zowie57

We are coming into Saigon a day early for a land tour. Thought we'd use our free day for a Mekong River tour. We have no time constraints.

 

Would appreciate any suggestions for tour operators.

 

Thank you.

You will probably be docking at Phu My which is still 2 hours out of Saigon. The Mekong Delta is then a further 1 hour from Saigon. If you are doing the Mekong Delta on a day trip from Phu My plan on 3 hours bus travel each way. If you are overnighting in Saigon make sure the tour allows you to return to the ship on time. Either way there will be no shortage of Mekong Delta tour operators.

Your ship will dock (or anchor at Halong Bay - never heard of a ocean going ship docking in Hanoi?

The cruise ships anchor in Halong Bay and then tender passengers ashore. From there it is a 3 hour hour bus trip each way in to the city of Hanoi. Ship excursions in Halong Bay can be done straight off the ship weather permitting so there is no need to even go ashore if you don't want to.

Thanks so much for the input. Definitely the challenge is where the pickup point would be on day 2. I know they mention the drop off point but not the return. Probably not the wisest to assume. I had not thought of staying somewhere with easy access to transportation. Is there some way I can find out the names of the hotels within close proximity?

 

Mom says you mention you are doing this also. Are you just taking a small bag with you and then a small travel bag when you are out and about?

All the cruise ships which overnight in Laem Chabang will offer a transport service to Bangkok returning the next day. It is transport only and you will have to organise your own accommodation and activites. I have used it twice on Celebrity and Princess and both times the pick up and return was from the Asia Hotel although that may now have changed. We opted to stay at the Asia Hotel which was affordable and well located within walking distance to Bangkok's best shopping centre at MBK. The Asia also has a mono rail station right outside which is cheap and convenient and takes you anywhere in Bangkok.

The shuttle returned to the ship around 2 pm and you can easily leave the small amount of required luggage at the hotel after checking out if desired.

Drinks package only available on cruises 7 days or longer.:(

They don't offer drink packages on short cruises because because of problems with excessive drinking from bucks parties, football groups etc etc. I found the individual prices for alcohol quite reasonable on pacific Aria.

Definitely seems the way to go, we can go there direct from airport, drop off bags and then wander around a while before starting the paperwork. Thanks for all the help.

That's exactly what we do every time. Just be aware there is really nothing within walking distance of Marina Bay Cruise terminal except the subway station. Two stops in the train gets you to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel where you can easily kill a couple of hours or cross the road to the Gardens by the Bay.

So it is possible to drop off luggage and come back later for formalities?

Yes it is very easily done. Make sure your luggage is labelled correctly and you drop off for correct ship if there is more than one ship in town. The luggage guys will be there on the footpath as soon as you get out of the cab.

When we were there 2 years ago, we arranged a tour in advance, but we saw very many taxis and open air tour

vehicles on the tender dock, so many we had trouble walking to our driver!

-- we needed to pay in local currency, but our driver was very happy to stop at an ATM,

I suspect you won't have trouble finding taxi/tour if you say that you need to stop at an ATM as you have no local currency.

There will be many taxi operators waiting on the pier when you get off the tender. Most will have maps and offer suggestions of where they can take you for the day or half day. Pick a driver with good English and a clean air conditioned vehicle and decide exactly what you want to see on the island. Make sure the driver knows what time the ship departs so he can bring up back on time regardless of traffic conditions. Barter for the best price and you should have an enjoyable day.

Hi, we are on the Sapphire Princess out of Singapore in a few months and I am not familiar with the new(ish) cruise terminal. How busy does it tend to get and when do they start processing passengers? We are advised that boarding will be from 12.30 but am hoping we can at least get the paperwork done earlier - our plane gets in at 6.30am and I would like to check in and perhaps look around area afterwards. Is 10am too early to turn up?

You can arrive as early as you like and get rid of your heavy luggage. If you then proceed through immigration you probably won't be allowed back out and may have a long wait till boarding. We always drop off luggage and then walk to the subway station to have a few hours in town until we are ready to return to complete paperwork and board.

Nope, you weren't dreaming, here is it on the CMV home page. Freo to London Sunday 10th Mar 2019.

I'm eagerly awaiting the Astors replacement the Vasco de Gama, that's out on sale as well on its first London to Sydney cruise at buy on get one free. I wish they would hurry up & release its 2019/2020 Aust summer season.

 

Its quite a bargain

 

https://cmvaustralia.com/cruise/a921/fremantle-to-uk-voyage

A lot of Australian travel agents don't deal with CMV Cruise line and many have not even heard of them. CMV mainly use older much smaller ships and cruises sell out fast due to limited cabins. You will probably recognize Vasco da Gamma it is the currently here as Pacific Eden and goes to CMV in April.

Thanks Big M. Hope those affected have a smooth ride on their claims.

In the meantime the nutcase that caused this situation (intentionally or not) will probably laugh her way to the bank.

We will be arriving on the Sea Princess and trying to find out how much Princess charges for this shuttle. Does anyone know?

 

(I posted on the Princess section and got no Replies so trying here.)

I think Sea Princess is small enough to dock up river at Portside. If so there is public transport and no shortage of taxis for the the short trip in to the CBD.

Can see an exclusive story coming soon, produced by a chequebook journalist for a magazine or TV network.

Why should she be allowed to profit from an experience that disadvantaged other shipping in the area and presumably her fellow cruise passengers.

I'm wondering if US dollars are accepted at street vendors and souvenir shops in Asian countries. I'll be in Nagasaki, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Busan, Bangkok and Singapore. I don't mind exchanging some currency before I go on my trip, but I just never know how much to get. Always think I won't buy too much, but then I see something that looks special. If anyone has insights into which of those places might take US dollars, I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Street vendors and souvenir shops will almost certainly want the local currency for small purchases. You can use your credit card in department stores and places within shopping malls. No shortage of ATMs just withdraw what you think you need in local currency or exchange $USD cash at licensed money changers.

Something is seriously off about all this. The "fall" for starters.

I agree. The woman looked remarkably bright with little signs of exposure considering she had been supposedly treading water for 10 hours. Stay tuned for when she sells her story and recounts her amazing tale of survival.

Is MBCC different spot to Harbour Front? Where exactly does Sapphire Princess sail from, anyone know?

Yes they are entirely different cruise terminals. Most of the larger ships will depart from Marina Bay including Sapphire Princess.

Harbourfront is still used for smaller P&O and Azamarra vessels as well as less well known Asian lines.

Boy - people need to get this sorted out - there is a lot of miss information. Regarding gratuities. There are no added gratuities for AUSTRALIANS booking in AUSTRALIA on cruises starting AND finishing in AUSTRALIA. The actual quoted fares reflect this matter. Keep in mind it only relates to cruises ROUND TRIP AUSTRALIA . I say again - starting AND finishing in AUSTRALIA. If it starts in Australia and finishes overseas Australians pay the daily gratuity like anyone else does overseas.

This is definitely NOT correct! I agree with CheznAndy and Thorpe. I am on Majestic departing Sydney and finishing Singapore. The cruise is in Australian dollars and gratuities are included and NOT deducted daily. The option is still there for anyone to tip individually if they wish.

Does anyone know the cost of this shuttle? I understand we dock well outside the city.

What ship are you on? There are two different cruise terminals in Brisbane depending on the size of the ship.

Was this on a Princess cruise? Or another line cruising out of Aus? Very interested, I miss having a kettle.:)

Diamond Princess cruising Australia to Asia admittedly a couple of years ago. Maybe rules have since changed.

Does anyone know the answer to that question? We have the sip & sail promotion on a cruise in April.

 

Also, does anyone know if you can order a 'bucket of beer' for your stateroom on this package?

Most beverage packages only allow one drink at a time per package holder. This is to deter the dishonest minority from drink sharing on the package.

Goody good. Going on Sapphire next month. Always refer to lack of kettle in end of cruise questionnaire. There wasn’t one In cabins on the Royal in June. Can’t function until had my early morning cup of tea.

If there is no kettle in the cabin and you would like one just ask your cabin steward. We always bring our own tea and coffee and have normally been supplied a kettle on request.

We had booked the Majestic for next January out of Sydney due to the itinerary and pricing. But after reading all the posts about how the ship is set up, and we reviewed the deck plans, we cancelled.

With the public spaces meant for shopping and gambling and very few bars, this looks like a disaster in the making. We did a South Pacific cruise on the Diamond last January (also out of Sydney) and the Aussies like to have a good time (we ran out of many brands of beer in a short time).

Princess designed this ship specifically for the Asian market. I can't imagine how they thought they could run a cruise out of Australia on a ship with very few bars.

All that said - there is another thread this morning saying that the Karaoke suites are going to be removed and replaced with a bar prior to it arriving in Australia. It would be a start but this may only be a rumour since the Princess site does not show any changes (if you make a booking).

There have been a few rumours on the Australian websites that Princess will be making a few changes on Majestic for the Australian season starting September. Many Australians have also expressed concerns regarding the layout of Majestic which was designed for the Asian market. Most people with bookings are adopting a wait and see attitude but I know others are holding off until a few reviews come in from the inaugural Australian season. I would like to think Princess would acknowledge the ship's lack of entertainment venues and make the necessary changes prior to it's arrival in Australia.

I think in some cases, like yours and such that it is simply moving people into the empty cabins but then many of the Accessible cabins seem to be booked up early, perhaps they get released again as people drop out or perhaps people who want these cabins need to contact the cruise line directly to get a hold onto them.

We were once allocated an accessible cabin on Voyager of the Seas. Whilst we enjoyed the extra space we made it very clear we would like to be re located if someone with special needs required that cabin. We ended up keeping the cabin but would have been mortified if someone else had been knocked back.

Hi everyone,

We will be on the Celebrity Millénium in december, from Singapore to Hong Kong. We have two days in Bangkok, and want to visit on our own. ( we have signed for the Celebrity shuttle, and one overnight in Bangkok),

The Millénium stops at Laemchabang at 7 AM, but I don't know really at what time we arrive in Bangkok, with the shuttle, and at what time we will take the bus for the return..

Do you have more détails or informations for this ?

Thank you in advance !

 

I'm sorry, I'm french, and I apologize for my bad english... I learned at school, but it's far....

 

Muriel

Hi Muriel your English is fine. If the ship docks at 7am you probably won't depart on the shuttle until 8am. It is approx 2 hours into Bangkok so you should be at your hotel between 10 and 11am. The return trip the next day will probably leave Bangkok aprrox 4 hours before the ship departs. The highway to and from Bangkok can have traffic delays but you should have no problem on a Celebrity shuttle.

Hi all... does anyone have any recommendations on things to do in this port? It looks beautiful but having a hard time finding things. I'd LOVE to do something active... SUP'ing or bike tour. Anyone have any experience with this port? Also, where exactly do we go into on the tenders?

The tenders will take you right in to town and you can cover the whole town easily on foot. Akaroa has a French influence in many of the restaurants and shops and is a really picturesque little place to wander around. There will be many tourist operators waiting on the tender wharf and offering a wide variety of active and non active experiences. The harbour trips to see the miniature dolphins and penguins are very popular and will be also offered as a ship's tour. The other alternative is a full day tour by bus to the city of Christchurch.

Unfortunately we don't arrive till 2pm :(

As much as I'm loving this itinerary and definitely not gonna jump ship (pun intended) there are a few flaws.

There seems to be a few lovely things to do locally to the port (well semi locally). I'm crossing my fingers that someone finds something amazing on my roll call and I can join the party.

 

Have a great cruise too. :) :ship: :ship:

There is absolutely nothing to see or do in the port of Laem Chabang. If you are not going to Bangkok there are options available around Pattaya Beach which is approx 30 minutes from the port.