If you’re planning to book the SuperStar Virgo’s 4 days 3 nights package from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, your package will include a round trip flight from Singapore to Guangzhou. Expect to spend 2 nights onboard the cruise that will sail from Guangzhou to Hong Kong (including a 7-hour stopover in Hong Kong) before returning back to Guangzhou. You’ll get to enjoy a free and easy day in Guangzhou, with a stay at Holiday Inn, situated along the famous ShangXiaJiu shopping district before returning back to Singapore.

Our trip started at 6am at Changi Airport, where we flew via Singapore Airlines to Guangzhou, touching down just in time for lunch. We transited to a coach from the airport, which took 3 hours to arrive at the Nansha region (outskirts of Guangzhou), where we boarded the impressive Superstar Virgo cruise liner. We boarded the ship at about 6pm. Although it had been a long and tiring day, the grandeur of the ship as well as the room that we checked in to made the journey worth it.

The Balcony Stateroom On Board SuperStar Virgo

Superstar Virgo boasts of a total of 935 cabins, which are split into 7 different types of rooms. The ‘Balcony Stateroom’, where we were housed for 2 nights is extremely cozy. Other types of rooms include the Oceanview Stateroom, the Dream Suite, the Dream Grand Villa, etc. We were welcomed with a bowl of fresh fruits on the coffee table, which was very thoughtful. The room was clean with a widescreen television right in front of the bed. There is also a sofa that can be converted into a bed should you add an additional pax at a discounted rate of S$889. Our favorite part of the room was its balcony. Although it is a relatively small area, chilling at the balcony invokes a really peaceful and tranquil feel; you can enjoy the sea breeze and hear the sound of the waves crash against the graceful cruise liner.

Our package, which comes with the Balcony Stateroom, is priced at S$1,249 per pax. Other packages range from S$999 to S$2,949 per pax.

Our package includes breakfast delivered to your room at a timing of your choice, from 6am to 9am. Breakfast includes a choice of hot beverage (coffee/tea), cold beverage (orange/apple juice), yogurt, fresh fruits as well as a bread bowl with jam and butter. Although it may not be much, it is enough to fuel the start of your day to explore the enormous cruise liner and discover its endless list of activities to participate in.

Activities Offered on Board

Whether you’re a toddler, teenager or adult, there will be no shortage of interesting activities you can participate in on Superstar Virgo. For kids, there is a kid’s corner and a video arcade area that is stocked with gaming consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360.

There are numerous comfortable sofas and beanbags to relax on while spend an exciting afternoon playing the many games available. There is an outdoor swimming pool that features a 100m mega water slide, as well as a sports deck with a golf driving range, mini golf and a basketball court for those that want to soak up some sun.

For exercise enthusiasts, there is a gymnasium that opens till 1am as well as jet current exercise pools to work out before winding down at the spa. Entertainment for adults includes the card and mahjong rooms, a sports bar, a club, and karaoke rooms to sing the night away. You are also welcomed to try your luck at any one of the casinos onboard the cruise. They are open at almost all times, closing only one hour prior to docking.

Filling our Tummies

You can choose from a total of 15 restaurants that offer a variety of different cuisines on board the Superstar Virgo. Out of the 15 restaurants 3 are included in the package so you can dine for free. Genting Palace offers Chinese cuisine, the Pavilion offers western cuisine, while the Mediterranean Buffet offers an international spread.

Since dinner timings are fixed from 5pm to 8.30pm, we advise you to have your dinner earlier to avoid the dinner crowd at around 7pm. We spent 45 minutes in the queue on our first night on board when we reached the Pavilion at 7pm.

The Pavilion serves a 4-course meal – an appetizer, a soup of the day, a main course (3 mains for you to choose from, of which 1 is vegetarian), as well as a dessert (2 desserts to choose from). We had the smoked salmon for appetiser, Lentil and root vegetable soup, grilled sirloin steak as the main course, and the peach melba for dessert. On a whole, the food was decent but don’t expect a Michelin star standard meal. Although the portions are a little small, you are not limited to one serving and can choose to order more of any of the courses if you are still hungry!

The wait on the second night was much shorter as we had our dinner at 6.30pm. Genting Palace serves 3 small appetizers, a soup, 4 dishes as well as a dessert. It is a classic Chinese dinner that is probably catered to suit the tastes of the majority of the cruise’s passengers from China. Although the dishes were not of top quality, the food is definitely good enough to fill your tummy to get you ready for the activities for the evening ahead.

Highlights of the Trip

There were two highlights for the cruise we were on (do note that the events differ with each cruise itinerary). On the first night, we attended UFM 100.3’s music countdown sing-along event ran by Singapore’s very own 100.3 DJs. It was an enjoyable and cheerful event where the friendly and engaging local DJs entertained the crowd by singing popular Chinese hits and playing some quiz games. The bar where this event was held at had a nice ambience and drinks were priced reasonably at about 20 yuan per beer. Topped up with excellent live music, it was a great way to kick start the evening.

Another highlight of our trip was the concert by famous Canto-pop singer William Su, with front-row seats arranged for us. The entire auditorium was packed with people cheering for him even before he took the stage.

On top of having fun singing along, we thoroughly enjoyed watching his fans crowd around him while snapping selfies with him. The atmosphere was great and positively charged.

In all, it was a memorable experience on the SuperStar Virgo. There are endless activities for you to occupy yourself with, whether you are a teenager or adult. Not only are the facilities well maintained, the events are also well organized and most of the processes (i.e. embarking/disembarking) went smoothly without a hitch. Personally, we only felt that the food on board could be improved on, though you could of course pay and dine at the other 12 restaurants available on board.

The stopover in Hongkong (7 hours) and the 1-night stay in Guangzhou were bonuses since these 2 places are great shopping destinations! Be sure to check out the various packages that Star Cruises offers and make your booking here.

 

This trip was made possible by Star Cruises.