2017/05/26

↑This article was introduced in Hong Kong LEI vol.21, May-June issue. Did you enjoy it? If you haven't already, you can check out the details of the page in Emagazine.

And! For those of you who want to know more:
Here we would like to give you a taste of every aspect of the luxury cruise ship that our magazine's staff experienced!

As we (writers and photographers) were reporting in the middle of the Easter holidays, we were allowed to bring our children with us and joined a six-day, five-night media tour from April 5nd, which marked the anniversary of the ship's maiden voyage to Okinawa.

The departure point is Chitose Ferry Pier in Kowloon Bay.
Street address: KowloonKowloon33 Chung Fung Road, Chung Tak (the former site of Hong Kong Airport)
http://info.dreamcruiseline.com/tc/note/Embarkation.html

The ship can accommodate about 3,500 people, and 70% of the rooms on the ship have balconies, so we decided to stay in a Starter Balcony Room. The room has two twin beds, or you can choose to join them together to make a double bed.

The room would be similar to a slightly larger business hotel in Japan.

There is a sofa that can be used as an extra bed. Amenities are also provided, including TWG tea bags (only instant coffee was available). A refrigerator and a safe are also provided.

There are also larger balcony rooms and suites available.

By the way, you can also purchase the Internet for an additional fee, either for one day or for the entire trip. For the entire trip, it costs just under $900 and allows you to connect up to two devices.

All the balcony rooms have only showers, but there were no problems with the water pressure or temperature whenever I took a shower, and it was so comfortable I couldn't believe I was on a ship. The suite rooms come with a bathtub.

Now, after putting our luggage down and taking a breather, we head straight for lunch.
Once you check in on the cruise ship, you can spend 5 nights and 6 days on the ship without spending any money on basic life. There are 6 restaurants where you can eat for free, so you can eat without having to pay. This is the restaurant "Silkroad" where extras can eat (Deck XNUMX (XNUMXth floor) at the front of the ship)

The first place we had was Chinese. It is one of the recommended restaurants out of the 35 restaurants and cafes on board. In the evenings, you can dine while watching a performance on the stage here. The food was light and refreshing, and the presentation was cute, so it was very fresh and delicious! The lighting in this restaurant is a little dim, giving it a somewhat adult atmosphere. Some people were excited by the portraits of sexy women. (lol)

While we were eating, we felt like we were rocking and swaying for a moment. The ship left the port around noon, heading first to Guangzhou to pick up passengers from the mainland. Even though the ship was moving, it didn't feel so light and fluffy that we almost forgot we were on a ship.

Since today was the first day, we decided to start off by going on a tour of the ship.

It's so big that it feels like you're moving through an entire city! Even though the staff showed me where everything was, it was hard to keep track of everything.

The ship is equipped with a wide range of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.
This is the karaoke room, which can be rented by the hour. (Deck 6, front of the ship)

Cigar Room

Bowling Alley

Night club

Arcade

The gym with a great view is also special!

The original screen allows you to see the bow of the ship live.

This is the yoga studio. The bright natural light feels great!

The corridors on the ship are very spacious and clean!
Look at the left side of this photo. We discovered a mysterious vending machine!

This was a game where you put money in and operate the arms to get a bag full of money. There were many 1000-dollar bills hanging from the ceiling!

In fact, there is a casino spread across three floors in the center of the ship. Photography is prohibited, so I can't post a picture here, but there are a variety of slot machines, blackjack, wheeling machines, and so on. However, there is no loud clanging noise like in Macau, and all the guests seemed to be playing games in silence. Guests staying in suites or above have access to a private lounge, restaurant, and casino that are not available to the general public.

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This is one of the free dining rooms (↓). DO Dream Dining Room Upper.
Due to the large number of patrons, dinner is divided into three slots. You can go at any time, but you need to get a ticket before entering because the seats are limited.
The dinner menu at this restaurant changes every day. (More details to come later)

The wind was strong, but the weather was just right for a walk. The red thing on the right is an emergency escape boat. It's bigger than I thought, and can probably hold about 80 people. (We'll board this boat when we land on Miyakojima! More details later, so look forward to it!)

Restaurant "Bistro" Probably the most recommended restaurant on the cruise ship. (Additional charge, I ate there. I'll introduce it later!)

Next, we went to Cristal Life Asian Spa. (Deck 5, forward of the ship), where we got the massages that we usually enjoy in Hong Kong. You can experience full body massages, foot massages, and more, all for the same price as in Hong Kong.

If the waves are not rough during the voyage, you can relax in the jacuzzi. (If the waves are high, the pool on the ship will also shake, so it is prohibited to use.) The fruits and juices here are complimentary. Once inside, you can lounge around there until you get bored, and you can also eat snacks for an additional fee. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing. If your children are quiet, you can enter with them. If not, children are not allowed.

Receptionist

Menu

Jacuzzi. Warm bed.

Couple room for full body massage

For foot massage

The signature of Crystal Life Asia Spa is this foot washing and warming set. When you put your feet in the copper (lead) tub, you will feel warm in no time.

The ship has two spas and one beauty clinic.
This is a beauty clinic, with doctors on-site who can treat wrinkles, remove age spots, and administer Botox.

The teacher on the left is actually a Japanese teacher!

There is also a beauty salon! There is also a SPA&BARBAR shop that caters specifically to men and will even do beard and beard grooming.

And the popular high-end spa, "Crystal Life Spa" (Deck 15, forward of the ship) offers a variety of treatments including body massages and facials. Some treatments incorporate the oriental yin-yang principle, and all the beauticians who work here have experience working in first-class hotel spas. Their skills are top-notch! This spa is recommended for those who want to truly relax.

The first thing you see is the locker room. Fluffy robes and slippers are provided. Disposable underwear is also provided.

First, warm up your body and relax. In the back, there are both steam and dry saunas.

And if you start to feel a bit hot, you can relax in the relaxation room before or after your treatment.

There are various treatment rooms depending on the menu. Spas tend to be busy, so reservations are required.

Now we have arrived at the pool (Deck16-17) on the roof of the ship. There are slides and pools for all ages, from adults to children, so you can use them with peace of mind. There is also a thrilling slide for adults that drops about XNUMX degrees, which is scary even to look at, and is very exciting.

Besides the above, there are also rock climbing, tightrope walking, putt-putt golf, and basketball courts outside, so you can let off some steam when you need it! (Deck 18-19) I also saw a few people running.

Meanwhile, the ship docked in Guangzhou. On the first day, we spent half a day traveling to Guangzhou to welcome our guests from the mainland. There was nothing there, just a huge container square? The sunset was very beautiful. (laughs)

Meanwhile, it's dinner time. We decided to have dinner at the ethnic cafe Blue Lagoon (additional charge).
(Deck 7, front of the ship)
 

I ended up ordering a lot of spicy food, but there were also non-spicy noodles and meat buns on the menu. The super spicy chicken with Sichuan peppercorns in the photo below and the laksa were both very delicious. It's a bit of a relief to be able to eat such casual food for under $100.

Actually, the day wasn't over yet. After all the passengers had gathered and eaten dinner, the evacuation drill was held at around 9pm. We had been walking around the ship since noon and were exhausted, so to be honest it was very hard for us to attend the drill, but this was strictly enforced by the ship's rules and everyone had to attend. If we didn't attend, we would be called in again and again until we had properly heard the evacuation instructions.

This card (below) is given to everyone when they check in at the Chide Cruise Wharf. It is always carried around the neck and acts as a room key and a card to charge shopping, etc. The "emergency meeting place" is written in the middle of this card. In case of an emergency, everyone must gather at the place written on this card. In our case, it says "Dream Dining Room Lower". D7 means the XNUMXth floor, and AFT means the rear of the ship. In case of an emergency, we immediately gather here, confirm our identities, and then split into smaller groups. In our case, we are the group with the big [E] written on it. In case of an emergency evacuation, we board the emergency boats installed on both sides of the ship and evacuate by group at the evacuation location. We explain such things to the passengers so that we can ensure safety smoothly in case of an emergency.

Training on how to put on a life jacket.

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On board, English, Cantonese, and Mandarin were spoken, and most of the Asian staff spoke all three languages. (In addition to Chinese staff, there were Westerners and Southeast Asian staff from the Philippines.) Sometimes, there were staff in the Chinese restaurant and housekeepers who didn't seem to be good at English, but other staff nearby always came and helped them. I got the impression that everyone was well trained in manners.

Actually, the night on the ship was still to come. There were nightclubs, bars, outdoor night movies, movie theater screenings, casinos, and many other nightlife options to enjoy, but we were exhausted after walking around the ship for hours and sank.

Now the ship is finally on its way to Okinawa.

See you next week for the rest! Look forward to June 2nd!