We started day four of the four night Isles of Southeast Asia cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legends Of The Sea with a room service breakfast in bed.
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 1
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 2
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 3
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 4
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 5 And Review
The night before we had completed our little breakfast request label and put it on the door knob requesting breakfast between 7:30am and 8:00am. We were both sleeping really soundly at 7:15am when room service called us to let us know that breakfast was on the way. I hope they didn't get offended when I dropped the phone, whoops.
Breakfast was delivered with a smile and we set up the bed with a yummy spread of bacon, eggs, hash brown, pastries, cereal, granola, fruit platter, toast, yoghurt, milk and pots of tea. The meal was still warm and certainly fresh but it couldn't match the simply delicious bircher muesli from the Romeo & Juliet Restaurant.
There are other foods available from room service but we honestly never needed to. We were happy to visit the various restaurants on board. I believe room service is available around the clock although it costs a few dollars to order room service after midnight.
Lazy breakfast finished we headed out to meet Marisa, our tour guide for the behind the scenes “Royal Advantage – All Access Tour”. Andrew and I were both really excited to be going on this tour. We would get to see the kitchen (also known as the galley), the bridge, the engine control room, laundry, and more. The tour was going to take three and a half hours. Quite a long and thorough tour really.
Marisa checked our SeaPass cards against her folder, went through some important instructions like keeping together and no touching anything, and off we went. This was going to be fun!
The Galley (also known as the Kitchen)
What a massive place the galley is! I really didn't realise the kitchen was this big and set out in so many different sections. There was the salad section, soup section, pastry section, rice section, meat section… and so on. These sections pump out a good 1300+ meals in the evening for the Romeo & Juliet Restaurant so everything must run like clockwork.
While we were being shown through the kitchen staff were preparing food for all of the restaurants and cafes on board. This place is a vast machine that produces an awe inspiring number of meals every day.
The Head Chef shared some of the “underground secrets” of the meals and the restaurants onboard including ordering their food supplies three months in advance, and how there's a steak person who only prepares steak, a potato guy who only prepares potatoes etc. That way, if something is wrong with the potatoes they know exactly who to talk to. Poor potato guy had better make good potatoes! Just in case you are wondering, the chefs rotate through the spots so they don't have to make the same thing every day.
I got to help make Seafood Chowder while we were in the galley. I did a fine job and I believe the love I put into that soup made it even tastier!
We were then shown how to carve a shark out of a watermelon and how to make a bird out of an apple. All that work and all I wanted to do was eat the fruit. Great fruit carving artistry though.
Next, we headed to the baking section. I was able to try out the coolest bread roll making machine ever. A round flattened dough is put on a tray that has slight rounded indents on the bottom. The tray is then placed in a press and you pull a leaver down while the tray vibrates in the machine. Lift up the press and, hey presto, perfectly sized little bread rolls. How cool is that!
We thanked the Head Chef and any other kitchen staff we saw along the way for their awesome work, tasty food and the time they took to show us around. Then we headed into one of the cruise ship staff areas.
Crew Areas
Our guide, Marisa, told us that it was ok for us to take photos but we just couldn't do it. This was their space and as comfortable, clean, and awesome as it was Andrew and I agreed that their secrets would be safe with us.
Just so you know, they have a lounge area with televisions, Internet stations, a buffet cafe, a bar, a dance floor, and a little shop for anything they may need during their time on board. They can even buy Fosters beer…
The Bridge
Before entering the Bridge we had a security person check our SeaPass cards and go over us with a metal detector. A sign of the times I guess. Once on the bridge we chatted with the Senior Officers and were shown all the awesome high-tech equipment they use.
I even got to steer the Legends Of The Sea cruise ship myself*.
*Not really, I just wanted to say that.
Waste Management
We headed back down into the guts of the ship to visit the waste management area. I know that some people may not be interested with how a cruise ship deals with their waste but we certainly were.
On deck there are separate bins for items that guests use. One for paper, one for plastic, one for general waste. Down stairs, in the waste room, everything that comes into the area is then sorted.
All cardboard boxes are crushed into cubes. Glass bottles are put through a glass crusher reduce their volume and batteries are saved for recycling on land. All the waste is stored and then disposed of responsibly once the ship docks.
Check out more info on the “Saves The Waves” program from Royal Caribbean International.
The Engine Room
At last we arrived at the heart of the ship. We were not allowed to actually go into the hot, loud and possibly dangerous engine room. We did however get to hang out in the control room and learn about how the cruise ship works, how much more fuel the ship uses, and what life is like for an Engineer. Everything was really fascinating!
The Laundry Room
Further down into the ship's belly we went. Next stop, the Laundry Room. The washing machines and dryers were so big! This place deals with a truly epic volume of towels, linen and clothing. So much washing.
We were shown the most awesome steam ironing thing ever! A coat is placed over a dummy, a switch pressed, and steam enters the jacket from the inside. All the wrinkles disappeared. Just like that!
After a barrage of questions our guide Marisa advised that the staff have to do their own washing. Luckily they have a smaller but just as awesome laundry set up on deck two that they can use at any time of the day.
Backstage At The Theatre
Our last stop on the All Access Tour was backstage of the “That's Entertainment” Theatre. We were shown the different lighting and stage systems, the entertainer's changing areas, and where the audio and visual staff work.
Surprisingly, the backstage area where the entertainers have to get ready for stage performances is really small. I would love to see how they cope with all the costume changes when they are entertaining us so brilliantly.
The End
After we left the theatre Marisa handed us a bag each which had an apron inside it. This was our take-away gift for going on the “Royal Advantage – All Access Tour”.
The tour was amazing! We loved every second of it. Yes, the tour is not cheap. It costs USD $150 per person for the 3 1/2 hour tour but, if you really want to see how a cruise ship works, then it is well worth the price. On our cruise they were offering two people for the price of one. Totally worth it.
By the time we had finished the tour we were starving! We hadn't eaten for over four hours. We were wasting away! We lunched at the Windjammer Cafe while we had another look at the “Cruise Compass” for today.
We were at sea all day and night so their were plenty of activities. We had missed the cake decoration display, the bingo game and the jive dance class due to the tour but there was still heaps for us to do.
After lunch, we checked out the towel folding class where they taught us how to make a little towel dog and a towel elephant. Then we learned how to make a napkin shirt at Napkin Artistry Part 2.
Late in the afternoon, we picked up our passports from the staff onboard. We needed to pick them up today as we will be leaving the ship tomorrow morning. Boo!
Ever wanted to learn a language? We learned basic Mandarin from a great teacher, Kitty. The experience was hilariously funny and we all had to pass a brief test before we were allowed to leave the grand piano that served as a classroom. I did try to make mistakes so that we couldn't get off the cruise ship but Kitty wasn't fooled. Sigh!
Finally, on our last full day on the cruise ship, we had a few minutes spare to enjoy the two pools and hot tubs. The pool water was quite cool whereas the hot tub was deliciously warm. We could have spent a lot more time in the hot tubs but we had too much to do! Note to self, go on another cruise to enjoy the pools more.
Wearing our finest fine-dining wear, the Concierge Lounge was next for red wine, gin and tonics and delicious petit fours. It really is a nice lounge up there. A comfortable seat that looks out on a beautiful view. I really could get used to this lifestyle.
Before heading to dinner for the night we took a walk around deck 9 enjoying the view and the ship. We have been really lucky this week. How can we ever go back to the life we had before? We have changed. Unfortunately, we just have to enjoy the time we have.
Our last dinner was at Izumi Japanese Cuisine Restaurant on deck 11. The top deck overlooking the whole ship. It's one of the two restaurants on board whose meals are not included with your ticket.
We started with edamame and miso soup. Tuna wasabi carpaccio was next. To finish we shared the assorted sashimi platter. The restaurant allowed us to substitute extra tuna, yellowtail and snapper in place of octopus. Very accommodating.
We didn't eat too much tonight as we were quite full from our afternoon snacking. Izumi Restaurant was lovely but, while the price was reasonable, I'm not sure it's necessary to pay extra money for food when you get delicious food in the Windjammer Cafe and at Romeo & Juliet Restaurant. The other food on board is of a high enough standard that it becomes hard to justify the extra expense.
After dinner we were treated to two awesome entertainment shows. The first was the Aerial Vignette performers swinging from the atrium at Centrum. They were accompanied by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers.
The second show, the main event, was in the That's Entertainment Theatre. The Acrobatic Artistry of Alan and Yulia. Oh. My. Gosh. This couple performed beautifully, with such grace and amazing style. I am not often speechless. Even now as I write this, I am.
Check out some of Alan and Yulia's artistic performance here. They are truly amazing. Thank you Royal Caribbean for such marvelous entertainment.
It may be hard to believe but we decided that a little snack of tea and cake from Park Cafe would hit the spot before bed. Our last sleep in our awesome cabin on our ship. We really didn't want the day to end. Tomorrow, we will be back in Singapore.
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 1
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 2
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 3
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 4
- Royal Caribbean – Legends Of The Sea Cruise – Day 5 And Review
Disclaimer: We received complimentary cruise tickets on the Legends Of The Sea Cruise Ship in return for our complete and honest review – good or bad. Click here for more information about Royal Caribbean International.
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