SF

Great review. After reading this thread we're getting more excited about our upcoming Bliss cruise.

We are Diamond Plus and if this is true and they are taking away the two free internet days we won't be very happy. The way we feel is why be loyal to Royal because Royal isn't loyal or taking care of their seasoned cruisers. It seems like all they're doing is cutting all the "perks"for their repeat customers.:(

Keith,

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I've added them to my notes.

You are very welcome.

 

Wishing you a wonderful time in Singapore. It is a wonderful place to visit.

 

Keith

We'll be there for three days so do you have any suggestions for "must see".

Great photos.:) We will be visiting Singapore this coming year for a few days prior to a cruise so after viewing your photos we are even more excited. Thanks for sharing and posting them.

We have a choice to either stay at the Grand Centre Point Phoenchit Bangkok or the Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok.

We will be having private tours so transportation is not an issue in regards to being centrally located to the tourist sites. We are more interested in the hotel itself in regards to if it's in a quiet good location. We are interested in maybe visiting Asiatique The Riverfront in the evening and I know the Chatrium Hotel is in walking distance but if the other hotel is better we have no problem taking a taxi there depending on how far away it is.

Would love to get opinions from my fellow cruisecritic travelers.

We were also on the Millennium cruise with GMT and Dianeandmark. We did the overnight stay in Hanoi which required the special visa. The morning we arrived in Halong Bay, we had to report to a conference room on the ship to pick up our passports and visas to take with us. Picking them up was a bit chaotic as no one seemed "in charge" of the procedure so it took about 30 minutes of waiting around but then we were on our way. Our hotel in Hanoi requested both passports & visas at check in. We travel on US passports and were each charged $28 for the visa. Passports & visas had to be given back to Guest Services as soon as we returned from Hanoi. In the next 2 ports in Vietnam we only needed to take our landing cards with us....not the visa or passports.

For the overnight visa did you need to bring two passport photos?

When did you have to inform the ship what your plans were so they knew which type of Visa needed to be issued?

We'll be visiting Singapore prior to our cruise this coming year so I've enjoyed reading this thread. Lots of good information. Thanks for sharing.:):)

Don't stress you'll be fine as long as you self disembark. We recently left from Sydney and we had an 11:30 a.m. flight and we had plenty of time. We took a taxi as we were 4 people.

Yes, they are readable. Thanks for taking the time to post them. Looking forward to more pictures and more posts. Enjoy your cruise.

Enjoy your cruise. Looking forward to reading your updates.:)

We are seasoned cruisers and have sailed on almost all the other major cruise lines. We just returned from our first Disney Cruise. Totally agree the prices for a Disney Cruise are a lot higher and the bed not being able to separate is a huge negative for us. Definitely won't be taking a family vacation on that line as I cannot see our kids who are adults sharing a cabin like they do on other lines. On those lines they each get their own bed. On a DCL Cruise one of them would have to either sleep on the small sleeper sofa or on the upper bunk and I don't think someone who's 6'1" would appreciate that, especially after having to pay the higher prices. I'm kind of surprised since Disney usually thinks of everything that they didn't think to have cabins where the beds could be separated.

Thank you for all the information. The hotel's you suggested also seem good. My only question is did the shower/bathroom have a way to cover the glass wall/door in the Novatel Ploenchit Hotel?

We are also looking at hotels in Singapore and Hong Kong. Which hotel in Singapore did you book? What areas are good to stay in Singapore and in Hong Kong?

We are thinking of staying at either the Mercure Bangkok Siam Hotel or the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn in Bangkok. Has anyone stayed at either of these hotels? Are they in a good location? Any suggestions for another good hotel?

Any companies you can recommend for a full day Junk Cruise? The ones I looked at require a 50% deposit is that the normal amount? They also said they add 3% for credit card?

You're right, we probably won't get off the first day till 1 p.m. or after so we're still looking into what to do around the area for such a short time. I read on other threads that there's a small temple nearby and some stores or market. Still doing research on that. Any suggestions as to what's in the area for a few hours the first day?

How does it work if you want others on your roll call to join? Do you leave the deposit with the company and charter the Junk Cruise and then the other people pay you? Or do they give their information to the person that you've booked with and pay them when it's due?

Here is an all day Halong Bay tour we are taking in November off the Celebrity Millennium. This starts at Halong Bay. The tour company is Email: ngoan.le@travelauthenticasia.com/travelauthenticasia@gmail.comWebsite: http://www.travelauthenticasia.com They have been very responseive, suggest you email them and get more details.

 

08h00 Pick up by tour guide at dock, transfer to Tuan Chau pier.

08h30 Board your private day junk for Halong bay. After sometimes cruising on the bay we quickly get away from most of others tourist to be alone in the middle of the nature among the 3,000 spectacular limestone islands.

10h30: Take a short hike up to an island for a visit to Sung Sot cave or Surprising cave – one of the largest and most popular caverns in Halong Bay.

 

11h00 cruise boat will stop at The Titop Beach Island -the name Ti Top is named by the most respectful hero of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh, after the Russian astronaut German Titop on the occasion of his first visit to Halong Bay in 1962. Different from other popular tourist sites in Halong, Ti Top Island does not only possess breath taking romantic landscapes, but also has a heavenly beautiful beach called Ti Top which is perfect for any beach activity.

Sit down here at the chair for sea breeze or if wish, you can hike to the top of Ti Tov Island for stunning panoramic views of the bay.

 

11h30: Afterwards, paddle through Luon Cave –paddle through lagoon cave in a sampan and try to spot wild monkeys to admit the magnificent scenery of this magical bay where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons’ teeth….

 

12h30 Boat move toward Bai Tu Long bay direction viewing hang Trong (drum cave) and hang Trinh Nu (Virgin cave) Ho Dong Tien area from the boat.

A nice lunch with fresh seafood, vegetables and steam rice will be served, vegetarian or non-seafood eaters can be catered for if a prior notice is given before departure day.

 

After lunch, Continue your cruise toward floating Pearl farm, If wish, you can get off the boat & look around You will pass a floating raft where some kinds of oyster pearls are grown and transplanted such as South Sea pearl, Tahitian Black Pearl,…etc. After that you will see a processing room where workers transplanting oysters and understand some precious species of pearl. The last, you could see one of the workers here opening an alive oyster in front of your eyes to see pearl in side and then have look their achievement in the showroom!

 

Finally, experience the pleasure of cruising through the bay while our boat take a different route returning to land.

 

17h30: The boat trip ends at Tuan Chau pier, say good bye to your crew and return to the boat,

18h00: Drop off at your cruise

 

Notes: Cruise or Itinenary can be changed with prior notice according to the weather or Halong Bay Management permission.

 

PRICING:

 

Group Size 2pax 3pax 4pax 5pax 6pax 7pax 8pax 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16

Rate 165 130 115 110 98 90 85 80 75 72 68

Sounds like a great Shore Excursion. Did you enjoy it? Could you give a short review as we are thinking of booking the Millennium and hopefully that tour will be offered.

Does anyone know which hotels in Singapore would accommodate four people? Is Orchard Road a good area to stay? Is it centrally located to the MRT?

We are thinking of booking an Asia cruise on Celebrity and for the port of HaLong Bay it says we don't get there until 12pm. We are there overnight until 10 p.m. the next day but in order for us to do an overnight Junk Cruise we would have had to arrive earlier. We have no desire to go to Hanoi too much driving. We really didn't want to do any tours through the ship. Any suggestions or has anyone had the same situation when visiting Ha Long Bay?

This is such a great thread and I have enjoyed reading each post as the information has helped us in planning our upcoming Asia cruise. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.:)

We have been to Santorini before but this time when we return we'd like to rent a car. Before we decide we have some questions for those that have already done this.

1. Do you know if you need a special license to drive in Santorini or is a USA license sufficient?

2. How hard is it to drive in Santorini?

3. We are basically interested in visiting Oia, a winery, either the black or red sand beach and some good photo stops to capture the white and blue buildings. How long do you think this would take ... is 5 hours enough?

4. Is it hard to find parking in Oia?

5. Where are some good photo stops to get pictures of the white buildings with the blue tops?

Last time we were on a tour but if we rent a car this time we'd like to show the other people in our group who haven't been there all the main sites so any information would be greatly appreciated.

Does the port of Athens have free wifi?

Great thread....so much information:)

Looking so forward to visiting Singapore.

This is a great thread with lots of important information. Really helpful in planning our first Asia cruise. :)

Just wanted to know as far as the overnight visas for Bangkok and in Hanoi were you charged 28 US dollars per person for each of those overnights or is it only a one-time 28 US dollar charge which covers both overnights?

We have not received any further information on the number of sick, but the level of caution is still high on the ship. They have casino barriered off so there is only one entry / exit point allowing a crew member to sanitize everyone. Everything is served individually (so no common bread baskets / butter dishes / salt & pepper shakers) - all of this seems to be overworking the crew a bit. We attended a party last night and they were not allowed to serve canapés because of the heightened health hazards. We also had a notice that if you were deemed sick, that New Zealand required a 48 hour quarantine (so no going ashore if doctor says you had it). Again, the crew is working extremely hard to accommodate the guests and keep people healthy, but after 7 or 8 days on the ship, it's becoming tiresome, and guests are getting grumpy ��

Thanks for the update. Wish you had better news to report as it looks like there is still a problem with Noro on board. We're supposed to be embarking this Saturday so not too happy to hear this. I'm sure the staff is totally exhausted also having to work extra. I guess all we can do now is wash our hands often.

Thank you for the update. We are the next cruise out leaving Auckland next Saturday and am hoping the virus has been contained. I have bought lysol and clorox wipes and will be bringing them with me. Enjoy your vacation and please keep us updated.

We are also on the same cruise and will be boarding Solstice on Saturday. Like you I hope they get the virus contained.