Does anyone know which ports/terminals the Encore docks at in Vietnam?

[TonynSuffolk]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know for sure which terminals/ports the Seabourn Encore stops at in Ho Chi Minh City and in Da Nang?

 

I am looking to set up private tours (which I could share on here?) but cannot seem to figure where the ship docks - is it Phu My in HCMC, or one of the inner City ports? is is Tien Sa or is it Chan May in Da Nang. 

 

As I cant even find out from Seabourn themselves, I assume we're all just guessing?

 

Thanks in advance, if anybody knows,

 

Tony

[WJBonds]

good afternoon.  i was told that the port for ho chi minh city is "Phu My Port".

(i hope that is correct because that is where my guide is meeting me.)

Edited December 19, 2023 by WJBonds
bad spelling

[kej1]

When we did this trip a number of years ago the ship docked at the inner city dock which was very convenient.  Private guides were not allowed in the locked gate area but would meet you right outside the gate.  

[TonynSuffolk]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I have had some confirmation of sorts from a tour guide group that it does seem to be Tien Sa in Da Nang, which is much closer to Da Nang, so is good (albeit still about 20 minutes drive to Da Nang)

 

As for Ho Chi Minh City, no confirmation other than the same tour guide thinks its one of the city centre river wharfs and NOT Phu My. But I have heard nothing from Seabourn (surprise, surprise! Am I alone in finding Seabourn extremely unresponsive, and having the absolute worst website and app I have seen in 20 years?).

 

I do not quite understand how it can be Phu My for HCMC though, as Seabourn have some quite short excursions - for example an evening 3 hours excursion "Cultural Evening in Saigon" - how can you do a 3 hour show at the Majestic Hotel in central HCMC, then have dinner, and get to and from a port that is 1.5 hours drive away? And another tour says it is a 2 hour drive from the port - but Apple and Google say it is 3 hours from Phu My, but 2 hours from the City centre wharves. 

 

Similarly there are two other tours that are 5 hours long (so at most 2 hours on site if travelling from Phu My) which include so many things to do, including lunch in one case, on an excursion that ends at 1.15pm back at the ship. I just cannot see how they can do that all in 2 hours and/or end a tour at 1.15 that includes lunch then a 90 minute drive. Lunch would be at 11am, at the latest, in this scenario.

 

Anyway, I am just rambling now! I guess I'm going to have to hope it's the City Centre piers, or otherwise hope to get a taxi to the city for my 12pm tour on day one, and at 7am on day 2!

[cruiseryder]

We will be on Encore in February and have been trying to discover the exact ports but like you to no avail. I was told by someone who cruised this year 2022 that it was the City ports in both HCMC and Da Nang. Fingers crossed it remains the same. Also which Dock in Hong Kong?

 

I thought I might put a question on again in January when the itineraries have started and hopefully someone responds.

Have a great cruise.

 

[Westiesheepie]

I spoke with Seabourn and they said we will be docking at the Nha Rhong wharf in HCMC. I confirmed it by looking at the arrivals of that dock on What's In Port. We DOT NOT dock in Phu My which is 90 minutes away from the city.

[TonynSuffolk]

7 minutes ago, Westiesheepie said:

I spoke with Seabourn and they said we will be docking at the Nha Rhong wharf in HCMC. I confirmed it by looking at the arrivals of that dock on What's In Port. We DOT NOT dock in Phu My which is 90 minutes away from the city.

Excellent. I called Seabourn again and they said they still don't know but will ask the Destination team on the actual ship and get back to me. 

 

I too have looked at What's in Port, and my first thought was that it confirmed the port was one of the central ports (Nha Hong, Than Tuan or Lotus) but the Vietnam link page is also entitled Phu My! - https://www.whatsinport.com/Vietnam.html - and the link to the calendar similarly only mentions HCMC, not a specific port - https://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitinghochiminhcityvietnam-26jan2024.html

 

So i was still confused.

 

Good that Seabourn have advised this to you, I'll hopefully soon get confirmation.

 

many thanks

 

Tony

[TonynSuffolk]

This direct from Seabourn, via the actual excursion team on the ship -

 

Please see below berth location for Ho Chi Minh.

 

NHA RONG – KHANH HOI Port 

Cảng NHÀ RỒNG – KHÁNH HỘI

 Address: 05 Nguyen Tat Thanh Str., District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Số 5, Nguyễn Tất Thành, Quận 4, TP Hồ Chí Minh

 

So, right in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, only 15-20 minutes from the market, the Opera House, the Ho Chi Minh statue and pretty much all the good parts of HCMC. Including just 15 minutes form the Cafe Apartments block.

 

Now, if only we can cross all the roads safely, we're all set!

 

It does make me wonder - how much time are Seabourn wasting by not having this information immediately to hand, for each cruise.

Edited December 21, 2023 by TonynSuffolk

[docmark]

TonynSuffolk, Can you name the tour group you are dealing with.

Thanks 

[TonynSuffolk]

1 hour ago, docmark said:

TonynSuffolk, Can you name the tour group you are dealing with.

Thanks 

We’re using Viator for all our bookings. For this HCMC tour I’m not actually sure which end operator we are using, off hand. 

[CarolineAE]

Thank you TonynSuffolk for managing to get to the bottom of this. We have been through the same processes as you with Seabourn without success and agree with all you have said about communication with the company and their website and App. 

 

We are boarding the Encore in Singapore in February and would be interested hearing any advice about the cruise and your excursions that you may have to pass on by then.

 

Regards, Caroline

[TonynSuffolk]

Hi Caroline, yes it was annoying trying to figure out the port but in the end we did come into Ho Chi Minh City right in the centre of town, albeit right at the far end of the port so it took a little effort to get out and could only be done by the shuttle bus. As for other excursions we did a few and I’m sure a number of them are good. We did them all as independent- via Viator, so we paid a lot less than the ship excursions and were the only ones on each tour.
 

Halong Bay is very good but I recommend being careful to book a trip that includes the caves as we did not and it was a little disappointing.

 

Ho Chi Minh City has a number of different things to do, we booked Viator tours and they were both very good – especially the walking food tour. The really good thing about this port is you can walk around the central area quite easily and see many things on your own. Seabourn provide a shuttle bus to Ben Tanh market which was very useful and a good hub to see other places. If you’re adventurous with your food, I recommend the Hawker stalls within this market to get some really good cheap food rather than the restaurants that guides will try to push you to.

 

Shihanoukeville in Cambodia is a very disappointing port and my strong recommendation would be to not waste your money on any of the excursions. You do have to buy a Visa even if you don’t get off the ship so it’s worth getting the free shuttle bus into the market and beach, but other than that do not pay any money for any other tours. 

 

Which brings us to Bangkok, which unfortunately is a 2 to 3 hour drive from the port. Bangkok is an amazing place but I do really have to question whether it’s worth up to 5 hours in a bus or vehicle to have four hours in town. We loved what we did, but I question the cost and the boredom of the five hours drive. Other than doing this long trip, though, there didn’t seem to be much to do from the port, other than visiting the local dive, Pattaya, which, to be fair, we heard from others was worth a trip just to get a look, and there is a pretty good beach there if you’re into beaches. Again Seabourn provide a free shuttle for this trip, so fair play to them.

 

We didn’t make it to Danang due to engine problems, so I can’t comment there, but we were planning to go to Hoi An which I’ve heard is very interesting.

 

As for Singapore, if you have time there, don’t bother with the ferris wheel which was expensive and not very good but the Gardens by the bay, the Merlion, Raffles, the zoo, Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, and many more places are amazing. We ate exclusively at the Hawker Centre food courts all over Singapore for both lunch and dinner and they were universally excellent if a little frightening if you only like exclusive restaurants! Sing$4 to $6 per dish of amazing Chinese, Malay, Indian, Thai, Singaporean food – the only slight issue being that beer is expensive. The further away from the bays, the cheaper the food and the more authentic – don’t expect to see too many tourists in a lot of these, but loads of locals. Watch out for Bugis Street and the food court behind it. Newton Circus, Satay by the bay, Chinatown and plenty more.

Edited February 4 by TonynSuffolk
Spelling errors on dictation mode!

[CarolineAE]

Thank you so much, Tony. What a comprehensive guide to the ports of call - telling us what exactly what we wanted to know.

 

It was particularly useful to learn that there are shuttle buses in most of the ports. When we phoned Seabourn to ask about this, they told us that we would have to wait to find out once we had boarded - not much use when we wanted to book trips in advance. It almost makes me wonder if this lack of advance information is a ploy by Seabourn to encourage us to book their excursions.

 

We had already more less decided not to bother to go to Bangkok for the reasons you state, and also because we spent a few days there relatively recently, so a wander round Pattaya sounds like a better alternative. We too intend to book independent tours but had not yet decided which company to use, so will go for Viator, as you appear to have been satisfied with them.

 

Thank you again for all the information and advice, which will be really useful. It makes me wonder why some of this could not have been provided to us by Seabourn.

[Northernroots]

Thanks Tony for that great summary, we go on the same itinerary leaving March 2nd. Rather hope they don’t cancel the Da Nang stop as we’ve just paid 50% toward a private transfer to Hoi Ann.

[TonynSuffolk]

This was an engine issue. Unlikely to repeat, I’d hope!

[rallydave]

Just a reminder for all; all port assignments are subject to change up until just before docking.  It is up to the Harbor Master to determine which berth any ship will be docking at and sometimes things change at the last minute so no cruise line including Seabourn is able to confirm docking location up front.  Yet they give you where the ship is scheduled but, that is no always where the ship will end up.