SWANOZ

I definitely would not drive. There are lots of taxis but apparently are a bit of a cartel. We pre arranged a driver from a limousine company. They took us where ever we wanted to go. Not really a limousine, but we knew the cost before hand. Driving would be a nightmare.. At every intersection drivers activate their hazard lights to let other drivers know they are coming through, along with the horn. Jennifer

Vietnam private tours did a one day cruise for my family including lunch. They also arranged overnight in HCMC. Can recommend highly. We visited a fishing village in halong and beautiful caves. Stephen was the person who arranged everything. Wan was our guide on the cruise. We paid a deposit prior to our trip and paid the balance to Stephen when we arrived in Vietnam. They actually changed their usual overnight itinerary to accommodate our one day cruise request. Look them up on the internet their former name is Best Cruises. Hope this helps we had a wonderful day Jennifer

I have TG50. It must be birthday cake because that is the only amenity I have. And I noticed the cost of a cake is $50.

 

 

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None of us are having a birthday it is our wedding anniversary the day we board and they would not know that. I haven't ordered or paid for a cake. A bit of a mystery. Have asked my travel agent she said she would find out as she doesn't know either.

.Thanks for your input Jennifer

Just asking again amenity code TG 50 does anyone know what it is. Tried ringing NCL Australia but their prompts don't wok. Thanks jennifer:rolleyes:

Does anyone know what TG50amenity code is. Another cruiser has TG 75.

Thanks Jennifer

The walk to the port gate is fine as long as you can walk about 200 to 300 metres. It is very hot. Just ask when exiting the gang way which direction, or follow the buses. Jennifer

Siam Sam is the private guide we used for 3 of us. He met us at the tender pier in Patong we drove to a more private fishing village in Phanang Bay where We had a lovely seafood lunch, then took a long boat ride to the fishing village with the school and market. This is where all the ships tours went. Then took the boat to James Bond island and took small row boats into the caves. Very cheeky row boy guides here very keen for a tip. Myself and my 2 teenage boys thought it was great the limestone caves were well worth seeing. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a reclining Buddha, lots of monkeys to feed bananas at a price and finally did a bit of bargain shopping at the markets in Patong. It was a very full day but a real highlight of our trip. Sam was very good and having lunch where only the local Thai tourists go was quiet and delicious. You can pay extra to take a speed boat in Phanang Bay. Sam has a website you can book on we payed him in full on the day in Thailand. Not sure about price but worth being on our own and able to do what we wanted to do. Jennifer

Hi

Does POA have shuttles from the dock in Kahului Maui to the other of the side of the island where the whale watching tours are? We are going in January 2015. Thanks Jennifer

Took many medications into Singapore including Panadeine which has codeine in it no problem. I had a doctors letter but they hardly even gave it a look. They just asked if I had a letter. Jennifer

The tour guides in Vietnam seem to all require payment in full in advance. We were apprehensive about this, but we used smile tours and we were very very pleased with their service. We made our own hotel reservations. Note: we were in Saigon on Tet (with fireworks, flowers...wonderful) and the rates were significantly higher than quoted above.

Vietnam Private Tours only required a deposit and the rest we payed at our first port of call. The tours were great and they refunded most of the money for one port which we were unable to dock at. They took a small amount to cover costs of the driver and tour guide going to the port. Jennifer

Try Vietnam Private Tours. You can see the reviews further down on the Asia forum. Stephen was our contact but we had different guides all were good and reasonably priced. Jennifer

:)

Hi All,

 

This is my first post on Cruisecritic.com so please be kind!

 

I am looking for info on booking a combined Vietnam/Cambodia 16 day tour with the Vietnam Private Tours Company (http://www.vietnamprivatetours.com).

 

I've emailed the operator of the Company and so far he has been great. He's been really responsive and the itinerary looks well balanced and reasonably priced.

 

So, I wanted to ask the forum:

 

1) Has anyone used this Company before and what has been your experience?

2) How did you find the price, service and quality of the tour?

3) How did you pay and was it trustworthy?

 

Thanks in advance for any help I can get.

 

Really appreciate it.

We used them for our cruise tours when in port at HCM city and Halong Bay and were to have used then at Phu My but the ship did not dock so we didn't go ashore. Booked through Stephen and he was great to deal with. Met him in Halong Bay and he refunded the money for the cancelled day in Phu My. All the guides spoke good English and the drivers were also good. My group consisted of myself and 3 adult children. Stayed overnight in HCMC at Tan Hai Long Hotel which he also booked. Visited Mekong Delta from HCMC and did a full day cruise in Halong bay and the much quieter Bay.

I priced all the tour operators that do the tours and found he gave us the best deal. Not sure on amounts but paid a deposit in USD and then paid the rest in cash when we arrived at the first port once again in USD. Was a bit worried as to whether we would get a refund for the cancelled day no problems he just took a small amount for getting the guide and driver to the port. If we returned to Vietnam to do a land tour I would use them again, and recommend them as a good tour company. We travelled in a mini bus and they had a bigger bus for a larger group but we did our own thing and had our own guide and the tour was private. Hope this helps Jennifer

Hi Everyone

 

We are looking at a cruise (first timers) then docks in hong at 10pm and leaves the follow day at 4pm. It on Mariner of the Seas (RCI) Mar 7 2015

 

Would there be a enough time to head out in the morning as take our kids to Hong Kong Disney??? We could get there when the park opens which seems is 10am and I was thinking leave at 2pm to get back on to the boat?

 

Our kids would be 5 & 7 so 4 hours would probably be enough time for them but I would wondering if people thought this was a crazy idea?

 

What do you think?

We went for a day 10.00am till 6.00pm. Saw most of the park, we went from a hotel as we had disembarked already. If you are docking at the new terminal it will take longer to get there. You first have to get a free shuttle bus to the train station then train not sure if it is the same Disneyland line. It would be possible if you prioritise the shows or rides you want to go on and not expect to see a lot. We were there on a week day no lines early but by lunch time there was as people seem to come a little later so they can see the fireworks. If you are there on a weekend may not be possible because the queues are apparently much longer with more local and mainland Chinese visiting the park. If your kids are desperate to see particular characters or rides I would say go you may not be back in the near future. Just checkout the train lines online and the park so you can plan ahead Jennifer

Hi

Myself and my 3 adult children went on the Celebrity Millenium to Singapore, Laem Cha Bang Thailand,Vietnam HCMC and Halong Bay and Hong Kong. My eldest son is profoundly deaf has no speech and has a mild intellectual disability. This is our 3rd cruise in 3 years. The other ones were to New Zealand and Asia again. On the ship there was no problem at all on the ship. I must admit we don't go out of our way to mix in a lot with many of the other passengers. Just a hand full of people we regularly spoke to. We always choose select dining so we don't get stuck with diner companions you don't like and can dine whenever we like. The staff were marvellous in fact some remembered us from the previous year. On land pre arranged tours through private companies with great guides who did their utmost to make us feel welcome and they paid extra attention to my son to ensure his tours were enjoyable. The only time we felt uncomfortable was in HCMC city when on a car ferry 2 girls on a motor scooter were staring and giggling at my son. His very protective sister knocked on the window and told them VERY firmly to look the other way. They may not have understood English but the got the message. This was very much the exception. We had a great time. Hope this helps Jennifer:):)

It is about a 10 minute walk to the gate. The hardest part is finding out which direction. When we docked on the Millenium in December after disembarking it is to the left a little the straight ahead. Follow the buses. We asked a tour guide. We were a group of 4 mother and 3 adult children it was quite an easy walk although the weather was hot. Not worth paying an extra $80.00 for them to pick us up inside the gate. Others on these boards will say pick up inside but if you able to walk a 500 metres or so save your money. Hope this helps Jennifer:):)

Anybody used Hong Kongs new cruise terminal (Kai Tak). I am disembarking here in April 2014 on Diamond Princess and wondering what public transport is available from cruise terminal to Star Ferry or even Hong Kong Island where I have a hotel for 3 nights.

Just returned after Celebrity Millenium cruise terminating in Hong Kong. There were taxis but not a lot. They did come after a little wait. They were fairly cheap as we were a group of 4. There is a free shuttle to the nearest MTR. The MTR is cheap and easy to use. We had a full day in port before disembarking. On this day we used a taxi. The only problem is if you want to go across to Hong Kong Island many won't go across and vice versa on the return journey,other than that they were good. On disembarkation day I had pre ordered a van due to being a group of 4 with luggage. There seemed more taxis on this day. Hope this helps Jennifer

Nsa Dua(not sure about the spelling) is near where we tendered we did snorkelling here but it was deep water and windy the day we were there. A lot of hotels front the beach but there is an area where the do snorkelling, turtle island excursion and other water sports. On the Kuta side is the surf beaches. open countryside is north. The drivers will take you where ever you want to go and can recommend better than I can. The only restriction is time and traffic, I'M sure you mwould be happy with Drivers Of Distinction. Jennifer

We arrive in Bali on November 7th and wonder if anyone is interested in joining us on a private tour?

 

It's our first time in Asia and frankly we are panicking.

 

The Princess tours are absolutely awful!

Google "Drivers of Distinction" Bali. We had a driver for 4 from this company Surya he was very good. I think many of the cruise guests in January when we sailed used this company. We had a small 4 wheel drive vehicle but they do have mini buses. The price was cheap but can't remember exactly what it was. Prices are quoted on the website. We didn't have to pay before hand just pay when in Bali. If you don't find any one to go with you just hire the car yourselves for the day they will take you where ever you like. WE went to the monkey forest Ubud, the Elephant Safari day one stayed overnight in Ubud day 2 snorkelling shopping Kuta markets and factory outlets, cultural centre and jewellery factory. Hope this helps Jennifer:)

On the day before arriving at Komodo the cruise director announced that you could go ashore to visit the stalls selling t shirts and handicrafts if you paid the national park fee. If you were going to see dragons and deer, on the day we were there were some dragons and deer in that area. This would save paying an expensive tour guide. The dragons we saw on the walk were no different than the ones in the ranger station area. In fact the largest one we saw was near the stalls. The trek is not worth the money. The village is especially if you have children, it gives them a perspective of how lucky they are back home to have the resources our schools have. Jennifer

If doing KL with a driver the thing I think not to miss is the Batu Caves KL is another big city. The ships tours went to Batu Caves first. We also people from the ship with drivers first going to Batu Caves. We didn't shop in KL. The tour which does Batu Caves and China town would be preferable to the one we did to Batu Caves and KL tower. Regards Jennifer:)

I personally think the Batu Caves are worth the trip. It is different, a cultural experience and the photos look great. KL is just another large city. Aidan one of my sons in hind sight would have preferred doing china town and the caves the ship did offer this tour. Aidan loved the shopping for basketball singlets, snap backs, headphones other fake merchandise I think he thinks he missed out in KL. If you had a driver you could do both. PETRONAS tower would be difficult due to having to book a tour. KL tower is easier but if you have been to Sydney's tower it is similar. There was smog the day we were there not all that clear. You can get good photos of the PETRONAS tower from the ground. If you scroll back on this Asia forum I think someone mentioned there being drivers at the pier you could hire. In Penang there are lots of taxi drivers offering personal tours. As we had been to Penang before we elected to visit the 2 Hindu and Budahist temples across the road from each other and shopping in Georgetown. No need to pre book bargain hard when you get there. My only gripe about the Gems of Indonesia cruise was all the tender ports. If you are not Elite or on a ships tour be early and get early tender tickets or else you will be delayed getting off the ship. It takes quite awhile to tender 2000 people. We are doing the Singapore to Hong Kong cruise in December with only 1 tender port. This time my daughter is coming with us, very much looking forward to it. Regards Jennifer

We felt the same about the time, but others on our roll call seemed to manage ok. I went with my 2 boys 1 a young adult and the other 17. They enjoyed it, lots of monkeys and steps at the Batu Caves it is quite a majestic sight. Getting on and off a large bus is a pain but it was stress free not worrying about the time. In the other ports we did it on our own which the boys much preferred. Bali Suriya from Drivers of Distinction very cheap and will take you wherever you like, we stayed overnight on shore which was great as tendering back to the ship the first night was apparently a nightmare. Cost about $100.00 in Ubud De Munitt Resort booked on Wotif it gave us more time for paragliding shopping Elephant Trek etc. You have to take your passports on shore to stay overnight, no problem though just speak to Guest Relations a few days before. Phuket "Phuket with Sam" a little more expensive but his is a tour with all inclusions we went to Phang Ng Bay, shopping reclining Buddhai we had lunch in a very non touristy fishing village very authentic. No deposits were paid just paid the when we arrived. Especially with Sam you need to book him up early. He got us back to the tenders with 10 mins to spare it was a really full day. The boys enjoyed the private tours best but I was happy to do the 1 ships tour so I could enjoy the day without watching the clock. The ship was actually an hour late leaving Pt Klang as 1 of the ships tours was late returning Regards Jennifer

There was 3 of us and this was the only ships tour we did for the time and distance involved. I was worried about getting back to the ship on time. We enjoyed the trip. Batu caves, KL tower lunch, pewter factory could have given this a miss and return to the ship. Other people did similar on their own with a driver, so is do able. The caves were well worth visiting. PETRONAS tower you have to pre-book a tour or you apparently wait forever. Other people maybe able to help with a drivers name or contact. Jennifer

If you are on the Millenium they had a pink beach and fishing village tour. No trekking to see the dragons but they do come down where the tenders arrive from the ship.

We did a private tour which was supposed to include dragon trekking, snorkelling at pink beach, barbeque lunch and a visit to the fishing village. Ended up being very short walk to see dragons. Some people complained and they did a further steep walk. No snorkelling yet the ships tour did. Lunch consisted of a packed lunch which had been prepared hours earlier which none of us choose to eat. The highlight was meeting the kids at the school in the fishing village.

A cyclone near the week before our arrival was blamed for the lack of snorkelling and barbeque. The ships tour didn't have the same problem with the snorkelling boats. Do the ships tour to pink beach and fishing village. You will see dragons on the beach whether you want to or not.

Jennifer

No hotels out on its own on the marina. There is a 7/11 type store in the terminal. Best to stay in town and grab a taxi. Actually there is no alternative nothing is in walking distance. The bus is the other option. Jennifer