Pre/Post cruise hotel Hong Kong/Singapore

[kathy16]

Would appreciate hotel recommendations fo 3-4 nights in HK, disembarking our ship in Singapore on Chinese New Years Eve - and staying 2-3 nights, before hopefully flying to Angkor Wat for a couple of nights- then back to US. Also, I was thinking of flying Silk Air from SIN to Siem Reap, then to US. Would I have any problems with my luggage allowance?

Thanks,

Kathy

[greatam]

Would appreciate hotel recommendations fo 3-4 nights in HK, disembarking our ship in Singapore on Chinese New Years Eve - and staying 2-3 nights, before hopefully flying to Angkor Wat for a couple of nights- then back to US. Also, I was thinking of flying Silk Air from SIN to Siem Reap, then to US. Would I have any problems with my luggage allowance?

Thanks,

Kathy

 

One of the best deals going in HKG is the Salisbury YMCA. Book a Harbor View Room or suite for a fantastic view.

 

http://www.ymcahk.org.hk/sales/html/hst001e.htm

 

You will have to book early, as the rooms go very fast. You will find excellent reviews every place and this is truly a primo location.

 

You may also want to investigate staying in Shenzhen, China (Shekou port), especially if you already have a multiple entry Chinese visa. The Nan Hai hotel overlooks Hong Kong harbor and the ferry between HKG and Shenzhen is next door. Cheapest way I have found to book this hotel is through AsiaRooms.com. Get a room on the executive floor and you cannot go wrong. There is quite a bit to do in Shenzhen as well as HKG, but only if you have already purchased the Chinese visa. There is a room on the lower level called the war game zone and it is a lot of fun if you are into things like that. Good restaurants on sight with lots of variety. http://www.nanhai-hotel.com/

 

Last, the new casinos in Macau offer some spectacular bargains for hotel rooms (much like Vegas). I stayed at the new Wynn Macau in an executive level room (grand deluxe) for $150.00 per night. Of course there is the also new Venetian and three or four other older but good casinos. Ferry service all the time to HKG.

 

For your plane fare, search around but you will generally be FAR better off moneywise booking a flight from SIN to REP and return on a separate ticket, than a one ticket itinerary from SIN to REP (and you return back to SIN anyhow) to catch the Singapore Air/Silk Air flight to the USA. Leave your excess luggage at your hotel in SIN for your trip to Angkor. Luggage weight on the Silk Air flights intra Asia is 44 pounds (one suitcase) in coach and 66 pounds (one suitcase) in business. For the flights to the USA, 2 suitcases pp checked, 50 pounds EACH suitcase. I just checked out of curiousity-ONE WAY-SIN/REP/SIN/JFK booked on the Silk Air website for November-$6000 plus tax PP. You can do CONSIDERABLY better. That is the price of Cathay Pacific RT BUSINESS CLASS fare from HKG to the USA.

[kathy16]

Thanks greatam for your reply. Since our cruise travels from HK, stopping in Vietnam, Bangkok, then SIN, we are not stopping elsewhere in China. Do we need a visa for HK? The cheapest flights I could find was from BDL- to Chicago on United. KAL to HK with a stop

in South Korea. Then on way back KAL from Siem Reap to South Korea to Atlanta, then back to BDL. I was going to buy Silk Air ticket separately from SIN to Siem Reap. But, we will have all our luggage with us, since I don't think we are flying back to SIN, and I am worried about the luggage allowance. Singapore Air from the US is way out of our price range.

We like to stay in nice hotels, and are willing to pay extra for a special experience/location if necessary.

Thanks,

Kathy

[greatam]

Thanks greatam for your reply. Since our cruise travels from HK, stopping in Vietnam, Bangkok, then SIN, we are not stopping elsewhere in China. Do we need a visa for HK? The cheapest flights I could find was from BDL- to Chicago on United. KAL to HK with a stop

in South Korea. Then on way back KAL from Siem Reap to South Korea to Atlanta, then back to BDL. I was going to buy Silk Air ticket separately from SIN to Siem Reap. But, we will have all our luggage with us, since I don't think we are flying back to SIN, and I am worried about the luggage allowance. Singapore Air from the US is way out of our price range.

We like to stay in nice hotels, and are willing to pay extra for a special experience/location if necessary.

Thanks,

Kathy

 

No visa needed for US citizens in HKG or Macau. So forget going to Shenzhen if you don't have a Chinese visa.

 

You are going to have problems with your luggage on ANY of the intra Asia flights from SIN to REP. As previously posted, the luggage allowance is 44 pounds, one suitcase. It will be FAR cheaper to buy a RT SIN/REP/SIN ticket, leave your luggage in Singapore than it will be to pay overweight luggage on two sectors and maybe three (REP to South Korea-depending on how the ticket is written, this may be a non codeshare segment ticket NOT eligible for the USA baggage allowance.).

 

You MAY want to look into the possibility of flying into HKG, take the cruise, fly SIN to BKK, a few days layover to go to Angkor, then a CONTINUING flight on the SAME ticket from BKK to the USA. This would preserve your luggage allowance as it would be booked as one ticket (they have luggage storage at the Bangkok airport for the short flight to REP/trip to Angkor)

 

Or an open jaw from BDL to HKG via Detroit on NW or BDL/ORD/Shanghai (no visa needed, in transit) then to HKG and return the same routing from SIN on Cathay Pacific/AA. Separate ticket from SIN to REP and return on Silk Air, Air Asia, lots of LCC's now in Asia but most fly through Bangkok to REP. Even some of the Middle Eastern carriers offer really good fares, if you don't mind stopping in the Middle East (no visa needed if you are in transit generally). I just flew Qatar Airlines out of Bkk last night. I am currently in Saigon. I think I have flown every Middle Eastern airline in the past 8 months and Etihad and Gulf Air offer simply spectacular service and great prices. Kuwait Airlines flies nonstop Kuwait City to NY for $1000.00 FIRST CLASS. No booze, but you get to sleep all the way.

 

There are a LOT of options and various ways to play the airfare game. But using an Asian LCC for intra Asia flights WILL generally result in overweight baggage charges if you have "normal" cruise luggage (2 suitcases pp at 50 pounds each + carryon). PLEASE look into this VERY carefully. You don't want to get hit was a $3-400 bill just to get your suitcases on board.

[comcox]

We're on a cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong and are doing a Siem Reap/Angkor Wat pre-cruise trip on our own. We are flying to Singapore first, staying overnight at Crown Plaza which is right there at the airport, then leaving our bigger suitcase at the baggage storage facility at the airport. We are then flying on Silk Air to Siem Reap where we have a 4-night/5-day tour package through Journeys Within.

 

Upon return to Singapore we will pick up held luggage and head into town. I found a very good online advanced pay rate for a harbor view room at the Fairmont Hotel right across the street from the famous Raffles. Hotel is atop metro station and shopping center so very convenient for everything.

 

In Hong Kong we've reserved a harbor-view room at the Salisbury YMCA which someone already mentioned.

 

Since your cruise gets into the New Year period is may be a bit more challenging to find any deals on hotels.

 

Good luck.

[Jade13]

 

You are going to have problems with your luggage on ANY of the intra Asia flights from SIN to REP. As previously posted, the luggage allowance is 44 pounds, one suitcase. It will be FAR cheaper to buy a RT SIN/REP/SIN ticket, leave your luggage in Singapore than it will be to pay overweight luggage on two sectors and maybe three (REP to South Korea-depending on how the ticket is written, this may be a non codeshare segment ticket NOT eligible for the USA baggage allowance.).

 

There are a LOT of options and various ways to play the airfare game. But using an Asian LCC for intra Asia flights WILL generally result in overweight baggage charges if you have "normal" cruise luggage (2 suitcases pp at 50 pounds each + carryon). PLEASE look into this VERY carefully. You don't want to get hit was a $3-400 bill just to get your suitcases on board.

 

My TA messed this up and did not explain to me (or did not explain to me after I gave her the flights I found). I was looking for consolidator tickets but changed my mind when I found cheaper ones that were not consolidator. I let the TA book them as I felt like I had taken her time, plus she had everything nicely sent to me that looked like it was one ticket on Star Alliance (plus, I would have booked the same on my own after asking tons of questions on the cruise air board. I don't know if there was any way around this?). She gave me one price, which of course was charged separately to the various airlines. I knew it was going to be separate, but I didn't know the baggage allowance because I thought China to Hong Kong was kind of like international and I was on my way from the US where it would have been two 50 pound bags each.

 

I have no problem from the USA to Bejing or from Singapore to the USA, but the flight on Air China from Bejing to Hong Kong is 44 pounds (one suitcase per person). We are only there for one full day (2 nights). When I said something to the Chinese TA she said she is a TA and had to pay an extra $300.00 from somewhere on her last trip to China, and maybe I could talk to the check-in counter people in Bejing and maybe they would let it go (yea right). I asked about the cost to upgrade to business but besides being almost $800.00 for this one way flight, it is not an option because my ticket is not upgradable. We could have saved $50.00pp on Dragon Air (it was a consolidator flight - no FFmiles on AA) on this one flight, but for some reason I thought I'd be better off sticking with Star Alliance. I could have used that extra $100.00 to pay for luggage.

 

I guess we will have to take one suitcase each (still a problem with camera Equipment and Netbook etc which is over 11 pounds or so and what is allowed in the cabin ), but I need to know where to buy extra suitcases in Hong Kong where our cruise begins? :(

[Angsa]

But I need to know where to buy extra suitcases in Hong Kong where our cruise begins? :(

 

You will not have problem buying suitcases in Tsim Sha Tsui. There are thousands of shops around you will be spoilt for choice.

[dacoda]

If you haven't booked for a hotel yet, try to visit TravelBooth-Asia.com and let them take care about your trip. Like your airline booking or everything regarding your trip. Good thing about this site is you can ask them what you want to happen with your trip.