Avalon Vietnam-Cambodia??

Vietnam is getting lots of attention right now from the news media, especially with a U.S. President visiting there. For early 2018, we are weighing and debating the various pro/con factors for a Hong Kong to Singapore (or reverse) cruise with several stops in Vietnam, plus an excursion that gets us Angkor Wat, etc. . . . VERSUS . . . doing a Mekong River, smaller-ship cruise with before and after, longer land stops/visits for Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Angkor Wat, Bangkok, maybe northern Laos, etc.??

Lots of options and factors involved. There are several good cruise lines to consider for such an ocean, Hong Kong-Singapore cruise. Getting on the ship, unpacking once, etc., seems nice and handy. But, the ocean cruises offer only limited time (at some distance away) for Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other countryside areas.

We are also looking at the options with Avalon Waterways for their smaller, 38-passenger ship to do the Mekong River for seven days. With their Globus tour/ground connections, they offer some flexible pre- and post-sailing options for doing Hanoi (and Halong Bay), Ho Chi Minh City, Angkor Wat, northern Laos, Bangkok, etc. This river cruise option would allow for doing a more in-depth sampling in both Vietnam and Cambodia, plus, plus. While we have done five cruises on smaller ships with 200-250 passengers, we have never sailed on this small of a ship. The Avalon ship is nice and fairly new, but does not have a wider range of dining places, on-ship activities, etc. We, however, will only be on that ship or any Mekong River ship for a short period of time and there will be lots of shore activities to do during the river stops during this sailing.

What other factors, options, potentials, etc., am I missing or not considering in comparing these two cruising concepts/directions/pathways? For those who have been to Vietnam, Cambodia, etc., what were your TOP FAVORITES, can't miss stops, places to skip/avoid, etc.? Reactions, evaluations with Avalon and Globus for this part of Asia?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 14,193 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Delta area.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you also post this question on the River Cruise message board where there are several threads and trip reports by people who have recently done a Vietnam cruise. I can remember specific threads for Uniworld and AmaWaterways, and there may be some for Avalon, as well.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you also post this question on the River Cruise message board where there are several threads and trip reports by people who have recently done a Vietnam cruise. I can remember specific threads for Uniworld and AmaWaterways, and there may be some for Avalon, as well.

Appreciate this excellent tip. Will post at that location. Clearly the numbers on these CC boards who are planning for SE Asia and/or have visited there is more limited compared to the massive numbers who have done the Caribbean and Europe. Lots of time till early 2018. But, time is flying!! Don't be shy for others with ideas, tips, suggestions, insights to share, etc. Look forward to learning any added info.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 40,213 views for these postings.

Another company operating on the Mekong Delta in Camdia and Vietnam to Saigon in Croisieurope. This company with base in Strasbourg France has rivercruises of course in Europe but also in other places of the world. They have bought the ship on the Mekong and are planning newbuilts. In april/may this year 2016 we made a cruise on the rv Indochine. 24 nice cabines, excellent kitchen and several excursion in different places. A few days before the organised a hotel in Siem Reap from where we went to Angkor for the different temples.