Legend of the Seas Cruising 101- What I Learned From My First Cruise/ Day 2: Memories of KL

Day 2- Shore Excursion To KL

        

My daughter and I woke up early on Day 2, as the itinerary included an 8am departure for our shore excursion to KL. We booked all our shore excursions on line. This gave us a small discount, plus we did not have to queue up during the cruise itself to book the excursions.  That’s Learning No. 6 : buy shore excursions ahead of time. After a leisurely breakfast, we were off to KL.

We visited the usual sights such as  Petronas Twin Towers, Independence Square,  and Central Market.

Petronas Twin Towers soar over KL

Central Market has maintained its charm

I remember my daughter was only about five when we last visited KL. It was nice to know that KL was still as clean and even more progressive than we remember. The iconic Central Market has been meticulously maintained. The toilets have been refurbished and now boast of mirrors mounted on wooden frames with carvings.

Hainanese Chicken Rice, succulent with just a hint of spiciness

 We also went to Sungei Wang Plaza. I recall buying Queen Anne silver plated serving dishes at the Parkson Grand in Sungei Wang more than twenty years ago. They are still good as new. For lunch, we went to the food court at Sungei Wang, where we had Roast Hainanese Chicken Rice. It was as succulent as we remembered. We bought some chocolates for pasalubong, and not much else. We wanted to travel really light. The guy who sold us the chocolates asked us where we got our    Lonchamps  bags. We told him where and he insisted we could have gotten it way, way cheaper downstairs or at Central Market. He even volunteered to accompany us downstairs.  We thought, maybe he meant the place with the walking shoe store? Fortunately, the chocolates he sold us were the real deal, and not knock-offs.

"Walking Shoe Store" in KL

Back at the ship, we went to Park Café first. We saw one of our tablemates who reminded us that our dinner was at 6pm. At first we thought that he was just reminding us because we would have to dress up as it was formal night. Then we realized he must have meant it was so close to dinnertime and we were still stuffing ourselves with chips and ice cream.

Carbo- loading at the Solarium before dinner. We're on vacation!

After dinner at R and J, we went to the Captain’s Reception. Like most baby boomers, I watched “The Love Boat” growing up. So, I was thrilled to meet the ship Captain, Kjell Nordmo when he received the cruise guests during the Captain’s party on the second night.  The party began with an aerial show- a pretty woman on a sparkling swing suspended from the ceiling poured champagne for the guests.  It was nice, sipping champagne and mingling. We spotted an adorable little girl in a Cinderella ballgown.

 

Girl on a Swing

Like other guests, we had our pictures taken with the Captain. Only official ship photographers were allowed near the picture taking site. One picture mounted on a cardboard frame cost $19.00. (The Ilocana in me hesitated to spend almost a thousand pesos on a single picture, but the Filipino fondness for "kodakan" prevailed). The ship had a facial recognition application, and so you can view all your pictures from a monitor in the photo kiosk by simply swiping your sail pass.

For a golden girl like me, the Disco Inferno dance party after the Captain’s Reception was one of the highlights of the trip. We danced to 70’s music, led by the Cruise Director, a wise cracking American named Dan-dan Mian, and his staff.  A dance group called the Legend Village People spiced things up. My daughter indulged my trip down memory lane by taking a video of me dancing away, missteps and all. Learning No. 7- Participate in the things that make you feel young. I still smile when I look at my disco inferno dance moves.

Disco Inferno!

We capped the night by watching a magic  show. An Australian magician entertained us with tricks, notably his Houdini-like escape from a straight jacket bound with chains.  Learning No. 8- Show appreciation for the performers. Before our cruise, I visited cruise chat sites, and there were people who commented on the poor performance of ship entertainers. “So far below Broadway, or Vegas,” they would say. Come on, if you want to watch a broadway show, go to New York, or if you want to see a Vegas show, go to Las Vegas.

Run with the wind on your face to burn off calories.

Before going to bed, we had snacks at the Solarium (again!). We wondered why we got hungry so often. We figured it must be because of all the walking. The ship, which is the smallest in the Royal Caribbean Lines, is still quite large. Plus, we took the stairs more often than the elevators.  Learning No. 9- Gaining weight on a cruise is not a given, as long as you burn up all those extra calories. By the way, there is also an onboard gym. You can exercise with a nice view of the sea, or better yet, hit the track on above deck 9. This brings us to Learning No. 10- bring flat shoes or slip-ons for maximum mobility.

Flat shoes recommended for exploring the ship

Next up, Day 3 with a Shore excursion to Islands Safari in Thailand.