Journey to the Center of the Earth: An Asian Cruising Tale

[ARandomTraveler]

It's boarding day, 8:45am on the other side of the world, and I'm sitting in a lounge chair under the sun at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, on top of the equator in Singapore. In about an hour we'll head to the Spectrum of the Seas for a 12 day cruise. We'll stop at Vietnam, Hong Kong (overnight), Taiwan, and 2 stops in Japan before debarking in Tokyo, where we'll spend another couple weeks before flying back home to the United States.

 

This trip is just me and my daughter (21), and was originally planned for the summer after her high school graduation in 2020. That trip would have been a shorter 4 day cruise, so this is actually a better trip (12 day cruise), so it worked out. 

 

We booked a balcony room 10 months in advance. This ship (Spectrum of the Seas) is a little different from other Royal Caribbean ships. They separate the ship into suite and non-suite sections. But the entry-level price to get into a suite had a starting price of $8,800 PER PERSON, which I wasn't willing to pay. I don't generally care about the suite perks, but for a 12 day cruise, the space of a junior suite would have been nice, but wasn't worth the extra money to me because I'd be spending extra on some other things. I got a good deal on the room $4,600 total. A month after I booked it, it went up to over $6,500 and continued to go up from there. 

 

We have the unlimited dining package (purchased for $419.99/person, but if I had bought it sooner it would have been $319.99), even though the free food on this ship looks delicious (the menu on this ship is different than other ships). I originally booked some specialty restaurants individually, but ultimately decided to just go ahead and book the unlimited package just to have the option to eat wherever we want, and juuuuust in case the food quality wasn't as good as it looks.

 

We also have the refreshment drink package (purchased for $24.99/day). I had booked the alcohol package for $43.99/day but canceled it because I know we won't drink our moneys worth, even at that low price. 

 

We each have 4 treatments at the spa booked throughout the week, and a couple excursions. There's only 1 show on board to pre-book, so I did that.

 

We had to get visas for Vietnam, but didn't need visas for any other countries. The ship does not get the visa for you, but if you didn't get one, or were denied a visa, you can still board the ship, you just can't get off in Vietnam. 

 

We had a hell of a time getting here, and I'm nothing but thankful that we made it. We left the United States on Wednesday, with 23 hours of travel time ahead of us. A 2 and a half hour flight from Denver International Airport to LAX, a 2 hour and 59 min layover in LAX, then a 17hour and 10Min flight from LAX to SIN (Singapore). Our flight to LAX was delayed 3hrs and 5 min (making it so we'd arrive 6 minutes after our flight to Singapore had already taken off). 

 

Once we were notified that we wouldn't make it to LAX on time, I spent 2 hours in a customer service line for United airlines, and never got anywhere close to the front of the line. I tried calling Singapore airlines and got no help there either. I then talked to the United Airlines gate agent, and asked him what we should do (should we stay in denver and rebook the whole trip, should we fly to LAX and rebook the Singapore leg etc). The agent said he canceled our Singapore flight because we weren't going to make it anyway, and told us to board the LA flight and take care of rebooking the Singapore flight in LA. I asked him to rebook my Singapore flight, because I didn't want anything getting messed up, just in case we could make it in time to catch our flight. He rebooked it, but did it incorrectly, and the $8,800 plane tickets I purchased 8 months in advance were rebooked as $1,000 economy class tickets. I was pissed. I asked him to fix it, and he didn't have time because the flight was boarding, and he reiterated, "you're not gonna make it anyway."

 

Well - we landed on LAX with 20 minutes before our Singapore flight took off. My daughter and I did a really rude thing and got up from our seats while the plane was still moving, and walked to the front of the plane so we could take off running as soon as the doors opened. We each had a 30 pound backpack to carry, and we ran a mile from terminal 7 to the international terminal in 12 minutes (Google maps said it would take 27min). The signage said the flight was closed, but they let us board anyway. 

 

However, the Singapore airlines gate agents wouldn't allow us to board unless we turned in our paper boarding passes with our original PAID FOR seat assignments on them, and traded them in for the new economy seats that the United airlines guy booked for us. Despite showing them our receipts and despite the fact that our boarding passes had been printed that same day at DIA, they refused to let us board, so we just handed them over because it wasn't worth missing the flight (I've issued a credit card dispute for a refund and will deal with that later). 4 other people from our connecting flight missed the Singapore flight and got left behind, and the next flight available to rebook wasn't for 2 more days. I hope they made it. 

 

We landed in Singapore on Friday morning, but our luggage didn't make it. There wasn't enough time for the bags to be unloaded from one plane and brought to the other, and since the United Airlines guy canceled our original flight, there was no longer a record of us being on a plane to Singapore, so our bags sat in LAX purgatory with nowhere to go. I had my mom call from the US and get them tracked down (thank god we saved the barcodes from our luggage tags!). LAX said they only found my daughters bag and put it on a plane. Mine was never "found," but I keep an Apple AirTag in my luggage at all times, and could see it was sitting on the tarmac at LAX. It appeared that it must have been loaded onto a plane because the location stopped updating, so I crossed my fingers.

 

In the meantime, we made a lost luggage claim in Singapore, they gave us $240 Singapore dollars and said they'd deliver our bags to our hotel if they were ever found. I also get a $100/person per day delayed luggage allowance from my travel insurance. I was just happy to have made it. If I had to buy a couple outfits to make it through the trip, that was better than missing it altogether. We each bought an outfit to get through the day (we had worn pants and jackets on the plane because we get cold, and it was 88 degrees with 83% humidity here in Singapore).  Our luggage arrived at the hotel on Saturday morning. Thank you!!!! 
 

We've had a great time here in Singapore. The food is delicious, so flavorful, and so cheap!! We're eating dinner for $4-$7/person at the hawker stalls (buffet breakfast at the hotel is $127 though 😂). I 100% recommend spending the extra money to stay at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel if you can swing it. I've never experienced such great service, such intricate attention to every detail; it's truly amazing. We're right in the heart of everything. But bring your walking shoes. 
 

That's about it for now. Will update periodically if I remember. Bon Voyage! 

Edited July 31, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[Missusdubbya]

Looking forward to any updates, and glad you have your luggage!

[perfect match]

What a crazy start to your cruise! I’m glad it wasn’t me trying to make that run! 😱 Glad you made your flight to Singapore, and that your bags managed to catch up to you there. I’m looking forward to following you and your daughter on Spectrum. 🛳️😎

[sgmn]

Really interested in following your trip.  I use to live in Singapore as a child and we were meant to be going back in March 2020 but of course that didn't happen.

Did you get time to sightsee in SIN ?

Bad luck with the delayed flights (every travellers nightmare)  and well done on defying the odds and making the connection. Glad you got your luggage 👍

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip

Edited July 31, 2023 by sgmn

[SquishTheWhale]

I'm exhausted just reading about your travel day!

But also as a former flight attendant I'm cringing at you getting up and walking around the plane while it's still moving. No no no those rules are there for a reason, and the reason is your safety. But anyway. The Marina Bay Sands is on my bucket list so this whole trip sounds amazing.

[gfargo53]

the hard part is over the rest of your vacation should be a breeze

[mugtech]

Booked on Spectrum next March for a 3 day in Singapore before flying back to Bethlehem, PA via Saudi Arabian Airlines with an 8 hour layover in Saudi Arabia.  My wife and I each have 77 C&A points, very interested to check out the food on Spectrum.  We also have been to Singapore 3 times previously, love those imported mangoes from Thailand.

[ARandomTraveler]

It's now Tuesday morning here on the ship (still Monday evening in the United States). 
 

Getting onto the ship yesterday was a longer-than-normal process due to all of the different immigration and visa lines everyone had to go through. We had an 11:30am check-in time, but arrived to the port early at 10:51am. We were able to get in line right away, and there weren't a ton of people there yet, but it still took us an hour and 11 minutes to get onto the ship.

 

When you go through the first line, they ask you what country your passport is from, and then put different colored stickers on your shirt to signal which visa lines you have to go through. United States citizens only need a visa for Vietnam. Part of the instructions we received before our trip were to print out 2 copies of the visa, and 3 copies of our passports. Of course there were plenty of people who didn't do that, so there was a line for people who needed to print. 
 

Then you go to another line where you show your passport, set sail pass, visas etc. That line took the longest. The family next to us did their paperwork incorrectly and were being told they would not be allowed to disembark in Taiwan or Vietnam. 
 

After that you go through immigration to leave Singapore (just like if you were at the airport). Then off to the sitting area where you wait to be let onto the ship. 
 

Right before you walk onto the ship, they take your passports. As we scanned our set sail passes to walk onto the ship, another family of 5 was pulled aside and told they were being denied boarding. I didn't catch why, but they were quietly turned around and walked off the ship. I can't imagine how they got so far through the process before being denied boarding. 
 

Once we got onto the ship I felt a lot of relief because there were so many check points where something could have gone wrong. We went upstairs to wonderland to book our specialty dining. With 12 nights and 6 sea days we had 18 reservations to book. There were 2 people ahead of us, and it took each of us about 15-20 minutes to book dining, so it was an hour long process. They said there are 190 unlimited dining packages, and a little over 300 5-night and 3-night packages, so they expect all of the reservation times to fill up. But we were able to get our first choice for everything. 
 

Next we went to the MDR for a buffet lunch (I don't remember all the options but I got white fish, chicken and fried rice). Then off to the spa for a massage. 
 

Dinner was at the Hot Pot restaurant, very good!! Way too much food, but all excellent. They give you unlimited white fish, salmon, shrimp, beef, lamb and all the other fillers (noodles, potatoes, veggies etc). 
 

We still haven't completely adjusted to the time change so we went to bed early (around 8:30pm) and woke up at 5am. Went to the gym and it was already packed full. Completely worthless gym on this ship. It's very small and no ventilation. The windows were fogged up and everything was dripping wet, floors were slippery. It smelled, just all around gross. I did what I could with some free weights in the yoga room, then went outside to run a couple miles. The running track was full of walkers who spread out across the whole track. Very frustrating, but at least I got in some activity. 
 

Then off to the windjammer for breakfast. Much different food offerings; lots of savory items that I would normally think of as dinner foods (noodles, friend rice, carved ham, vegetables etc), but they also had an "international foods" section that had eggs Benedict (made with scrambled eggs), bacon, pastries etc). There's also lots of really delicious fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, pancakes etc. 

 

The ship was sold out, but there doesn't seem to be many people on the ship. I guess everyone is spread out well. There's tons of seating on the pool deck. The pink "hold that thought" signs are attached to the loungers to remind people not to chair hoard, but there doesn't seem to be a problem with that anyway. 
 

So far everyone on this ship seems very well behaved. Maybe it's because there aren't very many children (from what I can see), and the ones who are here seem very well behaved. 
 

Everyone on the ship speaks English. Signs are in English and Chinese. Announcements are in english. There are no wristband key cards. Despite the website saying they're available on this ship, nobody seems to have heard of them. But since they also don't seem to have gotten the memo about decreased service and decreased food quality, I won't complain. This ship is great. Exceptionally clean, there's not a speck of dirt, not a piece of trash, not a dirty dish to be seen anywhere. 
 

Oh, there's also no freestyle machines (I knew there wouldn't be, but just confirming for anyone who might be wondering). Not a lot of soda options either, just coke, sprite, ginger ale and tonic water. And all less sweet than we're used to in the States because they don't use corn syrup out here. There's a tea shop on board, as well as a French cafe that also makes espresso drinks (and the employees there are wearing name tags that say Starbucks), there's cafe 270, and I think at least one other place I saw that makes espresso and tea drinks. All are included in the ultimate and refreshment drink packages. 

[ARandomTraveler]

[ARandomTraveler]

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Edited August 1, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[ARandomTraveler]

21 hours ago, sgmn said:

Really interested in following your trip.  I use to live in Singapore as a child and we were meant to be going back in March 2020 but of course that didn't happen.

Did you get time to sightsee in SIN ?

Bad luck with the delayed flights (every travellers nightmare)  and well done on defying the odds and making the connection. Glad you got your luggage 👍

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip

We didn't do as much sightseeing as I expected to do. We did a ton of walking around the marina Bay Area, and of course lots of walking through the underground mall, and to the hawker stalls to eat. We went to gardens by the bay, and a couple museums. We had intended to visit China town and little India, and Sentosa beach and Raffles hotel, but as just got too tired and never made it. I guess we'll have to go back. 

[Ashland]

This is all very interesting. We've sailed out of Singapore on RCI and the ship automatically got the Vietnam visa's for everyone onboard so I guess that has changed.

 

Sorry you didn't know about the night time best satay at Lau Pa Sat (google) they open at 4:00pm when they close down the street. Best satay ever !!! Next time.

[Haoie]

A very insightful look into Asian cruising. Looking forward to reading the rest. Enjoy the trip!

[ARandomTraveler]

8 minutes ago, Ashland said:

This is all very interesting. We've sailed out of Singapore on RCI and the ship automatically got the Vietnam visa's for everyone onboard so I guess that has changed.

 

Sorry you didn't know about the night time best satay at Lau Pa Sat (google) they open at 4:00pm when they close down the street. Best satay ever !!! Next time.

Oh I did go to the nighttime satay BBQ, that was fabulous!!! I'm not sure why they don't do the visas anymore. They did leave notes about which passports they'll be getting stamped on our behalf though.

 

[Ashland]

4 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Oh I did go to the nighttime satay BBQ, that was fabulous!!! I'm not sure why they don't do the visas anymore. They did leave notes about which passports they'll be getting stamped on our behalf though.

 

It was so yummy we went back two nights during our pre-cruise.

[little britain]

Great start! We priced up this cruise when it first went on sale and I’m sure it was $2400 for 2 in a balcony! Should have booked!!!

Instead we are on her for just 5n next February. 

Is Hot Pot an included restaurant? 
Will be interesting to know the loyalty numbers on board?

Thanks 

[bonsai3s]

On 8/1/2023 at 3:10 PM, little britain said:

Great start! We priced up this cruise when it first went on sale and I’m sure it was $2400 for 2 in a balcony! Should have booked!!!

Instead we are on her for just 5n next February. 

Is Hot Pot an included restaurant? 
Will be interesting to know the loyalty numbers on board?

Thanks 

* ARandomTraveler...hope you don't mind me answering.

 

LB, 

Hot Pot is not an included restaurant. It's $41.29 per person (18% gratuity included). 

 

 

[ARandomTraveler]

7 hours ago, little britain said:

Great start! We priced up this cruise when it first went on sale and I’m sure it was $2400 for 2 in a balcony! Should have booked!!!

Instead we are on her for just 5n next February. 

Is Hot Pot an included restaurant? 
Will be interesting to know the loyalty numbers on board?

Thanks 

 

6 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

* ARandomTraveler...hope you don't mind me answering.

 

LB, 

Hot Pot is not an included restaurant. It's $41.29 per person (18% gratuity included). 

 

 

No problem bonsai, thanks for answering.
 

@little britain I saw a cheaper price the month before I booked as well, it was around $1800/person, not as cheap as what you saw, but $1,000 less than I paid. Apparently this was the first sailing doing the 12-day Singapore-Japan route so I think it was popular. I've seen the prices for the October sailing and they're a lot cheaper.

 

Not sure what the loyalty numbers are, I missed the Day 1 cruise compass. Is there another place I can find that info?

 

I did see on todays cruise compass that they're changing to once a day stateroom

cleaning. I don't know if it literally started today, or if my stateroom attendant has just been doing twice a day service for some reason, but we've had the bed made twice yesterday and today. 
 

The casino is non-smoking. The cruise compass says that all indoor spaces are smoke free, and I also walked through the casino tonight and not a cigarette anywhere, so nice! I'll plan to do some gambling on the next sea day. 

[bonsai3s]

Loyalty numbers should be announced during the Top Tier events...2 scheduled for this sailing...Day 4 and Day 7, 11am, Two70°.

 

JS and above still gets 2 a day stateroom cleaning.

[MJSailors]

Hoping the cruise is less stressful , more relaxing and worth all the travails you faced in reaching Singapore.

Such travel hurdles involved in a trip such as you undertook makes that kind of travel daunting for 70+ people.

Thank you for being candid about your travels so far.

MJ

[Ashland]

You can get the loyalty numbers from the concierge, loyalty ambassador or ask at guest services.

[ARandomTraveler]

6 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Loyalty numbers should be announced during the Top Tier events...2 scheduled for this sailing...Day 4 and Day 7, 11am, Two70°.

 

JS and above still gets 2 a day stateroom cleaning.

 

4 hours ago, Ashland said:

You can get the loyalty numbers from the concierge, loyalty ambassador or ask at guest services.

Thanks - I'll try to make it to the loyalty event tomorrow (day 4) or I'll ask one of those people when we get back from our port day today if I remember. 

[ARandomTraveler]

6 hours ago, MJSailors said:

Hoping the cruise is less stressful , more relaxing and worth all the travails you faced in reaching Singapore.

Such travel hurdles involved in a trip such as you undertook makes that kind of travel daunting for 70+ people.

Thank you for being candid about your travels so far.

MJ

Yes it's definitely the kind of trip you have to be very diligent about planning and keeping track of everything. And the travel part alone can end up very stressful. I guess that's why there aren't very many people from the US side of the world on this cruise. So far we've only met 2 people from Canada and 2 people from Boston. Everyone else has been from Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The woman who gave me my massage said there are 1,000 US citizens on board, but we have yet to find them. 
 

The people we met last night from Boston had an even worse travel experience than we did. Their connecting flight was delayed and they actually missed their flight to Singapore, and because there were no other flights to get them there for 2 days, they had to be Re-routed. They had to fly to Qatar and stay overnight, then fly to Malaysia, then to Singapore, and they arrived a day late. Their airline also gave them nothing for the hassle (Qatar airlines). 
 

It's a very expensive and difficult trip to plan, but so far, now that we've made it, we're very happy to be having this experience. It's very unique and interesting. Our ship is beautiful. And the seas are surprisingly calm so far. I tend to get sea sick and assumed that being in the South China Sea would make for a rough sailing, but it feels like we've been sailing on glass the whole time. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[Biker19]

42 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I'll ask one of those people when we get back from our port day today

While asking for C&A numbers, ask for the total as well.

[Crism]

Loving this review and can't wait for more. I've got Spectrum in February for the 9 night. I can't wait to eat my way through the Hawker stalls. I'll be rolling ON to the ship!

 

Were you allowed to get the one time eVisa for Vietnam or did they require a full Visa? From what I've read the eVisa should be ok because they have you arriving at the first port and leaving at the last if there are no other countries in beyween. Nothing's been published from Royal yet this far out. We were supposed to do the Royal onboard Visas back in Feb 2020, but it cancelled.