Indonesian Discovery/Holiday Cruise - Your thoughts

[ChinaShrek]

I am thinking of booking the Indonesian Discovery or Holiday cruise. This is a 14 or 15 night cruise that leaves out of Singapore and goes to Malaysia and Indonesia. This would be a bucket list cruise but I have some questions before I book it. If you have been on this cruise, how was it? Is is worth flying to Singapore just to take this cruise? I am a history teacher, so I am thinking of sailing around around Christmas when i have two weeks off. How are the ports? I like history, different food, and Komodo Dragons. Will I see all of this?  I look forward to all of your comments.

[OlsSalt]

We  did two weeks around in Indonesia ending in Singapore on a longer cruise leaving from London, and loved every port. They are not "touristy" ports, so each one was unique. Plus the fun of seeing many of the crew's families come to the dock to greet them.

 

I say go for it, particularly if starting and ending in Singapore -always a treat of well-ordered sanity.

 

Borobudur was a highlight - excursion from can't rememember which port - but it was a stunning drive to get there. Jasmine Tea in Indonesia is almost worth the trip alone - fresh, fragrant and gorgeous. It is a unique part of the world that is hard to get to as comprehensively and comfortably as  HAL takes you. 

 

Bali -Denpasar  is way over-touristed, but taking trips up into the mountains takes you back in time and culture, to experience a very serene traditional lifestyle. Too many ports on our trip to remember them all without looking at our photo book - but all of them were captivating. 

 

I think you will have everyone wanting to tag along as arm chair travelers, if/when you decide to do this.

[jimdee3636]

@ChinaShrek

Maine to Singapore is about as far as you can fly on this planet! I hope if you go you'll give yourself a MINIMUM of two days in Singapore before the cruise, partly to get over the jet lag and partly to explore a unique and very special place.

 

Jim

[OlsSalt]

Good point - about a 20 hour flight time from Boston to Singapore.  That is a killer.  Just about upside down jet lag wise. But if this is a bucket trip, there is no way to avoid ......half the fun will not be getting there. 

 

Longest direct flight I ever took was 16 hours - Dubai to LA over the pole, but luckily it was arranged on Emirates Air by that cruise line agency. What a dream of a flight -with full camera views from the belly of the plane as we traveled across the North Pole.  That is now the hardest part of cruising for us as our own decades have flown by - just  getting to the embarkation ports.

[Mike B Landlubber]

I thought about doing these or a similar cruise, but reluctantly decided to go north to Japan (which I haven’t seen yet) instead. There are many worthy things in Indonesia, so I envy you, and will definitely follow a thread on your trip if you post one here!

[BSinPNS]

We had a great time on this cruise pre-COVID on the Volendam.  As mntioned before, the ports are not all that interesting, but there were several of us who joined for private tours at each port - they were fantastic and we got to see the real Indonesian countryside.  As mentioned before, please plan on spending at least a few days in Singapore.  They day you arrived doesn't count as you will be quite tired unless you sleep well on airplanes.  ENJOY!!

[ChinaShrek]

22 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Borobudur was a highlight - excursion from can't rememember which port - but it was a stunning drive to get there. Jasmine Tea in Indonesia is almost worth the trip alone - fresh, fragrant and gorgeous. It is a unique part of the world that is hard to get to as comprehensively and comfortably as  HAL takes you. 

 

Bali -Denpasar  is way over-touristed, but taking trips up into the mountains takes you back in time and culture, to experience a very serene traditional lifestyle. Too many ports on our trip to remember them all without looking at our photo book - but all of them were captivating. 

 

I think you will have everyone wanting to tag along as arm chair travelers, if/when you decide to do this.

I wonder if there are too many points to enjoy them all on this cruise but you have me excited about Borobudur and Bali. 

[Sir PMP]

I would do this cruise in a heartbeat, just fascinating.

[OlsSalt]

3 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

I wonder if there are too many points to enjoy them all on this cruise but you have me excited about Borobudur and Bali. 

 

The ports are relatively close so you don't have a lot of sea days. But they do require excursions of some sort, so that adds to the over all costs.

 

The range was fascinating, including the Dutch history still found in some of the ports - Fort Rotterdam -and the unique cultures of Komodo and Lombok. All pretty low key stops for the most part. The mayor of one small city invited us to a special reception at City Hall with wonderful refreshments.

 

Jakarta was the one large city but we did a real survey from President Obama's elegant childhood home to some incredible colored ancient fishing boats in the harbor and  the growing modern high rise city itself.  Not unlike the huge changes one also now finds in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. 

[OCJayGuy]

Just got off our first HAL cruise and already itching to book another. We are debating between Indonesia (Ubud has been on the bucket list for a long time) and Japan, so following and really appreciate all the insight here.

 

Edited January 20 by OCJayGuy

[tartanmom]

We've been looking at the Far East Discovery Holiday too and contemplating adding a segment before or after. The past few years we've done the Caribbean for the holidays but maybe time for something new. I have a friend that just did Celebrity's Asian holiday cruise with similar itinerary and she loved the ports but not the ship. I'll try to get some more info from her about the ports and highlights and share it here. 

 

[Maria63]

DH & I did the Indonesian Discovery in 2023 on Westerdam, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in history & culture as it takes you to places you would not normally get to visit on a holiday trip to the region. In Jakarta we took a private tour with a local guide, and had ample time at the Jakarta History Museum and the Old Town. The cultural tour of Lombok was also fascinating, to name just a few of the interesting places. Komodo dragons on the other hand are perhaps somewhat overrated, but the scenery in these parts is very beautiful.

[Maria63]

On 1/18/2024 at 6:56 AM, ChinaShrek said:

I am a history teacher, so I am thinking of sailing around around Christmas when i have two weeks off.

One thing to keep in mind is that December is in the middle of the rainy season in much of Indonesia, so it´s a less-than-ideal time to visit for instance Bali. The scenery in the interior is absolutely breath taking, but when shrouded in clouds & rain you don´t get to see any of it.

[ChinaShrek]

15 hours ago, Maria63 said:

One thing to keep in mind is that December is in the middle of the rainy season in much of Indonesia, so it´s a less-than-ideal time to visit for instance Bali. The scenery in the interior is absolutely breath taking, but when shrouded in clouds & rain you don´t get to see any of it.

Wow. I didn't even realize that. I have been to Vietnam and Thailand in December and thought the weather would be similar. 

Edited January 21 by ChinaShrek

[Maria63]

6 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Wow. I didn't even realize that. I have been to Vietnam and Thailand in December and thought the weather would be similar. 

I´m no expert on the monsoon patterns by far, but if I´ve got it right it is somewhat complicated. For instance, in Thailand, Phuket on the west coast is usually fine in late December, while Koh Samui on the east coast gets rains and high winds until around February. Singapore also has more or less daily showers until at least February.

[ChinaShrek]

6 minutes ago, Maria63 said:

I´m no expert on the monsoon patterns by far, but if I´ve got it right it is somewhat complicated. For instance, in Thailand, Phuket on the west coast is usually fine in late December, while Koh Samui on the east coast gets rains and high winds until around February. Singapore also has more or less daily showers until at least February.

No, thank you for the heads up. I did some research and it is not the best time of year to go to Indonesia.