IWantToLiveOverTheSea

I'm about to post a separate question, but saw this & decided to post here in case anyone has the answer. We'll be embarking in Singapore in January on an Oceania ship. I'm trying to find out which cruise center we'll be assigned, as I like to do things independently using public transport an taxi. I thought it would be the Marina Bay cruise center, but now I'm wondering if it will be the other one - across from Sentosa Island. I found a port website and schedule for Marina Bay and no Oceania ships are listed there. I can't find a port website/schedule for Singapore Cruise Center. I believe a Silverseas ship and Viking Orion just used the Singapore Cruise Center near Sentosa. I will try to contact Viking to ask which port we're likely to be using, but I know they don't always, or can't always, know or tell cruisers this information until closer to cruise time. So I'm trying to get all the info I can now. So does anyone know if there's a rhyme or reason as to which cruise center a ship is assigned to? And if the latter one (Sentosa, west part of city), is there a shuttle to somewhere more "center city" from the port terminal, like there is for Marina Bay? And is there a website that describes what's available? Thanks.

Will you be at Benoa port, I assume? Or are you there now? We were there on another cruise line (Oceania, with a smaller ship) in Dec. 2019. We embarked from there. I can tell you there's not much there at the cruise port, unless it has changed since 2019. But docking is usually better than tendering, so that's a good thing We flew to Bali early and stayed 2 or 3 nights before boarding our ship. We hired a driver (Dewa, wonderful man; contact me if you'd like to hire him for your day there). He's not expensive at all, has lived there his whole life, and has a good airconditioned, spacious vehicle. He speaks fairly good English, and while his writing fabulous he doesn't mind you contacting him by email. And I can give you his phone numbers. We loved Bali, especially the city of Ubud. But the heat and humidity were a challenge. But I'd recommend you do and see more than just the beach. The temples are pretty amazing, and I oved the rice fields. Anyway, enjoy being the biggest ship to visit Benoa.

I think I heard that Viking missed Rome that day also. Ouch!

I'm finding that Solent Richard's blogs are good. Not all places you may be going are covered, of course. But I found the few I've looked at are pretty good. And if you're going to Asia, Docked Discoveries doesn't have a lot of ports covered, but at least it's a start: And there's https://www.iqcruising.com/index.html

I don't remember where I got this, but I wrote this in my notes: If have difficulties email Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security: foreigners@immigration.gov.vn or +84.24.382.640.26

I think I saw Skagway on the link provided above (web archive).

There are different docking locations for Ho Chi Minh City, so people need to make sure they know or find out where their ship is likely to dock. Chan May is often for itineraries listed as Hue or Hue (Chan May).

I would just make sure that the taxi driver knows, or can ask, where to drop you for embarkation. The driver will likely have to go inside the building containing the port offices and place where you check in. Ours found a guarded entrance on the side, but the basement area is cavernous and he had no help in finding a door for passengers. We were there soon after the port opened and it wasn't clearly marked. Finally he found a couple guys heading walking through the garage and asked for help. They sent him to a door. Yes, it was a door. But it was not the right place to enter for embarkation, with luggage. We struggled inside and found a turnstile. Soon someone came up to us with a radio and asked for our key card. She spoke little English and we spoke no Turkish. Eventually we made it upstairs via multiple escalators, asked someone where embarkation was, and did check in. Then I went back out into the city and my key card wouldn't work in the turnstiles to get out - or back in. Hmm. But hopefully now that the port has been open a year or more, they'll have the hiccups ironed out. One good thing was that the port personnel/contractors were pretty good at getting people checked in, including having our checked bags sniffed by a dog, and we were on our way to the two long ramps up to Sirena pretty quickly. And the views from the ship were pretty nice. As for timing, we checked in maybe 12:30 or 1, and there was only a very small line then.. KBrote, you may not have any line if you come in the afternoon. And they may still have the Terrace buffet open late then too. But don't cut things too short, as getting over the Galata Bridge can take longer than you might think - lots of traffic. The sail out is quite nice - pretty!

Oh never mind that last question about the time. If we'll be at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park on Riviera as some people anticipate, it's a bit south of where you were. But at least it's not way down where the river and sea come together. Google says it's a 32 minute drive to the Opera House. But thanks again for shuttle and HoHo information.

Thank you very much for that, as we'll be there on Riviera in February. I was hoping for a shuttle to the area near the Opera House. I don't know where we'll dock, as we're on a larger ship than you were, but one person on a Roll Call for a call after ours on Riviera, plus a well-known vendor in HCMC have said things that indicate it might be where a smaller O ship docked earlier this year (Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be District of HCMC).. I'm not sure if that was Nautica, but in any case, I'm hopeful that we won't be way out like the ships even larger than O's seem to be assigned. Thanks for GPS coordinates. I'll take a look. I was curious if you remember about how much time it took for the shuttle to reach the drop point - half hour? 45 minutes?

I'd add that to the list. I think that's a relatively new docking location for Ketchikan (for probably all ships). When we were there before, on Oceania, we docked right in town and I'm pretty sure I just walked off the ship to go explore. Oh well, those days are probably over.

I recently made my own reservations for a DC to Singapore and back from Bangkok set of flights to use on another cruise line. I looked a LOT, and the prices were substantially higher than the ones you found. But of course, prices will always depend upon factors like home airport, date of travel, one person's "from BKK" situation instead of another like mine, and my Singapore instead of Tokyo. And recently I've gotten a little more wary than usual about connection time, at least when going overseas, as I hate losing time in my destination city. But those prices sound really good to me. And as for the airport in BKK, I haven't been, but apparently it's not far from center city Bangkok, so even if you stay at a hotel in the city, it should be a relatively easy/inexpensive cab ride. I'm planning to have my hotel call a taxi from my hotel. The only thing to keep in mind, although you may already know it, is that cruise ships must dock in the port known as Laem Chabang. It's almost a 2 hour drive between central Bangkok and Laem Chabang. And while I'll be on a different cruise line, I haven't heard of any cruise ship being able to dock any closer to Bangkok, so we'll all have to have some patience!

Thank you. I got the same impression as you, uktog, and am so far leaning towards a ship's tour that goes to 1 or 2 temples that look quite interesting. But I'm trying to find out more. Do you remember if you docked or tendered? I just looked at our itinerary again, and now see there's no indication of tendering.

Has anyone been to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo? I'm on a cruise that visits there, but I'm not finding a whole lot about "KK" as apparently it's called. Where might cruise passengers be tendered? Are taxis, rideshare, tours, available at the place where cruisers are dropped off? Does anyone have any information on Kota Kinabalu?

I got to Santiago de Compostela from Vilagarcia in April. I'm another "small, unusual port" lover! I didn't see much of Vilagarcia, but that was ok - the train ride to Santiago was fast and easy. But yes, you start out cruising, and make some mistakes. Then you learn from those mistakes -- go to embarkation city early, don't be swayed by the allure of embarkation/disembarkation ports, visit Whats in Port to get quick answer of how close to anything a port is, etc.

My experience, mostly as an independent traveler (take few ship excursions; just love to wander or do something else) is that Oceania has gotten me on the first tender almost every single time I've tried to do that. I remember one time when it was impossible, but that was in (on?) Easter Island, an extremely popular port, with a difficult tender situation (weather, barely a tender pier, etc.). Also, 2 of us wanted to get on that first tender rather than me only, along with a huge number of others. For the most part, I've found it quite easy to get off the ship early on Oceania, particularly if I'm on one of the smaller ships (600 pax or whatever). But it does probably depend upon demand, and some ports (Santorini comes to mind) can be a little iffy because extra large numbers of passengers want off right away. I haven't heard of any preference given to passengers in suites, etc. And I've never been told I have to wait until the first (or other) excursions go off. Hope that helps. But of course there are no guarantees!

Yes, new port is huge. But basically you'll likely just go up and down a number of escalators to get outside/inside. It was confusing coming in, as cab driver had no clue to go once inside, as you can't see ships once inside, and signage was lacking. But that was soon after they opened, and hopefully by now things are better. You will, however, likely have to walk up 2 kind of long inclines (ramps) to your ship once you check in. And it was confusing getting back into the port terminal, as there were a ton of newish shops built around there, with again, limited signage. I ended up asking someone where the correct building was (large, dark colored, new, tall building from the outside; think there are lots of offices in there, not just a port). It was definitely not a typical port experience.

I don't know for sure if they have a ticket machine at that tram stop or not. I know they had one in Sultanahmet (historic area). And I know there was one near the large park down in Sultanahmet near Topkapi. But I don't specifically remember if the tram stop near Galataport had one or not, as I used an extra card I had purchased day before. But it looks like there's a ticket machine at one end or more, based on this google picture. One thing I don't remember is if we used a credit card to get tram tickets -- and if not, if Turkish lira were needed (Turkey's not on euros, right?) I don't think ALL machines take credit cards, but perhaps they do. And yes, I wouldn't buy an Istanbulkart for a short stay. We went to Istanbul 2 days early and just bought regular tickets. I would, however, buy 2 tickets once you find a machine. And then, of course, just look to see which direction you're going. And if you have time on your way to the tram, that mosque near the Tophane stop is a nice, quiet, real one. And they have coverups hanging outside the door if you're not appropriately dressed (but take a scarf). And shoe cubbyholes to leave your shoes (take footie socks if wearing sandals). I was the only person in there for 5 or 10 minutes until a man came in to pray.

Thanks for including the specifics (location shuttle went)!

Link worked for me also. But when I tried to pull up Venice guide, it wouldn't go...said error. Sigh.

I agree that a little research can certainly help prepare for what you might experience. I actually do a lot of research, but not usually before choosing an itinerary. But I have to say that there has only been one cruise stop in one cruise I've taken (out of at least 20 over the years) that resulted in there being practically nothing to do in a location -- one store, no shuttle, no cabs, no tours offered other than from the cruise line, probably no restaurant. But luckily in that place, a small city in Canada, in late September, the cruise line was offering a few excursions. Many people shun cruise line excursions, but I was very happy they offered a few in that port. I took one, and it ended up being a nice day. And there have been other small (or large )places I've been where I just got off the ship, explored on my own, and had a great time. Often the places I know nothing about end up being favorites. But in all cases, I do research, at least before going to a place, to see what's there. The site "What's in Port" gives a good, short introduction to many ports. Other sites, tourism offices, libraries, book stores, etc. provide other ways of getting information. And once on board a ship, if you google (or go to Oceania Cruise Line's library and read Lonely Planet books!) you'll be better prepared for a rewarding day in just about any place any cruise ship goes. But if you're particularly interested in Bordeaux, I'd suggest you look at that cruise line for itineraries, and confirm that the ones stopping in Bordeaux actually cruise the river and tie up there. I ended up loving Bordeaux in early May on Oceania, just by doing some research, grabbing a map, looking for the tram stop, and exploring on my own or with my spouse. And that riverside tie-up was SO fun, for the passengers as well as a lot of curious onlookers! But if there are two cities on an itinerary on the same line for a particular day or half day (for example, Bordeaux (Le Verdon sur Mer) or Florence (Livorno) or Livorno/Florence/Pisa) make sure you understand just where the ship is going/docking/anchoring. And while I'm on a roll, I'd suggest that if you're flying into a wonderful-sounding city on the same day the cruise is leaving from that city, don't plan on seeing much of the city unless you fly in a day or two early or otherwise have another full day in the city.

We loved getting the bronze award type of tote bags. I agree with you that Oceania does a pretty good job with milestone gifts.

Cruise ships provision in different places. Some things might not be available worldwide.

Well, I'm pretty sure they rounded up the tour participants, not us. But I'll look back to see if that was indeed true. And we were supposed to be in Israel on the ship for 3 full days, and this was May 2022, though I wouldn't think they would have stopped offering tours for a group that they put together. But I would ask them about a group tour, no more than 16 people, and see what they say. But if you're wanting to tour with them from a hotel, it may be harder for you, or them, to find enough people to make the tour a go. Then again, if they have a tour from the ship, I suppose it might be possible to take a cab (unless it's Sat/Sunday, be careful!) from the port to a location on or right outside the port to meet a group. And I don't know when the cruise is, but if you have time to keep looking for participants, you may have more luck. Our current cruise Roll Call (for Asia) was almost non-existent about 6 or 7 months pre-cruise. Now, a bit more than 4 months out, it has picked up quite a bit. I see I keep referring to GTS instead of what it is, which is GTI! Sorry! Anyway, good luck.