Bangkok on Navigator

[flossie009]

Do Regent ships ever dock in the port nearest to the city, Khlong Toei, or always at Laem Chabang (2 hours from the centre of Bangkok) ?

 

 

On a Regent cruise in 2019, Navigator was scheduled to dock at Khlong Toei but it was then changed to Laem Chabang, citing low river levels as the reason (even though a Silversea ship managed to dock successfully at Khlong Toei on the same day 🤨 )

 

We are booked on a cruise on Navigator in April which starts in Bangkok. When the itinerary was first released it was scheduled to depart from Laem Chabang. Over a year out this changed to Khlong Toei and the excursions when released reflected the closer port.

The port was also confirmed on our 'Preliminary Vacation Summary' received from Regent towards the end of last month ............... but then this month the embarkation port was changed back to Laem Chabang and all booked excursions were cancelled  ☹️

Again the reason given was low water levels even though most press reports talk about rising water levels  🤔  🙄 

Bangkok Post

Pattaya Mail

 

We just wondered if anyone had ever been fortunate enough to dock in the port nearer to Bangkok on a Regent ship.

 

 

[flossie009]

Of course if I was a conspiracy theorist then choosing Laem Chabang over the closer port will save Regent about 70 miles (5 hours sailing time?) on our cruise plus the same on the preceding cruise 🤨

 

 

[Gilly]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

We just wondered if anyone had ever been fortunate enough to dock in the port nearer to Bangkok on a Regent ship.

No, @flossie009 we've always docked at Laem Chabang and had the interminable bus ride into the city.  I hope you'll be lucky this time!!

 

<<Of course if I was a conspiracy theorist>>

But you're not, are you?  😉

 

Edited February 25 by Gilly

[flossie009]

1 minute ago, Gilly said:

No, @flossie009 we've always docked at Laem Chabang and had the interminable bus ride into the city.  I hope you'll be lucky this time!!

I think Regent have finally plumped for Laem Chabang for our upcoming cruise; they have now released revised excursions to suit the new port.

We are arriving in Bangkok a few days before the cruise so will just have a longer transfer to the ship on embarkation day.

The ship stays in Laem Chabang the following day and we have therefore chosen a 'local' excursion.

For those who wanted to go on a Regent tour in Bangkok, those excursions now have a price attached whereas previously they were 'free' (and without the long bus ride to & from Bangkok), which really is a bit cheeky of Regent.

 

[Gilly]

12 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

For those who wanted to go on a Regent tour in Bangkok, those excursions now have a price attached whereas previously they were 'free' (and without the long bus ride to & from Bangkok), which really is a bit cheeky of Regent.

Indeed. We did a really interesting tour of hidden gems in the city, including Jim Thompson's beautiful home, from Laem Chabang some years ago (just checked - 2011!!) and thought it well worth the drive.  But worth the extra charge as well?  Open to discussion!!

Edited February 25 by Gilly

[flossie009]

18 minutes ago, Gilly said:

<<Of course if I was a conspiracy theorist>>

But you're not, are you?  😉

Heaven forbid 😉  😂

 

 

[labonnevie]

6 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

 

We just wondered if anyone had ever been fortunate enough to dock in the port nearer to Bangkok on a Regent ship.

 

 

Not sure how relevant it is, but in October 2010, the Navigator docked in town. It was the final port on our 21 day Beijing to Bangkok cruise (one of our best ever). Bangkok was experiencing something like a 50 year flood and the crew had to build wooden walkways as the water was covering the dock!

[labonnevie]

7 hours ago, labonnevie said:

Not sure how relevant it is, but in October 2010, the Navigator docked in town. It was the final port on our 21 day Beijing to Bangkok cruise (one of our best ever). Bangkok was experiencing something like a 50 year flood and the crew had to build wooden walkways as the water was covering the dock!

Found these pictures. As I said, it was flooded. Everyone had to disembark over these walkways.

[flossie009]

Thanks @labonnevie. Interesting photos 😮

 

According to Regent, the port now has the opposite problem.
Regent’s recent communication states:

“Due to insufficient water depth in the river/channel at the Bangkok, Thailand port, we have rescheduled embarkation and overnight on April 5, 2024 to the near-by port in Laem Chabang, Thailand"

 

IMO, referring to Laem Chabang as "nearby" is somewhat inaccurate since the journey time between Laem Chabang and the centre of Bangkok is 2 hours plus.

[frantic36]

If people have already visited Bangkok when last we visited we organised a taxi to The Sanctuary of Truth. This was in 2019 and we organised a taxi from the port. It is a fascinating all wooden massive temple in a park.

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

when last we visited we organised a taxi to The Sanctuary of Truth.

This is one of the included excursions being offered by Regent during our day in Laem Chabang

[frantic36]

8 hours ago, flossie009 said:

This is one of the included excursions being offered by Regent during our day in Laem Chabang

It was a lovely place to visit but that was a few years ago. The intricate wood carvings of statues and the building itself .

[SWFLAOK]

41 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

It was a lovely place to visit but that was a few years ago. The intricate wood carvings of statues and the building itself .

We're on the same cruise as Flossie009. For our updated "Bangkok" port, we chose the Sanctuary of Truth excursion. The excursion to Ayutthaya which we had paid for with a cruise credit was cancelled for us by Regent, even though it's still offered from the new port. We would have cancelled it anyway since it now leaves the ship at 6 AM and gets back to the ship very close to when the ship sails. It would have been nice if they had given us back our cruise credit, but they don't seem to understand what our problem is.

We have a 3 night pre in Bangkok that was free when we booked this cruise a few years ago. We will be visiting a few places we went to previously, and enjoyed, when we paid for an overnight excursion in Bangkok at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. This time we visit the Jim Thompson house, and the Royal Barge museum which we didn't have time for in 2019.

In September 2019, we were originally told we would be docking in Bangkok, but were told shortly before the cruise the water was too low so it was Laem Chabang. That made our overnight excursion in Bangkok about 3 times the cost that we expected to pay since many people cancelled. We ended up with a private van with driver and guide for 2 days, and it was worth it.

[Gilly]

@SWFLAOK we loved the Jim Thompson House- hope you do too.  But yes, Ayutthaya would have been a stretch though it's odd that Regent are still offering it having cancelled your booking.  All sounds a bit of a mess - maybe the responsibility of the Thai tour contractors?

[frantic36]

13 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

This time we visit the Jim Thompson house, and the Royal Barge museum

 

I am looking for some photos from the Sanctuary of Truth to give you a taster. 

 

I loved the Jim Thompson House and Royal Barge Museum and hope you do as well. 

 

 

I will try and find the Sanctuary of Truth photos tomorrow as it is getting late here.

 

Edited February 27 by frantic36

[labonnevie]

10 hours ago, Gilly said:

@SWFLAOK we loved the Jim Thompson House- hope you do too.  But yes, Ayutthaya would have been a stretch.

Got a couple of beautiful silk shirts at Jim Thompson’s. Still love to wear them. 
Too bad about Ayutthaya, it is spectacular. 

[SWFLAOK]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:04 PM, labonnevie said:

Got a couple of beautiful silk shirts at Jim Thompson’s. Still love to wear them. 
Too bad about Ayutthaya, it is spectacular. 

We were really looking forward to that excursion. We love to see and learn about history. If we were younger, we might have gone for the excursion from the new port, but after a long flight, and our pre excursions, our long ride to the new part, and boarding, unpacking etc, we didn't feel up to the long trip to Ayutthaya.

[Jlhalldc]

On the Grand Asia Exploration last year, Explorer docked at Laem Chabang overnight Feb 25-26. We weren't planning to take the 2-hour bus ride into Bangkok but changed our minds at the last minute. And are so glad we did. The Grand Palace was magnificent. Figured we may never get back that way again, so we are happy we went -- exhausted, but happy. Since you'll be in Bangkok early, you may be able to do this in advance without the LONG bus ride. We have friends who did the Sanctuary of Truth and really enjoyed it. We also did the Pattay Floating Market. Not sure I'd recommend it. It's a "created market" for tourists. Bill called it "Disney-fied". 😂 But it had some interesting shops and food stalls. Jealous of your trip this Spring. We LOVED our Asia trip. Fingers crossed you'll see cherry blossoms.