Pepy

You can certainly do lunch at the top of Marina Bay lunch even as a non-hotel guest. There are 3 F&B establishments at the observatory deck

https://www.marinabaysands.com/sands-skypark/restaurants-and-bars.html#Zh0eVm6FFpJZOdmk.97

And here's a tip: if you are going up the Ce La Vi bar for lunch or drinks, take the elevator to Ce La Vi at the lobby and you will get the same view as the observatory (without pay for the entrance fee). Entrance to both the observation park and Ce La Vi are at the lobby level of Tower 3.

So would this work? (1) transfer to terminal (2) drop off luggage (3) off to Marina Bay Sands for lunch or drinks on top (4) back to terminal :)

Your plan sounds pretty amazing and you may wish to consider the "Baba House" in your plan (it's a restored heritage home, free entry/guided tours). Check out Tripadvisor reviews. It's a absolute gem.

• If I do see the zoo in singapore after the cruise but before my flight (if I found a late flight at say 11pm or so) what are my options for my luggage during that time?
  

You mentioned you would be in Marina Bay Sands for 1 night prior, which you can certainly leave at the hotel after check-in. An alternative is to keep it in the luggage storage at the airport (see image for rates). I was told by the staff at the counter there that the rates would be halved for a 12 hour period. This might give you some additional time to take in just that bit more sights.

Yes, and the cruise center is 5-10mins drive from Gardens by the Bay/Marina Bay Sands which makes it convenient to start your day trip.

By the time you collect luggage and go through immigration/customs it will probably be around 9:00 AM and then you have to get to the cruise port which could take around 45 minutes. Why not head to the port, drop off your luggage and then tour around for an hour or so and return to board the ship.

 

Keith

Hi there,

Another good website to plan your route if you are using the tourist pass would be : https://gothere.sg/maps

It give you the various "bus only"/"bus + subway"/"taxi options" with estimates of time/cost for each to better plan your route. For the taxi options, each taxi can take 4 adult passengers so if you are in a party of 6, you might need to get 2. Otherwise, get the maxi taxis.

cheers!

Some great info in this thread on places to see and things to do.

 

As we are only in Singapore pre-cruise for two nights / three days (Saturday and Sunday plus most of Monday) in April, we are thinking of the HOHO bus or maybe just the Tourist Pass and use bus and MRT.

 

There will be six in our party and although the Grand Copthorne hotel we are staying in has a complimentary shuttle bus between 'sister hotels', Orchard Rd and Chinatown, it is reported to be infrequent and limited to just six guests per hotel, so wouldn't want to rely on this.

 

At SGD $49 for 48 hours, the Singapore 7 covers all seven HOHO bus routes. We can then choose the places to get off and explore. If nothing else we will see much of the city even if we don't get off.

The only downside of course is the frequency, plus they finish around 6pm. There is one stop near to the hotel.

 

The Singapore Tourist Pass (2 day $16 3 day $20 with a $10 fully-refundable smart card rental deposit) gives unlimited Bus and MRT travel and is a cheaper option, though this means getting to grips with the bus routes that pass by the hotel. I have found a good website for planning bus routes: https://busrouter.sg/

 

Has anyone used the Tourist Pass?

Hi Julie,

If you like wildlife, the Zoo would be a great place for visit as it is a 'open concept' - that is to say the animals are housed in open enclosures landscape to resemble their natural habitat. The night safari (zoo) is the first nocturnal wildlife park. It is just next door to the zoo and you can have dinner in between the opening times. Whichever you choose would be great!

Not much a mosquito problem in the urban areas but you may wish to put on a repellent at the gardens.

Any questions, just check and ask!

Thanks to Pepy and drsel,

I’ve been reading lots about the weather and humidity, not sure how well we will cope with that, we don’t usually do hot climates so we will maybe struggle to do a full on active day and night. Gardens are definately on the top of my list to see, plus the area, not sure about Universal Studios we’re both in our 60s and have done the one in USA many years ago, we love museums and art galleries.

 

Is the Zoo worth a visit, we are lovers of wildlife and can sometimes get really upset seeing amazing animals in artificial environments, I’ve read about a night visit to the zoo, maybe it would be cooler then?

Is there a mosquito problem there? I have a bad reaction to their bites.

Still excited eleven months to go, I’m on a countdown.

Regards

Julie

I would also add that it depends on your interests. 4 nights (including jetlag) would be good to give a quick overview) but you can certainly make it longer by a night or 2. This will give you time to visit interesting gardens (Botanic Gardens is the world's first and only UNESCO tropical gardens) or take in some of the museums in the afternoon. The humidity also might take some getting used to so take it easy!

We are currently in the process of booking our flights from the UK to Singapore and wondering what to do.

To make the most of our first time to this part of the world we’re not sure if we need to add more than couple of nights onto the one night pre cruise stay due to jet lag etc.

Will we have enough time to see the major attractions and experience a taste of Singapore if we land evening of day one around 6.30 pm then we will have three and a half days before we are picked up at noon for transfer to the ship. The ship sails the following day late afternoon.

Any thoughts please.

About to book 4 nights prior to cruise, but would we be better making it 5 or 6. We may never go back to Singapore again. Help!

Yes, a day trip is definitely do-able. Monday should be definitely be better, especially when returning back to SG. Unfortunately, there are no trains currently and buses/private cars are the only option for now.

There is a heritage street (Jalan Tan Hiok Nee) which is a row of quaint shophouses and many lifestyle cafes and traditional restuarants. It's near the border crossing and it's a interesting area to visit. Many people head to Johor as the currency exchange makes shopping/services very affordable.

Awesome, thanks. We are ther e on a Monday so should be quieter?

 

Do you think its doable in a day or too much? We are quite used to day trips to another city here in the UK as our trains are pretty good. :)

 

Also, anything in particular I should do/eat/look for in Johot Bahru?

Taxi and bus (various companies) services depart from the Queen Street Bus/Taxi terminal that is a 5-10 min walk from "Bugis" subway station.

This webpage reviews all the various bus services leaving from the terminal.

http://yqtravelling.com/singapore-jb-bus/

Taxi would be the easiest (but also the most costly):

http://www.taxisingapore.com/singapore-to-malaysia/

Do note the immigration queues during the weekends and allocate a good amount of time to clear borders.

What is the easier way to to get to Johor in Malaysia? We are in Singapore approximately 2-3 days (late sail away).

 

We were planning to use our main full day to head to Johor but not sure whether to taxi it or to get a bus/ train.

Easiest and possibly most expensive is the Crowne Plaza airport hotel.

Other options :

1) Changi Village Hotel : next to beach, free shuttle to airport

2) Budget hotels in the neighborhood of Joo Chiat Road/Katong (map out "Joo Chiat"). Interesting "shophouse" architecture in the neighborhood. These hotels possibly have day rates but will highly suggest to read tripadvisor reviews on these options.

A friend of mine's cruise is ending in Singapore, and her flight out is not until 11:30PM.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel near the airport, particularly one with a 'day rate'.

 

Thank you.

Tripadvisor would indeed be a good place to start to check out the options with guides/tours available.

In addition, you can also find the whole laundry list of licensed guides from the Singapore Tourism Board. Google "guides online singapore tourism board" and it will be the first link.

What is the best way to find a tour guide for a tour of Singapore? We will be ther for two nights precruise staying at the Stamford. Walking can be a bit of a challenge at times so need to be careful.

Hi, most shops will be open in Singapore on Sundays, in fact weekends are the prime time for businesses.

Little India will also be a hive/peak of activity on Sunday. If you like the hustle and bustle, you will be right smack in the action. It will notably be quieter on Monday (not sure what time you fly out).

Leaving for Singapore on Wed. Arrive Friday AM, fly to Thailand on Monday.

 

How are Sunday's in Singapore? Just another day with everything open or should we plan on some closures. I have printed out some walkiing guides etc. Plan to review them on the long plane trip. Staying in little India (ibis bencoolen).