En Route to Singapore & Embarkation

Sunday, 5 Mar 2017 – Yes, we have departed for another long 38-day cruise. This Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship, the Norwegian Star, starts in Singapore and ends in Venice.  Including flights and hotel stays before and after the cruise, we will be traveling for a total of 45 days!  We will be visiting Kuala Lumpar and Penang, Malaysia; Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Cochin, Delhi, Agra (for the Taj Mahal), Goa, and Mumbai, India; Fujairah, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai United Arab Emirates; Muscat, Shasab, and Salalah, Oman; Aqaba, Jordan; Safaga, Sharm el Sheikh, and Suez Canal, Egypt; Haifa, Israel; Iraklion, Greece; and Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We mainly wanted to visit India, after hearing the adventures of one son & daughter-in-law, and of longer stays there by two granddaughters.  Although we found several cruises that stopped in India, we liked the itinerary and price of this one. 

We left Bettendorf for Peoria Airport at about 11:15 AM and actually arrived at the airport early for a change.  No running to our gate this time!  Our first flight, to Dallas/Fort Worth on American Airlines, was a little over two hours, with a two-hour layover in Dallas.  Next was a 15-hour flight to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airlines (based in Abu Dhabi).  Since the flight had a 7-pound weight limit for carry-on bags, we had to check our two small suitcases, containing our medications, one laptop computer, and other items.  Luckily, this was an international flight and we were allowed two checked bags each, so there were no additional charges. While waiting for that flight, we watched as at least 15 to 20 wheelchairs lined up in preparation for boarding, almost like a parade.  (Several of the wheelchair occupants seemed to have little or no difficulty walking, which puzzled us!)   

On the 15-hour flight, we (especially Jesse) might have dozed a few times; however, we never became comfortable.  After another 2-hour layover in Abu Dhabi, we boarded our final 7.5 hour flight to Singapore.   Between watching movies (Jesse) and conversing with a young German woman sitting next to Sally, we dozed for a few hours, but arrived in Singapore totally exhausted.  Sally’s legs and ankles were quite swollen because she had remained seated too long on that last flight.  We were happy to see that our luggage arrived safe and sound with all of its contents.

Before leaving the Singapore airport, we found an ATM where we withdrew S$100.00 (that is, Singapore dollars), which had been recommended for taxis, etc., in Singapore, and then stopped for a light breakfast at McDonalds.  The menu was the same as in the USA – nothing exotic like the lamb burgers that we once enjoyed in Australia.

The taxi to our hotel cost us S$34.00 (about $24.00 US).  Although check-in time was 2:00 PM, luckily we were allowed to check in when we arrived at 12:30 PM.  The Hotel Bencoolen on Hong Kong Street was very nice (4-star according to Trip Advisor).  After reaching our room, we showered and immediately lay down for naps.  At about 6:00 PM, we left the hotel to find a restaurant for dinner.  Although we had planned to charge our dinner (thus avoiding spending our limited cash), none of the inexpensive local restaurants accepted credit cards; therefore, we ended up paying S$45.00 for our enchilada dinner at Chile’s.

Wednesday, 8 Mar 2017 – During our flight to Singapore, we seemed to have lost both Monday and Tuesday.  On our first night in the hotel, Jesse had been so tired that he managed to fall asleep without his CPAP machine – making his sleep less restful.  At 9:00 AM we went down to the complimentary hotel breakfast, which included fried eggs, sausages, cold cuts, cereal, fruit, cereal, rolls/toast, coffee, and juices.  We especially enjoyed the coffee machine that dispensed coffee, cappuccino, and mocha.  After stuffing ourselves, we returned to our room and watched CNN on TV before lying down for a three-hour nap.

Near the hotel was a large shopping mall, which we explored.  We had discovered that Sally had forgotten to pack her external mouse and we had also failed to bring a large bag to be used as an airline personal item.  Although the mall was very large and spread out on four floors, we didn’t find anything that we liked.

After finding out from the hotel clerk that our taxi to the cruise terminal would cost us only about S$10.00, we decided to try one of the inexpensive restaurants for dinner.  Therefore, we enjoyed salad chicken rice and chicken porridge, for only S$8.70 (much less than Chile’s!).  Back in our cabin by 5:35 PM and in bed by 9:15 PM, Jesse used his CPAP machine this time!

Tiong Bahru Restaurant

Thursday, 9 March 2017 – Jesse was up by 8:00 AM.   Sally hadn’t slept very well, waking up several times during the night.  At the hotel breakfast, we sat at a table with two other couples, both who would be cruising with us – one couple from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and the other from Hong Kong. 

At 11:50 AM, we took a taxi to the ship.  After going through the ship’s security, we spent another two hours standing in line to check in.  Sally was not a happy camper!  (We didn’t have her fold-out stool, part of Jesse’s backpack, because our larger carry-on luggage had to be checked at Abu Dhabi.)  After that, her legs were almost as swollen as after our long flights to Singapore.  As soon as we received our “freestyle cards” (cabin keys), we boarded the ship, made our way to our cabin, dropped off our carry-on bags, and headed to the buffet for lunch.  There, we met Joy from Australia.  Joy is traveling alone (her husband is at home); her cabin is only two doors down from ours.

Embarkation at Singapore

We managed to do a little unpacking before we were called to the mandatory lifeboat drill, which turned out to be the most comfortable drill that we’ve ever attended because there were plenty of seats and instructions were kept to a minimum.  Afterwards, we returned to our cabin, finished unpacking, and took naps.  We also met our cabin steward, Adil, from Indonesia.  At dinner we both ordered French onion soup (our favorite soup) and prime rib, and then called it an early night.