I have not been on a cruise ship prior to this trip..
This time round I heard
After a series of HR meetings and objections and suggestions..
The company finally settled on cruise over Batam or Bintan.
Star Virgo
The biggest ship by far of the Star Cruises group.
On a very tiring Friday evening (we still had to work in the morning)
We got onboard and took pictures with the star cruise mascots and dancers.
Upon checking into the cabin..
Both the mountain tortoise me and colleague began taking pictures of the cabin.
Hurhurhur..
The cabin was bigger than what I had expected though the bed was too narrow..
Most likely to end up on the floor if you made a full 360 turn..
No wonder many colleagues complain about stiff bodies and neck aches.
Walked around the ship before dinner..
Got acquainted with directions..
We were supposed to gather at one of the restaurants “Bella Vista” for company dinner in casual smart wear.
Collared shirts only,
No berms and open toed footwear allowed.
Dinner was served at a very dimly lighted location.
So dim that I mistook a chilli as a capsicum.
And that burning sensation left me in tears.
A six course meal that was not satisfying at all.
Because practically every colleague I bumped into thereafter had to take supper..
They were all grumbling about the dinner..
All claiming they were damn hungry.
After some magic show,
Dear and I settled supper at Blue Lagoon for some porridge buffet..
Thinking finally they served decent food.
Halfway through,
We realized the buffet cost $12 per pax (excluding 15% service charge)..
o.0
So we stuffed ourselves silly..
Another colleague walked past us and affirmatively told us free food doesn’t taste good there.
LOL..
We checked out the top deck after dinner..
As well as the smoky (pun intended) casino.
The Casino experience
The screen of smoke as a veil at the entrance..
The first sights that hit me, the first to greet.
The smell of cigarettes, impossible to miss.
The incessant sound of chips counting machines, evident.
Foreheads scrunched up distastefully in concentration..
Cold sweat broke out, blood pressures went up.
Ears and nerves succumbed to exasperation.
As I penetrated through the crowd..
Indonesian Chinese were evenly distributed..
Mostly fair skinned women who carried conspicuous LV bags,
And they donned thick curls complimented by big sunglasses..
Everything about them was huge.
They took out huge stacks of huge notes from their huge LV bags,
Untied the rubber bands that held the notes and laid them on the gambling desk.
Quite a scene as they changed them to chips..
What art thou, Addiction?
Plunging frail men into the abyss of greed..
One of our bosses stayed at his poker table throughout the entire first night..
Without taking a single wink, he continued his game after the next day’s breakfast.
Another colleague followed suit and induced a third colleague to borrow more.
Addiction, addiction..
All of them lost 1k plus each at least.
*****
After breakfast the second day
We walked around again, waiting for the company event to start.
Tossed the flint stone kid around..
These kids reminded me of the nostalgic times when we were the ones being tossed around by our parents.
Fat cheeks, small hands, fat tummies..
But nevertheless, cute.
Yes, innocently cute.
We checked out the "bridge" of the ship.
I have absolutely no idea why it's called the bridge..
They gave out the 5 year and 10 year awards too =)
When it was time for games...
The very first game..
