Holiday travel tips and experiences: full moon images

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Holiday Cruise Ship 2 Oct – 4 Oct 2009 Day 2

Grand Lobby of Star Cruise Virgo

Day 2 on this holiday cruise ship or also known as casino cruise ship, Star Cruise Virgo

Today is the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese calendar and it is also the mid-autumn festival, mooncake festival or also known as the moon festival. This is the day when the moon is at its fullest and we managed to get snap some full moon images. On this day, the Chinese celebrate by giving away mooncakes to their friends and family members and they all gather to watch the moon and enjoy the mooncakes.

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival

Mooncake Festival

Upon waking up and getting mother ready, we proceeded to Level 8 Private Member’s Club. This club is basically for Star VIP88 Platinum members, also known as the member’s casino.

There are various casino games that you can try your hand at. These include Baccarat, Roulette and Black Jack amongst others. The group decided on Baccarat which is their favourite game. Instead of going to any of the food and beverage outlets for breakfast, they ordered some sandwiches and char siew (barbequed pork) fried rice. The toasted ham/egg and ham/cheese sandwiches were nice and crispy. The setback with toasted bread is that they do not remain crispy for long. The fried rice was fragrant and very scrumptious just that it would have been even better if the pieces of pork had less fat.

Whilst in the casino for about an hour, even looking at how they played the Baccarat, at SGD200 (USD 143.20) a bet, it is not a game for the faint hearted or those who live from hand to mouth.

After leaving the casino, we passed by the Activity Room where we saw a sign for the Instant Win SGD18,000 (USD 12,885) Jackpot Lottery Draw to be held at 2300 hrs that night.

Instant Jackpot Lottery

Passing by the Parthenon pool area, there were some passengers swimming and some soaking themselves in the Jacuzzi. The sun was not too hot today so it is nice to be out in the open.

Parthenon Pool in the background

On Deck 7 where the Grand Lobby is located, you could have your photograph taken and placed against a backdrop of sun, sand and sea or even with President Obama. Or you could have it with other props like the giant teddy bear.

Teddy bear props

Screen backgrounds

At the gift shop, you could also purchase some interesting souvenirs of your memorable times on board the Star Cruise Virgo.

Souvenirs

And more souvenirs

Crew at work washing the deck

Passing a container

Upon returning to the cabin, sister-in-law gave us a piece of the strawberry cake that was presented to them since tomorrow is their 30th Wedding Anniversary. It was a light and spongy strawberry cake and not too sweet.

30th Wedding Anniversary

Since the main group was still in the casino with mother, we decided to have a Chinese lunch in Bella Vista. As we had a friend with us and she did not fancy lamb for lunch, we opted for the Chinese food. The lunch menu included deep-fried crispy bean curd with cuttlefish paste and minced pork, double boiled pork ribs soup with red bean and dried octopus, deep-fried fish fillet with garlic and oyster sauce, braised pork belly with preserved mui choy ‘Hakka” style, sautéed Szechuan vegetables with shredded chicken and fish cake as well as chilled herbal jelly with almond bean curd for the dessert.

Lunch in Bella Vista on board Star Cruise Virgo

The soup was nice and hot and it was flavoursome. The fish was slightly touch whereas the Szechuan vegetables was not too bad. Overall lunch was alright although the dessert was too sweet and the almond bean curd did not taste like what we had expected.

After lunch, we went to take a look at the origami session where they were showing how to fold a paper crane. It was a hands on session and you could have a go at folding one or two yourself.

Paper crane

Origami lesson

Crew showing the art of origami

Next was a game of Celebrity Heads which is somewhat similar to charades.

Originally we wanted to attend the Laughter Yoga but because mother was done with her gambling and had gone back to the cabin to rest, we stayed in the cabin to accompany her.

Due to the bad weather, the BBQ Party scheduled for 1800 hrs was cancelled.

Singapore passport holders can settle their outstanding bill and collect their travel documents between 12 noon to 2230 hrs today. All other passport holders will only be able to collect their travel documents after immigration clearance tomorrow.

Collection of passport signage

Bella Vista again had the honour of serving us dinner. This time however, we tood the Western set dinner. The bread was great as most of us are bread lovers. The food however was alright since most of our group members are not fanatics of Western food.

Dinner at Bella Vista on board the holiday cruise ship

Today being the exact date of the mid-Autumn festival, also known as Mooncake Festival, or Moon Festival, there was a Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration. Originally slated to begin from 2100 hrs at the Parthenon Pool area but due to poor weather, it was shifted to Galaxy of The Stars and was scheduled for 2115 hrs – 2145 hrs.

We made it a point to attend the Festival Mooncake celebration. There were 3 games:-
1. Mooncake eating competition
2. Passing the tennis ball using chopsticks
3. Arranging the mooncake pieces competition

Mooncake eating competition

Game #2

Arranging the mooncakes

Galaxy of The Stars

Adding a little fun for the night, there was a good crowd there to participate. After the celebration, we went to Parthenon Pool and managed to snap some full moon images.

Full moon images

More full moon images

Another full moon image

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Seychelles Suite On Holiday Cruise Ship Star Cruise Virgo 4th Sept – 6th Sept 2009

Holiday Cruise Ship SuperStar Virgo

Day 1

This is the first time we have gone on board the holiday cruise ship Star Cruise Line since mother fractured her hip bone and went for an operation. There were a total of 14 family members gathered for this cruise as it was going to be another birthday celebration as well. Fortunately for us, on board Star Cruise, wheelchair access is no problem although there are only 4 handicapped cruise cabins on board the Star Cruise Virgo that we were not able to book one as they were all fully booked. We got around this problem by upgrading to one of the cruise suites in order to have a more spacious room for mother.

Passengers waiting to board

The boarding area for crew and handicapped passengers

We met at Harbourfront Cruise Center at 1750 hrs. By the time all of us had arrived, it was already after 1800 hrs. As mother is in a wheelchair, she was wheeled in by the cruise staff through a separate entrance. As we were not able to book the handicapped cabin, we decided to upgrade to a junior suite room with balcony as it would be more spacious and thus more convenient for mother and her wheelchair. Junior suites come with large picture windows and are on the higher decks.

We were assigned the Seychelles Suite which comprised a living room, a bedroom as well as the bath and toilet area. With a touch of elegance and luxury, the living room comes equipped with a sofa bed where you can use the sofa during the day and it can be converted into a bed for the night. There is also a 30” plasma flat screen television with a video player for private screening of movies. The bedroom has a king sized bed as well as a smaller television. The bathroom comes with a Jacuzzi where you can soak yourself and enjoy the sea view. Or you could just lie on the deckchair in the balcony and read a book, or suntan yourself on your private balcony.

Sunset image

For dinner, we met at Bella Vista for a Chinese dinner. The Double Boiled Pork Stomach Soup With White Radish was well-flavoured and tasty. The Roasted Crispy Duck was also just nicely marinated and roasted. Overall the food was quite appetizing.