Iluvcruising2

We're still Platinum, though we would make Diamond by the end of this year.

Pinnacle? Wow. It looks to be well beyond the horizon for now.

Singapore's Gardens by the Bay wins the World Building of the Year Award 2012.

http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/news-detail.cfm?newsId=293

Come visit!

http://www.discovervietnam.com.vn/Eng/index.php

We used the services of the above company. The contact is Mrs Ha. You can find their email on the website above.

We booked our ride with them several months before our cruise.

They have very good reviews on TripAdvisor.

We are on the repositioning cruise that leaves Singapore April 5th. Many of us are being told it is a code red and no further bookings are available for the Singapore to Dubai leg. A few have found you can still book it if you book Singapore to Rome. We were planning to spend a few pre-cruise days in Singapore as it looks like a fantastic city

Sounds like a fantastic cruise to do.

Yes, please spend a few days in Singaporepre pre-cruise! :)

[i am beginning to sound like my country's tourism ambassador.]

Iluvcruising2.......I just found your review. Wow, great job! Your pictures and details are fantastic. I'll probably have some Singapore questions down the road as we will be there next April on LOS. Some on our roll call (including me:eek:) are a little wary as all of the cabins are sold out already. We are being told it is a large group but not a charter. Keeping our fingers crossed. Thanks again for the time and effort posting your review!

Glad you enjoyed it.

Which Legend sailing will you be on?

Thank you for the suggestion of Sentosa Island. I will have to look into it. I assume you take a ferry over? Does it take a long time.

 

I'll check out the Maritime Experiential Museum and see if my husband may be interested in it.

 

The Universal Studios doesn't really interest me too much since I there's Universale Studios here in Southern California as well.

 

Geez, so much to do and so little time!

You don't have to take a ferry over to Sentosa these days. Taxis can get you there. Also public buses etc.

http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/

Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort built on the island.

Have you considered going over to Sentosa Island?

I've heard that the Maritime Experiential Museum at Resorts World Sentosa is quite good, though I haven't been there myself.

http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/TheMaritimeExperientialMuseum

There is also a Universal Studios there. However, that would take a whole day.

The Merlion statute is beside One Fullerton. Is it worth seeing it in person? My view is not, given that you have limited time. It is just a statute sprouting water. ;)

Thank you for the suggestion of lunch on the SkyDeck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I will need to try and figure out what would be best for us timewise. Do you think if we did lunch, reservations would be required since the hotel is so popular?

 

And I appreciate the suggestion that the river cruise isn't worth it. Exactly the kind of advice I am looking for. Is Clarke Quay at night worth it? I've also read that Newton Circus at night could be fun. Which would would you recommend?

 

Also, where is the Merlion statue located and is it worth seeing in person?

 

Again, I appreciate all the advice.

Marina Bay Sands can get quite busy. So, I reckon making a reservation would be useful.

Clarke Quay at night is nice. I like to walk around there. Most of the restaurants are decently priced, not exactly cheap but not a rip-off either.

http://www.clarkequay.com.sg/malls/website/index.aspx

Newton Circus is definitely a Singapore institution. The downside is that the hawkers there are very discriminatory. If they see that you are a foreigner, some of them go all out to sell you their food at ridiculous prices. You may also be hassled a bit here and there. Overall, Newton Circus is best to go if you have a local person bringing you there.

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/dining/restaurants/newton-food-centre.html

Fantastic review!! Not many Asia reviews here!! And since i'm from HK it was nice to see people cruising there. lol

 

My dad took us to the Star Cruises for 2 day 1 night? Didn't remember much either i was too young or it was pure crap

 

I always thought there is NO cruise from HK, but i guess i was wrong. Even though you had to use a tender you still got there!! lol When the new cruise terminal is open maybe we can have bigger cruise ships in.

Singaporeans love HK.

Many of my colleagues and friends visit HK at least once a year to shop and eat. It helps that there are many flight connections between Singapore and HK.

I read that the new cruise terminal centre would be ready sometime in 2013 - next year!!

Thank you for this information, this is terrific! I really appreciate you taking the time.

 

Thanks for the suggestion for the Gardens by the Bay. That looks fantastic. Do you think that doing the Gardens by the Bay and the Botanical Garden as well is too repetitive? Or are they different enough? How much time would you suggest for each? A couple of hours? Is the orchid area at the Botanical Gardens where the Diana orchid is?

 

Thank you for the suggestion of lunch on the SkyDeck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I will need to try and figure out what would be best for us timewise. Do you think if we did lunch, reservations would be required since the hotel is so popular?

 

And I appreciate the suggestion that the river cruise isn't worth it. Exactly the kind of advice I am looking for. Is Clarke Quay at night worth it? I've also read that Newton Circus at night could be fun. Which would would you recommend?

 

Also, where is the Merlion statue located and is it worth seeing in person?

 

Again, I appreciate all the advice.

The Botanics and Gardens by the Bay are different. Doing both would be fine.

The National Orchid Gardens are located within the Botanics.

http://www.sbg.org.sg/centralcore/nog.asp

I have not been there recently but I would think that visitors can see all the Orchids named after the VVIPs, including the late Princess Diana as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (i.e. Prince William and his wife)

The Botanics is quite a big place to walk around. But since you don't have that much time, perhaps 1.5 hours would suffice.

The Gardens by the Bay would also take 1.5 to 2 hours. Get into the 2 paid conservatories. You would need to buy tickets for that. I think both conservatories are worth a visit but if you are really short on time, then choose Cloud Forest (the one featured in the BBC video).

Apparently, the new menu has not yet been scheduled for the Voyager of the Seas.

Singapore River Cruise - in my opinion, not worth doing since you have limited time.

The Marina Bay Sands SkyPark is worth a look.

I think it costs $20 per person just to go up.

If time permits, you may want to consider having lunch at one of the restaurants located at the sky deck. That way, you can also enjoy the great views because you get to walk out onto the verandahs.

You can check the Marina Bay Sands website for the restaurants.

I have only lunched at Sky on 57. Their set lunches are not bad. 50SGD for 3 courses and 60SGD for 4 courses, all before service charge and taxes. Lunch is only from 12 noon to 2:30pm.

http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Restaurants/Celebrity-Chefs/Sky-on-57/

Obviously, if you have a bigger budget, then you can have dinner at one of those restaurants at the Skypark. :)

News footage of the visit by the royal couple.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19567370

Ok, now we're seriously considering cutting short a day with my family in Bangkok and doing 2 nights in Singapore post cruise rather than 1.

 

The thought is to do the following in our time:

 

Singapore Flyer in the afternoon time

Night Safari at Singapore Zoo

Marina Bay Sands Hotel SkyPark - in your opinion, is this worth it?

Botanical Gardens

Chinatown

Orchard Road

Raffles Hotel grounds, souvenir store and Long Bar

Clarke Quay

 

do you think that's a pretty good list of what to do while in Singapore?

 

Also, do you think a Singapore river cruise is worth it or necessary?

 

Thanks!

My thoughts.

The Singapore Flyer is best done in the evening, about 6:30pm to 6:45pm. One round is about 45 minutes. Sunset in Singapore is about 7pm. So the idea is to go up while the sun is setting and you can watch the sunset and get to see some city lights.

Night Safari is good. If you have time, do the Zoo as well. By the time you're here, I think the pandas loaned from China should be ready for viewing.

Botanical Gardens is good - go to the Orchid garden within the Botanical Gardens. I believe you have to pay a small entrance fee ($5 SGD) but it is worth it. The rest of the Botanics is free.

If you want something more cultural, I'd suggest Chinatown and Little India.

Orchard Road is just a big shopping street. Worth to take a look but nothing really spectacular, unless you are really into shopping and stuff.

You may want to try the Gardens by the Bay - http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html

Here are some photos from the recent visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

http://www.asiaone.com/static/multimedia/gallery/120912_daytwo/

hello can i ask, did you have to book to see the ice show? If so how did you go about it?

Thank you and still loving the photos :)

For our cruise, we did not have to book to see the ice-show.

Once on board, pay attention to the cruise compass and the related letters they put in your state room.

There were 4 ice-shows for the cruise. The ship pax was divided into 4 groups and we were all told to attend the ice show that was designated for our group. The ushers did check the sea pass cards, so I think it would be good to go for your allocated show.

Also, if you want good seats, go early to queue.

Special thanks for the great photos. I joined the ship at Shanghai but my husband and son were there from Singapore. You managed to get my hubby in three of your photos....(post 10 on the deck and the two in the dining room at 262). Cheers .......Kay

Wow. Amazing coincidence. :)

Thanks for your information. We'll have to see what we can fit in. Jet lag isn't too bad for me when I travel. Since we have so little time, we make the most of it and hit the ground running.

 

I'll have to see if I can pull off another day in Singapore, may be hard. I can't travel all the way to Asia and not make time to see my family in Bangkok!

Have lots of fun!! :)

By the way, I'm a Bruin too.

Voyager - does anybody know when she'll get the new menus?

Also, back to visas. I know you said you didn't need them since you are Singaporean. I am actually Thai (hence why I am thinking of flying on to Bangkok) and hold a Thai and US passport. I believe that with my Thai passport, I wouldn't need a visa for Vietnam. So, if a Visa isn't needed, but you still need to pass through immigration, do you just show them your visa and then you're on your way?

 

Thanks again!

Yes, as Singapore passport holders, we didn't need Visas. I can't remember what the procedure was, other than it was very hassle free.

I definitely don't recall the cruise line returning our passports for our day trip into Vietnam.

Our private pick-up was waiting for us, punctually, when we got off the ship at the container port.

 

At the end of the cruise, I was thinking of staying 1 night in Singapore and then flying out the next afternoon from Singapore to Bangkok. So, in the 1.5 days in Singapore, what do you suggest as my priorities to do and see? I really want to do the Singapore Flyer. I've also heard that the Singapore Zoo has a good night tram ride program. What else should I see in my short time there.

1 night isn't enough! Stay 3 nights at least!

Plenty to do in Singapore. :)

Here is our official tourism website.

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/experience.html

Also, I was thinking of flying into Hong Kong one night before my cruise, and then day 1 of the cruise overnight in Hong Kong with departure the next afternoon. I know there's a lot to do in Hong Kong, is 2 nights enough to see Victoria Peak, the Buddha at Lantau Island and everything else one should do in Hong Kong? I've never been there before.

If you are flying in from the USA, I think you would have to cope with jet lag?

HK is quite a fascinating place. 2 nights would be quite a rush. Maybe you want to consider 3 nights instead, if budget and time permits.

Thank you so much for this review! The pictures were fantastic!

 

I am thinking of doing an Asian cruise next year that would start in Hong Kong with an overnight and end in Singapore (it's on Princess, not Royal). But Ho Chi Minh City is one of the stops.

 

Can you tell me what tour company you used at Phu My and why you chose this particular company? Did you have a guide and a driver? Did they suggest an itinerary for you? Is the 2 hour drive from Phy My to HCMC without scenery and boring?

 

Also, I was thinking of flying into Hong Kong one night before my cruise, and then day 1 of the cruise overnight in Hong Kong with departure the next afternoon. I know there's a lot to do in Hong Kong, is 2 nights enough to see Victoria Peak, the Buddha at Lantau Island and everything else one should do in Hong Kong? I've never been there before.

 

At the end of the cruise, I was thinking of staying 1 night in Singapore and then flying out the next afternoon from Singapore to Bangkok. So, in the 1.5 days in Singapore, what do you suggest as my priorities to do and see? I really want to do the Singapore Flyer. I've also heard that the Singapore Zoo has a good night tram ride program. What else should I see in my short time there.

 

Also, back to visas. I know you said you didn't need them since you are Singaporean. I am actually Thai (hence why I am thinking of flying on to Bangkok) and hold a Thai and US passport. I believe that with my Thai passport, I wouldn't need a visa for Vietnam. So, if a Visa isn't needed, but you still need to pass through immigration, do you just show them your visa and then you're on your way?

 

Thanks again!

Glad you liked it.

For Vietnam, we used a tour company called

http://www.discovervietnam.com.vn/Eng/index.php

Email is info@discovervietnam.com.vn

My wife found their contact on tripadvisor. They are very well reviewed there. You may want to check it out.

For our group, (4 adults and 2 kids), they provided an English speaking guide and driver. The transport was a 12 seater Mercedes van, in almost new condition. We could have saved a little if we merged with other groups, but we decided to do it our own because we wanted to have full control of the itinerary and also get back to the ship earlier. We skipped lunch altogether. We just packed some light food (e.g. buns, croissants) from the ship and ate along the way.

There are also other reliable private tour agencies - you can find their contacts on these forums.

On paper, it is a 2 hour ride. But I think our ride was a little faster (about 90 minutes), thanks to relatively smooth traffic, plus the fact that the Van could go quite fast! The ride will definitely be 2 hours if you take those 40 seater coaches that are used for ship tours.

I've got to run off now. Let me write more later.

Thank you so much, you have made my day and i am sure you have put smiles on alot of other peoples faces with your wonderful review :)

Thanks for letting me know.

Makes all the effort of writing the review and posting the pictures worth it!