Super Star Gemini: Langkawi, the duty free island.

The last time I visited Langkawi was more than 10 years ago.

If you like to buy some local stuff, Langkawi is where you get them cheaper because it is a duty free island. So, of course, we joined the shopping tour.

Langkawi Fair. A modern mall.

My mom bought a pair of sandals here and saved 60%!

Some other shops in the mall.

What's this? So cheap?

Sigh.

This duty free complex near Cenang beach.
This is a good place to buy local foodstuff.

The are also many quaint little shops that line the road.
They reminded me of Phuket or Bali but less crowded.

Cenang beach.

Looks like beaches in Phuket or Bali?

I think I might consider an extended stay in Langkawi in future. Sounds like a good idea?

Related post:
Super Star Gemini: Penang.

Super Star Gemini: Penang.

It has been a while since I last visited Penang. On this trip, I really want to go and have some Penang hawker food. So, we signed up for a shopping tour that would bring us to a hawker centre as well.

The tour started with a visit to the second Penang bridge which was completed last year in March. Not many drivers use this bridge because it is twice the length of the first bridge!

Start of the second bridge.

Could the crooked bridge proposed by Mr. Mahathir have looked like this?

Back to Penang islang using the first bridge. Big difference in road traffic.

We made a stop at Queensbay Mall. I like this huge shopping mall more than the ones at Gurney. Definitely, I prefer this to Prangin Mall which was messy and reminded me of People's Park Complex in Singapore.

Queensbay Mall

Police post outside the mall.

Don't buy too much here in Penang if you are going to Langkawi (which is duty free).

Inside the mall.

Of course, the tour bus would stop at some tourist traps. I didn't buy anything from them this time.

Penang hawker food next!

Penang Fried Kway Teow!

Assam Laksa!

Prawn Mee! They call it Hokkien Mee.

We have our own name for this but they call it Lor Bak in Penang.

Wanton Mee is different from Singapore's but I like it. RM4.00. Cheap!

Now, you know another reason why I went to the gym (while on the cruise) twice. Sedap! Burp!

Related post:
Star Cruise to Penang and Phuket.

Super Star Gemini: Food, glorious food!

A hungry man is an angry man or so the saying goes.

Super Star Gemini not only feeds passengers well, they do so in style. Although the restaurants are not as grand as Super Star Virgo's, they are nice enough and the food is very good. Despite visiting the gym a couple of times, I think I put on some weight in the few days I was on board.

Look at the photos and you will see why:

Chinese cuisine at The Dynasty.

Three levels of sitting at The Dynasty.

Dessert! I like the kueh kueh.

Salad bar.

The Bella Vista Restaurant at night.

They serve supper too.

Yes, this was part of supper.

Warm soya bean milk (not from Breadtalk) for breakfast! 

Mine! Mine, I tell you!

Yummy breakfast. Just the way I like it.

Gado-gado.

Fish and chips.

I took many more photos of the glorious food but, OK, I will stop here.

Yes, all the great food at no extra charge. All included in the price of the cruise. Worth every penny.

Related post:
Weekend cruise to Redang.

Super Star Gemini: Entertainment.

I would tell anyone who asks that cruises offer good value for money and they are a lot less hassle compared to holidays which require us to take an airplane.

Board a cruise ship and we have arrived at our hotel and primary mode of transportation. The hotel travels to different destinations (i.e. ports of call). There is no hassle with airport transfers and moving from hotel to hotel if we should be visiting more than one city.

On top of this, all food and entertainment are usually included in the price we pay. Also, we don't have to pay for taxis to bring us to restaurants or entertainment venues from our hotels (and back later).

Anyway, I could be bias but you could do a bit of research and see for yourself if I am right about a cruise holiday being value for money.

It is photo time!

Some photos of entertainment on board the Super Star Gemini:

Terry Parade from France.

He was very good and funny too.

Some audience participation.

I think that passenger might have regretted volunteering. He lived, by the way.

Ladyboys show on the second night.

Lots of fun and laughter.

The third night, we had professional dancers and acrobats from Europe.

Not a very good photo but you get the idea.

More blog posts on my holiday on board the Super Star Gemini coming up soon.

Related post:
Entertainment on board Super Star Virgo.

Super Star Gemini.

It was my first time taking a cruise on Super Star Gemini. All my previous cruise holidays were on the Super Star Virgo.

The Super Star Gemini is a smaller ship and the interior is not as grand as the Super Star Virgo's. It is also slower and the same 4 days 3 nights could only bring us as far as Langkawi and not Phuket which is a shame because I like Phuket.

Super Star Virgo

Super Star Gemini

Definitely not as grand a lobby as Virgo's.

Thankfully, the room with windows are a decent size. In fact, I would say that our room felt a bit bigger but I could be wrong.

The blue couch in the far right becomes a bed.
There is a curtain for separation of space.
So, it is like a 1+1 apartment which is a nice touch.

Transformed. It was quite comfortable too.

I am going to share some photos of the ship's facilities next:

Pool midship.

Kids's pool and outdoor buffet area.

Basketball court.

Health club which is also where we find the gym.

I spent some time here burning away some calories.

The Gemini has more shops compared to Virgo.

More shops.

Swimming pool aft.

This is where all the live performances took place, Stardust Lounge.

Not as big and organised as The Lido on the Virgo but it works.

I will blog about the food, the entertainment as well as the ports of call, Penang and Langkawi soon.

Related post:
Super Star Virgo.