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Voyager of the Seas Picture Review Singapore to Shanghai June 2012


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Hi everybody,

 

My family just returned from the Voyager. My earlier attempt at a review turned out to be a failure.

 

Let me try again.

 

Here is the Voyager dwarfing the new Singapore international cruise terminal at Marina South. Hopefully the Oasis or Allure comes by some time in the future!

 

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We arrived at 11am thereabouts and the check-in line was very short for Platinum and above C&A. Boarding time was 1130am. There is a nice big waiting area.

 

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Edited by Iluvcruising2
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That is the view of the cruise terminal from the pool deck of the Voyager. You can see lots of construction in the background.

 

Also, Marina Bay Sands - the integrated resort which includes a 5 star hotel, casino and lots of other stuff.

 

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Edited by Iluvcruising2
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Great pics. Looking forward to more!

 

Could you please tell me itinerary for this cruise. Thanks

 

Itinerary (8 nights cruise) as follows:

Day 1 - Depart Singapore

Day 2 - Cruising

Day 3 - Ho Chi Minh (Phy My), Vietnam

Day 4 - Cruising

Day 5 - Hong Kong (3:30pm arrival, tendered); overnight HK

Day 6 - Hong Kong, depart 5pm

Day 7 - Xiamen, China

Day 8 - Cruising

Day 9 - Shanghai (Baoshan)

 

Here is Day 1 of the Cruise Compass front page.

 

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Day 2 was a sea day. This is the front page of the cruise compass.

 

Notice the 3D screening of Puss in Boots in the La Scala theatre. We went for it. Pretty cool!

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Meet & Mingle was scheduled for Day 2 at 11am. Unfortunately, by the time we settled the kids into the Kids' club, went to the gym, showered, it was time to pick the kids up again, so we missed the M&M.

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Day 3 - front page of Cruise Compass.

 

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We arrived at Ho Chi Minh (Phy My) on schedule. We had so sail up some river to get to the container port. You could see the swamps nearby! Quite a sight indeed.

 

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You could almost jump off the ship to swim there.

 

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I wonder who is living in those swamps........

 

The problem was that the container port was 2+ hours away from city center! Cruise Director said that 1,700 cruise passengers were following the ship tour. We were on a private tour - much better!

 

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Edited by Iluvcruising2
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This was our private van that came with an English speaking guide and driver. If you do the research, you'll find that the private tours in Ho Chih Min aren't cheap, but I would still strongly recommend going private.

 

Ship organized tours were really expensive - US$99 per pax. I had 6 persons in my party and we got this van (looked almost brand new, Mercedes) for USD$430.

 

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The ride from container port to city center is really far. The van could go much faster than the 40-seater coaches.

 

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On the way to city.

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View from behind the driver.

 

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Our guide pointed us to the Coke building.

Read this - http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/07/business/new-vietnam-combat-coke-vs-pepsi.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

 

The guide told us that very shortly after Bill Clinton normalized ties with Vietnam, Coca-Cola came to Vietnam! But up till today, McDonalds has yet to enter Vietnam. Wonder why. We saw KFC though.

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First stop - Reunification Palace. (or Independence Palace)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reunification_Palace

 

This palace used to house the South Vietnamese President until South Vietnam fell to the VietCong.

 

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It was a bright and sunny morning.

 

Now, what were those tanks doing in the Palace grounds? Not one, but two! A puzzle indeed. Needless to say, my boy was thrilled that there were tanks! This palace wasn't going to be a boring place any more for a 7 year old........

 

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Don't mess with me, baby.

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It turns out that these tanks were the same models as those that broke through the main gate and side gate on 30th April 1975.

 

This was a Chinese-made T-59 tank.

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These guys were the tank crew that stormed through the main gate (I think). I think they are Vietnamese legends.

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Looking at these pictures, it was clear that Vietnam was the classic proxy war during the Cold War era. VietCong used Soviet/Chinese tanks, flew Soviet/Chinese planes, used Soviet/Chinese weapons etc.

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The basement of the Palace contained many rooms from which the President monitored the war effort. There was also a bunker.

 

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In their rush to get out of Vietnam, I think the Americans left behind lots of equipment. Now, they serve as fine exhibits.

 

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These looks like signal equipment.

 

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Wonder why they needed so many typewriters. They certainly weren't typing love letters to the VietCong.

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Ok, some Vietnamese propaganda here.

 

I found this mildly amusing. No doubt that Uncle Ho's victory over Uncle Sam shook the world. Then again, fast forward 35 years, one wonders what the fight was all about.

 

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I did ask our guide whether the Vietnamese people hated the American people. His answer was quite a categorical no. He had no qualms with the American people but they hated the American Government of that day.

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