Alas, I can travel by sea !
Yes, we went on a mini cruise escapade late last month and again, left little Matt with my parents. Felt guilty but I can't resist travelling. Star Cruise had a 'buy one free one' promotion during Matta Fair, so not wanting to miss out this chance, we decided to grab it !
Total damage was 1870 per couple (exclusive of shipping tax of RM 100++)with a 4 days 3 nights travelling period. Total deck = 10 coupled with Casino & 2 pools & Jacuzzi (not to mention that the pool water was so cold). Also, a total of 5 meals per day !!!!
On the excursion/sight-seeing, it was a bit disappointing for us as we went during the monsoon season. We WERE practically WET most of the time ie shopping, walking and even sight-seeing in the rain :(. Not advisable to go during this season. The excursion packages are available either on-board the ship OR if not, you can go for the local tours - it is way much cheaper as well.
Overall, it is definitely a good experience to travel by sea. No doubt,it is a big ship - we still experience sea sick on our way back from Phuket. I guess, with the raining season and rough waves- the ship can't take it. Was swaying from left to right on our last day :(. Anyways, despite all these - we still managed to enjoy our trip with the on-board entertainment (by the ship crews). Not to mention, the food and service were awesome during our 4 days stay there !!
DAY 1 - PENANG - KRABI (SUNDAY)
The grand entrance
14:00 :- Time to board the ship - **excited
14:30 Checking in to Deck No 8 - Room # 8802
14:30 - 15:30 - Exploring the whole ship - from lower deck to deck #4
15:30 - 16:30 - Proceed with our 1st meal on-board ~ High Tea where we met our schoolmate -Bung Howe
16:30 - 17:00 - Continued with our short tour on the ship - Deck 4 to Deck 10
17:00 - Back to Room 802 for a bath :) . Proceed with safety evacuation drill - ship set to cruise mode - embarkation starts
17:00 - 18:30 - Sat down to enjoy the sea breeze before we proceed with BBQ dinner
18:30 - 19:00 - Done with dinner- sat down for in house entertainment - Nite view
Called it a night - slept while the ship sails to Krabi
DAY 2 - KRABI
Woke up and had breakfast before we set sail for our day excursion. The boys made the necessary bookings the nite before. Embarkation was at 9am. Krabi was a small town as such, there was no port for Libra to dock on. We had to travel by a smaller boat to reach our destination. 1st stop - Phang Nga bay -quoted from Wiki
* Phang Nga is a shallow bay with 42 islands, comprising shallow marine waters and intertidal forested wetlands, with at least 28 species of mangrove; seagrass beds and coral reefs are also present.
Again, it was raining and we had to put our rain coats on.Main highlight of the tour would be James Bond island. Some snapshots of the day, however do note that the last group picture was in Phuket - Libra can dock there (bigger island)
It was a 6 hrs tour and we had lunch during the ground tour. We returned to the ship at about 6 plus & proceeded with the gala dinner at 7.30pm. Had the privilege to sit with the captains on board as well. Yippie !!
Thereafter, we were being entertained by the crews and we called it a night after supper :). Eat again !!
DAY 3 - KRABI - PHUKET
Day 3 embarkation was at 9am but this time we opted for a local tour vs the onboard tours. It is much cheaper and we got to book the van for one full day.
It rained again & we took the chance to go window shopping before we proceed to Patong beach. Walk along the street in raincoats - again, another unexpected experience :)
Patong beach
Took about 5 hrs to visit Phuket town before we were drove back to the ship. Was really tiring and since it was our last night on the ship, we wanted to make sure that we fully utilised the facilities . We had dinner and thereafter, proceed to have a dip and the water was really cold !!!! Opted for the jacuzzi instead.....nice and warm - goodie !!
Went back and had a bath- followed by a farewell performance by the crew.Called it day and went to bed at 12 plus as the sea was really rough at that time. Motion sickness sets in and opted to rest instead.
Star Cruise Libra reached Penang on Wednesday morning, 9am and home sweet home !.
Well, it is definitely a lifetime experience for me to be on cruise.
Perhaps -the next trip could be on Virgo to Halong Bay, Vietnam :):). You will never know :)
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