This is my first experience traveling Asia, and I’m proud to say that it was on board the beautiful Spectrum of the Seas. The 4-night adventure was nothing short of amazing... and in true Royal Caribbean fashion, this was made possible by the spectacular crew onboard.
Boarding Spectrum was quite easy in Hong Kong... aside from the fact that there are few signs around the boarding drop off/luggage porters in English. I’ve sailed with Royal enough to understand their process, but there were a few times I was left crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. The emails prior to sailing were appreciated as they prepared me for a smooth experience with the paperwork in the terminal. I am an individual that relied on the transit visa waiver to return to the United States. There does seem to be a lack of communication and information on this opportunity in Shanghai with Royal Caribbean’s website and customer service agents. I understand that there is a legal issue with it being up to the Chinese immigration for approval/denial; this can be a sticky situation. Information as a whole is hard to come across, and what I was able to find was mostly discovered on your competitors websites. Thankfully, the experience was quite favorable and painless as immigration provided the approval while onboard. It would be appealing to someone like myself to provide a little more of an explanation around the Visa/Passport requests.
Onboard, the efforts of Savio and Bona in the pool bars were greatly appreciated. They did a fantastic job at keeping me hydrated, and freezing in the cold while doing so! Thanks for being daily fun and friendly faces to me, the other guests, and your fellow crew mates. Your personalities and smiles are infectious, and your service is top-notch.
Consistently, the beverage and the entertainment staff service and skills tend to be what win me over on every ship I’ve sailed. Just like the bar staff, the entertainment on the ship was top-notch. The quality of talent and musicianship you find upon RCCL ships is exceptional. This cruise did not let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed the musical sets of both of the bands, Aurra and Extra. I didn’t catch many of the Aurra sets, but when I did hear, I danced along to some amazing musicians and a very beautiful and powerful female vocalist. As for the Extra band, I attended each of their performances. Wow!
The guys did an amazing job at keeping the beats up and the vibes flowing while we sailed our short cruise to Japan and back. I’ve mainly sailed Caribbean itineraries, and for the most part, the Caribbean bands stick to tunes rooted in reggae and island beats. At sail away, seeing the Caribbean band setting up for their set on a cultural cruise around China and Japan... I had many concerns. The first being... How was a Caribbean band to be successful in Asia?!
My concerns were instantly put to rest this week as I was able to enjoy Extra’s many talents. I could definitely tell that the band had put a lot of time and effort into expanding their song bank to include a much greater diversification of songs and genres in comparison to other ships I’ve sailed. Collectively, they performed sets of both older & newer songs, and of various genres and dancing styles. Many of times I witnessed couples, children and individuals entertain the dance floor during the band’s sets. This was wonderful to see the guests becoming interactive with the guys.
Speaking of interactive; the guests are much more interactive on Spectrum of the Seas taking photos, videos and entering the band’s personal stage space during performances. At first... this was a major shock to me. I was floored at the ability of the guys to never lose focus, pose and smile for the photos, all while never missing a beat. How Dennison can do that while being vocally lost in a lyric is beyond me; they are truly a professional group.
Extra performed on the pool deck, in 270 and in my favorite, Music Hall, during this cruise. It was in Music Hall on night 4 that the guests truly became alive thanks to the band feeling the crowed out, and playing off of their energies. During the last 2 sets of the evening, the hall started to fill, and people started swaying a little more to the beat in their seats; however, the dance floor only had a population of 1 at this time. I could tell Leroy and Dennison felt it, and Leroy nodded Dennison came off of the stage and to the dance floor while Godfrey, Hollis and he continued to play both instrumentally and vocally. Dennison elevated the laughter and good times in that room by simply getting people up and interacting; first by joining his growing Conga line, and then by maintaining his presence on the dance floor for the duration of the set. The upbeat vibes Extra left Music Hall with that evening made for a great transition for the crowd to the DJ.
As I wrap this review up, I wish for the amount of talent in Dennison Andrew, Leroy, Hollis and Godfrey to be recognized. Not only are these men singing and playing their instruments, but they are being interactive with the guests and working tirelessly to create a beautiful experience onboard the Spectrum of the Seas. Thank you SOTS for a wonderful first Asian cruise experience, and thank you RCCL for yet another amazing adventure aboard. I’m looking forward to future sailings! Until next time...
