Saturday February 21st - Sunday February 22nd, 2026 Queen Anne, Singapore

Neil Wylie
Dec 25, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Feb 25

We’ve been to Singapore a few times and so we didn’t feel the need to run around and see all the sights, for this reason I’m going to combine both days in Singapore into a single blog entry.

Orchard Road is one of the major shopping areas in Singapore; along this long stretch are several malls, many interconnected via airconditioned underground walkways. For our first day we planned a leisurely stroll through the shops, picking up a few essentials. We took the ship shuttle bus from the cruise terminal to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It’s always boiling hot in Singapore and so I’d try to plan the day with minimal outdoor walking. The bus dropped us at the shopping mall across the street from the hotel and we descended to the lower levels in search of the MTR station.

Many years ago I bought Sandra a nice clutch purse while I was traveling in Asia, it was from a Chinese luxury brand called Shanghai Tang and Sandra loved it. Unfortunately, when we lost our house in a 2017 California wildfire, Sandra also lost the purse. Over the years we’ve tried to find a replacement for the lost purse with no success, and at one point I think the brand was in decline – so we had given up hope. Weren’t we surprised as we walked through the mall towards the MTR station to find a large, sparkling, Shanghai Tang store. It took about 2 minutes for Sandra to find a clutch purse that she instantly fell in love with, it was not like the one she had lost but she felt it was the ideal replacement. Happy times.

We’d used the Singapore MTR a few times before, it’s the equivalent of the London Underground – only the system is very modern and spanking clean. What we didn’t realize was that the ticketing process had changed since our last visit; it was not possible to purchase a one journey ticket, but the helpful agent explained that the system now allowed card in / card out with a credit card. This is a great process, and we’ve used it on several transit systems in cities around the world. Each passenger has to have their own credit card, which we did, but what we didn’t know was each card has to linked to a unique account – both of our cards were for the same account. So I passed through the turnstile without a problem, but then when Sandra tried, she was denied. We went back to the agent who explained the issue, scanned both of our cards, and told us everything would be fine for this one journey – including the one station change that we needed to do to get to our final destination. However when we exited the turnstiles after our first stop, once again I got through and Sandra was stuck. This time there was no agent we could go to and, as I was on the other side of the turnstiles, I could not go back to help. Fortunately a friendly passenger came to Sandra’s rescue; he used the intercom to find out the issue and then walked Sandra back into the MTR and down two levels to the ticket office. About 10 minutes later Sandra and her new friend emerged and she successfully passed through the turnstiles. Only at this point did her good Samaritan explain that he was actually an off-duty employee of the MTR – still this was an unbelievably kind gesture. We’ve found this on prior visits to Singapore, the people are very friendly and helpful.

At this point we were a bit stuck; we had not reached our final destination and since we’d left our other credit cards on the ship we couldn’t use the MTR. A quick check of the map showed that it was a bit too far to walk in the heat, and I also discovered that there was no Uber coverage in Singapore. Outside the MTR station we found a convenient taxi stand on the side of a busy road; well it appeared to be convenient but after about 15 minutes without a single empty taxi passing us, we were about to melt and disappear down the nearby drain. With despair setting in our wait was rewarded and a taxi finally stopped for us.

Marks and Spencer is one of our favorite British stores and there are several locations in Singapore. Wheelock Place is the most northly shopping mall on Orchard Road and we were happy to stumble out of the taxi and into the mall right at the entrance to the M&S store. On a previous visit to Singapore we had come to this store and remembered that there was a café; the M&S cafes in the UK are normally good for a light lunch and coffee. What we had forgotten was that this particular café was just not very good, the food and service were subpar at best – avoid it.

After much shopping and walking we made our way back to the ship. Once again, we tried to get a taxi and while waiting I got talking to a young man who appeared to be in the same predicament. It turns out he wasn’t waiting for a taxi; he had ordered a ride via an app call Grab which he explained was what people in Singapore use instead of Uber. I noticed others getting into cars they had similarly ordered so I took 5 minutes and signed up for the service and about 5 minutes later we were on our way. Incredibly convenient and inexpensive.

There’s a lesson here; no matter how many times you’ve been to a city, don’t assume that things will always stay the same – I know this sounds a bit obvious, but with just a bit of online research I could have known about the MRT ticketing and also the lack of Uber in Singapore.

In the evening of our first day in Singapore we attended the shore side gala for the 800 or so passengers on board for the full world voyage; the event was held at the ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in the Raffles Center. Needless to say this evening required full on formal ware and suitably trussed up on all of our finery we joined the long line of excited passengers making their way out to the waiting busses for transport to the event. We’ve attended a couple of these gala evenings before, one in Dubai (superb) and one in Buenos Aires (not so good). The evening got off to a poor start with the area set aside for pre-dinner drinks and entertainment being too small for the size of the crowd. Luckily, I was able to find the bar, and we also managed to locate a quiet seating area off to the side of the melee.

Around 7PM the large doors to the ballroom opened and guests began to wander in to find their assigned seats. After a rather mediocre dinner the evening’s entertainment started and it included various dance groups from India and China, along with a speech from the captain. The evening concluded with a band playing covers of classic pop songs and many of the passengers (including us) dancing to the music. All in all a great night, somewhere below Dubai but above Bueno Aries.

The highlight, and really only activity, for our second day in Singapore was lunch at the Tiffin Room in Raffles Hotel. We took a Grab ride to the Raffles Shopping Center to pick up a few things before we headed across the street for lunch. We really like the Raffles Hotel; the shops surround a series of ornate courtyards, and the beautiful colonial style architecture is just magnificent. The Tiffin Room is just off the lobby, and it is world famous for its Indian cuisine, we’ve eaten here a couple of time before. The room has rich wood parquet flooring and bright white walls and robust columns with huge wrought iron and glass chandeliers – it really harks back to a bygone age. Based on our previous experience we ordered a minimal amount of food and still could not finish what was delivered. I’m pretty sure we ordered the same main course as we did 3 years ago, the Murgh Tikka Masala, only this time it was a real lip curler. Either our tastes have changed or they have a new chef who makes things a bit spicier. Despite the heat, we both really enjoyed the meal; the setting, service and quality were fantastic.

Singapore is not my favorite place to visit; I find the heat oppressive and this makes me try to plan day with the minimum of outdoor walking. However there is no doubt that Singapore has some of the most spectacular city architecture in the world (I’ve covered this in other blogs), it’s compact and has an excellent transport system, it’s clean and well organized, and it has some of the most friendly and helpful people you’re ever likely to meet.