On board a 4-day Royal Caribbean cruise from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Phuket on Legend of the Seas, a much smaller ship than the one we were on for the Southern Caribbean cruise. Food is about the same, but the much smaller size of the ship makes for a much lesser experience. It doesn't have the nice big 24-hour cafe, no rock-climbing wall, and especially, it didn't have the long street full of shops. Decor is also older, especially noticeable differences are the bathroom design and the balcony - much more dated. However, boarding and disembarking had the same professional smooth process and service expected of a large leisure cruise line like RC. Have read complaints by some passengers of Asian cruise lines about misplaced passports, confusion during disembarking etc, but RC was smooth and painless.
Food, and the abundance of it, is one of the attractions of a cruise. You can order anything off the menu, or have free room service, eat at a buffet, or sit down to fine dining.
This is where I learned how to make a Black Forest Cake.
Signature towel animals of RC cruises, and they even had a class showing us how to do it. The trick is to roll the towels very tightly.
We splurged on balcony rooms and what a difference. No need to rub elbows with the crowds when appraoching a destination - just watch from the comfort of your own balcony. And how about having an afternoon cup of coffee with some desserts on the balcony?
The ship runs quite close to shore from Singapore up north, so one gets to see something, other than a big expanse of water.
KL port.
Took a RC excursion - transportation only - into KL, where a relative met us and drove us around.
Pickled green mangoes, guavas, papayas.
Tallest twin towers in the world - Petronas Towers, with impressive steel farcade.
At Phuket, Thailand. Thousands of jellyfish in the water! All the white dots are jellyfish.
Phuket beach.
Lots and lots of resorts - quite a tourist trap.
Lots of temples.
Memorial of a pair of sister heroes.
A Fuchow Club - in Phuket!
Cashew nut factory - with a you-can't-miss-it giant cashew.
Cashews in all flavors, as well as other snacks. My favorite is the fried peanuts with anchovies and kaffir lime leaves - the leaves are incredibly fragrant and delicious. Buy lots of those as they can last a long in the fridge.
Manually extracting the cashew nut.
