Captain Bill's World Cruise Continued....

[StLouisCruisers]

I just checked Princess online and the Diamond Princess cruise April 2014 from Bangkok to Alaska is already completely booked - interiors to suites. The identical April 2013 cruise is not completely booked. Any idea why? Do you think a group booked most of the cabins for 2014? I am at a loss. Son and I were talking about another cruise to see them in spring 2014 while they're still in Singapore and he suggested the Asia cruise that we did in 2010. We enjoyed it a lot and I just went to check on it and found this out.

[StLouisCruisers]

In checking out the roll calls for the Diamond in spring of 2014, I found that several people reported their cruises were cancelled by Princess just two days ago. No one has any idea what's going to happen to the Diamond schedule at this point. I wonder if another ship will be doing the Asia to Alaska route?

[MMDown Under]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1724598

There has been comment on this thread about the cancellation of Diamond Princess cruises for 2014.

One speculation was maybe Princess are going to base Diamond Princess in Singapore, with its new wharf.

Any special recommendations for Singapore, Sandi? I will be spending four days there prior to my cruise next month. I have stopped there many times as a stopover en route to the UK. This time, I'm thinking maybe the Botanical Gardens, Zoos and Bird Park.

[windsor26]

Originally Posted by MMDown Under

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1724598

There has been comment on this thread about the cancellation of Diamond Princess cruises for 2014.

One speculation was maybe Princess are going to base Diamond Princess in Singapore, with its new wharf.

Any special recommendations for Singapore, Sandi? I will be spending four days there prior to my cruise next month. I have stopped there many times as a stopover en route to the UK. This time, I'm thinking maybe the Botanical Gardens, Zoos and Bird Park.

Do the night safari at the Zoo excellent tour.
The Bird park is great
If you are a history buff google the old WWII bunkers etc which have just been reopened and are now a tourist attraction very interesting

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by windsor26

Do the night safari at the Zoo excellent tour.
The Bird park is great
If you are a history buff google the old WWII bunkers etc which have just been reopened and are now a tourist attraction very interesting

Thanks, Yvonne,

My daughter loves animals and is a volunteer at an Exotic Animal Shelter, so I will visit the Night Safari and Bird Park with her.

I'm interested in Singapore's war history, so I will google WWII bunkers.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Originally Posted by MMDown Under

I'm interested in Singapore's war history, so I will google WWII bunkers.

We went to the chapel at Changi Prison when we called there .
Very moving. Its all set up as a memorial to WWII victims and survivors.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Originally Posted by StLouisCruisers

I just checked Princess online and the Diamond Princess cruise April 2014 from Bangkok to Alaska is already completely booked - interiors to suites. The identical April 2013 cruise is not completely booked. Any idea why? Do you think a group booked most of the cabins for 2014? I am at a loss. Son and I were talking about another cruise to see them in spring 2014 while they're still in Singapore and he suggested the Asia cruise that we did in 2010. We enjoyed it a lot and I just went to check on it and found this out.

Princess do that with their bookings. You will find that what is booked out will be the cabins they have released ...so far. They sometimes alloctae a block to agents so they can put a package deal together , so they are not open for general booking at the moment. We have always found that if you wait list , cabins suddenly appear out of the blue.

I think they only give the computer so many cabins to sell at a time, and when those have gone it they give it a rest ...until they feed it more cabins to sell.

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

Princess do that with their bookings. You will find that what is booked out will be the cabins they have released ...so far. They sometimes alloctae a block to agents so they can put a package deal together , so they are not open for general booking at the moment. We have always found that if you wait list , cabins suddenly appear out of the blue.

I think they only give the computer so many cabins to sell at a time, and when those have gone it they give it a rest ...until they feed it more cabins to sell.

Totally agree David.

I once was really keen on a cruise from the Med to SEAsia, which showed booked out. So I made other travel arrangements, only to discover later that my favoured cruise wasn't booked out at all. That was the catalyst for my decision to make travel bookings closer to the date of travel.

Thanks for the information re the chapel at Changi Prison.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Originally Posted by MMDown Under

Thanks for the information re the chapel at Changi Prison.

We took a taxi out and he waited for us and then took us back to Orchard Rd. There were tour buses there as well. We could have stayed a lot longer, but were conscious of the waiting taxi We need not have been as taxis in Singapore are relatively cheap.

More ideas ..........
Jurong Bird Park...check out the show times.
Night Zoo...
Singapore Flyer
Marina Bay Sands.
The Marina Bay Gardens...not sure of the name its new.
Day trip over the border ,(over the causeway), to Johor Bahru....they call that tour the Immigration Tour as you have to show and get your passport checked at least 4 times...
Then theres shopping
We always check out Lucky Pazaon Orchard Road.
River cruise.....
So much to do in Singapore.
Will you have enough time there???????

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

We took a taxi out and he waited for us and then took us back to Orchard Rd. There were tour buses there as well. We could have stayed a lot longer, but were conscious of the waiting taxi We need not have been as taxis in Singapore are relatively cheap.

More ideas ..........
Jurong Bird Park...check out the show times.
Night Zoo...
Singapore Flyer
Marina Bay Sands.
The Marina Bay Gardens...not sure of the name its new.
Day trip over the border ,(over the causeway), to Johor Bahru....they call that tour the Immigration Tour as you have to show and get your passport checked at least 4 times...
Then theres shopping
We always check out Lucky Pazaon Orchard Road.
River cruise.....
So much to do in Singapore.
Will you have enough time there???????

Thanks for lots of ideas for me to investigate, David. I will have four days.

Did you go on an organised bus tour to Johor Bahru, as I've heard crossing independently on public transport can be chaotic? I would like to see Johor Bahru, because I studied with a Malaysian whose passion was developing tourism in Johor Bahru.

Not big on shopping on my travels. What does Lucky Paza sell? I always manage to buy kitchen utensils on my travels. Buying clothing is depressing, as nothing fits in Asian countries, unless you shop top end.

One wonderful thing about cruising into Sydney from SEAsia is that I can leave any heavy stuff with my daughter in Sydney, so don't have to worry about flight baggage limits!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I will have four days.
Did you go on an organised bus tour to Johor Bahru, as I've heard crossing independently on public transport can be chaotic? Yes

What does Lucky Paza sell? You name it...they sell it....I am sure you almost buy a new set of dentures there...if you wanted them
Its lots of little stall holders in a multi storied Department Type Store/Mall with a big atrium in the middle.

.

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

I will have four days.
Did you go on an organised bus tour to Johor Bahru, as I've heard crossing independently on public transport can be chaotic? Yes

What does Lucky Paza sell? You name it...they sell it....I am sure you almost buy a new set of dentures there...if you wanted them
Its lots of little stall holders in a multi storied Department Type Store/Mall with a big atrium in the middle.

.

Thanks David Sounds well worth a visit.

[rdsqrl]

Originally Posted by StLouisCruisers

In checking out the roll calls for the Diamond in spring of 2014, I found that several people reported their cruises were cancelled by Princess just two days ago. No one has any idea what's going to happen to the Diamond schedule at this point. I wonder if another ship will be doing the Asia to Alaska route?

It may just be the rescheduled drydock from 2013, which has apparently been cancelled. Rick-Ek on the Princess boards posted that, and he's usually accurate since he knows someone who works at Princess.

I hope that itinerary doesn't go away entirely; I'm looking forward to doing it myself one of these days. That is, if they put Vladivostock back on!

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Originally Posted by rdsqrl

It may just be the rescheduled drydock from 2013, which has apparently been cancelled. Rick-Ek on the Princess boards posted that, and he's usually accurate since he knows someone who works at Princess.

I hope that itinerary doesn't go away entirely; I'm looking forward to doing it myself one of these days. That is, if they put Vladivostock back on!

Don't hang out for Vladivostock Annie.... worst port ever! If I ever have the misfortune of having it on another cruise, I will stay onboard!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Diamond is actually in Singapore today.
Looks like the bridge cam is giving us a view of the City from the new cruise terminal.

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

Diamond is actually in Singapore today.
Looks like the bridge cam is giving us a view of the City from the new cruise terminal.

That is a good bridge cam shot, David.

I'd been researching the new terminal this morning. It looks like a beautiful building. I was pleased to see that there is public transport to the port.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Ocean Princess is currently transiting the Suez Canal if you want to follow her progress as she heads out to pick you up

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

Ocean Princess is currently transiting the Suez Canal if you want to follow her progress as she heads out to pick you up

Oh David, Suez Canal is still on my wish list, because it was closed when I did my first atw cruise.

Just googled Ocean Princess webcam and there it was! Looks hazy.

[StLouisCruisers]

Originally Posted by rdsqrl

It may just be the rescheduled drydock from 2013, which has apparently been cancelled. Rick-Ek on the Princess boards posted that, and he's usually accurate since he knows someone who works at Princess.

I hope that itinerary doesn't go away entirely; I'm looking forward to doing it myself one of these days. That is, if they put Vladivostock back on!

Oh, I hope they didn't reschedule the drydock! I wanted an International Cafe for my cruises Nov.-Dec. 2013! I will have to do a little investigating, check out the Princess board and see what they're saying.

As for Singapore, looks like you've gotten a lot of answers here already. I was going to say I had seen something about the night safari at the zoo and it looked very unique! And here's another vote for Lucky Plaza if you like to shop. We've gone there before. They have it all.

[larsen]

Good Morning all! I've had fun reading about all the potential exciting ventures those of you traveling to Singapore could have. I can only dream as there is just no way I'd ever get DH on an airplane long enough to reach a departure city. The friends we are sailing with in March have booked a Med cruise for May and really want us to go along but it would involve trans-Atlantic flights and unless I could find a drug to put Rich asleep for 12 hours there is just NO way he will do it.

My sister & BIL spent 2 days with us last week and we had a marvelous visit. Of course the guys played gold but Jeannie & I just spent 2 very nice days visiting. She's finished with her latest round of Chemo and sees the doctor on Thursday to see what the lab work says. If the C125 has started to rise again there will be another Chemo round with different drugs as they don't use the same ones twice within a years' time frame. So, everybody please keep fingers, toes, arms & legs crossed for a really low number.

Fall has arrived here with morning in the high 40s and daytime temps in the low 70s. I'd rather much warmer weather but at least it's not raining and the sky is a beautiful blue.

Barb