Leisure World Cruise: Day 1

Hi guys! I would like to share my field trip to Leisure World Cruise as a part of Club & Gaming Management subject. I have never been to such a 'meh' cruise trip before in my life! Despite the name which contains the word 'leisure', it is just an old cruise ship going to nowhere, with casino as its main highlight plus a lot of ah mas and ah gongs spending their money and free time to gamble. I guess you cannot expect much from the $13 price tag. This price only applies for last departure at 8.30pm.

We departed from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal using Batam Fast Ferry. Yup, we need to transit at Batam then transfer to another ferry to reach the cruise. I was kinda excited to know we would transit at Batam, because being an Indonesian, I have never been to Batam before (shame on me). But boy, I was wrong since as soon as we arrived at Batam, within 5 seconds we were in another ferry already haha. It took 40 minutes from Singapore to Batam and 20 minutes from Batam to the cruise ship. Well, technically now I can say that I have been to Batam (sounds so forceful lol).

My cruise ticket

Pfffttttt, I got seasick during the ferry trip, so long never took ferry already. I should have taken seasick prevention pills. Thankfully I could tahan not to vomit. Hais, did not know it would be that bad, maybe my empty stomach condition had made it worse. The ferry was clean and rather comfy. I chose to sit indoor in aircon comfort since outside people were all smoking.

Upon arrival we needed to surrender our passport and student pass. The queue to get the cabin key was quite long thanks to the number of students joining the trip. The cabin rental fee is $40 (4 beds for Sunday-Thursday) but there were only 3 of us so each paid $13+. OMG, the cruise interior is far from luxurious, do not even compare it to Superstar Cruise. I could see a lot of staffs roaming around in white shirt. They are from different nationalities like Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese and many more.

My cabin key

Next thing to do was hitting the Starlight Restaurant for supper (it was 10pm already!). Not bad, for $13 you are entitled to 4 times buffet meal a day (yes, 4 times = breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper). Initially, I underestimated that their buffet meal would not taste nice, but it turned out not bad. Edible. I only got some rice with veggie, duck and mapo tofu. They served both halal and non-halal food. After all, it is a gambling ship - they even have slot machines in the restaurant. Slot machines everywhere.

Simple dinner consisting of  mabo tofu, roasted duck, veggie and of course rice

I got some oyster porridge too. I thought that thing above was you tiao.

Then we visited the Lido Casino, since our main purpose here was to observe the casino and to collect info for our assignment. Unlike Singapore casinos that do not allow Singaporeans, PR and those under 21 years old to enter the premise, Leisure World casino is opened for 18+, including Singaporean (it is located on international waters so the minimum age is lower than Singapore casinos). There is no $100 entry levy for Singaporeans as well. The casino was crowded, but as I went in, the staffs started to look at me suspiciously, giving 'what the hell are you doing here' look. Some gamblers also stared at me. I know, I still look so young and innocent *slapped*. No photo-taking, video-taking, shorts and backpack are allowed inside the main casino. The front door staff let me carry my backpack with my hand, but then I got stopped by another staff and was asked to put my backpack on the reception (hmm, an inconsistency here). Beside slot machines, there were table games like baccarat and Texas Hold 'Em Poker. I don't gamble though, I have no idea of how to play them. Heard that the minimum bet here is as low as $2.

We spent like only 10 minutes inside the casino. Then we explored the ship. Went up the the highest deck (where the lounge is located), only to find out there were a lot of drunkards there. My nightmare began... One guy ran towards us holding a can of beer, he was trying to spray the beer to the girls there, but seemed like he also aimed at us, so we ran away downstairs. I felt like he was following us, but I did not dare to look back until I reached the indoor area.

Night view. Nothing could be seen haha.

We went to our cabin at 11.30pm. The cabin was so crampy! I chose to sleep at the upper bed mounted to the wall. I got paranoid that if I slept on lower bed, the upper bed would fall down on me. The ladder to get to the upper bed is portable, but kinda scary to use since it made a squeaking sound every time I stepped on it. Oh ya, I could not find any power point here so I had to charge my phone using powerbank.

If you think the cabin is crampy, wait until you see the toilet. I'm sure it will be every claustrophobic's nightmare. Behind the curtain on the right, there is a super tiny shower area. You can only just stand there showering without even moving. I still used it though since I needed to shower lol. Good thing that there was warm water and basic toiletries like shower gel, shower cap and most importantly toilet paper! Okay, day 1 ended here. I gotta make another post for day 2, stay tunes!