Hong Kong to vietnam

[willsyboy]

Hi I have a few questions on azamara in December leaving from Hong Kong does anyone no from which cruise terminal.also at what time can you board the ship.when in Vietnam and in Ho Chi Minh where does the ship berth and does azamara run a bus to the Rex hotel.is the azamara evening worth going to or explore the city by night and cocktails at the Rex hotel

[Grandma Cruising]

Think you're doing the cruise after us. On the Azamara web-site it says Ocean Terminal for Hong Kong, and when I did a search of the Ocean Terminal web-site the Azamara Quest is scheduled to dock there (unlike for Singapore where the Azamara web-site shows the Marina Terminal, but the Quest shows up on the right date on the Singapore Cruise Centre web-site. Regarding Ho Chi Minh City, can't remember the name of the port, but I do know that it is the one in/near the city, not the one on the coast - the ship goes up the Snake river to get there.

Can't help you about the Azamazing evening as ours is in Bangkok - have you put this query on the roll-call for the cruise, you may get an answer from a fellow passenger.

 

 

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[Sanatee]

when in Vietnam and in Ho Chi Minh where does the ship berth and does azamara run a bus to the Rex hotel.is the azamara evening worth going to or explore the city by night and cocktails at the Rex hotel

 

The port in Saigon is in the heart of downtown. Its a short walk out of the port to Nguyen Blvd and the center of the city...great location. Its only about 1km walk up to the Rex. In 2013 Az did run a bus up there, but depending on traffic (always bad!) it can be faster to walk. We were lucky to be there during Tet and Nguyen Blvd was blocked off and the city was awash in decorations and families on holiday. It was beautiful enjoying cocktails at the roof bar of the Rex. Great city!

[Xport]

Sorry for the caption error; I can't edit it! My trip was in February 2014!

 

In Singapore, the ship [in my case, Journey] was docked at Singapore Cruise Center/Maritime Square...

 

In Ho Chi Minh City, the ship was docked right in town and Azamara did offer a shuttle to The Rex Hotel [a five/seven minute ride depending upon traffic]...

 

In Hong Kong, the ship was docked at Ocean Terminal/Harbour City [right in Victoria Harbour]... Ocean Terminal is attached to a large shopping mall and the Star Ferry Terminal is located a very brief walk [most of it in the mall] from where Journey was ported...

 

In all three cases, the ship was very conveniently located...

 

Our AzAmazing Evening on that trip was "A Magical Evening at Binh Quoi Village" during our overnight in Ho Chi Minh City... I've thoroughly enjoyed each of the four AzAmazing Evenings I've attended but the one in Vietnam was certainly memorable and may well be my favorite... The venue--all outdoors--is very pleasant, the staff is warm/welcoming, and the content--local artisans crafting small mementos and a cultural show [light snacks and beer/wine were served]--provided great insight into local culture/heritage... Azamara and the Binh Quoi Village staff orchestrated the evening extremely well... The only negatives I heard--they were not my experience--was that those who were among the last to arrive had little time to spend at the artisan stalls and those of shorter stature had some difficulty seeing the show if seated [round tables surrounding a central stage] toward the rear...

 

Your itinerary is a terrific one and, to my mind, really showcases Azamara's advantage in being able to dock where larger ships can't/where the action is [including in Bangkok though, with traffic, the short drive to central city can be surprisingly lengthy time-wise]... Enjoy!

 

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Hi Mike! Hi Carol!

Edited October 10, 2015 by Xport

[glenneagle]

The Rex serves the best iced coffee ever...do not miss it.

[zennor]

We are on this cruise - do join our Roll Call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038029

 

Yes I'm pretty sure that the ship leaves from the Ocean Terminal (in Kowloon) http://www.oceanterminal.com.hk/en/index.php and is shown on its schedule.

 

We have signed up for the Azamazing evening.

[pickypicky]

We were on this itinerary in 2012, before the advent of Azamazing evenings. The overnight in Ho Chi Minh City coincided with the White Night, but we really wanted to have dinner out in the city and a drink on the terrace at the Rex. What an experience! And there was a full moon, to boot. We will never forget it. And, we were back on board in time to enjoy the White Night in full swing! I don't envy the OP the decision....oh really, I do!!!

[AJCM]

Azamazing is probably in Bangkok, to the Ancient City, which has a lot of re-creations of significant Thai buildings. Very picturesque, especially under night light. Very few people took the time to wander around and enjoy these monuments. You'll have a local artisan market, and a show of various Thai entertainment specialties. At the end you'll have some fireworks then a lantern lighting on the miniature lake. We really enjoyed this night and we haven't hesitated to repeat it on the Nov Spore to Hk cruise in a few weeks. Shuttles in HCM and Bangkok are very good. For the latter, if you want to do something independently, you might be better off negotiating a taxi fare at the dock to your destination (e.g. Grand Palace). In Banglok, Prasart Museum is fantastic, if it's still an excursion. The ship's Halong Bay excursion was good - we thought 4 hours wa enough. In HK you'll be docked at one of the best locations in the world - right alongside the Star Ferry terminal, looking across to HK island and the 8.00pm light show. It's probably a $500 a night location. This is a great itinerary - go with the flow and enjoy.

[zennor]

Azamazing is probably in Bangkok..

 

This itinerary doesn't include Thailand. It's a 10 day cruise from Hong to Singapore and only includes Vietnam (3 ports but overnight at each one) so the Azamazing evening is in HCMC hence the decision to go along or spend the evening in the city - we are visiting the Mekong Delta during the day.

 

Thanks for all the feedback on experiences, I'm really looking forward to it. It hadn't occurred to me that that the 8:30 pm departure from Hong Kong would allow us to see the light show from the deck!

[Grandma Gilly]

From memory, the lights and laser show is at 8pm.

What a fantastic itinerary, I would love to do it again. Don't miss the Cu Chi tunnels in HMC. It was one of my favourite trips.

[santrah]

AJCM thank you for this info, did you do any of the Azamara trips at De Nang, I was particularly looking at the bicycle tour and Hoi An. We are on the Dec 2016 tour which is the same itinerary as which you travelled on.

Edited October 16, 2015 by santrah
error on quote

[willsyboy]

Still can't make up my mind about azamara evening as I am sure going to Rex hotel for cocktails in the evening would be a highlight.any thoughts.

[AJCM]

AJCM thank you for this info, did you do any of the Azamara trips at De Nang, I was particularly looking at the bicycle tour and Hoi An. We are on the Dec 2016 tour which is the same itinerary as which you travelled on.

 

We caught a taxi to Hoi An and just wandered around the wonderful old town. It's a very picturesque place and they have plenty of restaurants - cheap and delicious food.

 

You could also get a taxi to Marble Mountain, which is a wonderful place to visit. Maybe USD20-30 for a taxi. They'll want to hang around and bring you back too - give another $10 for him to have lunch. Good idea to try and get a Ho An map off the net, so you know the location of the old town streets, market, river, Japanese bridge.

[Mrs Skip]

AJCM thank you for this info, did you do any of the Azamara trips at De Nang, I was particularly looking at the bicycle tour and Hoi An. We are on the Dec 2016 tour which is the same itinerary as which you travelled on.

 

WE did the Hoi An and bicycle tour in Jan 2014 and would thoroughly recommend it. One of the best tours we've done and overall it was great value for money as well

[vino123]

WE did the Hoi An and bicycle tour in Jan 2014 and would thoroughly recommend it. One of the best tours we've done and overall it was great value for money as well

 

Thats good to hear, we are considering this tour too.

Did you get plenty of time to look round Hoi An as well?

[Mrs Skip]

Thats good to hear, we are considering this tour too.

Did you get plenty of time to look round Hoi An as well?

 

We had tour time in Hoi An ( approx 2 hrs) as well as some time to wander on our own (probably about an hour), a lovely lunch, a great bicycle tour (fairly flat terrain), a stop at a shop (could have aside done without that) as well as photo opportunity at Danang on the way back. It really was a great mix of activities...

[English Tim]

We are on a similar itinerary with Seabourn, next January, so seeing these suggestions is very useful.

[possumpete]

We caught a taxi to Hoi An and just wandered around the wonderful old town. It's a very picturesque place and they have plenty of restaurants - cheap and delicious food.

 

You could also get a taxi to Marble Mountain, which is a wonderful place to visit. Maybe USD20-30 for a taxi. They'll want to hang around and bring you back too - give another $10 for him to have lunch. Good idea to try and get a Ho An map off the net, so you know the location of the old town streets, market, river, Japanese bridge.

 

Hi, where did you pickup your taxi to Hoi An? Did you arrange for him to wait for you or did you pick up a return one in Hoi An?was there a shuttle to Danang?trying to include a visit to th Cham Museum as well as Hoi An if possible.