ronbetty2001
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Posts posted by ronbetty2001
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Started cruise in Hong Kong, then Vietnam (Hanoi, Da Nang, Saigon) then Bangkok ending in Singapore, 2 weeks. Willing to answer questions now that we've returned today. Ask away if you have any questions while it's still fresh is my mind. Also spent 5 nights in Seam Reap touring the area and Angkor Wat temples.
Capt. Ron
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Do you really, honestly think that because your bags, out of 4,000 that say cruise critic will get you special attention? Along the same lines do you really think the porters, who handle thousands of bags a day will even know what CC is? Finally, even if they did just what kind of special attention would they provide?
Glad I have a life, wish everyone did
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
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On Solstice and Summit there is smoking on Deck 5?, where the lift-rafts are located, I believe on Port side, look for ashtrays. There is also a smoking area on the pool deck in a corner, again I believe on Port side. We found another one at the bar on the deck just above the pool deck, again I believe on Port side. No smoking on balcony of Celebrity.
Capt. Ron
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FYI: Just purchased some plastic cruise critic tags that are a sleeve for the luggage tags to fit into and a plastic cord to fix to your luggage handle. I like the idea that they say cruise critic on them, maybe that will get as special attention for our bags. Cruise lines do follow these boards and don't want bad reviews from cruise critic members. I like this idea as if you print at home, you don't need to put them on your bags till you arrive, and don't staple them together (as instructed) when you arrive after your flight. If you wait till you land, then you need a stapler to put together and fix to luggage handle. The ones you order have sticky surfaces that "glue" them together, hard to remove when on board or later. This seems like an easy and simple solution and their re-usable. Just my 2-cents worth.
Capt. Ron
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How much was the taxi from K-T terminal to the Star Ferry terminal ? Was it the one by the Ocean Terminal mall? Trying to figure how much HK$ I will need.
Thanks in advance.
Here is a taxi fare calculator web site for taxi fare estimation:
Capt. Ron
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Wife and I are going to southeast Asia in October this year. Ordered money from my local Bank of America on line, while setting up a travel alert so we can use cards, ATM and Credit cards while traveling, very important. Exchange rate was OK as per the international exchange rate web sites. Very easy and no shipping fee if ordering greater than $1,000.00USD. Could not purchase Vietnamese money through bank, which is OK as all prices are stated in both Vietnamese and US dollars anyway in Vietnam. Our tour guilds in Vietnam requested US Dollars for payment, so again no big deal. Going to Cambodia also and they are the same way, requesting US Dollars instead of Cambodian Dollars. Like the idea of having local money on hand upon arrival without having to find a bank or currency exchange in each port. It is a vacation after all. Contact your local bank and see if they offer foreign money and check the rate. Chances are it will be pretty decent and is much more convenient. If using US Dollars in Vietnam or Cambodia make sure the bills are in good shape as they will not except torn or worn out bills. Just remember that most Banks charge a fee for getting money from a foreign ATM machine, so get enough each time as those fees can add up, like $5.00 per Bank of America each transaction.
Happy Planning,
Capt. Ron
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Anybody know if there is anything around the tender drop off location for Ha Long Bay?
We are on the Millennium, Oct. 2016 cruise. We have arranged a private junk with others on our cruise through the roll call boards. The junk agent will pick us up at 12:00 noon from the tender location. Was wondering if there is anything of interest by the tender location to see or do. Otherwise we'll stay on board till our pick up time.
Thank you in advance,
Capt. Ron
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Anybody know if there is anything around the tender drop off location for Ha Long Bay?
We are on the Millennium, Oct. 2016 cruise. We have arranged a private junk with others on our cruise through the roll call boards. The junk agent will pick us up at 12:00 noon from the tender location. Was wondering if there is anything of interest by the tender location to see or do. Otherwise we'll stay on board till our pick up time.
Thank you in advance,
Capt. Ron
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Hi Capt. Ron
We did this cruise last November. Our hotel was also in Kowloon pre-cruise and our taxi took approx. 20 minutes to get from the hotel to the terminal which is in a fairly isolated area. At some stage there will be infrastructure built which will make it much easier for cruise passengers to get around (really needed is a ferry stop/MTR station), but we were aware of the situation. We arrived at 11.30am on the Sunday and by 12 midday we were on the ship, having passed through security and check-in without delay. We do not have status with Celebrity but were really pleased with the ease of embarkation procedures. We believe also that our online check-in some weeks before leaving home speeded things up. There were many people there also who help "channel" passengers through as quickly as possible.
We thought that Monday would be a fairly free day before we sailed away from Hong Kong but we were told to be back on the ship for Customs and Immigration inspection of passports etc. in the Cosmos Lounge on Deck 11 between 3pm and 7pm. Muster drill was in the theatre at 7.30pm which didn't last too long. Then it was up to the pool deck to watch our sail away from the spectacular Victoria Harbour.
Hope some of this helps. It was our experience of course and we did have more time than you to see the sights of Hong Kong.
Best Wishes
Temani
Thank you this helps a lot,
Capt. Ron
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We arrive Hong Kong on Saturday. Ship boards Sunday at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. I know the official boarding time is usually stated as 12:00 to 1:00pm. Is this correct or can we board earlier?
As we want to tour the City Sunday, can we go to Kai Tak early and drop off luggage at the ship (not check in) and come back later in the day to check in?
Don't know if it helps but we are Elite status with Celebrity. Just trying to make the most of Sunday without the hassle of checking in at 12:00 and then returning to the City and touring around. I figure 2 hours total for getting to the ship, checking in and then leaving the terminal. I understand the terminal is really large and involves a lot of walking to get from the Taxi drop off to the ship, is this true?
Our hotel is in Kowloon, Regal Oriental and is a little far out, maybe should have booked a better location, to late now, per-paid.
Any advise from past travelers having done the Hong Kong to Singapore itinerary before would be very helpful.
Thank you,
Capt. Ron
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Great, thank you very much
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We are on the Millennium in October, 2016. Boarding in Hong Kong, stopping in Vietnam, Thailand and ending in Singapore.
Are we allowed to bring flowers on board? We would like to stop at the flower market in Hong Kong to buy some. We did bring flowers on board for our cruise in Tahiti a few years back. They lasted the entire 10 day cruise and were wonderful and exotic.
Thank you,
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SHIP: Reflection
CABIN #: 6238
DECK #: 6
CLASS: A1
AREA: Mid Ship
BED NEAR: Away from Balcony
QUIET?: Yes, very
BALCONY VIEW: Below on deck 5 there is a boat/tender. Didn't bother us at all as we could see out just not look down because of the boat.
BALCONY SIZE: Extra large due to the postion on the hump, very nice.
WIND A PROBLEM?: None at all
SOOT A PROBLEM?: None at all
PROBLEMS/COMMENTS:Good position on deck 6, near elevators and stairs. Nice balcony being extra large, almost twice as large as standard balcony.
Just back Millenium 2 week Aisa Imersion Tour
in Asia
Posted
Yes. We took private tours at every port, we did use the ship offered bus into Saigon were we met our food tour guide. The bus ticket and shore excursion people from Celebrity (checked before we left) both said we would be dropped off at Union Square a central part of the city. Well they ended up dropping us off at another location. We had to call our guide and he had to meet us there instead of the promised Union Square. Didn't bother us, but it did throw some other people off, our guide helped and called their guides to give them the new location. I complained on board to the Captains Club rep. and they put a 10% return of the cost onto our shipboard account.
The ports for Saigon and Da Nang are very industrial ports/docks with nothing around them but shipping containers and cranes. The walk to get outside at Saigon wasn't very far, maybe 10 to 15 minutes and safe. The Da Nang port was maybe 15 minutes, just a little further, but not by much. There was some stalls for shopping at the Da Nang port as you entered the port/dock section. We paid the extra for our city/food tour guide at Da Nang to meet us at the ship, meeting point for buses etc. about 100/150 yards from where the ship is tied up at. I was glad I did, although, as he is an American living in Vietnam they wouldn't let him get as close up front as the other tour guides, so about 150 yards to get to him. Okay to walk out at Saigon, I would go ahead and pay the extra cost for Da Nang pick up, IMHO.
Hong Kong, we stayed at the Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon. Glad we stayed there as the other places in better locations were very crowded, day and night. Sidewalks very crowded, being from Los Angeles, we're not into such crowded places as others may be. One lady on board we met was from New York and stayed at the Holiday Inn (in town near the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier where the Star Ferry operates from) and said it reminded her of New York with the crowded sidewalks etc. But very central to all shopping etc. The Regal is in a more residential type area, much less traffic and less crowded. The bus system is pretty easy to use and close by from the Regal. Not such if any shopping but some restaurants close by, which we didn't go to.
From the hotel we took a taxi to the ship, don't remember the exact cost, maybe 65 to 80 Hong Kong dollars. Short ride, 20 minutes or so. Taxis not hard to find.
Bangkok, we had a [private guide pick us up and return us to the ship the following day. Stayed at the Mercure Bangkok Siem Hotel, near the train station and National Station. Nice place, cost about $78.00/night. The transport from the port into Bangkok is about 3 hours, about 1.5 hours to get to Bangkok, the the traffic starts and it's slow moving in the city itself. Being from LA I thought I had seen traffic, well now I have seen it for real. Unbelievable traffic. When our tour guide was taking us to the hotel on day one it took about 1.5 hours to move about 2 miles. They said our hotel was 10 minutes away without traffic, thinking it would have been faster to walk, unbelievable, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
Not to Miss, our overnight private junk for Ha Long Bay, best of the best as per everyone that joined us. Rented a private Junk from Indochinajunk, 10 cabins for the 16 of us. Met people on Cruise Critic that joined in. Was really a high light of all our tours. First class from start to finish and the food was better than on the ship.
More on the ship later.
Capt. Ron