It’s time to slow down. Pick one of the lounge chairs and forget about the time for a moment. As soon as we finished our breakfast at the Mediterranean Breakfast Buffet, I took time to sit down by the pool and enjoy just being there. Like I said earlier, cruise are meant to be enjoyed in a slow steady pace. And that morning before we leave the ship, I took time to just wander around before our 11am checkout from Superstar Virgo.
I made my way to the Observatory Deck to see where our ship was heading. I was under the shade but I was enjoying the breeze there. I took my time watching huge shipping vessels littering the sea grew bigger as we pass them by. Singapore with its familiar sky scrapers can be seen. I was just reading on Theroux’s chapter on Singapore in his book “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star” and was somehow awestruck by its underlying image. Nevertheless, a lot of Filipinos have earned a decent living here and its many live conveniently as long as they abide by the government’s system.
Even if we had to leave by 11am, there were a few things we had to take care of before we leave. One, our check-in baggage had to be ready by 8am to be picked up near the door of our room. If we miss out on the baggage pick-up we would have to lug them around during the check out process.
Second is that we had to check-out from the reception by presenting our ID-Cards and see if there are any credited amount swiped to our card. With a whole lot of people simultaneously checking-out, it could take a little time. Of course there are expected minor inconveniences from other people. There was this old lady having complaints about her stuff missing but that’s something the crew can easily handle.
Once we secured our passports it’s time to leave the ship. The Lido Theater becomes a waiting area for passengers to disembark. I must commend on their orderly process on disembarking passengers. It’s also funny to notice that beverages sodas are now on sale there. From the triple price it becomes triple cheap with a buy 1 take 1 offer. Upon exit our cards were swiped out the last time and left for us as souvenirs.
We had a slight delay when one of the exit bridges had a mechanical problem so we had to detour to exit. We passed through the immigration check again and easily found our luggage. We’re back in Singapore! We made to our bus and soon we’re making our way to Sentosa. So will I take a cruise again if ever I have a chance? Definitely! But probably on a longer route.
*This 4-day Double the Adventure! Fly to Singapore and Sail to Malaysia was made possible by AirPhil Express. Like their Facebook Page for more details and announcements.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
