Ship Ahoy!

 I don't often go on cruises since I'm not a good sailor, but in early December, I decided to be brave and took a 4D/3N cruise to Langkawi and Port Klang (from Penang) with my aunt.   We don't often get cruises that depart directly from Penang, so this was heaven sent.  

The ship, the "Piano Land" was originally owned by P&O but now bought over by a Chinese company, Astro Ocean Cruises.  (You can learn more about the ship if you Google).  It was there waiting patiently at the pier for its passengers, all 70,000 tons and looking very smart in its white coat of paint. I was pleasantly surprised when we were told we could board the ship immediately we finished the red tape (thought we had to wait until a certain time) and so we excitedly made our way to our cabin on Deck 9.

Our cabin (or Stateroom as they call it) was a cosy twin bedded room with bath/shower, a small table and a sofa to lounge on - just nice for two.

Our first day on board was indeed a real laugh - being typical landlubbers, we lost our sense of direction - we couldn't tell where was Forward or Mid or Aft and we wandered up and down long corridors searching for our cabin every time we wanted to go back and rest!  Thankfully, we managed better on the second day and soon were running from deck to deck!  

I must say we were very lucky and blessed to have fine weather considering that there was a bad storm over the Straits of Malacca a few days before we sailed.  So no sea sickness, thank goodness.

I was delighted to find that the ship was already dressed up for Christmas.  Apart from a gorgeous Christmas tree, I loved best of all the gingerbread houses which adorned the reception and restaurants.  They had been most beautifully done and looked good enough to eat! 

Gingerbread houses

My Aunt and the Christmas Tree

There was of course a daily bulletin telling us what activities were on each day and clear instructions for those who wished to disembark when the ship docked at Langkawi and Port Klang.  We did get off to explore Langkawi and I must say everything was very well organised to take us back to the ship.  Same for Port Klang (where my aunt's daughter-in-law took us for Bak Kut Teh).  Kudos to the ship's staff!

Bak Kut Teh from Klang

We enjoyed the night entertainment which featured performers from different parts of the world - good choreography, colourful costumes. Every night the theatre was full. So were the restaurants!  And of course, we did some shopping at the duty free shop on board!

Here are some random pictures:

All good things must come to an end, so they say.  I enjoyed the cruise and I left the ship with pangs of sadness. Am eagerly waiting for it to come our way again soon.