Day 68, Singapore

Today will be a sea day for the most part, until we moor around 6pm at Singapore’s Ocean Terminal.   Numerous ships were visible all day and in some parts it almost looked as if we were on the maritime equivalent of an interstate highway as steady streams of vessels of all sizes passed us going in the opposite direction while we kept pace with many other ships heading to Singapore.

It was warm and humid on our verandah, but not stifling, and with an air conditioned refuge close at hand we could stand outside for a bit and then pop back inside after a few minutes. The air conditioning in our cabin has worked great all cruise and we have never had any trouble keeping the interior temperature at 72 degrees.

Good Morning Amsterdam’s guest was Barbara the Location Guide instead of the previous night’s entertainer as is the normal custom. With all the travelling done by these entertainers, getting up early for a TV show may be the last thing they want to do and might prefer getting caught up with some sleep.

Barbara is always interesting and she provided a few tidbits and advice for what to do in Singapore. She will be providing commentary as we sail into Singapore this afternoon. Unlike most ports, where your passport is not necessary to go ashore, here in Singapore it is required and we have to pass thru airport style immigration stations coming and going. Based on this, Barbara reminded us to not plan on quick visits to the terminal as you we able to do in Hong Kong or other ports.

I stopped by the Culinary Arts Center to see Guest Chef Pranee Halvorsen demonstrate how to prepare Phad Thai with Tiger Prawns, Tofu, Bean Sprouts and Chinese Chives. I enjoy cooking and love Asian food, but haven’t been too successful recreating many of the Chinese dishes I enjoy. The Phad Thai receipe she shared is posted HERE and I will give it a try when I get back to San Diego.

One of the special features I believe is available only on Grand Voyages (others correct me if I am wrong) is the noodle cart in the Lido for lunch on sea days. Every day they offer a different type of hot noodle soup, from Pho to Ramen and everything in between. The cart sits near the door to the Lido pool on the starboard side.

When passengers are getting off the ship at the end of their segment, there is a Grand Dollar Redemption opportunity in the Hudson Room. Gene mentioned this morning at Good Morning Amsterdam that they were out of $1 Grand Dollar Bills and that if you redeemed your $1 bills today you would get $100 Grand Dollar credit toward the gift of your choice. Gene also indicated that the prices marked are negotiable and he is willing to haggle.

I have managed to amass $375 Grand Dollars which is enough to get anything they are selling except the Kindle Fire. I think I will hold out till the end and see if they hold a final fire sale.

It was drizzling as Barbara started her narration for our arrival so we stayed in our cabin and watched from our Veranda. We are close to the stern on deck 6 so we can pop out to the deck below the SeaView pool pretty quickly if we want to see something on the other side.

As we closed on the Ocean Terminal, the curved towers of the residential development called Reflections at Keppel Bay were visible right outside our cabin. These buildings range from 24 to 41 stories with over 2 million square feet of living space.

Once we were between Singapore city and Sentosa Island we spun 180 degrees and snugged up against the pier at Harbour Front, bow facing to sea.

We had originally planned to go ashore and visit Raffles Hotel this evening. But as the rain persisted and we grew a little more weary, we decided to stay aboard and watch the special encore show by Annie Frances.

About 50 other people joined us in the Queens Lounge, and Annie did not disappoint. Her show was new and was a collection of hits from the 1970’s which was a sweet spot for most everyone in the audience.   While the audience was small, it was filled with enthusiastic fans. Her final number “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy brought down the house and she received an enthusiastic standing ovation.

After the show we stopped by the Lido for what we would call in the Navy: “Mid-Rats” which is short for “Midnight Rations” and although Navy food was always pretty good, I have to admit that “Mid Rats” on the Amsterdam beats Mid Rats on most aircraft carriers I deployed aboard.

• Annie Frances