"Live" Coral Princess, 32 Days, Oct 17th to Nov 17th, Singapore-Asia-Los Angeles (+Week in Singapore pre-cruise)

[Pzbcruiser]

15 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I just checked with the Sanctuary Manager.  The Sanctuary pricing remains unchanged:

Full Day - $40 pp

Half Day- $20 pp

 

Morning Session- 8:30 to 1:00 

Afternoon   "       -1:00 to 5:00 

 

If you book for your entire voyage it is $30 pp, for full days.

 

The Coral has 3 "Cabanas," one on lower level and two on the upper level.  They are priced the same as regular lounges.  They do not have any of the amenities of the Royal Class Sanctuary Cabanas.  They are just lounges under canopies.

 

A nice feature of this Sanctuary is the small pool!

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for researching. Enjoy that pool!

[LACruiser88]

4 hours ago, c-boy said:

did pack you go to sauce?

Yes, I did!  Several bottles and our servers are loving it! 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

4 hours ago, farjar said:

Are those magnetic hooks you are using?  Is the ceiling metal?

Yes and yes...

 

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

Good Morning Vietnam!!!  I've always wanted to say that!  Robin Williams RIP!

 

[MacMadame]

The ceiling and the walls too. 

 

Probably the floors but they have carpet on them so I don't think magnets will stick.

[Jodieg]

Loving following you on your cruise.

[OzKiwiJJ]

21 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

Yes, it is!

You're making me wish I was back onboard again. 😪

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

The ceiling and the walls too. 

 

Probably the floors but they have carpet on them so I don't think magnets will stick.

Just remember they'll only hold the full weight as advertised when stuck to the ceiling. If you put anything too heavy on ones on the walls they just slide down. Good for hats and light items though. 

[LACruiser88]

I need to correct my previous post from Bangkok regarding the Tuk-Tuk taxi's.  I incorrectly referred to them as Tut-Tut's in my post.  I'm sorry... 🤷‍♂️

[LACruiser88]

Our day started with a quick breakfast in the RC MDR.  The extra dish this morning was a Waffle with Fruit Compote.

Our excursion meet time was 8:15 in the Universe Theater.  We were onboard our bus by 8:30 and on the road at 8:45 for our 1.5 hr drive to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

The drive actually took 2.45 hrs!!!  We were in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 90% of that time.

The majority of the residents still call the bustling city, Saigon.  Saigon has a population of 13 million (Vietnam population is 30 million) and is home to 9 million motor bikes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Consulate, in the same location during the war.

 

I am ashamed to say that we spent the majority of our time inside the enormous Cho Ben Thanh market!  Debbie was in shopping heaven!  We are definitely in need of an additional bag for our return home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie loved the traditional bargaining that is expected from shoppers.  Whatever the starting price, if you are patient and walk away a couple of times, you end up paying no more than 30% of the original price.

 

Debbie can't wait to return!  My wallet may need a little time to recover!

The return trip took an hour and 55 minutes.  We were the only bus at the ship when we returned and we were onboard in 5 minutes.  The shower felt great!  It was extremely hot and humid today!

[LACruiser88]

The extra dishes tonight in the RC section were Spaghetti aglio e olio with Shrimp and Grilled Salmon with a Dill Sauce, over Mashed Potatoes.  I had the Spaghetti and Debbie had the Salmon.  They were both very good!

 

 

Our Restaurant Manager, Michael, preparing the Spaghetti.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:13 PM by LACruiser88

[LACruiser88]

 

 

 

 

[arizonaperson]

@LACruiser88

Thanks.so happy to see a photo of Michael ( DR) ,he’s the best. 

Edited Tuesday at 02:39 PM by arizonaperson

[Peptmf]

On 10/21/2024 at 6:00 AM, NownZen said:

Weather in the distance

I read that you attende the Meet & Greet meeting?  Do you mind answering some of my questions? I’m hosting the one on the next cruise.

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

Our excursion meet time was 8:15 in the Universe Theater.  We were onboard our bus by 8:30 and on the road at 8:45 for our 1.5 hr drive to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

The drive actually took 2.45 hrs!!!  We were in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 90% of that time.

Which excursion did you take ?

Was it the 'On your own" tour, if so how much time did you have in Saigon ?

 

If you speak to anyway who used the shuttle to Ba Ria could you ask them about that experience please ?

Next time in Phu My I'm considering getting a taxi from Ba Ria to Vung Tau.

 

Thanks for all you info on your posts.

[shellbeachjim]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I need to correct my previous post from Bangkok regarding the Tuk-Tuk taxi's.  I incorrectly referred to them as Tut-Tut's in my post.  I'm sorry... 🤷‍♂️

I wasn’t going to correct you earlier (that would have been rude of me), but if you had a bad driver and got in an accident, you could have looked at him and said “Tut-tut”. 
 

I’ll let myself out now…

[alwalaska]

On 10/20/2024 at 10:53 PM, LACruiser88 said:

They did, but we no longer attend due to prior bad experiences at them.  Maybe someone who attended will provide an answer for you.

 

Btw, we do know a couple that did attend.  They left after 5 minutes because it was a complaining session.  That is why we avoid them.

That is a shame.  I've always really enjoyed them, but I can see how it can turn into a complaining session. 

[alwalaska]

On 10/21/2024 at 10:01 AM, LACruiser88 said:

Tonight they changed the Patter format to the new & improved format.

 

 

 

 Yay - it is called the Princess Patter again.  It was hard to search on when it was just called Princess Activities or whatever it was. 🙂Thanks again for sharing all of this. 

 

[NownZen]

8 hours ago, Peptmf said:

I read that you attende the Meet & Greet meeting?  Do you mind answering some of my questions? I’m hosting the one on the next cruise.

We were a bit late and missed some of the talks. When they asked for questions, I asked about issues in our room and a lady came over and took me off to discuss them. That took long enough that I missed the rest of the meeting. 

There was a microphone. There were about eight officers there.

[LACruiser88]

7 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Which excursion did you take ?

Was it the 'On your own" tour, if so how much time did you have in Saigon ?

We did the "on your own" bus transportation.  Even with the long ride there, we had 4 hrs on our own.

[Yehootu]

We booked a private “Tour by Xuan”. He met us outside the gate and we too were in the bumper to bumper traffic into the city. We visited the Ba Thien Hau Pagoda where we lite a 48 hr incense prayer ring. We went for a Tri Shaw ride( not for the faint of heart) the Post Office, Opera House, Remnants Museum , the old CIA building where the last helicopter left from. Finally off to the market. I wait for their price then offer 10% and go up from there😃

Edited yesterday at 12:23 AM by Yehootu

[LACruiser88]

Good morning Cam Ranh, Vietnam!  It is raining and forecast calls for rain for most of the day.

 

 

[NownZen]

In Saigon we did a local food tour with a guide. It was interesting to get a local perspective on life as well as trying food in various districts of Saigon. The guide showed up promptly at 11am on a motorbike taxi. We walked to one place and took taxis to further away places. We also got to cross one of the large busy streets that the port lecturer showed. That was fun. You glide slowly and constantly across the street.

The first stop was a place in the market.

The long piece was a sausage. The slightly more transparent pieces were like the Japanese Mochi. The other pieces were another kind of rice. There was a drink made from sugar cane.

 

We then walked to a locals place a few blocks away. This was a sidewalk store where the customers would pull up on motorbikes and get their orders to take away. There were two items there that we tried. First was a sandwich.

 

The drink was from a fruit that I did not get the name of. Quite good. The stall sold food but the owner went to a nearby stall to get the drinks. They tasted citrusy with a hint of apricot. 

Then the second dish. This was broken rice. The poor people used to gather the rejected broken grains to eat. There was pork with a nice sauce and the item in the lower right is a steamed mixture of egg, mushroom and sprouts. This came with a nice sauce 

 

The photo I could not get was of a motorbike with three tiny dogs on the back seat.

Then a taxi to another district. The green taxis are electric. Nice car.

We went to a local market. It was a considerable contrast to the Ben Tranh market which is intended for the tourists. It has only one stall that I saw that offered live eels.

We then walked to a park nearby. Across the busy street was a sidewalk vendor who only served one item and had been there for over 59 years. A lady on our side signaled the order across the street and someone brought it to us. The photo below is our deluxe seating at the park.

And the food.

Green papaya, beef jerky and mango chips.

 

Next a taxi to a restaurant. The guide said not to eat greens from street vendors so we went to a regular restaurant for the final dish. This was a sizzling pancake. The pancake itself had mung beans, sprouts, shrimp and pork. The was a plate of various green things which looked like someone had gone to the Botanic garden and picked some of everything.

You take a lettuce leaf and a mustard leaf in your hand and add various other leaves. When you get a good stack you add some of the pancake and roll it in the leaves and add sauce. Messy but very good.

 

Then a taxi to the market and a bit of wandering while waiting for the bus. A great day.

 

[LACruiser88]

This morning's extra dish in the RC section was Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

 

 

[libno]

On 10/20/2024 at 7:32 PM, LACruiser88 said:

Good morning Sea Day!  Check out the rainbow!  🌈

 

 

Btw, we sent out laundry on embarkation day, it was back in 48 hrs.  All items Debbie hang dries at home, she washed at the laundromat and hung in our cabin.  Everything was dry overnight!  We always have the couch covered with a bed sheet.  

 

 

how did you get to hang your clothes in the ceiling???

I see this question was already answered. thank you. enjoying your blog and pictures😉

Edited 13 hours ago by libno