Singapore extra days thought please...

Hi Everyone... I would like to ask an opinion from this group. We are already on the pre to Siem Reap on the 2018 Singapore to Sidney. Since I doubt we will ever be back to that particular area again, the DW and I would like to do a couple extra days pre pre on our own. We are staying in the hotel of choice from Regent which is weirdly " The Regent"...

I would like to know from those who know or know someone who has been there how many days extra they would stay and what they would see.

Before I am gently told that there are areas of the board to ask this...I do not (respectfully) want an answer like... go to Universal Singapore..which although I am sure is remarkable...Florida is much closer...I hope that does not come off too rude..

So, I guess I am curious from this group what they would do and see - time extra as well

Thanks in advance..

During our pre-cruise evening, we caught a show at the Marina Bay Sands theater. They do not have listings yet for 2018, but you can check out their site later in the year.

http://www.marinabaysands.com/entertainment.html

Well, you must have a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel! I think they may have afternoon tea there but we did not partake.

Not sure how much time you will have but a visit to the Orchid Garden is worthwhile and Chinatown at night.

Hi Everyone... I would like to ask an opinion from this group. We are already on the pre to Siem Reap on the 2018 Singapore to Sidney. Since I doubt we will ever be back to that particular area again, the DW and I would like to do a couple extra days pre pre on our own. We are staying in the hotel of choice from Regent which is weirdly " The Regent"...

 

I would like to know from those who know or know someone who has been there how many days extra they would stay and what they would see.

 

Before I am gently told that there are areas of the board to ask this...I do not (respectfully) want an answer like... go to Universal Singapore..which although I am sure is remarkable...Florida is much closer...I hope that does not come off too rude..

 

So, I guess I am curious from this group what they would do and see - time extra as well

 

Thanks in advance..

To be 100% honest we found Singapore to be one of the least interesting countries in the world (and we have been there three times). Having said that, if you get out of town to where the locals live and eat in one of the hawker centers, it can be amazing (chili crab, etc.).

In terms of Raffles, it will be closed for renovation until the 2nd quarter of 2018 (not sure when you are going). If you go there, make sure that you don't wear shorts (despite the horrible heat) as you will not be admitted to the main hotel. However, at least prior to renovation, you could go into the lounge and get a Singapore Sling in shorts. The price of the drink may blow you away!

Beware of shopping in Singapore. While we "think" that we got a couple of deals in the 80's, the camera we purchased a few years ago was less money in the U.S. Plus, you can go into a store, find what "may" be a good deal but when you go back, the sales person no longer exists (nor does the price).

Having said that, if you are into tourist places, 2-3 days would be good. If you prefer an authentic experience, 2 days would be enough.

drcandon - We spent three days in Singapore at the end of our excellent Voyager cruise in December and were glad that we did so, while at the same time determining that the city was not a place that would be high on our list of places to visit again.

We also stayed at the Regent, although on our own rather than using the Regent Seven Seas post-cruise offering. As it turned out, we were able to book our marvelous Four Seasons Executive Suite (spacious one-bedroom suite, with extra half-bath - priceless) for a lower per-night tariff than was offered by RSSC for a standard room at that hotel. Hmm, no brainer, right?

The included breakfast in the excellent buffet restaurant on the first floor was a delight, with loads of Western and Asian choices, as well as delectable fresh pastries from the fantastic in-house Italian bakery.

There is a small shopping mall about 30 seconds walk from the hotel. It includes a full-service supermarket, as well as both a French and an Italian bakery. Thus, you will not be bereft of opportunities for good snacks to enjoy in your hotel room.

As for things to do in the city, we found several of the city's featured attractions to be well worth the visit.

First, the Botanical Gardens, very near to the Regent Hotel, are quite wonderful, particularly the amazing Orchid Garden there.

Second, we loved our evening of watching the sunset from the top floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The fee to go to the top includes a made-to-order drink at the bar there; so it is not really a bad deal at all (particularly compared to the exorbitant price of a Singapore Sling at Raffles, which will merely be one of the hundreds of them that are pre-made every day at that over-rated tourist attraction).

Third, some time at the remarkable Gardens by the Bay is a great pleasure. http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en.html

Finally, unless you are acrophobic, a cycle or two (it's fun to do one cycle during the day and another at night) on the Singapore Flyer is worth a try or a fly. http://www.singaporeflyer.com/ There are some decent hawker joints in the small food court at the base of the Flyer, as well.

One clear warning (at least for those of us from cool climates): the heat and humidity in Singapore can be quite daunting. Give yourself plenty of down time in air conditioned comfort (such as your hotel or any of the zillion high-end shopping malls in the city).

Cheers, Fred

I would agree with TravelCat2--word for word. If you go and we have-and enjoyed it-get out of the city some and the food is great. 2-3 days is OK, 2 may be better.

Rick

I hope you don't mind a Seabourn Sailor jumping in to answer you. I have been to Singapore a few times and I always find more things to do.

One thing I would dissuade you from is the over hyped, over touristy Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at the Raffles. I had one there about 5 years ago and I felt it was watered down to what I remembered decades ago. Also very over priced. To be honest I had a Singapore Sling in Business Class on Singapore Airlines in January and it was much better. I suggest people go and have a look at the Long Bar if it is open but don't bother with the Singapore Sling. On a side note the Dubai Sling in the Raffles club room in Dubai was lovely with a hint of ginger.

I agree the Gardens By the Bay is amazing and they have an evening light and laser show.

I found the Asia Civilisations Museum in a beautiful old Colonial House very Interesting and then you could wander over to the Fullerton Hotel for a drink and to check out the hotel. It was the old Postal House.

http://acm.org.sg

https://www.fullertonhotels.com/the-fullerton-hotel

The link to the Fullerton Hotel has a good map as you scroll down which will show how close you are to the Museum.

Food is a big thing in Singapore and we did a food walking tour last time which was interesting but a lot of walking involved which you might find difficult due to the heat. Though there are lots of food tours on offer so you could look at others.

We also enjoyed the Botanic Gardens, the Bird Park and the Zoo. We have done both day and night at the Zoo. For ourselves we preferred the Day visit, but we had booked the Orangutan breakfast which was lots of fun because they were so close.

I agree don't bother buying Electronics in Singapore. When my nephew worked in Singapore a few years ago he would wait until he came to Perth for a visit before buying electronics.

There is also Fort Canning and the Changi Museum if you are interested in WW2 history.

I hope this adds some more options to your list.

Julie

The zoo,in daytime. Do nit gonat night,to expensive and a long ride out.

At the Sabds there is an outdoor light show at 930'at night. Saw it once and wish twice. Little India, Chinatown etc fir the temples . Yes toma Hswers market dinner ir lunch. Chicken fried rice is the item one gets.

Ruffles is closed right now. I think the inner courtyard for pizza beats the LongBar. Also you can not wear shorts inside the lobby tondrink ever, been tomSingaporw twice and I love it,

I too would try to spend three fully days in Singapore in addition to your arrival day.

I am not sure where you are traveling from but it also allows you to get over the jet lag and to relax before your cruise.

I think the key is not to rush around. Too often people want to run from place to place.

Like most things you will get different opinions; some will like it, some are indifferent and some don't.

As a tourist it is very safe and people very helpful.

Things to see include:

Botanical Gardens

Gardens By The Bay

The Zoo ( I agree that I would pass on the evening safari) I know it's just a zoo but it is very well done and one of our favorite zoos from around the world.

Chinatown

Little India

Orchard Road (shopping)

Sentosa (fun place to walk around)

I would consider arranging a one day private tour.

You can easily get around the city with taxis and the subway.

If you want to visit Raffles you do need to go sit at the bar. You are paying for the experience not the actual drink. With that said there are some shops there and one of our favorites is Jim Thomson. Their larger shops are in Bangkok but they have one there. Very nice silk items at reasonable prices.

Whatever you do, have a great time.

Keith

Some photos:

From Chinatown.

From The Gardens By The Bay.

There was a similar discussion about this about a month ago on the Azamara board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2492603http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2492603

We will be doing the same cruise (although we will do the Chang Mai pre cruise). We decided to spend 4 days in Singapore before the pre cruise, staying in the Katong area. We were in Singapore for a day on another Regent cruise and found it fascinating. Our excursion took us on a city tour, a boat ride, and to the Raffles for a Singapore sling. Our guide encouraged us to try pepper crab as we were very familiar (and LOVED) chili crab. We found a restaurant near the cruise ship terminal and devoured the crab - sauce up to our elbows and smiles on our faces!

We plan to do a food tour of the Katong neighborhood on our first evening. This area is known for the Peranakan culture (Chinese/Malay - now its own ethnicity). I will probably also do a cooking class. We plan to walk and eat, walk and eat. The botanical gardens and Gardens by the Bay are also on the short list.

We have toured very hot places in the past and I agree with the advice to take it slow, seek out air conditioning or breezes, and allow yourself to recover from jet lag. By the way, we did the Siem Riep pre cruise in 2014 and loved it. Hopefully, Regent has not changed the itinerary. We were divided into groups of about 12 and stayed together for the entire pre-cruise. I found the temples to be breathtaking and the people to be lovely, kind, and resilient after their devastating war.

PS - I've been doing quite a bit of research, so feel free to email me at forgap at bellsouth dot net.

Jennifer

Will second all those suggestions for Gardens by the Bay (though possibly time your visit to take into account the heat/humidity). Last time we were in the city, we'd just disembarked Voyager having visited Kota Kinabalu and the cloud forest along the way. I might say that the cloud forest in the Singapore Gardens by the Bay was rather more accessible and interesting than the real thing ;-) (Rachel, was it you who had a little rant about that tour recently?!)

We have a couple of nights in the city before our next cruise in early 2018 and look forward to revisiting the Marina Bay complex (yes, great views from the roof), maybe taking in a show at the theatre there and to making our usual meander through Arab Street and Little India, to buy fabric and souvenirs. There's a new National Gallery to explore since we were last there and we've never made it to the Peranakan Museum, so that's on the list too.

It's a fun, safe city to explore, easy to get around thanks to the MRT (get a tourist card) and thankfully, mostly airconditioned, because this delicate English flower wilts in the heat!!

Edited to add how envious I am of your Chiang Mai pre cruise, Jennifer - we have such fond memories of several trips there, staying at the Four Seasons resort, which is bliss :cool: (I just reread my blog post about our last stay there - oh. my. goodness - though only UK readers might get the Butlins reference ;) )

Singapore has spent a lot on cultural infrastructure in recent years, and Gardens by the bay, The National Museum, the National Gallery and the Peranaken museum can all be recommended. Food is great, tbh a lot of the best food is in the ubiquitous indoor food courts inside shopping centres and businesses, usually in the less fancy ones. There are any number of Singaporean food bloggers you can follow, as far as I can gather eating out is a major recreation there. As well as shopping of course.

If you are there for more than 24 hours, get a suit or jacket made to measure along the Orchard road. Good value, mine and Linda's lasted a dozen years and was different a very good fit and wore well, much cheaper than at home.

Concur about the Botanical Gardens, very nice. We also took advantage of the HOHO bus system, not so much for transportation but for the ability to see all of the tourist areas and deciding which to visit in depth.

Hi Everyone... I would like to ask an opinion from this group. We are already on the pre to Siem Reap on the 2018 Singapore to Sidney. Since I doubt we will ever be back to that particular area again, the DW and I would like to do a couple extra days pre pre on our own. We are staying in the hotel of choice from Regent which is weirdly " The Regent"...

 

I would like to know from those who know or know someone who has been there how many days extra they would stay and what they would see.

 

Before I am gently told that there are areas of the board to ask this...I do not (respectfully) want an answer like... go to Universal Singapore..which although I am sure is remarkable...Florida is much closer...I hope that does not come off too rude..

 

So, I guess I am curious from this group what they would do and see - time extra as well

 

Thanks in advance..

Great Thread! DW and I will be in Singapore for 3 nts/2full days in December after Voyager post-cruise to Chiang Mai. Have been toSingapore once before during a Voyager port stop. Visited the Raffles bar andenjoyed the experience; the cost was hidden in the “included excursion”. Goingto do several things that are mentioned in this thread. Will post experienceupon our return.

Before discussing Singapore, I have to say that Siem Reap(Angkor Wat) was one of the best short trips of our many years of internationaltravel – right up there with Agra in 1981. In 2014, we went with Regent andthey gave us marvelous care! In addition to the tour, please consider: 1) avisit to the downtown “night” market; it was full of terrific junk; 2) theNational Museum’s Gift Shop; it had relatively inexpensive treasures.

Based upon a lotof research, we decide to spend our short time in Singapore seeing: theBotanical Gardens with emphasis on the orchids, Marina Bayneighborhood to see Sands Sky Park, Gardens by the Bay (at night to see lightshow), and shopping in either Chinatown or Little India.

I dredged up the blog I wrote after the 2014 cruise. This is the link or the pre-cruise to Siem Riap: http://culinerrion.travellerspoint.com/5/

And here is the link to the one day in Singapore: http://culinerrion.travellerspoint.com/7/

Brings back wonderful memories of a great cruise!

Buy a suit and some dress shirts on Orchard Road, especially if you like to bargain. Getting a good suit at a great negotiated price is a double win.

I enjoyed the night safari at the zoo. It was about twenty years ago but the feeling of having a lion roar in the darkness is still strong. It still scares me a little when I think about it.

Definitely find a local seafood restaurant and try the pepper crab.

Go to little India and get some fish head curry.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Avoid the Long Bar at Raffles whatever you do. Unless you want a taste of Disney Singapore. It's not even the original Long Bar anymore and all you will see is a bunch of other tourists line up waiting to spend a lot of money on a drink which is better elsewhere.

I agree with Keith re: Gardens By the Bay, Little India, Chinatown.

But the single most important piece of advice I can offer is go to as many Hawker Centers to eat as possible. These are uniquely Singaporean and offer great food and a fun atmosphere. Do some research as to the best ones and you won't be disappointed. Singapore in general is a great city for eating and that alone merits at least three days imo. Enjoy.

Avoid the Long Bar at Raffles whatever you do. Unless you want a taste of Disney Singapore. It's not even the original Long Bar anymore and all you will see is a bunch of other tourists line up waiting to spend a lot of money on a drink which is better elsewhere.

 

I agree with Keith re: Gardens By the Bay, Little India, Chinatown.

 

But the single most important piece of advice I can offer is go to as many Hawker Centers to eat as possible. These are uniquely Singaporean and offer great food and a fun atmosphere. Do some research as to the best ones and you won't be disappointed. Singapore in general is a great city for eating and that alone merits at least three days imo. Enjoy.

As mentioned earlier, if the TS is likely going to be in Singapore the first quarter of 2018 (which is when most cruises go), Raffles will be closed since they estimate their reopening to be in the 2nd quarter of 2018. Agree that not having a Singapore Sling there isn't missing much.

I'm sure that many people will enjoy the man-made gardens, tourist sites, etc. For us, we prefer the real thing. Gilly mentioned Kota Kinabalu -- we will revisit there next year and look forward to seeing real forests, gardens, etc. I guess it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

In any case, enjoy your time in Singapore!

I did enjoy walking through Raffles. If it's open of course.

For me the highlight was the food at the hawker centres. Tourist highlights for me included Chinatown and the nearby Sri Mariamman Temple, Gardens by the Bay (the indoor biospheres and their hawker centre), the Asian Civilization Museum, Little India, Kampong Glam, and just walking along the river. Lots of great walking, photo ops. Punctuate walking trips with trip indoors to the many malls to cool off. Iced coffee in its many forms is a very popular drink and very refreshing and invigorating in the heat.

I'm sure that many people will enjoy the man-made gardens, tourist sites, etc. For us, we prefer the real thing. Gilly mentioned Kota Kinabalu -- we will revisit there next year and look forward to seeing real forests, gardens, etc. I guess it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Well, being on a tour from Kota Kinabalu with another 20 or so people, some of whom struggled to manage the demands of the itinerary certainly affected my experience of the "real" cloud forest, which is still somewhat contrived, since the only way to see the natural form is to hike rather further into the unspoiled jungle than a day visitor could possibly manage. Not only that, but being a cloud forest, it's misty and the weather can wreak havoc on the best of plans. (The exact same tour was described in great detail by Wes, Rachel or Mr Rumor fairly recently, on their joint blog thread Singapore to Hong Kong and of course, I blogged about our experience too.)

A few days later in Singapore, standing in front of the magnificent (7 storey high?) reconstruction of a man-made cloud forest based on Mount Kinabalu we were actually able to see the features we'd been looking for previously and were able to learn more about the ecosystem as a result. Were we pleased we'd seen the real thing? Of course we were. But which did we enjoy most? Which taught us more about the cloud forest? I suggest you don't write off the Gardens by the Bay quite so readily until you've been there, done that - in true Singaporean style, this is no ordinary garden, believe me.

But yes, see the real thing as well !

I did enjoy walking through Raffles. If it's open of course.

 

For me the highlight was the food at the hawker centres. Tourist highlights for me included Chinatown and the nearby Sri Mariamman Temple, Gardens by the Bay (the indoor biospheres and their hawker centre), the Asian Civilization Museum, Little India, Kampong Glam, and just walking along the river. Lots of great walking, photo ops. Punctuate walking trips with trip indoors to the many malls to cool off. Iced coffee in its many forms is a very popular drink and very refreshing and invigorating in the heat.

Agree with all of this. I'd add the Botanical Gardens. And I'm not even a garden person. If nothing else, go to the orchid section.

We spent 2 days in Singapore, and wish we'd had more time. Try to find a private guide. We had one, and I wish I had his contact info, but alas a friend had lined him up and she no longer has it. But he showed us "his" Singapore for one of the days there, and it was wonderful. For the second day, we used the HoHo bus, and that worked out well too.

And, yes, eat at the hawker stands. You've never eaten so well for so little.

Hi Everyone... I would like to ask an opinion from this group. We are already on the pre to Siem Reap on the 2018 Singapore to Sidney. Since I doubt we will ever be back to that particular area again, the DW and I would like to do a couple extra days pre pre on our own. We are staying in the hotel of choice from Regent which is weirdly " The Regent"...

 

I would like to know from those who know or know someone who has been there how many days extra they would stay and what they would see.

 

Before I am gently told that there are areas of the board to ask this...I do not (respectfully) want an answer like... go to Universal Singapore..which although I am sure is remarkable...Florida is much closer...I hope that does not come off too rude..

 

So, I guess I am curious from this group what they would do and see - time extra as well

 

Thanks in advance..

Dear Fellow Cruiser,

If you are not intending to travel this part of the world anytime soon thereafter I suggest you spend a few days in Hong Kong on the way and travel to Singapore via Cathay Pacific with a stopover. Hong Kong is magnificent and one of the most nteresting cities in the world.. Stay at the Peninula or Intercontinental with a Harbour view easy to walk about Kowloon and take the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island.

Regards,

david

We LOVE Singapore. It is probably one of the few places in SE Asia that my husband would willingly visit again. The botanic gardens are wonderful. We just loved walking all over and feeling safe. I would give Raffles a miss--Over priced and over hyped. Gardens by the Bay is wonderful. Food is wonderful!