travelfan20

Miaminice ,

Thank you again for posting your wonderful "almost live" report of your recent cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong. It was very enjoyable and informative. We are going on a similar cruise at the end of February 

Do you happened to know or be willing to recommend, what is an appropriate level of gratuities for  Thailand and  Vietnam for your private guides you used ? Also is it better for to use local currency or USD?

Just trying to figure out what we need to bring in terms of local currencies in each country 

Cheers😀

Cash ...

I must say some great tips on this site 

We are spending a few days  in Feb 2024 before we board our cruise to Hong Kong . 

My question is it does not appear cash (Local Singapore dollars) is needed other than hawker centres 

Is this a reasonable assumption? Just trying to determine how much we need to convert for the countries we are visiting 

Thanks everyone who contributes 😀

So assuming Marine traffic.com estimate based on current speed ,Ship reaches Capetown February 2nd. 

According to www.Sea-distances .org the trip from Capetown to Mumbai is a distance 0f 4599 miles at and at a speed of 15knts it would take 12 days and 19 hours... So arriving in Mumbai.. my guess Feb 13 ?

They will need to speed up 😀

 The route for the Silver moon can be found on Marinetraffic .com 

You can see the route to Capetown  if you play around with it ,sorry I'm not really tech savvy 

Mandymay , thanks very much for sharing this 

Do you think the Silver Moon will still be on schedule for cruises after Dubai?

TLCOhio's  comments of "wow" are on the mark  , its either with out guests  heading south or back to the Med 

We are booked Feb 29 Singapore to Hong Hong 

Silver Moon is only cruise ship in the Red Sea but if you go on Marine tracker site there is a lot of traffic 

Hopefully the voyage goes as planned for everyone concerned 

What a fantastic review, We have enjoyed Travelling "virtually" with you . 

It was especially helpful for us as we are doing similar voyage in February including same private tour guides and hotels so what a wonderful sneak peak 

save travels 

Appreciate the effort in taking time to provide your detailed review . Very helpful for a future first timer in May 2024 . We have sailed mostly on Celebrity and have tried Silver Seas last year , looking forward to seeing the new Vista , it looks and sounds wonderful. 

We are also interested in doing a private transfer to Taormina as you did on your cruise . 

May i ask who you booked this with and did they do a return as well from the port in Catania 

thanks again 

Cheers

Hi 

My suggestion to do a fair "fare ' comparison is to strip out Air to see what per person per night price is . 

Also depends on what ships you are comparing . Both lines have new and old vessels 

I have travelled on both lines and enjoyed them . Each has pros and cons 

happy travels 

I'm packing my dark blue business suit 😀 and wearing my flip flops

thanks for your thoughts ...first timer may be a one timer will see how it goes 

you are right lots of choices and options out there 

Hi , 

Tried to find this via search bar but no luck .

Trying to "think  about" packing  for a BA to Rio cruise starting feb 12th. 

How formal is formal ? Do I need a dark suit and another pair of dress shoes ?

Long ways to drag suit just for dinner . Trying to keep packing to a minimum

Yes I know i can go for pizza on the formal night but but really?

Last cruise we did was with Regent , seems a bit more relaxed 

Looking forward to adventure and experience 

thank you for any advice 

Thanks very much ..have not missed the big game in over 25 years...

I'm researching sports bars as a back up plan 

Cheers

Good morning 

We board our cruise February 12th 2023 same day as the Super Bowl . Wondering if the  game will be televised . 

We are doing an overnight in Buenos Aires 

thanks 

Thanks for posting , look forward to travelling "virtually" with you . 

We are on the Odyssey, February 2023,  Sydney to Auckland so gives a great sneak peak of the ships for our first Seabourn cruise 

Cheers

HI 

We are new to Regent as well so this thread is very helpful. 

We are booked Dec3 2022 Miami to Miami on the Regent Splendour

Last night ,we looked at trying to book excursions, and a lot were already sold out , some had wait lists others did not ...

Perhaps more slots will open up but I really don't have time to keep checking the website 

Cheers

What a great review . Thank you for sharing very helpful

For your two days in Bangkok , you used private tour guide "Thai Tour Guide"

what tour did you use LP1?

website is below :

http://www.thaitourguide.com/bangkok-shore-excursions.html

What was van like , was it comfortable?

One of our group is celiac , do you think the guide could help us with this?

thank you 

Hey i found this link 

https://www.halonghub.com/blog/halong-bay-weather-in-march/

temps in low 20c...thats warm for us Canadians!

HI 

we are travelling in March of 2020. Love idea of kayaking etc..but you are right might be chiller in March. I'm going to research temps

thanks Hubofhockey!

Hi 

Just trying to plan ahead for a future cruise with a stop in Hanoi/Hongai. 

From my research, the actual city of Hanoi is 2.5 hours away by car. 

We drive in port at 1pm and depart at 7pm the next day. 

Given the small window of time and distance from the port to Hanoi  think we have to choose either redoing the land excursion to Hanoi or do the Halong bay Junk cruise 

What would you folks do?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

cheers 

Hi

Just finished booked our excursions with Rome in Limo for our upcoming cruise in August.

We are really excited about our journey and looking forward to it!

We are doing an Amalfi coast tour and also another tour on Sicily

This is our second time using Rome in Limo and I must say dealing with Jany has been a pleasure. Very patient and helpful with all my questions

I would not hesitate to recommend them to others .

Cheers