catweazlecat

Good Morning from Germany,

we are booked on the Millenium to Japan in August and I am trying to find information about privat guides that would be recommended by experience on previous cruises.

Have looked up the "tours by locals" already, but they only offer very few guides that have availability or don't speak proper english unfortunately.

Any advise is highly appreciated 🙂

Good Morning from Germany
we have just returned from our cruise that stopped in Ko Samui in January and decided to book a driver for the day that took us around the island and stopped where we wanted.
It was really nice to be independend with a car for us and our friends only and we had a great day on the island.
Driver picked us up and we had to communicate with Googlemaps and a translator. I planned what to do and see in advance and showed it to the driver from one step to the next. We visited temple, a elephant camp, Lamai Beach and stopped for a swim at Chaweng Beach before heading back to the ship in the afternoon.
Can not recommend to stop for swimming at Chaweng due to tides and strong currents very often. Better beaches would be Lamai or the north near the Big Budda.
Costs were approx 80 Euro for car for 8 hours. Booked it via Getyourguide.com

On 1/28/2024 at 1:53 PM, Lilywhite1882 said:

Silke

 

Sorry, one further question. Who did you use for you tour of Ko Samui? Would you recommend them?

 

Many thanks

 

Ian

Dear Ian
we booked a driver for the day via Getyourguide.com 
He was really nice and helpful, but did not speak english. We  used translation apps and google maps to instruct him where we wanted to go and stop at the island. That worked very well 🙂
The car was a luxurous van and we paid around 80 Euro for the whole day on car and driver. Can highly  recommend it. You just need to find out before what you want to do and see on Ko Samui to let the driver know your plans.

We can only agree as well! We booked him for DaNang and Ho Chi Min City and had a blast with both tours! He is a great organizer and the perfect guide for Vietnam!
Can highly recommend him and his tours for anybody on a cruise. He is taking good care of his customers and will make sure that you are not going to miss your ship on the way back.

Dear Lilywhite
we have been on the cruise beginning of January and booked an independent driver to take us around on Ko Samui.
It is indeed a tender port and you have to get tender tickets to go ashore if you travel independently.
We had planned a pickup at 8 on the Pier and got the tender tickets early morning around 7am.
Since there were big shuttle boats arriving (see attached video) - not only the tenders - to take passengers ashore, we were earlier then expected on land. Just before 8am even if we had Tender No 7 booked.
Nevertheless - no matter what time you plan to go ashore, your pickup person will wait anyway for you. They know what it is like to get hundreds and more people ashore on that morning and wait patiently for you. What else could they do?
Just keep in mind that sometimes, Ko Samui is skipped on this tour due to bad weather and high waves. We were fine going ashore but it was tricky to come back in the afternoon due to higher waves that made boarding quite difficult.
Wishing you fun at your trip! We enjoyed the cruise a lot with the destinations!

On 11/23/2023 at 12:16 AM, hawkesbaynz said:

We used Xuan Le for our tours to HCMC, Nha Trang ((with his colleague Mr Hoi) and Hue. Xuan was an excellent guide. Charming and informative. Communicates well pre-cruise. Five stars!

Great to hear! We have booked our tours with him for January and looking forward to it!

Which harbour is this?

May I ask you how do you like the ship and food on board?

We will be on it in January and curious what it is like. Heard some complaints about it.

Wishing you a great time in Bali!

59 minutes ago, IMswimmer said:

I am trying to arrange a private hired car, but there are so many conflicting information on the web. Some mentioned that one way from Port to Sanutuary of Truth is only USD 20.00 for a taxi, while the private company quoted me USD 190.00 for 6-8, but wait for us at the site. Also, they said when we are going to be at Laem Chabang, there is a festival, so prices are higher as well. How is your experience with having to pre book a car? Thanks.

 

We booked one for 8 to drive to Bangkok and it was no problem at all (BKK Contact). There was a thai guy advertising his shuttle service as well on our FB thread as follows:
 

Good Afternoon from Germany

I cannot confirm if that is still the case but read about it as well and decided to book a pickup myself to be on the safe side.

The Tsim Sha Tsui Area is nice to stay at. If you book at the Harbour Grand Kowloon Hotel, you can see the cruise ship terminal on the other shore. Have attached a picture from Kowloon side.
Taxis are quite cheap. You only need to know that they do not accept creditcards. Just cash in Hongkong Dollar.
Kind regards from Germany

That's what I am organizing right now. Just not sure what time we would need to be back at the ship.
 

Thanks for your comments.
We are 10 people all together and don't want to spend the night at a hotel but drive back late at night instead. So we don't have to get up early next day and take the taxi back to the ship to be on the safe side in case of traffic jams etc.
The taxi costs are on top anyway 😉

We are on a Asia cruise in January and the ship stays overnight in Bangkok until next day 2pm.
Since we do not want to stay overnight in the city, but experience some nightlive (nightmarket etc.) we would like to return to the ship at around midnight or later.

Does anybody know if that will cause problems (late return at night)? Is the gangway open all night or would we need to be back before midnight f.e.?

Thanks in advance for your comments 🙂

On 3/9/2023 at 8:44 AM, MAVIP said:

Try to find a 2-day tour from Halong Bay to Hanoi. Absolutely worthwhile if your ship has an overnight stop in Halong Bay.

Thanks a lot for your advise!

We will indeed stop overnight and we have to think about what to do and see over there.
Had been informed by vietnamese people at a restaurant that Hanoi would be much poorer than Ho Chi Min City and lots more crime.
Did you feel safe in Hanoi?

Wishing you a nice weekend from Germany
Silke

Dear JB

thank you very much for all the useful information.
Highly appreciate your comments!

Wishing you a nice weekend from Germany
Silke

Hi there
we will be stopping next January in Halong/Vietnam during our Asia cruise and I would like to know if anyone can suggest what to do or see apart from going on a day bay cruise inside the National Park.

Have read a lot about the bay cruising and it does not seem to be the kind of tour we would like (too many people on boats, long rows of tourists on the stops, dirty waters etc.)

Therefore we would highly appreciate to get recommendations on alternate activities/tours for a whole day in that port. 

Thanks in advance 🙂

Best regards

Silke

On 2/23/2023 at 3:48 PM, TLCOhio said:

So the challenge with Bangkok (plus Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi) is that there is no close and handy cruise docking location right in or these major cities in Southeast Asia.    That means lots of time commuting from the ship and back.  Do you have two days for Bangkok with your cruise ship schedule?  Maybe you could do an overnight stay in Bangkok to avoid wasting so much time commenting back and forth?

 

Any other questions or info needs?

 

 

Thanks for your useful comments! Really have to think about staying overnight in BKK.

Best regards from cold and rainy Germany
Silke

Thank you all for the tipps on Vietnam Tours. We are planning to go JAN24 and highly appreciate what  you posted!

Best regards from Germany

Silke

On 12/27/2022 at 10:11 PM, windsor26 said:

I am choosing between 2 hotels and wonder if the difference in price is worth it   we are mid 80's and not walking too well so want to be able to get MTR or taxi easily to see particularly the Gardens by the Bay and that area.  The choice is between   Bliss Hotel Upper Cross Street Chinatown  and Clan Hotel Cross Street  -  They both SAY  they are close to MTR  but what would your choice be and why?  Thanks 

Not sure if you still need help on this topic. 
The Bliss hotel is in the middle of Chinatown with lots of tourists around that walk the small streets.
The Clan Hotel is in a more business quarter area but close to temples and food markets - if you are interested in it. 
If I had to choose personally, I would take the Clan Hotel because I don't like the Chinatown tourist area. It's interesting for a walk but to crowded for me to stay around all this chatting/noises/tourist shops.

You can take a small open train thru the Gardens by the Bay (no long walks needed) and the taxi can drop you right at the station.
The MRT is really easy to travel but you need to use lots of escalators up and down to get to the right departure level. If you stay more than one day I recommend that you buy a tourist ticket for several days. Makes it easier to travel around.
Taxis are not expensive but you need to be aware that sometimes you have to wait a long time in line to catch one at the taxi stations.

Best regards from Germany
Silke

Singapore is a very interesting city with lots of things to do and see. Depends on what you are interested in. Food, Sightseeing, Entertainment.
Are you there full 24hrs or only the day after arrival?
Would highly recommend to walk around Marina Bay Sands, Chinatown and/or Little India to see some of the amazing sights, buildings, temples etc.
It is a very safe city that you can explore by foot and public transport (subway).
In previous years (before covid) there was a free lightshow at Marina Bay Sands Complex and Gardens by the bay every night several times. 
That was amazing to watch!
Have visited the city many times and always find something new to explore.
If you have time in the evening and like asian food I highly recommend to go to La Pau Sat Hawker Center (www.laupasat.sg)
Best regards from Germany
 

Good Morning Terry
thanks for sharing the link but I am not a NYT subscriber and not able to read the article unfortunately. 
Would you let me know how far from the city the ship docks? Is there public transport or do we need to book a driver to get downtown?
Best regards from Germany, Silke

4 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

We just got back after a cruise that ended in Hong Kong.  No problems getting around the city, had a great time.  Everything is open.  You must wear a mask anyplace in the city.  We had to have a negative covid test to enter Hong Kong and returning to the US we also had to have a negative Covid test 48 hours before getting on the plane.

Thanks for your first-hand-comment!
Did you have the feeling that tourism is back to normal or still very few around?

Dear Cruisers
we are thinking about booking a cruise that starts in Hongkong and would highly appreciate if you could let us know the actual procedures to board/deboard and the local requirements.
Apart from the cruise: Is getting around on your own in Hongkong possible for tourists or did you have trouble roaming freely in the city?
Thank you very much in advance for your info/tipps!
Wishing everyone a nice sunday from Germany
Silke
 

No, nothing new. Just being curious because I cannot find any cruisline that has actually really started cruising from there again. Only rumors, that cruiselines might change HKG to another asian port for upcoming cruises.

Hi Cruisers

we are thinking about booking a cruise from Hongkong to Singapore in January 24 and would like to know if any of you have already booked a cruise from Hongkong in 2023. We did spot some offers from different cruise lines already starting in spring 23.
 

Are the cruises still confirmed or have the itineraries changed away from Hongkong to other asian ports?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Best regards from Germany
Silke