As a Heads up - this will be a long review. I found the in depth reviews to be helpful when I was deciding on our cruise, so I will try to provide as much detail as possible. My two sisters and I embarked on the 8 night 'Indonesia and Bali' cruise from the Singapore Cruise Center, all equally nervous, as this was our first cruise. We did have relatively high expectations, as I had spent the months leading up to our cruise reading every review possible.

Embarkation was a relatively smooth process, with plenty of staff willing to offer help. We dropped our luggage off, filled in the immigration forms (the ladies were lovely and helpful) and headed upstairs to get our SeaPass card. There was a little bit of a wait here, but nothing worth stressing about. The staff at the desk were extremely helpful. We went through customs, which was again a painless experience, and then had to line up as the gangway was being adjusted. Some people were getting very annoyed at the wait, but I think the heat wasn't helpful. Soon enough though we were on the ship, and headed straight to our cabin.

We stayed in a Grand Suite, and it was lovely. Maintenance is obviously a priority as the room was spotless. The beds were extremely comfortable and the room was of a good size. The balcony was larger then I had imagined, my only wish was that there was a laid-back deckchair out there, however there was a table and two chairs. Our luggage was already there, so we unpacked, when our stateroom attendant, Haibing ('Bing') introduced himself to us. We said our Hello's and soon were exploring the ship. Read more