Just back from Singapore to Hong Kong and on to Beijing

Very jetlagged but will write a review once I get caught up on sleep and laundry. Two very different cruises with pros and cons to both. On the whole we had an excellent time and as Dottie said "we learned something new every day." The staff was very welcoming and it was wonderful to see so many of the staff that we have sailed with before.

That is my type of trip!

I will write this in stages, rather than doing one huge posting.

We used Oceania's air, as we could not get air on our own for less money or even the same amount. They flew us Cathay Pacific from Vancouver to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Singapore. The flight was late leaving Vancouver so we were on pins and needles whether or not we would make our connection in Hong Kong. Lucky for us the winds were with us, so we made up some of the time, arrived in Hong Kong with enough time to clear security and make it to the gate in time for boarding the next flight. Unfortunately for several people on our Vancouver portion of the flight Oceania had booked them on an earlier flight and we arrived on the ground as their flight was taking off. Luckily there was lots of room on our flight, so they made it to Singapore, but I can't say the same thing for their luggage. Most of them got their luggage the following day.

We took a taxi from the airport to the port. It cost us $24 Singaporean dollars, which was way more reasonable than using Oceania's transfers. Fairly light traffic, so since our luggage was the first off in Singapore (just made the flight), we were onboard very quickly. We were walking along the passageway when we ran into Chris, a member of the Entertainment staff that we had met on our previous cruise. It was so nice to see a familiar face before we even boarded the ship.

We ate at the buffet and just as we were finishing eating, our cabin was ready. On our way to our cabin, we bumped into two other room stewards that we had on previous cruises. Their welcome back was so genuine, it felt like being with family. Our luggage was already at our cabin door, so we decided to unpack before we did anything else. As we had been in Singapore a year ago exactly and had tour extensively, we were not in a rush to get out and see anything.

The lack of sleep was quickly catching up on us, so we had an early dinner and headed to bed to enjoy those very comfortable beds. What a difference a goods night sleep makes to your perspective.

We awoke the next day to pouring rain. Somehow we just couldn't get enthusiastic about going out and touring. We wandered into the mall connected to the port where we ran into Dottie (CD) and her husband Tom Drake. We were having a chat as we had sailed with both previously as we walked down the long corridors to get to the mall. Once we got through security and again looked outside, we decided it was mall time and not sightseeing time. We lasted for a while and did not buy a thing as we were too busy admiring the decorations put up for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Lifeboat drill took place that day, and then we met up with Katie another member of the cruise staff who we have sailed with twice before. She was busy directing everyone to their stations and when we said "Hi Katie" she looked very quickly and gave us a very warm welcome back to the ship. The water was still dripping from the tenders, but the sun came out for the outside portion of the drill. It was run very professionally, but still some passengers have to talk through the entire process instead of paying attention. They were complaining about everything under the sun and made one wonder why they were cruising at all. When the drill was over, it was pleasant to see that everyone was being polite and taking their turns going back to their cabins. Shortly after that, the ship set sail for Koh Samui.

May I ask how you got on with visas in Vietnam? I've heard there have been some changes.

We had to bring photos with us (passport size I think) and a filled out visa application which we had to submit to ship before we were given our key to our cabin. Oceania did all the processing for us for both Vietnam and Cambodia. All we needed to bring was the pictures as mentioned above and the completed forms.

What a beautiful island. The people are so friendly.

This is a tender port and even though I had organized a private tour, we were on the first tender off the ship. I was growled at a bit by the destination services team when she arrived saying that she wasn't ready to give out tender tickets, but I gave her my best smile and told her that I would stand and wait as I would be sitting quite a bit while on tour. Needless to say, she opened her box and gave me the 8 tender tickets I needed for our group right away. Very short tender ride and it was quite smooth as well.

We used a company called Tours Koh Samui Company. Their response time to my emails was excellent and we had very good communication. We had to pay in Thai baht and everyone that was part of the tour group was aware of the fact. Our guides name was Yim and his English was excellent. He planned the tour so that we would not be any of the stops at the same time the cruise ship tours were. This way we see everything without hoards of other passengers being in the way of our pictures or holding up the viewing process. We saw the following: Hin Ta & Hin Yai (Grandfather and Grandmother) rock formation (enjoy the Thai legend), mummified monk temple (different), watched trained monkeys harvest coconuts from the trees, a short jungle walk which lead to the Naming Waterfall and had an elephant safari (this was the highlight of day according to the group.) We also had lunch included which consisted of spring roll vegetable, green curry chicken, sweet and sour chicken, fried chicken with cashew nuts, tom yum shrimp soup, steam rice, fresh fruits. It was very tasty and a good introduction to Thai food. After lunch we went to one of famous beaches for a short time as there was a festival on that day and the roads were clogged a bit and we wanted to make sure we were back to the ship on time. The only shopping we ran into was while at the waterfall (the shoppers in our tour group found some purchases here) and at the monkey harvesting demonstration.

This is a particularly beautiful island and I personally liked it better as a port stop than Phuket. There is no tsunami damage on this island from before as it was protected by land and a tidal wave could not damage the island.

No fuss traveler,

Thank you for your report so far and I look forward to the rest.

We will be doing a similar itinerary next year so I will pay particular attention to your shorex's.

TIA

We had to bring photos with us (passport size I think) and a filled out visa application which we had to submit to ship before we were given our key to our cabin. Oceania did all the processing for us for both Vietnam and Cambodia. All we needed to bring was the pictures as mentioned above and the completed forms.

Thanks for the info. I'm really enjoying your report.

We overnighted here which meant we had two days for tours. The ship was docked close to the main part of the city (Klong Toey Port). We did tours outside of the main part of Bangkok as all of us had been to Bangkok before and did not want to do the usual tourist stops. This way we could also avoid the compulsory jewelry store stops.

For these tours we used a company called Thai Tour Guide. The contact was Mr. Chob Panma and he has several guides working for him. He is very prompt at replying to your emails and will adjust your tours at the very last minute with no problems. We had people joining the tour just before we left and the necessary reduction to the cost was done with absolutely no quibbles. Again we had to pay in Thai Baht.

We went to the Tiger Temple or Wat Pra Luangta Bua Yanasampanno Forest Monastery. This is a rescue centre for many different types of animals and not only tigers. You are allowed in and able to touch the tigers and have your picture taken with them individually. It is done on an individual basis and yes I am glad that I did it, but the animals are definitely not in their natural environment. It was a long drive to the monastery and would I do it again, no. The traffic going there and back was horrible, but we did stop in a delightful restaurant to have lunch and it was delicious. It was a restaurant used by locals, nice and clean and the food was very reasonable. I think if I remember correctly lunch cost $10 US including beer for two of us. We also went to see the Bridge over the River Kwai. We had enough time to walk over the bridge, visit the monastery and walk back to meet your tour guide. For the shopaholics there are plenty of tourist tents to visit and bargain. I didn't shop as we have been to Thailand twice before and did not need any more souvenirs. Those shopping said that the pricing was reasonable and you had to bargain hard. The one disappointment here was that we did not get a chance to stop off and see the war cemetery. It has been kept up and it would have been nice to be able to walk through. We arrived late back to the ship as there were many accidents which meant the driver had to take many detours to get us back to the ship. Excellent driver though and the car was quite comfortable.

The second day we went to the Mekong Railway Market and yes this was worth visiting. It was neat to see how all the awnings folded up as the train entered the station and after the train left were lowered so that the business people could start selling again. This is a market for the locals rather than the tourist for purchases. Right at the train station was where you found the tourist shops. Again you had to bargain hard. No set prices. We were then taken to the Damnern Saduak Floating Market. I have two words for this market "Tourist Trap" You go around the market in a paddle boat and the vendors put out their hooks to bring you to their boats trying to get you to purchase goods. It was very crowded with all the boats banging into each other. Once you got out of the main selling area, it was a nice ride and you could see the canals properly and also how the locals live. That was the part that I enjoyed. They take a picture of you just after you board the boat, put it on a china plate and try to get you to purchase it once your boat ride is over. They were quite good about not insisting you purchase the plate and gracefully took the answer no thanks. We had a bit of shopping time and most of us used it to try some local Thai food. We ate where our guide did and she did give us advice on what to eat for those purchasing food. She bought each member of the tour some sticky rice with mango to eat on the van when we were heading back to Bangkok and it was delicious. The only thing none of us were very happy about was that the guide did not give us all that much information about where we were traveling which would have made the travel portion more palatable. Also she was very soft spoken, so hard to hear. She did sing us some Thai songs which were quite nice to hear.

The people on the ship that used the Oceania tours did a lot of grumbling about the city tours. As it was approaching Chinese New Year, there were a lot of tourist from China and the passengers were saying that they got pushed out of the way by these tourists. They said that the palace grounds and temples were very crowded and that they had to spend too much time at the jewelry store. Those that took two different city tours ended up at the same jewelry store the second day and rebelled. Their tour guide took a vote on the bus and only one couple wanted to visit the store, so she made arrangements for that couple to come back to the ship on another Oceania tour bus and took the rest back to the ship right away.

For our tours I felt Mr Chob did a good job putting together something that was different than what the standard tours do. I would do your research though before you start talking with him about tours. The Entertainment staff went to a zoo, where they paid to feed the baby tigers, but did not get close to any of the adult tigers. That was a shorter bus ride than the one we did to the monastery and may make an excellent alternative to those who want to see the tigers, but will tolerate seeing them in a zoo environment.

The weather was hot and humid so by the end of the day you were tired and we were glad that we had an at sea day after we left Bangkok. It gave you time to recuperate after two days of hard touring.

A nice break between touring. We enjoy our sea days and usually start them by eating breakfast in the GDR. This cruise we found that the omelettes in the GDR were way superior to the ones in the Terrace Cafe. We have started on our quest to not eat any pastries at breakfast and so far we are keeping to our promise to ourselves. They do try to tempt you with the pastries. We have had Mercy from the Philippines as our waitress several times throughout the cruise and she remembers exactly what you drink at breakfast, is ever so cheerful and toasts the best English Muffins on the Nautica. My better half and I would usually split at this time, he would head to hear the speaker, John Freeman (who was one of the best speakers either of us have heard--I listened later in the day in the cabin) and I would head off to needle point (one of the better places to pick up not he latest ships gossip) and do the golf obstacle course.(not that I was any good at it, but it was fun because the people you meet are so much fun). Dottie would quite often join us with her knitting while we were doing needlepoint and if you listened carefully rarely you could pick up a few gems for Trivia. After this we would meet to have a friendly game of table tennis and then it was time for lunch. More often than not we ate at Waves and we both enjoyed the Surf and Turf without the bun. Yummy. After lunch we would join in various other activities offered by the Entertainment team and join Dottie for Trivia each day. Our group did quite well, but we were not near as serious as other groups. Nobody got annoyed at each other if we gave the wrong answer. Did you know that kissing burns 23 calories? This was one of the questions and one of the gentlemen disputed it saying that when he kissed it definitely was more than 23 calories. Needless to say there was quite a bit of laughter at that point. Dottie just about everyday managed to use her famous line "you learn something new every day" as she kept giving us phobia questions. She finds the most obscure phobias to test you on. With the exception of one day, no one knew any of them. Then it is time for Happy Hour. Sometimes we would go up to Horizons and other times we would head for Martinis. Depended on our mood. Then the most important meal of the day, dinner, Decisions, decisions. We usually tried to get one of the specialty restaurants on a sea day.

I noticed that the casino was quite busy on sea days and several passengers said that Ethan ran a really good bingo game. The library was occupied with snoozers who were pretending that they were reading, the pool deck was occupied, so most people found pleasant ways to while away their day.

Been there, done that best describes this port.

We used ANA Travel for our private tour, and with the limited resources available to them, it was a good tour, but this is just one place I would not want to go back to. We saw Wat Kraum (Lower Pagoda), Ream National Park (now here you really saw how the locals live, no running water, no toilet facilities, but very happy and contented people), Wat Ream (beautiful monastery), Wat Leu (Upper Pagoda) (fantastic views and interesting sculptures) and the main market. Our tour guide was very helpful bargaining for the group and each of us managed to purchase something as a memento of our time here. After the market we were taken to an upscale resort which was lovely and enjoyed our walk along the beach.

Many people on the ship left it for an overnight to Angor Wat. Having been to Angor Wat a few years ago, we felt the trip was overpriced for only having one day to see the sites. Angor Wat deserves at least 3 days to see it properly.

Watching all the shopaholics in the market, I observed that the Nautica passengers certainly gave a boost to the local economy. The locals were very happy to see us.

Tom Drake, comedian had several jokes at the expense of this port, but they were done in a nice way.

Cambodians are very lovely proud people. Our tour guide talked about how much the economy is growing and how the living conditions now are much better than what they were even two years ago. Our guide certainly knew the history and talked about growing up in the fishing village and how he used to roam the beaches catching crabs to supplement their diet. Visiting a country likes this makes you appreciate home even more and you remember to count your blessings.

After a day at sea, we were well rested before we arrived. What a fascinating city. We would go back to Vietnam in a heartbeat. Vibrant country.

We used a company called Ann Tours. My contacts name was Tony. The company was very prompt in responding to queries and provided us with great guides.

The first day we were picked up at the ship and driven to the Mekong Delta for our tour. It was a long ride due to traffic congestion but a fascinating one as we all kept watching out the windows to see what individuals were carrying on their scooters. The trip to the Mekong Delta was well worth the visit. We took a larger boat (make sure you use the WC before you board) to one of the smaller islands, where we disembarked to get into a small dugout. We then a a canal tour of the island and saw many different types of housing and plants. After the canal tour, we stopped for a typical Vietnamese lunch. We were fascinated by the way the waiter sliced up the fish standing up on the plate to make wraps for us. Lots of pictures were taken of the food and its presentation, but I am hopeless at uploading pictures, so you will have to use your own imagination. We had glass noodles, chicken, soup and .... Yummy,

After lunch we went for a walk and saw a coconut carving factory. We shuddered when we watched the men operating their machines with their bare feet, carving bowls, carvings etc. They are very skilled as our guide told us that there were very few mishaps while they used the machine. We continued to walk down the pathway and had to watch out for the wild scooter drivers, until we reached a road where a wagon was waiting for us. The driver then got his horse to take us another part of the island. We drove through the commercial part of the island and enjoyed peeking into the local stores. Our curiosity was matched by the locals, as they enjoyed staring at us while we rode by.

They then took us to a coconut candy operation and walked us through how they make them. Everyone got to sample a piece and a couple of the group members got to wrap or should I say attempt to wrap a couple of candies. Wow, could those ladies wrap those candies fast. There was a lady selling there some of hand embroidered pictures. Beautiful and reasonable. I brought back a wonderful memory of our day in the Delta. Once we had finished our visit here, we headed back to a small dugout to get back to our larger boat which sailed along the Mekong.

For those with short legs and not great mobility getting back onto the larger boat was more than a bit of a challenge. One of the ladies in out group had to sit on the boat to clamber in and unfortunately there was a nail where she sat (use your imagination). After this entrance onto the watercraft, we were worried about the next stops, but fortunately there was stairs leading down to the water at both of the next stops which made it easier for us to get on and off. Our last stop before we got off was to a temple. The monk who built it was a bit eccentric, and all you could say about the temple is that it is eccentric. Worth a visit even though by this time you were exhausted and just wanted to get back on the air conditioned bus.

Flowers were bountiful as the farmers had brought them into the city to sell for the Chinese New Year. Most of the flowers were yellow and gold in colour for celebrating. The red was for luck and the gold for prosperity if I remember correctly.

The drive back to the ship was again fascinating. A lot of locals were heading back to their birth villages to celebrate the new year with their relatives. We would shake our heads in amazement watching how many people were loaded on the scooters and how much luggage. Part of their custom was that they to come home bringing gifts. When the gift was a flat screen TV which was much wider that the scooter, you can imagine how much the passenger saw and how comfortable they were holding onto the TV.

The ride back was quicker than the ride to the Delta as most of the traffic was going the other way. Saigon lit up at night was pretty and the flower market was gorgeous.

This was the day to tour the town. We planned the Mekong Delta for the first day to ensure that we would make it back to the ship on time the second day. We had an early pickup which meant that we arrived at various sites before Oceania's tours did.

We went to the War Museum and our guide told us that not to take offence if we were Americans as it was propaganda. it was fascinating to go through and see the pictures from the war and to be able to read the stories. By the end of the museum you felt troubled and walking through the outside exhibits and looking at the torture cells, made you pray for peace throughout the world.

After the museum we went to the Presidential Palace. Quite ornate and well worth a visit. We were to visit another museum but could not as it too close to the Chinese New Year and many government buildings were already closed for the holidays. We went through Chinatown and enjoyed the decorations up for the New Year. We were vastly amused by the scooters and the loads they precariously carried. A couple of notable ones were one lady who had one child in the front, a baby on her chest breastfeeding and another child behind her. Another was two workers, one driving, the other holding onto two ladders, 2 pails and the driver held onto the mops. We were waiting for them to drop something. We went to a lacquer factory and admired the work. After that our guide took us to a restaurant that Bill and Chelsea Clinton had been to to have noodle soup. We saw the pictures of Bill and Chelsea on the wall while we were eating. Beware here if they offer you red chilli peppers, only put one in as they are hot!!!!! They also give a plate of other greens to include with your soup, and it definitely gave flavour to the soup and was interesting to try.

We then ventured for a short time into the local market. Amazing how many goods they can pack into a small stall. One of our group picked up the nickname of Buddha, as a young salesclerk came up to him, touched his well fed cruise tummy and said Buddha. He was not amused, but the rest of us were.:D

Pronounced Way phonetically Again we used Ann Tours. Great guide and he went out of his way to show off Vietnam's old as well as new. Hue is a good distance from the port, but the countryside is so beautiful you do not notice how long of a drive it is.

Once the guide got inside the port (did take some bribes to those guarding the gate), our tour was off. The first stop was along a country side road where we watched a farmer use 5 water buffalo to mulch ( I think of a better description) the field to ready it for planting rice. We saw the wife of the farmer dig out rice plants and separate them for planting in another paddy. They were quite happy to have tourists gawking at them while they did their daily chores. We then continued down the country road until we reached the main highway to the city.

They are rebuilding their highways, trying to get rid of the curvy sections by building tunnels through the mountains. In a few more years the port where the ship docks, will be more accessible to the city. Once we got through the hilly part, and don't sit in the back seat of the van if you get car sick, we went to the summer palace of the king. Talk about tranquility. The buildings were landscaped to give peace and quiet to the king and his family and allow the king still to run the country. A lake had been incorporated into the estate which mirrored the beauty around it. The best part was that we beat all of the Oceania buses and they were arriving just as we finished, so no others in the way for taking pictures or lineup for the WC.

From here we wound our way back to another temple, where we were very impressed with the gardens, and also saw the car that the monk drove to Hanoi to protest the communist directions against buddhism. At the end of this temple we then walked over to the river, where we took a boat ride up the river to the main city. We were a captive audience the ships captain's wife who managed to sell several of her very beautiful pieces of silk to us. Their two little children fascinated us and the one was very shy when it came to having her picture taken.

Once off the boat, our van picked us up and took us to the old city wall. There our guide had made arrangements with a very old French restaurant to have lunch. The menu was European until we said we wanted to eat Vietnamese food, and then they brought out the Vietnamese menu, We decided as a group that the Vietnamese make the best spring rolls of the various Asian cuisines that we tried while on the trip. Each different part of Vietnam has a different way of making the spring rolls, so you are in for a treat wherever you order them.

After lunch, we went to the walled old city. Unfortunately during the war a lot of it was destroyed, but parts have been rebuilt and you can picture how it originally was. At the end of the tour, we lucked out and ran into a young couple that were having their wedding pictures taken. Beautiful red dress and the young gentleman wore a traditional long coat (silk) as his garb for the wedding. We then boarded the van for going back to the ship after we had finished taking pictures. As there is only one main road, you followed the same way as you came, but it was so pretty, one did not mind. While driving through the villages, it was interesting to see what their stores sold. No big department stores there.

Once we got back to the ship terminal, for those that wanted to shop, the port authorities had allowed several vendors to set up shop where one could buy souvenirs. Several passengers found some excellent bargains, but they had to bargain hard with this group.

What was interesting about this day, is that we were held up in the mountains while the police were doing a road check. They looked into our car said "foreigners" and waved us through. Anyone who did not have a foreigner in the car, the driver had to hand over their papers with a $50 bill tucked inside. Our driver also told us that when the large trucks are not carrying a load, they leave one of their back doors on the truck open so that the police can see that they are not carrying anything and let them go through the checkpoint without stopping. We did see a couple of trucks like this as we were driving back to the port.

We started our private tour with a sail around Halong Bay. We were the first small boat to sail, so we had the caves to ourselves until the very end. The steps up to the caves are a killer, but wow is it ever worth it once you are inside. They had plenty of spots where you could stop, admire the view, catch your breath without holding up any other cave viewers. The inside of the caves were lit, which meant that you could get excellent pictures. We did not encounter any shops on our way up, but once we exited the caves, the first store, pricey, you go down several steps, the second store, the retailer had her head buried in a book and asked with a bored voice if we wanted anything, more steps, then a very small shop, prices starting to drop, more steps and biggest store of all. Prices were more reasonable than what the shop was at the very top. All the stores basically carried the same items, with the bigger store carrying the most selection. For this store they had two attendants.

We then walked back to our small boat and began sailing through the many rock outcrops in the bay. The fog was lifting, so it made the formations even more fascinating with swirls of fog and sun shining on them. Lunch was provided on the ship and it was tasty, but skip the tea and coffee. Worst coffee and tea on the entire trip (group opinion for this comment) After the sail we headed back to shore to get to our van for the long drive to Hanoi. It took over 4 hours of travel time. There was one bathroom break (yeah, western toilets for this one) and you had to transverse through a huge store (government that employs people handicapped as a result of the war). We enjoyed walking through and came out empty handed. We did not want too much luggage for Hanoi. The countryside here was flatter than Hue, and hilly rather than just flat like Saigon. All of Vietnam is green with vegetation and it was interesting to watch the farmers at work. All the villages were decorated for the Chinese New Year, so one saw lots of gold and red.

We finally arrived in Hanoi. The hotel was a pleasant surprise and we felt very spoiled for one night. We stayed at the Metropole Sofitel and we were very impressed. If we were to go back to Hanoi again, I would stay here at a heartbeat. The breakfast buffet beat the ships hands down. And for those of you who rave about the chocolate croissants onboard, not nearly as delicious as the ones at the hotel. Our guide made reservations for us for dinner at a restaurant just up the street from the hotel. We ate some wonderful Vietnamese food that they said was a specialty of the restaurant and we tried some Vietnamese wine. It was actually quite good, but then we are not wine snobs.:D

The day we started at 7:30 am for our day tour of Hanoi. The first stop was a temple, where we saw the start of the celebrations for New Years Eve, that day. The smell of the incense was almost overpowering. From there we traveled to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. You are not allowed to take cameras into the mausoleum, so your guide takes all large bags, cameras, iPhones, iPads from you so that you can enter the mausoleum. You have to line up two by two and quietly make your way when directed by guards to the building. All along the walk were serious looking guards watching your every move. It was a bit creepy and I felt uncomfortable and glad that I live where I do. Once inside you had to climb several very shallow steps and in single file walk around the glass tomb. I noticed that the Vietnamese people bowed their heads with their hands placed together at the end of the tomb in respect for their deceased leader. Their were honour guards, heavily armed protecting the tomb. While you were inside the mausoleum you had to keep your arms straight by your sides and if you didn't the guards corrected you. The steps going down were slippery so you had to watch yourself. We were all quite happy to get outside again. Our guide explained to us that Ho Chi Minh really did not want this monument as he was a simple man and did not want hero worship. The grounds in the area are nice as well as you can see the homes Ho Chi Minh lived in and where he greeted visiting dignitaries.

We went to the Hanoi Hilton after this. Very graphic pictures and very telling. All I will say is that it left an impression on my soul.

Once we left here, we went to the market. Now this was fascinating. They have a candy street, a meat street, a vegetable street, a shoe street, a clothes street and the list goes on and on. Lots of decorations for the Chinese New Year for sale and the merchants were doing brisk sales. Lots of flowers too. After we did our walking tour, we then had a trishaw tour which was a completely different view of the market. It was a good thing that our cameras are now digital rather than film, so you could snap pictures to your hearts content. So much colour and such interesting things to see.

After the market there was not much left to see as the city was basically shutting down for the New Year. We had lunch in a local restaurant (noodle soup and spring rolls) which we had developed quite a liking for (and no the ones on the Nautica were not nearly as tasty.) After lunch we decided to leave for the ship right away remembering the 4+ hour drive the day before.

Surprise, surprise, the roads were almost empty. Everyone was at home getting ready for the New Year Holiday. Even with our stop for the WC and obligatory walk through the government store, it took us only 3 and 1/4 hours to get back to the ship minus the tender ride. Ann Tours provided us with another excellent guide and I would highly recommend the company. Tony was very prompt with emails.

At Halong Bay where the ship docks, other than the cruise, there is not much to see. It is basically a resort area for the Vietnamese.

A further observation is that you can feel and see the difference from former South Vietnam to North Vietnam. We felt that the people are more guarded in the former North Vietnam and our guide was telling us that nobody has really good friends as you can't trust anyone.

Good thing as it was Chinese New Year Day and everything on land would have been closed. I think after all the hard touring in Vietnam, everyone was glad to have a day off and a lot of passengers started packing for the end of their cruise in Hong Kong.

NoFuss... Thanks for a great report! I enjoyed it immensely. Vietnam and Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year is on my hit list.

I'm loving these reports...I"m cutting and pasting reviews into a document for our RTW2016. Good info!!! Thanks so much....c

Thank you for your kind comments.

Hong Kong for New Year had its ups and downs. I will post as Hong Kong later today.

Chinese New Years Day

Oh oh, we had to dock at the old airport. To get off the ship you walk and walk and walk. It is a covered walkway, but it zig sags back and forth several times. Because it was their New Year, the Chinese ships got the best cruise berths and the non Chinese ships got the old airport. It is not close to anything. But to get back to the walking, after you got off the ramp, you then had to take 3 moving (long) sidewalks, go down an escalator, walk thru a room and then you found the exit door. New Years Day, no taxis:eek::eek: They had a shuttle to take you to 3 different shopping malls. It ran infrequently and it was a good 25 minute bus ride. The stores that day mainly did not open until noon as well as most other attractions did not open early that day. We found a nice park to wander through close to the shopping centre as well as a decorative temple. Lots of families out celebrating the holiday. Inside the shopping malls it was wall to wall people. It felt claustrophobic and our cabin on the ship felt like there was more room than in the shopping mall.

To make matters even more uncomfortable, it poured and there was a cool wind. After being in the warm air in Vietnam, etc, it was cold and a lot of people did not have the appropriate clothing to keep them warm. As we were going on to Beijing, we had brought warm and cold weather clothing with us, but we were bundled up with toques, scarves, gloves and a warm coat.

For those who love to shop, there were some excellent bargains, but I am not a shopper so finding the malls so crowded, it was a turnoff for me. Different strokes for different folks.

This was the last full day for this portion of the cruise, so many people came back ladened with shopping and then had to pack it up for leaving the ship the next day.

Trying to get back to the ship at the terminal was the worst part of the day. No signage and the few personnel working were not happy to be working, so not helpful. The bus dropped us off and the driver said to go to Terminal One, we walked that way and that was the wrong way for the Nautica, we then had to walk a long distance to the next entrance to the terminal and you guess it, we had to go up an escalator, and up another one, walk across a room, go down an escalator, walk down a long hallway, with some moving walkways (here you could get free wifi--lots of crew using it here), another shorter walk, and then back and forth several times on the walkway before you got on the ship.:eek: We decided it was good exercise and we were burning off some of the excess calories we had consumed during the cruise.

Dottie was telling us that Oceania usually gets the Kowloon berth position, but not this time. There was a lot of grumbles from passengers because it was too long of walk for many and there was no help available, particularly this day. There were a fair number of passengers with walking disabilities on this cruise and I think for those with a walking disability, it is not a good cruise for them as at several of the ports, a fair amount of walking is required and quite a lot of it is on uneven ground. Several people had some bad falls at various ports.

I think you should write a book?

Two questions where did you receive the visa application and you said you did not recommend going to Angor Wat?

Loradio

I think you should write a book?

Two questions where did you receive the visa application and you said you did not recommend going to Angor Wat?

 

Loradio

Visa applications were sent to us via email from Oceania.

Yes, go to Angor Wat, but not just for an overnight. You need a minimum of 3 days to really appreciate the ruins. The ship offers an overnight, and you simply cannot do justice to Angor Wat. We spent 3 days at Angor Wat and still did not see everything, but we definitely saw the best. It would have been nice to have had 2 more days to see everything. You do have to watch out for the monkeys though. They stole one lady's camera, ran up a tree with it and returned it to her by dropping the camera and smashing it to pieces. We were told not to get too close by our guide, and this lady did not listen.

Writing a book would take too much time away from my love of travel. I am working on the second half of the cruise, but unfortunately, some very kind:eek: passengers passed on their wonderful cold and cough and I have been more than a bit under the weather these past few days. Just starting to feel like a human being again.:D

Thanks for the great review..Stu and I have done this tip several times and loved it each time...your review brings back great memories!!

Jancruz1

You're welcome. We really enjoyed this portion of the trip and are thinking about going back and doing Vietnam on land to allow more time to appreciate the country. Cruising gives you a taste so that you want to go back and see more.