Jump to content

what are the trip facilities like in Asia


wobly peanut
 Share

Recommended Posts

We are new to this site although we have done many cruises so we are learning how to use these facilities. Any advice will be helpful.

 

We are travelling in January on the Sapphire Princess and visiting

Penang

Langkawi

Kuala Lumpar (Port kelang)

Kota Kinabalu

Nha Trang

Ho Chi Min City (Phu My)

Sihanoukville

Bangkok (Laem Chabang)

Ko Samui

 

As the cruise company (Princess) tend to be expensive, we do not want to be stranded by not booking their organised trips but if the local companies offer tours ashore here, I would like to have that option. So if anyone has done this trip or visited these ports and can give advice, I would be very very grateful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of those ports are a fair distance from the city or attraction they purport to visit. I don't have specific tour company advice but there will be lots of local tours and there should be some threads on these ports elsewhere here but the Princess forum may be a better bet. Oceania and Crystal travel the region frequently so you could also look there.

 

Tastes vary but my two cents on the DIY options:

Penang, Langkawi, Ko Samui can all be easily done on your own. The last two especially are mostly beach destinations. Penang has some more history to see the other two some jungle, and attraction type stuff ie Cable Car and rides in Langkawi. Kota Kinabalu's highlight for most is the Orangutan Centre probably best done on a tour. Personally that didn't interest me and the town itself isn't on par with your other destinations. There are some mediocre beaches options as well.

 

I don't think you can (easily) get to Angkor Wat from Sihanoukville, but if you can it is not to be missed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Penang - the ship docked right next to the Colonial part of George Town. If you walk off the ship and turn right you can wander around this pretty part of town. There is a fort called Fort Cornwallis just after you leave the port. Penang is renowned for food so there are many restaurants in the area and the food is generally excellent.

Port Kelang - it's about 2 hours into KL from the port. The ship will probably run a tour called KL on your own or something similar. They drive you into the city (in our case it dropped us at the mall under the Petronas Towers), you do your own thing, then they pick you up at a designated/time place.

 

Ko Samui - Chaweng beach is about 40 minutes from the port. There is also a shuttle that will run you there and pick you up. It's not free though.

There are shops/ATMs, restaurants etc in the beach area. It's a popular tourist area. There are also resorts that you could probably get a day pass to if that's your thing.

 

Bangkok - about 2 hours from the port with lots of traffic. Bangkok is amazing but very, very busy so it might be best to either take a ship's tour or meet up with other passengers and arrange a tour as it might be a bit daunting otherwise. I've been a few times but only once on a ship. There is so much to see and do it would be a shame to miss the best sites.

Ho Chi Minh City - both times we docked right in the city but your port is quite a long way out. Lots of things to see. Make sure you visit the roof top bar of the Rex Hotel! Millions of motor scooters so traffic is crazy. Once again it might be best to do either a ship's tour seeing as it's your first time in Asia or joining your Roll Call on Cruise Critic to see if other passengers have any tours organised.

 

Sihanoukville - only been once and that was years ago before it was very touristy. There are beaches a short cab ride away (or probably a shuttle drive away). There is an interesting market too and I was reliably informed the restrooms were clean (just in case you were wondering).

 

Have a great trip. There are some fantastic destinations but do your research so you don't miss the sites or activities you want to do. It would be a shame to get off the ship, walk outside the port then turn around and go back to the ship as it looks too daunting!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good suggestions from previous posters! Not sure if you are aware of the roll-call section on Cruisecritic. Check to see if your sailing is posted and if others on the same sailing are organizing private tours. I found that the easiest way to go if you do not have any idea of what to do in ports or not wanting to do the ship excursions. We have been to some of these ports and if you are interested, click on the link to my blog to see what we did.

Have fun cruising!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are new to this site although we have done many cruises so we are learning how to use these facilities. Any advice will be helpful.

 

We are travelling in January on the Sapphire Princess and visiting

Penang

Langkawi

Kuala Lumpar (Port kelang)

Kota Kinabalu

Nha Trang

Ho Chi Min City (Phu My)

Sihanoukville

Bangkok (Laem Chabang)

Ko Samui

 

As the cruise company (Princess) tend to be expensive, we do not want to be stranded by not booking their organised trips but if the local companies offer tours ashore here, I would like to have that option. So if anyone has done this trip or visited these ports and can give advice, I would be very very grateful.

 

Use the "search" facilities on the top right hand side of the "Asia" threads page and type in the name of each port you will be visiting.

 

You will find a lot of information there on each port - most of you questions will be answered there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After signing off yesterday I realised I should have mentioned a couple of other things.

It will be very hot in all those ports and most likely there will be a high level of humidity in most places. Make sure you take some bottled water with you when ashore and take a hat and sunscreen. You don't want to be fried :eek:. If you forget to take bottled water from the ship it's available in all those places but for such a small purchase, you would need local currency so it's easier to get it on the ship. If you go to the wildlife park in Kota Kinabalu also take some insect repellent!

 

As mentioned by others, check out the older posts on this forum as there are recommendations for tours and tour guides. There is one particular company that gets lots of recommendations in Vietnam so you may want to check that out. Rules prevent me from mentioning them but it shouldn't be hard to find them.

 

Oh, and in Thailand if you intend to visit temples make sure you wear modest clothing i.e. no short shorts or tank tops. Although all these places are well used to tourists unless things have changed recently, temples and religious sites have dress requirements. Anyway, in your research, just check out what the recommendations are.

 

Perhaps there is another cc member who has visited some of these places recently who can give up to date info.

 

In case you feel homesick, you will also find chains such as Starbucks, Maccas and KFC in some destinations. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just returned from 6 weeks in Asia. One of our port stops was Langkawi. We had a wonderful day. We docked, and got off the ship on our own, first thing. We left the ship, and there were many taxi drivers wanting our business. We knew what we wanted to do for our day, hire a taxi and tour the island on our own. The first taxi driver wanted $400. Ringgets. We were not going to pay that much. We walked out of the fenced area, and there were more taxi drivers. A driver approched us, and he spoke very good English. He said he would take us for $300. Ringgets, so we went with him. This is what we did:

 

We left the port area and drove up to the Langkawi sky bridge:

www.panoramalangkawi.com/skybridge/

 

Our driver dropped us there and we purchased our tickets, and went up in the Gondola to the top. We then viewed the panorama views, then walked down to the bridge. These were awesome views! We spent about 1.5 hours here, then met our taxi driver at the entrance. From there, we drove around the Island and stopped at a couple beaches on the way for pictures.

 

Our next big stop was here:

www.langkawi-info.com/attractions/dataran-lang.htm#

This is a huge statue and all the taxi drivers know where it is. We spent about 30 minutes here viewing and taking pictures. Our taxi driver waited for us.

 

We then went to a beach:

www.langkawi-info.com/cenang/

We spent 1.5 hours here. Our taxi driver dropped us off near McDonalds, and we agreed to meet him there 1.5 hours later. We walked along the beach, then along the shopping area to do some local shopping.

 

We had a wonderful day, and returned about 3;00, and our cruise departed at 5;00.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just keep in mind that the ship will not wait for you if return late from your private tour. That is why for the last two 30 years of cruising we take the ships tours.

 

Sent from my SM-J320V using Forums mobile app

We have been on 47 cruises, and very seldom take ship excursions. We do our homework before we go, checking out reviews of tours and plan to be back to the ship 1-2 hours before our scheduled time. We have had so many wonderful tours of places most tourists don't get to see. Most all are very small size excursions, with very personalized service.

 

Sent from my XT1565 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Like debshomespun, we have cruised multiple times and usually take private tours or DIY and have never been late back to the ship. We always plan to return at least an hour before the all aboard time. We usually can see much more for a lot less money and fewer people in the group with private tours. I usually google the ports where we will be visiting to find out things of interest to see or do, then go to tripadvisor for tour operators. This gives me an opportunity to read reviews of their service and reliability. Unlike many of the European ports, some of the cities associated with the ports are not close to the cruise terminal. If you are overnighting in port, it makes sense just to make that long drive once and stay in a hotel in the city. Public transportation is not an option for the ports you will be visiting, so you will need the services of a guide or a taxi. Most the the taxi drivers will not speak English. Most, if not all, will want payment in local money since they may not know how to convert USD into local currency or if in USD, then the rate is high. For that reason, I always contact and make arrangements to form a tour group months before the cruise. It has never been difficult to fill the group with fellow cruisers if you are active on the roll call.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...