Star Cruise from Singapore. Review on Singapore, General

For the benefit of those reading this as a review on Singapore, it is slightly off the mark and is on the Star Cruise from Singapore. I couldn’t fit this review in any other category. Sorry about that.

Superstar Virgo, Star Cruise's Southeast Asia ocean liner is beyond all description. More so for a person like me, as it was my first trip into the sea onboard something like this cruise liner and also my first trip abroad. I just got lucky with my exam dates, so I coaxed my cousin into tagging me along. Being a pest pays at times, so never say die.

We took the 3 day Singapore-Phuket cruise. The first sight of the boat at the port near Sentosa Island in Singapore is mind boggling. One advice for all future travelers - DONOT go during the summer holidays when almost every other school in India is on vacation. The passenger demography was more than 80% Indian. As a result of which, the check in counters at the port in Singapore was full of families which made the boarding area look worse than the jostle on a railway platform, swimming pools/ Jacuzzis on board dotted with kids, jumping in and out all the time. If you leave out these manifestations of the great Indian tradition, the cruise is a must go.

All together there are some 13 decks; the rooms are classified according to the view that they have to offer to the passengers. The ocean view staterooms with balcony are priced in the middle range and offer a fantastic view. Going for the staterooms with portholes would be foregoing the wonderful crystal-clear, turquoise-blue water view.

The specialty restaurants on board are just amazing. The Nobel House (Chinese), the Samurai (Japanese) and the Plazzo (Italian) are a must visit, and I stand surety to the fact that the experience will leave you in high spirits. The best part is that one is given sufficient credit in the form of a card, which is usable anywhere onboard while making payment for food/beverages. The credit is good enough to enable someone to try all restaurants at least once, without having to shell out the difference at the time of the final bill settlement. These restaurants are super-specialty in that they give you AUTHENTIC cuisine, complete with the decor, presentation and the service (waitresses). There was an original Van Gogh in the Plazzo from the owner’s private collection, and the cutlery was Versace. Man....

Entertainment on board was fine tuned according to Indian tastes as it was the ''family season''. So you had your regular lotto, an antakshari sort of thing and general dancing etc, etc. Apart from this there is an excellent casino, theatre, cabaret, video arcade, gym, spa, library, saloon, basketball court, golf area, jogging track, karaoke, disco etc.

The 3 day cruise begins at Singapore.

The first dock is at Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia. There are various tours organized by Star Cruise in tandem with local operators for the benefit of the passengers. Once can choose from the many available. However, there is separate payment for that. One can chose to stay onboard or plan an individual trip too. Don't plan the individual thing unless you are in a group as they are very strict with getting back on board, the timings etc. So it’s advisable to go out in a group.

The second dock is at Phuket, an island (in) famous for almost everything; from water sports, excellent scenery, Thai massage, sex change operation etc. There is not much time to do everything though (laughs), so I decided to go for the Sea Cave Canoe Adventure, while my cousins went shopping. The adventure thing was awesome. Some excellent sea food on the steamer, then canoeing in and around the steamer, inside bat infested caves full of stalactites and stalagmites. DONOT touch the rocks as they are covered with razor sharp oyster shells. It hurts real badly. All this was very close to where the Beach and Tomorrow Never Dies were shot. On one port, the cruise docks for not more than 8-10 hours. So all activities have to be finished and everyone must come on board by then.

After Phuket, it’s back to Singapore. The fun and frolic onboard never stops. The food in the Mediterranean Buffet and Terrace is on 24X7, and is free for everyone onboard. You even get gulabjamuns, rabri, burfi etc., so one can't complain about the cruise not having anything for the Indian sweet tooth. There was a good spread of Jain cuisine for the orthodox too. There is a specialty Indian restaurant as well, but then what is the point of having Paneer Butter Masala in the Strait of Malacca??

I would recommend this cruise to everyone. Mummy, Papa, Dada, Dadi, kids, you name them. Though going on a cruise as a concept seems like it should be relaxed, laid back, luxurious, without having to avoid kids from running you over, this one seems geared perfectly according to Indian preferences. Therefore, one can chose to go for the FAMILY experience in the summers or choose between so many more available options on their website https://starcruises.com/Fleet/Virgo/.

A fantastic experience all in all.