3 Days Weekend Cruise 9th July – 11th July 2010

For this weekend cruise on SuperStar Virgo, we had a group of 11 persons comprising family members and big boss with his wife from overseas. There would be a shore excursion at Port Klang, Malaysia, tomorrow where you could choose your activity.

As the Star Cruise ship leaves from Harbourfront Cruise Centre, Singapore, we met the group there at 1730 hrs. We soon cleared immigration and customs and were on our way to board the holiday cruise ship SuperStar Virgo.

A special welcome cocktail is available exclusively for Admiral and Balcony Class guests in the Grand Piazza located on Deck 7. Here we were welcomed with warm welcome serenades and melodies by the SuperStar Virgo Quartet and staff as we sipped the fruit punch.

Serenades at Grand Piazza

Heading to our Junior Suite – Nicobar Suite, we checked out the lovely and spacious suite. Double the size of the balcony cabin, the junior suite boasts a Jacuzzi, two vanity basins, a tastefully furnished bedroom as well as a living room cum bar.

Nicobar Suite

Bedroom

Mirror above the bed

Bar area

Welcome fruits

Living room with a sofa bed

Shower cubicle

Jacuzzi overlooking the ocean

Night snacks

Singapore harbour pictures

View of Singapore harbour as the holiday cruise ship set sail

We decided to have Chinese dinner at Bella Vista Restaurant, one of the all-inclusive restaurants on board the Star Cruise holiday cruise ship.

Waiting for dinner to be served

With a seven course menu, it was a filling and tasteful dinner overall. The menu was as follows:-

Appetizer

Chilled Prawn with Mayonnaise Dressing

Soup

Braised Crab Roe Soup with Eight Treasure

Main Course

Roasted Duck with Nan Yi Sauce

Steamed Fish with Supreme Soya Sauce

Deep-fried Pork Ribs with Zhen Jiang Sauce

Poached Vegetable with Fresh Mushroom and Deep Sea Shell

Dessert

Sweetened Barley Bean with Ginkgo Nut and Lotus Seed

After dinner, we headed back to the junior suite. Along the way, we passed by Ports O’ Call where you could shop onboard for a wide variety of tax-free items including imported chocolates, local packed foods, coffee powder, etc… At Star Boutique, you can shop for beauty products, branded and luxurious perfumes, fashion eyewear, costume jewelries and so on…

Duty free shopping on board the holiday cruise ship

In the cabin, we managed to catch a movie on television. As the cruise ship only departed at 2030 hrs, the casino opened at approximately 2130 hrs once it was out in international waters. When Mother was nicely tucked in bed, the casino beckoned and most of our group members decided to try their luck before retiring for the night.

We had originally wanted to catch the showtime “Magic World by Duo Baccara” but after watching the movie, we totally forgot all about it.

Missed the magic show

That was the end of our first evening on board the holiday cruise ship SuperStar Virgo. We look forward to disembarking at Port Klang tomorrow where we could do some Malaysia shopping.

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Cruise To Nowhere 26th – 28th Feb 2010

SuperStar Virgo

Friday 26th February saw us going on bard the holiday cruise ship SuperStar Virgo for a cruise to nowhere again. With the Lunar New Year dinner especially for invited VIP88 members on the day of embarkation, this was a special Chinese New Year cruise. Although the first day of the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year fell on 14th February this year, the celebration lasts for 15 days, which is till this Sunday, 28th February. Thus you could spot the gaiety of this casino cruise ship with its Chinese New Year decorations.

Harbour Front Cruise Centre

The meeting point was at Harbour Front Cruise Centre at 1800 hrs. Being a full cruise with more than 2000 passengers, the check-in took quite some time. By the time we cleared through customs and immigration, boarded our holiday cruise ship, it was almost1830 hrs.

Harbour Front

Cruise Centre

Cruising in a wheelchair

We passed by the Reception on Deck 7 and had the welcome drink as well as admired the Chinese New Year decorations of proud dragons and majestic lion adorning the grand staircase.

The Chinese New Year decorations at the Grand Piazza

Posing with the Chinese Lion

More Chinese New Year decorations

Note the Chinese lantern

Since the Lunar New Year celebration dinner for VIP 88 members would only commence at 2000 hrs, we proceeded direct to Blue Lagoon, an Asian Bistro a-la-carte restaurant to have a bite as some members amongst our group of eight were starting to get hunger pangs. Ordering Mother’s favourite fish noodles as well as fried chicken wings and satay (meat on skewers) to be shared amongst the rest of us, we took our time and enjoyed the ‘snack’.

Yummy chicken wings

Satay

Proceeding to Bella Vista at 1920 hrs, we managed to get a table not too far from the stage. It was a lavish 8-course meal with Yu Sheng (raw fish salad) LoHei (tossing) to start.

Bella Vista Restaurant

Bella Vista closed for the Lunar New Year celebration dinner

More wheelchair passengers

Chinese lions as decoration - the type used in Chinese lion dance

Another view of the lions

Chinese dragon

Proceeding to Bella Vista at 1920 hrs, we managed to get a table not too far from the stage. It was a lavish 8-course meal with Yu Sheng (raw fish salad) LoHei (tossing) to start.

Eagerly awaiting dinner

The friendly lion mascot

As with any Chinese New Year traditions, there was the Chinese lion dance to usher in blessings and prosperity especially for the Star Cruise VIP88 members who regularly frequent the casino.

The Chinese lion dance performed by Star Cruise staff

The 2 lions on stage with comediennes Mark Lee and Michelle Tay

The big head doll accompanying the Chinese lion dance

The 8-course menu for the Star VIP 88 Lunar New Year Celebration Dinner was as follows:-

Fatt Choy Salmon YuSheng

Shark’s Fin Soup with Crab Roe and Meat

Braised Sliced Abalone with Sea Moss, Golden Oyster and Green Vegetables

Crisp Fried East Star Garoupa “Hong Kong” Style

Pork Ribs “Imperial Style”

Poached Garden Greens with Preserved Meats

Stewed Ee Fu Noodle in XO Sauce with Pan-fried King Prawn in Mongolian Sauce

Chilled Avocado Cream with Strawberry

Placing the raw fish into the dish of yu sheng (raw fish salad), symbol of prosperity and abundance

Tossing of Yu Sheng It is believed that the higher the toss, the greater the fortune

Mediacorp artistes Mark Lee and Michelle Tay entertained us. Pan Xiu Qiong (veteran singer) and Wen Zhang put in special guest appearances as well. The highlight of the evening, I thought, was the acrobatic duo with super strength and concentration. Pity I did not manage to get good pictures of them at their best!

The acrobatic duo

Powerful!

Mark Lee

Pan Xiu Qiong

Mark Lee & Michelle Tay reading out the names of the lucky draw winners

Wen Zhang

Door gift for each diner

Chocolates

Red packet with toto ticket - a legalized form of lottery sold in Singapore

Dinner was good and we thoroughly enjoyed the Chinese New Year dinner specially prepared for all the Star Cruise VIP 88 members. The ambience was great and the entertainment was awesome. It was a great Spring Festival celebration indeed by Star Cruise.

By the time the Chinese New Year celebration was over, it was already 2230 hrs. As Mother was tired and it was already beyond her bedtime, we settled her into bed before going to the casino and trying our luck at the SGD 2 (USD 1.5) cents jackpot.

Since we had an extremely filling dinner, we did not go for supper and retired for the night soon after.

The Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is celebrated once a year and as such, is a grand affair. Star Cruise line, SuperStar Virgo, being a casino ship, did its best to woo its VIP 88 casino members on this Cruise to Nowhere. I must admit that they were pretty good and the Chinese lion dance performance as well as the special guest artistes were entertaining.



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