Maiden cruise vacation.

 

With the little one. On Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas.

 

While I have always envisaged a cruise getaway to be fun and relaxing, travelling with young kids however makes it a volatile and uncertain affair.

 

Even the most comprehensive of pre-emptive measures cannot prepare one adequately for the permutations of mini disasters that can pan out.

 

So here's a low-down on a 4D3N Royal Caribbean Cruise - family with young kids edition.

 

Suggested additional stuff to pack for the little one(s): cardigan/ crayon+paper/ favorite games+videos/ thermometer+medicine/ security toy/ milk bottle scrub+detergent/ swimming float.

 

Our scheduled embarkation time was 3pm at Marina Bay Cruise Center. But having down some pre-trip research, we turned up eagerly at noon.

 

Having zipped passed the baggage drop which is right outside the entrance, we decided not to turn back but to lug our suitcases with us all the way.

 

Boarding was relatively smooth; exchanged our set sail passes for sea passes, shuffled through the air bridge, surrendered our passports, scanned barcode and we're on board!

 

 

Rooms were only available for check-in at 1.30pm so we did what everyone else did - take the lift to Deck 11 to Windjammer Cafe where the entrance was literally jammed with lunch-seekers.

 

 

So we went back down to Deck 4 and settled down at the cushions outside the Main Dining Room.

 

 

In a new environment with fresh and interesting sights, it wasn't difficult to kill time.

 

 

The little one was especially busy snapping away on his own camera.

 

 

The announcement came punctually at 1.30pm that the rooms were ready for checking in.

 

Not too familiar with layout of the vessel, it was a bit of a maze trying to locate the correct elevators to take to reach our stateroom.

 

 

Had to pass through the Casino Royale where the coin dozer machine caught our extended attention.

 

 

Pushing open the door, we slid pass a narrow walkway to our cozy Stateroom with Ocean View.

 

 

The space-efficient layout ensured an adequate suite of amenities all packed in.

 

Mini bar with coffee sachets and tea packets. 2 bottles of water that's not replenished every day. But there are 3 water coolers on board (inside the fitness center @Deck 11, around the running track @Deck 12, next to basketball court @Deck 13.

 

 

The Cruise Compass that's placed in the room every evening provides the schedule of events for the next day. But having a kid in tow would render most of the activities out-of-bounds. Nonetheless, the cruise compass served a secondary purpose: to find out the strategic timings where many people are locked up in the theatres and studios so the activity areas and pools will be less crowded.

 

Circular shower area with hot water and good pressure. Only liquid soap is provided in a dispenser so pack your own toiletries on the trip.

 

Loud vacuum flushes in all toilets so the little one would repeatedly remind us to wait for him to go out before flushing.

 

 

The television faces the sofa but the flexible arm mount allowed us to rotate it to face the bed!

 

 

TV channels were disappointing. But hey, there’s GLEE! Spoiler alert! Going on cruise with young kids, you’d be spending more time in the room than you’d wish.

 

 

Sockets are 2-pin kind so pack your travel adapters.

 

 

After settling in, we made another trip up to Windjammer Cafe and this time we managed to get in and even landed a window seat.

 

 

The food spread was luxurious and the quality was top-notch for buffet standards.

 

 

Pasta, good; soup, good; mousse cake, good.

 

 

After lunch, we went back to the room and waited for the mandatory muster drill at 4.00pm.

 

 

The drill required all guests to assemble at the respective bays. The staff would do a headcount before demonstrating how to don a life jacket. The whole session took 15-20 mins.

 

 

After that, the little one did not want to nap so we quickly changed into swimwear and went up to the pool also at Deck 11.

 

But disaster struck as there was a dance activity at the poolside with loud thumping music which startled the little one.

 

 

The crankiness from skipping his afternoon nap coupled with the disappointment of not being able to swim made him cry and shriek uncontrollably that we had to scamper back to our room.

 

After we managed to pacify him, we decided to go for our scheduled dinner @ Main Dining Room (assigned table number is indicated on the sea pass).

 

Meals @ Main Dining Room is a fine dining affair with a 3-course serving and 2 dedicated waiters/ waitresses (1 main+1 assistant).

 

 

With yumm yumm in our tumm tumm, we set out in search of the mini-golf course. That brought us to Deck 12 where the running track was.

 

 

It was perfect timing as the setting sun painted a kaleidoscope of breathtaking views. If anything, I strongly recommend a trip up to Deck 12/13 at sunset.

 

 

Spotted a truncated double rainbow.

 

 

First time capturing the features on the moon!

 

 

The mini-golf course wasn't easy to find for first-timers. You need to walk along Deck 12 all the way to the rear of the ship, locate the table tennis tables, climb up the stairs to Deck 13 and go past the Flowrider.

 

The little one instantly fell in love with activity. But we couldn't decide whether he was playing hockey or vacuuming the grass.

 

 

Regardless, the little workout was sufficient for him to knock out not long after washing up and drinking milk.

 

That gave us some precious personal time. Like any vacation, exploring the Fitness Center (Deck 11) is a must.

 

 

And the icing on the cake was a post-gym snack at Cafe Promenade (Deck 5) which serves sandwiches, pastries, pizzas and hot beverages round the clock.