Super star Gemini Cruise Trip

4 days 3 nights – Super Star Gemini Cruise

Dates: June 28^th to 1^st July 2015

Duration: 4 days 3 nights

Package: SIN-PENANG-LANGKAWI-SIN

                                
We went on Superstar Gemini for 4 days 3 nights trip from Singapore to Penang & Langkawi. This was my first cruise trip and it was a wonderful experience all along!

Price: We booked only 1.5 months before the trip. So the price was 620 SGD per person. We booked Ocean View Window Cabin. (Tip: Try to plan and book well in-advance, preferably Balcony class..look out for cheap deals/offers)

Check-in and Boarding: Boarding was a little chaotic because the Ferry terminal was overcrowded due to boarding of two large cruise liners on the same day. Getting our boarding passes took hardly 15mins and even luggage check-in was very quick. But actual boarding took almost 30-40mins of waiting time in long serpentine queues.

There were welcome drinks and party organised by staff during on-boarding…unluckily we missed the welcome drinks due to delay in our boarding :(

Auditorium

About Rooms: We had booked the Oceanview Window room. Rooms were clean and quite comfortable for 2 people (definitely stuffy if you have a kid). The room had 2 separate single beds,  sofa set near the nice, big window. The bath was small similar to the ones in aeroplanes, but  had amenities like hair dryer, towels etc... Our room was on deck 5 and well located.



Facilities: They had a normal sized pool, Jacuzzi, Spa, Parlour, Gym,KTV/Karaoke Lounge, Children’s activity centre and 2-3 Café and Bars.

There were different restaurants – Blue Lagoon, Oceana (BBQ/Indian), Dynasty (Chinese), Mariners (Indian) & Our most favourite Bella Vista (Fine Dining Western).
 
Staff was very nice always and prompt with service.There were many activities happening throughout the entire day.  Cruise provides itinerary called “Star Navigator” for the next day was sent to every room so that we could plan our day in advance.

 

DAY1:  Boarding started at 11am at Harbour front ferry terminal. We grabbed some quick breakfast of sandwiches at Mccafé located in Harbour front Mall level#1. The cruise departed by 3pm from Singapore. Most of the time was spent exploring different decks, enjoying breath-taking view of the vast, blue sea and attending the welcome party and game shows organised throughout the evening.

The cruise also organised a Bollywood disco nite priced at 12sgd per person from 10pm to 12am which was fantastic and the in-house DJ played some latest, peppy dance hit songs.

DAY2 - Initial half of the day was spent roaming around the different decks, attending dance classes, doing some fun photo sessions and then getting ready for Penang. The cruise reached Penang at 4pm on Day2 and we opted for sightseeing on our own as Penang doesn’t have major attractions to be seen. We could bargain and hired a taxi. The taxi driver was very friendly and explained us details of the various heritage buildings and history of the place. Driver’s name is Syed Ali is 017 41 40435 (Penang number)

We visited the reclining Buddha temple, which was already closed by the time we reached (6pm) but still we got the glimpse from outside the door. This was a beautiful temple.

And then we went to a famous beach which was nice and many people were doing parasailing and Jet Ski etc. The water sports were comparatively cheaper here.

We were back to the cruise by 8pm and went for dinner and then attended the  juggling show which was very entertaining and hilarious. It’s a Must watch :)

Till late night we roamed around the deck and it was very beautiful!

DAY3 - Early morning by 7am the cruise was already in Langkawi. We left by 11am after having breakfast and hired a taxi and went first to Eagle Square. From there we went to Pantai Cenang beach. It is a beautiful area with a lovely beach and lane full of small souvenir shops.We enjoyed delicious coconut water, ice candies and bought some cute souvenirs (Langkawi T-shirts and fridge magnets). Langkawi is a great place that you should plan a separate trip to enjoy this city. It has lovely beaches and one of the most happening places in Malaysia. Couples planning for honeymoon can consider it as one of the options.

We returned back to the cruise by 3pm and had lunch in the cruise. After a short rest, we got ready for ‘Gala Dinner’. Before the dinner we also attended Captain’s Gala Cocktail Party….followed by “Sparkles” – special Broadway-type performances by cruise staff and external theatre performers. The show and dances were spectacular – great choreography, costumes, and performers!

Sparkles Broadway Type Show

Gala Dinner is a special and formal dinner where you are expected to dress in your best formal attire, seated royally at reserved tables for your group. Men can dress up in blazer, shirt and trousers. Ladies dress up in formal dresses suited for the occasions like these one.  Lot of people do dress in casuals but appear to be different in the crowd who have come formally dressed.

Gala Dinner at Bella Vista

Food was similar to what was served to us on other days too. But still this is very well arranged. There was a dance performed by that restaurant staff which was very appreciable. There are two time slots for the gala dinner in two different restaurants. We attended the 9.30pm slot. We also had a meet the captain session before the dinner and got a chance to click photo with the Captain!!

An adult dance show was performed at 11pm. Tickets were priced at 50sgd per person for normal class, 80+ sgd for VIP class (first 2 rows). The show was quite ok.

DAY4- This was the last day of our trip L We had late breakfast, some photo session around the cruise, lunch at our favourite Bella Vista, High tea again at the same place and finally checkout by 5pm. Bill settlement can be done at the reception in the morning. After 2pm, they set-up settlement kiosks in the auditorium and there was  long tiring queue to get the dues cleared and get our passports back…still overall smooth and effective process! Checkout was done from rooms by 5pm. We roamed on the deck till 7pm and finally off-boarding was done by 7.30pm :(((

These 4 days got over so soon...lovely trip..lovely memories!

**Special Mention - Excellent customer service and management by the ever-smiling and helpful Cruise Staff all through-out the trip. Hats Off to the entire team..worth experiencing! Please note that couple of staff members speak Hindi as well. It helps many of our Indians who may feel comfortable conversing or asking questions to the crew staff.

Tips & Suggestions:

• You DO NOT need a Malaysia visa for this trip. If you have a valid multiple entry Singapore visa, it should be fine.
• Book as early as possible. Remember, you may not get tickets even 2 months in advance.
• Carry some water bottles before boarding the cruise as the complimentary ones provided in cruise are very small. Buy water at every halts as buying water on the ship can be expensive.
• Remember to register for “Gala dinner” on 1^st day itself because list gets full very fast
• Do some research and try to opt for self-designed tours at the destination spots rather than the one organised by cruise.
• If possible settle your bill early on checkout day (last day of the cruise), else this might take long waiting time. The cruise accepts multiple currencies.
• You can hire a photographer to click your photos all over the place. You would have to pay a moderate price for it.
• For foodies, there are many options and plenty of food available throughout the day. You may choose to eat at any of the restaurants of your choice at the times mentioned.
• Wi-Fi on board is slow. You may use it in case of emergency but do not keep high hopes on the speed.
• (For Girls) Avoid wearing very short dresses for the temple visit. Dress decently.
• Cruise is very punctual with boarding timings at its destination points, always take care and be on time.

 If you are planning to book for the cruise, feel free to leave a comment here. We will be more than happy to help as much as we can.

Trip to Phuket...to be cherished (Part-1)

My beautiful partner and I just completed one of the most wonderful trips...and this has been to Phuket (Thailand)....mecca of nightlife. Any of you who would like to break free from routine life and would love to spend time with your partner...this is a place to go. It also sizzles up your romantic life too ;) For honeymooners...consider this place as one of the option.

My partner and I plan at least one outing once a year where we spend time away from our stressful jobs. We always wanted to visit this for a long time. This time we planned to go to Phuket at the very last minute leaving us little time to plan...but somehow everything went as we expected and we came back smiling ear to ear. For those aspiring to go there, we are detailing here as much as we can so that you guys can make note of the smallest points that are worth noting which you don't find anywhere else on the net. If you have any more questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we will be more than happy to help you out. Let us start!!

Where is Phuket?
To help you get an idea where is this tiny miny place, we have pasted a google map for your reference...see that red bubble...that's the place. It is very well connected with various places around the world and at least with nearby places like Malaysia and Singapore. If you do not have direct flights, try flying to Malaysia, Bangkok or Singapore. You will definitely find connecting BUDGET airlines from these places to take you to Phuket. Various budget airlines that can be explored are Air Asia, Tiger airways and Jet star.

Visa?
You don't have to worry about visa formalities as it is having Visa on Arrival for a small fee of 1500 Thai Bhats! (local currency).You would need to carry two passport size photographs for applying for Visa on arrival. Once you land at the airport, you will be able to spot Visa on arrival terminal. You will be required to fill up a form and paste your photograph on it. You will then submit the form along with your passport at a booth to the authorities.They will verify and grant you visa within 5 minutes. That's it! You will then proceed to immigration counter and will be done in 2 mins.
Please refer to the document to check if your country appears on the list of countries applicable for visa on arrival or not:
http://www.thaiembassy.se/minmapp/filer/pdf-pages/Visa/visaarrival11.pdf


Currency?
This place can be a little expensive depending upon the time of the year you choose to go. Peak season would typically be from Dec to April. Obviously due to heavy rush, the things tend to be expensive. Local currency used in Phuket is "Thai Bhat". Whatever amount that we are going to mention in this travelog is for the peak season, you may get lower rates during the off peak season. You need not worry about how much cash you should convert before the trip. This place has exchange counters at every nook and corner. There are ATM machines as well . We were told that you can use them to withdraw money in Thai Bhats as and when required.


Mobile phone simcard?
Once you are done with the immigration formalities, keep walking towards the exit. On the way, you will find a booth that sells free sim. Note that you will only get a sim here, you will have to "Top up" your sim for the talk time elsewhere..may be from shop near your hotels....and there are many shops where you can get this done. Try to find out some 7-Eleven shop and they will do it for you. Please note that all the cell phone numbers begin with a zero.

You want to read below posts for more:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293920-i5037-k6250768-Which_SIM_card_to_purchase_in_Phuket-Phuket.html

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293915-i3686-k6222502-Sim_Chips_Smartphones_iPhones_and_Tablets_in_Thailand-Thailand.html



Local transport?
Once you are done with your immigration, you will come out in a room where you will see private taxi operators for hotel transfer. Please do not take these ones as they tend to be expensive. Instead, come out of the airport and turn right out of the exit. You will find booths for hiring metered taxis. You can hire one of these taxis instead. These taxis may charge you anything between 700-800 bhats for hotel transfer.

Other usual means of local commuting is to find a "Tuk Tuk" which is smaller version of car/taxis and cheaper one too. Please do not hesitate to negotiate the rates.  It has a capacity of seating around 6 persons. It is fun.

There are also motorbike taxis! Though we have not tried it but we saw many people using these ones.


 
Hotels?
We visited during New Year time and wanted to pick up a decent hotel somewhere above a budget hotel and something below a 4 or 5 star hotel. We shotlisted couple of them and finally selected Palmyra hotel near to the (in)famous Bangla road and walking distance to Patong beach. The hotel was economical enough to have spent 3-4 days and was decent one. During New Year, every hotel charged us extra 150SGD (mandatory) for New Years eve dinner..this was a complete waste :( We will post the photos that we took in Part-2 of the travelog.


Safety?
DO NOT WORRY at all. We felt that this place is safest even when we roamed early morning at 2 or 3 AM. No one ..either local or tourist would intimidate or try to harass you even at odd hours. So feel free to roam about without any fear. The people are friendly and helpful at any time during the day. So no fear...just enjoy to the fullest.