Business

Cruise fever

December 3, 2011 | 12:00am

The cruise bug has bitten again. We enjoyed our last cruise immensely that we decided on a short Asian cruise this time.

Our group was also fairly large—my family minus son Wee and my daughter Tin’s (DJ Suzy) friends from FM Radio Magic 89.9 who were all embarking on their first cruise. The three-day cruise was starting from Singapore, stopping briefly at Malacca Port, then on to Port Klang for an extended excursion to Kuala Lumpur.

The tiny island nation of Singapore continues to amaze with its fast pace, efficient roads and excellent quality of life for its residents. For such a rich nation, vehicular traffic is contained because the government restricts ownership of vehicles. Singapore residents need to seek a permit to purchase a vehicle, and Singaporeans wishing to have a second or third vehicle will have to pay high duties, and the government grants permits for these based on a lottery system. No “palakasan”.

Domestic helpers are not too many here either. The government mandates that the minimum wage for a domestic helper should be Sing $400, and on top of this the employer needs to pay duties of another S$400 to the government.

We had a full day in Singapore as we arrived early in the morning and the cruise was to start off at around midnight. There was time enough to shop and enjoy the sights and cuisine of Singapore, but because we had bulky bags to lug around, this didn’t turn out to be such a great idea after all. Some great finds in the shops and an excellent lunch at the No Signboard Restaurant at the Vivo City Mall located beside the Harbour Front Center made up for the hassle though. The chili crab was fantastic, and their salted fish fried rice was authentic.

The line for passengers booking for the short cruise was unbelievable, and we found ourselves mired deep in the throng for hours. We braved the long queue, thinking how densely populated the cruise ship was going to be, but our ship the Superstar Virgo, was large, twelve decks to be exact, excluding the top most open deck.

To give you an idea of the costs, the cheapest triple sharing cabin (inside stateroom with no windows) will set you back P57,500 for a 3-day cruise which actually boils down to two nights and 1-1/2 days. A bigger cabin with balcony costs around P27,000.00 per person.

As expected, the passengers were mostly Asians, with just a few European families. Compared to the Atlantic and Mediterranean cruises, I found the mood and dress code in the Asian cruise ship very, very casual. I understand many Singaporeans take this cruise mainly for the casino, at no cost to them. Their casino cards earn them points which they can use for passage. Same is true with our local Resorts World where points from their membership cards can likewise be used for these Asian cruises on board the Star Cruises Ships, a sister company under the umbrella of the Genting Group of Malaysia. With something like 4,700 points, one can book a cabin for three at no cost.

I must admit that we came on board with so much expectation. The Mediterranean cruises that we had 2 years back had endless buffets of hot and cold food at virtually all times. Food was nonstop and unlimited. Here, though, breakfast was not buffet-style, and the lunch buffet was sorely lacking in choices. Dinner was also not buffet-style, though they had good choices of lamb and sirloin steak, and one can order a second helping. Breakfast was strictly up to 10:00 a.m., after which time the restaurant is promptly cleared in time for their morning tea. We opted for this over breakfast, and were disappointed to see a small table of muffins, mini doughnuts and a tray of Danish pastries. There were a few specialty restaurants like an ice cream parlor where you can have unlimited gelato for S$10.00.

The crew is more than 90% Filipino, so that we found ourselves automatically speaking in Tagalog to the service crew, only to find out that some were Indonesians and Malaysians. Of course, the Pinoys were always accommodating and friendly, from the waiters down to the chambermaids and masseurs. Oh by the way, a room service massage will set you back S$90.00. At about P3,000, that is very pricey indeed.

My wife Babes and the rest of the group decided to take the long trip to Kuala Lumpur since Tin and her friends have never been to Malaysia. I opted to stay in bed in our comfortable cabin since I’ve been to Malaysia a few times in the past. They contracted for two cabs from the service counter for 200 Ringgits each or roughly P2,800 per. I thought this was a bit overpriced, but when you consider that Kuala Lumpur is an hour and a half away from Port Klang and the cabs wait on you for the whole duration of the excursion; it is a reasonable price to pay.

Malaysia has emerged as highly industrialized and urbanized, and English is already widely understood. They were surprised to see Filipinos again working in malls and supermarkets and eking out a living comfortably. The Petronas Tower was a must see for the kids, but unfortunately, I was told they couldn’t go up to the tower, so they just took pictures of the awesome edifice. Right beside it is a big high-end mall, and Babes had a fine time shopping for spices to bring home. By 8:30 p.m., they were back on the ship for our last night, and we docked in Singapore at 1:00 p.m. the next day, the end of a very short cruise indeed.

Ooops!

I noted some errors in my last column about the internationally renowned ISO-certified firearms and ammunitions manufacturing conglomerate Armscor where I mixed up some names. My apologies to the Tuason family. Bolo Tuason’s son Martin is the prime mover of all of Armscor’s hugely successful projects in the US, of which he is the president. Severo’s son Scott ably runs the Squires Bingham International Store in the Philippines while Ms. Gina Angangco heads the Armscor Shooting Range among many other sensitive corporate tasks she undertakes.