Options off overnight stay in Laem Chabang

I am going on my first Asia cruise in February so starting to research options. Do most people stay overnight in Bangkok or Pattaya ? Grateful for ideas of hotels in both places and transport advice i.e. will RCI offer shuttles from A to B and back or do I need to research a private tour company? Thank You

We stayed in Bangkok in the IBIS hotel. Cheap, clean, new, on the river, close to the night market asiatique.

We had a 2 day tour which picked up and dropped off at the ship and the hotel. First day was Bangkok, second day was the summer palace and Ayutthaya

We really enjoyed the trip, I picked it as I wanted to see Ayutthaya as well as the sights in Bangkok. Ayutthaya was too far to see in a day.

I am going on my first Asia cruise in February so starting to research options. Do most people stay overnight in Bangkok or Pattaya ? Grateful for ideas of hotels in both places and transport advice i.e. will RCI offer shuttles from A to B and back or do I need to research a private tour company? Thank You

Best bet is an overnight stay in Bangkok. There are so many reasonably priced hotels downtown...you have an excellent transit system and really cheap taxi's to get around and a multiple of touristy thing to do. Pattaya has really nothing to see except the biggest red light area you have ever seen...if you want to see what an adult Disneyland might look like then Pattaya is for you. If your really adventurous and Bangkok doesn't appeal to you then catch a cheap flight from DMK on Air Asia to Siem Reap for a couple days and explore the ruins and then take a frequent bus (5hr trip - $30.00 ) over to Saigon and catch up to your ship there. Only problem with this one is you would have to get a Visa for Vietnam prior to leaving home as you can't get a VOA at their land crossings. No problem getting a VOA in Cambodia.

We did similar tours as Sandy999 in December. They were great! Used Thai Tour Guide and stayed at Easton Sathorn Hotel which was fabulous but a little more expensive. They had an amazing breakfast buffet included. Definitely stay overnight as Bangkok traffic is horrific. Enjoy!

In 2012, our party of 6 people sailing on Celebrity stayed overnight in Bangkok. We did not take a tour. We arranged everything ourselves, and it worked out great. We stayed at Aurum The River Place, which is located on the river. It was one kilometer to the Grand Palace and 300 meters to Wat Po. Everything was walking distance. The hotel itself was impeccably clean, and it had beautiful river views. It is a small boutique hotel. Gin from the hotel arranged the van transportation to and from the ship. We also prearranged a night foodie tour through Bangkok Food Tours. It was a hoot!

Gotta be Bangkok.

Royal Palace, Wat Arun, long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals), mebbe float down the river on a converted rice barge, or the silly-cheap Express ferries, Chinatown, ride a tuk-tuk or two, soak up this vibrant & varied city.

Transfer time from Laem Chabang about 90 minutes, but allow 2.5 hrs for the return in case of traffic grief.

Taxis available to hire at Laem Chabang are in a cartel, and since there's no suitable public transport they weill screw as much as they can. So fix transfers in advance - private transfer over the internet or ship's transfers (though check whether your ship offers transfer in and back on different days cos some don't)

Great port of call

JB :)

I am going on my first Asia cruise in February so starting to research options. Do most people stay overnight in Bangkok or Pattaya ? Grateful for ideas of hotels in both places and transport advice i.e. will RCI offer shuttles from A to B and back or do I need to research a private tour company? Thank You

Hi Dolly... I guess you are on the Mariner of the Seas - 11th Feb 2015. If yes, please do rsemember to find us at Roll Call >>

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130471

And also join us on Meet & Mingle:

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ccEntry.do

Happy Sailing!