Laem Chabang and Phu My Ports - Shuttle Buses

[belfastrab]

Hey All

 

We are going on a Royal Caribbean cruise around Asia on the 8th of October 2013 (next month) and two of the ports of call are Laem Chabang - Thailand (for Bangkok) and Phu My - Vietnam (for Ho Chi Minh/Saigon).

 

I have spent hours Googling trying to find an answer to this question and it all seems very vague with little to no information at all.

 

So hoping someone that has sailed with Royal Caribbean and has went to these ports is reading this and can help or indeed anyone that can shed light on the issue...

 

Is there some form of shuttle bus service laid on by the cruise line at these ports to the relevant proper cities as in a bus from Laem Chabang to Bangkok and back again and the same for Phu My in Vietnam.

 

I know I can of course book a private transfer online with a company. But as this holiday/honeymoon has already cost a blind fortune I would rather not pay out another £100 or more to find once we arrive at the two ports that the cruise line has actually provided bus transport for say $10 a head.

 

There is no information anywhere on Royal Caribbean's website just about their official and expensive tours which can be pre booked. Its not so much the expense of these tours we just hate set tours and would much prefer to get our own way to the various cities and do and see what we want rather than being set to a schedule I am sure we are not alone in this feeling.

 

So anyways sorry for a long post does anyone know if there is some sort of shuttle bus service provided?

 

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

Cheers

 

Rab

[chrispb]

Both Phu Muy and Laem Chabang are 2 or 3 hours away from Saigon & Bangkok, so there won't be shuttle buses for $10.

 

Have you tried your roll call to see if you can share a trip with others?

[belfastrab]

Called Royal Caribbean's UK customer services 10 minutes ago and after having great difficulty with someone who spoke very broken English and she came across as being surprised she was even working for Royal Caribbean!?! I finally got speaking to her manager...

 

In essence she didn't really know either which is a bit crazy that even their customer service's department don't even know for sure what the situation is!

 

But in a round about way and this is taking a educated guess with the assistance of the customer services manager I spoke to that given the two main cities mentioned are so far away from the ports the ship will be docked at they do provide a shuttle bus for a undisclosed fee usually around $10 to the nearest town.

 

So from those towns you could get a local bus/train whatever to the proper city you wanted to go to in this case Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok. But there really isn't a way to pre plan this as she was unable to tell me what the two nearest towns are called and I don't want to start guessing by using Google Maps etc.

 

We were wanting to book overnight accommodation in both cities ourselves to make the most out of each city but given its all a big mystery we are just going to do the set tour offered by the line of Saigon (ho chi minh) By Yourself which drops you off and you do your own thing for a number of hours and then you are collected again. In terms of Bangkok as I could not forgive myself for missing out on the opportunity of a night in the city we are going to sort our own private transfers by car which is about £65/$90 return (both ways) and a good hotel will be around £100 a night.

 

I tried to find a private transfer company online for Vietnam to take us from Phu My to Ho Chi Minh and back again the next day and the cheapest I could find was £210/$350 just for transport not including a tour or anything. I thought that price was just very cheeky and refuse to be scammed given Thailand is a more expensive country than Vietnam in terms of day to day living costs you would assume the Thai version of the transfers would be more expensive but the Thai's know how to look after their tourists were as it appears as though the Vietnamese are just trying to get their arm in for as much money as they can grab.... I guess capitalism is rapidly catching on in this communist country!

 

Don't get me wrong I don't mind spending money on holiday but I do demand value for money.

 

Not impressed with Royal Caribbean not being able to provide their passengers with concrete information before travelling it just appears to be very sketchy and ad hoc. I think in this day and age this is just down right shoddy and expected more from this cruise line than mis information and guesses!

 

I like to plan and be organised so when I am actually on holiday I have removed any unknowns and therefore stress so I can actually enjoy my holiday instead of worrying about trying to find taxis, buses from some little town in the middle of no where to where we actually want to go.

[paver59]

Eight of us got a mini bus to Bangkok it worked out about £8 each one way.

[John Bull]

Head office staff at all cruise lines are generally pretty un-savvy about destinations, but bear in mind they're dealing with destinations world-wide.

 

Yes, there'll be cruise ship transfers to the cities at both Laem Chabang & Phu My.

But forget $10, that's for short shuttles of a couple of miles into town from a town's port.

 

As Chrispb's post, both are journeys of around 2 hours. You should be able to find them on RCI's website or your cruise personaliser, they'll be called something like "Bangkok on your own" - a coach which drops you in the city & picks you up from the same place later in the day. At a guess, over $100 a-piece.

 

There's no sensible public transport from Laem Chabang to Bangkok, and taxis available at the port are in a cartel - if you don't have transport already fixed-up they have you over a barrel & will charge around 4500 baht for a car (up to 3 passengers), that's getting on for twice the rate you can get by pre-booking over the internet. The taxi cartel have no control over pre-booked cars.

 

I don't know about Phu My, we were on a small ship which sailed up the Saigon River & berthed in the city, but it's a safe bet that the situation is the same as Laem Chabang.

 

The good news:

 

You should be able to fix up with fellow-passengers to share pre-booked transport, as Paver59 did. (though I suspect that $8 per person may be from a while back or perhaps a hazy memory)

 

Do this through your cruise RollCall.

You didn't quote your ship or sailing date, but here's the link to RCI's RollCalls.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=35

Click on your ship, then scroll through the threads to find the one with your sailing date. Beware - Americans transpose day & month, so if your cruise is on say 1st March 2014 look for 3/1/14, not 1/3/14.

If it's a long thread with lots of pages, easier to start at the last page & work backwards.

Much of it will be idle chit-chat, but there'll be stax of useful info & hopefully folk looking for sharers.

 

If no joy, hunt the web for operators & get prices (way better than the one you've been quoted) & post details on the RollCall looking for sharers. Aim for a minibus (US call them "vans") because the more that share the lower the cost.

Thailand & especially Vietnam are full of tour-operator wannabes & scamsters, so hunt the web (& ask on this forum) for reviews before committing yourself to an operator. Don't commit to a minibus until you have enough sharers. Only pay anything up front if it's necessary - and pay by only by credit card, not PayPal or bankers draft etc, because a credit card payment offers protection for your money.

Since you're a newbie it'd be waaaay better if you can share with others rather than finding others to share with you.

 

Worth posting on your RollCall anyway, to say Hi to others on your cruise. And sign up for the "meet & mingle" get-together, which is usually on the first sea-day. Free drinks & bites, often a free raffle.

 

Once in Bangkok & Saigon, getting around is easy, though well worth researching.

Bangkok by SkyTrain, tuk-tuk, express ferry, all silly-cheap though negotiating with tuk-tuks is an art-form (you'll be offered a free or unrealistically-cheap ride & find yourself going via the guy's uncle's carpet shop, his second-aunt's jewellery workshop etc. Always state "direct" when negotiating, & stand by that - if the guy does stop at his grandfather's craft shop, get out & walk away.)

Saigon is easy to walk the main sights, you'll be dropped at or near the Rex Hotel.

 

Go through this forum looking for posts about Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC) and Bangkok. To avoid wading through much irrelevant stuff, go to the Asia forum, click on "search this forum" (above threads/announcements) & type in one of those names.

 

JB :)

Edited September 16, 2013 by John Bull

[jstducky]

Phu My will be exactly the same. The distance from Phu My to Saigon/HCMC is about 70 km and will take a good 2-3 hours to drive to and from.

 

RCI should offer a shore excursion called Ho Chi Minh City On Your Own or something similar. They take you from the port to the center of the city and drop you at a designated location. You're then given 3-5 hours on your own (depending on how long you're in port) to do whatever you want on your own. You come back and meet at the designated time and they take you back to the ship.

 

No way this is $10 per person though. On my Princess cruise last month (though we did a private tour), the ship was offering this service for $69 per person

[paver59]

Head office staff at all cruise lines are generally pretty un-savvy about destinations, but bear in mind they're dealing with destinations world-wide.

 

Yes, there'll be cruise ship transfers to the cities at both Laem Chabang & Phu My.

But forget $10, that's for short shuttles of a couple of miles into town from a town's port.

 

As Chrispb's post, both are journeys of around 2 hours. You should be able to find them on RCI's website or your cruise personaliser, they'll be called something like "Bangkok on your own" - a coach which drops you in the city & picks you up from the same place later in the day. At a guess, over $100 a-piece.

 

There's no sensible public transport from Laem Chabang to Bangkok, and taxis available at the port are in a cartel - if you don't have transport already fixed-up they have you over a barrel & will charge around 4500 baht for a car (up to 3 passengers), that's getting on for twice the rate you can get by pre-booking over the internet. The taxi cartel have no control over pre-booked cars.

 

I don't know about Phu My, we were on a small ship which sailed up the Saigon River & berthed in the city, but it's a safe bet that the situation is the same as Laem Chabang.

 

The good news:

 

You should be able to fix up with fellow-passengers to share pre-booked transport, as Paver59 did. (though I suspect that $8 per person may be from a while back or perhaps a hazy memory)

No I haven't got a hazy memory maybe you need to go to specsavers .£8 and it was this year in March.

 

Do this through your cruise RollCall.

You didn't quote your ship or sailing date, but here's the link to RCI's RollCalls.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=35

Click on your ship, then scroll through the threads to find the one with your sailing date. Beware - Americans transpose day & month, so if your cruise is on say 1st March 2014 look for 3/1/14, not 1/3/14.

If it's a long thread with lots of pages, easier to start at the last page & work backwards.

Much of it will be idle chit-chat, but there'll be stax of useful info & hopefully folk looking for sharers.

 

If no joy, hunt the web for operators & get prices (way better than the one you've been quoted) & post details on the RollCall looking for sharers. Aim for a minibus (US call them "vans") because the more that share the lower the cost.

Thailand & especially Vietnam are full of tour-operator wannabes & scamsters, so hunt the web (& ask on this forum) for reviews before committing yourself to an operator. Don't commit to a minibus until you have enough sharers. Only pay anything up front if it's necessary - and pay by only by credit card, not PayPal or bankers draft etc, because a credit card payment offers protection for your money.

Since you're a newbie it'd be waaaay better if you can share with others rather than finding others to share with you.

 

Worth posting on your RollCall anyway, to say Hi to others on your cruise. And sign up for the "meet & mingle" get-together, which is usually on the first sea-day. Free drinks & bites, often a free raffle.

 

Once in Bangkok & Saigon, getting around is easy, though well worth researching.

Bangkok by SkyTrain, tuk-tuk, express ferry, all silly-cheap though negotiating with tuk-tuks is an art-form (you'll be offered a free or unrealistically-cheap ride & find yourself going via the guy's uncle's carpet shop, his second-aunt's jewellery workshop etc. Always state "direct" when negotiating, & stand by that - if the guy does stop at his grandfather's craft shop, get out & walk away.)

Saigon is easy to walk the main sights, you'll be dropped at or near the Rex Hotel.

 

Go through this forum looking for posts about Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC) and Bangkok. To avoid wading through much irrelevant stuff, go to the Asia forum, click on "search this forum" (above threads/announcements) & type in one of those names.

 

JB :)

Maybe you need to go to specsavers I said £8 . And no I haven't got a hazy memory it was this March.

[belfastrab]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Yeah thanks for the info about public transport in Bangkok but this will be my 10th visit and have yet to bother with a Tuk Tuk can't be arsed with the crap of having to keep the driver on the direct route and not visit a million and one scam artist shops. Im not saying that taxi drivers don't attempt the same thing but they are not as bad and as soon as you say you its your 8th or 9th visit they don't even bother trying as they know you know the score. Between "you go see tiger zoo or sexy lady show" have heard them all.

 

Yeah I know the tours such as do Bangkok by yourself but in both cities we wanted to stay overnight in a hotel and the do the city by yourself tours do not allow you to go one day and come back the next.

 

Ended up to save any nonsense I have booked and paid for a private car transfer for Bangkok and took a lovely Canadian lady up on her offer of two spaces on her privately arranged mini bus for HCMC.

 

So transfers for both are now sorted as is hotel accommodation. Staying in a 5 star in Bangkok run by the Amari group (Thailand's version of the Hilton pretty much) around Soi 5 Sukumvit road area better known by other names but won't go there!

 

Staying in the Rex in HCMC firstly because I like the history of the hotel given it was a popular place for war journos during the Vietnam War but also because that's where our transfer drops us of and picks us up again so no having to try and get across HCMC to catch a transfer that if you miss it you could well miss the ship departure and be royally screwed!

 

I will however on my return home update this thread with concrete information about the port transfer situations and the exact price of things so at least others will know for the future well for Royal Caribbean cruises anyways.

 

Still no idea why the feck the cruise line needs to be so mysterious/secretive about it other than to try and force you into pre booking their expensive set tours which in my case it had the opposite effect and forced my hand into booking privately with local (in country) companies.

[koolgal100]

Hi Belfastrab

 

DH and I are going to Phu My and Laem Chabang in Feb 2014 with Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas. Just wondering how did you go with your shore excursions on Phu My and Laem Chabang?

 

I have never been there and it would be great if you can share your knowledge with us.

 

Thanks.

 

koolgal

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Maybe you need to go to specsavers I said £8 . And no I haven't got a hazy memory it was this March.

 

Could you tell me how you found your transportation? Detail info would be appreciated.

[prish]

Hi Belfastrab, could you please tell me how you arranged the private transfer to BKK from the cruise port, thanks!

[sbrooke723]

What did you end up doing to get from Laem Chabang to Bangkok? I'm going on RC cruise in February and we'd like to spend the night in Bangkok - so the shore excursions that drop off and pick up aren't a good option. Were you able to stay the night and pre-arrange transporation from Laem Chabang to Bangkok and back the next day?

[Ashland]

What did you end up doing to get from Laem Chabang to Bangkok? I'm going on RC cruise in February and we'd like to spend the night in Bangkok - so the shore excursions that drop off and pick up aren't a good option. Were you able to stay the night and pre-arrange transporation from Laem Chabang to Bangkok and back the next day?

Welcome to Cruise Critic...

 

However please note the thread you have asked a question on is from 2013...you might consider starting a new thread and ask specific questions on your particular subject, that way you'll get updated response's and answers.

 

Best of luck.

[OZdownunder2013]

What did you end up doing to get from Laem Chabang to Bangkok? ...we'd like to spend the night in Bangkok?

 

Hi, We have just got off the Sapphire Princess. Loved Laem Chabang, and the Chonburi area. We hired a private car for Pattaya, Nong Nooch Gardens and floating markets. Hired from 9:00am to drop off back at the port at 5:00pm.

 

We have also done the private car from Jomtien (near Laem Chabang) to Bangkok on previous trip.

 

I would highly recommend Chayabhatra Satitithaporn (Toni) at

Oriental Escape Limited

Address: Supalai Park @ Tiwanon No: 98/7 Tambol Talad-Kwan Amphur Muang, Nonthaburi province 11000 THAILAND

Phone : +66 (0) 2195 8875

Fax : +66 (0) 2195 8876

Hotline : +66 (0) 84-560-5000 [24/7]

E-mail : contact@orientalescape.com ; chayabhatra@orientalescape.com

Website: http://www.orientalescape.com

 

They were reliable and capable. Also driver Bill had good English and was a very pleasant day out. He gave us free fruit, water twice, and nice little cold hand towels. Very reasonably priced and a pleasure to deal with. Sincerely, BJ Eyland (Mrs)

[timmyfoo]

Hi Belfastrab

 

DH and I are going to Phu My and Laem Chabang in Feb 2014 with Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas. Just wondering how did you go with your shore excursions on Phu My and Laem Chabang?

 

I have never been there and it would be great if you can share your knowledge with us.

 

Thanks.

 

koolgal

 

 

Hi koolgal100...

 

Please do remember to find us at Roll Call >>

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130471

 

And also join us on Meet & Mingle:

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ccEntry.do

 

Happy Sailing!

[timmyfoo]

What did you end up doing to get from Laem Chabang to Bangkok? I'm going on RC cruise in February and we'd like to spend the night in Bangkok - so the shore excursions that drop off and pick up aren't a good option. Were you able to stay the night and pre-arrange transporation from Laem Chabang to Bangkok and back the next day?

 

Hi sbrooke723...

 

Please do remember to find us at Roll Call >>

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130471

 

And also join us on Meet & Mingle:

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ccEntry.do

 

Happy Sailing!

[OZdownunder2013]

Hi Belfastrab

 

Just wondering how did you go with your shore excursions on Phu My and Laem Chabang?

 

Phu My - long way from everything. Need to book a private car in advance or do a ship excursion. The port is not near anything. Ship puts on shuttle to what can be called a village. So we took Princess Excursion to Mekong Delta (4 islands - Dragon or Turtle or Unicorn or Phoenix Island) is a long day by bus. Well worth it though. Other lines offer similar.

 

Laem Chabang - long way from everything. Ship puts on a shuttle. You can do ship excursion to Bangkok (long day).

 

But we hired a private car for six to Pattaya, Nong Nooch Gardens and floating markets. Excellent. Highly recommended Chayabhatra Satitithaporn (Toni) at Oriental Escape Limited

 

E-mail : contact@orientalescape.com ; chayabhatra@orientalescape.com

Website: http://www.orientalescape.com/thailand/tourpackage/pattaya.html

 

They were reliable and capable. Also driver Bill had good English and was a very pleasant day out. He gave us free fruit, water twice, and nice little cold hand towels. Very reasonably priced and a pleasure to deal with. Extremely reasonable price for six.

Edited January 28, 2015 by OZdownunder2013
gave the wrong link (oops)

[subaru94]

Hi, We have just got off the Sapphire Princess. Loved Laem Chabang, and the Chonburi area. We hired a private car for Pattaya, Nong Nooch Gardens and floating markets. Hired from 9:00am to drop off back at the port at 5:00pm.

 

We have also done the private car from Jomtien (near Laem Chabang) to Bangkok on previous trip.

 

I would highly recommend Chayabhatra Satitithaporn (Toni) at

Oriental Escape Limited

Address: Supalai Park @ Tiwanon No: 98/7 Tambol Talad-Kwan Amphur Muang, Nonthaburi province 11000 THAILAND

Phone : +66 (0) 2195 8875

Fax : +66 (0) 2195 8876

Hotline : +66 (0) 84-560-5000 [24/7]

E-mail : contact@orientalescape.com ; chayabhatra@orientalescape.com

Website: http://www.orientalescape.com

 

They were reliable and capable. Also driver Bill had good English and was a very pleasant day out. He gave us free fruit, water twice, and nice little cold hand towels. Very reasonably priced and a pleasure to deal with. Sincerely, BJ Eyland (Mrs)

What did it cost you for this tour please?

[OZdownunder2013]

What did it cost you for this tour please?

 

This was for minibus for day 7200 TBH which total price of approx $290 AUD (Australian) which seated six - but we had four. So it included entry price to Nong Nooch Gardens X4 (cultural & elephant show) and included entry price to Pattaya Floating Gardens X4 (and cultural show) and tour up to the Pattaya Look down - for photo opportunity. Pick up from Ship and delivery back to ship at Port of Laem Chabang. He also gave us nice fruit, and water twice, and cold hand towels etc, and was pleasant and considerate. He had good english, and was obliging to set a meeting place & time at our three stops. (Garden, Market & look down). We did not ask for & did not want any commentary. (because we have been here before). So we told them that when we booked. We had 9:00am pick up at port and drop off at 4:40 pm. Lunch was our own cost at Nong Nooch - but there are a dozen places to eat there or we could have eaten at floating gardens. It may have been more cost - if you wanted driver with comentary. But tell them that when you book.

[subaru94]

This was for minibus for day 7200 TBH which total price of approx $290 AUD (Australian) which seated six - but we had four. So it included entry price to Nong Nooch Gardens X4 (cultural & elephant show) and included entry price to Pattaya Floating Gardens X4 (and cultural show) and tour up to the Pattaya Look down - for photo opportunity. Pick up from Ship and delivery back to ship at Port of Laem Chabang. He also gave us nice fruit, and water twice, and cold hand towels etc, and was pleasant and considerate. He had good english, and was obliging to set a meeting place & time at our three stops. (Garden, Market & look down). We did not ask for & did not want any commentary. (because we have been here before). So we told them that when we booked. We had 9:00am pick up at port and drop off at 4:40 pm. Lunch was our own cost at Nong Nooch - but there are a dozen places to eat there or we could have eaten at floating gardens. It may have been more cost - if you wanted driver with comentary. But tell them that when you book.

Thank you have emailed them their prices have gone up quite a bit since your tour quoted 5900 Bhat plus fees into venues which added up to 11,800 for 4 of us