PhillyGirl2

I really don't recall the dining room being overly loud. My husband and I usually sat in a corner (near the entrance of the dining room) a booth like arrangement and it was quite pleasant--away from the mainstream crowd.

Now that I have read about the problems associated with boarding in Siem Reap due to river problems, I'm thinking that our trip this past July/August wasn't such a bad idea. We really were concerned about stories of torrential rain every day, etc. We experience heat, but not hotter than Philly in the summer and, perhaps, less so; it only rained one day and that was for 1/2 hour and then maybe for an hour on another day. The rest of the trip was rain free. Perhaps, we were just lucky but I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking the trip in July/early August.

To those wondering about what you need for Vietnam, as I stated in an earlier posting--you need a multiple entry for Vietnam, a VISA for Cambodia which you can get at the airport or have the AMA people get it for you when you land in Siem Reap--we gave the rep $20 and a photo with our passport. One couple did not have a photo for the Cambodia visa and it still wasn't a problem. The passports and VISAS were returned to us the next day when the tour guide met us at the hotel. As far as Angkor Wat, they take your photo at the entrance gate and then they put it in plastic with a lanyard that you wear around your neck. In fact, because we were with a group, we got to go to a different window from those just visiting on their own. So, you do not need a photo to get into Angkor Wat. Let me know if you have any other questions.

We went through the Vietnam Embassy to get our VISAS. You can download the forms from their website. We needed a multiple entry VISA because we entered in Hanoi, then went to Cambodia and then re-entered Vietnam. The cost was $120 per person (cheaper than cruise line offers). The cost of mailing it properly, with a return envelope was not cheap, but it still cost less than getting it through the cruise company. It took about 6 days to get our passports back with the Vietnam VISA. As far as Cambodia, you can get one at the airport in Cambodia but we had someone from our cruise company collect our passports after we landed in Siem Reap and they were returned to us the next morning with the Cambodian VISA attached. The VISA cost $20 per person.

Hope this helps

We did not take any anti-malarial drugs and were told by AMA that we would not be traveling anywhere where it should be an issue. We were also advised that some people become sick from taking these drugs. In fact, one person on the Mekong River cruise said that she started taking the drugs and then stopped because it caused her stomach distress. As far as food, as was stated in another message, all of the food, salads, ice cubes, vegetables are washed and made with filtered water--it was never an issue and we ate lots of sald and had iced drinks. Even in the hotels, we were given bottled water and told that they use filtered water, it stands to reason. Why would any hotel or river cruise risk making people sick? You will see that you will be given a new toothbrush every day on the ship and in the hotels and junk just to keep you safe. While Vietnam and Cambodia can qualify as 3rd world countries (I guess eventhough they have malls and KFC and many other luxurious amenities), we never had to deal with some of the things we dealt with in China (like absence of western style toilets). Do take insect repellent (40%) deet. We only used it once and that was when we went to see the Cambodian stronghold which I guess qualified as a jungle. I would assume that since we were there in August, the bug issue would have been at its worst, but we had no problem. Let me know if you need any other advice.

The weather at the end of July through mid-August was supposed to be the rainy season but we saw little in the way of rain. It seemed to rain at convenient times--after we finished the tour of Angkor Wat, after we boarded the ship, after we checked into our hotels, etc. It was hot, but no hotter than we are used to during Philadelphia summers, however, it was very humid. I think that your ship is the sister ship and newer than the one that we were on. We did get our VISAs directly through the Vietnam Embassy in Washington. You need a multiple entry one for Vietnam and it cost $120 per person, quite a bit cheaper than going through AMA or another service. You do need to mail it a certain way and enclose a self-addressed, stamped return envelope. This process was a little pricey but still made it worthwhile. The passports with the Vietnam VISAs took about a week to get back. We got the Cambodia VISA when we flew to Siem Reap. The AMA representative collected them when we landed, asked for the $20 fee and then took care of getting the required VISA. I went back and read the poor review by someone on this cruise. I must say that we have nothing but positive things to say about it. If you want to call Cambodia and Vietnam third world countries, in a way you would be right but if I want to see McDonald's and Starbucks, I will stay in the US. There was poverty and yes, the river was muddy but we got to go into the villages, see the people, interact with them, see things that we only read about in history class and got to meet people whose lives were altered due to the war but who continue to try and make the best of things and strive to improve what they have. Hanoi and Saigon are huge cities, Saigon much more modern and upscale than Hanoi but throughout the trip whether it was visiting a Buddhist monastary or the Killing Fields, every day was a learning experience that left a lasting impression. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to visit these countries. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks to all of the great advice and review from 2Fltravelers, my husband and I just returned from the Hanoi to Saigon trip. While our experience may have been a little different due to the time of the year, the advice and review were spot on. We did not encounter bad weather--just humid, Halong Bay had gorgeous weather--could swim on the beach and use the sun deck on the junk--we did get to see Ho Chi Minh's body--creepy but interesting and I asked the guide why some people were unable to see it on earlier trips and was told that this portion of the mausoleum closes for a few months each year. Anyway, if anyone has any questions about our recent experiences or needs any advice, please feel free to ask. I may not be as thorough as 2Fltravelers, but I may be able to give you some feedback that you can use. AMA took care of our Cambodia visas at the Siem Reap airport--collected passports, took $20 and in the morning our guide returned them to us. Again, thanks for all of the advice 2Fltravlers and as they stated--it "is the trip of a lifetime"--educational, eye opening , and your perception of these countries will change with this visit. AMA did a great job!!

We were told not to trust getting an e visa. Someone said that depending on who is on duty checking credentials might not look highly upon this document and could reject it. In his words he said "when entering a Communist country, you don't want to take any chances." However, I would like to hear if anyone else did this. We did send our VISAs through the mail for our China trip and not only did we get them back in plenty of time but we also received a call from the service to clarify something. this was a service recommended by Viking River Cruises. We were told that they had never lost a VISA in 13 years.

Thanks to all for the VISA advice. We talked about going to DC for the VISA but it sounds as if you guys did it by mail. I always worry about them losing my passport, but it seems as if you didn't have any problem going through the mail. One reason I didn't book with a rival river cruise is that they were quoting me almost $600 per person for the required VISAs. Sounds like a racket. Thanks, again.

Thanks, once again, for the feedback concerning your packing list. It is invaluable information and will be a great source of reference for packing. Now we need to figure out if we are going to get a Vietnam visa through the cruise agency through another source. Did you get your visa through the agency recommended by AMA? Thanks, your advice is so appreciated.

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the detailed clothing suggestions. You sound as if you pack similar to us. I remember being in China and needing a couple of nice outfits but the rest were capris, etc. like you suggested. Unfortunately, we will be travelling in the summer--hot, rain, but we have been told that the river level shouldn't be an issue. Being a teacher only allows me to travel in summer, but I'm looking forward to the trip, rain, shine or whatever. I would love to see your packing list. Again, thanks for your most invaluable information. I truly appreciate it.

2Fltravelers--thank you, thank you for taking so much time to provide such detailed information about AMA Vietnam/Cambodia trip. I will be printing out the information and using it as a reference. I may have some questions for you as I get closer to my departure date, so if I'm bugging you too much, let me know. The one question I now have is what type of clothing do you feel would be appropriate? Did you get a little dressier at dinner after a day out on excursions. Is there some items of clothing that I should definitely take versus definitely not take. I tend to pack less and less the more I travel because I find I don't always use the clothes I bring and would rather use the space to bring back things. It sounds as if you brought back some wonderful things. Are you light packers. Any advice on clothing options would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for any and all information you can provide us concerning the Vietnam cruise. I know others are also waiting for your review. This will be very important to many of us and I certainly appreciate the effort and time that you obviously spent to write about your experiences.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has been faithfully checking to see your full review of AMA to Vietnam. Hopefully, you guys are back to reality and have recovered from your trip. My husband and I will be doing this trip this summer and look forward to your reviews and, hopefully, the ability to ask some questions. Thanks in advance.

I have been reading all of the wonderful information about AMA to Vietnam, particularly about taking cash for tips, purchases, etc. Does AMA cash traveller's checks on board? This can save from brining so much cash. Also, does AMA pick you up at the airport if you arrive a day early through their arrangements?

Thanks!

You mentioned a 12 hour lay over in Seoul on the Vietnam cruise with AMA. We are considering this cruise but the thought of flying all day and then having a 12 hour lay over is really not too appealing. How did the tour of Seoul work out? Did it kill a lot of time and was it worth the 12 hour layover? I'm thinking of asking AMA to rebook this flight but I'm not sure if there is a viable option. Thanks for your input.

Thanks to all who replied about taking meds and shots for the Vietnam cruise with AMA. I actually talked to someone there and they said no one needs to take shots.

I appreciate the information that is being generated by those who have done the AMA Vietnam cruise. Unfortunately, my husband and I have to take the July cruise and will probably run into some rain. However, we still have some questions before we do a final commit. In addition to the price of the cruise, we now have to consider the cost of Visas but one thing that I need to know is do we need do anything about taking drugs or shots which I am hearing can be quite costly. Also, I'm assuming that all excursions are included but I was told that there could be a couple of additional excursions beyond what is supplied. Do you know anything about this? Thanks for any help that you can offer. I would like to make a decision by tomorrow concerning whether or not to commit to this cruise.