Genting Dream Cruise to Surabaya/Bali: Mermaids, Babi Guling & a Zipline over the Sea

[yflyer]

A large McDonalds outlet not far from Tunjungan Plaza...



Along the route were also many outlets of the convenience store Indomaret, so any time I wanted to, I could have stopped for a drink or just a blast of cold air conditioning...



Eventually I found myself back in Tunjungan Plaza...



...where I rendezvous'd with Mrs yflyer and the kids in a large food court, where they were finishing up lunch...

By now she was used to the sight of me soaked in perspiration after a long run...

"Would you like a drink?"

Of course I did! She left the table and emerged a few minutes later with an ice cold apple juice...



...and a hot steaming bowl of soto ayam...which was absolutely delicious, full of the flavour of local spices...



In all, a 13km run through central Surabaya. Not a bad way to see the city if you only have 3 hours of free time, although the ideal time to do this would probably be in the morning, or late afternoon, and not mid-day...

[yflyer]

Our coach picked us up at the designated time and pick-up point, and we were back at the Genting Dream by late afternoon.



By then, there were many locals and onlookers in the terminal building gawking at the ship...it wasn't often that a new cruise liner made an inaugural visit to this port, especially one as large and striking as the Genting Dream.



There was a lot of drone activity in the air, with several drones airborne at the same time making low passes over the ship...





Some drone photos made it into the local / trade press the next day.

A view of the nearby Naval Base, just up ahead from the cruise terminal...

[yflyer]

At dusk, we departed Surabaya and set sail for Bali...







The lighting at dusk made for beautiful photos of the ship...







To be continued!

[jammed]

Another Fantastic TR, yflyer!!! You truly transported us into yr travels, once again! You are now a multi-modal reviewer - planes, hotels, runs and now ships! What’s next? Submarine? Kudos to you for the late morning run in that heat, humidity and traffic! What’s yr pace, if i may ask? Abt 5-6mins per km?

Hanging on for teh next installment!!!

[259850]

Exactly what those landmarks were, was not clear to me when I set out, especially since the names of the places were all in Bahasa, but the hotel doorman to whom I showed the route seemed to think it was ok, and so I headed out...

If you're ever in Surabaya again, go for a drink at the lobby of Hotel Majapahit. Another Sarkies Brothers colonial hotel. Years ago, I had a business meeting with the owners of Tunjungan Plaza, and that's where we did the post-meeting drinks (not in their own hotel). Lol!

[SQ218]

Thanks for TR yflyer. An enjoyable read as always.

[GLAM82]

Very enjoyable read.

Definitely looks more enjoyable than our cruise on the Voyager of the Seas.

Ovation of the Seas might be a better competitor for Genting Dream.

[yflyer]

Another Fantastic TR, yflyer!!! You truly transported us into yr travels, once again! You are now a multi-modal reviewer - planes, hotels, runs and now ships! What’s next? Submarine? Kudos to you for the late morning run in that heat, humidity and traffic! What’s yr pace, if i may ask? Abt 5-6mins per km?

Hanging on for teh next installment!!!

Thanks, jammed! Believe it or not, there is another submarine in this TR, although I didn't get to ride in it (Not this time, anyway...)

For a 10km run my pace is typically plus or minus 6 min per km -- not fast at all, compared to serious runners! Of course running in the sun is a lot slower, sometimes even 7+ min per km...and on these "sightseeing" runs, I take my time, and pause for photos etc.

If you're ever in Surabaya again, go for a drink at the lobby of Hotel Majapahit. Another Sarkies Brothers colonial hotel. Years ago, I had a business meeting with the owners of Tunjungan Plaza, and that's where we did the post-meeting drinks (not in their own hotel). Lol!

Thanks, 259850! Will keep that in mind. A few hours in Surabaya is not enough...I would definitely want to spend more time there if I visit again.

Thanks for TR yflyer. An enjoyable read as always.

Thanks, SQ218!

Very enjoyable read.

Definitely looks more enjoyable than our cruise on the Voyager of the Seas.

Ovation of the Seas might be a better competitor for Genting Dream.

Thanks, GLAM82!

I've not tried Royal Caribbean yet, but if I do, I would want to try their Quantum-class ships. For Royal Caribbean, their largest ships are amazing floating cities, like the Quantum-class Ovation of the Seas you mentioned.

For cruises, it is definitely a good idea to do research on the vessel itself, how large it is, what facilities, and how old it is / when it was last in for a refit etc, because there is a lot of difference between the ships, and huge differences between cruise lines as well.

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

That evening, after departing Surabaya, we headed to the Zodiac Theatre, the main theatre onboard, for "Rhythm Divine", a performance of latin dance, one of several shows staged during the cruise.

The Zodiac Theatre itself as huge and very comfortable.



As Dream Palace guests, we had a separate reserved area blocked off: we had excellent seats right in the front rows of the stage, and a separate entrance to get to those seats.



As for the performance itself, it was a top notch production, with superb latin/ballroom dancing from top caliber dancers, where many of the dance couples were competition and championship winners.



A selection of solo and ensemble dance sequences really showcased the grace, rhythm of the performers, not to mention how fit and athletic you needed to be to pull it all off. The talented dancers made it all seem so easy, although the dance moves were anything but...

[yflyer]

After the dance performance, we headed to Silk Road Restaurant, the Chinese specialty fine dining restaurant onboard, for dinner...



We were there for the set dinner, provided as part of our cruise package...



...but there was also a very wide selection of a la carte items on the menu, including many premium items...



A beer to start. As part of our Dream Palace cruise package, beverages such as beer, house pour red/white wine, and soft drinks were available on a complimentary basis in the specialty restaurants (Liquor and cocktails were only complimentary in the Genting Club Lounge, and selected bars and lounges onboard, though).



The soup of the day, a tasty double boiled soup with meat and Chinese herbs...



Crisp pork belly...



Baked chicken with salt and herbs...



Delicately steamed sea bass with black bean sauce...



Braised vegetables...



Dessert was a very traditional delicacy: Hasma.



This looked innocent enough, but what were those soft, grey gelatinous pearls?



Those were snow frog glands (The menu uses the euphemism snow frog "jelly"...ya, right...).

For western palates, this might be considered adventurous, but this is a common dish in Singapore and Asia. Just one of those things eaten in this part of the world without a second thought. Served as a sweet dessert, with almond cream, this hasma was delicious...

[yflyer]

The Silk Road restaurant also featured several private karaoke rooms...



...and late each evening, the stage in the Silk Road restaurant was the venue of a cabaret show for guests 18 and over only...

[yflyer]

What else was there to do onboard the ship?

For those so inclined, there was a sprawling casino, and slot machines...



...and other games of chance...



There was a hint of Vegas/Macau-style positioning of slot machines and gaming machines which made these very visible in different parts of the ship, but it was also perfectly possible to enjoy the cruise without indulging in any casino-related activities.

There was a shopping area, with a good duty free selection.







There was also a lounge and Business Centre...





There were computers available. I did not see anyone working on this trip (Thank goodness), and it was mainly kids using the computers to play games...



Behind the business centre, overlooking the Dream Palace private pool, was a large lounge, Palm Court, which was open to all passengers.

[yflyer]

There were two spas: A western style spa...



...as well as an Asian style spa, which offered excellent massages and foot reflexology at fairly reasonable prices.

There is something to be said for heading for a late evening foot massage, then taking a short stroll back to the cabin for a good night's sleep...



There was also a very large and well-equipped gym...



...with views of the sea as you worked out...



Very advanced full colour LCD control panel on the gym equipment...



I particularly liked the pre-recorded first person videos of various trail routes, which you could watch as you ran or cycled...



And you could of course tailor each workout to your needs, specifying time, distance, calories or other workout objectives, and enter your age, weight etc to ensure accurate calorie count and target heart rate, although some of the input parameter ranges looked a little optimistic...

[yflyer]

There was a glow-in-the-dark bowling alley, which made for very interesting play at night...



As far as nightlife was concerned, there was Zouk at Sea...the seaborne edition of Singapore's famous Zouk nightclub, with both an indoor section, with live music...



...and an outdoor section called "Zouk Beach Club"...



...which could have been the setting of outdoor dance parties during the cruise, but at least on this voyage, the rear section was mainly used to screen movies in the evening, watched by a smattering of passengers lounging on the rear deck.



For the party-set, the first few days of the cruise might have felt a little sedate. While the Zouk at Sea Club had a decent music scene, elsewhere outdoors, and on deck, the ship seemed a little quiet. There were guests strolling around, but on the whole, there was less of a party vibe on the outdoor decks on the initial few days of the cruise.

Perhaps it was the cloudy, drizzly weather on some days, or just the profile of passengers on this cruise. The passengers on this cruise appeared on the reserved side, and less the swinging, party going type. I remember thinking as I strolled around the deck, "...this is quite a quiet crowd..."...I would not realize how wrong I was until the last night of the cruise...

[yflyer]

Mermaids featured prominently on this cruise...



The striking artwork adorning the exterior of the vessel is based on the art piece Voyage of a Lover's Dream, by Chinese pop-artist Jacky Tsai. The signature stage performance on the cruise was also inspired by, and named, Voyage of a Lover’s Dream, and features a mermaid and an astronaut.

And our cruise also featured the Mermaid Academy at Sea, with Mermaid Kat, a professional mermaid. Yes -- there is apparently such a profession, with Kat as pioneer. Apart from being an underwater/fashion model, hosting mermaid parties, and teaching kids to swim, there was also an eco-friendly marine conservation/environmentalist aspect to being a professional mermaid, and Kat gave talks on this aspect of her job during the cruise as well.

Apart from that, being a mermaid also involved posing for photos by the pool in an elaborate mermaid's tail...



...and teaching kids to swim.

I'm probably not representing the goals, career and value proposition of being a professional mermaid accurately here, but it is certainly a unique career path for any individual, and on this cruise, the Mermaid Academy gave young children something interesting to do.



It also drove many cruise passengers into a photo-taking frenzy...