Being totally in love with the ocean, sunsets and of course, boats — there was no way I’d be in Langkawi and not go sailing! I’ve had many wonderful experiences cruising around the many islands of Langkawi; and this time, I got my travel buddy, Caroline and I booked on Crystal Yacht Holidays for a Sunset Dinner Cruise.

Crystal Yacht Cruises
There are a couple of charter companies operating out of Langkawi; but it’s hard not to notice Crystal Yacht Holidays with its many signboards all over the island. Other than the Sunset Dinner Cruise that we were on, the company also offers full day sightseeing and island-hopping cruises like the Geopark Cruise and the Speedboat Adventures. They provide private charters too.

The boat leaves from the marina at Resorts World Genting, which is a short distance from the touristy area of Cenang Beach. Booking and getting to the marina was easy and hassle-free — a complimentary pick-up and transfer service from our hotel was provided. We were told to wait for our transport at a specific time, and the air-conditioned van arrived on time to bring us on our sailing adventure!

The Cruise
Caroline and I (along with a few other guests) were dropped off at the marina, and escorted to our boat to begin our cruise. Our boat for the evening was a beautiful white 46ft catamaran, lovingly named Koru. The cruise is a shared one, so when we arrived, there were already a couple of guests on board. Some of them were seated on the front deck, and some decided to stay in the shade inside the saloon. We took our places on the trampolines at the front of the catamaran — it’s the best place to enjoy the wind, and take in the gorgeous scenery!

Our sunset cruise was set to sail from 5pm to 8pm.

The Service
Just tell the crew to never leave your hands empty, and they’ll make sure you always have a drink in your hand. As soon as we took our seats, we were presented with the drink menu — we had free flow of drinks all throughout the cruise from a choice of soft drinks and juices, to beers and cocktails. I especially enjoyed sipping on my (multiple glasses of) piña colada while sailing the seas. Ultimate luxury!

Dinner was also provided on the cruise, and it was pretty good. They had a variety of Malaysian dishes, rice, noodles, bread, and a salad bar; as well as a BBQ selection of satay (meat sticks), sausages and chicken wings — freshly grilled over charcoal on the boat.

And after all the drinking and eating, guests are allowed to take a dip in the sea on what they call the ‘salt water jacuzzi’. It is actually a net attached to the back of the boat and dragged along, creating a bubbly water effect. Unfortunately our visit was during the jellyfish season, so nobody was allowed to get in the water!

The Views
Sailing around the many islands surrounding Langkawi meant that we were never short of stunning scenery. I honestly had no idea where we were sailing, all I can remember was watching the many shapes of the multiple islands we cruised by. While passing one of the more well-known islands of Pulau Dayang Bunting (the Island of the Pregnant Maiden), the captain stopped the boat for us to admire the outline of the mountains that gave the island its name — it really looks like a pregnant maiden.

And with beautiful views, we get beautiful pictures. The cameras never stopped clicking — I guess we (and everyone else on the boat too) just couldn’t decide what angle and which view we wanted! Though it did get lesser further on into the cruise — guests were either slowly dozing off, gazing into the distance, or too busy laughing and dancing from all the unlimited booze. At this point, everyone are now friends!

The Sunset
The highlight of the cruise was of course, the sunset. After a couple of hours sailing, taking dozens of pictures, and enjoying the drinks and food on board — we were finally rewarded with a beautiful view of the sun setting into the horizon. I love admiring sunsets from aboard a boat; there is just something so calming about the subtle rocking from the waves, the light breeze in my hair, and a myriad of fiery colors dancing in the sky, like paint on water. I will never get enough of sunsets.

As the sky turned dark, we slowly cruised our way back to the Resorts World Langkawi marina, where the van was waiting to bring us back to our hotel. I enjoyed my cruise with Crystal Yacht Holidays; there’s nothing to fault, I had a lovely time — and I bring home with me, yet another beautiful memory of my encounter with the sea.

Find out more about the Sunset Cruise with Crystal Yacht Holidays here.

*She Walks the World went on the sunset cruise with Crystal Yacht Holidays as a guest. As always, all opinions stated here are my own.