RELAX
SuperStar
The search for your next
family holiday destination
is over. It’s time to head
for the high seas.
Service
The thing I most fondly remember about
my experience on board SuperStar
Virgo, the largest vessel in the Star
Cruises line-up, was not the seemingly
endless supply of food during buffet
times (but really, where do they find the
space to store so many ingredients) or
the gorgeous, postcard-perfect view of
the vast ocean from my balcony. No, it
wasn’t any of these.
waitress who treated me like royalty and
in doing so, transformed a normal dining
experience into an unforgettable evening
with her poise and subtlety.
It was the staff. The smiling chambermaid who cheerily greeted me every
morning without fail the moment I
stepped out of my room; the guest relations officer who painstakingly answered
my numerous questions and dealt with
my requests for access to different places so that I could take photographs; the
“For infants, please help them to put on
life vest A. For kids below 20 kg, please
put on life vest B. For kids above 20 kg,
please put on life vest C. For adults below 140 kg, please put on life vest D. For
adults weighing above 140 kg, I’m sorry
to say we don’t have suitable life vests
for you. But, don’t worry. You’ll float.”
Even the mandatory lifeboat drill that
was held before the ship set sail turned
from a routine affair into a laugh-athon, as the staff expertly blended
safety advice with memorable jokes.
Every night, each room is given a brochure
that extensively details the different events
happening on board the next day. There
is literally something going on every hour,
whether it’s a simple game of charades
with the other holiday-makers and the
staff, or an elaborate musical in the ship’s
theatre. There are also plenty of activities
specially catered for children, and as I went
around the vessel with my camera, I saw
a number of smiling parents with kids in
tow as trying their hands at balloon twisting
or just enjoying the wide array of familyfriendly facilities available on board.
Of course, on those rare occasions
when you feel like enjoying a bit of
alone time with your significant other,
you can leave your children to play with
their peers in the Kids’ Activity Centre,
which is helmed by a crew of trained
facilitators. In the Centre, there is a
playground masquerading as an obstacle course, a play pit filled with balls
and a sitting area with enough crayons
and papers to stock a stationery store.
Besides the Kids’ Activity Centre, there
are a plethora of amenities on board the
ship that your children, whether they’re
three or 13, would love, including a mini
water theme park, complete with water
slides, mermaid statues and Poseidon
himself eyeing the scene, and a rock wall
for the little ones who love climbing and
giving their parents a mini heart attack.
Depending on the time of the year, the
vessel’s crew also put together thematic
celebrations, inviting everyone, from the
young to the old, to join in. When I was
there, it was just in time for their version
of “Oktoberfest”. There wasn’t a pitcher
of beer in sight, but I feasted on a chocolate buffet, suitable for the whole family,
and made my two left feet do some work
during the dance-off at the main atrium.
My time on board SuperStar Virgo
came to an end far too soon, but as I
left the vessel, I didn’t feel any sadness. Instead, my heart was warmed by
the friendliness and dedication demonstrated by the entire crew.
I’ll be back, soon enough.
superstar virgo
Fun Facts
Length
879 feet (268 m) or
about two and a half football
fields
Guest capacity
Comfortably accommodates
1,870 passengers
SPEED
24 knots (about 44 km/h)
Number of decks
13 decks (or floors)
28
Family & Life • Nov 2013