Sunday, July 23, 2017

Star Cruises: What You Missed

Onboard Star Cruises' Superstar Virgo! You ready?




Star Cruises
From March to May of this year, SuperStar Virgo (SSV) made Manila their homeport for the first time ever! Passengers embarked on a true Asian experience as they cruised from Manila to Laoag, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, and back to Manila for six days and five nights. 
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A lot of people jumped on the opportunity and booked early because apparently, this is a huge deal! Normally when you go on a cruise, you would have to fly off to Japan, Singapore, or wherever and board the ship from there. Since Manila was SuperStar Virgo’s homeport for those three months, you actually get to save on airfare and still be able to experience everything the cruise has to offer during that time.

With that, let me leave you with five things you missed on their recent three month stint here in Manila.

1. Food

Cruising the high seas for almost a week made me worry about one very important thing - food. Being that I’m always hungry (I’m not kidding!), I initially thought about packing all sorts of snacks into my luggage. Good thing I soon found out that meals were already included in the cruise fare through three restaurants - Mediterranean Buffet (International cuisine), Genting Palace (Western and Chinese), and Pavilion (Chinese). Though other restaurants can be found on board, these three already come for free, and the best part? You can actually eat up to six times a day! You have breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. You will never go hungry on SSV!
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2. Onboard Outlets and Facilities

Besides never going hungry, you’ll never run out of things to do here as well! Being on SSV feels like you’re inside a mall that’s open 24/7. Shop at Hot Spot Duty Free; play board games and borrow sports equipment at Activity Centre; hang out at Playdia Video Arcade; purchase jewelry at Brilliant Gemme; visit Universal Gym, Apollo Spa, or Oscar’s Hair and Beauty Salon; jump on the water slide at Parthenon Pool, and so much more!
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3. Nightly Shows at Lido Theatre

Dance Night Fever, Magic Show Vision by Vincent Vignaud, 1001 Nights, Music Mania, Memory Lane (Gala Show) are the five shows we caught for the five nights we were on board. They would also have movie screenings and musician performances at random times of the day, all of which you can read about on the ship’s newsletter, Star Navigator. 
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4. Fun Activities for Both Kids and Adults

Our group chose to disembark at all three stops - Laoag, Kaohsiung, and Hong Kong - to maximize the trip and see as many places as possible. But I understand how some people would rather stay on board and enjoy the facilities, especially since majority of the passengers will be out most of the day during those stops. Aside from the ones I mentioned in number 3, there are actually other things you can do on SSV like learn magic, enroll in a gym class (pilates, circuit training, meditation, etc), do arts and crafts, participate in dance classes (ballroom, k-pop), and join on-board contests and games (pool fun challenge, jackpot bingo, guest talent show). 

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(Yes, we won!!)

5. Three Countries in Three Days

How often can you say you went to three different countries in just three days? No long waits at the airport, no having to line up for immigration, and no visas requirements needed (at least for Filipinos). For Laoag, we went to Paoay Church, had lunch at Balinsasayaw and rode the sand dunes! In Kaohsiung, we visited the British Consulate, some temples, and the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas where we turned all our bad luck into good fortune. Hong Kong was more of a shopping and eating trip than anything but it was definitely fun!

Laoag

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Taiwan

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Hong Kong

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For more photos, check out my entire Star Cruises album here.

SuperStar Virgo may not be in Manila anymore, but the journey continues this July to November as they go on a seven-night roundtrip cruise to Shanghai, Osaka, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kagoshima! For more inquiries, call (02) 836 6080 or visit the Star Cruises official website at www.starcruises.com.
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