Stay and cruise

[Dairbear01]

Looking to fly from Scotland if possible and stay 2 nights before and after a 10 night ish Asian cruise.

We are looking at staying in 2 of 3 from Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong, with a cruise to at least Vietnam in between, not sure how best to tackle it, gut says into Bangkok then home from Hong Kong with Singapore included in the cruise itinerary, only cruised on Fred Olsen so ideally a 2500 approx capacity cruise ship would be preferable.

 

Any pointers appreciated 

[John Bull]

Cruises which start or end at HK and include Bangkok and Singapore usually start or end at Singapore rather than Bangkok.

 

Nearest equivalent to Fred in size, atmosphere and clientele and not too different in cost is probably Holland-America - for instance Noordam carries 2,000 pax and sails between Singapore & Hong Kong & vice versa eg https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/gb/find-a-cruise/o5a14a/n513

It includes an overnight in Laem Chabang (Bangkok). The port is about 2 hours from the city, and no suitable public transport. So it's well worth fixing up a private transfer (or shared transfer via Cruise Critic's rollcall) and an overnight hotel in Bangkok to make the most of it.

No overnites in Phu My (Saigon) or Halong Bay but very long days at both. 

Phu My is about an hour from Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City, but many stick with the name Saigon), ships normally offer "Saigon on your own" or similarly-named coach transfers.

At Halong Bay your main choices are the 3 to 3 1/2 e/w coach tour to Hanoi or a junk cruise thro the limestone karsts and watery moonscape of Halong Bay. Especially since that cruise is a single long day in Halong Bay, I'd strongly recommend the unique experience of a four or six hour junk cruise.

 

I suggest you devote most of your pre or post-cruise time to Hong Kong - an eclectic mix of old & new, lots of sights, and I'd happily spend a whole day criss-crossing the harbour on the Star Ferries and up & down the main streets on the island on the rickety old trams 🙂.

 

JB 🙂

[tj_shopper]

We will be on the Celebrity Solstice January 27, 2026 - I think it holds approximately 3,000 passengers.  We've never cruised on Celebrity - always Royal Caribbean, so this will  be a change for us but excited to try Celebrity.  It's a 12 night cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore.  We are from Chicago, Illinois.  Our plans are to fly into Taiwan to spend a 2-3 days, then fly to Hong Kong for 2-3 days prior to getting on our ship.  Our ships' itinerary is below.  We also plan on staying a couple of days in Singapore after the cruise.  We're excited for this cruise and can't wait.  Both my husband and I were born in Hong Kong and immigrated to America when we were toddlers.  I went back to Hong Kong once about 10 years ago when my oldest daughter studied abroad in Singapore.  Both places are must see!  I've never been to the other places on our itinerary and was very interested in hearing @John Bull's information.  @John Bull - any information you can give me on the ports of call in my itinerary?  Thanks!

 

 

[Dairbear01]

Thank you for all that info, since I posted I have looked further into it, concur that Singapore and Hong Kong stays sound great. 

 

The length of time travelling between cruise line and Bangkok was making us think it was a better option to stay there prior to cruise, but if it's part of the cruise we need to decide if a single trip up and stay for as long as possible is preferable to an overnight hotel stay in Bangkok, getting back ti the ship in time for sail away.

[Dairbear01]

@tj_shopper the one we are looking at now is a similar cruise to your one for next year , ours is 13 days with the only difference in ports being nha trang Vietnam, on the same ship , we are going from Scotland which is also a windy place like Chicago , lovely dogs by the way.

[tj_shopper]

1 minute ago, Dairbear01 said:

@tj_shopper the one we are looking at now is a similar cruise to your one for next year , ours is 13 days with the only difference in ports being nha trang Vietnam, on the same ship , we are going from Scotland which is also a windy place like Chicago , lovely dogs by the way.

Thank you - they are my babies lol!  I believe we looked at the 13 day cruise also but we couldn't do it for 2025; thus we're going in 2026.  Please give us a review after your cruise!  Safe travels.

[Dairbear01]

@tj_shopper

 

Once we nail down our plans I will let you know any helpful info and if we do go a review of how we got on.

[John Bull]

2 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

We will be on the Celebrity Solstice January 27, 2026 - I think it holds approximately 3,000 passengers.  We've never cruised on Celebrity - always Royal Caribbean, so this will  be a change for us but excited to try Celebrity.  It's a 12 night cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore.  We are from Chicago, Illinois.  Our plans are to fly into Taiwan to spend a 2-3 days, then fly to Hong Kong for 2-3 days prior to getting on our ship.  Our ships' itinerary is below.  We also plan on staying a couple of days in Singapore after the cruise.  We're excited for this cruise and can't wait.  Both my husband and I were born in Hong Kong and immigrated to America when we were toddlers.  I went back to Hong Kong once about 10 years ago when my oldest daughter studied abroad in Singapore.  Both places are must see!  I've never been to the other places on our itinerary and was very interested in hearing @John Bull's information.  @John Bull - any information you can give me on the ports of call in my itinerary?  Thanks!

 

 

 

Celebrity is a step up from RCI - you'll enjoy 🙂

 

Altho you're in Halong Bay overnight, like most ships it's only a day and a half.

This gives you the time to make a decent fist of Hanoi but one where I'd strongly recommend ship's (doubtless over-priced 🙁) overnight trip - I just don't rate 7 hours coach travel for 2 to 3 hours in Hanoi. But again my preference is for a decent junk cruise.

Celebrity will probably offer Hanoi on day one and a 2-hour junk cruise next morning, but IMHO that's the worst of both experiences. You need at least a 4-hour & preferably a 6 or 8 hour cruise

Overnight junk cruises used to be timed for folk lodging in Hanoi, but I understand that now some are timed to suit cruisers. No personal experience of overnight cruises, but they don't sail in the dark, the routes are similar to 8-hr day cruises.

 

Chan May. Nearest & easiest place to visit is the walled city of Hue, also the scene of bloody battles in the Vietnam war,

But for a more-rounded day (and you certainly have the time) I suggest a much longer trip to the small & quaint ancient city of Hoi-An, and on the way back Da Nang, China Beach and Marble Mountain (and the little marble workshops at its foot rather than the big commercial places along the shore). There's now an elevator up Marble Mountain.

 

Phu My for Saigon, and Laem Chabang same as my response to @Dairbear01 , sorry can't help with Ko Samui.

 

JB 🙂 

 

[tj_shopper]

5 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Celebrity is a step up from RCI - you'll enjoy 🙂

 

Altho you're in Halong Bay overnight, like most ships it's only a day and a half.

This gives you the time to make a decent fist of Hanoi but one where I'd strongly recommend ship's (doubtless over-priced 🙁) overnight trip - I just don't rate 7 hours coach travel for 2 to 3 hours in Hanoi. But again my preference is for a decent junk cruise.

Celebrity will probably offer Hanoi on day one and a 2-hour junk cruise next morning, but IMHO that's the worst of both experiences. You need at least a 4-hour & preferably a 6 or 8 hour cruise

Overnight junk cruises used to be timed for folk lodging in Hanoi, but I understand that now some are timed to suit cruisers. No personal experience of overnight cruises, but they don't sail in the dark, the routes are similar to 8-hr day cruises.

 

Chan May. Nearest & easiest place to visit is the walled city of Hue, also the scene of bloody battles in the Vietnam war,

But for a more-rounded day (and you certainly have the time) I suggest a much longer trip to the small & quaint ancient city of Hoi-An, and on the way back Da Nang, China Beach and Marble Mountain (and the little marble workshops at its foot rather than the big commercial places along the shore). There's now an elevator up Marble Mountain.

 

Phu My for Saigon, and Laem Chabang same as my response to @Dairbear01 , sorry can't help with Ko Samui.

 

JB 🙂 

 

Thank you!  I haven’t started any research on this cruise yet so I will make note of all your recommendations and suggestions.  On the ports that we’re spending over night, do you think we should get a hotel for the night if the cruise port is far from the city center?  

[John Bull]

24 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

Thank you!  I haven’t started any research on this cruise yet so I will make note of all your recommendations and suggestions.  On the ports that we’re spending over night, do you think we should get a hotel for the night if the cruise port is far from the city center?  

 

Yes, for sure in Bangkok. It's 90 to 120 minutes drive from Laem Chabang.

No suitable public transport, and ships' Bangkok-on-your-own transfers usually only operate same-day. So in advance fix private transfers or shared transfers via your RollCall  -unless things have changed taxis available at the port are a cartel and will rip-off those who have left themselves with no choice.

 

If the timings work out, you might want to consider what we did..........

We booked a coach & cruise tour to the summer royal residence and pavilions at Bang-Pa In, then on to the ancient city of Ayutthaya (shades of Cambodia's Angkor Wat), then to a river cruiser (with excellent buffet lunch) to sail down the Chao Phraya into Bangkok and River City Pier in the centre of the city. That tour actually started in Bangkok, but we arranged to meet it at Bang-Pa In, and fixed up a private transfer from the ship at Laem Chabang to Bang-Pa In where we met up with the coach tour. 

Several operators, I don't recall whether this is the one we used https://www.thairivercruise.com/ayutthaya-river-cruise-day-tour-bangkok-chao-phraya-river-thailand

 

Our hotel, Royal Orchid Sheraton, fixed up the return to Laem Chabang - allow at least 2 1/2 hrs. It turned out that our driver was a former cruise ship steward.

 

A hotel on or close to the river at River City is very handy for a long-tail boat ride thro the klongs (canals) - fix a private boat for an hour, then extend it with the driver to 1 1/2 hrs, for a variety of day & evening cruises, and for the cheap frequent river ferries to places like the Flower Market, Wat Arun, and the Grand Palace. A room with a river view is fascinating, but addictive.

 

In Halong Bay there's no need for an overnight hotel, your ship will port in or tender to the city. 

 

JB 🙂

[tj_shopper]

@John Bull thank you for all this information I. I have a lot of research to do but this will get me started.  Luckily I still have a lot of time!  We are looking forward to Celebrity and afraid we will never go back to Royal Caribbean after this lol!

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, tj_shopper said:

@John Bull thank you for all this information I. I have a lot of research to do but this will get me started.  Luckily I still have a lot of time!  We are looking forward to Celebrity and afraid we will never go back to Royal Caribbean after this lol!

 

 

Royal Caribbean is OK, enjoyed many cruises with them.

I'm now sadly the right shape -  but not the right age - for their belly-flop competitions 😂😂😂

 

JB 🙂

[ROCruiser]

On 7/9/2024 at 5:44 AM, tj_shopper said:

@John Bull thank you for all this information I. I have a lot of research to do but this will get me started.  Luckily I still have a lot of time!  We are looking forward to Celebrity and afraid we will never go back to Royal Caribbean after this lol!

tj_shopper, if interested, you may look through my blog post in my signature. We have done these ports (except Chan May) in the past that may give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy your cruise!

[tj_shopper]

9 minutes ago, ROCruiser said:

tj_shopper, if interested, you may look through my blog post in my signature. We have done these ports (except Chan May) in the past that may give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you!  I will definitely take a look!

[YWW]

On 7/9/2024 at 7:44 AM, tj_shopper said:

@John Bull thank you for all this information I. I have a lot of research to do but this will get me started.  Luckily I still have a lot of time!  We are looking forward to Celebrity and afraid we will never go back to Royal Caribbean after this lol!

Don't get your hopes too high on Celebrity because Celebrity has really gone down hill especially food in main dining room and entertainment.Their customer service is downright incompetent. In our last Nov 2023 Celebrity cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong, we were shocked their main restaurant menus hardly had any choices and stayed almost the same each evening. Fortunately we dined in some of their specialty restaurants for a few evenings which were good. Their evening entertainment was simply terrible. Since the journey included Vietnam stops, we had to get e-Visa online from Vietnam and the form required the exact names of ports. We called Celebrity customer service 3 times and no one knew the names of the ports so we just took a wild guess from the sailing itiniary. Well, we were wrong and once you submitted the e-Visa application you couldn't make changes or corrections to it. Celebrity didn't get back to us until 2 weeks before our departure with the correct port names and naturally we had to reapply for a second eVisa from Vietnam and paid a second time. After this experience, we won't sail Celebrity again, even if it is free. Also, be careful with Celebrity laundry service. They say you can get your laundry back in 24 hours but in reality 36 hours.