Vung Tau - Viet Nam

[raringtogo]

hi - can anybody please tell us about the Port of Vung Tau. Will we be able to take the hydrofoil independantly into HCM city or are we forced to book with Princess? Also, how far is the hydrofoil from the shipside? (Diamond Princess, Singapore to Sydney December 2005)

thanks in advance

[Lobbylin]

I believe the Princess excursion includes visas and you board the hydrofoil from the ship... It takes 1hr 30mins each way on the ships excursion - I'm sure you'd end up adding at least another hour in total doing in it on your own, by the time you give yourself time allowances at both end and make your way to where the hydrofoil departs from - that would spoil the day's experience for me.

 

When I first read up on it, I too thought the Princess excursion was mega EXPENSIVE! (I think it's something like $10 for the hydrofoil independently) But whilst I STILL do think it is expensive, the reassurance that I'll get back to the ship will probably make me go with them, as HCM is a long way off.

 

I believe there's a roll call on the Princess CC for a group of people about to do the HCM trip on their own steam in Oct 05 - so I will be waiting out for them to report back as to how they got on.... :)

[raringtogo]

hi LBack... in a way I think you're right - but I've got the prices from the crowd doing the tour in October (I'm also waiting for them to write after they've done the tour)

The tour company actually picks us up from the ship, transfers us to the hydrofoil and then drives us around 'the hot-spots' in HCM - hydrofoil back, then transfer by car to the ship for $89 which is quite a lot cheaper than Princess.

 

However, you are right, it will take so long to get in and out of Saigon- I don't think we'll have very long there at all, sorta makes me wonder if it's even worth venturing in, but, who know's if we'll ever visit VietNam again. I was supposed to go this past July but decided on China instead. We had a wonderful time but after the heat and the dirt (a lot of spitting etc) we have decided we're not too sure about a holiday in VietNam.:rolleyes:

[Lobbylin]

Hi Raringtogo - this is my second reply to you - lost the first one :mad: I find around this time of day, I'm always having problems with the CC site :(

 

Anyway - here goes again!

 

I didn't mean to sound negative in my original post - we probably won't return to HCM again (for the same reasons you have given on culture etc) so I want to have a much possible time there to explore and visit the museums etc.

 

I look forward to reading all the experiences of the October crowd - they certainly have lots planned and I'm sure I'll steal a few of the contacts they have made for excursions etc. Do keep posting back as I'd like to hear how you fare too! Sadly I still have to wait over another year for my turn to come.

 

We love the Far East - and find that we keep returning to Singapore as a base, then travel out from there for a few days in other places. It's Western enough to offer all the luxuries we crave, as well as great nightlife and fabulous food - plus I have friends living there!

[raringtogo]

hi again lbackwith

I didn't think you were being negative- in a way I can agree with you - but I'm also hoping to hear back from the crowd leaving this month- I hope they write and tell us everything we need to know.

We have only 11 weeks before we sail- I booked in January so it's been quite a wait,but the year does fly by. I was lucky to have the visit to china/singapore in the meantime. And, how right you are about Singapore - we left Beijing three days early and decided to get some R&R in Singapore, civilized, clean and the shopping was amazing. We are flying into Singapore five days before the cruise because my husband was born there and hasn't been back in thirty years - boy is he in for a surprise:D

 

Meantime, I'm not going to book the tour in HCM yet I'll wait until we hear back.

 

Which ship are you going on and which ports will you visit?

 

p.s. where are you in UK- I was born there- left when I was 15 when my family went to New Zealand and I came to Australia when I was 24. I only came back to England once to see my family when I was 22 and have never been again, though I have very very close friends and heaps of family still living all over London. In fact we have friends over here at the moment and they are coming over for dinner tonight.

[Lobbylin]

hi again lbackwith

We are flying into Singapore five days before the cruise because my husband was born there and hasn't been back in thirty years - boy is he in for a surprise:D

 

Which ship are you going on and which ports will you visit?

 

p.s. where are you in UK- I was born there- left when I was 15 when my family went to New Zealand and I came to Australia when I was 24. I only came back to England once to see my family when I was 22 and have never been again, though I have very very close friends and heaps of family still living all over London. In fact we have friends over here at the moment and they are coming over for dinner tonight.

 

Hi again! What a small world - my mother is originally from Singapore, but left in '63 after she married my dad who was serving there. I was fortunate as a child to live there 1971-74 (parents posted back to Singapore) so I too remember the Singapore that your hubby will recall. It has lost some of it's originality in the "clean-up" operation over the years, but its still a wonderful place with many places, if you know where to go, for your hubby to catch up on all that nostalgia!

 

I still have cousins there, who take my hubby and me to places that most tourists don't get to visit.

 

We've lived in London, but now live an hours drive from Central London - it all got too busy for us so we live "in the countryside" now

 

Please email me if you get the chance as I don't like writing too many personal details on websites. linda.backwith@gerberfoods.com

 

We're on the Sapphire Princess 11/11/06 from Bangkok to Beijing: stopping in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, Hongkong,Taipei, Okinawa, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Beijing. (16nts). The only places we've been to on this list are Bangkok and Singapore - so we're excited about visit lots of new places on this trip. ....I wish it were only 11weeks away for us!!

 

The new places I am most looking forward to are Hong Kong, Shanghai and Nagasaki. My hubby is looking forward to the history/battles of Okinawa and Ho Chi Minh

 

The October crowd are doing the same itinerary as us but in reverse - hence it's been wonderful "lurking" on their roll call.

 

Linda