Cruise to...Nowhere?

That's right, "Cruise to Nowhere". Sounds like a total waste of money but don't diss it till you try it! In a bid to somewhat save some of our lost tourism GDP, the government allowed two cruise companies to operate 2- or 3-night cruises to Singapore's open seas for local residents at half passenger capacity. Every passenger must carry a "trace together" token wherever they go, and the crew were extremely vigilant in ensuring all passengers complied with social distancing rules.  

My family went on the 3day/2night World Dream cruise in January, just after school reopened. This was the first cruise for all of us, and since we did not have tourists or families, our particular cruise only had about 800 passengers (~4,000 is max capacity!). As a result, the service staff treated us very well. We also didn't have to queue or pre-book the pool, restaurants, shows, and events. What a treat!

One of my brother-in-laws was actually in Singapore then but he couldn't go as he is not a Singapore resident. What a pity😩

We went for the upgraded balcony rooms because those were the only ones available, plus if we had to be quarantined, we wanted the more spacious rooms. We have ZERO regrets for this splurge. To sit out at night and be lulled by the sound of the sea...such peace and serenity is rare to come by. 

What we did:

THE POOL & WATER SLIDES

For crowd-control purposes, we had to book the jacuzzi and pool. But since there were so few people, we practically had two jacuzzi tubs and the entire pool to ourselves for a solid 45 minutes! There were also two water slides that that were fun, and brought me back to my childhood at the Sentosa water park (Fantasy Island).

SHOWS

• Sing-a-long to some classic "Oldies". Easy, simple, nostalgic fun.
• Magic show (duh...is it a cruise if there isn't a magician?) He was entertaining and pretty good. Photo of him below.
• (Free) Night-time laser show (set to Michael Jackson songs). There was supposed to be fireworks but they cancelled it on our leg. Guess it wasn't worth the cost with so few passengers. 
• My sisters and I also caught a gambling-bingo game. No one won the grand prize of some ridiculous number, but the consolation prize winner got over a hundred bucks. Enough to cover the cost of the tickets I guess😆 

VR CENTRE

We tried out the VR Centre, and my family had a grand time at the shooting game. But the roller-coaster ride (see below) was a let-down. 

This poor magician. He had a "fan meet" session, and even though we were 10 minutes late, we were still the first there. I'm sure he would be more popular if there were more passengers. We went there because of the promise of free VR Centre tickets, but of course, there is always a catch, right? We didn't end up using the "free"-with-conditions-tickets. 

MASSAGE & SPA

I know, probably one of the biggest rip-offs on a cruise, but my family enjoys splurging on massages during holidays. This cruise massage was relaxing but not the best. At least the package came with a sauna and steam room experience that was enjoyable. 

FREE CLASS

I went for the beginner ballroom dance class (the only one), and perhaps because it was at night and there were so few passengers, I was the only participant! It was embarrassing for me and the instructors. Thankfully my sisters joined me. We got a personalised, 45-min cha cha class, so that was nice. 

DINING

We ate at the complimentary restaurants, except on two occasions. The first was at the Japanese restaurant where we ate the shabu shabu. It felt good to eat such comfort food, especially because the complimentary Chinese restaurant was "meh". About $25/per pax for a filling portion. 

We also splurged on the fine dining Chinese restaurant. Not worth the extra money, but better than its free counterpart. 

The complimentary breakfast restaurant had decent breakfast food though! You can't go wrong with omelets, right? We also got a free ice cream for filling up a customer service form. 

WOULD I GO AGAIN?

Absolutely, with some conditions. 

• Sail during off-peak season when children are in school
• Get a balcony room or suite.
• Save up for the extra-cost meals because the free food gets old very quickly.
• Budget for the internet, which is not cheap. 

The "3rd day" also doesn't count since we docked back at 9am, and were off the ship by 10am. So it really was a 2day/2night trip. 

But I loved the experience and spending time with my sisters again. And someone with more discipline than me would certainly be able to not spend any money on entertainment. Did I mention there are plenty of movies and shows in the rooms for those who are room-bound? 

Overall, I had a wonderful virgin cruise experience, and would love to go for more!