Singapore

Day 11  Singapore        

Tropical thunderstorms were the background of our day in Singapore. Some passengers had to rethink their planned outdoor activities to avoid a drenching. The ship berthed at the Harbour Front Cruise Terminal where Paul and I caught a taxi to Marina Sands Hotel and Casino. It cost us $5.60 on the way there and $8.40 on the way back. The taxi driver drove really well in the heavy rain and at no time did we feel in danger of an accident.

We left Tower No 1 around 1pm and had noticed the crowds had trebled in the time we had arrived. We got there about 9am; too early to go up to the 57 floors to the skywalk deck and have a swim. As the deck opens for non-hotel guests after 10am, we decided to have a look at the one and only casino in Singapore. The Singaporean Government allowed the operation of the casino on condition the local population would not easily lose their hard earned wages on gambling. We discovered this when we entered the casino through the 'Foreigners'' entrance and didn't pay $100SGD for admittance as the local population are required to pay. Of course we had to show our passports to validate the fact we were not local. Once inside we didn't immediately notice the cigarette smoke from many of the gamblers due to the great air conditioning but when we stopped to watch a few games at various tables, we were amazed at how many people were smoking. Even at 9.15am on a Sunday morning we saw many of the tables in use and a lot of money in play.

When we tried to purchase a ticket to the sky walk we were told the local thunder storm had made conditions unsafe and it had been closed. Plan B. We went from tower 3 to tower 1 where we caught a lift to the restaurant on the sky walk. Unfortunately the restaurant had just closed for breakfast and would not open for lunch till 12 noon! To top matters off we were not dressed appropriately for lunch. (Paul had shorts on) But we managed to sneak a look and get some photos whilst we were up there!

Our visit ended by having lunch and a Singapore Sling in one of the lobby bars whilst we listened to a 4 string quartet play and watched the guests as they checked in or out. Singapore Sling cost $18. We had heard Raffles charged $36 for their Singapore Slings!

Once back at the terminal we found we had to go through security and immigration before turning around to get to the Duty Free Shop in the centre. To get to the ship we then had to go through Immigration and security to get out to the terminal, then go through security and immigration to get back onto the ship. Prices for wine in the Duty Free Shop were not worth the hassle…….cheapest white wine $39SGD, bought 6 cans of Heineken for $14SGD. AUD 11.20.

We had a sail-away get together on deck 11 aft, with quite a few Cruise Critic members.  Afterwards we headed off to the pizza restaurant with our Blackwood mates R & M, B & R for dinner so we could catch the comedian's act in one of the lounges.