PUBLISHED ONDecember 21, 2024 4:31 AMByMelissa Teo When it comes to cruises, some view it as a retirement activity for elderly people who want a convenient, fuss-free way to travel.
In fact, there are old folks who book back-to-back cruises because it's more affordable than a nursing home.
Despite the stereotype, cruises are actually designed for everyone, whether you're an adventure-seeking couple, a family looking for quality time or even an individual on a solo trip.
There are a number of cruise ships that sail from Singapore, including Royal Caribbean, which had its first year-long deployment in Singapore back in 2015 with its Legend of the Seas vessel, reported The Straits Times.
Since then, a number of their ships have homeported in our little red dot, such as Voyager of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas.
And now, Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is in Singapore for its first-ever season in Asia and will be here till March 2025.
As an avid cruiser who has gone for several cruises, I was excited to see what the new ship had to offer.
There are several cruise packages available, ranging from the three-night Penang cruise to the 12-night Singapore to Tokyo cruise. My colleague and I, who are in our late 20s, opted for the four-night Penang and Phuket cruise.
Before our cruise, we downloaded the free Royal Caribbean International app on our mobile phones, which was very useful in helping us plan our itinerary as all the day's activities and timings are listed there. It's not a must to have, but we highly recommend it to make your trip more smooth sailing.
We stayed in the Balcony stateroom, Royal Caribbean's most popular room option.
These range from 119 to 298 sq ft, depending on which part of the ship the room is located in, and can sleep one to four passengers. The highlight of our room was the spacious private balcony that offered breathtaking views of the ocean, and my colleague and I spent plenty of time here.
Other than that, amenities include a private bathroom with stand-up shower, a television, sofa, mini fridge, and ample storage space in the form of cupboards and drawers.
Each room comes with a queen-sized bed that can also be split into two single beds. This was extremely comfortable and I slept like a baby every night.
Prices for a Balcony stateroom on the Anthem of the Seas for a four-day cruise start from $886 per guest.
Anthem of the Seas also offers other room options like Interior and Ocean View staterooms (prices vary), but these are sold out for the rest of the four-night Penang and Phuket dates.
However, more expensive rooms like the Royal Suite Class are still available for bookings, with prices starting from $1,732 per guest.
Prior to my first-ever cruise, I was under the impression that there was nothing much to do onboard apart from eating and lounging by the pool.
But boy, was I wrong.
Cruises are packed with many onboard activities, and my colleague and I found ourselves constantly dashing around the ship in an attempt to try everything.
Adventure-seeking guests can catch some waves at Flowrider, a 40-foot-long surf simulator at the stern of the ship.
This was one of my favourite activities onboard the ship despite my lack of surfboarding experience, and the friendly staff patiently guided me.
In fact, after a few flops while trying the simulator, I finally learned how to sit on the board on my knees!
Another thrilling activity is the rock-climbing wall and it's a great way to try your hand at this sport, which has become quite popular recently.
What makes the experience even more exhilarating is the location of the rock-climbing wall, which sits at the top deck with a fantastic view of the sea. This meant that the higher I climbed, the better the view.
Many energetic cruisers will probably spend a lot of time at Seaplex, a large indoor-activity space on the top deck of the ship.
At any time of the day, there will be activities going on such as badminton, table tennis and archery. My favourite are the bumper cars and I had plenty of fun ramming my vehicle into others.
At other parts of the ship like Two70 — a multi-level venue at the back of the ship that provides 270-degree panoramic sea views — guests can partake in exercise classes like Zumba and even Salsa dance.
My colleague and I attended these every morning, and it was a great way to warm up our bodies before we started a busy day at sea.
Other less-strenuous activities are arts and craft classes, where guests can learn how to scrapbook or fold towels to take the shape of animals.
A highlight for my colleague and I were the quizzes and competitions. We got really competitive and even won first place for the Scavenger Hunt!
During the game, participants are given a list of clues to find in 13 different areas on the ship. At each area, participants would have to snap a selfie as proof and the group with the most selfies would win.
We thought that the participants would mostly be kids and were surprised to find that apart from families, there were several groups of people our age too.
If you're on the cruise just to relax and unwind, fret not as there are activities for you, too.
The ship has indoor and outdoor pools, as well as a wading pool for kids. There are also four hot-tub whirlpools. The pool typically opens from 8am to 10pm when the ship is at sea.
Adults who need some time away from the kids can head over to the Solarium on deck 14, which has its own pool, whirlpool and bar. The Solarium pools open from 8am to 9pm while the hot tubs are available from 8am to 10pm.
While many of these activities are suitable for the young ones, there are some that are just for kids.
For instance, there is H20 Zone, a kids-only area with a wave pool and whirlpool.
There's also Adventure Ocean, a play zone just for children that has a variety of toys and whimsical rooms — like a science lab and astronaut-themed area — that will keep them entertained.
Additionally, parents can opt to enroll their kids into some of the multiple programmes curated for babies aged six to 36 months old and children aged 12 years and under.
For teenagers 17 years and below, there is also a space called The Living Room, a laidback, teens-only lounge where they can hang out till late.
All of these activities are free of charge.
Apart from the above-mentioned activities there are chargeable ones too.
For a bird's-eye view of the ship's surroundings, hop onto North Star, a viewing pod that goes more than 100m above sea level and provides 360-degree views. Prices vary depending on sail.
We tried it out on the fourth day of our trip while the cruise was headed back to Singapore and were mesmerised by the spectacular views of the ocean.
Another thrilling chargeable experience is Ripcord by iFly, which was also the activity I was most looking forward to.
The skydiving simulator, which is located at the stern of the ship along with Flowrider, lets guests experience the freedom of freefall.
I was admittedly a little nervous before the experience but the friendly instructor assigned to us was extremely encouraging and guided us when we were in the wind tunnel.
The exhilarating experience lasts around one to two minutes and each person gets to fly two rounds. Even though my hair got quite tangled after, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Guests who enjoyed Flowrider and want to book private lessons can do so too. Prices range from US$69 to US$552.
Tired adults in dire need of a spa day can check out Vitality Spa, where they can enjoy a variety of massages, wraps, facials and even acupuncture sessions. Prices vary per service.
One reason why a glutton like myself enjoys cruises so much is that there is a never-ending amount of food onboard at almost any time of the day.
My go-to restaurant on the ship was Windjammer, which offers casual buffet-style dining. The dishes on offer range from Western to Asian fare, so there's plenty of variety for all tastebuds.
Those looking for a more ritzy environment can head over to one of the four Main Dining Rooms — American Icon Grill, Chic, Silk and The Grande. Each table here has a dedicated server, which made me feel like royalty.
While the dishes here are served course-style with a starter, main and dessert, guests can still order as much as they want of each dish. My favourites were the Escargots A La Bourguignonne and New York Strip Steak.
The ship is also dotted with smaller eateries so you can get a quick bite throughout the day.
There's Two70Cafe and Cafe Promenade, which serve a variety of soups and sandwiches.
Those hankering for fast food can go to Dog House, a small food stand that serves gourmet hot dogs, and crowd-favourite Sorrento's, a New York-style pizzeria.
Apart from these free options, guests can also pay a bit more and have a meal at one of the ship's many Specialty Restaurants like Jamie's Italian — which is by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver — steak specialist Chops Grille, and private dining experience Chef's table. Food at these restaurants are free-flow too.
If you want to try more than one Specialty Restaurant, I recommend getting a dining package.
There is the Three Restaurant Package, which lets you bundle any three restaurants of your choice.
Those who feel like splurging can get the Unlimited Dining Package, which allows you to visit multiple Specialty Restaurants every night of your sailing. It also comes with a 40-per-cent discount off bottles of wine under US$100 (S$135) and 20 per cent off bottles above US$100 in any Specialty Restaurant.
My colleague and I got the Three Restaurant Package and dined at Wonderland, Izumi and Johnny Rockets.
Our favourite out of the lot was Wonderland, which specialises in imaginative cuisine. The dishes here are inspired by five natural elements — earth, sea, fire, ice and sun and we had to use a " magic paintbrush" to unveil the menu.
For a more casual dining experience, Johnny Rockets is a good option. The diner, which is also an American restaurant franchise, specialises in thick gourmet burgers and sinfully good milkshakes.
I thoroughly enjoyed my burger, the Smoke House, which featured a juicy 100-per-cent angus beef patty, bacon, cheddar cheese, onion rings and BBQ ranch.
Something else guests can top-up is a drinks package.
Water and lemonade is offered across the ship for free but if you want soft drinks, alcohol and other beverages, it is chargeable.
There are three types of drink packages available. The first is the Classic Soft Drinks Package which comes with fountain soft drinks and Coca-Cola Freestyle drinks.
The Refreshment Package features everything in the Classic Soft Drinks Package, with the addition of premium coffees and teas, freshly squeezed juices, bottled still and sparkling water, non-alcoholic cocktails and milkshakes from Johnny Rockets.
And finally, there's the Deluxe Beverage Package, which contains all of the above, as well as cocktails, spirits, liqueurs and beer.
I must say, it felt good walking up to any bar on the ship and ordering whatever I liked from the menu without having to look at the prices.
Prices for dining and drink packages vary depending on your cruise package.
There's never a dull night onboard the ship because every night, there will be a few live shows at the Royal Theatre.
For our cruise, we were lucky enough to catch We Will Rock You, an Olivier award-winning musical set in a story 300 years in the future and features rock band Queen's biggest hits. This show is the longest one out of the lot and lasts for two hours.
As a Queen fan who knows all of their songs by heart, this was an absolute treat and I had plenty of fun singing along and watching the performers do their magic on stage.
There was even a Royal Caribbean original production called The Gift, which was 45-minutes-long. This tells the tale of a family who lost their matriarch and how they are assisted by her spirit to find happiness.
My favourite show was by Pengfei Su, a magician. His show too was 45-minutes long and several of his tricks made my jaw drop in shock.
All the live shows onboard are on a first-come, first-served basis at the Royal Theatre, with the exception of one — Spectra's Cabaret.
This is the only show that requires guests to make a booking on the Royal Caribbean app as the venue can only accommodate a limited number of people.
The captivating 45-minute performance featured a mix of light, music and technology. Pro-tip, go about 20 minutes earlier to snag a good seat. We managed to get one right in front so we got to watch the performers up-close!
For exact show times, guests are advised to check the Royal Caribbean International app.
For many, including myself, the highlight of a cruise is its ports.
Our cruise was supposed to bring us to Phuket and Penang, but unfortunately, our Penang port was cancelled due to a medical emergency onboard, so we could only visit Phuket.
Guests who encounter something similar on their cruise need not fret as the numerous onboard activities will definitely keep you occupied.
For my colleague and I, we ended up spending more time at Flowrider and Seaplex, as well as trying out several quizzes (we came in first for one of these!).
Guests are given the liberty to explore the ports on their own but there is also the option to book a Shore Excursion, which we did for Phuket.
Shore Excursions are essentially guided tours and prices vary per activity. Ours was about US$220.
There were many options like a Phuket sightseeing and shopping tour, as well as a cooking experience in a Thai wooden house.
As my colleague and I are both thrill-seekers, we opted for the James Bond Island by speedboat tour.
Prior to our tour, we had to gather in the Royal Theatre to register ourselves at 7am.
I personally was pretty impressed by how well organised the whole thing was and our tour group, which had about 20 people, was guided every step of the way from the ship disembarkment to shore and to our tour bus.
The bus took us to the boat dock where we boarded our three-engine speedboat. During our 45-minute ride, we saw the bay of Phang Nga Bay National Park and beautiful limestone structures.
James Bond Island, while crowded, was beautiful too and my colleague and I snapped many photos with the famous structure that was featured in the movie The Man with the Golden Gun.
After which, we were brought to Panyi Village, a small island where the first Muslim villagers settled 200 years ago. It was also where we were served lunch, which is included in the tour package.
If you're one of those who are under the assumption that cruises are only suitable for retirees and the elderly, I'm here to tell you that it's not true.
As an adventurous traveller in my 20s, I had a whale of a time and I felt that the cruise was a good mix of both exciting and relaxing activities.
If boredom is a concern for you, fret not. My colleague and I didn't have time for that thanks to the sheer number of activities available.
Being out at sea in the middle of nowhere also helped me to somewhat disconnect from my life back at home (even though this was a work trip) and if you're someone who needs a break from your hectic life, I recommend you try a cruise.
AsiaOne was hosted by Royal Caribbean.
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melissateo@asiaone.com
