NCL Jewel stop in Saigon/ HCMC

[Medusa_lives]

I've been to Saigon as recently as 12/22 enjoyed it but not sure I need to do that again. I was thinking of going into town ( District 1) and doing a spa day at a hotel. Then I realized that there is likely no shuttle to downtown from Phu My /where we will doc. So now I'm wondering if I should do a tour ( just to get into town) or maybe go to Vung Tau ~ which I've never been to before. 

Open to suggestions to those who have been there before or stayed longer. My last trip I started in Saigon so it was not an issue. 

[CruiserBruce]

I would start with some research on the Asia board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/43-asia/

 

Might be beneficial to confirm about the lack of shuttle on the NCL board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

 

And, last but certainly not least, join your Roll Call, and see what others on your cruise are doing. Start here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/262-norwegian-jewel-roll-calls/

[Tranquility Base]

On 1/27/2024 at 1:38 PM, Medusa_lives said:

or maybe go to Vung Tau ~ which I've never been to before. 

Check if your cruiseline is providing free shuttles into Ba Ria (30 mins).

I have used this before on Princess.

From there I have negotiated a return taxi Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Ba Ria.

Obviously research a meet up point for the taxi to meet you for the return to Ba Ria. 

[John Bull]

Cruise lines offer "Saigon on your own" transfers from Phu My.

The drop / collection point tends to be close to the Rex Hotel

 

JB 🙂l

[CRUISERTN]

We were on the Jewel 2 months ago and the cruise line did offer a “Saigon on your own” which is just the bus ride from the ship and back.  The drop off point was at the Rex hotel. 

[Medusa_lives]

On 1/27/2024 at 10:18 PM, Panhandle Couple said:

We booked our late May flight to Barcelona this week, after having a price tracker on it.  Tuesday morning, there was a 45% drop.  This had happened twice before, but for only a few hours.  We quicky found the flights we could use, which included an extra day before (3 vs 2) and after (1 vs 0) the cruise in Barcelona.  The cost savings more than made up for the extra hotel.

 

We were able to get the flights thru Miami, which has direct flights to Barcelona. Flights are on American and Iberia.

 

We can attest that Tuesday is nearly always cheaper to book flights. Don't know why, it just is.

 

Good luck.

Hi  I chose the forum because the 

 

12 hours ago, CRUISERTN said:

We were on the Jewel 2 months ago and the cruise line did offer a “Saigon on your own” which is just the bus ride from the ship and back.  The drop off point was at the Rex hotel. 

Thanks very much that would be very usefull as I've been there before and don't need to do the standard "see the city tours".

[Medusa_lives]

Just to close the loop on this question. NCL did have on board a Saigon on your own excursion. It was $79 pp. and dropped you off at Ben Thanh Market in District 1; which is very centrally located. The streets and malls were decked out for Lunar New Year and so I did a Mani/Pedi and walked around, shopped and had a meal. And was quite amazed at the building boom that is going on in HCMC/Saigon over the last two years. I'm sure I won't recognize the place if I go back in two years time. 

 

Thanks to all for the info and advice; I could have saved myself the angst if NCL had that tour available at the outset; however I guess they need to feed people to the other options. The port is very industrial so a transfer is a must to get into the city. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Just in case anyone else is wondering: Our ship (Oceania Riviera) docked at Hiep Phuoc (Tan Cang port) about a 45 minute drive from district 1, HCMC.  There was a short shuttle ride to the port gates (no walking or cars in port) and Oceania offered a free shuttle to the Ben Thanh Market.  I agree that the city was beautifully decorated for Lunar New Year, and very, very crowded.