Is it better the second time around? A definite YES if it's a sea cruise.
Please don't take my word for it. I am totally biased.
I became a big fan after my first cruise on board P & O's Arcadia from Sydney to Hong Kong in March last year.
Truth be told, I shouldn't be going on this trip at all.
I had already paid for another P & O cruise from Southampton to St Petersburg on June 4, so going on this trip on March 30 would be cutting it real close.
However, when two former Star colleagues, Teh Eng Huat and Leow Kim Pu, invited us to join them on this cruise, I agreed to it immediately.
What can I say? I am easily tempted.
It helped that the price for this 10-night cruise from Singapore to Shanghai was a bargain. I did not have to check. If my two Penang friends say it is cheap, it is good enough for me.
Plus it stopped in two places I am fascinated with, Ho Chi Minh city and Shanghai.
I have never been to China at all, so this is a first and important step for me. This cruise was special for me as we were setting sail on my birthday. So happy birthday to me!
Everything is bigger on this cruise on board the Royal Carribbean's Mariner of the Seas. This ship is 14 storeys high and can carry 3,114 passengers compared to the Arcadia which is 12 storeys and can accommodate 2,094.
There were only three of us on the first trip, me, my wife and my brother James.
The eight members of Table 734 with Reduan (2nd from left) and Putu. Standing (from left) Teh, Leow, Michael and Chuan. Seated (from left) Ong, Helen, Geh and Ean -- Photo courtesy of TEH ENG HUAT
Mariner of the Seas
Ho Chi Minh city
Nha Trang
Okinawa
Shanghai
ALL ABOARD ... Mariner of the Seas departing Singapore
Now, there are eight of us -- me and my wife, Teh and his wife Ong, Leow and his wife Helen and Helen's brother and wife.
Safety in numbers, right? I am not always fully alert to announcements and situations, so I am glad to have Teh and Leow around.
All of us are from Penang and during the entire trip we have strangers approaching us because they hear us speaking Hokkien. Penang "lang" (folks).
The passengers on the Mariner were also a mixed group, with the Aussies making up the biggest group, folllowed by the British and Malaysians fielding a strong third at about 400 passengers. The rest were made up of Chinese, Americans, Canadians, Germans and Irish.
With such a big group of Malaysians on board, you are definitely going to bump into someone you know.
I met my old friend, Deng, who used to run the Sony shop in SS2. I am a big Sony fan, so i bought a few products from him over the years.
Teh recognised a Mr Ng who sold medical insurance to Star execs in the past.
The atmosphere on a cruise is such that everyone is friendly and are willing to share their travel experiences.
The passengers were so different from those on our first cruise. The three of us stood out like sore
thumbs then because we were the only non kwai los on board. And we, in our 60s, were the youngest as the average age there was about 75. There were also children on this second cruise whereas it was "adults only" on the Arcadia.
However, to be fair to the children, they were very well behaved. There was only one occasion when a little boy was throwing a tantrum and bawling non-stop.
So there are facilities like a video arcade and a section on Deck 12 where they can play games such as hop scotch, tic tac toe and checkers, all of which are painted on the ground.
The trip started off very well. Leow's friends in Singapore met us at Changi airport and insisted on paying for a chartered van to take us to the cruise terminal on Marina Bay pier. Saved us S$60. That's almost RM190, which is a lot for this bunch of Penangnites. My, how the ringgit has fallen!
As in all cruises, you have to surrender your passport and you will be issued the all-important SeaPass card. It does everything for you, from opening your cabin door to paying for all purchases made on the ship. You need it to get off the ship, and gain entry to the countries on the ship's route.
It also indicates where you have to gather in case of an emergency. Ours is at B5 on Deck 4.
More important, it tells you where you will sit for dinner. We were allocated Table 730 at the Sound of Music dining room on Deck 5. Passengers are divided into 2 groups, and we were given the second session at 8pm.
As we checked in separately, we were assigned different tables, on different decks.
Not to worry. Teh talked to a Mexican head waiter who did a bit of shuffling around and finally all 8 of us were grouped together at Table 734.
We received excellent service from Indonesian waiter Reduan and assistant waiter Putu from Bali. They often sneaked us extra helpings and were thoroughly entertaining.
Two scoops of ice cream? No problem, pak!
Of course, we were also free to have our dinner anywhere else on the ship.
Throughout the journey, we were enticed with special offers at specialty restaurants from roving "waiter salesmen"
We realised we have to pay for them, so we politely turned down their offers.
The free alternative is buffet style dinner at Windjammer on Deck 11, which we patronised quite often.
There is no reserved table for breakfast. It's first come first served. The whole group has to turn up at the Rhapsody in Blue Dining Room on Deck 3 and you will be allocated a table and be served.
Most mornings, we head towards Deck 11 for the "free for all" breakfast.
Why am I talking so much on food? That's because it takes up a lot of your time on the cruise. We eat and eat. And drink.
On this ship, the Royal Promenade on Deck 5 is the most popular place. For food, shopping, socialising and a place to lepak.
There is a cafe there which opens 24 hours. Coffee and tea are free flowing. Take all the snacks you want until 3am.
If you want the stronger stuff, the Wig and Gavel Pub is a short walk away. Some kwai los are permanently parked there. Or you can go to any of the 16 other bars, clubs or lounges throughout the ship.
Relaxing at Cafe Promenade on Deck 5
Bus ride into Ho Chi Minh city
The beautiful shoreline of Cam Ranh Bay, the port of Nha Trang
Bus ride into Nha Trang
Deck 5 is where you have all the shops selling luxury watches, handbags, clothes and cosmetics.
There are bargains on display outside these shops and the discounts get bigger every day. But the prices are all quoted in US$. I saw a branded T shirt going for a bargain price of US$120. That's almost RM530. No thanks!
Or you may prefer breakfast or dinner in bed. Just dial for room service. It's free. You only have to pay a small service charge of US$3.95 (RM17) if you order snacks between midnight and 5am.
It's all about spoiling yourself on a cruise.
For that, we have cabin steward, Moh, also an Indonesian. I don't know what his last name is but i think his middle name must be service.
He took very good care of all eight of us on Deck 9.
Our first order of business was to book shore excursions at the four ports of call -- Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hong Kong and Okinawa.
We had left it too late, so one of the packages we picked, Panoramic of Ho Chi Minh City (priced at US$59.75), was all sold out. So we had to settle for Saigon On Your Own. This means a bus will take us from Phu My port to a drop-off point in the city, and pick us up at a scheduled time later. A guide will give you a running commentary and answer questions you may have during the 1.5-hour bus ride into the city. For that we have to pay US$55.75 each (RM245).
The only guided package we bought was for Nha Trang, costing us US$59.75 each (RM263).
We had to buy a Hong Kong On Your Own package because the ship docks at the Kai Tak cruise terminal, and not at Harbour City. For that return bus package, we had to pay US$35.75 (RM157) each.
The Okinawa tour package was US$99 each (RM435), way too much for our liking. We decided we would walk from the Naha cruise terminal to the city. Lucky for us, it is only a 15-minute walk.
Wifi is ridiculously expensive on board, so these ports of call are important as a source of free wifi to check on our email and WhatsApp.
Calm and blue seas during most parts of the journey ...
... but rough seas in some stretches
This cruise was supposed to help me relax because I was scheduled for a stress test two days after I return to Malaysia. My doctor suspected I may have a new blockage after looking at my ecg. So the test was to determine whether I have do another angioplasty.
I think the greatest therapy is to relax on a deck chair, reading a book. I did that a number of times.
I also made it a point to get up early every day to see the sunrise. It takes my breath away every time.
On this trip, I have added a new ritual. Sleeping under the stars on Deck 12.
Back to nature, so to speak. You get a natural high! Oh, I sound so much like a city boy, don't I?
Maybe I became so relaxed that I did not go for my daily treadmill exercise this time.
I did go for morning walks twice. Ten rounds on the jogging track on Deck 12 is the equivalent of 2 miles.
This is what happens when I don't have the company of a good role model like my brother James who would faithfully stick to his exercise ritual.
We did have a bit of good luck during this trip. The 6 Star colleagues decided to try our luck at the casino. Each of us put in US$10 and Teh's wife Ong played on our behalf at the roulette table. We won US$380.
We should have left it at that. Instead we wanted to test our luck again two days before arriving in Shanghai.
This time there were only the four of us (Teh and wife, me and wife). Each couple put in US$50. No luck this time but overall, each couple still made US$50.
Lucky Leow and Helen. They get to keep their US$100 winnings. Who knows what will happen if Leow and Helen had shown up that night? Our luck may have changed. Or as they say, it could go either way.
The shore excursions were fun.
I wanted so much to see the Reunification Palace and the Notre Dam Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh city but we simply did not have the time.
There's no point rushing through these two places, so I guess I have to come back here again, and stay for at least 3 days.
The ladies went shopping at Saigon Square, with special emphasis on bags and shoes.
How can you come to Vietnam and not try its famous Pho noodles.
Our guide told us about the local fast food chain, Pho 24, so we tried looking for it. We gave up after encountering a number of dead ends. Finally, we settled for another noodles shop at a shopping mall.
And just as we were about to leave the complex, we saw the shop.
So how? Eat again lah.
Banh Mi, their giant hot dog, is another popular Vietnamese food.
We did not have time for it in Ho Chi Minh city but we had it at a street food plaza in our next stop, Nha Trang.
The giant Buddha statue at Long Son Pagoda -- Photo by TEH ENG HUAT
We were taken to the few tourist attractions in a bus in Nha Trang but rain spoiled it for us.
I saw the Po Nagar Cha Towers only from a distance as I did not want to risk climbing up the hill in this type of weather.
I also decided to skip the climb up the Trai Thuy hill to see the 24-metre tall Buddha statue at the Long Son Pagoda. I was also not fit enough for the climb.
Teh managed to climb all the way to the top. It must be awesome sight.
However I did enjoy our visit to the XQ Silk Hand Embroidery Picture centre. The embroidery pieces were simply exquisite.
In Hong Kong, I took charge as I am more familiar with this place.
First, I took them on the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side to Admiralty on the island, explaining to them that they were going across in a tunnel underwater.
Next, I let them experience a ride on a tram (ding ding) to Causeway Bay. It's then back to MTR for the ride to Ladies Market in Mong Kok.
And how can you be in Hong Kong and not eat roast goose.
I am totally lost when it comes to food. Lucky my wife's classmate Judy and husband Danny were still in Hong Kong.
They made reservations for us at Tastefull Kitchen near Ladies Market and we had dinner with them, their son Julian and Zoey.
We did not do any decent shopping in Hong Kong but at least we had a proper meal.
Symphony of Light show in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong
GOODBYE Hong Kong ...
HELLO Okinawa. .... its monorail ...
... and its shopping centre
After dinner, we managed to rush to Victoria Harbour in time to see the Symphony of Lights show. This 20-minute event is held nightly at 8pm and involves laser and interactive lights of 44 Hong Kong and Kowloon buildings.
In Okinawa, it was purely a walking tour of the city's shopping centre.
Here, we did a bit more shopping for souvenirs. Eating, not so much.
I watched only one movie on this cruise, and that was on Day 5 when there was a full day of cruising before we arrived at Hong Kong. The movie showing in the Screening Room on Deck 2 that day was Rogue One. I had already seen the movie but i went all the same because i wanted to check out the place.
There is the bigger outdoor screening of movies on Deck 12 but that is only at night. I checked out the place on the last night of our cruise. It was pretty cold, so I stayed for only a few minutes.
Or if you are too lazy to go out, there are movies on one of the TV channels which you can watch in the comfort of your room.
Waiters saying goodbye with a song and a dance
Showtime at Boleros
Sing-along at Schooner Bar
Outdoor movie at Deck 12
Farewell party at the Royal Promenade on Deck 5
We made sure we sampled the different types of entertainment at the different venues. That is to satisfy ourselves that we got our money's worth.
We watched three performances in the Savoy Theatre, the first by Australian comedy magician Ben Murphy, one by Jamaican singer Monique Dehaney and another by Motown group, Sonz of Soul.
There was a performance on ice at Studio B in Deck 3, billed Ice Under The Big Top.
Most evenings, we prefer to hang around the Schooner Bar at Deck 4, listening to oldies led by Patrice Doucet.
One journey comes to an end as we approached Shanghai, but a more exciting one awaits us in this ultra modern financial capital.
SHANGHAI here we come