Breakfast at Yong He Soy Milk -
We had the one at Hankou Street. It is a little distance from ECFA hotel but it was a manageable morning stroll. When we arrived around 9 plus, there was a breakfast queue. The expectations of the food were definitely high.
We were given the menu and told to start queuing and think of what to order while doing so. By the time it was our turn, we had to know exactly what to eat. It was highly stressful to make food decisions so quickly gosh.
After ordering and paying for the food, we waited for them to call us to the table when it was available. The shop space is small and it is quite cramped. This is definitely a fast-food place where you would want to finish the food and leave quickly. You won't be able to sit around even if you want to because I bet the people waiting for the seats will be staring at you for not leaving the table.
After ordering and paying for the food, we waited for them to call us to the table when it was available. The shop space is small and it is quite cramped. This is definitely a fast-food place where you would want to finish the food and leave quickly. You won't be able to sit around even if you want to because I bet the people waiting for the seats will be staring at you for not leaving the table.
I must say that the soy milk that they are famous for is really awesome. It is creamy and at the right sweetness. As it is served hot, it really is the best beverage to start the day!
I was a little surprised that the other food was quite "instant" and prepared beforehand. I was probably expecting it to be more Hong Kong style. The bun with egg and pork was so dry and just does not taste fresh at all. Same goes for the one with the sesame seed. The youtiao/dough stick was cold and tough.
The two consolation items were the rice roll (no picture) and the green spring onion pancake with egg. I like the spring onion pancake the most as it was served hot and taste like spring onion flavoured roti prata. My bf thought that his rice roll was not bad, but I still find that some parts of the rice was a little dry and uncooked.
Based on this disappointing experience, I do not understand why Yong He is so raved upon and popular.
Off to Keelung for the Princess Cruise -
We finished the last of our packing and headed downstairs to wait for our driver to send us to Keelung for our cruise. He came earlier than 11.30am and so we headed to our destination earlier.
It took about 45min to reach the cruise terminal. The space at level 1 was quite crowded and we quickly moved up to have our check-in done. 1 person could check in for all, so half of us sat at the seats looking after the belongings. The check-in part was fine, and we followed the directional guides, walked under the tents outside, and back into the building to see a whole lot of people queuing to get up the ship - Sun Princess!
We gave our luggage to the staff and started queuing. The luggage already had the Princess luggage tag which we were supposed to pre-print. When we were with Royal Caribbean (RC), they had people to print on the spot for anyone without it but this option did not seem available there.
The wait was at least 30 mins. We were actually supposed to check in only at 1pm but it seems like their rule is quite lax. We should have been earlier in that case! This Princess Cruise consists of mainly the local Taiwanese as the ship was chartered for them. Most of them have the Princess lanyard over their necks and we were wondering whether it was mandatory for us as well. We did not receive any from our local tour agency.
Lunch at the crowded Horizon Court -
When we finally went on board, it was time to have some food before the buffet closes.
When we finally went on board, it was time to have some food before the buffet closes.
Reaching the Horizon Court at Deck 14, we were surprised to see how packed the place was. It is quite a small area. It does not seem like there were enough seatings and we had to wait and eye on potential tables. The ambience was really noisy and chaotic.
Even though it is generally packed on the first day on board, we did not have as much trouble finding a nice seat on RC. The mood at that time was greatly affected because I was really looking forward to the cruise experience.
Before we selected our dishes, we had to wash our hands, and can only come in from the designated side. I think this is a good hygiene practice but it can be quite troublesome, especially when you go back for a second serving.
I would say that the first meal on board was mostly tasty!
There is a good mix of Asian food and Western food. It is catered for the Taiwanese after all.
We had our fire drill at a specified time. Everyone was to report to their muster station reflected on their room card. It was not held outside at the deckare but in the Princess Theatre. They even have a song created for the introduction and it was silly and hilarious.
The windowless interior room - P236 at Deck 5
The room is nice and cosy. It is definitely a little crampier than a usual hotel room but that is kind of expected on a ship. Same goes for the toilet.
I finally realized the need to unpack our stuff and park our luggage at the corner beside the bed so that it is out of the way. It was also when I also realized how useful my packing cubes were! I literally just take them all out and place it in the wardrobe. And that's it, I don't have to take out every single thing.
I like how their hairdryer is rectangular in shape. How unique lol.
Princess cruises have their own on-board application which is really good for communication among family members on the ship. Just keep your WiFi on while on airplane mode. There is no notification though, so you have to keep checking the browser and refreshing the page in order to see any new messages. It even has a group option, which is really good for group communication. I accidentally drank their bottled water and realized that it may have been charged to our account, according to what the app states.
We only realized there was a formal night/captain's night on the cruise itself. I think we were advised that there were no formal nights since it was only a few days. I brought one black dress just in case and I got to utilize it. As we walked from our rooms to the Regency Dining Room at Deck 6, the ship was swaying soooooooo much! We wondered whether it was due to the level we were at or due to the choppy waters.
Dinner at Regency Dining Room -
We were brought to our table near the back. It was quite a small dining room in my opinion. Our waiter was Ray and he seems a bit funny crazy kind. He gave us the menu and introduced the specials of the day versus the permanent options on the menu.
We went for the standard 4-course meal for that day. The appetizer was creamy garlic with scallops and it goes well with the crispy bread at the side. The beef slices are tender and comes with a side of potato pie and assorted vegetables. The souffle that came with the set was okay but one can always have more than one dessert. The chestnut mouse and chocolate truffles is really chocolatey and yummy.
Our dinner started only around 8pm and we watched the "guess the lyrics (Mandarin )" gameshow after that. It was already halfway through when we joined at the Vista Lounge and we were unable to participate. By then, it was time to have a great night sleep in preparation for our Okinawa day!
And my favourite part of the Princess cruise is the bed!! It is super duper comfortable.
The second thing I love about the cruise is the TV which comes with many videos on demand to watch. The only thing is, I found it hard to keep myself awake while watching on that bed!
There goes, I didn't complete Ant-Man.
