Azamara information Vietnam and Thailand ports

Despite the little blips I highlighted on the other thread we had a great time and along the way we gathered over 1000 photos and brought back lots of information. So a series of posts will follow and where I can I will answer queries. Bear in mind drop off points can change but it gives you an idea.

Our first stop was the magnificent Halong Bay. Photos cannot do it justice. We had an overnight and used our other day for a wander around Hoi Gan. We loved the local market even the smells. It was a great way to start in Vietnam. The shuttle stopped by a larger western mall. A good landmark for navigating but not somewhere we ventured into, we preferred the local places even if the items on sale were unusual.

We used the ships excursion into the bay, it worked well for us and with only 18 on our boat which seemed to be the norm it was easy to get photo space

Shuttle Information

Halong Bay

The local market sights

Maybe not the best place to do your last minute shopping on Christmas morning

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Da Nang

The shuttle information

I did not go into Da Nang. DH did as his cycle tour was cancelled due to muddy roads. He said it was ok for a walk by the river but not much more.

I enjoyed the Hoi An on your own trip with a friend. It was good. We had an informative guide en route and lots of free time. The meeting point beside the bridge at the end of the time was easy to find.

I just love those lanterns even in the rain

Meeting point is to the right

Next day we did the longer trip to Hue. Well worth the ride not only do you see Hue you also see so much of the rural life enroute.

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Ho Chi Minh

Shuttle information

What can we say about the bustle of this amazing city other than have courage go in you can cross the streets and there is so much to see. Our trip on our own did not include the Palace as we’d been before. We only ventured around the Rex Hotel and the local market but loved it

If only I knew how much silk I needed for that dress.....

Our Azamazing was in Ho Chi Minh. - here is one shot to wet your appetite if this is offered to you

Next day we went on the Mekong delta tour. Again a good chance to see out of town. If you have a non bending knee getting in and out the boats is tricky but the guides were brilliant and everyone made it

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Bangkok

Shuttle information

We are not mall shoppers so didn’t use the shuttle day 1 as we arrived pm.

Day 2 again an out of town tour to The Summer Palace. A really good adventure far better than we imagined -dh cheeky says saved him a Siem Riep trip - in his dreams that stays on the bucket list!

Next day we did the Ancient City by tram through the ship. If you want to get great Buddha and temple pictures but want to avoid crowds and walking this replica place is for you. It’s where they sometimes do Azamazing evenings. The replicas are fantastic and it’s a beautiful uncrowded place.

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Kho Samhui and going home

Ok Kho Samhui. It’s local tenders and the ships safety officers are constantly doing their nut on the tender dock. The tender drops you by the town and lots of tour operators are offering local boat or taxi rides. Azamara is only there a few hours so timing is tight.

We did a ships tour to a resort for peace of mind. It was expensive but included a select your ingredients cooked for you most amazing Thai curry

And a beautiful beach setting

Ok going home

These were the options. We didn’t use any as we were staying on Sentosa Island. We did enquire about the private car. They were flat rate $130 US wherever you went. We got a spacious local taxi for SG$15 / about $10 US. To be honest we didn’t know how much the taxi would be but were glad we went down that option. We had two large cases two carryon cases and s hold-all and were led to believe this would not work in a taxi and needed a car. Not true!

One final pic. People often ask about the dining package here was the flier for our trip

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Awesome information for our upcoming cruise re HCMC, Bangkok and Ko Samui. Thanks uktog.

Thank you Uktog, the information is great as always and will be very useful for our forthcoming trip in March, particularly HCMC. We are looking forward to returning to Singapore as well, a place we have grown to love through previous Azamara cruises.

Great review we were on the previous cruise and hoped you did not get the high waves we had.

We took a private 8 hour Halong junk tour with 10 CC people with Indochina and they took us deep into the bay.

It was amazing with gourmet meal.

Thanks so much for all the info! Really helpful... Can't wait!

We too were on the previous cruise, but your photos are WAY better than ours! Just an FYI for future cruisers- we had no Azamara shuttles in Halong Bay. We walked to the Vincom Center mall (took a good half hour, as I recall, but enjoyed the beautiful views along the way...)

Thank you for the pictures. We are doing the 15-day Singapore to HK on the Quest in October 2019 and can't wait. Probably doing an overnight on a junk in Halong Bay. That place looks beautiful.

Thank you for the pictures. We are doing the 15-day Singapore to HK on the Quest in October 2019 and can't wait. Probably doing an overnight on a junk in Halong Bay. That place looks beautiful.

The only reason we did not do an overnight was it was Christmas Day and we wanted to enjoy some of the shipboard celebrations. We are hoping to go back into that region again in a couple of years, it was our second day trip on the bay and yes an overnight is our "must" next time as we would love to see sunrise and sunset inside the bay. We saw sunrise on the fringes of the bay as we sailed in on Christmas morning and that was magical even though it wasn't clear skies.

The only reason we did not do an overnight was it was Christmas Day and we wanted to enjoy some of the shipboard celebrations. We are hoping to go back into that region again in a couple of years, it was our second day trip on the bay and yes an overnight is our "must" next time as we would love to see sunrise and sunset inside the bay. We saw sunrise on the fringes of the bay as we sailed in on Christmas morning and that was magical even though it wasn't clear skies.

If the time you had was as great as your photos, you did just fine. :cool: We have a 21-month wait. I hope late October isn't too hot there, but I can't go January through April because of work.

We did the 8 hour junk with Indochina deep into the far bays with 12 CC cruisers. Found that just perfect as the day let us see everything and included an outstanding meal.

If the time you had was as great as your photos, you did just fine. :cool: We have a 21-month wait. I hope late October isn't too hot there, but I can't go January through April because of work.

We travelled last November /December and the heat wasn't a problem. We found it fine away long as you had a hat and protection against the sun.

I noticed that the Hoi An on your own excursion is 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. I would think that means you arrive in Hoi An a little bit before 10:30 and leave a little after 2:30 pm. That's barely four hours. Since our time in port is 8:30 am to 8:00 pm, I would want to spend more time there and even take a cooking class. Are there taxis at the port or can someone recommend a car service? Thanks.

I noticed that the Hoi An on your own excursion is 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. I would think that means you arrive in Hoi An a little bit before 10:30 and leave a little after 2:30 pm. That's barely four hours. Since our time in port is 8:30 am to 8:00 pm, I would want to spend more time there and even take a cooking class. Are there taxis at the port or can someone recommend a car service? Thanks.

Found a highly rated private service on TripAdvisor - $65 round trip, so we're good. Really looking forward to this port after originally focusing more on Hong Kong, Saigon, and Bangkok.