cruiserinsg

The drydock is scheduled for February 2018. Kitty Xu as the AM should be taking the ship into drydock and then going on vacation or to another ship. Renato Arana joins the ship as it leaves drydock and sails again with passengers in March 2018.

 

When you sail on Mariner in March 2018 she will have completed the drydock.

The month of February is full sailing in Singapore. No dry dock scheduled for that month. The dry dock is probably after the Dubai leg and if not mistaken Dubai to Barcelona.

Not sure when but was told that the dry dock will be in Spain. I'll sail the Mariner OTS again in March and will get that info.

Mariner OTS is Kitty Xu till 8th Feb 2018

Since there are 4 of us, I figured it would be easier to book a vehicle that could accommodate us and the large pieces of luggage. We definitely don't want to take the MRT since it's going to take several transfers. Thanks for your suggestions.

WELCOME to Singapore!! and wish you all have a wonderful time here. :)

Does anyone know which hotels in Singapore would accommodate four people? Is Orchard Road a good area to stay? Is it centrally located to the MRT?

I know a Festive Hotel but it is in Sentosa. There are few MRT Stations along Orchard Road ie. Orchard, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations. Dhoby Ghaut station do link to other part of Singapore.

https://www.transitlink.com.sg/images/eguide/mrt_sys_map.htm

Our cruise ship, Sapphire Princess, is scheduled to arrive at Marina Bay Cruise port at 7am on January 9th. We would like to pre-book a driver / van for our family of 4 for transportation to Changi Airport. What time would you recommend for the driver to show up? We will need to pick up our luggages first before meeting the driver. Thanks for your suggestions.

If you going straight to the airport and not exploring Singapore, IMO you don't need to pre-book as there are lots of Taxi around. There are Limo cabs available too where you pay from SGD$50 - SGD$55 per trip (not sure the exact fare now but can find out for you as I'll be at MBCC next week for my coming cruise)

If you are adventurous you can take the Singapore MRT to the Airport too. :)

Thank you ... I’m hoping that proof of further travel plans, including our hotel reservation confirmation will pave the way for us.

Like I mentioned earlier, we weren't ask, we just left the ship with the cabin luggage and returned to the ship later in the evening with other passenger. We left our other luggage bags in our stateroom and our cabin steward was very kind to arrange for them to be collected in the evening while we were out.

I suggest you "hand bring" your luggage along and clear the immigration. In our May trip we did bring a luggage of the ship and returned to the ship for the last evening too without any problem. Could be because we are local as exit at the clearance for locals only. If anything, you can always double checked or ask/inform the Immigration Staff and the Customs, they are very friendly :)

Thanks for the great tips.

Will taxis take Credit Cards and are there Van like vehicles for 6 adults?

Most taxi do take credit cards but best ask them before you board. There are also Limo Taxi which charges a flat fare of sgd$50 per trip. Get the Grab taxi app may be useful if you going to a few places otherwise lots of Taxis around.

WELCOME to Singapore!! :)

We are considering booking a 7 night cruise, Singapore to Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok. The week before that is a 3 night cruise that just goes Singapore to Penang. We have two weeks we can spend, including 2 days for flights, so if we go this route we are debating between two possible itineraries:

 

10 day B2B cruises to Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, and Penang, 2 days in Singapore

7 day cruise to Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok, 4 days in Singapore

 

What would you recommend? More time in Singapore or a second cruise to Penang?

WELCOME to Singapore!! :)

Bring along an foldable umbrella..possible rain in Singapore

Try Giant Megamart in Singapore they do have great deals occasionally.

CNY = Chinese New Year.

We did 1 leg of the 52 days Global Odyssey in May and 1 trip in China in October last year and doing another in October next year to Singapore.

Is was truly an "experience" cruising with the China Chinese, the smoking in their balcony, pushing, cutting queue etc etc. We heard from the staff that most Mainland Chinese usually cruise on short cruises and hopefully our cruise next year won't have much of them around.

Most flights out of the U.S. arrive shortly after midnight. One caution, when you grab a cab to the port, make sure you have the address/name of the port you are going to sail from. There are two. Many taxi drivers speak no English. We took a taxi, showed the driver the address, and he still took us to the wrong port. Leave plenty of time.

 

Hoyaheel is right. We sailed on Oceania. They do not limit what you bring on board. Neither does Regent or Viking. I don't know about the others. Depending on the length of the cruise, we take one or two cases of wine with us. Oceania charges $25 per bottle corkage. Regent and Viking do not charge corkage. We drink what we like and save a lot of money.

All license Taxi Drivers have to take a course in English and pass before being issue a Taxi License unless you did your Taxi booking through Grab or Uber. Don't be surprise to find Taxi drivers who are graduates.

"Many speak no English" :confused: I think you must have gotten a rare one that didn't.....English is the most widely spoken language in Singapore.

Exactly, English is the nation first language and Singaporean are mostly bilingual.

This is my first cruise to Asia and since it is 4 nights I am not sure what to expect for formal night. Will there be a formal night? and will the ladies "dress up"? I am one of the few who still look forward to wearing cocktail dresses but don't want to pack something I won't need. Thanks for any comments.

We did on longer cruises (7 nights onwards) but not on shorter cruises.

Did she get a suite lounge or does she still have the CL on deck 9?

 

 

 

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We had a Deck 9 cabin (JS) and saw it was still CL. There were "paint smell" and the miniature golf carpets were new too.

We spent a month (November) in SE Asia a few years back on the Costa Victoria. Quite a bit of rain. Singapore was problematic: have you ever tried to fetch a cab in a downpour? An Australian businessman took pity of us and gave us a lift to the ship.

 

I wanted to pay my respects in Da Nang to a French scholar, Bernard Fall, who stepped onto a landmine and was killed during the American Indochina war. Because I also wanted to visit Hoi An, I left in a tropical downpour. It became sunny later.

 

Thailand was overcast with occasional rain. The ship overnight at Laem Chabang. We took a 20-minute cab ride to Pattaya, checked into a hotel and then went back the next day.

 

We just booked a HAL Westerdam SE Asia itinerary departing HK Nov. 12, 2018. See, November. Why? Number one, I am not a weatherman; number two, I wanted to see Sihanoukville and revisit Sanya, in China, and this itinerary allows it; I like HAL, particularly its unlimited laundry package.

 

This time we will go in Bangkok (where we have been before). I have selected in my mind the hotel we will stay at, the Shanghai in Chinatown. We'll ride ferries, etc. In that heat, we cannot saunter everywhere.

Every MRT Station there will be a Taxi stand and almost all Shopping Complexes too. Most Taxi do not stop along the roads unless you are in the residential area. :)

We just booked eight weeks Jan-March. Flying into Singapore and plan on Malaysia, Thailand, and home through Philipines.

 

We may try for a last minute cruise from Singapore. Weather should be perfect. We each travel with a 20" roller carry on.

There is a good deal for short trip on the Mariner of the Seas on the 19th Mar :)

We were on the cruise that came out from dry dock at Sembawang :)

We did the Ovation last year which included Cochin. We had full visa so did everyone onboard. There were also India Immigration Officers onboard and we had to fill some form and there was a face-to-face meeting with the India Immigration Officer before the stamped the documents.

Later we heard that those who do not wish to disembark the Ship at India do not require a Visa. There were lots of commotion at Guest Service and many unhappy passengers.

hi experienced cruisers in the Asian region.

Wishing to do a cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore through China and Vietnam.

Please can anyone recommend best cruising weather to avoid the typhoon season.

 

Kind regards bob.

Usually China or Hong Kong to Singapore cruises are in Oct/Nov by RC, Ovation of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. Mariner of the Seas will homeport back in the US next year.

Do note that the Taxi booth is "small". Big luggage bag will not fit into the booth.

How far are you from the shops in Patong? Have been there before so just want a walk around. Thanks

You will be on Patong Beach.