Singapore at Christmas?

Hello! I stumbled onto a pretty good fare for a sailing on the Sapphire Princess on 30 December 2017. So even though it's almost a year and a half away, I'm starting to plan.

Having never travelled outside of North America, I'm really hoping to make the most of things and spend some extra time in Singapore to really experience it. But I realise that I know pretty much nothing about that side of the world and I have so much to learn.

My question is this: given that my cruise departs on 30 December, if I want to spend 4 or 5 days pre-cruise in Singapore, that has me travelling and arriving on or around Christmas. I'm not opposed to this but I'm curious to know if I'm going to end up discovering that the majority of sights and attractions are closed for a holiday.

Would I be better off taking my extra time in Singapore after the cruise (the second week of January)?

Great time to be in Singapore and you will surely have a festive time. ALL sights and attractions are open, business as usual and in fact some attractions do have extended hours extended hours . :)

Thank you for the information. Very much appreciated.

The Christmas lights in Orchard Rd are gorgeous.

Thanks for the tip about the lights in Orchard Rd. I'll add it to my list of places to go.

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Yes. Singapore at Christmas is wonderful. Much better display than we get in Australia.

Very festive here at Christmas, good time to come. Don't worry, everything is open.

This video clip - final weekend before Christmas 2015, at the Takashimaya along Orchard Road. Gives you an idea of the atmosphere along Orchard Road, including the street lights.

[YOUTUBE]mVHhTuzY29Q[/YOUTUBE]

Thank you for sharing that video. It definitely makes me look forward to my visit to Singapore.

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If I'm going anywhere for Christmas, it is either Germany's wonderful Christmas markets or Walt Disney World. I alternate. No places more festive.

If I'm going anywhere for Christmas, it is either Germany's wonderful Christmas markets or Walt Disney World. I alternate. No places more festive.

But this thread is about Singapore. Have you been there for Christmas to compare?

We were in Singapore at the end of November this year, pre-cruise. Found the Christmas decorations lovely, though it was a bit incongruous to us at times to be seeing Santa in a palm tree (Botanic gardens) while sweating profusely because it was 95 with 99% humidity:p

Typically, we prefer cold weather destinations in Nov/Dec (a favorite travel time for us) but we got a great deal on this recent cruise and it was an itinerary I'd wanted to do for quite a while. And it's not like it's ever really cold along that route (SIN-HKG) so it doesn't quite so much matter :p

We returned from Singapore just two weeks ago, on Christmas Day, having spent three days there at the end of a Regent cruise from Dubai. It appeared to us that the holidays are a perfect time to visit Singapore, as the city is decorated in a manner that was quite amazing.

Orchard Road (the main shopping street) was resplendent, with magnificent blue & silver decorations stretching across the road and hanging from all of the trees. All of the malls and hotels had gorgeous decorations and huge Christmas trees, as well as gingerbread villages (many with cute little electric trains chugging around).

The Gardens by the Bay was (were?) particularly remarkable, particularly the two enclosed domes, with an astonishing array of decorations. It was marvelous to watch all of the little kids delight in the displays.

When you go, Croptop, be sure to include a ride on the Singapore Flyer (or, better yet, a daytime ride and a nighttime ride to see the lights).