October 19, 2010 Voyage 3029 Shadow Hong Kong to Bangkok

[cruisenebraska]

Hi I'llBeCruisin'. It is good to hear that someone else will be with us from Shanghai to Bangkok. We are really looking forward to the cruise. Will you be in Shanghai ahead of departure day? We are scheduled to arrive on October 7 so we will have a couple of days to explore the city.

[chicagogal]

Count us in the roll call. We will be on from Shanghai to Bangkok as well. It looks like we have a very organized group. Impressive!

 

Hello I'llBeCruisin! Glad to see you join the roll call. We are getting a nice group. And the trip is getting close now! We are almost organized now on our plans ... We are only on from Hong Kong to Bangkok though.

 

 

Patty

[travelingduo]

It is good to see our roll call becoming more active which keeps it up "on top" of the boards! :)

[I'llBeCruisin']

We get into Shanghai on the day before the cruise. We are staying at the new Ritz Carlton. Since this is such a highly researched group, has anyone looked into transportation in Shanghai or Bangkok? Do you know how far the airport is from the cities and if ground transporation is easily available? I mostly worry about Bangkok since I think the ship will dock outside the city.

[cruisenebraska]

We have looked into transportation a bit. In Shanghai, we plan to try to take the maglev train from the airport, then connect to the metro system. It looks like it should get us within a couple of blocks of our hotel (the Park Hyatt in Pudong) and they are supposed to be quick and easy to navigate, with signage in English. The material we have looked at says that taxis from the airport are reasonable, but you need to be sure that you get one from the legitimate queue. Don't go with anyone who approaches you in the terminal, and it is best to have your destination written in chinese since the drivers generally do not speak english. We just think the maglev sounds like fun, and we plan to travel fairly light in terms of luggage so we think it will be manageable.

 

As far as Bangkok, I am not much help. We have a tour guide booked for October 28 and 29, and then will spend the night in a hotel in Bangkok. We fly to Siem Reap the next day, and will be relying on our hotel for transfer to the airport. The travel agent we worked with is familiar with Bangkok, and she said that traffic to the airport could be very bad and suggested allowing lots of time. (Let me know if you are interested in the Bangkok tour we have booked. We can easily add more people.)

[travelingduo]

chicagogal: I noticed on another thread that you have made arrangements with Ann Tours in Vietnam. We are a party of 4 and want to arrange tours at each port in Vietnam. Is that what you did? Did you just email them? thanks! Les

[cruisenebraska]

Travelingduo, you mentioned that you had received a letter from Silversea that included the answer on visas for Vietnam. We booked through a travel agent, and we have not received a similar letter. Was there anything else interesting or important included in the mailing? Other visa information, or additional requirements? Thanks.

[travelingduo]

I am attempting to attach what I received from Silversea. We booked this cruise directly with them because we are traveling with friends from the UK and we got a better deal on this cruise booking it with them! Hope this works.

Silversea Asia.pdf

[cruisenebraska]

Yes, the attachment worked fine. Thanks so much!!!!

[kimiata]

travelingduo: I e-mailed Ann Tours through the link in their website www.anntours.com. I have been corresponding with Tony, who has been great to deal with. They require a 50% deposit which you can put on your credit card.

 

We are using them for tours in Chan May and Saigon. I would like to use them for Hanoi as well, but don't want to risk being stuck in traffic on the way back to the boat in Haiphong. In that port, we have reserved a van and guide through Silversea.

 

Kim

[chicagogal]

chicagogal: I noticed on another thread that you have made arrangements with Ann Tours in Vietnam. We are a party of 4 and want to arrange tours at each port in Vietnam. Is that what you did? Did you just email them? thanks! Les

 

Kimiata beat me to it - we are all travelling together and she actually made the bookings for us all.

[travelingduo]

Thanks to both of you, chicagogal and Kim!

[chicagogal]

Thanks to both of you, chicagogal and Kim!

 

No problem. Check out anntours. They were highly recommended to us by a couple we met on our recent Silver Spirit TA crossing in April.

 

Kim then ran with it and did all the leg work. (Thanks Kim! :) )

 

Patty

[kimiata]

Kim then ran with it and did all the leg work.

 

I just happen to have more spare time right now. :)

[I'llBeCruisin']

I am getting excited! I have sent off our passports for Visas for China since we are getting on the ship in Shaghai. It was $400 for the two of us which was steep.

 

I have also been loking at tours online. I have been to Vietnam before, but it was in 1997. I am interested to see how things have changed. We went to Hoi Ann, it was a lovely city. What I remember most though was the heat! We were there in April and it was 100 degrees or more. The silversea experience was great. You board the junk boats right from the ship and sail through Halong Bay while you sip champagne. It was beautiful! The Hanoi trip was a must. It made for a very long day, but worth it. The highway wasn't finished when we were there so we had to ride in small vans. The ride took 3 hours each way. The road was filled with bikes with people carrying all type of animals. It was fun to watch to fill the time. I think I would take the tour with the ship here in case you don't get back in time. We have signed up. I am looking forward to going again.

 

Since we get on the Shadow in Shanghai, we have to fly straight home from Bangkok. We have a 6am flight on the 29th. I would love to arrange a car from the ship to the airport before I leave so I don't have to worry about it onboard. Does anyone know of a car service in Bangkok?

 

I can't wait to meet you all!

[cruisenebraska]

We have booked a tour in Bangkok with Bangkok Day Tours. They were very easy to work with, responded quickly to emails, and we picked them because of recommendations we found online. You might check with them to see if they would be willing to provide airport transport the morning of the 29th. The contact info I have is

 

Dennis Hansen

Bangkok Day Tours Co Ltd

Co Reg No: 0105553003791

Ph: 66 (0) 818 108 597

http://www.bangkokdaytours.com

 

I reached Dennis by email at admin@bangkokdaytours.com

 

We have never been to Vietnam, so we are looking forward to it. It was actually difficult to pick between some of the excursions.

[I'llBeCruisin']

We have booked a tour in Bangkok with Bangkok Day Tours. They were very easy to work with, responded quickly to emails, and we picked them because of recommendations we found online. You might check with them to see if they would be willing to provide airport transport the morning of the 29th. The contact info I have is

 

Dennis Hansen

Bangkok Day Tours Co Ltd

Co Reg No: 0105553003791

Ph: 66 (0) 818 108 597

http://www.bangkokdaytours.com

 

I reached Dennis by email at admin@bangkokdaytours.com

 

We have never been to Vietnam, so we are looking forward to it. It was actually difficult to pick between some of the excursions.

 

Thank you for the information. I have contacted them. What excursions are you trying to decide between? Maybe I can help.

[chicagogal]

I am getting excited! I have sent off our passports for Visas for China since we are getting on the ship in Shaghai. It was $400 for the two of us which was steep.

 

I have also been loking at tours online. I have been to Vietnam before' date=' but it was in 1997. I am interested to see how things have changed. We went to Hoi Ann, it was a lovely city. What I remember most though was the heat! We were there in April and it was 100 degrees or more. The silversea experience was great. You board the junk boats right from the ship and sail through Halong Bay while you sip champagne. It was beautiful! The Hanoi trip was a must. It made for a very long day, but worth it. The highway wasn't finished when we were there so we had to ride in small vans. The ride took 3 hours each way. The road was filled with bikes with people carrying all type of animals. It was fun to watch to fill the time. I think I would take the tour with the ship here in case you don't get back in time. We have signed up. I am looking forward to going again.

 

Since we get on the Shadow in Shanghai, we have to fly straight home from Bangkok. We have a 6am flight on the 29th. I would love to arrange a car from the ship to the airport before I leave so I don't have to worry about it onboard. Does anyone know of a car service in Bangkok?

 

I can't wait to meet you all![/quote']

 

We are excited to meet everyone too. I totally agree about taking the ship's tour to Hanoi. It seems risky to do that one on your own.

 

Can't wait!

 

Patty

[cruisenebraska]

I'llBeCruisin, thanks for your offer to share your thoughts and experience on excursions. The decision we have struggled with is what to do in Chan May. We keep looking at the the Ancient Hue/Perfume River option, and also the Cham Civilization with an Expert. The Cham Civilization excursion includes a visit to My Son Holysee, which sounds interesting. Our question is whether it will feel like a similar experience to visiting Angkor, which we will be doing at the end of the trip. We thought about arranging a private excursion picking the most appealing from each option, but they seem to be in different directions from the port.

 

Another question we have wondered about is whether it would be helpful to take vietnamese currency from home. We expect to be on organized excursions, but may find souvenirs that we want to take home with us. Will currency be available from ATMs? or on the ship? Do you have any experience with that?

[I'llBeCruisin']

Again, it was 1997 when I was last in Vietnam so things may have changed, but you should have no problem with American money. When we were there, dollars were accepted and welcomed everywhere. If you want to change money, there are usually ATM's in the cruise terminal or in the major cities. Sometimes Silversea will exchange currency at the reception desk or bring on a local company to exchange, but this is not the norm. We do not plan on exchanging money beforehand.

 

As far as the excursions, I have been to Hue. I enjoyed it, but I cannot compare it to the Cham Civilization one as I have not been been to any of the places on that tour. Sorry!

[chicagogal]

 

As far as the excursions' date=' I have been to Hue. I enjoyed it, but I cannot compare it to the Cham Civilization one as I have not been been to any of the places on that tour. Sorry![/quote']

 

We plan to go to Hue - I hope it will be worthwhile.

[chicagogal]

This trip is right around the corner. (I finish tax season at work on Oct 15th and we leave on the 16th!) Is anyone else going?

 

Patty

[I'llBeCruisin']

We got our documents!!! It is real now and just a few weeks away. Maybe we should plan a cruise critic drink somewhere to meet. Of course it's on me...

[cruisenebraska]

We have heard from our travel agent that she has our documents, so we are just waiting for her to bring them by. We, too, are getting excited. Our plane leaves 3 weeks from today!

 

We'd love to get together for a drink and meet everyone.

[chicagogal]

We got our documents!!! It is real now and just a few weeks away. Maybe we should plan a cruise critic drink somewhere to meet. Of course it's on me...

 

That sounds like a plan. I wonder if most will be on board at cocktail time on Oct 19th, even though we don't sail until late? We could meet before dinner at the main bar that night, or on the 2nd day, if that is better for everyone. It is a sea day.

 

Our docs are on the way to us and we should get them tomorrow. It is getting closer ...

 

Patty