Staying overnight in Singapore

After an Asian cruise on Princess Sapphire in Oct 2015, we are considering spending one or two nights. Can you recommend a tour company or tour to take while we are there? Also has anyone stayed at the Singapore Marriott on Orchard Rd? Is it a good location?

Thanks

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The night safari at the singapore zoo is incredible

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Take a bum boat from Clarke Quay to see the light show, visit Botanic gardens and the island. We used the hop on hop off busses which took us everywhere we wanted to go.

After an Asian cruise on Princess Sapphire in Oct 2015, we are considering spending one or two nights. Can you recommend a tour company or tour to take while we are there? Also has anyone stayed at the Singapore Marriott on Orchard Rd? Is it a good location?

Thanks

 

 

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G'day cruisetilidrop,

Singapore is a fabulous city, which is easy to explore on your own. It is so easy to get around via MRT. I always reccomend the hop on hop off bus that starts at Suntec City, for those who only have one or two days there. It's about $30 p/p and has two routes, red and yellow which takes you past or to all the major sights of Singapore. You can do a full circuit and then decide which places to go back and visit, or hop off at the time to have a look then catch the next bus 20m later. A pass lasts 24 hours.

It takes you through little India, Chinatown, Marina Bay, past the Raffles and the civic area. Into the modernness of the city and through the Arab quarter. To the botanic gardens and down Orchard rd. It really does give a great taste of this amazing city.

Orchard Rd is the modern hustle and bustle of Singapores major shopping area. The Marriott looks very nice, but not where we would stay, but everyone likes something different.

Hope you have a fabulous time in Singapore.

Happy New Year :D

Park Regis at Clarke Quay is a nice hotel. Short walk from clarke quay area, mrt station.

Emily

After much research we opted for Royal Plaza on Scotts Road.

We have been to Singapore many times over the year and have stayed up near the Marriot a few times, its in a good spot. We now prefer the location down near the Carlton and Swissotel Stamford.

Singapore is easy to get around and a day at the races or a trip the night zoo is alot of fun. Take a taxi down to La Pau Sat after dark for some great Satay sticks.

Some might consider Orchard Road a good location. It's certainly not far from lots of places. But it's like staying on 5th Avenue in NYC. Very glitzy, all the fancy stores you could ever dream of.

I've never stayed downtown, but I was told that the Swissotel was great for location and price. It's certainly a better location than Orchard Road, in my opinion. But neither is a bad location, really. Now, turns out there are two Swissotels in Singapore, but I think, don't know, that it was the one that's almost next to Raffles.

G'day cruisetilidrop,

 

Singapore is a fabulous city, which is easy to explore on your own. It is so easy to get around via MRT. I always reccomend the hop on hop off bus that starts at Suntec City, for those who only have one or two days there. It's about $30 p/p and has two routes, red and yellow which takes you past or to all the major sights of Singapore. You can do a full circuit and then decide which places to go back and visit, or hop off at the time to have a look then catch the next bus 20m later. A pass lasts 24 hours.

It takes you through little India, Chinatown, Marina Bay, past the Raffles and the civic area. Into the modernness of the city and through the Arab quarter. To the botanic gardens and down Orchard rd. It really does give a great taste of this amazing city.

Orchard Rd is the modern hustle and bustle of Singapores major shopping area. The Marriott looks very nice, but not where we would stay, but everyone likes something different.

Hope you have a fabulous time in Singapore.

Happy New Year :D

DO you know if there Is more than one HO Ho bus company?

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to the two days there. Suggestions for visiting were great also.

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DO you know if there Is more than one HO Ho bus company?

There are 3 companies doing the Ho Ho bus.

http://citysightseeing.sg/ (Orange bus)

http://www.ducktours.com.sg/ot.php (Brown bus)

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/singapore/singapore.htm (Red bus)

They go almost the same route but some has longer operating hrs (so cost higher). You can buy the ticket at their counters or online. Better to check them out before going to counter. They are all located around Singapore Flyer.

There are 3 companies doing the Ho Ho bus.

 

http://citysightseeing.sg/ (Orange bus)

http://www.ducktours.com.sg/ot.php (Brown bus)

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/singapore/singapore.htm (Red bus)

 

 

They go almost the same route but some has longer operating hrs (so cost higher). You can buy the ticket at their counters or online. Better to check them out before going to counter. They are all located around Singapore Flyer.

I saw that there is also the "singapore airlines bus", do you know if that is just for SQ boarding pass holders?

I saw that there is also the "singapore airlines bus", do you know if that is just for SQ boarding pass holders?

Yes there is Airport HOHO bus and it is for Transit passenger only.

It is also orange color. So dont board it.

I looked at all three and can't decide which one to take. I would like to go to Botanical Gardens, but, if I get it Tues afternoon from my hotel, I might be able to use it Wed morning from the ship so I would like one that goes near the cruise terminal.

I looked at all three and can't decide which one to take. I would like to go to Botanical Gardens, but, if I get it Tues afternoon from my hotel, I might be able to use it Wed morning from the ship so I would like one that goes near the cruise terminal.

You need to look at the routes for all 3 companies and their bus operating hrs to decide.

They all go to Botanical Gardens and Marina Garden by the Bay (closes to the Cruise Terminal but still far)

There are also cost difference due to their longer routes and operating hrs.

If you cant decide, get the lowest cost one (Orange) from FunVee. Try that for 1 day.

From the cruise terminal, you might be better off taking the Mass Transit (MRT) within walking distance.

OP, we were in Singapore two and a half weeks ago before our cruise.

We arrived Sunday at 1am and boarded our ship Monday afternoon. We knew we would be exhausted and jet lagged on arrival, so we chose a standard half day tour instead of the Hop on Hop off bus. Singapore is very hot and humid, so standing around to wait for a bus did not seem appealing for us.

Our tour, booked via Viator, was only $26 USD each and included stops at: Merlion Park (from which you can see the Marina Bay Sands towers, part of the colonial core and the financial district; a temple in Chinatown (very pretty); the Orchid Collection at the Botanical Gardens (wow!); Little India, and a stop at a jewelry factory (a waste of half an hour but the rest of the tour was well worth the price).

In the afternoon, we went to one of the malls near our hotel for lunch and a visit to Cold Storage, an out of this world supermarket. We like visiting supermarkets while on travel, and this was an international paradise.

After a nap, we took the nighttime Chinatown tour that included dinner, fans with our names in Chinese characters, a trishaw ride (which was a lot of fun and a bit hairy when the trishaws merged with regular traffic on our way to Clarke Quay), and a beautiful nighttime boat ride around the quays.

Monday morning was on our own, and we took metro to the Gardens by the Bay. The metro system is fabulous, and the gardens were awesome. The orchid collection at the Botanical Gardens is over 100 years old, so it's less in your face than the new Gardens by the Bay installations, but we're glad we visited both. To visit the two biodomes is pricey but it was worth it. There's an electric shuttle bus that takes from the entrance to the biodomes for a couple of Singapore dollars.

Because we were there shortly before Christmas, we saw the shops on Orchand Road fully decorated. I still can't get one of the window displays out of my mind: pink and silver round ornaments and winged pink unicorns!

Enjoy your time in Singapore and your cruise as well.

Which hotel were you in?

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Wonderful ideas, thank you. I will check out the Viator tour.

We stayed at the King's Copthorne Hotel. We used Priceline to get a great price ($95 USD a night, including taxes and fees), and did not find out the hotel's name until after payment. The hotel was fine, but not walking distance to a metro station. We took the hotel's shuttle bus to the metro station and a mall. Not the most convenient shuttle bus schedule, but it worked for us. A taxi ride to one of the nearby metro stations was less than $4 USD, so not bad. The taxi ride to HarbourFront Terminal was less than $12 USD.

The tours we booked via Viator were operated by TourEast.Net.

Thanks for all your info

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Warm welcome to Singapore!

[indeed, it is always warm here, though sometimes it pours like crazy.]

If you are in Singapore for Chinese New Year, the city is decorated. From the HOHO bus route, you are above the decorations and can get some fabulous pictures. We found Chinatown fascinating and WOW to the Orchid Gardens. We were not that impressed by the night safari, but that may have been because we had been on safari in Africa before we sailed into Singapore.

I made these videos to capture some moments in time.

This is the start of Orchard Road, and you can see Marriot Hotel at 0:25 as well as after I have crossed the road. The large shopping centre is called the Orchard ION.

[YOUTUBE]2T9ee2FXFoY[/YOUTUBE]

If you want some gorgeous views of the city from high up, check out the Salt Grill and Sky Bar. The entrance to this restaurant is in the ION itself.

At 1:02 mark, you can see the Marriot.

[YOUTUBE]FtYaEyQ0lMY[/YOUTUBE]

Thank you!

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Sometimes, I think I don't spend enough time exploring my own country.

Took this video along Kallang River, near the indoor stadium.

We have turned this river into a place where people can do water activities, like canoeing. Used to be a mess, but just look at it now. Awesome.

[YOUTUBE]e0JLX4Ucy1s[/YOUTUBE]