World Dream Super Seacation Cruise To Nowhere

From 31 March to ~~27 May 2021~~ 15 June 2021, the World Dream features Amazing Thailand-themed sailings as part of a series of Around the world on World Dream cruises. During my cruise in April, I headed around the ship for some Thai-themed activities to see what these themed additions are like to the already many activities and facilities available on board.

The World Dream Amazing Thailand Themed Cruise has been extended till 15 June 2021.

Klook.com

World Dream Amazing Thailand Themed Cruise

The Amazing Thailand Themed Cruise was introduced after the Faith show by the Cruise Director on the first night.

For the exact times of the Amazing Thailand activities, refer back to the Dream Daily or Dream Weekender. These are spread out throughout high seas days.

Thai Traditional Sarong Demonstration

The first activity in the morning after breakfast is the Thai Traditional Sarong Demonstration at the Main Pool Deck on Deck 16.

The dancers teach how to tie a sarong in 14 different ways. This would have been an interactive demonstration but no one in the audience brought along a sarong so it became a fashion show instead.

Thai Cooking Demonstration

There is a Thai Cooking Demonstration by an actual Thai chef from Dream Cruises at the Lobby on Deck 6.

Two dishes were taught at the Thai Cooking Demonstration which are Pad Thai and Gaeng Som (Sour Curry with Mixed Vegetables).

Recipes are provided on screen which the chef asks to take pictures of.

Here’s a cropped picture of the Pad Thai and Gaeng Som recipes if you’re interested. You’re welcome.

Thai Soap Carving & Umbrella Painting

I missed the soap carving portion of the demonstration, but I managed to catch the umbrella painting demonstration by the crew. This is also done at the Lobby on Deck 6.

Pitch Burst Challenge & Water Gun Tag

The Pitch Burst Challenge and Water Gun Tag are wet games, features in celebration of Songkran Festival. This is at Zouk Beach Club on Deck 17.

Due to bad weather on my cruise, the outdoor activity was unfortunately cancelled for safety reasons, but the staff were very nice to voluntarily pose for a photo which I certainly wasn’t expecting.

Thai Street Market

Arguably the main highlight of the Amazing Thailand Themed Cruise is the Thai Street Market. This is held during the Amazing Thailand Themed Cruise from 31 March to 27 May 2021 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (depending on your chosen cruise itinerary) from 3pm to 5pm.

The Thai Street Market operates with a coupon system just like food courts in Thailand. Coupons can be purchased from bars around the ship prior to the Thai Street Market…

… or on the spot before entering the Thai Street Market.

Coupon purchases are charged to your Access Card, which you settle your account before the end of your cruise.

Each coupon (and item in the Thai Street Market) costs S$5.

For every 4 coupons purchased (S$20 worth), you will get a coupon for a free Orange Lemongrass Peach Mocktail claimable from the Zouk Beach Bar just beside the Thai Street Market.

The Thai Street Market is treated like a new area on board the ship, and temperature taking and tapping in with your Access Card is mandatory.

The Thai Street Market is created with push carts selling pre-packed food, with social distancing observed.

Food items available at the Thai Street Market include Som Tum (Papaya Salad), Yum Mamuang (Green Mango Salad), Khao Niao Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice), Kluay Tod (Fried Bananas), Woon Kafe (Thai Coffee Jelly), and Mango Sticky Rice Ice Cream. Each item costs S$5 ie. 1 coupon.

There is also a standalone push cart selling Café Amazon products and Dream Cruises souvenirs. Purchases done here are directly through your Access Card.

I purchased 1 of everything except for the Mango Sticky Rice Ice Cream. The portions were generous for S$5 which is definitely cheaper than the same Thai dish in Singapore.

Seating is provided at the Zouk Beach Club.

Kluay Tod Kaikem (Thai Fried Bananas with Salted Egg Cheese and Chocolate Sauces)

The free Orange Lemongrass Peach Mocktail can be redeemed at the bar at Zouk Beach Club. This costs S$8 + 18% service charge without the free coupon, so buying 4 coupons worth S$20 is worth it.

Remember to mix your salads up with the sauce before eating – it’s a Thai salad, not a Caesar Salad.

Tuk Tuk, Umbrella Wall & Big Bowl Noodle Display

Beside the Thai Street Market, there is a 2D Tuk Tuk display, Umbrella Wall, and Big Bowl Noodle Display for photo-taking opportunities.

The Big Bowl Noodle Display is good for Boomerang shots on Instagram.

There are also ship crew dressed up in Thai costumes for picture-taking at the 2D Tuk Tuk display and beach background.

I went again at night and it felt a bit more like Thailand with the fairy lights hanging from the ceiling.

Pa Sa Thai Kiosk

The Pa Sa Thai Kiosk is located towards the exit of the Thai Street Market (Zouk Beach Club) with the one-way walking for social distancing purposes. It’s a machine which detects your Thai language skills where you repeat the word after the machine, and it analyses how well you can speak Thai.

Thai Theme Night Dinner at The Lido (No Pork No Lard) – Inclusive

Up at The Lido on Deck 16, there is a Thai buffet featured on the last night of the cruise.

Thai food is served in the No Pork No Lard buffet line at The Lido. Halal and Vegetarian lines continue to serve regular Lido Halal and Vegetarian food.

Here’s what’s on offer for the Thai buffet at The Lido:

Steamed Jasmine Rice (but Uncle Roger would disapprove of you eating this at a buffet), Pad Thai, Red Beef Curry, Curried Mussels, …

… Steamed Barramundi Fish with Lime Juice, Braised Beancurd with Minced Chicken, Stir Fried Vegetables, Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts, …

… Thai Noodle Soup, …

… Gai Yang, CP Kitchen Joy Fish Dippers, …

… and Tom Yum Kung for the soup.

Here’s my selection of Thai food from The Lido’s Thai buffet.

The dishes were overall not as spicy or have a strong taste as compared with Thailand, but still reasonably fine if you are a typical Singaporean who visits Bangkok once a year.

3 prawns were generously scooped up in my Tom Yum Soup, though no other ingredients were spotted inside.

The Thai Noodle Soup was also not spicy.

CP Kitchen Joy Fish Dippers to please the kids.

Two hot Thai desserts were offered, Sticky Rice with Custard and Pumpkin in Coconut Milk.

Here’s the hot Pumpkin in Coconut Milk.

The Sticky Rice with Custard was a little strange for me as the Khao Niao Sangkaya I had before were individually packed in pandan leaves. Also, the Sangkaya was in cubes on top with a custard swimming around the sticky rice. I guess it’s something to do with mass production for The Lido and to leave it to the server to portion it out for the guests. It was reasonably good nonetheless.

The pandan Khanom Chan was right on point just like in Thailand, and was the first dish to run out at The Lido even as a dessert.

Thai Theme Night Dinner at Dream Dining Room – Inclusive

At the Dream Dining Room, Thai-style dishes were offered on both nights of dinners on my cruise. I use the term Dream Dining Room collectively as both Dream Dining Room Upper and Dream Dining Room Lower offers the same menu at dinner time – there is no Western set dinner option.

As the dishes on offer are mixed with Chinese food, I’ll just be featuring the dishes that Dream Cruises promote as “Thai Style”.

Dream Dining Room Semi-Thai Friday Dinner Menu

Dream Dining Room Semi-Thai Saturday Dinner Menu

“Thai Style” Steamed Seasonal Fish with Spicy Mint Leaf Sauce

“Thai Style” Steamed Seasonal Fish with Salted Vegetables and Preserved Soy Bean

“Thai Style” Prawn with Tangy Spicy BBQ Sauce

As you can see, with the exception of Kha Moo (“Thai Style” Braised Pork Knuckle), the “Thai” dishes looked and tasted rather Chinese instead of Thai. If you are after Thai-ish Thai food, stick with the Thai Theme Night Dinner at The Lido.

NOTE: With the very full cruises now for April and May especially, there seems to be no more Dream Dining Room Lower Western set menu for dinners now. If you head to the cruise during this period, updates will be appreciated.

Thai Theme Additional Meals at Dream Dining Room Upper – Paid

Neua Phad Kata – Thai Style Grilled Striploin (S$38)

Dream Dining Room Upper offers an additional paid dish for lunch and dinner, the Neua Phad Kata – Thai Style Grilled Striploin going at S$38 + 18% service charge.

Thai Theme Additional Meals at Dream Dining Room Lower – Paid

Dream Dining Room Lower offers an additional paid dish for lunch and dinner, the Thai Red Curry Lobster Thermidor going at S$30 + 18% service charge.

Thai Desserts at Red Lion

Red Lion is a small counter selling drinks and Asian desserts.

For the Thai-themed cruise, I spotted additional Thai-themed desserts here including the Songkran Grass Jelly (S$5), Mango Coconut Smoothie (S$8), and Thai Coconut (S$8) + 18% service charge.

World Dream Taste of Thai Themed Drinks

In other bars around the ship, there are Taste of Thai themed drinks of Thai Sabai Cocktail (S$10), Butterfly Pea Cocktail (S$10), and Orange Lemongrass Peach Mocktail (S$8) + 18% service charge.

Do note that these additional Thai themed drinks are not part of the Premium Beverage Package (S$188 nett).

World Dream x Folks Collective Special Drinks

At Bar 360, there are also World Dream x Folks Collective Thai themed drinks of Long Thailand Iced Tea Cocktail (S$10), Som Yud Cocktail (S$10), Yaowarat Burning Cocktail (S$10), and Lychee Lime Soda Mocktail (S$8) + 18% service charge.

Do note that these additional Thai themed drinks are not part of the Premium Beverage Package (S$188 nett).

There’s also a Singha Beer set with 6 cans going for S$28 and 12 cans going for S$48, both + 18% service charge.

Amazing Thailand Trivia Quiz

At night, there is an interactive quiz at the Lobby for random Thailand trivia with prizes given out.

Conclusion

The World Dream Amazing Thailand themed cruise to nowhere is probably the closest thing you can get to Thailand now that free travel isn’t exactly allowed yet. The Thai Street Market further helped to enhance the feeling of being back in Thailand with the food stalls and music around.

I would recommend going for the World Dream Amazing Thailand themed cruise to nowhere, but unfortunately, it looks like Thai-themed cruises are all fully booked throughout the Amazing Thailand themed cruise period from 31 March to 27 May 2021 on Klook, so you will probably miss it unless you have already gotten your tickets or can snag your tickets at the last minute if someone miraculously cancels his or her cruise.