Immunizations

[nadalina]

Would appreciate hearing which immunizations you are getting if your ship goes to Hong Kong, two ports in Vietnam, Laem Chabang and Bangkok in Thailand, and ending in Singapore. I have an upcoming appointment with a local travel clinic recommended by the CDC but I really don't want to take any more than absolutely necessary and wanted to do some online research before I go. I do not plan to do any hiking or venturing outside the normal tourist areas.

 

Thank you,

Peggy

[kiberkid]

Would appreciate hearing which immunizations you are getting if your ship goes to Hong Kong, two ports in Vietnam, Laem Chabang and Bangkok in Thailand, and ending in Singapore. I have an upcoming appointment with a local travel clinic recommended by the CDC but I really don't want to take any more than absolutely necessary and wanted to do some online research before I go. I do not plan to do any hiking or venturing outside the normal tourist areas.

 

Thank you,

Peggy

 

We are doing a similar (maybe even same cruise) as you. I have heard that all you need is your Hep A&B, but we are going to our travel clinic in Saturday to find out more. It was also recommended to have a traveler's diarrhea type of medication as well.

[nadalina]

Hi, Kiberkid.

I will be on the Crystal Symphony on the April 20 sailing. I read that you should definitely take along a broad-spectrum antibiotic that will cover all sorts of things from food poisoning to urinary tract infections, etc. as well as some type of over-the-counter anti-diarrheal meds. I, too, heard and read that Hepatitis A&B immunizations are recommended as well as typhoid, DT and polio booster. My appointment is March 11, so I guess I will find out then what the doctor recommends. I checked with my medical insurance company and they will pay for most everything except typhoid. It is my understanding that the Hep A and Hep B shots have to be given at least four weeks apart. Have you heard anything to confirm or deny this information? Also, have you heard anything about any common reactions to any of the shots?

 

Thanks,

Peggy

[newfarmers]

If you were planning on doing a three week overnighter then you should consider immunisation but Australian authorities don't recommend any immunisation for short term stays such as on a cruise.

 

Unless people are planning on drinking out of drains and eating uncooked meat then getting typhoid shots is (imo) over the top as are the hep vaccinations.

 

yes, take something like imodium if you get a case of the runs.

 

you are on a cruise run by a western company and will be taken to sanitized western friendly sites unless you are game to do the on your own thing.

 

use bug spray if you are going to be out in the evening. otherwise there is no malaria risk.

 

we returned today from 14 days on Legend of the Seas.

We spent three days pre-cruise in Shanghai and ate street food as we came across it. Amazing omeletes for breakfast, steamed buns, fried all sorts of things. we then visited -

Xiamen, Hong Kong overnight, Sanya, Chan May port for Da Nang/Hoi An/Hue, Nha Trang, Phu My docked (instead of tendering to Vung Tau) for Saigon, Laem Chabang overnight - private tour to Ayutthaya with Bangkok Day Tours, hotel at Pattaya, Sihanouk Ville - private car booked to Phnom Penh, Singapore - three nights post cruise - stayed on the edge of Chinatown.

 

We only heard of one person in the large group of people we were socialising with who had some stomach problems. Way less than on our last cruise through the Med and then Africa and Brasil.

 

I have no spleen and took no extra precautions for this holiday.

 

It's each person's individual choice though.

[nadalina]

Hello, and thank you very much for your response. I definitely tend to agree with everything you said. My appointment with the travel clinic is on March 11. I will keep the appt., if only to get my tetanus and polio booster because it has been so long since I have had either and also because I think it's a good idea to have those particular boosters even if just being in the U.S. It will be interesting to see what the doctor says. My insurance will pay for just about everything except for typhoid and he may take advantage of that.

 

I do have another question for you, please. I have a private driver/tour guide arranged in Laem Chabang for Bangkok. Is there anything in particular that you would recommend that I absolutely should not miss? Also, what about the port of Chan May in Viet Nam? I would like to hire a private driver/tour guide to pick me up there and take me to either Da Nang, Hue or Hoi An, but from my online research, it does not appear that there would be time to do more than one of these cities because they are so far apart. Your input would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have been to all three cities. Which one would you choose if you could only go to one? Also, if there is a private driver/tour guide in Viet Nam, for both Chan May and Ho Chi Minh City, I would appreciate hearing about them. I am not sure about the policies of this Board in posting the names of tour guides in other countries, but you could also email me at ppbparker@yahoo.com if you prefer.

 

Thank you so very much for your comments and suggestions.

 

Peggy

[newfarmers]

Hello, and thank you very much for your response. I definitely tend to agree with everything you said. My appointment with the travel clinic is on March 11. I will keep the appt., if only to get my tetanus and polio booster because it has been so long since I have had either and also because I think it's a good idea to have those particular boosters even if just being in the U.S. It will be interesting to see what the doctor says. My insurance will pay for just about everything except for typhoid and he may take advantage of that.

 

I do have another question for you, please. I have a private driver/tour guide arranged in Laem Chabang for Bangkok. Is there anything in particular that you would recommend that I absolutely should not miss? Also, what about the port of Chan May in Viet Nam? I would like to hire a private driver/tour guide to pick me up there and take me to either Da Nang, Hue or Hoi An, but from my online research, it does not appear that there would be time to do more than one of these cities because they are so far apart. Your input would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have been to all three cities. Which one would you choose if you could only go to one? Also, if there is a private driver/tour guide in Viet Nam, for both Chan May and Ho Chi Minh City, I would appreciate hearing about them. I am not sure about the policies of this Board in posting the names of tour guides in other countries, but you could also email me at ppbparker@yahoo.com if you prefer.

 

Thank you so very much for your comments and suggestions.

 

Peggy

 

Hi Peggy

 

We'd been to Bangkok previously so didn't go this time. Our must do's would be the Palace - truly quite extraordinary buildings, the reclining Buddha, the floating markets (early in the morning if you can arrange it), a ride in a tuk tuk - hilarious, you can't stop yourself from laughing, a ride in a long boat (you'd do this if you visit the floating markets), a dinner cruise on the river, Chuttachuck markets - not sure how long you have, with that list you might need a couple of days.

 

Chan May - sadly the guide we booked and paid for to go to Hoi An didn’t show. So avoid Hoi An Vietnam Tours (Hoi An Online Travel) Mr David Duong (Duong Thanh Huu). There were a number of people holding name boards for other pre-arranged private tours but I didn’t take notice of the company names.

 

You could only do either Hoi An or Hue as they are too far apart to do both. Da Nang wasn’t highly recommended by any on our cruise who visited it.

 

There is nothing to do at Chan May of you don’t do either a ship’s or private tour. There were plenty of taxis on the dock plus a tour company offering van rides (possibly with guides). The taxi/van to Hoi An cost us USD100 for four of us. They all started at USD120.

 

We were dropped near the old town, bought a ticket that gave us entry to five of the sites at the tourist information office, and ’did it ourselves’. It is actually very small and is all on flat ground. Despite what they say about it being motorised vehicle free it isn’t really so you have to be on the look out for motor bikes.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Hoi An, despite the bad start. The people were respectful if you said no, the only place in Vietnam that we encountered this. The historic places we visited very intersting.

 

A friend at work who has visited both suggested Hoi An over Hue as you can see everything in Hoi An (in the part of the day you’d get after travelling there) but miss more of Hue (because of the trave)l.

 

We ended up on a ship’s tour to Saigon (Ho Chi Min). We had originally booked the hydrofoil from Vung Tau to Saigon and again do the ‘on our own’ but the ship went further upstream to Phu My. As for Chan May, there is nothing to do/see but the port if you dock at Phu My.

 

Sorry I don’t have recommendations for guides for these places. I have seen exitissimo (spelt wrong possibly) recommended on the boards for Vietnam tours so maybe start there.

 

peter

[MJC]

We did the Clipper trip up the coast of Vietnam and hired our own guides pre- and post-cruise for Saigon and Hanoi. We used a company out of San Francisco that was highly recommended by other CC members on other boards at this website, and we were very satisfied. Check out Indochinatravel.com. I'm wholly unconnected to the travel biz, just my personal recommendation based on our happy experience.

 

I second the choice of Hoi An if you only have one day. We skipped Da Nang to visit some Cham ruins in the countryside. I enjoyed Hue but then we had the whole day there. People on our cruise said that if you'd seen the Forbidden City in China that the imperial palace in Hue was a letdown (I haven't been to China yet so I can't compare). The market in Hue was a lot of fun, but there markets in every town.

 

Hoi An is very picturesque, the shopping is very interesting, the architecture is very photogenic, and the guild halls are beautiful. We had lunch at Nam Long restaurant, overlooking the river and with a beautiful garden out front (very Western-friendly). I would totally do that day over again if I had the chance.

 

Here is why I was so happy with our guides. We spent a whirlwind day in Hanoi with our cruise companions, seeing all the big sights, riding in the tuk tuks, water puppets, etc. Post-cruise, for our last day, we wanted something special. We live in New York so the big city thing doesn't thrill us so much. For $140, we got a van, driver, guide, two bikes, and a picnic lunch. We drove into the countryside for about 45 minutes and biked around a farming village. We started at the market buying fruit and chatting with the blacksmith, we visited with a farm family, met the bike repairman (unfortunately!), talked with some women harvesting rice, met and played with some children, had lunch under a huge banyan tree along a river, and genuinely experienced a day in the country. We came back to Hanoi and had coffee by the lake before visiting the cultural museum (a wonderful museum btw). It was a special day at the end of a truly wonderful trip, and it wouldn't have happened with a large group.

[Oca]

My husband and I will be on a cruise stopping in Semarang, Indonesia in a couple of weeks. We have opted to go on the ship's tour to the Temple of Borobudur and its complex which is about 56 miles away from where the ship docks.

 

I recently saw on a traveler's health site that the area around the Temple is one that is considered a risk for malaria. Has anyone been to the Temple area? Has anyone here ever taken anti-malarial medication? Reading about the possible side effects makes me very hesitant to take anything. Newfarmers, you seem to think that using bug spray is protection enough against the risk of malaria. In light of the fact that we will be in the area for only a matter of hours (and it will be during daytime) do you think that going the 'bug spray only route' is precaution enough against the risk of malaria? It is very unnerving to see in black and white that there is a risk of contracting malaria in a spot we are planning on going to.

 

I will speak to my doctor on Monday and get his thoughts but I would like to check with people who have traveled in the general area before and get your insights as well.

 

Thanks for any help and consolation you may be able to give me!

[kiberkid]

We are doing a similar (maybe even same cruise) as you. I have heard that all you need is your Hep A&B, but we are going to our travel clinic in Saturday to find out more. It was also recommended to have a traveler's diarrhea type of medication as well.

We went to the travel clinic today and had our Hep B and Typhoid shot. We had our Hep A and Tetnus a few years ago. The areas we are going to do not have a Malaria risk and he said even if they did, as long as we were sleeping on the ship and not under a tree in the jungle we would be fine. He did caution us that if we get bit by a dog or any animal for that matter, seek local medical treatment as they wil have the rabies vacine that is prominant in their area. Apparently it is more difficult to treat in North America as we have different strains of rabies here.

 

We go back in a month and then again oin five months for the Hep B boosters and we will be set for a while.

 

Tetnus is good for ten years and Typhoid is good for three years.

[newfarmers]

My husband and I will be on a cruise stopping in Semarang, Indonesia in a couple of weeks. We have opted to go on the ship's tour to the Temple of Borobudur and its complex which is about 56 miles away from where the ship docks.

 

I recently saw on a traveler's health site that the area around the Temple is one that is considered a risk for malaria. Has anyone been to the Temple area? Has anyone here ever taken anti-malarial medication? Reading about the possible side effects makes me very hesitant to take anything. Newfarmers, you seem to think that using bug spray is protection enough against the risk of malaria. In light of the fact that we will be in the area for only a matter of hours (and it will be during daytime) do you think that going the 'bug spray only route' is precaution enough against the risk of malaria? It is very unnerving to see in black and white that there is a risk of contracting malaria in a spot we are planning on going to.

 

I will speak to my doctor on Monday and get his thoughts but I would like to check with people who have traveled in the general area before and get your insights as well.

 

Thanks for any help and consolation you may be able to give me!

 

Hi Oca

 

we would not take the drugs unless we were going to be spending a considerable period in a 'malaria' risk destination, ie staying overnight in villages, not resorts.

 

to be honest, although we took two lots of spray with us on our recent cruise, we didn't spray once.

 

mossies are normally a dusk and dawn thing (or shady areas) as well so if you'll be back on the ship before nightfall then bug cream/spray is what we would do

 

pete