First CNY dinner

Nat had her first CNY eve dinner at Nai Nai's. Perhaps due to unfamiliarity or lights from the chinese altar, or she was frightened to see so many people showering her with attention all at the same time. Nat cried when we first reached Nai Nai's and we had to stay along the corridor for a while to give her time to warm up to her surrounding.

Nonetheless we had a great feast at Nai Nai's. First on the list was Yusheng which is a Chinese salad dish with abalone generously laid at the top of the salad consisting of carrots, radish, ginger, flour pillows etc. Prior to consuming, you had to toss the salad as high as you can and with each toss couples an auspicious phrase/wish for the new year. We had bee hoon, curry chicken, Broccoli with mushrooms, pig's intestine soup, drunken prawns and spinach with abalone. Yums! Nat sat beside mummy and watched on like hawk. Tapping on mummy's back whenever she felt like have a bite. She tried chicken that night and it went down well with her asking for more.

The adults ended the day with a game of blackjack and Chris was the biggest winner at the table as he regained his losses in the last game where every player paid him double.

Kite festival

Giantic kites filled up the airspace in Punggol today! It was a lovely evening, with a cool breeze to keep the kites afloat as they glide through the air. We were told of this event by Daniel, who is a kite lover and a regular at the kite flying arena near Buangkok MRT.

Nat had a great time watching the kites zoom by with special lighting display which makes them visible in the dark.

The Royal Caribbean - Legend of the Seas

We celebrated Christmas and new year on Royal Caribbean. It was amazing! The trip was extremely relaxing, great for bringing babies and the elderlies! There are lots of activities onboard from Bingo to Casinos to fine-dining to Jewellery making to line dancing to indoor swimming to gymming to professional photo-taking! You'll find that the days went by quickly before you know it! We spent 5 nights on the Royal Caribbean and it still felt short!

In fact, we had not been overseas since I was pregnant with Nat and this trip meant alot to the family not just because this is our first family trip with Nat at 10 months, we had 4 generations of women travelling together. Both her grandma and great grandma came along as well!

I would strongly recommend Royal Caribbean as 'the' cruise to go on. Their superb service started even from loading of luggage, quick efficient processing by friendly crew members who greets you with smiles. The concept of collating passports for mass stamping at the beginning of the cruise or prior to arriving at major port of call saves you the hassle and fear of losing the passports on foreign land made travelling real easy for the family. We are able to get on/off board the ship with a seapass card which is effectively our photo id cards with our pictures taken at point of departure. There is little or no queuing as passengers leisurely got onboard the ship. Unlike boarding a plane you often find yourself rushing to the boarding gate despite the fact that you were made to arrive 3 hours earlier for security checks.

The cruise started as soon as we passed through immigration, Royal Caribbean own drawbridge was decorated with posters for picture moments and their own professional photographers ensured that you don't miss out on the opportunity to take a group shot. You would also find yourselves welcomed by the head waiter who helps with your reservation for dinner as you move along. Impressive service huh? That's not all.

As we reached our stateroom ( 6098 & 6570), we were welcomed by the service attendant dedicated to our area. One could tell that he really went all the way to ensure that we were well looked after. Chris ( the attendant's name) helped setup Nat's playpen, and even got her a down feather blanket to line her sleeping area without me asking and best of all, found us a bath tub which saves us the hassle of inflating a makeshift tub. Each time we left and returned, we would find the room tidied and cleaned. He went even further by surprising us with a different towel animal origami each night. We know he really did a great job as compared to the attendant looking after my mum's stateroom and he certainly stood out.

Dinner is served at various restaurants- Windjammer( casual dining), Romeo & Juliet ( fine-dining) or the Solarium, which is the indoor pool area which serves pizzas and other finger food. 2 of the nights were formal and diners appeared in beautiful evening wear and gentlemen in suits or tuxedos. At the tables,you are greeted by your designated waiter and his assistant. We were so well looked after by Sashko and Jane as they dished out special Asian dishes on top of the Western menu to make us feel at home. Simple dish of the usual greens cooked in oyster sauce made grandma real pleased that she tipped him heavily on the last day. New Year's dinner was exceptionally fabulous as we wined on champagne and attempt to finish the sinful desserts with the accompaniment of the life band to play your favourite tunes. Having said this we had diffculty losing the kilos gained over these 5 days. But I must say we really enjoyed the dining experience!

To be continued....

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