Holiday on Superstar Virgo - 3D/2N Redang

We just came back today from a 3D/2N cruise to Redang onboard Superstar Virgo. I'm dead beat but I wanted to blog while my memory is still fresh and to share some of the photographs taken on our son's first overseas trip. To view the complete album, visit my MSN Space.

The check-in time was supposed to start a 4pm. Like a typical kiasu Singaporean, we were at the the Cruise Centre at Harbourfront around 3:30pm. Quite a lot of passengers have arrived and many were tourists from China, Indian and other countries.

After spending a thousand over dollars on a Balcony Class cabin, we are able to avoid the crowd in the blue lane. The check-in was fast and we got our "All-in-one" access cards within 10 minutes. Superstar Virgo operates on a cashless system. The access cards are your cabin key, charge card, id card etc.

Our room was great and we brought everything we need down to the liquid cleanser for Shanle's bottles. After unpacking our essentials, we quickly go on a DIY familiarisation tour. One of the first place we went was Charlie's Children World. Unfortunately, Shanle's is too young to enter as they only allow children age one and above into the playground. With a baby in tow, food is the only enjoyment left. The great part is that there are plenty of good food to choose from the wide array restaurants and eateries on board. So besides eating, we spent most of time strolling around, enjoying the sea breeze, taking photographs and video clips. We also went to the observatory in the night and bumped into a group of Indian tourists who adored our boy so much that they took turn to carry him to take photos. All this going on under the watchful eyes of his mother.

We went to the main pool, the Parthenon, for a swim. But the pool was a bit small and crowded so I did not really swim much. While Irene brought her gear too, the crowd around the pool changed her mind to go for the swim. It's a small minus point here. Well, we also took this opportunity to bring Shanle for a dip. While he looked cute in his body suit, he was quite nervous initially. Shanle was so quiet throughout the dip and at times he looked like he's going to burst into tears. As the water was a bit cold, we did not spend too much time there.

We reached the waters of Redang around noon time. The tendering process kicked off and everyone started to stream to the Lido to gather before moving off in batches to Redang by the smaller speed boats. We were quite impressed by the smooth system put in place for a relaxing transition of all passengers. The weather was great for a day by the beach. But with a baby in tow, we headed towards the Laguna resort to find a resting spot. We managed to "chope" a row of sofa seats in the lobby and I quickly bought two fresh coconuts from the nearby bar to quech our thirst and bring down our body temperature.

After resting for a while, we decided to bring little Shanle to the beach to play. Fun it was and Shanle seemed to enjoyed himself quite a bit. There was also entertainment shows put up by the crew nearby to keep the crowd entertained. Shaolin monks performing martial arts, pirates pulling stunts and a little boy juggling balls. Not too bad. We did not stay long on Redang and headed back to the ship around 5:30pm. The end ride was surprisingly the most exciting part of our short holiday. The waters turned choppy and the speedboat banged and wanked through the sea amidst screams and wows. We were actually quite worried that Shanle, who is secured on me with a carrier, would turn green. While he worn a worried look throughout the boat ride, he did fine and cracked into laughter soon after we boarded Virgo, much to the relieve of his parents.

I guessed the bumpy boat ride tired our little one and he fell into sleep soon in the carrier after we boarded Virgo. We headed back to our cabin, which has been nicely tidied up by then, to take our bath and catch a breather. Shanle woke up soon and we proceed to dinner at the Samurai Japanese Restaurant. As usual, our cute little boy attracted smiles from many people along the way and at the restaurant. But having dinner with a baby fully awake is inherently difficult. Luckily his milk time came and he fell deep into sleep after guzzling down the bottle. Finally, we can have a nice meal and chat in peace.

The final day of the short holiday was uneventful honestly speaking. After washing up ourselves and our boy, we laboured through the room to pack everything back into our suitcase before heading off for breakfast. Mealtime was the most satisfying experience I had onboard Virgo. The sausages were good and so was the coffee. The food was not fantastic but I wasn't too difficult to satisfy food-wise. Disembarkation was a breeze and with a stroller, we were given priority channel and we got off in no time.

It was a short but yet relaxing holiday for our young family of three. It was a good experience for us to bring our baby along and we will be more confident if we need to go for a posting. It's great!