Singapore - hanging around with luggage

Our cruise docks in Singapore at 7am, but our flight home is not until 11pm. Although our cruise offers tours which terminate at the airport, this would get us to the airport at 3pm which is way too early.

Can someone recommend a hotel which offers a Day Room, so we can store our bags, view the city and shower ready for our trip home?

Many thanks

Our cruise docks in Singapore at 7am, but our flight home is not until 11pm. Although our cruise offers tours which terminate at the airport, this would get us to the airport at 3pm which is way too early.

 

Can someone recommend a hotel which offers a Day Room, so we can store our bags, view the city and shower ready for our trip home?

 

Many thanks

The strange thing is that not many Singapore hotels offer day rooms, at least they don't advertise it well.

The only one I know of is a hotel called Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore - http://grandmercureroxy.com.sg/

They are located at the Eastern side of Singapore, in the direction of Changi Airport. I did a quick check and they do offer Day Rooms, at $140SGD plus taxes for a 6 hour stay. They allow you to keep your luggage at their concierge if you arrive before check-in, which is noon. Also, they have a complimentary shuttle from the hotel concierge to Changi Airport, but you must book in advance.

Their reservations email is - H3610@accor.com

I guess when you disembark, you could get a taxi to the hotel, drop your luggage, tour the city a bit, and then get ready for your flight later that evening.

Iluvcruising2 - hi I am hoping you might be able to help me too.

We arrive in Singapore at 6am on 3rd may on the rhapsody of the seas.

We fly out on the 4th at 9pm, so will be needing a hotel for the night along with being able to get their without too much hastle and also to get to the airport the following night, and need to store the luggage during the day after check out.

Accor seem to have some pretty decent deals have been looking at

Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay $170

Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen $117

Grand Mecure Roxy $137

Do you have any suggestions re the above hotels or another suggestion? We are happy with 3 star, as long as its clean and we have our own ensuite bathroom we are happy travellers. Hotels in Singapore seem rather expensive from my research other than those I have listed above. We are familiar with the Accor chain and I assume they are pretty standard in Singapore too.

I think we will end up doing the HOHO bus the day of arrival and maybe go to Sentosa island the following day. We are 2 couples in our 60s and early 70s, not into museums, galleries, etc but do enjoy the gardens, wandering around the markets etc and don't need fancy restaurants, if theres a subway and mc d we will be fine, after all we would have had 16 days of cruising that we need to walk off!!!

Do you have any suggestions of what we aren't to miss? I realise we are only in Singapore for about 30 hours but work commitments means we just couldn't have any longer.

Is there somewhere in the city to check in luggage as there is in London? I recall checking in my luggage at Paddington station and it was taken to the airport. I vaguely recall the same being possible in Hong Kong.

Thank you so much for your help.

Don't miss the Orchid Garden in the Botanical Gardens if you are into flowers. It is stunning and well worth the small admission charge. We enjoyed wandering through Chinatown which is one of the stops on the HOHO bus. I suggest if you are taking the HOHO bus , ride it completely around once to familiarize yourself with Singapore and then you will know which stops you want to get off at and explore some more.

I am not sure of the cost but we stayed at the Conrad and a lot of people had a day room there which was booked by Azamara. I know people were very happy with the arrangement .We booked our own room for a night and requested late check out 21:00 which came at a cost. We finally agreed on 18:00 with no extra charge and we had also booked the buffet meal for that evening so we were able to shower and change have a very relaxed meal before going to the airport.

I suggest you contact the hotel directly.

A tip from me don't miss the Gardens on the Bay, we really enjoyed it a very different take on gardens, the best thing would be to go during the day and in the evening(keep your ticket)

We loved Singapore had two post cruise stays there.

Rosalyn

Hi Tara Jane,

Of the 3 hotels listed, do go with Novotel Clarke Quay - it has the best location. The Clarke Quay atmosphere is nice - it is a stone's throw away from Chinatown and the MRT station is at the doorstep. The food options around there are so plentiful I wouldn't worry one bit. You have literally hundreds of food options and not enough stomach space to try them out.

I've stayed at the Ibis Bencoolen.

The rooms are very cosy.

The design was like a hospital room.

They do have a good breakfast buffet ( extra charge ) + is close to the MTR, bus stops, several convenience stores etc.

For budget travellers, it's a good option.

Iluvcruising2 - hi I am hoping you might be able to help me too.

We arrive in Singapore at 6am on 3rd may on the rhapsody of the seas.

We fly out on the 4th at 9pm, so will be needing a hotel for the night along with being able to get their without too much hastle and also to get to the airport the following night, and need to store the luggage during the day after check out.

 

Accor seem to have some pretty decent deals have been looking at

 

Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay $170

Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen $117

Grand Mecure Roxy $137

 

Do you have any suggestions re the above hotels or another suggestion? We are happy with 3 star, as long as its clean and we have our own ensuite bathroom we are happy travellers. Hotels in Singapore seem rather expensive from my research other than those I have listed above. We are familiar with the Accor chain and I assume they are pretty standard in Singapore too.

 

I think we will end up doing the HOHO bus the day of arrival and maybe go to Sentosa island the following day. We are 2 couples in our 60s and early 70s, not into museums, galleries, etc but do enjoy the gardens, wandering around the markets etc and don't need fancy restaurants, if theres a subway and mc d we will be fine, after all we would have had 16 days of cruising that we need to walk off!!!

Do you have any suggestions of what we aren't to miss? I realise we are only in Singapore for about 30 hours but work commitments means we just couldn't have any longer.

 

Is there somewhere in the city to check in luggage as there is in London? I recall checking in my luggage at Paddington station and it was taken to the airport. I vaguely recall the same being possible in Hong Kong.

 

Thank you so much for your help.

Hi Tara Jane,

Welcome to Singapore!

For that price spread, I would go with Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay. The location is good. See the map.

Located in the heart of the Clark Quay area, by the Singapore River. A very bustling place in the evenings, and many malls nearby where you can get relatively cheap food (including fast food).

The Clarke Quay area looks like this at night. The Novotel is that rather dark building on the top right of the picture.

Some links

http://www.clarkequay.com.sg/en/

Also, Fort Canning Park is just across the road from the hotel. A nice place to take an evening stroll or morning stroll.

Also, the Clark Quay MRT station is not far away. You can use that to get around Singapore.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is any city check in for luggage. Clarke Quay Novotel should be able to keep your luggage for you on your day of departure. Just get a taxi from the hotel to the airport, it is not too expensive and the most convenient way to get to Singapore Changi. Don't forget to figure out which Terminal your plane departs from at Changi. There is Terminal 1, 2, and 3. (Building a Terminal 4 and probably 5 in the not-too-distant future!)

I've stayed at the Ibis Bencoolen.

The rooms are very cosy.

The design was like a hospital room.

They do have a good breakfast buffet ( extra charge ) + is close to the MTR, bus stops, several convenience stores etc.

For budget travellers, it's a good option.

That is good feedback! Thanks for sharing.

I am not sure of the cost but we stayed at the Conrad and a lot of people had a day room there which was booked by Azamara. I know people were very happy with the arrangement .We booked our own room for a night and requested late check out 21:00 which came at a cost. We finally agreed on 18:00 with no extra charge and we had also booked the buffet meal for that evening so we were able to shower and change have a very relaxed meal before going to the airport.

I suggest you contact the hotel directly.

A tip from me don't miss the Gardens on the Bay, we really enjoyed it a very different take on gardens, the best thing would be to go during the day and in the evening(keep your ticket)

We loved Singapore had two post cruise stays there.

Rosalyn

Thanks for sharing your experience! Conrad Centennial is a very nice hotel indeed, I believe 5 star.

I did a quick check with them and I was quoted a Day Room rate in excess of SGD 300. So, yes, it comes with a price!

We had been to Singapore previously so in November on Millennium we flew home on the 1st day so instead of the overnight onboard we left the ship around 4.30 for our 9pm flight.

Disney Girl, here is another alternative....

Go on one of the ship bus tours, get to the airport at 3pm.....leave your baggage at the "Left Luggage" facility...about $5 an hour....get on a train (under the airport) and head off back to town for a meal. Come back to the airport when ready and pick up your bags.

Disney Girl, here is another alternative....

 

Go on one of the ship bus tours, get to the airport at 3pm.....leave your baggage at the "Left Luggage" facility...about $5 an hour....get on a train (under the airport) and head off back to town for a meal. Come back to the airport when ready and pick up your bags.

That is not a bad idea at all!

Thank you so much for your help. I have now booked the novotel Clarke quay and am sure it will be a nice end to a lovely holiday.

I have been doing a bit of research about how to get around Singapore and have found this

http://www.thesingaporetouristpass.com.sg/about-the-passes/

would you recommend this? seems reasonable to me but Australian transport prices are very high.

I notice it will cover getting back to the airport, not sure if it will be any use from ship to hotel we might just go taxi for those 2 trips.

I did the HOHO in London and due to the traffic congestion ended up getting off the bus and walking as it was quicker. Is Singapore traffic so heavy that the bus would be almost useless to get from a to b?

I have ordered the lonely planet guide of Singapore from the library but their copies are all out so I have to be patient (very difficult)

Thank you so much for your help. I have now booked the novotel Clarke quay and am sure it will be a nice end to a lovely holiday.

 

I have been doing a bit of research about how to get around Singapore and have found this

 

http://www.thesingaporetouristpass.com.sg/about-the-passes/

 

would you recommend this? seems reasonable to me but Australian transport prices are very high.

I notice it will cover getting back to the airport, not sure if it will be any use from ship to hotel we might just go taxi for those 2 trips.

I did the HOHO in London and due to the traffic congestion ended up getting off the bus and walking as it was quicker. Is Singapore traffic so heavy that the bus would be almost useless to get from a to b?

I have ordered the lonely planet guide of Singapore from the library but their copies are all out so I have to be patient (very difficult)

Yes, the Singapore Tourist Pass is perfect for tourists who want to use public transport. It covers both the MRT (underground) as well as the bus system. Looking at the prices, they are very reasonable, assuming you make a few trips a day on the network.

One problem with the Singapore Tourist Pass is that it is not available at all MRT stations. In fact, I just checked, it is not available for sale at Marina South Pier, neither is it available at Clarke Quay MRT station.

These are the stations where the pass is available.

Transitlink Ticket Office:

1. Orchard 08:00 am – 09:00 pm Daily

2. Chinatown 08:00 am – 04:00 pm and 05:00 pm – 09:00 pm Daily

3. City Hall 09:00 am – 09:00 pm Daily

4. Raffles Place 08:00 am – 09:00pm on Weekdays and 08:00 am – 05:00pm on Saturdays; Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

5. Ang Mo Kio 08:00 am – 09:00 pm Daily

6. Bugis 10:00 am – 09:00 pm Daily

7. Lavender 12:00 pm – 3.45 pm and 04:45 pm – 07.30 pm Daily; Closed on Public Holidays

8. Bayfront 12:00 pm – 8.00 pm and Closed for meal break from 3.45 pm – 4.45 pm, Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays only

9. Changi Airport 8.00 am – 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm Daily

10. Harbourfront 8.00 am – 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm Daily

11. Farrer Park (from 23rd Jan 2015) 12.00 pm – 3.45 pm and 4.45 pm – 7.30 pm Daily

12. Somerset (from 23rd Jan 2015) 10.00 am – 2.00 pm and 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm Daily except Public Holidays

13. Woodlands (from 23rd Jan 2015) 8.00 am – 9.00 pm

You can even take the MRT to the Airport if you wished, but that would mean some effort in lugging your luggage.

Singapore traffic is heavy during peak times. Otherwise, going around by bus is ok. You could just use the MRT system - easier to navigate.

Thank you so much, I notice we can buy the card online, and as you have given it the green tick , I will look into doing that.

We travel very light, in fact generally with only hand luggage but now Jetstar have cut the hand luggage to 7kg from 10kg it means we will need to bring one small roller suitcase. We arrive on a Sunday so I assume less traffic on the roads so perhaps we should do the hop on hop off bit on the Sunday and the boat part on the Monday.

Disney Girl, here is another alternative....

 

Go on one of the ship bus tours, get to the airport at 3pm.....leave your baggage at the "Left Luggage" facility...about $5 an hour....get on a train (under the airport) and head off back to town for a meal. Come back to the airport when ready and pick up your bags.

Excellent idea Vozzie - many thanks, will try that....

Thank you so much, I notice we can buy the card online, and as you have given it the green tick , I will look into doing that.

 

We travel very light, in fact generally with only hand luggage but now Jetstar have cut the hand luggage to 7kg from 10kg it means we will need to bring one small roller suitcase. We arrive on a Sunday so I assume less traffic on the roads so perhaps we should do the hop on hop off bit on the Sunday and the boat part on the Monday.

Yes, traffic will be light on Sundays.

Oh, if you can buy the EZ Link cards online and get them sent to you, you can save some money by using the card immediately once you disembark. The card gives you unlimited rides on bus and MRT network for the number of days that you purchased (max 3 days I believe).

From the Marina Bay cruise terminal, walk to Marina South Pier MRT (see my video) and take the MRT northbound. There is only one direction from that station.

[YOUTUBE]-a5WI-KinVQ[/YOUTUBE]

The MRT stops will be

Marina South Pier

Marina Bay

Raffles Place

City Hall

Dhoby Ghaut

Alight at Dhoby Ghaut (it is an interchange station) and look for the North East Line. It is one stop to Clark Quay in the direction towards Harbour Front. (Incidentally, Harbour Front is the MRT station for the other cruise terminal)

From Clark Quay MRT station, your hotel (Clark Quay Novotel) is a short walk. There is a map in every MRT station that you can refer to.

Here is the MRT map.

http://www.smrt.com.sg/Trains/NetworkMap.aspx

Doing this will save you a taxi-fare and get some exercise in the morning!

Disney Girl, here is another alternative....

 

Go on one of the ship bus tours, get to the airport at 3pm.....leave your baggage at the "Left Luggage" facility...about $5 an hour....get on a train (under the airport) and head off back to town for a meal. Come back to the airport when ready and pick up your bags.

Another alternative is NOT to join a ship's tour. Head to airport immediately upon disembarkation (take a taxi), go to the left luggage facility to deposit your luggage and then take the MRT back into town to explore for the day.

Return to the airport later that evening after you are done.

If you need to take a shower, there are facilities available at Changi Airport for a fee. Which terminal is your flight departing from?

Thanks so much. Really appreciate your help on this. Nothing better than info direct from a fellow traveller about their home city.

Thanks so much. Really appreciate your help on this. Nothing better than info direct from a fellow traveller about their home city.

You are most welcomed! Always happy to help a fellow cruiser, especially one who is visiting my home city!

Anyway, if you have any further questions or need an opinion, do ask here or drop me an email.

An update on the Clark Quay area, as well as the distance from Clark Quay MRT station to the Novotel Clark Quay. I had a chance to take a walk around the area recently. While the absolute distance from the MRT station to the hotel is not far, probably around 400M to 500M, it is somewhat confusing.

Like many other MRT stations in a central location in Singapore, there is a large shopping mall sitting right on top of the Clark Quay station (called the Central). When you get out of the station, I also got a bit lost as to which way to walk. So I followed the signs and headed in the general direction of Clark Quay and the Singapore River and eventually found my way.

It is not terribly difficult, but do expect to get a bit lost in some building when you reach there for the first time.

If your luggage is light, then I think it is ok to be searching for the hotel with luggage.

Otherwise, it may be a better idea to take a taxi from the cruise centre to the hotel, drop the luggage off at the hotel concierge, then take your time to explore the area leisurely without the bag burden.

The Clark Quay area isn't too far from the cruise port. It shouldn't cost too much (by Western standards) in terms of a cab fare.

Another alternative is NOT to join a ship's tour. Head to airport immediately upon disembarkation (take a taxi), go to the left luggage facility to deposit your luggage and then take the MRT back into town to explore for the day.

 

Return to the airport later that evening after you are done.

 

If you need to take a shower, there are facilities available at Changi Airport for a fee. Which terminal is your flight departing from?

This is exactly what I am planning to do on my last day! I have a flight leaving from Terminal 1 at 2255, and I have a transfer from the ship to the airport arranged for 0930, so I should have a nice day in the city

We have just returned from a Sapphire Princess cruise from Singapore.

Our Qantas flight to Sydney departed at 8pm.

We chose the "independant" disembarkation from the ship, which was 9.30am.

Taxi to the airport from MBCC took only 30 minutes.

Check with your airline, we were able to check in with Qantas from 10am, others who were flying Emirates/ Ethihad were 2pm.

We checked in luggage then took hand luggage upstairs to the Left Luggage area. $3.80 per piece, depending on weight, larger suit case more.

We then caught a taxi to the Changi Museum which is close by, $10 taxi fare.

Returned to the airport around 2pm and collected carry on luggage. Had a light lunch a were going to use the swimming pool and showers but found a nice sleep lounger in a quiet area so napped till just before our flight!!

You can also leave your luggage at the MBCC terminal at left luggage, a good option if you plan to see a bit more of down town Singapore, needs to be collected before the next cruise departs but as the Changi Museum was nearer to the airport, the airport left luggage was easier for us.

Lots of options, all easy in Singapore which is a tourist's heaven:)

Chez

xx

This is exactly what I am planning to do on my last day! I have a flight leaving from Terminal 1 at 2255, and I have a transfer from the ship to the airport arranged for 0930, so I should have a nice day in the city

That would work.

Wondering how much the ship charges you for the transfer to the airport? It may be less expensive if you take a cab from the terminal. Cabs in Singapore are reliable and metered.

We have just returned from a Sapphire Princess cruise from Singapore.

 

Our Qantas flight to Sydney departed at 8pm.

We chose the "independant" disembarkation from the ship, which was 9.30am.

Taxi to the airport from MBCC took only 30 minutes.

Check with your airline, we were able to check in with Qantas from 10am, others who were flying Emirates/ Ethihad were 2pm.

We checked in luggage then took hand luggage upstairs to the Left Luggage area. $3.80 per piece, depending on weight, larger suit case more.

We then caught a taxi to the Changi Museum which is close by, $10 taxi fare.

Returned to the airport around 2pm and collected carry on luggage. Had a light lunch a were going to use the swimming pool and showers but found a nice sleep lounger in a quiet area so napped till just before our flight!!

 

You can also leave your luggage at the MBCC terminal at left luggage, a good option if you plan to see a bit more of down town Singapore, needs to be collected before the next cruise departs but as the Changi Museum was nearer to the airport, the airport left luggage was easier for us.

 

Lots of options, all easy in Singapore which is a tourist's heaven:)

 

Chez

xx

Thanks for sharing your experience! Thanks for visiting Singapore!

(From cruise critic's unofficial Singapore tourism ambassador)