It's costly traveling as a family of six. Since Ansel was born in 2021, we've traveled minimally due to Covid and even when the borders were reopened, we kept our travels to neighbouring countries only and that's how it has remained for the past few years. While Ansel has been to Johor Bahru and Bintan, he has yet to go on a flight or go anywhere further beyond those places.
So last year, we decided to save up and splurge a little for a cruise holiday in December. Yup, it was going to be Ansel's first cruise and our first family-of-six cruise too! We decided to go on Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas since we've had positive, memorable experiences with its other vessels, including Quantum of the Seas, Vision of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.
If you are looking for a truly detailed cruise review including tips for traveling alone with the kids, what to expect on board or what to pack in your luggage, head over here. This is where we did an in-depth write-up of Quantum of the Seas and many of the activities there overlap with what you can find on Spectrum, including iFly, North Star, rock climbing, bumper car, arcade, laser tag, theater shows, shore excursions and more.
In this post, I will focus more on what we did as a family this time round and enjoyed a leisurely 6D5N cruise vacation which took us to Penang and Phuket too.
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INTRODUCTION
Launched in 2019, Spectrum of the Seas is a Quantum-class ship that measures a vast 347-metre in length and can carry a maximum of 4,905 passengers. It boasts 16 decks of which 14 are accessible to passengers. Just check out the side view of the ship which we managed to capture when we docked in Phuket. Simply magnificent, right?
CABINS
One thing about having a big family is that you can no longer stay in one room on vacation unless you get a suite. That, of course, comes at a price too hefty for us so we chose to stay in two balcony cabins instead. We were lucky to be able to get two connecting ones which made the space seem so much bigger since we could move about from one room to the next. The balcony was very much welcome because it gave a good view of the scenery and allowed us to take a breather when we felt too cooped in the room. One of our cabins could fit four people because it had a queen bed and a sofa bed which the boys said felt very comfy.
While the rooms, including the washrooms, were not huge, they sufficed to meet our needs and anyway, we were out most of the time so all we really wanted was a nice bed to rest and sleep in.
FOOD
One thing we enjoyed very much on board a cruise is the food! With the wide variety of restaurants, dining halls and specialty outlets, there is always something for you to fill up your tummy with. The kids looked forward to the buffets and it was really nice that we got to eat together as a family for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day - sometimes we have tea and supper too!
If I have to compare, I actually prefer the lunch and dinner spread we had at Club Med over the cruise. It seemed like the former had more variety and offered more kinds of international cuisine. For the cruise, I prefer to go to the dining halls to enjoy a four-course dinner instead of the buffet at Windjammer because the latter seldom had any variety and you can get a little bored of eating the same food. Still, we enjoyed the meals a lot, especially breakfast, and it felt good to order it in-room one day so we could sleep in a little more and eat while clad in our pajamas.
The kids were also delighted to get ice cream at nearly every meal but hey, we are on vacation after all so one eye closed, yeah?
SPORTS
The good thing about cruises is that there is a whole list of fun, exciting things you can do on the ship. This includes sports and it is something we enjoy doing as a family. Imagine climbing a rock wall amidst the ocean? Yeah, been there done that. It was a scorching afternoon but since it was kind of the only time we had left to climb, the girls beared with the burning hot holds and scaled their way up the wall.
We also played table tennis as a family but since there are only two tables on board, be prepared to wait for your turn unless you are super lucky and there is no one in queue.
One of the highlights on Spectrum of the Seas is... the pools!
Since this was a leisure trip where we wanted to take things slow and enjoy the moment, we skipped heading down when we were in Port Klang and decided to laze in the pools instead. There are indoor and outdoor pools as well as kiddy pools and even water slides to thrill the little ones. Kids need to be able to go down alone on the spiral, tunnel slides and this scared Ansel who then chose to remain on the kiddy slide but had fun nonetheless.
We loved the jacuzzi pool too because it was heated and felt super shiok! Yes, I know we shouldn't be in there for longer than 15 minutes but those few minutes did feel heavenly and reminded me what a vacation is truly about - relaxation and family time.
SHORE EXCURSIONS
Although we didn't book any shore excursion as we wanted to take it free and easy, we still made our way down the ship in Penang and Phuket and decided to book a taxi to ferry us to places where the kids could have some fun.
Even when we were in the cab, we were still clueless of where to go so we would ask the driver for recommendations. Yup, that's as spontaneous as you can get, right?
-> Penang
There was this nice, friendly old uncle who told us that there was a theme park in The TOP at Komtar Tower in George Town, Penang so we made our way there. It turned out to be a pretty good decision because we bought package tickets which allowed us to visit a dinosaur research centre, an aquarium, the famous Rainbow Skywalk at 68 stories high, a Science related museum, a zombie house and have a ride on the carousel too. I would have loved to take the kids for a Go Kart session too but too bad we didn't have enough time.
We made many fond memories from that afternoon, including seeing the majestic dinosaurs, enjoying a picturesque aerial view of Penang, screaming incessantly in the zombie house, playing arcade games, admiring the marine creatures and through it all, bonding as a family. You can see our video below for all the highlights, it took me months to finish but I am so happy that it is finally up and running.
-> Phuket
In Phuket, we visited the Tiger Kingdom which was kind of a waste of money because we didn't want to pay the hefty price which would have allowed us to go into the enclosures. I guess we would prefer our Singapore Zoo any time because the animals seem happier, more active and have more space to run around there.
We decided to spend the afternoon by going for a four-wheel buggy off-road ride which was possibly the best thing we did because all of us enjoyed it so much. Asher and Ariel were in my buggy and being a possibly reckless but fun driver, we shrieked and squealed so much as if we were on the best roller coaster ride ever. It was Ansel's first experience too and I'm glad he was in the care of Angel with the safe and experienced Papa as his driver.
We had a nice and delicious Thai lunch and could have chosen another activity but the kids decided that they just wanted to stay at the beach. And so we did.
We hopped by a convenient store to get some fishing nets and off they went, exploring the sand and feeling the seawater at their feet under the hot afternoon sun as they tried to look for small fishes. Ansel was sleeping in my arms so I got to sit under a tree but I loved seeing the rest of them walking around and just doing what they love. The hubby went to the roadside stalls to get some food for us to try, including corn, fish, fruits and ice cream, and we loved sitting by the road to dig into our food. This, to us, was the idea of a perfect family vacation.SHOWS
We've always loved watching the shows on cruises and I think so far, we have not missed any. That said, while we still enjoyed the Broadway dancing, acrobatics, magic show and The Silk Road on Spectrum of the Seas, the shows were not as mind-blowing as some of the ones we watched previously on board other vessels. Still, you can be sure that we would be there in the theater every evening after dinner because we wouldn't want to miss any of the shows.
PARTIES
If there's one thing we love more than shows, it's the.... Parties! Yup, being on a cruise is the best time to let out the party animal in each of us and I love that my kids enjoy dancing as much as I do, if not more. Even if it meant sleeping late at night, we made sure that we joined in the action at the dance parties every single night.
Be it retro, disco, cowboy or even a silent party where we put on headphones and danced to our own rhythm, we enjoyed every bit of it. The crew is usually awesome and hilarious and we loved how they would put on performances and invite the audience to interact with them. Dancing is such a good way for the whole family to keep fit and make precious memories at the same time, don't you think so? Watch our video for more highlights, including the kids' impressive dance performances in our own cabins and how I went totally crazy at the silent party and almost bobbed my head off.
HIGHLIGHT ACTIVITIES
Moving on, there were some special activities on board that were worth a try and mention here. While we didn't get to try iFly this time round because we couldn't get the complimentary sessions and I didn't want to pay extra, we did try out some others including FlowRider which is a surf simulator.
Ariel and I spent a nice mother-and-daughter bonding session as we took turns to go on the board. She said it was totally harder than she had imagined and she was swept back by the waves a couple of times. Well, we fall, we learn, we stand up, we try again. That is how it is in everything in life, right? You did such a great job, my dear, and we will surely become better with more practice.
See us in action in the video below. This being my second attempt, I was quite happy with myself because I managed to stay balanced, put my knees on the board and even lifted my arms too. Woohoo!
The three older kids and I also went on a laser tag, something which I wanted to do the last time but couldn't because Asher did not meet the minimum height yet and I had to stay outside with him. This time round, I handed Ansel to the hubby and took the rest to play. Haha. Yeah, it was super fun as we ran around the maze trying to shoot our opponents.
There is a small arcade on board the ship and the kids had fun playing some games here, including race car driving, ball toss, shooting and motorcycle riding. There is also a claw machine where we caught a few rubber duckies and it made the kids very happy too. If your SeaPass, which is the card you use to enter the room and pay for any expenses, is linked to a credit card already, all you have to do is tap it on the card reader at the games and you can start playing already. Yes, very easy!
I also loved watching the sunset at the open deck because the view is simply breathtaking. It gives me a moment to breath in all the beauty and tranquility of life and I feel deeply thankful to be there at that time with my kids surrounding me. If you can, why not watch the sunrise and sunset every day when you are on the cruise too?
FORMAL NIGHT
The formal night is where we all got to dress up and look glamorous for the camera. You know, actually all of the four kids are wearing hand-me-downs but hey, no one can tell and I love how polished they looked that evening. It was the first time seeing my prince in a suit and I thought he looked absolutely dashing.
Just so you know, there is usually a formal night during the cruise and some guests, thought not all, will make the effort to dress up. We are one of them and I will make sure we bring along nicer outfits and shoes just for this occasion. It's all for the fun and the memories, right?
PHOTOSHOOT
My family knows how much I love photoshoots and I also know that they aren't as into it as I am. Haha. Still, the hubby encouraged me to sign up for the package so that we could receive the soft copies of every photo we took and I happily did it. The kids would take photos with me when they were in the mood and when they weren't, I told myself to just grab a couple of them instead of all (thankfully I have four to choose from!) and just take whatever we could. There would be photo backdrops set up on board the ship every evening and I would try to make the most of it.
There are truly priceless, lasting memories for me and I can't even describe how much I treasure each and every of these pictures. Time is fleeting when you are a parent and life is short, you know what I mean?
That marks the end of our cruise vacation and well, it wasn't a surprise that all of us were very reluctant to leave the ship. The kids had a thoroughly enjoyable time and we made lots of fond memories to remind us of this wonderful holiday that we had together. Travelling as a family is always so much fun and we make sure we cherish every trip because we don't know when the next one will be.
We still dream of visiting Europe and bringing the kids to Sweden so we can show Angel where she was born and grew up in, but that remains a distant dream and one that I think might take years to come to fruition. If it does.
For now, every family vacation is a lavish treat and something that we enjoy and look forward together. Hopefully, we will more exciting happenings to share with you at the end of 2024. I hope you will have the opportunity to travel as a family and create a treasure trove of memories too!
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To see more of the cruise highlights and check out what songs we are listening to at the moment, view our video here. Have fun watching!