Update (6 June 2016):  Underwater World Singapore will be closing on 26 June 2016. 

Sentosa RWS S.E.A. Aquarium is one of the two sea aquariums in Sentosa Singapore. The other one is UnderWater World. UnderWater World has been in Sentosa for the longest time. Mr S and I visited it when we were still very young. Even though the place has renovated once since then, S.E.A. Aquarium remains a novel place for us to explore. Hence, we naturally chose to visit it during our staycation at Hotel Michael.

A fun fact: We’re thinking S.E.A. stands for South East Asia too!

There are important tips throughout this entry! Look out for money saving hacks towards the end of the post.

The Experience of Sentosa RWS S.E.A. Aquarium

There are 2 parts of the whole experience (Level 1 and B1). Before exploring the underwater marine life in the aquarium at B1, we begin the journey by travelling back in time to discover Asia’s maritime heritage at Level 1.

Part 1: The Maritime Experiential Museum

This maritime part is quite educational if you stop to read and discover. However, we saw many people quickly walking past this section, missing out on the maritime history. Along the stretch at Level 1, you can find the following:

• Chronicles of Admiral Zheng He’s life and the fleet he commanded century ago
• Bustling ports along the Maritime Sile Route are recreated, complete with interactive activities and panels.
• A reconstruction of a 9th century Omani Dhow built using traditional materials and constructions techniques.

We had a fun time with their interactive photo booth (which is inconspicuous). But photos are too ugly to post here. :P

Tip: We missed out on an outdoor exhibit at L1 – a historic ship harbour! We didn’t know about it until much later. There are full-sized replicas of a Chinese Junk, Indian Dhow, South China Sea Trading Vessel, etc.

Other than ships, there are other means of transportation too.

We found this Noah’s ark display at B1, or so we thought.

On closer look, it actually displays precious goods and even exotic animals like giraffes acquired during Zheng He’s voyages. Anyhow, there’s an interactive panel before this huge exhibit. Play and learn with it! :)

Opposite of this exhibit was artefacts from the Bakau and Temasek Shipwrecks and other archaeological finds.

Typhoon Theatre

At the end of the maritime journey, there’s the Typhoon Theatre. S$2 to enter. You can get the ticket with the SEA Aquarium admission tickets, or at the entrance of Typhoon Theatre.

It’s S$2 only, but it’s still a barrier of entry. There weren’t many people who bought it. We wouldn’t have bought it too, if not for the huge savings we had on the admission tickets. Why didn’t they make it free for all? Crowd control? And if it’s more than $2, there might not be any people.

Anyway, back to our Typhoon Theatre experience. We went through the ‘ancient doors’ and into a holding area, which is technically in a huge ship (See pic below).

We watched a short video clip before entering the typhoon theatre – a fictitious storyline of a group of ancient Chinese men (speaking in American-accented English) preparing to go on a ship voyage. So off we went with them!

We went through a 360 degrees screen of a shipwreck simulation enhanced by special effects. The experience made me feel for the people who sail often in the past. Their bravery to fight against the stormy weather and tossing ocean, and how lives were easily lost in the sea.

Anyway, I think the S$2 was quite worth it! I would recommend you to try! But if you have children, you might want to re-consider. It’s not frightening, but when we were leaving, we saw one boy scared in his seat and his mother was comforting him.

Oh, and when you exit the theatre, your tendency is to go right. But be sure to turn left, so that you will not miss out the Noah’s ark lookalike. You wouldn’t be looping back to that area later.

Spoiler Alert:

Skip this paragraph if you want to have that element of surprise with Typhoon Theatre. You’ve been warned! :P As if on a ship voyage, we experienced the shaking, the rain, the wind, and for more empathetic people like myself, the fear when caught in a storm.  And it felt like we were sinking together with the ship. The whole theater platform was moving downwards. But I was doubtful, because sometimes it could be tricks from the screen. But when we exited, we were shocked. We were greeted by a giant aquarium (see pic below). We were in the marine life section at the lower level! So we really did “sink” into the ocean. p.s. We were rushing for the Dolphin talk earlier on, and went down to the aquarium section by the escalator. It was definitely a better experience to “sink” to the lower level.

PART 2: S.E.A. Aquarium

And now to explore the marine realm! According to their website, it’s home to more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species, across into 49 different habitats.

Dolphin Talk

Please take note of the time. It’s 11:30am daily and another session at 2:30pm on Sat, Sun, Public holiday.

We haven’t had the time to walk around when we rushed to find the Dolphin panel for the talk and made it on time! We didn’t regret it, because this was definitely the highlight of the day!!!!

It was an informative talk about dolphins – “Ever wondered how many teeth a dolphin has? What they feed on or how they breathe?” We went away thinking how these magnificent marine mammals are more human like than we know!

See the video – it’s super close up with the dolphins! Not many people knew about this talk, so we were able to get front row view. It’s only when the talk commenced that the crowd started to build up. But poor commentator, not many people were listening and responding to her. We did our best to be friendly!

PLAY THE INSTAGRAM VIDEO (w/ sound)~ :)

A video posted by @joogotravel on Oct 18, 2015 at 8:46pm PDT

Tip: For other interesting shows and events, refer to this list of things to do.

Other Fascinating Marine Life

Life on a Mangrove

“Fast acting mullet dart in for their food, diamond fishes school together and large Barramundi wait steadily for large pieces of food to fall their way.” – quoted SPOT THE FOOT. ABOVE AND UNDER.    DANCING CHORUS OF THE FISHES     Big Aquarium with Skeleton Divers: PLAY THE INSTAGRAM VIDEO (w/ sound)~ :)

A video posted by @joogotravel on Oct 21, 2015 at 7:45pm PDT

Tip: If you want to be touchy, visit the Discovery Touch Pool! You can enjoy the tactile experience of friendly sea creatures such as sea stars and sea urchins. Though the queue might be long. :P

Deep Dark Ocean – Light shines

Fascinating colours and species deep in the ocean.
For many years, nobody went underwater to appreciate, but still God created such beauties under the water.

Deep Blue Sea: PLAY THE INSTAGRAM VIDEO (w/ sound)~ :)

A video posted by @joogotravel on Oct 18, 2015 at 10:25pm PDT

Before you go…

Once you’re out of the maze of aquarium teeming with marine life, there’s still a room full of mini tanks just before you exit the SEA Aquarium. You can find some interesting species there. :)

SEA DRAGON
So seaweed. So camouflaged.
Gliding through the water like graceful ballerinas.
Male sea dragons are the ones responsible for childbearing!

LIONFISH
One with dramatic fins.
Fins with needle-sharp spines that can inject venom into predators.
Only uses its spines for protection.

That’s all folks! :)

Pricing and Hours

Pricing

The regular ticket prices are at S$32 for adults and S$22 for children and senior citizens.

SAVE Some Money!

• Ongoing promotions at RWS S.E.A Aquarium
• Bundle Deals:
  • Sentosa Attractions: Get Sentosa fun pass. Choose different Sentosa attractions (SEA Aquarium included) and bundle them for a better rate. It’ll be cheaper than getting individual admission tickets.
• Online deals: On Qoo10.sg, search for “SEA Aquarium”. Do note that some cheaper tickets are valid only from 2pm onward. Or sometimes, there are deals on Groupon! ;)
• 1-for-1 Deal in Entertainer 2015 App (with no time and day restrictions): We downloaded the Entertainer 2015 App on one android phone and signed up for their free trial membership. This free trial lasts for 14 days. So sign up for the trial only when it’s less than 14 days to your SEA Aquarium visit. When you buy the tickets, tell the ticketing officer that you have the Entertainer App and show him/her the 1-for-1 deal that’s within the App. Don’t hold up the queue, search for the deal in the App before buying the tickets! :) (Note that the deal might not be available for the Entertainer 2016 App.)

Operating hours

10am – 7pm daily, subject to changes

We took our time and toured the whole place for 2+ hours. I think the whole experience requires a maximum of 2.5 hours. That is, if you are young and abled people travelling with no children, disabled or elderly persons.

Avoid the CROWD!

CROWDS MAKE ME GO….

The visit will be much more enjoyable if you don’t have to squeeze in a crowd. You can take your own sweet time to go from one exhibit to the next. Moreover, you don’t have to peer over the shoulders of another to peek at the exhibit.

If you have a choice, I highly recommend you to go early in the morning. In this way, you can finish your tour and leave the SEA Aquarium before 2pm. Why? Because it can get real crowded after 2pm. Reasons being:

• Tickets are cheaper for admission after 2pm.
• During the period when we were there, you can get free admission after 2pm when you purchased tickets for RWS Hello Kitty Go Around Singapore event. You never know if another similar promotion is ongoing.

Website: www.rwsentosa.com/en/attractions/sea-aquarium

Read about our experience at RWS S.E.A Aquarium, Fort Siloso & Sky Walk. Stay tune for our next adventure during our Sentosa staycation at Hotel Michael!

Related Post: Sentosa Staycation Itinerary Overview (October 2015)

Travels October 2015

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