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I will post speed test data later, but suffice it to say that the WiFi onboard Solstice so far is not good even with Starlink. Two (or three?) nights ago it was not even working. When it is working, it is common to have to upload photos onto this Cruise Critic thread several times before i succeed. Speeds are comparable to what it was on our prior two Solstice cruises (2018 & 2020) before Starlink was installed. i thought I was a winner for getting a great deal on the premium WiFi upgrade price. I don’t feel like a winner right now!

Good morning, Vietnam (Phu My)!

A couple more notes from yesterday. Our tour of the floating market was concluded at about 11:30 am. Our tour for the day was finished. What was left was the 210 km drive from the floating market to the pier which included having to drive back through Bangkok. We arrived at the cruise terminal at 2:30 pm. Here a couple of interesting trucks that passed us (there were others, but I just wasn't fast enough with my iPhone):

Our view from Blu an hour ago during breakfast. Sunny and smooth seas! Here is our current position on this Sea Day #2

I agree completely with your assessment.

We spent some time in our paddle boat in areas off the beaten path and we got out to stretch our legs a bit. Here are some of the things that we saw. This is some kind of store. Maybe a 7-11 type. There is a pulley system to allow a basket to be sent over from the store on the other side of the canal to the boardwalk where the photo was taken. The basket would allow a customer on one side of the canal to send money to the store and then get their product and change sent back to them. The basket is visible in the photo. It is hanging from the line and is positioned at the right side of the white fence. Epic battle between boy and monitor.

Hi, Pam. I used Thai Tour Guide. I booked them because they fit the company profile for what I was looking for: 1. caters to cruise ship passenger 2. pickup and drop off at Laem Chabang and/or hotel. 3. accommodate passengers who were booking an overnight stay in Bangkok. 4. no advanced deposit required. 5. provide air conditioned vehicle with separate guide and driver. Their responsiveness to my emails was excellent. The quality of the van, guide, and driver were excellent, too. They were well reviewed on Tripadvisor. For the first day (Grand Palace + Royal Temple + Wat Pho), I was quoted a price of 10,900 Baht for 2 people with 1800 Baht for each additional person (up to 8 people max). Tour went from 8 am - 5 pm. We were picked up at the pier and dropped off at our Bangkok hotel (St Regis). For the second day (Railway Market + Floating Market), I was quoted a price of 8,900 Baht (+1,500 Baht for additional person up to max of 8). Tour began at 7 am (pick up at hotel) and ended at 2:30 pm (drop off at the pier). I cannot tell you that they are the best compared to their competition (because I simply don't know) and I cannot tell you that they were the cheapest or the most cost effective compared to their competition. I just know that they provided the exact service I was looking for when I was shopping for a guide and I can tell you that I was very happy with the product. David

Here are some more photos of the floating market that give you a better sense for the traffic and cacophony.

The shop keepers were interesting to watch and photograph. This shop keeper asked to review my photo of her as if to determine whether I could keep it or not. I put this one last because I hate snakes.

We finished the railway market by 9 am. After that we took a ride to see Damnoem Saduak Floating Market which we really enjoyed. We arrived there by 9:40 am. While I was impressed by the railway market, this floating market was even more impressive because you had to visit it by boat which made the interaction with the sellers very different. By the way, our guide told us that the railway market would. have much better pricing than the floating market. So if there was something we liked at the railway market, he encouraged us to buy it there and not wait to get it at the floating market. My wife didn't listen to the advice and chose to buy merchandise from both markets! Our tour included having our own private paddle boat (with paddle boat driver) and we were treated to a ride to the different market stalls and later we visited some out of the way places/neighborhoods which were very quite and peaceful. It was great for people watching, too. For me, this was the highlight of our two days in Bangkok. The weather today was perfect just like yesterday although we had a little more sun. But the temperature was on the mild side and we had no rain. The floating market and paddle boat ride was a photographer's dream for me and a shopper's dream for my wife. So here are a bunch of photos that I took during this part of our day: Paddle boat ticket agent: Often the boat traffic would get pretty heavy. We were reminded to not hold the sides of the boat to prevent our fingers from getting pinched by another boat or from the wall of the canal. The boats would pull up along the stalls. The shop seller has a long pole with a hook which could be used to help pull a (willing) boat over to the shop). Some sellers had their own small boat like this guy: and this person:

After finishing our breakfast, we met our guide, George, in the hotel lobby. We got into our van and rode approximately an hour to the Maeklong Railway Market. The stalls are all located next a terminal railroad station. You walk up and down the railroad track itself to the see the entire market. The walkway is quite narrow and the footing is very uneven because of the tracks. And of course there a lot of people there which makes walking even more complicated. The market sells meats, fish, produce, jewelry, flowers, clothing, and souvenirs. We even saw frog on a stick for sale: The stalls have merchandise and awnings that are in the way of the passenger train which visits the railroad station several times a day. As the train is approaching the market, the stalls raise their awnings and move their merchandise away from the track (next photo): Then when the train passes through, the awnings and merchandise are quickly put back into place and it's business as usual (until the next time). It's unique and pretty cool.

We had breakfast at the buffet at the hotel at St. Regis. We arrived at the buffet when it opened at 6:30 am because our tour was starting at 7:00 am. The design of the buffet and the offerings were fantastic.

St Regis is known for its butler service. I forgot to mention in my last post that this charming person was assigned to us. Knowing the grievances that have filled this board in the recent past, I interrogated her and asked if she was truly our dedicated butler or was she simply part of a team of butlers. She didn't break and assured us that she was our butler. She was a very sweet woman. Too bad we couldn't take her back on Solstice with us.

We are staying at the St. Regis tonight. We watched the sunset from their bar Our room is on the 21st floor and has this view: I have to confess that we did not eat the local cuisine at a Bangkok restaurant. We cheated and got spaghetti and pizza through room service. Good night, everyone, from Bangkok.

After lunch, we visited some Buddha temples including the famous "Reclining Buddha".

Before we had our late lunch, we made a quick stop at a flower and vegetable market.

Because of its many canals, Bangkok is known as the Venice of the East. And like Venice, there were numerous water taxis plying the canal. Our tour took us on a water taxi to see the sights. The ride was quite enjoyable and it was interesting to look around as our taxi sailed up the canal. You could say that this guy was monitoring us as we sailed by:

After our 2 hour long ride into Bangkok, our tour stopped off at the Grand Palace which is very large and quite ornate. The weather today was so mild and comfortable. We got real lucky!

I do highly recommend the JW Marriott. It is well located and the service is excellent. We would definitely book it again if we were to return.

While Singapore was remarkably devoid of large billboards, Bangkok has no such restriction…

Our current windshield view:

That’s ok. I want to find out anyway!

Thank you. It appears we have lucked out on weather. It will be on the cooler side for our two days in Bangkok. And no rain.

We docked at approximately 6:55 am local time. At 7:20 am, the ship was cleared by immigration. The port is very large and very industrial. We have a two day private tour set up for Bangkok for just the two of us. Our tour is set to start at 9 am this morning. We will overnight at the St Regis.

Merry Christmas to you, too, Mary. I am sure you’re excited about your multiple back to back Caribbean sailings coming up soon!