet.

Customs took all of 1 minute to clear and I waited for 5 minutes for my bag (and then missed it on its first pass on the carousel because I was texting a friend.)

You have to have your luggage scanned on the way out and apparently the way I packed my flip flops into my suitcase made them appear menacing to the x-ray machine so I had to open up my suitcase for a manual search but even that was done quickly.

I'll learn more about Changi post-cruise as I've booked a room at the Changi Crowne Plaza for a night and will spend much of my disembarkation day exploring the airport more thoroughly.

Now to find some breakfast and start exploring Singapore.

I know Uber is ultra popular in Singapore but I opted to go with the cheap option of the City Shuttle for $9.

Would you know if the City Shuttle drops off at hotels along Orchard road?

I flew Delta for the legs from YYZ to ICN and Korean Air from ICN - SIN.

 

I didn't see much of Changi last night. Just a long walk from our gate to the arrivals area. I can say that at 0100hrs, the portions of the airport I was in were all pretty quiet.

 

Customs took all of 1 minute to clear and I waited for 5 minutes for my bag (and then missed it on its first pass on the carousel because I was texting a friend.)

 

You have to have your luggage scanned on the way out and apparently the way I packed my flip flops into my suitcase made them appear menacing to the x-ray machine so I had to open up my suitcase for a manual search but even that was done quickly.

 

I'll learn more about Changi post-cruise as I've booked a room at the Changi Crowne Plaza for a night and will spend much of my disembarkation day exploring the airport more thoroughly.

 

Now to find some breakfast and start exploring Singapore.

Okay, thank you for your information, and I'm sorry to hear about your menacing flip flops. Enjoy your pre-cruise activities, I can't wait to see pictures! :)

Well I made it. Managed to sleep for about half of the flight from ICN to SIN. Deplaned and had a nice walking tour of the Terminal 4 gates.

 

I've grown so used to US Customs preclearance being done at the airport in Canada that it came as a bit of a surprise when I had to clear Singapore customs upon arrival. But that was taken care of with a quick passport scan and my thumbprints. Now I have this little card that I need to keep with my passport and turn in when I leave Singapore. If I lose it, they probably won't let me leave.

 

It's 27 degrees and humid here. It's -10 degrees and snowing back home.

 

Maybe I should lose the card and see what happens. :)

 

(Kidding. I know I'll need the card to board the cruise. I'll lose the one I get AFTER the cruise).

 

I know Uber is ultra popular in Singapore but I opted to go with the cheap option of the City Shuttle for $9.

 

It's been a long, long journey to get here but I made it. Now to try to get a bit of sleep before taking a look around.

I feel tired just reading about your journey and I can only imagine how you feel! I look forward to travelling with you ..maybe one day I will find myself there and if so I will appreciate all the details and tips that you will be providing! Looking forward to it..!

I believe so. As far as I know, they will take you to any hotel in town.