shaycamp21

Thank you to everyone for all the tips with our trip being a week a away I just wanted to share our planned itinerary, hopefully it's helpful: We are staying 5 nights in Singapore pre-cruise and nothing is set in stone (really our only must do is Gardens by the Bay) --weather will be permitting and we know it will be scorching hot so that is a factor in how much we'll be able to do. We arrive into Singapore just past midnight from Toronto, Canada (23 hrs in transit😴 we have a 3hr layover in Tokyo) so our first day is just going to be a chill pool / beach day getting over our jet lag (staying on Sentosa Island--on a family friendly resort on Siloso Beach as we have our daughter in tow). Day 2: Garden's By the Bay*(Cloud Forest and Flower Dome), Marina Bay walk to see the Merlion and the Art & Science Museum*, we would like to hit some Hawker Centres for lunch & dinner (either take a cab or if we can figure out public transit Maxwell Road or Lah Pa Sat Hawker doesn't seem to be too far), Garden Night Show Day 3: Explore Haji Lane, Arab Street, Little India and Chinatown (Chinatown Complex Food Centre), if time maybe shopping on Orchard Road. Day 4: Botanical Gardens or just explore Sentosa Island & Night Safari* * planning to buy tickets on Klook: Singapore Pass seems to be a good deal and we can purchase it online when we 1st arrive. Cruise Day 5 : Cruise Embarkation Day Day 6: At Sea Day 7: Nha Trang Vietnam, Pham Tours Cultural City Tour (Ponagar Cham Tower, Hon Chong Promontory, Long Son Pagoda, Dam Market & lunch), after maybe Day 8: At Sea Day 9: Hong Kong, taxi to Hong Kong Disneyland Day 10: taxi or public transit to Star Ferry Terminal to Hong Kong Island for Hop on Hop off Bus Tour (hoping to find somewhere to have Dim Sum) Day 11: At Sea Day 12: Keelung, Taiwan Yolo Tours: Northern Taiwan Full Day Tour: Yehilu Geopark Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall & Pingxi Sky Lantern ( we get to customize once we meet our guide), in the evening we hope to try some food from the Keelung Night Market as we are in port until 11:30 pm Day 13 & 14 At Sea Day 15: Kobe, Japan: we ended up just booking a the Iconic Kyoto tour (Kinkaku-ji Temple, Heian-jingu Shrine, Gion Geisha District and Kawaramachi-dori Street where we have lunch) with the ship as it was surprisingly less expensive than other tour companies I contacted. Day 16: Shizumi, Japan we are only in port for a short time so debating whether we should take a taxi to the Sunpu Castle Grounds or just walk around the port. Sadly since we won't get into port until 1pm I read it's unlikely that we will be able to see Mt. Fuji (also read August in general is not a good time to see Mt Fuji). I cancelled the ship tour that I had originally booked here as it was only a half day tour and was almost as much as the full day one in to Kyoto. Tokyo Day 17: Disembarkation Day Yokohama, Japan : I agonized about the best way to get to our hotel in Tokyo with our luggage then RCCL released a tour that drops you off in the City Centre in Ginza (which is where are hotel is even if we have to take a taxi from where it drops us off it will be much less than from the port) it goes to the Sensō-ji Temple and Nakamise Shopping Street and then Ginza--- our hotel will store our luggage prior to our 3 pm check in. There is an art aquarium in a department store in Ginza that we may check out. Our daughter has a long list of things she'd like to do and see but we only have two days in Tokyo. She is really into Anime so wants to check out the anime merch stores in Akihabara, Sanrio shops & cafe. Day 18- Team Lab Planets (we booked this on Klook), Shibuya sky & crosswalk, World's Largest Starbucks--daughter's bucket list lol--she also wants to go to one of those revolving sushi places like Kura Sushi Tokyo Disney Resort Day 19- check out Miramu Tokyo Ginza East and check in to Tokyo Disney Ambassador Hotel (still figuring out the best way to get here with our luggage--wondering if we could take the Limousine Bus?), pool and explore Ikspiari. Day 20- Tokyo Disneyland Day 21- Tokyo DisneySea Day 22- check out, Limousine Bus to Narita Airport & that's wrap. I have the most anxiety about getting around Tokyo and am hoping to do some more planning during our Sea Days to figure out what is most feasible. I am excited about this vacation but stressed as well, I don't think I'll be able to relax until we land in Singapore.🙂

I am aware (wasn’t planning on keeping them as souvenirs lol) I was just planning on tossing them after— I accidentally ordered the wrong size laminating film years ago which really isn’t useful for much but it does work for luggage tags so at least it serves a purpose.

Not for me lol. I am a teacher and laminate everything --I foresee more mishaps with packing tape--maybe I just don't have the best eye-hand coordination lol but I have made a mess with trying to get tape on straight. With laminating I just turn on my laminator, slip the paper in the film and whiz it through easy-peasy, then just hole punch and zip tie on.

We are cruising out of Singapore and will be there 5 nights pre-cruise so I would just put them on the morning of embarkation using a ziptie.

We live in Canada and lately my Amazon orders have been unreliable-- things I have purchased with one day shipping on Prime Day still have yet to arrive. I have a laminator and film so figured if it's allowed I'd just laminate them.

Is it ok to laminate the luggage lags?

Assuming the coffee card is just for expresso based drinks— not say a chai latte?

We are arriving in Singapore 5 days prior to our cruise and want to make the most of our time there. Does anyone have experience using Klook, specifically the Singapore pass which gives you entry into multiple attractions for a discount (hoping to do Gardens by the Bay, Art & Science Museum, Night Safari, Cable Car on Sentosa). Is this the best way to purchase tickets for attractions (or direct or another site)? Does anyone have any experience or tips to share?

We are on the same cruise as well. Wondering if there are ATM’s in every port (Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung, Kobe, Shimizu) to get local currency from? We are Canadian so I am sure our dollar would be difficult to exchange anyway. We were asked to pay for one excursion with a local tour company in Vietnam with US $ in cash but would also like to have Vietnamese Dongs too.

We are all up -to-date with our Covid vaccines but wondering if we need additional vaccines when travelling in Asia (cruise starts in Singapore ends in Tokyo, ports are NhaTrang Vietnam, Hong Kong, Keelung, Taiwan, Kobe, Japan & Mt Fuji)? Yellow Fever? Hep B? There is a travel clinic where I live where you can go for a consult -- but it's for profit so from what I've heard they try and convince you to get everything under the sun. So want to know what else (if anything) is really necessary?

We are booked on the Spectrum of the Seas this summer for a 12 night cruise starting in Singapore and ending in Tokyo. This is our first Royal cruise as well as our first time in Asia. The ship, although fairly new, does not have great reviews so a little concerned, though we booked the cruise based on the itinerary over the ship. The biggest complaint was that it caters to an Asian market--which I would expect considering it is based in Asia. We are from Canada and enjoy learning about and exploring different cultures. I was wondering if any of you who have cruised in Asia can share what to expect. Is the cruise more formal, more casual or about the same in terms of dress code? Are there "formal" nights (I know this is looser term these days) and / or themed dress nights (wear white night, tropical night etc.)? What about food can we expect-- the same Royal themed menus (are menus in English) still or would there be menus based on more local ingredients (we love a variety of different Asian cuisines so would be fine if there was more of an Asian focus & we also have the 3 night dining package to use as well). Is the entertainment in English? Would anyone who has done a cruise in Asia be willing to share their experience?

Will do! Thanks so much.

Lobbylyn thank you for that link I did contact the tour company in Taiwan and a private tour is available-- we are just waiting to hear if Vincent Lee is available to be our guide. Thanks again🥰. Expat Cruise I appreciate all the detailed advice and tips. I am working on my husband to shorten the stay on Sentosa island-- he really wants a tropical resort feel and likes how family friendly the resort is for our daughter's enjoyment (she loves swimming and the beach). I am trying to convince him to at least split the stay to have some time in the city. Unfortunately all but the most expensive rooms at Marina Bay Sands are sold out for our dates. For places attractions in Singapore Garden's by the Bay, Art Science Museum, Night Safari etc.. would you recommend buying one of those multiple attraction passes on Klook or is there a better way to purchase attraction tickets? Also can you recommend a good place for Dim Sum in Hong Kong that won't break the bank? Thank you for your help.

Looks like a great tour in Taiwan, Lobbylin unfortunately the date we are in port is not available so wondering if it is already sold out.

We are on the Spectrum of Sea sailing leaving July 31st out of Singapore.

We are staying at the Mimaru Tokyo Ginza East hotel after our cruise in August and are wondering what would be the easiest way to get there from the Yokohama cruise port? This is our first time in Japan (our cruise leaves from Singapore) and I have been researching options --seems like taxi's are quite pricey but I am really not keen on taking large luggage on public transportation. It will be just my husband, myself and our 11 year old daughter. Any info on transportation options would be appreciated.

Thank you again for all your detailed helpful information. Planning this trip has been quite overwhelming and it's wonderful to get firsthand information and tips. I appreciate you taking the time to share you experiences and love the photos. Seeing them just makes me more excited to go. Can't wait!

Thank you so much for your detailed post (amazing pics--thanks for sharing--spring rolls look delicious). I look forward to hearing about your experience in Taiwan. Were you picked up at the port for your Shore Excursion or did you meet elsewhere? I have looked into other tour companies but none seem to list the port as a pick up point (just hotel pick up) so I wasn't sure about booking. We are staying at the Shangri La Rasa on Sentosa Island for 5 nights pre-cruise so daughter will definitely get her beach fix there (it's right on Siloso Beach). Gardens by the Bay (both day and night) are on our to do list for Singapore.

We are booked on a 12 night Royal Caribbean cruise at the end of this July (traveling with my husband and our 11 year old daughter). It is our first Royal cruise (though not new to cruising having previously cruised on Disney, NCL and Carnival) and our first time in Asia. We thought that doing a cruise would be a less intimidating way of seeing a number of different Asian ports (we are from Canada), however Royal has been very slow to release Shore Excursions for many of our ports (only for Vietnam and Mt Fuji so far) and of the excursions they have released the details are quite vague. In one of the FB cruise groups I belong to someone contacted Royal on the lack of excursions for the ports and the Royal representative replied that they may or may not release more excursions which seems odd? Here is the itinerary: Singapore (we are flying in 5 days prior) sea day Nha Trang, Vietnam (I think our daughter would enjoy going to the beaches.) sea day *Hong Kong, China 2 days in port (*Since we have our daughter we were thinking of doing HK Disneyland for the first day though some have been speculating that the ports for Hong Kong or Taiwan may be removed and replaced and that's why they haven't released any excursions yet.) sea day *Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan sea day sea day Kobe, Japan (hoping to see Kyoto) Mt Fuji (Shimizu), Japan Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan (5 nights in Tokyo post cruise 2 days will be at Tokyo Disneyland / Sea). I think I have a good handle of what we are going to do in Singapore prior to the cruise (also have our hotel booked) and an idea of what we are doing in Tokyo post cruise (have booked our hotel but still need to figure out transfers from the cruise port to our hotel). However I am feeling quite lost and overwhelmed of what to do in the other ports. On past cruises we would rarely do ship excursions but I would get an idea on what excursions were offered and then try to plan on our own either finding a reputable tour company or even exploring using public transit. If anyone can provide any suggestions for the ports or names of reputable tour companies you've used it would be greatly appreciated.

Is there a water filing station onboard or do you just fill from your stateroom?