“Remember Crazy Rich Asians?” our Singapore guide, Cristina, asked us, referring to the 2018 romantic comedy film. “It was filmed there,” she added, pointing to Singapore’s arguably most iconic building which we visited on a previous world cruise, the Marina Bay Sands building. This amazing building is composed of three high towers with a hotel and shops and it is crowned with the ship-like Sands SkyPark, a 2.5-acre platform-cantilever, housing the park and hotel amenities including bars and restaurants, in addition to the reportedly world’s largest rooftop infinity pool (495-feet long). We loved the spectacular views from the SkyPark and from the building’s observation deck 57 levels up from the ground. This world cruise we enjoyed views of its eye-popping exterior!
Visiting Singapore is the highlight of many voyages in the South China Sea, including Grand Asia sailings, and it has been a marquee stop for our world cruises including our current one on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. This affluent and independent Asian city-state is notable for its awesome sights and heights as well as its world-famous Singapore Sling cocktails made with gin, cherry liqueur, Bénédictine, Cointreau, pineapple juice, lime juice, grenadine, Angostura bitters and topped with soda water.
Singapore, one of Asia’s southernmost points, has six million inhabitants of diverse cultures who reside in its 277 square miles. It is known for its strict rules regarding littering (the notorious ban on chewing gum in public has been relaxed, but while you can chew gum in public, you still cannot litter the used gum and there are also laws against spitting, graffiti and littering in general). There is a lot of security at the port terminal including stations for facial recognition and for digital fingerprinting. We were advised to allow at least 20 minutes to clear security at the terminal so we would not miss our tours. It was good advice as it did take that long.
Many cruise ships overnight in Singapore – ours always has – which is fantastic as there is so much to see. On our current cruise one of the complimentary touring offerings was the guided highlights tour we took with Cristina. These highlights include Singapore’s architecture, which is a professional and amateur photographer’s delight. In addition to the already mentioned Marina Bay Sands, its magnificent skyline features, among others, the durian-fruit-shaped entertainment venue, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay; the UFO-like Old Supreme Court Building, and the lotus-flower-inspired ArtScience Museum.
When visiting Singapore, perusing the local neighborhoods is another must: they include the Padang district, with its wide greenspace encompassed by colonial architecture; colorful Chinatown and Little India with shops, restaurants and temples; the Arab Quarter with the gold-domed Sultan Mosque and Orchard Street with western-style department stores and designer boutiques.
One great place for photos and selfies is the iconic Merlion, a half lion/half fish creature that spouts water. With eyes aglow and bathed in light at night, this statue has become a symbol of Singapore. It is located in its own park plaza in the city-state’s business district.
The Raffles Hotel is a luxurious property that has hosted the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, James Michener, Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Chan and John Wayne during its history. Its famous Long Bar, the birthplace of the potent potable Singapore Sling, was a special treat to visit and you can chuck peanut shells on the floor here – technically the only place where you can literally legally litter in Singapore.
Sentosa Island, located off Singapore’s southern coast, is host to resorts, theme parks and beaches. We visited once during one of our world cruises and enjoyed manmade beaches with white sand, a water park and several venues including a Universal Studios park, a Madame Tussauds attraction and the S.E.A. Aquarium, with more than 100,000 marine creatures representing some 1,000 species across 50 habitats. Sentosa Island also has museums including the Maritime Experiential Museum with 15 thematic galleries, and the Trick Eye Museum with a collection of 3D artworks that turn two-dimensional paintings into three-dimensional images through optical illusions. Other attractions of Sentosa Island include an additional, larger Merlion that we entered on a previous cruise and climbed for views of the island. The trip to Sentosa is also enjoyable: visitors can take a monorail from VivoCity Mall to Harbourfront or the Singapore Cable Car from Harbourfront Station and delight in panoramas of the city-state along the route, as well as views of ships at the harbor. Cable cars flew right over the Seven Seas Mariner and another cruise ship docked next to us at the Singapore Cruise Centre.
A Singapore attraction for flower lovers is the National Orchid Garden, a fragrant and beautiful oasis with 60,000-plus blooms which we enjoyed during a previous voyage, as well as the Gardens by the Bay, one of Asia’s foremost floral and horticultural displays. Highlights include the impressive and beautiful Flower Dome, listed as the world’s largest glass greenhouse in the 2015 Guinness World Records with more than three acres of space; and the gardens’ iconic Supertree Grove, vertical, tree-like gardens that measure 25 to 50 meters, with canopies that provide shade during the day as well as light and sound displays at night.
On our way to Singapore, the Seven Seas Mariner celebrated Easter with a lavish display of whimsical chocolate bunnies, other critters and eggs. The display surrounded our world cruise cake that records our journey around the world with appropriate markers: a dolphin by Miami, the Opera House by Sydney, etc. and all edible. Dinner at the Compass Rose (main restaurant) featured Virginia ham with all the trimmings. Guests were given a box of treats in addition to our pillow chocolates. Some guests got into the spirit of the holiday and decorated their suite doors for Easter. Lovely!
Some quick superlatives:
- Most eye-popping: The Marina Bay Sands.
- Most culturally interesting: Singapore’s various neighborhoods including Little India, the Arab Quarter and Chinatown.
- Most festive: The Easter celebration aboard the Seven Seas Mariner.
- Most time consuming: Security at the Cruise Centre terminal.
- Most anticipated: Our visit to other Asian ports including Phuket, Thailand.
Follow along with Georgina and Humberto:
Preparing for a World Cruise | The Adventure Begins | Amazing Americas | Crossing the Pacific | Hawaiian Islands | French Polynesia | Venturing to New Zealand | Australia | Bali | Vietnam
By Cruise Specialists client, Georgina Cruz
Georgina Cruz is a freelance travel writer specializing in cruises. Her work has appeared in national magazines and regional publications as well as on travel websites. She has been on more than 200 voyages including seven circumnavigations, all booked through Cruise Specialists.
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