February 15, 2019 - Singapore, Singapore - Friday, Day 40

February 15, 2019 - Singapore, Singapore - Friday, Day 40

I always get a kick out of typing Singapore, Singapore. I don’t know why New York, New York doesn’t give the same thrill.

Today is disembarkation day for over 800 of the passengers. For us it marks the end of cruise 2. Our plan was to spend the day in the city with a visit to Garden by the Bay for a tour of the Flower Dome. We had run short of time on our last visit to Singapore after spending a lot of time in Cloud Forest. We  opted to use the Flower Dome half of the ticket on this visit, We also wanted to go to walk the Old City and the Esplanade.

Regrettably the Mariners’ Reception was scheduled fro 2:00 to 2:45 and a lecture for tomorrow’s port was schedule for 2:30. The boat drill, which is mandatory for us even though we have already participated in 2, would take place at 3:30. All of this meant that the Flower Dome would be our only shoreside activity. This also meant that we would have now need for the $10 transit day pass as a round trip ticket would only cost $3.50.

We left right after breakfast and did not get through the immigration line until 10:00. What a waste of 45 minutes. The crew has complained bitterly about the process here because it takes even longer for them. They have so little time to go ashore that many of them stay onboard.

We went down to the subway and purchased our tickets at a machine. the touchscreen brings up a map of the system and you touch your destination. It then shows the route and the price of the ticket. You insert your cash, and it spits out the ticket and the change. Short and sweet.

We rode to the Bayside stop and walked to the Flower Dome. When we submitted our tickets the reader said they were invalid. The guard asked when we had visited the Cloud Forest. 20 days ago. We had been relying on large print on the back of the tickets that told us they were good for 6 months from our purchase date. He showed us in the fine print that the tickets had to be used for both domes on the same day. Ouch. There was a wasted $28. He offered no sympathy. We went to the ticketing window to explain our plight. The clerk was understanding and went to talk to her supervisor. I could see some chuckling. Clearly this has happened before. When she returned she graciously stamped our wrists with a reentry stamp. We thanked her and went to the gate. We got in and spent a lovely 3 hours touring garden settings from around the world. The featured flower for the month was Dahlias. The exhibit included many, many varieties of Dahlia. It was stunning. The whole exhibit was beautifully done. The entire Flower Dome presentation was worth the time and effort.

We made it back to Maasdam in time to freshen up before the  Mariners reception. The lecture was very good, and affirmed that our decision to forego any tours tomorrow was good. The boat drill was a carbon copy of those before. Watching the newly boarded passengers was amusing. So many look like deer in the headlights as they try to find their way around the ship. It is fun to be old salts who can help them out.

At dinner we discovered that our crew had changed again. We have a new waiter, assistant waiter and wine assistant. They are already striving to learn our names and our preferences. They seem to be quick studies. We will see tomorrow.

The lady vocalist who was to perform tonight is still not well so we were treated to another performance by the Irish flutist. He is still very good. His repertoire is extensive and his delivery is flawless. Good Show!