Singapore for 1 day

[ucalegend]

My husband and I arrive in Singapore at 12:35am for a cruise that leaves at 7pm. Any suggestions on hotels and then stuff to do there in such a short period of time?

[Spikesgirl]

We enjoyed hanging around Raffles (if you go, dress up a little) as well as taking a walk through the Chinese market. There is a wonderful museum there and some real bargains in the market (got two Pashmire shawls for $5 ea). We were on an organized tour, so it just sort of did a hit and miss, but Raffles was nice and there were places to sit and relax out of the sun (important when it's hot).

 

Have a great cruise!

[Aussie One]

Singapore is a great country all hotels are in easy location. taxis from airport are cheap and allways avaliable. the metro is again cheap and easy to get around. check out the merchant court hotel. problem also most hotels have 12-2pm check out. very few shops open untill 11 am. singapore has very little crime rate and is very clean.cash is easy to exchange honest money changers on most corners plus a great rate.

this is new www.singaporeflyer.com shop untill you drop. i could go on and on about s/pore. it is the main entry to asia and the asia pacific.

enjoy.

[Keith1010]

We just were in Singapore as part of a World Cruise a couple of months ago and it was wonderful. Please keep in mind that while your cruise leaves at 7:00 PM you will likely be able to board the ship at around 12:00 Noon. So, consider that time frame as you plan what you will do and please also consider jet lag.

 

Keith

[F02]

If you prefer the beach, the Shangri La Rasa hotel on Sentosa Island might be of interest to you. It is not much further than the city hotels, the taxi can take you there from the airport and it is close to the Singapore Cruise Centre. In fact they have a shuttle to the Cruise Centre.

[ucalegend]

Just wanted to thank you all of your ideas. If you come up with anymore I am open.

[marylander2]

Just wanted to thank you all of your ideas. If you come up with anymore I am open.

 

If you arrive via Changi Airport (terminal 3), it is a marvel on its own - I haven't seen anything like that, honestly. Great airport!

To shake off jetlag, contact their Terminal 3 Ambassador Transit Hotel - you do not need to clear Immigration to get there. I paid about USD 45.00 for 6 hr stay - clean, comfortable, new, quiet. Great shower.

There is a lot of eateries in T3 around the Hotel, all kinds of food.

 

http://www.airport-hotel.com.sg/location_T3.htm is their web site.

 

You can take a cab from Changi to the Harbourfront (if you depart from Singapore Cruise Centre) - cost is about SD 20.00-25.00. There no need to huggle the fare and no tips needed for a cabbie (as well as no tips needed in the restaurants - all is encountered in your receipts).

 

Once you embarked, your ship is at the tip of gigantic shopping mall (Harbourfront/ViVo). There is an enormous amount of medium-to-high-end shops and boutiques, there is also an MRT (subway) station right there. 2-3 stops to the infamous Orchard Rd. - and you could walk along the nicest street in the whole Asia. Again, shops galore, Botanical Garden, Raffles Hotel, etc.

I am sure you'll find something for your 3-4 hrs before departure...

Enjoy!

 

(While in Singapore, we took two hop-on/hop-off bus tours, each about 1-2 hr long. This was informative and time-compressed. Cost is about 25 SD pp, but it is valid for both routes... there is even one hop-on bus route to the Sentosa Island, a SG analog of Disneyworld...)

[simonv]

There is a city tour that leaves from the Convention Center not far from the Raffles Hotel. It will give you a good overview of Singapore. Highly recommended for the first time visitor.

We usually stay at the Marriot at the Orchid Road because it's central (walking distance to the Newton Center where we go for hauker food at least once while there), price reasonable and reliable. But it is a Marriot, nothing to write home about.

Singapore is an amazing city. It's clean and everything works, and nobody cheats. Think of that!

[wvicensjr]

This hotel in the T3 is just what we are looking for with a 1am arrival time and not really interested in booking a room downtown for a few hours. Question? How did you handle your luggage claim through customs without leaving the terminal? What arrangements should be made for this. Thanks for the post btw.

 

Cheers,

William

[ucalegend]

I agree with William, but have the same question. How do you handle luggage?

[marylander2]

This hotel in the T3 is just what we are looking for with a 1am arrival time and not really interested in booking a room downtown for a few hours. Question? How did you handle your luggage claim through customs without leaving the terminal? What arrangements should be made for this. Thanks for the post btw.

 

Cheers,

William

I used the hotel on the way from Singapore, so I do not know exactly how it works; however, as far as I understand this hotel is located WITHIN immigration/customs zone, i.e., you can take your luggage from the belt and then go to the hotel, stay there overnight and then clear the customs.

Check their Web site, there should be an explanation on that.

[Ms Understood]

Stacy, have you booked your flights? I think we are on same cruise (formerly immersion ;-)?) but are having real problems with air. Apparently we are waiting for Amex 2 for 1 contract to renew with Cathay Pacific, otherwise fares are astronomical for biz class. we hope to arrive the day before you do (midnight on Feb 26/27) and spend at least one full day in Singapore. Let us know what you wind up doing.

-----------------

Helen

[ucalegend]

Ms. Understood,

We used FF miles. We are on Continental to Tokyo and then we tranfer to Northwest and go into Singapore. I couldn't leave any earlier because I have to take the bar exam Feb. 24-25th (I graduate law school on Dec. 20th). This is my "it's all over" trip.

[shining gem]

We were passing through Singers last year on the way home from our last cruise. We only had about 8 hours and had flown in from Thailand that morning. We booked a mini cab tour at the airport on arrival and had a tour of the city with our luggage safe in the back! The driver was great and took us to all the tourist spots and then on to lunch at a fabulous eatery where a fantastic selection of food was on offer. We had a Singapore river trip included as well. We had a lovely day and were back in plenty of time for our flight. The tour was by Maxicabs and they work out of the airport. I guess they are used to people with short stop overs!

We have been to Singapore lots of times but the people we were with had not. They saw heaps of sights and can't wait to go back. I am sure you will love it.

[Ms Understood]

Oh Stacy, good luck with the Bar. I passed 25 years ago this Nov. I have enjoyed every minute of my practice since then, wouldn't change a thing. What a great gift to yourself. We are still waiting on the contract issue with Amex to book flights.

----------------------

Helen

[ucalegend]

Has anyone stayed there and if so, do you get your bags and clear customs before checking in

[Oregon traveler]

We have booked a room at this hotel after a midnight arrival in mid-March. I, too, wondered what to do about our checked luggage. Here's info from the hotel's e-mailed confirmation to us:

 

"UPON ARRIVAL,PLEASE DO NOT CLEAR IMMIGRATION / CUSTOMS AS AMBASSADOR TRANSIT HOTELS are situated on level 3 WITHIN DEPARTURE TRANSIT LOUNGE.

Please use escalator between gates D40 and D41. ***LUGGAGE CLAIM IS AFTER IMMIGRATION "

 

So what we are doing is flying in (from Chengdu, China) with only carry-on bags. We will have transited SIN a week earlier on our way to China and left our cruise luggage in the Checked Luggage storage at the airport for the six days we'll be in Chengdu. Then after a sleep of 6 or so hours we'll be ready to go into the city and check into our hotel for two nights before we board the Star Clipper (for Phuket and then across the Indian Ocean).

 

I realize this doesn't provide much help to anyone arriving with checked baggage. My suggestion is to e-mail the hotel and ask -- there must be a LOT of people with this same question, and that's what I planned to do before we came up with the "carry-on bags only" solution.

 

Hope this is helpful!