Andre and His Amazing Cruise on
Legend of the Seas
Andre Tang is a 15 year-old boy who suffers from a congenital heart disease. He dreams of many things in life - sports, flying, horseback riding and visiting his best friend in the USA. Unfortunately, his severe heart condition does not allow him to do all those things. He had a heartfelt wish to go on a cruise holiday with his family.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation (Singapore) granted Andre's wish with our help by sponsoring a four-night Isles of Southeast Asia Cruise to Phuket and Kuala Lumpur from Jan 23 to 27, 2009 with his family. It turned out to be an amazing experience for Andre as the crew treated him like a VIP with fun-filled activities and special visits to fascinating parts of the ship.
Andre's mother said, "It was indeed a memorable getaway for Andre. He was a VIP and the crew was super! Although Andre was exhausted after that due to his condition, his happiness is worth it. He had the time of his life. This experience will stay with him forever!"
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has been a national partner of the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2000. Royal Caribbean has helped make cruise wishes possible for more than 1,200 children around the world, and Andre is our first Singaporean wish child to have his cruise wish granted.
I am overwhelmed with excitement, and everyone is everywhere with everything - fun chaos! :)
Make-A-Wish Foundation (Pei Ling) arranged for a cab from our home to the Singapore Cruise Centre. We were greeted by reporters from Straits Times (Jal) and Lianhe Zaobao and Ying Duan (Royal Caribbean's rep) when we arrived.
Pei Ling handed us the Sea Pass cards and documents. Ying Duan made our reception a very welcoming one. We were given VIP treatment and did not need to join the queue to check in for customs clearance and boarding - all privileged! My sisters and I were enjoying the special treatment and commented we were able to go on the "express lane"! :)
Interviews by the reporters were brief as Pei Ling made sure I was not tired out. We then met Jenny Wyatt, the Adventure Ocean Manager, and were given a very special reception when we stepped onboard.
Jenny gave me a special envelope with all of the special activities exclusive to me and my siblings. I feel full of energy and never once stopped.
On ground Pei Ling and Ying Duan made the difference. On board Jenny made sure I was well taken care of, and she made the difference! :)
We managed to settle into our rooms and after dinner we explored the ship. I was excited all this while and couldn't wait till dinner was over. I was "blue", but I didn't stop once. I had forgotten how breathless and tired I was.
Activities:
Rock climbing - (before dinner time) I was a bit hesitant and wanted to consider. I didn't go on it at first, though I badly wanted to.
Golf - Had a go at it and had some fun :)
Teens 12-14 (After dinner) - I was very hesitant to join in. Craig (known as "Grandpa" to all the teens) was a sport. He persuaded me and he succeeded! : I was afraid the other boys would laugh at my size, height and purple lips. I was afraid I wouldn't mix and fit in.
Mum left me with Craig (Grandpa Gates) at 9pm, and she was assured we would have fun.
Mum picked us up at 10:30pm and I didn't want to leave! We had so much fun. I was glad it turned out well! It was a good session, and I looked forward to going back to the Optix the next day.
I'd wanted to stay till midnight at the Optix, but Mum said it was not recommended as my frail health requires rest. She insisted I retire for the day. I was a little upset! :)
I had a great evening and settled into bed happy. I can't wait for the next day. Optix is waiting for me.
Optix is a club where the children go for their activities with the rest of the children in their age range, and it is supervised by the staff of Adventure Ocean. It is nonstop fun for us!
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I took my time to get out of bed. I had a quick breakfast and zapped off to Optix again. I was there the whole morning until we met for lunch.
I was getting around and found the courage to explore on my own. With the confidence and the negative fear tucked in the "back door", I was starting to relax and enjoy being able to look forward to the activities that Jenny had organised.
My health overtook my excitement. I felt drained by lunch. Mum took me back to stateroom, and I rested in bed.
Before we left for the cruise, my doctor, Dr. William Yip, reminded me to take it slow - no jumping and running and take lots of rest.
I got up in the late afternoon, towards dinner. Mum persuaded me to have some dinner. I was reluctant, but she persuaded me to go in the wheelchair.
After dinner, I was "recharged" and said I felt fine. Off to the Optix once again, where we spent the whole evening.
I was happy to be given freedom.
We returned to the cabin at 11:30pm. I was exhausted, and I went to bed a very happy child! :)
I had fun at Optix.
I enjoy being free. Everyone was there to have good fun, no matter if you are big or small, yellow, white or black.
It just gets better, I am able to find a place I "belong" to throughout the cruise to enjoy, as I was unable to swim or engage in vigorous activities. There's so much to do for the children that the time just flew by us!
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I was excited, and I couldn't wait to go for the elephant ride in Phuket.
Time zoomed by for us. It was a very exciting day for the children.
We had a visit to the bridge to meet the Captain after breakfast. It was an exciting event, as we had always wanted to visit the bridge in our previous cruises with other liners.
We took several pictures and asked many questions:. We were given special privileges in the bridge. We are one lucky bunch :).
Next was a visit backstage. We got excited among the costumes and headgears. I asked many questions!
Oliver (Ollie) and Rae from the cast were very kind and patient as they walked us through the tour backstage explaining the performance etc.
We gathered for the afternoon tour. Royal Caribbean was very generous to provide us 2 complimentary tour tickets of the 5 we purchased.
The crew members were very kind and helpful. They assisted us throughout and made sure we were taken care of.
My sisters and I enjoyed the visit to the Animal Kingdom, where we saw the performance of the monkeys and elephants.
The elephant ride, though short, was a great experience for all. We could have ridden on for hours! It was too short at the Animal Kingdom, but we had a great adventure. I was excited throughout. I had difficulty with movement and was assisted on the wheelchair most of the time, as a lot of walking was required.
When the tour ended, we spent some time at the beach and I had the experience of "shopping" in Thailand! I was elated - I felt the sand of Phuket. That marked my destination of travelling further than Malaysia! :)
It was a tiring day but a good one.
We had dinner and I insisted on returning to Optix to meet my friends and Grandpa Gates. He told me he wished this could go on :)
Mum gave me the liberty to stay on as we wanted. Adults are not allowed in Optix, but I think Mum managed a couple of peeks in the few days and saw us having fun with the Adventure Ocean leader, playing card games, board games, TV games and just chatting.
Grandpa Gates mentioned that I was indeed the opposite when he first met me!
We had the best time of our life! Optix was like "heaven" or "paradise" to me.
I had never met so many people in my life. At Optix, I met children my age of different nationalities. The beauty of it is that I am able to blend in so well. I enjoyed meeting new people and this is the first time I've made so many friends!
I have been on other cruises two times when my Grandma took me and my sisters, but we never had so much fun at the other cruises children's club. That Optix was totally different and the people we met are totally different.
This may not be my first cruise, but the memory of this cruise is made to last. We had unspeakable fun. And fun is children's number 1 priority!! :)
And for once, Lunar New Year didn't seem too significant to us!
The ship had the celebration and New Year dishes were served at dinner.
After dinner, I and my sisters zoomed off again to Optix. We were promised a great party! And we had that!
It was a party like disco....Neon lights, loud music. This is the very first time I, at age 15, experienced a disco!
All the while at Optix, Andrea was with me. It was good as we both got to share the fun, and Andrea got to keep a look out for her brother :)
We had a great party and got back past midnight. We went to bed very happy!
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Last day on the cruise. We had a lazy morning and off to Optix again. The club had extra activities planned for all of the children.
Jenny arranged for us to meet the whole dance cast backstage and also gave us complimentary Bingo tickets.
The day passed so quickly, we didn't want the day to end.
The Adventure Ocean club leader organised a scavenger hunt for all the children onboard. My group had special instructions. In order to allow me to participate, the leader ordered the 'walk-only' rule for the hunt. Anyone found running would be disqualified.
I was very touched by the thought. I could and did the scavenger hunt!
The last day was called "friends day" and so we were with each other in the club the whole time. Mum managed to persuade us to have dinner with them.
I was so happy but very "purple" and breathless, but it was worth the tiredness. Refusing to stop, I was wheeled back to Optix after dinner.
There I and my siblings stayed till almost 1am. I went back to the room a very very happy child. Mum said she can literally see the "sparkles" on my face.
The forced energy that resulted in my tiredness was worth the happiness I got throughout the cruise.
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It was an early morning. Express checkout and disembarkation were arranged for us.
This morning I really couldn't do much anymore. I was managing fine, but I was very breathless. I didn't want to eat, but I managed a little after some coaxing.
We were whistled off promptly after breakfast and disembarked the ship "meet & greet". Arrangements were made by Make-A-Wish's Pei Ling. The cab driver took us home. I slept throughout the 45 minute drive.
When we arrived home, I and my sisters sadly told Mum we missed the fun onboard.
My father promised me a trip when Royal Caribbean returns in November this year.
We went about with the Chinese New Year visits despite the overwhelming tiredness.
I rested for 4 days before I felt myself around the house again. Of course during the 4 days of rest, we never stopped talking about the cruise.
My sister and I talked and laughed about the people we met, the games we played and all the fun we had.
It was indeed a beautiful memorable trip for all of us, but especially me.
I believe the special attention and privileges given by Make-A-Wish and Royal Caribbean made a great difference.
I went back to school on Monday 2nd February 2009 :)
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