shuttles on millenium for Asia ports

Hi celebrity cruisers

looking to book asia cruise on the millennium, a lot of the ports are quite far away from the places i would like to visit e.g. port Laem Chanbang - Bangkok approx. 2hrs away or Pattaya 1hr away, i have been reading that the ship would run a shuttle to Bangkok and drop you there to do a DIY tour yourself, and then at a designated set time meet back and return to the ship.

does anyone know or remember how much this would be? also would be interested for other ports like Hanoi and HCMC in Vietnam.

Thanks:)

Hi celebrity cruisers

 

looking to book asia cruise on the millennium, a lot of the ports are quite far away from the places i would like to visit e.g. port Laem Chanbang - Bangkok approx. 2hrs away or Pattaya 1hr away, i have been reading that the ship would run a shuttle to Bangkok and drop you there to do a DIY tour yourself, and then at a designated set time meet back and return to the ship.

 

does anyone know or remember how much this would be? also would be interested for other ports like Hanoi and HCMC in Vietnam.

 

Thanks:)

We did all of these ports in Nov/Dec (2014). There are excursions with transportation, but not regular hop on shuttles. The cruise directors mantra was 'make sure you book an excursion as there is NOTHING to do in the port". 50 or more (yes FIFTY) buses would regularly be there for passengers who booked excursions. There are almost NO taxis at the ports, and all tours and rides should be pre-arranged.

Join your roll call, do a bit of research, and you'll be fine.

FYI, Bangkok is 2 hours in traffic which is commonly the case, but we made the trip in a bit over an hour at 11pm at night when we flew in to meet back up with the ship. Pattaya is 45 minutes.

You can read all about our trip in the link in my signature.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

We were on the Millinium last year for about a month of travels to Asian ports. We booked private tours with English speaking guides or drivers for each port. Many of the ports are a far distance from the city or else they are in undeveloped areas that don't have travel options for cruisers. Do your research and get everything booked ahead of time and you will have an incredible journey.

oakton girl and need to be spoiled

can you recommend any guides and pass on information there information and prices etc

thanks:)

oakton girl and need to be spoiled

 

can you recommend any guides and pass on information there information and prices etc

 

thanks:)

I think I listed all the guides at the end of the posting I did on the trip. Click on the link in my signature and go to the last page.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Just wondering if anyone had responded regarding various shuttle/buses

that might be available to go into the Hanoi, Saigon and Bangkok. We are looking for day trip to these cities and not overnight. Someone has mentioned Smile Tours, but what is the cost.

Thank you very much for any information you can provided.

Absolutely positively go to the roll call for your cruise. Lots of discussion about tours and guides there!

We are on the Millennium in April 2018 visiting Tokyo (Yokohama), Aomori, Hakodate and Sapporo. Does anyone know if shuttles are provided to get into town at these ports??? Can't find any information on the Celebrity website!

Anne

oakton girl and need to be spoiled

 

can you recommend any guides and pass on information there information and prices etc

 

thanks:)

I recommend an overnight on a junk in Ha Long Bay rather than taking the long journey into Hanoi. We used Indochina Junk - a group of 8 couples from our roll call chartered one of their three Dragon's Pearl junks.

As a whole Celebrity does not do shuttles, Azamara does do some shuttles into town. We were on Millie last January..... Kong Hong to Shanghai cruise. One of our most favorite cruises. We are back on Millie on March 18, 2018 with overnights in Beijing this time.

For "onthebalcony" - in Yokohama and Aomori the ship docks in the city. From the dock in Yokohama you can walk to the subway in about 15 minutes and the port authority provided a shuttle to one of the JR train stations. In Aomori, the Nebuta museum is about a 15 minute walk from the dock. I don't know about the other 2 ports you mentioned.

We did the “on your own” excursion with Celebrity last March in Ho Chi Minh City and it was great. All the historical sites in the city are walking distance from each other and we had an Eyewitness Travel Guide to assist us. We were dropped off by Saigon Tower and pick up was by the same location. We had plenty of time to see all we wanted to see at a leisurely pace along with lunch and a drink. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

We were on Dec 24 Asia cruise round trip from Hong Kong. Celebrity provided no shuttles at any of the ports. Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City are hours away. Also no local maps were provided. If you do private overnight to Hanoi, be careful who you choose. We also most miss ship on return. Ship held last tender 20 minutes for us but left before last 2 passengers returned.

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Thanks LJ for your post. On previous Celebrity cruises we never knew about shuttles until the day before or at the port!! Makes tour planning a challenge!!

Anne

As a whole Celebrity does not do shuttles, Azamara does do some shuttles into town. We were on Millie last January..... Kong Hong to Shanghai cruise. One of our most favorite cruises. We are back on Millie on March 18, 2018 with overnights in Beijing this time.

Celebrity don't do shuttle services in Asian ports where you are up to two hours out of the city. In the case of Bangkok and Saigon they sell a shore excursion called something like Bangkok on Your Own which is transport only. You get dropped off and picked up in a central location but the day is yours to do as you wish. I have also seen the same deal offered for overnighters who wish to make their own hotel arrangements. In both cases you need to carefully plan your activities around the required pick up time to return to the ship.

We were on Dec 24 Asia cruise round trip from Hong Kong. Celebrity provided no shuttles at any of the ports. Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City are hours away. Also no local maps were provided. If you do private overnight to Hanoi, be careful who you choose. We also most miss ship on return. Ship held last tender 20 minutes for us but left before last 2 passengers returned.

 

 

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Celebrity no longer has free shuttles to anywhere - regardless of how close the city center is to the port. Thus many of us use the term "shuttle" for any Celebrity provided fee-based service that gets you to the city but provides no other services - including those that they designate as a DIY transportation excursion

Celebrity no longer has free shuttles to anywhere - regardless of how close the city center is to the port.

What is your source of information?

We did Japan & Korea in October and shuttles (where needed, like the 15 minute ride into Busan) where free. Friends just returned from their cruise - same thing.

I see no difference in the system - sometimes free, sometimes not - but there is no general rule that it will be charged.

What is your source of information?

We did Japan & Korea in October and shuttles (where needed, like the 15 minute ride into Busan) where free. Friends just returned from their cruise - same thing.

 

I see no difference in the system - sometimes free, sometimes not - but there is no general rule that it will be charged.

Miaminice, have you changed your location?