Day 44 of 102, 23rd February 2023

For once, I did it right!  Jo queried why I had reapplied for updated documentation to enter Singapore. We had both checked in a few days ago.  I believe in doing things twice as a precaution, and this time, I was allowed immediate entry. Jo, on the other hand, got held back for well over an hour, and I’m still waiting in the terminal!  Singapore Cruise Terminal is reminiscent of Birmingham New Street Station, the ghastly 1960s rebuild!  However, here, the air is not polluted with diesel trains ticking over on “idle.”

Strangely, the hour and a bit that I had to wait for Jo did not irritate.  It was the unnecessarily complicated immigration procedure that the harassed personnel had to enforce that I found irksome. 

Eventually, Jo did turn up, after around 90 minutes!  There was still time to enjoy a coffee at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel,  have a light lunch which coincided with the “water drop” (I’ll explain later), and explore some shops, before returning to the ship using the very useful and welcome shuttle bus.

Had Singapore Immigration not been quite so pedantic, we could have also visited Chinatown, Little India, or both. I would discover later that leaving Queen Mary 2 at around 8 am would have been far more straightforward. But, with the very much anticipated World Cruise Event later in the evening, that would have made it a very long day!

Back at the ship, I had just over an hour to prepare for the much anticipated World Cruise Shoreside Event, exclusive to passengers taking the full World Voyage. Before I took a shower, I had to shut my stateroom curtains. Immediately outside, an oil vessel was refuelling Queen Mary 2, and ship personnel could (if so inclined) look straight into my room!

Jo and I were ready, and at my appointed time, joined a massive queue that had already formed winding around every nook and cranny of Deck 3.

We weren’t moving. Then it was announced that Singapore Immigration was delaying the disembarkation procedure.  Those in line seemed in reasonably positive spirits.  But, at 6 pm, when the show should have started, we were still on0 board QM2.  Then, the Immigration electronic system crashed.  Eventually, of course, we did disembark and were shown to our transfer coaches, and eventually, some 90 minutes late, to the venue itself.  By this time, all the tables had been occupied, but Jo did locate a brilliant place to sit right in front of the stage.  But already, I was feeling that tonight was nothing like our experiences in South America and Hong Kong.  There was unlimited alcohol, and from what I could gather, just one outlet serving a curry, as well as several staff offering kebab type choices to people already sitting down.  It’s hard to tell whether things would have felt better organised had there been no delay leaving the ship.  There were numerous “local” acts on the stage in front of which Jo had found excellent seats. 

Neil Kelly, unusually dressed in white Officers’ Uniform, welcomed the guests and introduced Captain Andrew Hall, who delivered what I felt was a wonderful account of the Laconia first ever world cruise of a single ship.  Perhaps I am being unfair, but (apart from me) was anybody really interested? I doubt it. Tonight really was party time, and by the end of the evening, the whole thing had morphed into a disco of back-to-back pop music from an era when we were all much younger, and in some cases, gloriously attractive!  During the evening, both Jo and I wanted to see, again, the light show, which I ascertained was at 20.45 hrs. 

The weird man-made SuperTrees would come to life to a mix of familiar classical melodies.  These “trees” do serve several purposes, one of which is to harvest the rainwater for general use.  And, they are not unattractive.  The Marina Bay Sands Hotel provides a fabulous, unique backdrop, which, too, can be part of the light show on special occasions.  Boy! I would like to see that! 

The evening, sadly, did attract criticism, and I think even the organisers will have also been slightly disappointed. It was a very ambitious event that may have become vulnerable to things going wrong. For example, Jo doesn’t eat meat.  I saw no alternatives for vegetarians.  That doesn’t mean to say there weren’t any. But, there were good things, including exclusive access to one of the “domes” at night time, without hordes of tourists to contend with.  This was indeed a rare privilege. 

It came across as one of those events where you couldn’t take part in all that was on offer. This might have been different if Immigration hadn’t unexpectedly slowed things down. I think we got as much out of the event as we could, staying right until the last bus was announced. And, having private access to the Garden Dome was indeed unique, special, and privileged.

Annoyingly, for the first time, my phone battery went flat, and I couldn’t take any further pictures or, indeed, continue to count my steps as we walked back to the coach. I am still aiming for 1 million by the end of the voyage. Here are some of the final few pictures I took.

On the coach home, everyone was in raucous mood belting out Delilah drowning out the late night tour guide who tried to entertain us. The dulcet tones soon faded as we dispersed at the Cruise Terminal.

Jo and I stayed up for the departure of Queen Mary 2 to Bali. I so wanted to try and capture the fading lights of Singapore as we ventured out to sea once more. I was ready for another curry and had one! Not a great big serving however, just enough to stave off some nocturnal hunger.

I would not have missed this day for the World.

Many thanks for reading, David, 17.28 the following day.