Suggestions Please...

[camNaud]

We are cruising on Costa Allegra in November, our first time out in the Far East, so we are very excited. We are looking for any suggestions for things to see and do whilst in each port. We have some idea's but I always like to hear what others who have been before like to recomend. Sometimes mainstream reviews and reports miss the more off the beaten track places.

 

The ports are;

 

Hong Kong

Manila

Kota Kinabalu

Bandar Seri Bagawan

Singapore

Ho Chi Minh

Da Nang

Sanya

[camNaud]

Hello again,

 

There must be someone who can help with some advice on the above ports? Any suggestions would be greatly apprieciated as we are first time visitors to these places.

 

thank you :)

[coxswain]

Hong Kong - head up to the Peak - a trip to one of the outlying islands - a trip to to see the Big Budda - take the short ferry ride to Cheung Chau.

 

 

If there come night time a trip to one of the night markets.

 

 

Hows that for starters lol

 

 

 

 

jj....

[camNaud]

Thanks jj ;)

[Spikesgirl]

If you want, drop me an email at charliekirby@comcast.net and I will send you our travel diary of our trip to SE Asia. We hit your ports of Hong Kong, Singapore and Ho Chi Ming on our cruise, but also many others. I will warn you that it's long and pretty detailed with regards to excursions and food.

 

Cheers!

 

Charlie

[yogimax]

The highlight for Singapore is the Night Zoo. Fantastic!

[coxswain]

camNaud are you staying in HK before the cruise ?

 

 

 

 

 

jj.....

[Paul&Kathy]

We were on the Allegra last December. There is a lot of information on the internet about HK (very easy - ship docks right in town next to the star ferry and within a few minutes walk of Nathan Road (main street) and several museums. Just get a map and you will be fine). but we struggled to find anything about some of the other ports, We never do ships tours and managed quite well - here is what we did:

 

Manila - ship's shuttle to the Robinson's Mall. From there walked through a lovely park to the old city "Intramuros" area then back to Robinsons for some real bargain shopping. Actually in retrospect I think it would be easily walkable from the ship in terms of distance but taking the bus ($5 each I think ?) was worth it to get an overview of the area and get our bearings.

Kota Kinabalu was not so impressive. We walked into town (about a mile - maybe a bit more) which was simple enough but it is very grotty and there is not much there. Later we took a taxi to the Shangri La Resort for the afternoon which was very nice but you could be anywhere in the world really. If it were not for my husband's wheelchair we would have taken a boat from Jesselton Point (about half way between the ship and town) and gone over to one of the little islands for the day.People who went said the beaches were lovely. If that does not appeal to you then perhaps this might be a port to consider an excursion.

In Brunei we hired a minibus and driver between 6 of us (arranged before we left through cruise critic) and had a fabulous day. I would thoroughly recommend the company we used and can give you their details if you get enough people together (it was $150US between us). Ify ou can't do that then Costa do a transfer bus, there is a morning and an afternoon departure and it is quite a long way so you would only get a couple of hours in Bardar Seri Begawan. I think it would be worth splashing out on a longer tour here - it is such an interesting place and I don't think a couple of hours of wandering would do it justice. We learned so much from our guide (and i hate guided tours !!)

Singapore is another very easy place to do on your own. The ship docks at a huge shopping centre and you can get on the MRT (metro) there and go anywhere (Little India & Chinatown are on the same line and there is a stop for Orchard Road, the main street, but I can't think what it is called, not the stop called Orchard which is on a different line). You can also get a bus or monorail straight to Sentosa Island from the shopping centre if you want the beach - and it is a nice beach, showers, lockers etc all available and pretty offshore islands.

We missed Ho Chi Minh & Da Nang due to the theft of my handbag and passports in Singapore. However, we did stay 2 nights in Hoi An (not far from Da nang) while waiting for the ship and enjoyed it there. From what I heard there is not a lot to see around Da Nang itself so if you are interested in an old town (and it is old, quite decrepid in places but quite nice, and on the journey there you will see China Beach and the marble mountains) then that would be a good tour to do.

Sanya is a bit of a rip-off having to pay for a visa for the short time there. We took the ship's shuttle bus (5euros + 15 euros for the visa) and walked around the town. It was OK, nothing special really but we just had to get off and set foot in China. The tours were not suitable for wheelchairs so we did not have any options but for you perhaps a tour would be worthwhile there.

Just bear in mind that the Allegra is not a 5* ship and you will enjoy it.

[camNaud]

camNaud are you staying in HK before the cruise ?

 

 

 

 

 

jj.....

 

No we arrive at 2.30pm on the Sunday and go straight to the ship, which sets sail at 11.00pm. Fortunaetly the ship arrives back in Hong Kong two weeks later on the Saturday afternoon we have 1 night onboard the ship docked in Hong Kong and don't fly until 23.30 on the Sunday. This gives us a reasonable amount of time. I think we might have had our fill of dining on board the ship, so we plan to get out and about for a meal on the Saturday evening.

[coxswain]

For that meal with a great view try Aqua Roma ( great views over the harbour - laser show ) book in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[camNaud]

Paul & Kathy,

 

Thanks for the run down on each port. I think we will book a mix of organised tours and spend time in other ports doing our own thing.

 

Sorry to hear about theft in Singapore - how did you manage to get to Vietnam? at least it seems you didn't let this incident spoil your cruise.

 

As for the Allegra not being 5 star, we are cool with that. We selected this cruise because of the ports being visited rather than the actual ship. We sailed last year on the Thomson Spirit just months after being on The Crown Princess, and we noticed quite a difference in the standrad of the ships. We always go into a holiday with open eyes and minds, so we enjoyed the T Spirit as much as the Crown. I think every ship we have sailed on has had it's own pluses versus other ships. We are sure The Allegra won't disappoint either.

[camNaud]

The highlight for Singapore is the Night Zoo. Fantastic!

 

What are the opening hours of the night zoo? I think we set sail for Vietnam at 8pm.

[camNaud]

For that meal with a great view try Aqua Roma ( great views over the harbour - laser show ) book in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

jj.......

 

What kind of cuisine does the Aqua Roma serve?

[coxswain]

http://www.aqua.com.hk/ once you click enter look for aqua spirit/tokyo/roma then click on menu

 

 

 

 

jj......

[camNaud]

lol I should have known by the title.... Italiano. We are big fan's of i

Italian, but I think we may prefer something more oriental seeing we are in Hong Kong.

 

I'm sure we wont struggle to find somewhere.

[mtlcruiser10]

Hong kong the peak is fun and stanley market but you can walk in the different street market also (lady , flower , gold fish ) and tin hau temple was nice

 

Danang we when to marble mountains and Hoi an very nice village 45 min from danang very nice also the in danang the cham museum (beware of viet value travel if you book day tour they will give you a price after 3 hres will ask for more hard to complaint in the middle of nowhere , but today travel with m. Tan was great for tour )

 

Saigon 2 hres drive from the pier in vung tau a big city our least favorite stop in vietnam but nice thing to see , ben thanh market is something , independence palace , hilton prison .

 

singapore hippo tour will give you a nice city tour on double deckker on and off as you wish , orchard road for shopping , the botanical garden was very nice

 

hope you enjoy your trip

 

sorry for our bad english

sylvain

[mtlcruiser10]

hilton prison is in hanoi sorry my mistake

[Paul&Kathy]

CamNaud, we were completely on our own once the ship left Singapore, the ship's agent was supposed to help but completely useless. The immigration people were far more helpful, gave us temporary passes so we could legally stay in Singapore, then we had to get visas for Vietnam & book our own flights and hotels. It was an adventure but not one I ever wish to repeat !!! We did get a few pounds back from our credit card insurance to cover the legal documents (IE visas) but covered the rest ourselves as we had terrible trouble getting travel insurance this year due to my husband's health so did not dare claim in case they refused to insure us next year. We are already with a specialist disability company so don't have anywhere to go if they refuse us. The moral of the story is be VERY careful with passports !!!

[camNaud]

Paul&Kathy,

 

Thanks for sharing that with us - it seems that good old self reliance will always have to be the way to get yourself out of a pickle. At least the immigration authorities were sympathetic.

 

Thanks again for the pointers and happy future travels.

[seapenarth]

We were on the Allegra last December. There is a lot of information on the internet about HK (very easy - ship docks right in town next to the star ferry and within a few minutes walk of Nathan Road (main street) and several museums. Just get a map and you will be fine). but we struggled to find anything about some of the other ports, We never do ships tours and managed quite well - here is what we did:

 

Manila - ship's shuttle to the Robinson's Mall. From there walked through a lovely park to the old city "Intramuros" area then back to Robinsons for some real bargain shopping. Actually in retrospect I think it would be easily walkable from the ship in terms of distance but taking the bus ($5 each I think ?) was worth it to get an overview of the area and get our bearings.

 

Kota Kinabalu was not so impressive. We walked into town (about a mile - maybe a bit more) which was simple enough but it is very grotty and there is not much there. Later we took a taxi to the Shangri La Resort for the afternoon which was very nice but you could be anywhere in the world really. If it were not for my husband's wheelchair we would have taken a boat from Jesselton Point (about half way between the ship and town) and gone over to one of the little islands for the day.People who went said the beaches were lovely. If that does not appeal to you then perhaps this might be a port to consider an excursion.

 

In Brunei we hired a minibus and driver between 6 of us (arranged before we left through cruise critic) and had a fabulous day. I would thoroughly recommend the company we used and can give you their details if you get enough people together (it was $150US between us). Ify ou can't do that then Costa do a transfer bus, there is a morning and an afternoon departure and it is quite a long way so you would only get a couple of hours in Bardar Seri Begawan. I think it would be worth splashing out on a longer tour here - it is such an interesting place and I don't think a couple of hours of wandering would do it justice. We learned so much from our guide (and i hate guided tours !!)

 

Singapore is another very easy place to do on your own. The ship docks at a huge shopping centre and you can get on the MRT (metro) there and go anywhere (Little India & Chinatown are on the same line and there is a stop for Orchard Road, the main street, but I can't think what it is called, not the stop called Orchard which is on a different line). You can also get a bus or monorail straight to Sentosa Island from the shopping centre if you want the beach - and it is a nice beach, showers, lockers etc all available and pretty offshore islands.

 

We missed Ho Chi Minh & Da Nang due to the theft of my handbag and passports in Singapore. However, we did stay 2 nights in Hoi An (not far from Da nang) while waiting for the ship and enjoyed it there. From what I heard there is not a lot to see around Da Nang itself so if you are interested in an old town (and it is old, quite decrepid in places but quite nice, and on the journey there you will see China Beach and the marble mountains) then that would be a good tour to do.

 

Sanya is a bit of a rip-off having to pay for a visa for the short time there. We took the ship's shuttle bus (5euros + 15 euros for the visa) and walked around the town. It was OK, nothing special really but we just had to get off and set foot in China. The tours were not suitable for wheelchairs so we did not have any options but for you perhaps a tour would be worthwhile there.

 

Just bear in mind that the Allegra is not a 5* ship and you will enjoy it.

 

3star