Since there are just too many products for tomorrow’s “Monday Meeting” (over 20), I’m feeling overwhelmed.
So, I had to create this special Sunday event to showcase some vacation-related items that need special attention.
Continuing to focus on summer vacation and National Day.
I will get straight to the products; they are all available for sale:
1) Round-trip flight from Shanghai to Penang with Juneyao Airlines, 6 days, including 1 night’s stay in a 4-star hotel in Penang, for 2,189 yuan (tax included, checked luggage included, minimum of two people).
Departure dates: July 26 to August 31, 2024. Extra fee for July 26-29 is 55 yuan/person, and for August 27-31 is 111 yuan/person. Most summer dates are at no extra cost.
Let me put it this way: we are also planning a trip to Penang, right? We purchased the same flight, and the total cost with taxes was over 3,000 yuan per person.
If we had known earlier, we could have used this package.
There are pictures as proof.
Operated by Juneyao Airlines, the reference flight times are as follows:
Shanghai to Penang: 17:30-23:00
Penang to Shanghai: 00:05-05:25
Includes 10KG carry-on luggage + one piece of 23KG checked luggage.
6-day round trip, but in reality, there are four full days to enjoy in Penang.
The package also includes a night at the Warmly Hotel in Penang, approximately 500+ yuan per night.
The location is very central, with mainstream attractions such as Art Street, Clan Jetty, Love Lane, and Chinatown within a 1km walking distance from the hotel.
Purchase command: 78￥ HU9046 2Yww31wcaly￥ https://m.tb.cn/h.g8WACq8/
Penang is part of Malaysia and is visa-free; you can travel there with just a passport.
Now, let me briefly introduce Penang.
Penang and Malacca are my two favorite small cities in all of Malaysia. Honestly, I prefer Penang over Kuala Lumpur.
Lonely Planet once rated Penang as “the most worth visiting food city in the world,” and it claimed the championship. Penang really is delicious and affordable.
Penang has durian orchards where you can actually stay and have durian for all three meals.
My assistant on this trip to Penang has a major task of documenting the durian orchards there; she’ll be living among them! They plan to indulge in durians to the point of exhaustion before returning.
Traveling to Penang is stress-free.
It has a significant Chinese autonomous population, with Chinese accounting for over 50% of its inhabitants, while Malay, Indian, and Chinese cultures intertwine here. Penang is filled with retro Nanyang-style houses.
You can speak Chinese without any stress here, even when going to the movies, they provide Chinese subtitles.
Penang also features many murals. After being awarded the World Heritage status, the government decided to rejuvenate its cultural image.
How to inject vitality? The first step was to spread collected artworks across various corners of George Town. These artworks have made the streets more vibrant and have attracted more visitors to the old city.
Penang also has beaches, such as the 3-kilometer-long Batu Ferringhi Beach to the northwest.
Penang boasts excellent hotels.
When talking about hotels in Penang, one cannot ignore the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, one of the world’s top three antique hotels. With over 120 years of history, it preserves the charm of the past century.
The lobby is adorned with many celebrities who have stayed there, including Mr. Sun.
We have written a detailed guide to Penang. In my heart, it is the best food island in the world!
After this trip to Penang, we will update our guide.
For the upcoming National Day:
2) National Day cruise on the Genting Dream, a 4-day, 3-night trip from Singapore to Phuket (overnight) and back for 2,105 yuan/person (taxes are 390 yuan/person).
Both Singapore and Thailand are visa-free. If you haven’t planned for National Day yet, take a closer look.
Costs include: 3 nights of accommodation, complimentary meals at designated restaurants, access to specified onboard facilities, and onboard entertainment programs and activities.
Exclusions: Service fee for the cruise (reference rate: 27 Singapore dollars/person/night for interior rooms, ocean view, and balcony cabins). This fee is paid onboard.
Specific prices are shown in the image below; it is recommended to choose an interior or balcony room.
The itinerary is as follows, with estimated departure (arrival) times:
October 1: Depart Singapore at 13:00
October 2: Arrive in Phuket at 16:00; overnight stay
October 3: Depart Phuket at 02:00
October 4: Arrive back in Singapore at 12:00
Let me elaborate on the Genting Dream.
The Genting Dream made its maiden voyage in 2016, has a tonnage of 150,695 tons, and accommodates 3,352 passengers. It is comparable to Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum and MSC Meraviglia, which are also of the same level.
Genting Dream is particularly suitable for Chinese tastes.
The paid restaurants are genuinely delicious, while the complimentary restaurants are satisfactory. Those who prefer Western cuisine might find Genting Dream less appealing as it primarily offers Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine.
Genting Dream has many complimentary dining options, including the two-level Dream Dining Room, Lido Buffet, and Blue Lagoon, which all serve free meals.
However, please note that you can only choose one complimentary restaurant to dine in during the same meal period. You cannot eat at two restaurants for one meal.
The Dream Dining Room on the 7th floor is the Western main dining area, providing semi-buffet meals (set menu plus dessert and fruit buffet) at every meal.
The Dream Dining Room on the 8th floor serves as the Chinese main dining area, focusing on Chinese cuisine.
I enjoy coming here for breakfast; other cruise lines typically don’t offer such dim sum, but Genting Dream does— and it’s in the complimentary dining room.
The Lido Buffet serves three meals a day as a buffet.
On other cruises, I often opted for buffets. However, on Genting Dream, I’ve rarely visited the buffet as I prefer Chinese cuisine.
The Blue Lagoon is the restaurant I visited most frequently; it’s a 24-hour Asian restaurant serving Singaporean and Malaysian dishes. If you want Hainanese chicken rice, Bak Kut Teh, or Satay, come here.
During peak times on the cruise, the Blue Lagoon offers complimentary set meals (similar to the main dining room), while at other times, you can order from a menu.
Late-night snacks at the Blue Lagoon are especially budget-friendly, with dishes like dumplings and wontons starting at just 2-3 Malaysian ringgit, making them very inexpensive. Of course, the prices during main dining hours might be slightly higher.
Among all the restaurants on Genting Dream, the Blue Lagoon suits my palate the best.
In addition to Chinese cuisine, speaking Chinese on Genting Dream is completely stress-free.
The cruise has an abundance of Chinese staff, signs in all public areas are also in Chinese, and many performances are conducted in Chinese.
Genting Dream is under the umbrella of Resorts World Cruises, a Singaporean company where over 70% of the population is Chinese. You can confidently converse in Chinese on Genting Dream, a feature that neither the Royal Caribbean nor MSC can provide.
There are also a variety of activities on the Genting Dream, most of which are free.
The cruise offers up to 6 exciting water slides, turning the top deck into an exhilarating water park.
These six slides are quite thrilling, and Genting Dream also has slides specifically designed for children. With summer year-round in Malaysia and Singapore, the water park is always open as long as it isn’t thundering or raining.
Additionally, there are thrilling 35-meter-high zip lines and adventure ropes courses. Miraculously, these activities are also free! They just require advance reservations.
The rock-climbing wall is also free of charge—Genting Dream is genuinely considerate with pricing.
I want to point out that on other paid cruises, many boats promote themselves by claiming to have more activities, but upon boarding, you discover that many of them incur additional charges. Genting Dream could offer a lesson to them.
For children, the cruise provides childcare services. However, it’s essential to note that on Genting Dream, the children’s center only offers two hours of free childcare each day; beyond that, a fee will apply.
Genting Dream also has many performances.
The Zodiac Theatre, which has 999 seats, hosts shows every evening. I particularly enjoy the performances there, especially the “Staff Talent Show,” which is exceedingly entertaining. The employees of Genting Dream (not the performance team) participate in this talent show.
It’s a must-see performance every night.
The cruise atrium is a three-story 360-degree bar that serves as a unique bar and entertainment venue, perfect for having a drink and listening to music.
The band at the 360-degree bar mainly plays Chinese songs.
I’ve been on this cruise myself and taken my child along. I previously stayed in a balcony room measuring 20m². Although this might not seem large, it’s quite spacious for a cruise room.
On this trip, we accommodated two adults and one child without feeling cramped. Of course, on a cruise, most of your time isn’t spent in your room.
How to purchase?
Cruise vacation packages can be somewhat complicated; directly placing an order might not be reliable and may require some consultation and Q&A. If anyone is interested, you can add my assistant (xiyoutravel1), who will invite you to the 【Xiyou Cruise Group】.
Many international products require second confirmation of cabin availability, so once you order, be sure to contact my assistant.
Please note that these are date-specific products and are non-refundable. Please order with caution.
Long-press to scan and add my assistant.
Summer sold out; restocking now!
3) 10-day, 9-night fully guided tour of Turkey, starting from 9,999 yuan.
Excluded is the foreign tour guide service fee of 150 USD/person (around 1,100 yuan), to be paid locally. This means the actual price is 11,099 yuan.
Gathering and dispersing in Istanbul, Turkey, does not include the main transportation tickets to Turkey.
Validity: July-August, 2024. All dates are at no extra cost.
Purchase command: 89￥ CZ3456 gBea31A6NBC￥ https://m.tb.cn/h.gR5IUy6/
This was a previous limited-time offer that initially sold out. There were still inquiries in the background, and since it’s expensive to travel to other places during summer, we decided to bring back the summer Turkey tour.
After two months of development, it’s finally here! The product was previewed and launched.
I won’t repeat the itinerary today; you can refer to the related reading above; it has been written in great detail. The initial promotion sold out on the same day.
