terry&mike

No, we didn’t have that. Last night was a lovely dinner, and afterwards was Squid Fishing. I picked this ship because of the activities of biking and kayaking. When I picked it, I looked at a few different ships and they all had similar itineraries with some differences in activities. It’s good you bring up this point, as some people might not realize they have a choice or options. This morning is kayaking, tea service, and brunch, then we disembark at 11:30a. Hubby and I will head to the nearby HPH HaiPhong Cat Bi airport, about 20 minutes away, by private transfer, $45. We will then fly direct 1 hour 15 minutes on Vietnam Airlines to DaNang, Vietnam. We will transfer to HoiAn, about 50 minutes away, by private car, $18, booked through the owner of the next place we are staying.

Today was a full day in the Ha Long Bay area. We spent it in the less crowded areas of Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba Island. Breakfast was at 7am, with a buffet and eggs cooked to order and pho. All good. At 8a, we were transferred to a smaller day boat that could get into smaller bays. We spent the day with activities and returned to our main boat at 4:20p. We had a scenic sailing for about 2 hours, then took a bike ride to a small village, about 30 minutes each way. This was fun. Those not up to it could ride on the back of a scooter with a driver. Afterwards we had a multi course lunch served in the day boat of local cuisine, all excellent. Next, we went to a lovely bay for kayaking and swimming. We then had a scenic sailing of about an hour back to our main boat. Stunning scenery, fun activities, very nice day.

Last night was Christmas Eve and the crew threw a huge Christmas party. The spread of food was amazing including turkey, lamb chops, shrimp, chicken, pork, squid, Vietnamese dishes, pasta, salads, charcuterie, desserts, on and on. It was amazing. There was also music, a dancing group, and a Santa with a big bag of gifts for the guests. It was a fun night. Today we have an early start, with breakfast at 7a and off the ship by 8a for a full day of activities.

Today starts our Ha Long Bay program. We were picked up at the hotel in Hanoi this morning at 8:20am, and driven to Hai Phong, about 2.5 hours away. There was a bathroom stop along the way, for an extra 35 minutes, at a pearl shop. Our transfer to was a very nice shared mini bus, and there were 7 passengers, $20 pp. We booked this in advance, from HaLongbaytours.com which is owned by Blue Dragon Travel, along with the entire package for the junk boat trip. We arrived in the busy Hai Phong port and were dropped at the pier side waiting lounge for Orchid Cruises. There are hundreds and hundreds of boats, of all sizes and types. We booked onto Orchid Classic, in a Premium Suite Balcony. Our total cost was $850 + $100 holiday surcharge, plus $40 for the shared transfer to the ship from Hanoi, plus $45 for a private transfer from the ship to HPH HaiPhong airport. It is a 2 night itinerary. We had a 45 minute ferry transfer to the ship, boarded, had safety briefing, and then were allowed to access our cabins for 15 minutes before lunch started. Lunch was a sit down, multi course delight of great flavors. Beverages are extra and are a bit on the high side. After lunch we went to our cabin to quickly change for an outing to the Bright Caves. While in our room we were able to buy a bottle of red wine and a large bottle of water from our balcony from a lady in a small boat for a slightly elevated price. The caves excursion was interesting but not awesome. They are setting up the top deck for a BBQ and Christmas party tonight. Our room is very large, and beautiful. The ship is also very nice. The downside is that everything seems rushed, which we were thinking it would be more of relaxed sailing in natural beauty. The guests are from lots of different countries, and interesting and positive. There are 28 guests onboard. We picked this sailing because the itinerary goes to less crowded Lan Ha Bay. After seeing the crowds of people and number of boats, this may be a good idea.

Today we explored Hanoi, our first time in this vibrant city. We walked through the streets of the chaotic Old Quarter. It is bustling, colorful, and full of vendors selling all sorts of wares, and motor scooters zipping around. Vietnam probably does coffee better than most anywhere in the world, and we shopped for some, plus a couple other treasures. We walked around the lake, and through a large holiday market. We attended a water puppet show, and loved it. We bought tickets this morning for an afternoon show, front row seats, about $16 for 2. It’s a heavily cash society, with many vendors (including the ticket office of the water puppets) only accepting VND cash. Beautiful day, clear with a high around 76 degrees F.

Forgot to mention that we purchased Vietnamese Dong at the Hanoi Airport when we landed. We usually order some foreign currency before we depart, so that we hit the ground running with some local cash in our pockets, but were unable to buy VND from our bank, although we were able to buy Thai Baht. There are several desks selling currency once you clear Immigration and Customs. They have their rates on small signs, and all are basically the same. We bought just under 10 Million VND for $400 usd. Cambodia uses the US dollar, so we are good there.

Nice! You are practically up the street from us! I’m happy that you finally get your adventure, and hope it is awesome.

For some reason, my previous post is wanting to post again. Anyhow…. Arrived into Hanoi airport, and were quickly through Immigration. No smiles or conversation, but the eVisa was quickly looked at, and then we were through. That means the first entry (of 2 entries) into Vietnam with the current visa issue was successful. Both bags were out shortly after, and we walked outside to meet our driver. Transfer booked through our hotel and prepaid ($20). We are staying at the elegant La Sinfonia del Rey Hotel for the next 2 nights. We booked a Terrace Suite with breakfast. The room is slightly on the small side, but it is lovely and has a large balcony overlooking the park. I’m a deal hunter, so was able to get 2 nights with breakfast, plus 1 included dinner (tomorrow night) for a grand total of $233.

We checked in to VietJet Airlines for flight BKK Bangkok to HAN Hanoi, direct, 2 hours. They did ask for our Vietnam visas and spent a good bit of time looking them over at check in. Like us, several people have questions on the visa situation for Vietnam, as many need to enter Vietnam multiple times. Currently, getting a multi -entry visa is difficult and costly. After much research, we went with 2 Vietnam e-visas each, both single entry. Simple to apply online ourselves. Should work, we’ll see.

We used Hua Hin Cab, both directions, booked in advance. Excellent service, on time, clean cars.

Yes, we are at Bangkok airport now headed to Hanoi for 2 nights. We will then board an Orchid Cruise for 2 nights to sail on Lan Ha Bay (this is the bay next to HaLong, just as pretty but less crowded).

I am currently doing a post under River Cruises on our Asia trip. Our trip will involve entering Vietnam on 2 different dates. If anyone wants to read, it’s titled Scenic Mekong Review, December 31, 2022 - January 10, 2023.

I will attempt to post updates as we go along on this journey at regular intervals. A bit of background. My husband and I are traveling on this trip. He is 62, I am 58, we live in the US and are retired. We are frequent travelers, having been fortunate to travel to more than 100 countries, and to all 7 continents. We have been on about 9 river cruises, and have sailed with Scenic in the past. We have also visited Vietnam before. We are doing the Scenic program ‘Temple Discovery & Luxury Mekong Cruise 7 night’, which starts with 3 nights hotel stay in Siem Reap and then sails 7 nights from Siem Reap south towards Ho Chi Minh City. We have added on pre and post touring and stays on our own. This is part of a longer trip of 35 days in Asia. We left home 2 weeks ago. Flying started with Tampa to Toronto on Air Canada. Then Toronto to Munich, also on Air Canada. Next leg was Munich to Bangkok on Thai Air. We were in Business, and made good use of the lie flat seats on the long legs. We loved the layout of the Air Canada Business, lots of space, privacy and storage. The Thai Air Business did not have as much storage, but the service and food were excellent. We are light packers. For my suitcase, I have 1 carry on size piece of luggage (but I do check it as I don’t like to be bothered with it), and I carry a large purse with me while traveling. Inside my large purse is a smaller cross body bag for when I reach my destination for my everyday touring about. Hubby has a 30” duffel style luggage for his suitcase. He has brought this larger bag, which is about 40 percent empty, as we intend to have some custom clothes made in HoiAn. He carries with him a regular size backpack on the plane. Inside his backpack is a lightweight backpack rolled up that he will use for touring about when we reach our destination. Yes, we will need to do laundry at about the half way point, which is HoiAn. We started this trip by flying in to Bangkok, and then took a car and driver 3 hours ($51) out to the beach town of Hua Hin. We spent 3 nights at the colonial style Centara Grand, to relax and recover from jet lag. Lovely hotel, nice area. Had a few massages, visited some markets, chilled. Came back in to Bangkok, where a friend from US had flown in to join us, and we met at the Century Park Hotel. This started as the first night of a Gate 1 tour ‘10 Day Central Thailand with River Kwai and Pattaya’. If you are not familiar with Gate 1, they are a low cost tour company that packs a lot of value and busy itinerary in to a tour. We use them in places that don’t have much in the way of efficient public transportation. We had no scheduled event the first night, so we had booked a Street Food Tour of Bangkok by Tuk Tuk, which was lots of fun. The next morning, we started the busy tour program which covered Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, River Kwai, Ayutthaya, and Pattaya. Floating markets, temples, palaces, jungle hotel, lots of stuff. We are now in Pattaya, back on our own. The Gate 1 tour ended here a couple days ago. We went to the wonderful Elephant Jungle Sanctuary yesterday, and had a great experience at this ethical elephant home. Our friend flew back to the US this morning. We will take a taxi about 2 hours ($36) from here to Bangkok, and then we will fly on to Hanoi, Vietnam this afternoon, about a 2 hour flight. More to come.

Yes, we realize we embark in Colon, but are flying in to Panama City and will enjoy a couple of nights in the old town pre-cruise. NCL does offer transfers from Panama City to Colon on the day of the cruise, but we have arranged an independent transfer on the day of the sailing. I've been to Colon before, it's not very enticing, and is only about 90 minutes away from Panama City.

I hope to!

We sail the Jewel on March 21, 2023, Panama City to San Diego, and picked it for both the ports along the way, and for the embark/debark ports. I like the idea of starting in Panama City so we could take a few days there pre-cruise, as there is a lovely old town, and the Panama Canal museum at the Miraflores Visitors Center is very interesting. I was there a few years ago and had wished I had more time. I also like the ports along the way as there are some more unusual choices, some ports we already love, and then a few of the usual on that route. I'd pick it based on the itinerary that appeals the most to you.

I have traveled with Scenic and with AMA, as well as several other river cruise lines (Viking, etc). Scenic and AMA are at a level above the other lines, and will deliver a excellent experience, so you can't go wrong with either. No doubt the discouraging remarks you have read about Scenic are with their administrative side (before you leave, documents, etc), as that has been a weak link for them; although it appears that this area has improved. I give the edge to AMA in the pre-trip communication. In the actual trip itself, I give the edge to Scenic over AMA, as they deliver a slightly superior product, a bit more high end. I will be sailing the Mekong with Scenic and will be joining them in Siem Reap for 3 nights on December 31, then boarding the ship to sail south from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City. I am doing Hanoi and HaLong Bay, as well as several days in HoiAn, before I join Scenic in Siem Reap, and HCM City afterwards, all independently. This is part of a longer Asia trip that begins this Friday when we depart for Thailand.

I'm not sure if your itinerary works for you to visit HaLong Bay before or after your cruise, but that may be an option. We are traveling independently in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (leaving in a couple of days) and I booked a 2 night sailing on Lan Ha Bay (the less crowded bay attached to HaLong Bay) over Christmas. I booked it through a local tour operator halongbaytours.com which is a travel agency in Hanoi known as Blue Dragon bluedragontours.com I will try to paste my itinerary below - DAY 1: HANOI - LAN HA BAY 09h00 You will be collected from Hanoi Old Quarter to take the new highway to Got Ferry Terminal – Cat Hai Town, Haiphong City where we arrive at around 11h30. The passengers have a chance to experience on longest and newest bridge in South East Asia area. You can take special tea at Orchid Cruise’s lounge by warm welcome. 12h15 Transfer by tender to the ORCHID CRUISE. 12h30 We welcome our guests onboard the ORCHID CRUISE and then check in, enjoy Welcome Drink, receive cruise briefing, safety instructions and check in. Start cruising and explore Lan Ha Bay. 13h00 ORCHID CRUISE proceeds to Da Chong islet, where you can see a lighthouse built by the French over 100 years ago. Have International Buffet Lunch while passing via the islets of Con Vit area. These amazing limestone karst formations rise up out of the sea in an impressive manner. This area is untouched, as not many cruise ships use the route via the Cat Ba Island - Thoi Quyt area - Coc Ngoi islet - through Gia Luan area where is belong to Cat Ba National Park 14h15 We progress to Trung Trang cave by our bus on Cat Ba island which is located in the middle of Cat Ba National Park with Kim Giao forest around the cave. Trung Trang Valley is the largest valley on Cat Ba Island. The valley covers an area of approximately 300 hectares, has a depth of 10m to 30m and is around 15km in the middle of Cat Ba National Park. Trung Trang Cave measures 300m lengthwise through the mountains. The cave was carved by nature for more than 2000 years. The cave has many stalactites that take on various shapes that will awe and inspire visitors to use their imagination. 17h00 Orchid Cruise gets in the less populated area at Tra Bau where is located in Lan Ha Bay. You will enjoy the green emerald and cool water by swimming or kayaking. 17h45 Returning ORCHID CRUISE, you can watch the magnificent sunset over the Gulf of Tonkin. Onboard you may join a traditional cooking class. Our chef will instruct you in the making of some Vietnam dishes. In the early evening the boat has its Happy Hour deal Option: Massage service available. Please book with Cruise Manager directly (please see massage menu) 19h30 Sumptuous Candlelight Deluxe Dinner Set Menu is served. Enjoy delicious local food prepared and served for you by our wonderful onboard catering staff. This is a delightful meal in an intimate romantic setting 21h30 Enjoy the landscape of the bay at night up on the top deck. Relax whilst enjoying drinks from the bar. Try your hand at night squid fishing, watching a movie in the restaurant. Overnight on board. Option: Massage service available. Please book with Cruise Manager directly (please see massage menu) 23h00 End of Day One program DAY 2: LAN HA BAY 6h15 The day starts early onboard ORCHID CRUISE with Tai Chi session on the sundeck. The breakfast is served in the dining room with morning view of bay’s landscape, then continue our journey. 8h30 Transfer to Orchid Day Boat to visit Viet Hai village. You will take the bicycle trip along the village path and go through rain forests and dark tunnel. Enjoy stunning scenery of rice fields on the way. Stop at the village to relax. Visit an ancient local house, made from straw, mud, bamboo…you will have chance to see the local life on a valley of local people. Optional electric car service is available (at an extra cost). Back to day boat for visiting Lan Ha Bay. Lunch served on day boat. 13h30 Visiting Lan Ha Bay, taking a free breeze at area with the path less visited. You will use your imagination to name any beautiful islands in Lan Ha Bay or get the interesting introduction of our professional tour guide on Orchid Day Boat 15h00 Return to ORCHID CRUISE. Enjoying swimming at the untouched area. Then, you will join a traditional cooking class. Our chef will instruct you in the making of some Vietnam dishes. Watch the magnificent sunset over the Gulf of Tonkin. In the early evening the boat has its Happy Hour deal 19h30 Deluxe Dinner is served. Enjoy delicious local food prepared and served for you by our wonderful onboard catering staff. This is a delightful meal in an intimate romantic setting 21h30 Enjoy the landscape of the bay at night up on the top deck. Relax whilst enjoying drinks from the bar. Try your hand at night squid fishing, watching a movie in the restaurant. Overnight on board. Option: Massage service available. Please book with Cruise Manager directly (please see massage menu) 23h00 End of Day Two program DAY 3: LAN HA BAY – HANOI 06h15 Why not rise early to witness the bay at its very best whilst enjoying an invigorating Tai Chi session on the sundeck; after which we serve the breakfast. Upon completing breakfast continue our journey and head out to explore the bay in the area where Ao Ech is situated. 7h45 You enjoy on your own to kayak at Ao Ech area to discover the hidden charm of Lan Ha Bay 9h30 Orchid Cruise welcomes you back on board and it is time for checking out 10h00 Whilst cruising back you can enjoy a delightful brunch 10h30 Tea Ceremony is served at the restaurant. You will learn how to enjoy Vietnamese tea and Vietnamese cultural at this ceremony. Joining Tea Ceremony with our crews team and have great fun with us! 11h35 We return to the quay side in the south of the bay, where our visitors disembark. We bid farewell at GOT ferry, this is the end of the program.

It is a legitimate question to ask. Azamara allows you to use OBC in advance of your sailing to book Shore Excursions. Some lines allow it, some lines do not.

We are on the Onward, scheduled to end in "Venice" on September 10, 2023, along with some friends. I have not heard anything yet as to where we will actually be porting. I have a few logistics to work out, as we'll be traveling on to the Puglia region afterwards, but will try to remain flexible. If anyone has seen anything on the Onward for September 10, 2023 - either disembarking, or you are embarking then, please post if you know the port location.

Thank you for putting that thread together. I'm excited to see we get to experience different evenings (Black & White, Masquerade) on our next sailing than we enjoyed on our last sailing (Red & Gold, Roaring 20's)! Fun!

In post #3 of this thread (just before your last post) you can click through and read details in another thread; on my September 6 post on that thread it gives a step by step as to what I did. I have about 8 days between exiting Vietnam and entering again. I have seen posts over on another popular travel chat site for land based trips of people being successful in this scheme, so we are feeling like it will work.

I found the thread I was referencing

We recently went down this road for a trip we depart on next week. We'll spend some time in northern Vietnam, and then go to Cambodia, and join a river cruise that will later sail into Vietnam, which required a multi-entry Visa for Vietnam. Post-Covid, these are very difficult to acquire, but can be acquired for a very high cost. There are some threads over on the River Cruise boards. After researching, our solution was to apply to 2 different Single Entry e-Visas.

Personally, I would not risk this. In January 2020, I was with a group of 29 friends sailing the Diamond Princess from Singapore to Tokyo for 14 nights (the sailing before the sailing that got stuck in quarantine). We had all booked on a special with a drinks package included, with the exception of just a few of us. My friend J had been occasionally getting drinks for friend M who did not have the package. On night 3 several of us were in the disco, dancing and hanging out together. J had just returned to the area we were all sitting in and slid a drink over to M. Shortly after that, a supervisor came over and asked J and M if they could step away from the group. He took them to the side of the club and we could see them all talking. Looked like lots of apologies from J and M. They then all 3 walked over to the bar area and M completed a transaction. Then J and M came back to the group to say that they had gotten in trouble for violating the drink package rules, and M was made to pay for 6 drinks (2 drinks a day for the past 3 days) and both were given a warning. They felt embarrassed, and felt fortunate that the penalty wasn't higher. They did not violate the package again. The next afternoon, my friend V, who did not have the package (and was not at the club the night before with us) asked if I would get her a glass of bubbly from the bar. I declined and relayed the story from the night before. V then just purchased herself a glass of bubbly, and we had an enjoyable time.