Gulangyu Cruise: Student Travel Guide (Five Days and Four Nights)

1️⃣ Room Selection ✅ Choose a balcony or sea view room without hesitation (best value for money, you can enjoy the sea view from your room)～ Suites come with extra perks; we opted for a premium sea view room. 2️⃣ Must-Bring Items 🧳 Be sure to bring a jacket (the air conditioning in restaurants and facilities is freezing 🥶), no need to bring a power adapter. Highly recommended‼️ Bring foldable hangers and magnetic hooks (the ship's walls are mostly metal, so they work well). The hangers in the room are fixed inside the wardrobe. 🚫 Never assume you won't get seasick! Be sure to prepare seasickness medication. We encountered a typhoon on the first day, and it was unbearable 😵💫. 3️⃣ Room Card & Payments All expenses are charged to your room card (your name is printed on the back). The room card is very important! Half of the staff on board speak English, and everyone is very friendly～😊 4️⃣ Restaurants 🍴 There are three free restaurants on board👇 • Oriental and Peninsula: Same menu, but Peninsula has stricter dining hours. We recommend Oriental. • Lido: Buffet style, similar to hotel breakfasts, no need to queue, very convenient and flexible. Pros: Fast and convenient; also offers late-night snacks (10 PM to 11 PM, though the options are limited). Cons: The environment is a bit noisy. Oriental and Peninsula serve set meals with a different menu every day, including appetizers, soup, main course, dessert, and fruit. It feels more formal, so we mainly dined there. 💰 We also tried the paid restaurant "Asian Bistro" once. The price was reasonable, but the taste was average. We mainly went because it was open until 1 AM and we were hungry late at night. Honestly, the free restaurants are more than sufficient! 5️⃣ Other Tips 📜 There are different activities on board every day, announced in the "Star Travel Daily" (delivered to the slot on your room door 📄). Service fee for the voyage is $64 + Japan departure tax $7 = Total $71. Remember to settle the bill at the Guest Services Desk on the 5th floor before disembarking 💵. 🛳️ Boarding Location: Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.