Help with asia cruise

[gordylad]

We have never been to the far east but like the look of celebrity hong kong to singapore or vice versa

 

The only thing that puts us off is the distance/travelling time from port to city/destination.

 

Any help appreciated

 

Thanks

[cruisestitch]

Do you mean travel from your home to the departure port?

 

Or from the port areas to the main cities you would be visiting in Asia?

[bludevil]

I did this cruise last year and it was an amazing experience. Even though some of the cities are a few hours from the port, getting there is half the fun. It's amazing how much can go on a motorbike!

 

If you go, I highly recommend staying overnight in Saigon and Bangkok go maximize your time instead of going back and forth to the ship.

[Keith1010]

It's a great itinerary.

 

I highly recommend it and if you can spending time before and after the cruise in Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

I agree about Bangkok. I would stay over in the city because the drive is around 90 minutes each way.

 

Keith

[gordylad]

i was meaning cruise port to destination

[gordylad]

staying overnight its a great suggestion i just thought about traveling back and forth to the ship makes sense

[GaryfmCol]

We have never been to the far east but like the look of celebrity hong kong to singapore or vice versa

 

The only thing that puts us off is the distance/travelling time from port to city/destination.

 

Any help appreciated

 

Thanks

 

You don't say where you are based. We just did this trip from Hong Kong and, flew home after the cruise from Singapore.

I just wish I could do this cruise all over again.

As you can see, we've done alot of cruises. This one ranks as #1 favorite cruise for us.

 

As for the transportation, we flew over on UNITED and,

back here on DELTA. The flying part was NO effort. Very wonderful service from both airlines.

 

We flew from DEN to SFO on a UNITED 757, and, in SFO, changed to a Boeing 747, n/s to Hong Kong.

We spent 3 days in Hong Kong pre cruise. (I wish we would have spent even more time there.)

 

The cruise was PERFECT with no problems what-so-ever.

 

Upon arriving in Singapore, despite it being very hot and, humid in March, we really enjoyed being there.

 

Flying back to DEN from Singapore via Tokyo and, a change of planes for a n/s to Minneapolis-St. Paul then, a n/s to DEN. Long airplane rides but, time passed quickly and, certainly worth the travel to the Far East.

 

DO IT! :)

[Keith1010]

In Bangkok to bet the most of it you really want to stay overnight.

 

Some people stay overnight in Saigon but far less than say Bangkok.

 

There is so much to see in Hong Kong and Singapore so try to spend more time there if your schedule permits, plus you want to arrive a few days early to get over the jet lag.

 

Keith

[gordylad]

we would be flying from the uk I believe its 7hrs to Dubai and then another 7 hrs to singapore or hong Kong. I think we would stopover in Dubai we haven flown longer than 10 hrs before

[ghstudio]

It's an outstanding cruise....we did it this year b2b with the Singapore to Singapore Indonesia cruise. Yes, the distances to the cities are far and I highly recommend that you stay overnight in a hotel in Bangkok, Hanoi and Ho Chi minh City (Saigon). I know, you're paying for the food/room on the cruise, but just forget that....and pay the extra..it's worth it. The nightlife in all the cities is wonderful, the food alone is worth the cost of staying overnight instead of eating the dull celebrity food.

 

We booked with Smile Tours in Vietnam and they took care of getting us to/from the ship to our hotels...we made our own hotel reservations (cheaper). They were terrific guides and drivers. Note: Vietnam tour companies seem to want to be paid in full in advance..and many, if not all, don't take credit cards. Scary, but it worked out...it's just the way they do business.

 

Some try to do the cities doing day tours from the ship....it's a mistake..you spend more time driving then sightseeing...and the drives are interesting for about the first hour....not the three to four hours it takes in Hanoi, etc.

 

I can't address Bangkok...we had been there before so we did not go into the city.

Edited December 5, 2013 by ghstudio

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

I wouldn't say the flying would be too much of a problem.

 

If you mean the sea-days between cruises, I'd say it is quite a nice itinerary, for it offers you the right amount of sea days to relax and 'cruise' after all the overnight travelling.

[gordylad]

for the people who have replied thanks Did you do it with century or millenium?

[lara68]

WE did the Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise 2 years ago. OUt of ALL of our cruises it was the most memorable. I agree with the recommendation to spend time before the cruise and after the cruise in both Hong Kong and Singapore. We did however, sail Azamara which has much smaller ships. The larger ships are not able to dock as close to the cities. The ports for the larger ships are much further from the cities....

 

Knowing this, if you sail celebrity, which we LOVE, I would try to spend nights in cities that the cruise has packages for.

[4774Papa]

I have been to Hong Kong twice, not Singapore. I highly recommend staying at least two days in HK, preferably before the cruise. It takes a while to fly there and if you miss a connection or it is late, you could miss your cruise.

 

Also, I suggest not trying to DTY Hong Kong. Find tours and make sure one of them goes to Victoria's Peak. The vast majority of people in HK don't speak English. Take pains not to get lost.

[gordylad]

Thanks

 

Cruise starts at Singapore and our plan was to do an extra night or two in Hong Kong at the end and check out how easy it would be to get to Phuket for a few nights as we have always fancied that place.

[simon stingray]

We are about to book this for next Christmas/New Year (2014) on Millennium.

 

I've also been reading about staying overnight in Bangkok. Hotels are not at all expensive-5* hotels at £70/night. Definitely makes sense to stay overnight and experience the nightlife.

 

There is so much to read and take in as this will be our first ever experience of Asia.

[gordylad]

any idea where the ships dock in both singapore and hong kong? Seems to be a couple of options

[lokelani60]

We are new to this "community" thing and just want to introduce ourselves. We are from San Diego and looking forward to our SE Asia adventure. We'll be meeting you all in the not too distant 2014. Happy Holidays

Rose and Roger Crawford

[ghstudio]

I have been to Hong Kong twice, not Singapore. I highly recommend staying at least two days in HK, preferably before the cruise. It takes a while to fly there and if you miss a connection or it is late, you could miss your cruise.

 

Also, I suggest not trying to DTY Hong Kong. Find tours and make sure one of them goes to Victoria's Peak. The vast majority of people in HK don't speak English. Take pains not to get lost.

 

It's actually quite easy to get around hong kong...taxis are plentiful and the subway/underground is excellent and well marked. You will also find the star ferries very tourist and English friendly. HK and Singapore are also quite safe as long as you stay in the busy/tourist areas. Every city has bad parts. If you get lost, hail a taxi....

 

Both Hong Kong and Singapore are well worth some extra days at both ends.

Edited December 5, 2013 by ghstudio

[Gig103]

If you can manage it, I would recommend 2 or 3 days in Singapore prior to the cruise. There's plenty to see, and public transit is very affordable and ubiquitous. Even taxis are reasonable, since the government does all it can to discourage car ownership (including an $80,000SGD "Certificate of Eligibility" - a fee just to be allowed to buy a car, excluding the car cost).

[luv2cruisemore]

We cruised this itinerary last March (2013) and it was one of our best cruises. It was also our third time on the Millennium. We went with two other couples and met a fourth couple on the Cruise Critic Roll Call who we toured with. We stayed over in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and we arranged our own tours and made our own hotel reservations. We got the hotels through Agoda.com. I think all were 3 stars and well under $100US, including great breakfasts. We love waking up in unusual cities.

 

The first day in Hanoi, we toured (sailed?) on Halong Bay. That was magnificent. The driver and tour guide took us to our Hanoi hotel leaving the port around 4 pm. It took 4 hours including a stop at the "state" store. We toured Hanoi the following day and got back to the ship in time to sail. People that took the ship's 1-day Hanoi tour spent 8 hours of the day in a big bus. Not for us.

 

We spent 4 nights in Singapore pre-cruise and 2 nights n Hong Kong post-cruise. We'd been to Hong Kong before and love that city. Singapore was new to us and now it's one of our most favorite cities in the world.

 

Depending on which direction you sail, try to get a cabin on the land-facing side of the ship.

 

We took Cathay Pacific biz class from LA and it was as exciting as the trip itself. If you have the airline award mileage (as we did) or can afford biz class, it makes the trip significantly easier.

 

Get ready for a wonderful experience!

[Iluvcruising2]

we would be flying from the uk I believe its 7hrs to Dubai and then another 7 hrs to singapore or hong Kong. I think we would stopover in Dubai we haven flown longer than 10 hrs before

 

Don't worry, the flight is manageable.

 

Our whole family flew from Singapore to Rome via Zurich recently on Swissair. My kids are just 7 and 8. Economy-class, no special perks.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thanks

 

Cruise starts at Singapore and our plan was to do an extra night or two in Hong Kong at the end and check out how easy it would be to get to Phuket for a few nights as we have always fancied that place.

 

Phuket is much nearer to Singapore than Hong Kong. Singapore to Phuket is 1hr 45 min by plane. Hong Kong to Phuket is 3hr 45min by plane.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

any idea where the ships dock in both singapore and hong kong? Seems to be a couple of options

 

Celebrity ships dock at the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal in Singapore.

 

http://mbccs.com.sg/

Edited December 6, 2013 by Iluvcruising2

[doodbug]

I have been to Hong Kong twice, not Singapore. I highly recommend staying at least two days in HK, preferably before the cruise. It takes a while to fly there and if you miss a connection or it is late, you could miss your cruise.

 

Also, I suggest not trying to DTY Hong Kong. Find tours and make sure one of them goes to Victoria's Peak. The vast majority of people in HK don't speak English. Take pains not to get lost.

 

We're from Singapore and I thought I could chime in a bit.

 

We cruised to HK twice on RCCL ships. Depending on where your ship docks in HK, if it is at the Ocean Terminal, you can easily and very cheaply get a taxi up to Victoria Peak. ( I recall the fare was about US10) You are pretty much at the city centre at Ocean Terminal.

 

Taxis in Singapore and Hong Kong are very affordable by Western standards.

 

English is far more widely spoken in Singapore than in Hong Kong. However, all the metro (MTR) signs and road signs in Hong Kong are in English and Chinese.