Spirit March 14-Port Questions

[Karanja]

My wife and I are on the March 14th Spirit, embarking in Hong Kong and leaving in Singapore. We have a few port questions.

 

What is Cai Lan (port for Hanoi) like? Is there anything to do there? Is this the same port that the Halong Bay half-day cruise leaves from?

 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Does the ship dock close enough to walk into town, as we are there for two days?

 

Bangkok - How far out (south) of the city does the ship dock? Are taxis or pedicabs available?

 

Anyone been on the Ko Hood (Thailand) beach day?

 

Thank you in advance for your help?

Ted

[LarryHal]

Took this trip in reverse order in Dec 2007.

 

In Cai Lan, we had no interest in the very long bus bride to Hanoi (remember, it was the end of our cruise), so we did the Halong Bay cruise and liked it very much. Departure point is in the same general area as the Spirit, and overlaps a bit with the previous day, but the scenery and eerie silence of your small boat make it very worthwhile. I don't think that there is a good third option.

 

In Saigon, you probably don't want to walk, but Seabourn provided a fre shuttle to a convenient down town location. Also lots of cabs. Good luck trying to cross the street.

 

In Bangkok you are quite far from town. I believe that a shuttle was provided here as well.

 

Seabourn beach days are wonderful. We have done two and they are a treat.

 

Have a great trip,

 

LarryHal

[Karanja]

Took this trip in reverse order in Dec 2007.

 

In Cai Lan, we had no interest in the very long bus bride to Hanoi (remember, it was the end of our cruise), so we did the Halong Bay cruise and liked it very much. Departure point is in the same general area as the Spirit, and overlaps a bit with the previous day, but the scenery and eerie silence of your small boat make it very worthwhile. I don't think that there is a good third option.

 

In Saigon, you probably don't want to walk, but Seabourn provided a fre shuttle to a convenient down town location. Also lots of cabs. Good luck trying to cross the street.

 

In Bangkok you are quite far from town. I believe that a shuttle was provided here as well.

 

Seabourn beach days are wonderful. We have done two and they are a treat.

 

Have a great trip,

 

LarryHal

 

Thank you LarryHal. This is all very helpful.

Ted

[Dorinda]

Ted - You had many of the same questions I did. There is discussion about some of these ports on the thread below - Spirit HK-Istanbul.

 

I think we will stay in Halong Bay in Cai Lan and take one of the ship's tours. The ship's junk cruise is $59 per person and I was quoted $84+ for a private tour! In Danang I think we will follow Jean's advice and get a taxi to Hoi An. Jagi had good advice for Bangkok.

 

Look forward to seeing you on board!

 

Cheers,

Dee

[Chairsin]

I agree that there is nothing in Cai lan. Hanoi is a long drive inland -- glad we did it the first time -- next time we will do the junk cruise. Ha Long bay is one of the most beautiful places in the world. When we were there two years ago there was major construction going on just outside the port in Saigon. Everything was torn up( including the side walks). So while we don't usually mind walking a couple of miles into town we decidied that it was not very safe and took the shuttle. The shopping in Saigon was amazing -- steer clear of the market and head in the opposite dircetion to Khai Silk for very high quality goods at reasonable prices.In Bankok you are closer that most cruise ships but still pretty far up river. The ship shuttle takes you to a major mid rise shopping center about half an hour away( still mid way between the ship and the historic/temple area) -- from there you can take a taxi. It really is a big pain in the neck and wastes alot of time.Ko Kood was idlyic -- lovely lazy afternoon doing hard things like drinking champagne and snorkeling. It was every bit as nice as Prickly Pear.