Superstar Aquarius 5D4N cruise

Jes 4 Comments

[Revamped as there are quite a number of searches on this]
Went for a cruise holiday onboard the Superstar Aquarius. Due to the lack of information online for this trip, I decided that I will be kind and jot down all the details so that the next passenger can take into consideration.

Day 1: Singapore 
The faraway view of the cruise ship
Boarded the cruise at Harbourfront Centre, Level 1 near Lobby C. Depending on your budget, you could be sleeping in suites (luxury travel), outside view cabins (can enjoy your own balcony or portholes) or interior (for non-claustrophobic people). Cheapest cabin is the inside stateroom at deck 5 for only $648 on this 5D4N trip. That's what I got because I can go outside if I want to look at the sea. When you have successfully passed the immigration, cartoon characters and other mascots will greet you and gladly take a picture with you so that you will buy the pictures at $6.

After which, you can roam the ship and discover location of all the restaurants, casino (aka Star Club), arcade, photo gallery, swimming pool and jacuzzi. Or you can immediately go straight to any of the 4 free restaurants for lunch. Overall the standard of the food is pretty good and these restaurants are:

1) Mariners (International cuisine) - Mariners is a restaurant that you will have to go, since it is the only supper and high tea eating place. The food is more towards Chinese style, with the occasional treats like croissant and chicken wings. It is really quite nice, just that the dishes are mostly the same everyday.
2) Oceana (BBQ) - I personally like the Oceana, as I love alfresco dining and BBQ food especially the steak. They have ice cream for desserts too! 
3) Spices (Indian) - Spices is good for lunch, and you can gorge yourself with roti prata, naan, curry and others. Roti prata is the most popular and snapped up quite fast .
4) Dynasty (Western / Chinese) -  Formal clothes and covered shoes are needed for Dynasty and Star Club.The main course is not that fantastic but they have nice soup and pudding and great ambience. The bad deal is that I can't eat as much as I can since it's the only restaurant served Ala-Carte style instead of buffet. 


Alfresco dining at Oceana.. scrumptious!
At 2pm, there is a 'compulsory' safety training. Please take part in it especially if you are new to cruises, because I know many people will just ignore it and continue dining. Safety always comes first, and you can't be too careful about it. After which, it is free and easy, you could watch the TV and decide on your tour packages. One place you need to explore is the Aquarius lounge, as there are performances there, meet the captains session and movie screenings. It is also the gathering point for disembarkation.

 Day 2: Penang

I had the discipline to get up early at around 5am to try to catch a good sunset. Alas, it was too cloudy and made my efforts go to waste. Hope you will have better luck than me.

So cloudy how to watch the sunset?! 
Due to a tight budget, I opted out of all their tour packages and I am glad I did so. The shopping package brings you to shopping malls, not what I wanted, which is to go to local factories to buy their goodies. Don't fret, there will be many taxis waiting at the port. Luckily for me, there is a nice cabby who brings us around the good and cheap places and still introduce us to all the landmarks like a tour guide. Pretty cool huh. As usual, the tao sa pia (bean paste pastry) and beh teh soh (horse hoof biscuits) are snapped up to bring back and enjoy. 1 whole day of the cab ride cost around S$80 and you can ask for a fixed price prior to taking it.

Day 3: Phuket

The rows of buses waiting to bring us to our locations.
This time, I went on their tour package as it costs only S$25 to brings me to Wang Talang, a high end departmental store and Patong beach. The main aim is to head to Patong beach as it has a lot of cheap bargains, great for t-shirts, bags, accessories, singlets and shorts. 
An empty Patong beach is definitely not what you will see (Source: Wikipedia)
The locals will offer you an exorbitant price. Be straightforward and immediately cut to more than half its price and walk away if the price is not satisfactory. Most of the stalls sell roughly the same merchandise anyway. Most likely you can get it at half their initially stated price. I saw some foreigners didn't even bother to bargain as they think it's cheap enough, but bargaining is pretty fun. Get ready to sun tan and swim or you could try para-sailing, canoeing and Thai massage but don't forget the timing for the last bus.

Day 4: Port Klang
The view when you disembark...

No disembarking the ship this time as it is only for people alighting at KL. Basically you can have the whole day to yourself. It's fun to try out the jacuzzi and swimming pool. I also tried gambling in roulette and blackjack and lost $100 =( But it's pretty fun to learn all the games as there are empty tables everywhere. After which, I checked that the odds of winning the roulette is the lowest in the casino *gasp*  Good experience though, being all excited and feeling the heartache of throwing money away.

Day 5: Back to Singapore

The ship will reach at around 11am. Be sure to wake up early for the breakfast. Oh ya, I noticed a lot of young mixed race families on the cruise, and their children are really lovely. I did not see many locals there but more of other Asians who mainly go there to gamble.

That's the end of the cruise... sounds short and simple and bored, but I had great fun! I think it's a great family outing and very kids friendly. The best part is all the food is included in the cost and should be cheaper than a flight vacation.  Heard that Caribbean is much better so hope to try it next time!

Jes

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4 comments:

  1. mini G17 Feb 2015, 12:27:00

    Great write up Jes! I haven't been on a cruise since I was a kid, I was considering heading for one, but there really is a lack of info online. Thanks!

    I downloaded a Blackjack app and practised on my phone for 2 weeks before I went to Vegas. It really helps! I think BJ is one of the easier, straightforward games with good odds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jes17 Feb 2015, 17:20:00

      Hi GMGH,

      Thanks for the compliment! But this is done 5 years back.. I just added the pictures and I don't think the ship has changed much! Anyway, will be doing a review on Superstar Virgo soon... stay tuned.

      The live gambling with real chips and all the hand signals is quite exhilarating. It's hard to walk away with winnings but sounds like you won in Vegas! I hear baccarat is one of the games with the highest odds at 50:50. Be careful with your acronyms cos BJ can stand for other things hahahaha.

      Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year!

      Delete
  2. Lizardo20 Feb 2015, 21:08:00

    Virgo is a much bigger ship compared to Aquarius. Comes with more food and entertainment.

    Try Royal Carribean's Mariner of the Seas' "Grand Suites" one day. Lots more privileges and fun stuff to do on board. Breakfast in the room, roomy comfort with bathtub in the toilet, balcony to watch sunrise and sunset in comfort, private eating area in the restaurant, and a special lounge on Deck 14.

    p/s: Didn't they have those cute looking folded towels every night as well in your room?

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  3. Jes23 Feb 2015, 20:55:00

    Hi Lizardo,

    Happy goat year to you! I have tried Virgo but not Royal Carribean yet due to the price. Heart pain to pay $1k to board a ship but not tour somewhere exotic.

    Seems like you had quite the romantic cruise. I am sure my cruise will be a family affair to bring the parents and not the one that you had. But you made me so keen to try it out... hmm...

    P.S: Nope, no folded towels... probably because my rooms are the cheapest ones and not the premium kinds =P

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