Bangkok

[cindilouwho]

I am finally getting a little unnerved about the Bangkok port of call on my Asia cruise in January. I know it's far out but the unrest has been going on for many months and it looks to be getting quite serious. Our ship has 2 nights scheduled and we dock in Bangkok not Laem Chabang so it will be difficult to get around the violence. Does anyone have an idea about how Azamara may overcome this issue, as it is not just a day call or one overnight.

[cruiseyguy]

I wouldn't be concerned about something so far in the future. Worse that would happen is that Azamara would substitute another port for Bangkok. The violence is very localized and may be winding down.

[BillC]

I completely agree that this situation will be resolved shortly since the economy is threatened by this and hotels are currently running at 25% occupancy rates.

We were on the Quest on the way to Mumbai when the terrorist attacks happened. In less that 48 hours RCCL / Azamara had canceled Mumbai and substituted Oman in its place. We were disappointed since we had booked an overnight trip to tha Taj Mahal but completely agreed with the decision not to risk our safety.

[Ontariotrekker]

I have friends who were going to do a land tour in Bangkok soon. Since Canada and the US have put a 'don't go' restriction for there, their insurance has kicked in so they can cancel their trip.

[Emdee]

I have a trip planned for Feb next year that includes 4 days in Bangkok. At this time I am waiting to see how it pans out.

[Jade13]

I lived in Bangkok.

This is way to far in advance to worry about next year.

[blackfoot]

Read and follow the CIA intel reports on the net for SE Asia.If they are cautioning Americans, then I would find somewhere else to go!

[Redtravel]

By then, it will probably be calm. If not, I'm sure that the cruise line will skip that port. They don't want trouble.

[smslms]

We'll be there next April, but I don't plan on worrying about it until maybe Feb. Worst thing that happens is the ship diverts to another port or adds a sea day, could be worse.

[150edmiston]

Originally Posted by smslms

We'll be there next April, but I don't plan on worrying about it until maybe Feb. Worst thing that happens is the ship diverts to another port or adds a sea day, could be worse.

smslms, are you on The Azamara Quest by any chance?

David

[Rodmanb294]

I'm am booked on the Pride and was scheduled to go to Bangkok.. Seabourn last week, changed the port of Embarkation to Singapore.. ...
Seabourn has been quick to handle inquiries and are to be commended for their timely actions.

[smslms]

Originally Posted by 150edmiston

smslms, are you on The Azamara Quest by any chance?

David

Hi David,

No, we're on HAL's Volendam.

Stu

[cruiseerf]

As of today:

Bangkok is SPOTLESS....over 40,000 Thai volunteers scrubbed the city last week and today it is cleaner then it has been in over a year. If you didn't know what happened, there is no evidence of the protests.

As of now, open diologue is going on. All US residents and gvt employees have been cleared to go back to homes in middle of the "red" zone for those of us who were close by the action.

All tourists sights are open. Shopping is AMAZING...as everything is on sale big time. No crowds and actually a great time to visit as there are not throngs of tourists at the sights which is brilliant.

I think at this point, there are still problems in the heavily Muslim Southern part of Thailand....but this has been going on for 10's of years and this is not reflective of the last protests.

There are threats all over the world.....I would not want to miss Thailand and end up in Singapore....ugh. It is like going to a North Chicago suburb....which is lovely in the USA but not after traveling 24 hours away to vist, and learn from new cultures. Travel involves accepting risks.

Enjoy and safe travels to all!

[Atwell]

Originally Posted by cruiseerf

As of today:

Bangkok is SPOTLESS....over 40,000 Thai volunteers scrubbed the city last week and today it is cleaner then it has been in over a year. If you didn't know what happened, there is no evidence of the protests.

As of now, open diologue is going on. All US residents and gvt employees have been cleared to go back to homes in middle of the "red" zone for those of us who were close by the action.

All tourists sights are open. Shopping is AMAZING...as everything is on sale big time. No crowds and actually a great time to visit as there are not throngs of tourists at the sights which is brilliant.

I think at this point, there are still problems in the heavily Muslim Southern part of Thailand....but this has been going on for 10's of years and this is not reflective of the last protests.

There are threats all over the world.....I would not want to miss Thailand and end up in Singapore....ugh. It is like going to a North Chicago suburb....which is lovely in the USA but not after traveling 24 hours away to vist, and learn from new cultures. Travel involves accepting risks.

Enjoy and safe travels to all!

I agree completely with Cruiseerf. You should not miss Bangkok for Singapore! As a former resident of Bangkok for five years (as an American expat) I can tell you that, unfortunately, these political uprisings take place periodically. But don't worry, if you stay away from the "hot spots" you will have absolutely nothing to fear. Bangkok is very safe and is one of the most interesting tourist cities in the world. I have been in touch with friends in Bangkok who tell me things have settled down and all is back to normal. I really would not worry about it. If the situation worsens and there is any danger to tourists, the government will declare those parts of the city off-limits to tourists. Don't miss Bangkok!

[catergirl]

we have a cruise that ended in bangkok for apr and received an email from princess that we are still going to the port, just not ending or starting the cruises from there. it affected many cruises and some cruisers were not happy of the change... our cruise now ends in singapore, which also was part of our itinerary.

[namest]

Originally Posted by cindilouwho

I am finally getting a little unnerved about the Bangkok port of call on my Asia cruise in January. I know it's far out but the unrest has been going on for many months and it looks to be getting quite serious. Our ship has 2 nights scheduled and we dock in Bangkok not Laem Chabang so it will be difficult to get around the violence. Does anyone have an idea about how Azamara may overcome this issue, as it is not just a day call or one overnight.

We have a deposit on Azamara for January to go from Hong Kong to Singapore. I have hesitated to make plane reservations until we figure out what is happening in Bangkock. My TA cant seem to get a "plan B" from Azamara. My other concern is the very long flight to Hong Kong. We are in the midwest and might plan to go to SFO to break up the trip and fly from there. Anyone know of any reasonable? business class fares?

[greatam]

Originally Posted by namest

We have a deposit on Azamara for January to go from Hong Kong to Singapore. I have hesitated to make plane reservations until we figure out what is happening in Bangkock. My TA cant seem to get a "plan B" from Azamara. My other concern is the very long flight to Hong Kong. We are in the midwest and might plan to go to SFO to break up the trip and fly from there. Anyone know of any reasonable? business class fares?

If you are sailing from HKG to SIN, Bangkok should not be a concern.

IF your plans are firm, CLE to Toronto to HKG on Air Canada is running about $3400pp for most of January. You will fly a small plane (Dash-8) for an hour to Toronto. Then nonstop, 777 executive first class service to HKG. New, fully lie flat seats. There are only 7 seats left at the price for almost the entire month of January. It is TRULY a bargain.

I fly to the Middle East/Asia at least 4 times per year for business. When I have to pay for the flights (not on my customers dime), it is always $5-6000 for business class, even routing through Bangkok which is usually cheaper.

Another options is to upgrade with miles (AA and partners generally have good availability-through Narita on AA, then usually JAL to HKG. Get credit cards for miles, buy miles, have friends buy miles for you. Lots of ways to get enough miles to upgrade without flying. But the upgrades have to be booked quite a ways in advance and you may have to do a "weird" routing.

You can also get an "around the world" ticket often times cheaper than just a RT ticket on AA. You have to lay out your route, but depending on the mileage flown, you can stop in some pretty unusual places if you have the time and are interested for a pretty good price. AA has a "round the world" desk which is a great help if you get stuck trying to book online. http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-trave...world-explorer

[namest]

Thanks for the info. That price sounds good and might take advantage of traveling that way. I tried to use my Continental miles but they said nothing was available on Continental or any code shares. Continental is also difficult in that even if you buy a coach, you then need almost 100,000 miles per person to upgrade and then another $400 each way each person. A real ripoff.

I dont have enough AA miles to do anything. Thanks again,

[travelax]

My Scheduled cruise which was originally to disembark in Bangkok has been diverted to Singapore in January. I had great business class tickets from Bangkok back to the states on Cathay Pacific but must start in Bangkok(to change to Singapore requires canceling the ticket and starting all over from Singapore and then would probably lose the transpacific part of the ticket.) I can get a flight from Singapore to Bangkok but trying to decide whether to just do it throught the airport or try and stay several days is the question Does anybody have any feeling about what will happen as the results of the elections in November and/or have any further suggestions on how to handle this.
Thanks

[greatam]

Originally Posted by travelax

My Scheduled cruise which was originally to disembark in Bangkok has been diverted to Singapore in January. I had great business class tickets from Bangkok back to the states on Cathay Pacific but must start in Bangkok(to change to Singapore requires canceling the ticket and starting all over from Singapore and then would probably lose the transpacific part of the ticket.) I can get a flight from Singapore to Bangkok but trying to decide whether to just do it throught the airport or try and stay several days is the question Does anybody have any feeling about what will happen as the results of the elections in November and/or have any further suggestions on how to handle this.
Thanks

If actually being in Bangkok is "bad" just before you get there, head north out of town to Kanchanaburi Province. About 2-3 hours north of Bangkok. Bridge on the River Kwai, all the War museums, Tiger Temple, elephant rides, one of the best waterfalls in Asia (Erawan). And for a truly special experience-stay at one of the "floating" hotels and enjoy the boat rides up and down the river they have. There are quite a few and I have stayed in four of them. The River Kwai Jungle Raft hotel is the oldest and most established. It is also the most expensive and the most secluded.

Don't loose your Cathay business class tickets. VERY easy to get from Bangkok to Singapore. You might even want to take a couple of days and go to Angkor from Bangkok. Easy to fly to Siem Reap from Bangkok-Bangkok Airways right out of the same airport. Just be prepared to pay extra for your luggage on the intra Asia flights. There is left luggage at the Bangkok airport if you don't want to drag your luggage around until you leave for Singapore. Enjoy!!!