pennyndoug

We are sailing from Singapore on 14 night sailing. Thought I would try a live since we have the internet package.

 

 

 

Martini bar at sailaway

 

 

We have been away from home for over 2 weeks with 5 nights in Singapore, 4 nights in Phuket, 2 more nights in Singapore, 4 nights on RC Mariner of the Seas, and 2 nights again in Singapore before we boarded Millennium today.

 

Stay tuned for lots of Adventure on our trip.

 

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We will be sailing on her (first time ever with Celebrity) on the December 10-24 cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong, via Bangkok, Saigon, Hue/HoiAn/Danang, HaLong Bay and then Hong Kong. Can't wait to hear more of your travels. Sent a friend request even!! :)

The crew was tremendous. The outgoing nature of the master, Captain Nikolaos Christodoulakis, was adopted by virtually all crew members from top to bottom. Even the steward relegated to cleaning the handrails in the stairwells took time to look at us and ask how we were enjoying the cruise. Senior officer were very visible around the ship talking with passengers, not just amongst themselves. The crew actively sought our feedback to help resolve any issues.

 

About us. Active 70-somethings who enjoy seeing different parts of the world and like the convenience of large ship cruising as a basis for exploring. This was our seventeenth cruise mostly with Celebrity and a few HAL and RCCL thrown in.

 

We did anytime dining and had the same great wait team, Carmo and Roel, every evening. One day my wife did not feel well and stayed aboard while I went with a group to Hanoi. Both of them were concerned that she was eating alone and one offered to sit with her until it got busy. She declined, but it was the thought. There were very good menu options every evening that included beef, pork, chicken, fish, lamb, veal and vegetarian. Usually we had to decide between two or three items that we would have liked. French Onion Soup, escargot, and Cesar salad were always available. There was always steak, but there were some additional new items rotating there also. One evening we were very late coming back and had a tasty Indian dish in Oceanview. Of course, Carmo and Roel wanted to know if there was a problem with the menu that evening.

 

We were in cabin 3114, one of the oceanviews added during a recent yard period. It was in very good condition and had a huge window since it formerly had been part of the conference area. Our room steward, Armando, always greeted us when he saw us and took care of our every need in the room.

 

Entertainment was very good with three cast shows and a variety of visiting entertainers ranging from singers to magicians. On most sea days, there was usually a matinee performance with two of the guest performers from previous evenings. The seven piece Celebrity orchestra provided live music to accompany all shows in the theatre. We particularly enjoyed guest lecturers, Francis O'Donnell and his presentation Retracing the Steps of Marco Polo and Ken Williams who provided lots of information about the sites we would be visiting. Trivia drew good sized audiences and was challenging. Cruise Director, Mark Western, did a great job coordinating all this and was visible around the ship and willing to talk. Captain’s Club host, Graeme Kelleher, was his usual upbeat talkative self while making the rounds to meet with everyone at Captain’s Club events. We even got to meet his wife, Amy, who is the stage manager onboard.

 

The ship itself was in superb condition for a piece of steel exposed to salt air for 17 years. The bosuns were busy caring for the exterior, chipping, priming and painting every day. If you wanted to find fault you could search and find some rust (but not much), furnishings that are not the latest style, etc. We really didn't have time for that.

 

We even found the Guest Relations staff to be friendly and helpful. Since we booked all private excursions, we did not deal with the excursions staff. We arrived early and were cleared early at each port and our travel group were among the first 20 or so off the ship. Even tendering in Halong Bay did not provide any problems with being off first to meet our guides.

 

Singapore. We arrived three days early and spent a day with Wei, from Indie Singapore touring Chinatown and Kampong Glam, areas we would not have attempted on our own. Singapore is very easy to tour on your own, but we found the insights Wei provided about his country and citizens quite valuable. The subway (MRT) is super-efficient with trains running every two minutes during rush hours and slowing to 4 to 5 minutes in off peak times.

 

Bangkok. Four of us toured with BKK Tours and had a great experience. Ms. Air was our guide and again provided an abundance of information. I am not sure how we saw so much in just two days including a 2.5 hour transit to/from the port. With the exception of our hotel, breakfast and dinner, everything was included – two boat rides, tuk-tuk ride, multiple temples and markets and so much more. Total cost was less than $200 per person. We pre-booked one night with the Hilton Millennium.

 

Vietnam – Saigon, Hue, Halong Bay, Hanoi. All booked with Handspan Tours. Transit time from the port to the cities ranged from 2.5 to 4+ hours each way. Driving in Vietnam is the craziest I have experienced. Most signs are advisory in nature (or at least that is how the locals view it). The law of gross tonnage applies – the bigger vehicle has the right of way even when passing with oncoming traffic. Be prepared or save your eye mask from the flight.

 

Hong Kong. Booked two days of tours and post-cruise hotel through China Odyssey, a private Chinese tour company that we used previously in Shanghai and Beijing. They provided Ms. Ceci Mak, an excellent guide who again provided lots of side information and visits to unusual places off the normal tourist route.

 

Guilin, China. We had been told of the beauty of the Li River Valley and rice terraces so we booked a three day trip from HKG to Guilin. China Odyssey provided all the arrangements including air travel, hotels, and an exceptional guide, Robin Shao.

 

As you can tell it was a wonderful trip which we will talk about for years. Please feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to respond.

Hi there:

It would appear that we are doing this same cruise on December 10 out of Singapore and going on to Hong Kong. Your descriptions are perfect and we look forward to seeing and doing many of the same things.

Thank you for your great breakdown.

pennyndoug

Hello all- I have just booked this cruise and would like to know if anyone

can tell me if a visa is needed?:confused:

I have looked on line and asked TA and Princess TA.

Ultimately , it is our responsibility to get it right.

 

ports-- Hong Kong?

 

Vietnam- yes -- on board ship provides visa $56pp

 

Bangkok-?

Singapore-?

 

also if anyone has done this itinerary your info would be very appreciated!

thanks-

Donnakg

Hong Kong - NO

Singapore - NO

Bangkok - NO

Vietnam - only if you plan an overnight stay there, otherwise the cruise line provides a day pass (typically with most cruiselines)

It's good to know the tap water is good. I know we love the tap water from Canada and New York but the water from So California (our home state) is horrible. We were thinking about getting the water bottle packages for the next Celebrity cruise but we will have to get the bottle from bar/restaurant right? My wife drinks 4 to 5 bottles a day minimum... it would be a lot of stops to get 1 bottle of water each time. I think if you pay for a water package they should just fill your cabin with 12 bottles of water every day. It only cost them like $2 to $3 and you pay like $16 x 2 per day!

 

I guess we will try the tap water and if we don't like it.. could buy the package onboard!

I cannot justify the $16.00 per person per day - when we do purchase bottled water, we buy from Costco and there is now way we are going to pay that expensive price. Even worse, they don't take it to your rooms, you have to get in line at a bar to ask for it and then be given ONE at a time.

Does anybody have any experience when coming into HaLong Bay? I understand it is a working port but can one walk out to meet a taxi or is it advisable to let them come in and pay whatever they charge for port fees?

We just got off NCL Dawn's last sailing prior to the 2016 refurbishment. On May 18 we disembarked and from that time until 8:00 pm the crew needed to get everything off the ship that was coming off prior to heading to Freeport, Bahamas for the $77 million dollar refurbishment. It is anticipated to take approximately one month (ish).

Hi everybody,

We will be arriving into Santo Tomas de Castilla on Friday May 13 and doing the Go With Gus Tours into Livingston and to see the school children. Is anybody else doing this tour?

Good morning everybody,

Wondering if there is anybody out there that is also joining Gus on May 13 in Guatamala for his Livingston/School Children tour? We will be coming off the NCL Dawn coming into port that morning. Love to know if there are others joining us.