Seabourn Sojourn 17-31 Jan, 2016 Singapore - HK

[English Tim]

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

Marble Mountain, where one shop assistant was very pushy. Please remember to negotiate every sale, offering about 40% of what they ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

 

 

 

 

 

[lincslady]

Thank you Tim, a lovely photo travelogue. Love your wife's pretty formal dress.

 

Dare I say it is nice to see a photo report on a cruise with just a few pictures of one's cruising partner, and more of the exciting places being visited? Yours strikes me as a very good balance, if you don't mind me saying so. Looking forward to seeing the rest - could I ask for a report at the end of how you found the ship generally; staff, meals etc.?

[English Tim]

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

 

 

Market- garden. Lots of farmers grow different herbs, etc, which they share.

 

 

We were taught how to make rice paper. I actually achieved albeit with a few holes!

 

 

[English Tim]

 

From the herb garden we rented bikes and cycled to lunch via a local pottery. Rosy made a very nice pot, but we never saw it again, so I guess when we left, they recycled our clay!

 

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at a sort of food court, where groups were able to cook food and then eat it. We just ate it, but chose from a novel menu system on an Ipad, where the dishes actually looked in real life as they did in the picture, which is very rare where we live.

 

 

 

After lunch, we walked around Hoi Ann, a very attractive town with lots of shops, often selling clothing. We bought a pair of hammocks, but I don't think we bargained hard enough!

 

 

 

[English Tim]

 

I bought a silk shirt

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

Our next port of call was Halong Bay a UNESCO heritage site. Once again the weather was disappointing, being cool and misty, but we took the ship excursion by 'junk', which wasn't what I considered to be a junk, more a pleasure-boat.

 

This rock formation is the Alligator's snout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

That evening, we once again encountered a fine pianist (a guest), who was far better than the Seabourn version! He was a Frenchman, by the name of Henri.

 

He was quite a character and was very popular in the Observation Bar. As luck would have it we were seated together in the main restaurant and he decided we should taste some wines, a big mistake as I discovered the following morning. I rarely suffer hangovers and should know better.

 

When this picture was taken, the reds were missing, as was the Limoncello!

 

[English Tim]

Disembarkation day - Hong Kong

 

View from cruise port - note still no sun!

 

 

We intended taking a taxi to Kowloon Station, where I had been told we could check our bags in, when purchasing an airport express ticket, but Seabourn told us this wasn't possible. I decided to believe a previous CC contributor and after a 10 USD taxi ride, did just that, leaving us bag free to explore HK. Our flight wasn't until 00.35 the next day, which was a bit of a nuisance as by the time of departure we were very tired.

 

We decided to take the Peak Discovery tram, a very popular excursion. We took the metro to HK station, then walked up the hill to the tram.

 

 

I'd read reports of it being scary, but it certainly wasn't and we were soon at the top, where we bumped into my shuffleboard partner from the ship (memorable as we won the competition and gained Seabourn umbrellas for our trouble!)

 

It was very windy at the top, so we declined the opportunity to visit the observation platform. It was also extremely cold, so we quickly set off on the round the peak walk, followed by a tricky path to the bottom (we should have used the tram for the descent, but had plenty of time)

 

The green car is the tourist information centre

 

 

Observation Deck

 

 

View from top (Sojourn is near tall skyscraper)

 

 

Black-tailed Kite

 

[English Tim]

Seabourn Sojourn from Star Ferry (links HK island to mainland)

 

 

Bamboo Forest in shopping mall

 

 

[English Tim]

Thank you Tim, a lovely photo travelogue. Love your wife's pretty formal dress.

 

Dare I say it is nice to see a photo report on a cruise with just a few pictures of one's cruising partner, and more of the exciting places being visited? Yours strikes me as a very good balance, if you don't mind me saying so. Looking forward to seeing the rest - could I ask for a report at the end of how you found the ship generally; staff, meals etc.?

 

Thanks for the compliments. I'l write a report in due course.

[wripro]

Thanks so much for the fantastic photos and the report, English Tim.

 

Quick question. Was it easy to get a taxi at Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong? Were there plenty of them available?

 

Thanks.

[jenidallas]

Seabourn was no doubt erring on the conservative side when they told you that you could not check a bag at the Airport Express.

 

I've done it many times and it is certainly easiest with Cathay Pacific as they allow it the day before and any time up to 90 minutes prior to departure.

 

Other airlines vary on their check times and policies as well as when they are actually staffed for such.

 

I love the Airport Express - it makes starting, ending, or managing a long transit in HKG so much easier!

[Catlover54]

Thank you for your tremendous efforts posting pictures of your trip! I know this takes a lot or time. Your photos give me a good idea about what we could expect to see if we ever cruised there.

 

DH, who has been to various parts of Asia over the years for assorted in and out working business trips, but not for leisure, has warned me I would probably not tolerate the high humidity, as I even had trouble exerting myself walking around in Costa Rica in December, and Melbourne in February, so I thought it might not be worth it. Fear of heat with high humidity has made me hesitant to book to this area, but your photo thread is making me think it might be worth a try. Thanks again.

[English Tim]

Thoughts on Seabourn and this cruise. If doing this itinerary I'd suggest going late February / early March, for more consistent weather.

 

We had a fantastic holiday, but would have liked the warmer weather we expected, but hadn't done enough homework on the climate! We had hot sunny conditions for the first ten days, then it got much cooler and the sun disappeared. It was quite cold at times and shipboard activities were very limited.

 

Embarkation

 

Not helped by our taxi driver not knowing where baggage drop off is. Seabourn seemed to do very little to ensure the check-in process is as special as customers expect and anticipate. Very few staff evident until on-board.

 

Staff / crew

 

Fantastic service throughout, apart from main restaurant, particularly on last night when we got so fed up with excuses we left before dessert.

 

Food

 

Generally very good, but a warm pudding would be appreciated at lunchtime. Reservations are now requested for Colonnade, which can be a problem if making a late decision. Only once were people without reservations turned away.

 

Drink

 

I feel they could include better quality champagne and cocktail menus at each venue. Whist bar staff are happy to make one's favourite drink, I'd prefer to peruse the menu.

 

Wine was generally very good, with favourites from previous selections, readily available.

 

Entertainment

 

The only negative, was little variety or quality, until new entertainers arrived at Saigon. Daytime activities were poor, possibly due to lack of staff. Jacqueline was brilliant and worked very hard.

 

I got an upset stomach throughout one night, which mean't I had to stay in the suite for 24 hours following last episode. Room service and free laundry was a small consolation.

 

Spa

 

Treatments were exorbitant, but classes were often great fun.

 

OBC

 

We had a surplus of $130 on the last day, so I asked guest services what I could use it for and they replied "any onboard service", so I used some in the casino then cashed in my winnings. When I checked my statement, I still had $130, but they charged my CC $130. I notified HQ and they kindly refunded me the $130, but I could have had a massage instead, had they told me I couldn't use it on the slots.

 

We have now booked a Mediterranean cruise on what will be the refurbished Regent Navigator, in May this year so it will be interesting to have a comparison.

 

These are my thoughts, not my wife's, she asked me to stress!

[English Tim]

Thanks so much for the fantastic photos and the report, English Tim.

 

Quick question. Was it easy to get a taxi at Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong? Were there plenty of them available?

 

Thanks.

 

Very easy and cheap. There was a long line of taxis, mostly small but with a bungee cord to keep the boot lid secure!

 

Thank you for your tremendous efforts posting pictures of your trip! I know this takes a lot or time. Your photos give me a good idea about what we could expect to see if we ever cruised there.

 

DH, who has been to various parts of Asia over the years for assorted in and out working business trips, but not for leisure, has warned me I would probably not tolerate the high humidity, as I even had trouble exerting myself walking around in Costa Rica in December, and Melbourne in February, so I thought it might not be worth it. Fear of heat with high humidity has made me hesitant to book to this area, but your photo thread is making me think it might be worth a try. Thanks again.

 

I think you should try it. On my first visit to Singapore in 1988, I hated the humidity, but didn't notice it this time and when onboard, the air flowing over the decks nullifies it.

[Harvey2442]

Many thanks English Tim for the review of the cruise and for the excellent photos - one query - are you saying that reservations are now required for the Colonnade every night or only those when the Keller menu is being served - if the former maybe it suggests they are trying to avoid too many staff being allocated there unnecessarily.

[English Tim]

Many thanks English Tim for the review of the cruise and for the excellent photos - one query - are you saying that reservations are now required for the Colonnade every night or only those when the Keller menu is being served - if the former maybe it suggests they are trying to avoid too many staff being allocated there unnecessarily.

 

No, reservations are required every night. Maybe not on formal nights, but every other. However, you can still walk up and take a chance, which seemed to work most nights.

 

When we booked, they didn't allocate us a particular table.

[wripro]

Thanks, English Tim. That's what I remembered but didn't know if the taxi situation had changed.

[2SailingNomads]

Great pix - thanks for sharing! That sailing is high on my list, almost did it this year.

[RiotAct]

Amazing pictures and review so far!!! Much appreciated.