Singapore, Day One

After transiting the Singapore Strait, which runs between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, we arrived at the city-state of Singapore, a 227 square mile island that sits at the tip of the Malay Peninsula and is the most southerly part of Asia. It is also located only 85 miles north of the equator, which accounts for its hot and steamy climate.

Singapore had been mainly uninhabited jungle and swampland until Sir Stamford Raffles visited there in 1819 and recognized its potential as a port. It soon filled with people from neighboring China, Indonesia, Malaya, and India, as well as Europe. As a result, Singapore is a mix of people, faiths, traditions, cuisines, and dress.

Singapore is identified as one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the world, both because of its use of natural resources and the amount of trees, shrubbery, and flowers that cover the city. Small palm trees and flowers filled the balconies of the buildings we passed. The city is relatively new, and they have wisely incorporated areas where greenery can flourish—and it flourishes everywhere. The city is also immaculately clean. They’ve outlawed chewing gum, among other things, and you break their laws at the risk of dire consequences.

We arrived in Singapore mid-afternoon for a two-day stay and docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal, which sits just on the fringes of the city. The area surrounding the terminal was pleasant and located near a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) subway station. Nearby was a most unusual building complex—three towering buildings linked at the top by a structure that supposedly houses the world’s highest swimming.

Complex with the World’s Highest Swimming Pool

Before we docked in Singapore, the old classic movie The Road to Singapore with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope was shown in the Royal Court Theater. Passengers who went to see it said that it was a lot of fun. The entertainment staff usually schedules entertainment that is linked to the port we are visiting. Also, the Lido buffet features food from the local region.

Singapore was the site of the World Cruise Dinner, which is held once during the voyage for passengers who are completing the full world voyage. Early in the evening, buses transported approximately 200 passengers from the ship to the Shangri La Hotel for a formal dinner and dance.

The Shangri La Hotel was quite lovely. As we walked into a reception area, waiters held trays of various drinks, including Singapore Slings, a syrupy drink that consists of a number of liquors and fruit juices. We’ve been told that only tourists drink it. I saw a tray of drinks that looked pretty and fruity, not realizing what they were, and took one. After a few sips, which were only okay, I decided that on an empty stomach I probably shouldn’t finish it. They are known to pack a punch. Tourists in Singapore are frequently charged $25-30 dollars for one—a lot of money just for the privilege of saying they had a Singapore Sling in Singapore. It tasted like Hi-C fruit punch with alcohol.

While we enjoyed drinks and nibbles, actors dressed in costumes mingled with the crowd.   

Entertainers

The Queen Elizabeth’s chief engineer, Andrew Jones, hosted our table of ten, which consisted of passengers from various nations—most of whom we hadn’t met before. It was a good opportunity to meet more passengers.

Immediately after we were seated, four colorful Chinese dragons put on a spectacular show to the accompaniment of vibrant drums. It took a team of three men under each of the dragon coverings to manipulate them. The men were quite slender, which wasn’t a surprise when we saw the strenuous workout they got during the display. 

Dragons

Waiters dressed in dark blue traditional attire efficiently served us an excellent dinner, and the wine flowed freely, including the champagne we were served at the end of dinner, used to toast Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. John and I don’t care for champagne, much to the delight of the couple we gave our glasses to. We used our glass of wine for the toast.

The entertainment during dinner consisted of three teams of dancers: Indian, Chinese, and Malay. Each team dressed in attire and performed dances specific to their ethnic group. They were lovely and quite different from one another.

Dancers

A band and singer performed western-style music that they probably thought appropriate for the age group of the audience. A few people got up to dance. It was only when upbeat recorded music began to play that this aging group hit the dance floor.

After dinner, the Executive Director of Cunard, who had flown in from England for the dinner, thanked us for choosing Cunard for our world voyage and spoke about the Cunard line. Afterwards in the lobby, we had the opportunity to meet him and found him quite personable. He told us to take this opportunity to tell him about any concerns we might have or things that we would like to see when sailing with Cunard. We told him how much we were enjoying the voyage and asked him about Carole Marlowe, who had been the executive director of Cunard and spoke at the World Cruise Dinner we attended in Hawaii. He said that since leaving Cunard she is enjoying her activities working with a number of charities.

The evening ended with a boisterous group of passengers climbing onto the bus for the return journey to the ship. A good evening was had by all.

Singapore Night Skyline

Photo by Fellow Passenger, Freelance Photographer Keith Larby (with permission)

Full World Voyage Passenger Benefits

In response to a question I received, below is a list of some of the benefits of being a Full World Voyage Passenger (FWVP), or one who is going the whole way around. Actually, you are considered to be one if you are on the ship for at least 80 days of the world voyage.

-      A cocktail party in the Queen’s Room during each segment (five segments in all).

-      Use of a lounge midships for FWVPs, with comfortable chairs and refreshments available during the day. I don’t know why a separate lounge since there are so many nice lounges throughout the ship—it’s probably a holdover from by-gone days of sailing.

-      Concierge available in the lounge several hours a day to provide assistance to passengers. The concierge will answer questions, arrange for tour tickets, and do research, etc., whatever a passenger needs (e.g., she booked golf times at various ports for passengers, gave a man directions to a computer repair shop at an upcoming port for his laptop problems, made dinner reservations, arranged tours, etc.).

-      World Cruise Dinner

-      Gifts throughout the voyage (e.g., champagne upon boarding, exotic plant, plates of chocolates, a QE carry bag, ball cap, etc.).

-      Onboard spending allowance and other financial benefits based on where you booked your voyage

-      Being able to unpack once and see a large portion of the world.