We were hoping for a later sleep-in after our late night but that didn't happen since the Captain did a PA around 7.15am. Ted and I had taken the option to walk off the ship without bag assistance but either way, we needed to be out of our stateroom by 8am. We packed up our final things before heading up to breakfast, with our bags in tow.
I had booked a day room to use in Singapore which wouldn't be available until 11am, so we didn't rush to disembark. After having a ginger tea in the coffee shop, we left the boat and joined the long immigration line in the terminal. Unfortunately for me, this took a lot longer than planned as the immigration officer couldn't find the entry stamp in my passport. This meant I had to be taken into a back room where another officer gave me the stamp after a few minutes. Needless to say, I thought I was going to be there for hours.
When we eventually found a wifi area in the cruise terminal, I checked the directions from the Mountbatten station to the hotel. Two train rides later, we headed off to find it. Google clearly lied - instead of 8 minutes, it took 20 minutes in the stifling humidity. Even worse was when the receptionist advised there wasn't a room ready. Fortunately we didn't have to wait too long before one was.
The room was pretty grubby with an awful bathroom, which was expected considering it only cost $45 in Singapore! We walked down the road for lunch which was very similar to the meal we'd had in Little India - cheap and reasonably good. We didn't end up having a nap as we just needed a shower and change before Ted arranged a Grab ride to Changi airport. We had $16 in cash left. Fortunately the ride cost only $15!
The airport was a whole other experience! We had been agonising over a decision about which flight to catch - the earlier one that had a chance at Premium Economy seats, or the later one that had a chance at Business Class seats. The magic word here being CHANCE, since things can change so quickly. Before making a decision, we went to a soup restaurant for dumplings since we wouldn't be eating until the flight.
The airport check-in staff suggested we should try the first flight so we took our upgrade tickets and headed towards our boarding gate. As it turned out, we ran into Ted's friend Gaeton who we seem to bump into many times whilst travelling. He suggested we try for Business Class but we really stressed over the decision, as we were now upgraded to Premium Economy on the first flight.
After clearing security and just as the flight was boarding, Gaeton then advised us we were highly likely to get Business Class on the later flight. Ted decided we should chance it, so we took our bags and ran all the way to the other gate. Nothing was still guaranteed yet but the agent changed us to the later flight anyway. Yikes!
As it turned out, our gamble paid off. We were ecstatic to travel back home in the Skybed and the service was wonderful. Sometimes it pays to take a chance.
Thus ends another wonderful holiday. Until we can save our pennies again, we'll be planning our next trip.Read more
Singapore
