Day 64: Singapore

Our last turnaround day of the season. 

Our last time in Singapore…at least for the foreseeable future. 

Our last cruise on the Sapphire Princess…ditto. 

Our 7th holiday cruise on Princess in the past eight years. 

Where in the world are we?

This day felt special from the moment I opened my eyes. Actually, that’s not quite true. I first opened my eyes when G jiggled my shoulder and told me to get up and do a breathing treatment because my chest was crackling when I breathed. So as soon as I was hooked up to that and started to wake up, this day felt special. This was the day we were finally going to get to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and maybe do the Singapore Flyer, the large wheel overlooking Singapore Harbour, like the big wheels we’ve been on in Melbourne and London. 

Well, it didn’t quite work out that way, but it was fantastic all the same. 

We weren’t in a rush to go to the Horizon Court Buffet for breakfast, because we know what a madhouse it is on disembarkation day morning…usually. Today, when we arrived there at 8:15am, it was nearly empty. In fact, we were soon the only ones left in there. I guess that made sense; most of the passengers on the last cruise walked on with their limited luggage, and just reversed the process today. Those 1100 guests from Singapore were probably already home doing laundry by that time. 

We claimed our passports for the final time this season, picked up the day bag from the cabin, and walked off the ship. The terminal was empty, with not a piece of luggage in sight. We went through Singapore immigration (what was it I said about not getting stamps in our passports?  They are so covered with stamps now that I’m happy we got the additional pages the last time we had them renewed), and, this time, knew exactly where to go to exit the terminal and walk to the public bus stop. We were even prepared with four Singapore $1 coins for the bus rides we intended to take. See, we figure things

out eventually. We are simply slow learners and it takes us a couple of times to feel like we know what we’re doing. ;-)

The 402 bus arrived within eight minutes, and we rode it just three stops to the Marina Bay Sands stop. From there we walked about 10-15 minutes directly to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Actually, as we walked past that large expo hall where we had spent so much time looking at running gear the day before the Singapore Marathon, G asked if I wouldn’t really rather go wander around in there for awhile. Haha. Today our focus was laser sharp.

The Sapphire Princess on the right st the Marina Bay Cruise Centre

Looking up at the 57-story tall Marina Bay Sands

The Singapore Flyer

Inside the hotel

For S$20 each, we bought a voucher worth the same amount for the Cé La Vi (their spelling) restaurant and bar on the top, the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. They were very clear what we were buying. We could sit down and have something to eat and drink , but not go to observatory deck, the outer edges of the floor on the harbor side of the hotel. For S$23, we could go to those areas, but there was no shade and no place to sit. We opted for the outdoor bar area, and were up there as soon as it opened, garnering us a table with an unblocked view.

Not coincidentally, the drinks were S$23 each, meaning that with our voucher we still had to pay an additional S$3 more (plus service charge plus tax) so we ended up paying just a little more than we would have for the observatory deck ticket. But we had shade and a seats and settled in to enjoy a Singapore Sling (me) and maitai (G). We got up and walked around a bit, too, taking photos from different vantage points and checking out the rooftop infinity pool and sky garden reserved only for hotel guests. It looked amazing, and G declared that, if we ever return, we’ll have to spend two nights there (maybe for our 40th anniversary…we’ll start saving now). ;-)

Gardens by the Bay

Singapore coastline

My first overpriced Singapore Sling ;-)

Paying for the view!

We sat there looking at the Singapore Flyer just below us and decided that we were more interested in having another overpriced drink at Cé La Vi than riding the big wheel, so we ordered another round and spent another 45 minutes reveling in the fact that we were on top of Singapore’s iconic hotel about to begin our final wonderful cruise of the season. When it came time to pay, we used our very last Singapore dollars and made up the small difference with a credit card. I did not want to get back on the ship with leftover local currency. That’s such a waste. I’d much rather just enjoy using it. 

My second overpriced Singapore Sling

(‘cause we had Singapore dollars to spend)


Infinity pool area and Sky Garden reserved for hotel guests only. Someday...

The view from the infinity pool

We backtracked then to the returning bus stop (and this time knew which side of the street it would be on). G was concerned because the sidewalk was under construction on that side of the street and he feared we’d have to walk with our back to traffic in the street to reach the bus stop, but oh no. This is Singapore. Not only was the construction area walled off, there was a clearly marked pedestrian detour to an adjacent walking trail, then another sign directing us back to the regular sidewalk with a sign saying “To the Bus Stop”. Because it’s Singapore, and that’s what they do here. Everything is pristine and organized and much of it is underground and air conditioned too. It’s quite an amazing place. 

My Citymapper app told us we had a 16 minute wait for the next bus, and would be delivered to the Marina Bay Cruise Center at exactly 2:48pm. We thought that might jeopardize our “seldom early, never late” standing on our last cruise of the season, but were through immigration and on the gangway at exactly 3pm. We needn’t have worried. The line of embarking passengers still going through immigration was long, and, when we ran into Customer Services Director Miguel on the gangway, he said he still had 600 passengers not yet on the ship. 

Most of the rest of the afternoon unfolded the way it generally does on turnaround days:  G decamped to a hot tub and I first washed out the clothes I wore today and hung them up to dry, then showered during the muster drill (which was running a little late). I did have to pay yet another visit to the Medical Center when it opened at 5pm. We had returned from breakfast this morning to find my nebulizer gone; only the mask and tubing remained. “Homer!” I yelled, with the urgency of someone whose life support was just cut off. Homer yelled back that he was there, then I just had to find which open cabin he was cleaning at that moment. I finally found him, and his first words were “I tried to stop him but he said he had to take it. I told him you still needed it, that you were still coughing and that you were on until Shanghai!”  I was so touched by his concern. I knew he’d know who took it; he would have had to let them into our cabin. He said it was a Medical Center steward, and I assured him I’d get it back this afternoon. And I did. I walked back down the corridor with it in my hand at 5:15pm and no one was happier to see it than Homer.

It is nice when doing back to back cruises to know exactly which table to go to for dinner. Waiter Joffrey is under the weather, and was replaced tonight with Hector from Mexico, who just came on board today. Lest you think I am playing Typhoid Mary and spreading my germs around the ship, I have never run a fever and was never quarantined, and, in fact, limited my coughing mostly to the cabin, spending most sea days there myself. 

The two tables for two near us in the Vivaldi Dining Room have been sparsely used since we reboarded the Sapphire Princess on 11/28, but are filled this cruise with a couple from San Francisco who have done this cruise in the past and are originally from China. He has travelled to these ports on business several times, and has already shared a wealth of information with us. The other couple is from Auckland. The nice thing about tables for two is we can talk or not, depending on our mood. 

Then we went to the Princess Theater to get seats for the 8pm performance of pianoman and vocalist Bradley McCaw. I know we’ve seen him in a previous year, and, if I had ample decent WiFi, would search my blog for his name. I’m guessing it was in Australia last year.

Cruise Director Marcus announced the passenger demographics for this cruise: we’re from 57 countries!  In a total change from every cruise so far in Asia but particularly the three day cruise, there are almost no passengers from Asia on board, and far fewer Asians from Australia, Canada and the US. Instead, there are many families from those countries and the UK, and fewer little kids than last cruise but more tweens and teens. I think it’s going to be a fun cruise. 

After the show, we did a quick run through of the Horizon Court Buffet (a bad habit we’ve picked up staying on the Lido Deck) and then went back to the cabin. We set clocks back one final time tonight, for Thailand and Vietnam, and, in addition, have a sea day tomorrow. 

Life is good. :-)

Day 51: Singapore

Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia.  It is home to 5.6 million people who enjoy one of the highest qualities of life in the world based on several indicators. It lies one degree (85 miles) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (50 square miles). The country is known for its transition from third world to first world in a single generation, under the leadership of its founding father, Lee Kuan Yew.

Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company. After the company's collapse in 1858, the islands were ceded to the British Raj as a crown colony. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Source: Wikipedia

Where in the world are we?

Singapore is under the blue pointer.

We were quite excited today to see Singapore with eyes that hadn’t just run full-out in Dubai and then flown overnight to boot. We were both so wiped out when we boarded the Sapphire Princess last turnaround that we didn’t remember the Marina Bay Cruise Center nor the area surrounding it.  In fact, G was surprised that we already had Singaporean dollars that I had gotten from an ATM at Singapore’s Changi Airport (I didn’t let on that, frankly, I was a little, too). ;-)

We braved the Horizon Court Buffet for breakfast, despite the fact that the madness of disembarkation day breakfast in the buffet is matched only by that of embarkation day lunch. We had received conflicting information about what time we could retrieve our passports this morning, and waited until the later of the two times to go to the Internet Cafe to collect them as well as the Singapore Landing Cards we needed to go through immigration. In the end, that probably worked in our favor. There were lines for Singapore immigration but not as long as they had been first thing this morning. 

Our goal for the day- well, actually, the first of our goals for the day, which turned out to be all we accomplished- was to explore the Marina Bay area, not far from the Marina Bay Cruise Center where the Sapphire Princess was berthed. But we weren’t certain if there were sidewalks in place to walk there (it was less than two miles away) and so decided to take a route 402 bus most of the way there. Singapore’s buses don’t give change, and we had gotten two SGD 50 notes from the ATM (worth about $37.50 US each) so the first thing we needed to do was get change. G bought a Mountain Dew at a shop in the port terminal, and though the 1 SGD notes he received in change were higher than the SGD 0.77 bus fare, we went with it. It was easy to realize we were already getting bogged down in starting our day. 

We watched as the bus drove toward the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The area was quite walkable, with sidewalks the entire way, but it was already very hot and humid, and I was glad we were on the bus. Once we got off, we still had a 10-15 minute walk to reach the Bayfront area. We were instantly struck by how clean Singapore is. Actually, Dubai was clean, Monaco was cleaner and Singapore is antiseptic. 

Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Singapore Flyer 

We walked along the Singapore River into a large mall (honestly, that entire area is full of malls, most of them underground connecting the major buildings, which makes sense given the heat). And there we kind of lost focus. The Singapore Marathon is being run this weekend, and in the convention hall attached to that mall was the race bib pick up location and huge expo featuring running gear and health and fitness clothing, accessories and nutrition. G is like a moth to a light with that sort of thing, and in we went. 

On the positive side, I did find a great gift for McGee, who is quite a runner.  I must remember that, because, on the downside, we spent a lot of time wandering around in that expo. If we had disembarked the Sapphire Princess today for good and were spending time post-cruise in Singapore, G would have competed in the 10K race tomorrow. Because of course he would have. 

Panorama view of Singapore Bayfront area

It was well after noon when we emerged from that expo hall, and crossed the street (at a marked crosswalk; jaywalking is NOT allowed in Singapore!) to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. This hotel is notable for its three separate angled towers topped with a large connecting horizontal bridge that houses an observation deck, restaurants, garden and pool. Our original intention had been to purchase tickets to go to the top of the observation deck (the hotel is something like 58 stories high) or have a drink or lunch at the restaurant up there, but by the time we figured out where to go to do that, it was after 1pm. We had to be back in the ship by 3pm, and had to go through Singapore immigration again before we did, so it wasn’t worth going to the top of the hotel today. Maybe another day, if we could stay very focused, we could do that plus ride the giant wheel called the Singapore Flyer (like the London Eye and the one in Melbourne, Australia) in one day. Especially now that we know a bit more about how to get around, I think that’s doable. 

Inside one tower of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Heliconia rostrata

Instead we had a snack at a café on the ground floor of the hotel, and then walked the fifteen or so minutes back to a bus stop to catch the 402 back to the ship. Even that simple thing left us frought with indecision. Singapore drives on the left side of the road (based on its British colonial history). There was a four lane wide road going one way, separated by a park from a four lane road going the other way. On which side of that four lane, one way road would you think the bus stop was located? We made a guess, which turned out to be wrong and ended up jaywalking to get back on the correct side. 

That Singaporean learning curve is a steep one!

Once back at the cruise terminal, we still had to get past the check in counters before we faced immigration. Luckily, there was a separate, slightly shorter line for in transit guests, but it was still nearly 3pm by the time we stepped back on the ship. The muster drill announcement was our cue to take showers and dress for dinner, and we went up to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers to watch sail away from Deck 18. We had missed that altogether last embarkation day. G had been unpacking and I…was sleeping. 

It was nice to go to dinner at 5:30pm at the same table with the same waiters and headwaiter. Joffrey (from the Philippines) and his assistant Yisi (pronounced EZ, from China) are fantastic, and our few special requests are already in place when we arrive. Tonight’s entertainment was an acrobatic duo from Russia. We had missed their show last cruise (it had been on Most Traveled Guest cocktail party night), so I was happy to get another chance to see it. Their show was very unusual and impressive and we enjoyed it. 

And after the show, we returned to the cabin where G was asleep in less than a minute. It’s easy to be discouraged by our lack of stamina, but we find the intense heat and humidity of these Southeast Asia ports to be draining. We walked over 18000 steps today, most of them in that heat, and it takes a toll. 

But we have another sea day tomorrow, and I will have a laser-like focus on just two things: rest and reading.  

Day 40: Dubai to Singapore

It was wonderful to turn the alarm off last night and allow ourselves to sleep until we woke up naturally. For me, that was around 7am, and I took advantage of my quiet time to write blog posts. By 9am or so we were at our final breakfast at The Palace Downtown, and that was truly a sad realization. Our breakfasts have been our biggest meals of the day, and kept us going right until dinner. 

Today, our three waiters surprised us with a slice of cake, big smiles and hugs to say goodbye. The service level at this property was the best we’ve ever experienced. We are so completely happy with how we spent our time in Dubai and also with where we stayed. If we ever go again, we’d stay at the same place, but since that was a once in a lifetime experience…well, I’m not holding my breath. 

One final Burj Khalifa view breakfast

Breakfast, round 1

Our wonderfully fantastic, attentive and very, very sweet team of waiters surprised us with a farewell cake. We’re totally spoiled, but it’s their fault! :-) 

Breakfast, round 2

Those weird fruits are passion fruit

We sat out by the pool until noon, then headed inside to pack. We had gotten late check out since our flight to Singapore wasn’t until 8pm. We also wanted to update apps and download videos before we lost our super high speed WiFi. So one of us at a time sat on the bed and did that, and the other packed, and then we switched.  

Surprise of surprises, there were fountain shows at 1pm and 2 pm. We didn’t expect that, and had never before been in our room at that time of day. It was a very nice last memory to have of the hotel and our Dubai adventure.

A fountain show in the afternoon. Who knew?

Packing up with a view. Life is good. :-)

At 2pm we stored our luggage at the bell desk and walked over to the Dubai Mall to use one last benefit of our HOHO bus experience: free admission to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, both located at the mall. Since this was free with a 3-day City Sightseeing HOHO pass, I wasn’t expecting much, but it was quite good. The lighting was all wrong for photos (too many reflections on the glass), but aquarium tunnels are always cool and we saw several divers in the tanks, too. 

Aquarium tunnel

Spotted ray

Michigan colored coral. Some slight consolation after Saturday’s game. :-(

Whatever this is, it’s a big one!

Still, seeing the Aquarium was not without its challenges. We had walked by it at least once a day every day since we arrived in Dubai, and kept saying, “We’ll leave that for the last day after we check out of our room”. Do you think we could find it today?  It took us wandering at least 20 minutes and asking 3 people for assistance to finally reach it. Then, walking back to The Palace Downtown, we took a wrong turn in the Souk Al Bahar and ended up in an area we’d never before seen. Honestly, we asked security guards for directions to the hotel so many times over the days we were there that they would recognize us and simply point. “That way”. 

Lost again, we saw a part of the Souk Al Bahar we’d never before wandered through. 

It took awhile but we made it back to our hotel, reclaimed our luggage and were preparing to order an Uber when a waiting Lexus offered to take us to the airport for even less than Uber had cost us. We were in it and on our way in no time, and arrived at the airport with time to spare, which we filled with people watching. People watching in the International Terminal at Dubai’s airport is nothing short of fascinating. 

Finally we were through security, and I spent our last dirhams for mints for Singapore (no gum there) and snacks. The guys in the store were great, asking me how much I had to spend (45 dirhams, about $12) and then showing me different things to maximize their value. Finally, they threw in a candy bar that G ate on the plane, and the dirhams were gone. 

I took an Ambien before I got on the plane, took my contacts out, and I barely remember my meal. We had sprung for Economy Plus seats, because on Singapore Air, that gave us a special menu, a leg rest and a seat that reclines more. That, plus the Ambien did what I hoped, and I slept about 5 hours (the flight was about 7 hours long), giving me hope that I’d make it through the day without a nap. (Edited later: haha, I napped all day.)

Next stop:  Singapore!