Pillow Talk Till Dawn: Mr. Editor's Vacation Part 2

Hello! This post is Part 2 in a five-part mini series by Mr Editor while Steph freezes in HK. Read Part 1 here for the full story!

Day 3 - First Day Cruising

Finally its Monday; the day we board the Mariner of the Seas!

When we reached Harbourfront, there was something very strange. There were only two ships docked there and neither of them was fifteen stories tall; at most only five to seven stories. Weird right? So we checked our documents for the embarkation port. It was not at Harbourfront. The embarkation port was actually Marina Bay Cruise Center! No idea where we got Harbourfront from!

Before we walked into the port, we checked-in our luggage just by handing them to an attendant. We were actually given luggage tags to print out ourselves beforehand and staple to our luggage to ease the luggage check-in process. Wow. That was really easy.

Miniature model of The Mariner of The Seas

The next step was to check ourselves in. But first, we had to go through Singapore customs again because technically, we would be leaving Singapore soil. The passenger check-in process was more time consuming (took about two hours. But they had to check-in 3,000 odd passengers so it’s actually pretty fast). We had our documents and passports verified, pictures taken of our faces and were given individual cards called Sea Pass Cards. My dad asked why were they taking mug shots and found out that it was for their facial recognition technology! Apparently, all pictures taken by their staff from that point onwards will be put through their facial recognition technology and be immediately tagged under our names. We could then purchase the said pictures using our Sea Pass Cards. Fuyoh! But then again, these pictures were being sold back to us at exorbitant prices! 5 pictures for USD99.95 and all your pictures for a bargain price for USD249.95!

I divert a bit here to explain the Sea Pass Cards. Basically, it has two functions. One, as our IDs for the duration of the cruise. For example, to get on the ship, our cards were scanned in a card reader; to indicate that have boarded. When we get off the ship, our cards would be scanned again; to indicate that we have left the ship. To get on board again, we would simply need to rescan our cards. The second function is as a mode of payment. Each of our Sea Pass cards is tied to credit card. So should any of us purchase anything on board the ship at any time, it would be charged directly to the credit card.

Anyways, once on board, we headed to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. On board, there are several dining and beverage options to choose from. The basic option that is included in the package is: breakfast and lunch buffet at the Windjammer Cafe and a three course dinner at the Main Dining Hall. The other options are fine dining upgrades for breakfast and lunch, unlimited water (Evian, of course. Not some cheapo water) and unlimited house wine.

Peak lunch time busyness

I was wondering why these inconspicuous French fries were flying off the buffet line, so I took some to try. And wow. These fries were not your average McDonalds fries. They may look alike, but these taste closer to potato wedges. Plus, these fries need no condiments. It is perfect on its own. And this is why I had to snap this photo!

Don't be deceived by how ordinary it looks

Then, at 3:15pm, all the facilities closed for a mandatory safety drill at 3:30pm. The drill covered important details such as what to do during an emergency, what to do if you get separated from your party (especially small children) and how to use the life jackets. It’s somewhat similar to the ones we get before a flight takes off.

So the many people!

After that, we went exploring!

Touchscreens on every floor to find things to do on the ship

and to find out how to get around the ship. Super useful!

View of Singapore from the open deck

6 pools on this side of the ship

Around this time, the ship left Singapore port. Bye bye Singapore!

Mini golf course

Full sized basket ball court in the foreground and rock climbing wall in the background

Skylight Chapel

Not a very big place but certainly very well designed

Paintings and artwork on every floor

Royal Promenade, the central interior section.

This place could easily pass for a mall!

Rooms overlooking the Royal Promenade. Who's watching who?

Two storey Christmas tree!

Malls aren't the only places who put up their decorations early

When we finished exploring, it was 5:45pm. Time for our dinner slot. There are two slots every night: 5:45pm and 7:45pm. So we headed to the Main Dining Hall. The Main Dining Hall takes up three floors and has different names for each floor. Our floor was called the Sound of Music.

From the top: The Sound of Music, Top Hat and Tails and Rhapsody in Blue

An usher led us to our table. Number 701. It was a corner table with a window view. Normally, people would opt for a window view. Why not right? Nice food, nice view. But not me. I easily get seasick. So looking out the window and seeing the ship move is a no-no. I had to sit in an awkward position to avoid looking outside the window. Don't think it's very appetizing to 'feed the fishes' in a restaurant right? Overall, the food was awesome! Too bad we were all stuffed from the buffet lunch, so none of us finished our meals.

After dinner, rested for a bit and then headed to the Savoy Theater for the screening of Man of Steel.

Savoy Theater; taking up three floors of the ship

To close, here are pictures of our rooms!

The room had a comfortable queen sized bed

A single bed in one corner

My comfy bed in the other corner!

Dresser area. There's a hairdryer in the top drawer to the right of the chair, a safe above the tv and a fridge under the tv. And facepalm. There were instant cup noodles in the fridge!