Asian Capitals and Vietnam II - Jan30 2010

Chris and I are so excited. We've booked another Seabourn cruise on Pride, from Hong Kong to Singapore.

I know from talking to people on our last cruise that a lot of people book an 'A' guarantee and seem to get upgraded to higher decks and even balcony cabins.

We could have done this but decided instead to book A1 cabin 121. (We could have chosen any A1 cabin except for 123 or 125.)

I'm interested in any opinions as to whether we did the right thing.

We spent 8 weeks on Spirit in cabin 137 and have no problem being on the 'poor folks deck' as GrannyLorr describes it.

Anyway its nice to be able to participate on this board as a 'player' again.

Cheers,

Steve (and Chris)

Chris,

You will find that most of the repeat passengers book in what we jokingly call steerage. Look, that is one of the nice things about Seabourn -- there isn't a class system -- no one is looking down on anyone. And by the way, on our cruise to the Baltics in 6 weeks(yea!!!) we are in favorite suite, 119.

Regarding your trip -- we did that itinerary Singapore to Hong Kong in December of 2006. We had such a good time that it is an itinerary we would like to do again at some point in the future.

Steve,

We did this cruise on the Spirit in February and March and it was one of the best. Even though it's far off I suggest that you look into private guides for Viet Nam. Steve and I used the same company for all the stops and it was superb. If you want I'll give you the info.

As for suites I think one is always okay midship on Deck 4. You probably would get upgraded from an A guarantee but you might wind up way forward. And as Chairsin says, they're pretty much all the same.

And you may want to consider not doing the Angkor Wat trip through Seabourn -- first it is very expensive, second the trip is really too short to properly see and absorb everything(and if you are like me and have forgotten what real humidity feels like you will not be moving at a normal fast pace) and third if you go with Seabourn you miss two days of the cruise. We used Exotissimo( a a tour company with branches throughout SE Asia -- not sure if this is the company Wripro used) and they were terrific. We flew into Singapore a few days early and then flew nonstop on Silk Air to Siem Reap and were met at the airport by our guide( in a wonderful airconditioned sedan)and spent almost two days touring all of the Wats and other sites. We stayed at the lovely Orient Express L'residence d' Angkor -- all teak stuctures and tropical gardens. And all told we spent about half of what it would have cost through Seabourn.We did the Seabourn tours to Hue from Da Nang and Hanoi from Cai lan.While it was fine(and I am not a person who usually takes tours) you may want to check out Wripro's advice and arrange private tours.

I would recommend the River Kwai tour out of Bangkok.

Living in Melbourne....in the (almost) middle of Winter....Im sure Cands has forgotten what humidity is!!! :eek:

That is also a cruise we are planning on...although havent come up with any dates yet....I would like to do the cruise both ways.....one way is too short.....:D

GrannyLorr,

Sometimes they combine it with a cruise to China which is what we did so it came to 22 days. I know for you that is very short but imo better than repeating the same itinerary.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your input.

Chairsin - The Baltics in six weeks! Fantastic. Enjoy. I think we will stick with the A1 cabin choice.

Wripro - Another recommendation for this itinerary! Sounds like we really have something to look forward to. Yes, could you please provide information about the private tour company you used.

Chairsin. Alas, no extra time for us at beginning or end this trip. Just one night in Hong Kong and 1 night in Singapore, so the Wats will have to wait. The good news is its only a short trip for us to come back for a land based holiday.

The humidity could also be a big problem for us. I remember from previous visits the way it hits you like a wall and then proceeds to drain all your energy away.

I'll check out the tour company you recommended also, thanks.

Jagi - Thanks for the river Kwai recommendation - it's on the list.

Granny, Granny, Granny! - Back to backs!! We're on the 'po' folks' deck for a reason;). (and we have no leave left after last year's adventure).

Anyway, why don't you book this one as a little 'taster'. It would be great to meet you and John. We got a very nice surprise booking direct with Seabourn Australia; I think Seabourn might be having trouble filling the ships!

Thanks again all,

Steve.

Granny Lorr, another option to make it a longer cruise without repeating would be to tack on one of the new itineraries from Kobe, Japan.Though I must say I could do the whole trip over again and make it a different trip -- instead of seeing Bankok both days I might consider the River Kwai trip as jagi suggested, I might spend one day in Saigon at a tailor shop having an ensemble made( I wear and American size 4 but I am 5 feet 6 inches tall and every shop I walked into they had me try on extra, extra large and still nothing was long enough), from Da Nang I would visit Hoi An since we visited Hue last time(and I suspect Sailor Boy would go to the Chu Chi Tunnels), and in Cai Lan, instead of visiting Hanoi, I would spend the day on a junk sailing around beautiful Halong Bay.So it really could be a totally different trip.

Regarding humidity, when I moved to the desert from that swamp called Washington , D.C. I had to laugh when people people here would complain about the two months of the year here when the humidity can get up to 30 percent. Now I am afraind I am one of those people who complains!

I have a question about the location of the ports for Saigon and Bangkok. From what I understand the smaller Seabourn ships navigate up-river to be close to these cities?

What was the experience of those who have done this trip before?

Thanks,

Steve.

Yes, the advantage of Seabourn is where the ship "parks." In Bangkok we passed all of the big ships and continued far up the Chao Phraya River but we were still a long ride from the area where all of the famous temples are.Seabourn provided an hourly shuttle to a "shopping mall" called Central World and from there it still took us an additional 20 minutes by taxi(I have never seen worse traffic in my life than in Bangkok) to get to the historic area.All my Seabourn infor sheets note is that we docked at berth #22A. In Saigon it was only a five minute bus ride to the Rex Hotel -- could have easily walked it except with all the construction going on just outside the port area the streets and sidewalks were torn up.

Recommendation for Bangkok. Use the train. We thought taxis would be faster and were we sorry. You can walk to the train station near the shuttle stop. Take it to the Shangri-La Hotel, buy an all day ticket on the public river boat which goes to the Grand Palace, the markets and nearly everything you want to see. For the Jim Thompson House,(it is worth it) do take a taxi from the shuttle stop. It's a long walk (we did it). I think you will need a taxi to get to the main Jim Thompson store, but there's a smaller store right at the House and Museum. You can get information about the train stops from the guidebooks or the internet. Do that before you get on board.

Good traveling. I wish I were going again. It's a great itinerary.

Chris,

In Bangkok we docked at Klooey tong, about twenty minutes from center city. As stated there is an hourly shuttle. Most ships dock at Laem Chabang (sp?) about two and a half hours away. In Saigon we were practically in the center of the city as well. The only place that is a long, long ride from the port is Hanoi, about three hours each way. My suggestion, and I'm sorry I didn't do this, is to drive in the night you dock, spend the night at the Metropole Hotel and get an early start sightseeing so you have most of the day. It makes a big difference.

I too checked with Exotissimo tours and they are wonderful. I went with another company called Tony-Ann Tours though because I like their more personal approach and I got a better price. You can google either one and check them both out. If you want more info let me know your email address and I'll send it. I suggest you do a bit of research so you can be specific in letting them know exactly what you want to see. Or have them make suggestions.

Whatever you do there you'll have a great time.

Oh yes, I am in Jim Thompson withdrawl! Absoultely loved the quality of the silks and the items made from their silk. Evertime I look at my lovely little makeup bag I keep in my purse I think about the wonderful shop.Could not get Sailor Boy to buy a tie when we were there "I have a hundred ties and I rarely wear them now that I am retired." For the last two and a half years I have had to listen to him say he should have bought a tie at Jim Thompson.

In Saigon and Hanoi Khai Silk has wonderful shops with quality merchandise(the prices are slightly lower in Hanoi.)

Thanks so much to all for the replies and the sage advice.

Now, only 8 months of planning and waiting!!

Regards,

Steve.

Chris,

 

I too checked with Exotissimo tours and they are wonderful. I went with another company called Tony-Ann Tours though because I like their more personal approach and I got a better price. You can google either one and check them both out. If you want more info let me know your email address and I'll send it. I suggest you do a bit of research so you can be specific in letting them know exactly what you want to see. Or have them make suggestions.

 

Whatever you do there you'll have a great time.

Hi,

Any information you'd care to send would be great, thanks.

stephennorris'at'ozemail.com.au

Cheers,

Steve.

I ~sort of mentioned~ this cruise during lunch today....John is much easier to convince when he is eating!! :D It helped when I told him that the day after embarkation is his birthday....already spent one of his birthdays on board...why not another!! I have just printed off the itineraries for the 14 and 28 day....sometimes my powers of persuasion work...other times not.....we will see....

Of course it would probably be cheaper for us to wait till we are onboard in August...and get another 5% off!! (if there are any suites left on the po folks deck)

Cands could you email the "deal" you got?

We have just booked a trip to Broome to meet some Seabourn friends(April) so will be broke after that...check the prices in that place!! :eek:

Granny,

According to the latest flyers I have been sent by Seabourn you should be able to get at least 60 percent off.

Steve,

I'll email you some info later today.

Henry

GrannyLorr,

I've sent you the info by e-mail.

Henry,

Thanks so much for e-mail. I'd better get planning.

Cheers,

Steve.

Steve,

That's half the fun!!!!

Is there anyone out there joining us on this cruise?

A lot of the two week sailings from Hong Kong to Singapore and vv late this year and early next year are heavily discounted. There is a promotion by a local on-line agency that includes flights, accommodation at Raffles and the Peninsula and the cruise for a really good price!

Cheers,

Steve.

Thanks, Steve for the link. We are interested in any info Wripro or anyone else can send us about guides, excursions, activities or hotels - (both pre- and post cruise and for the overnights in Bangkok and Vietnam). My e-mail is kathyspooner at hotmail dot com.

Steve, I found out yesterday that the day we arrive in Singapore is the Chinese New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I heard that most businesses in Chinatown will be closed starting Feb 13 afternoon thru the 14th. I had wanted to spend a few days in Singapore, then fly to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat for 2-3 days, then back home to the US.

Kathy

Thanks, Steve for the link. We are interested in any info Wripro or anyone else can send us about guides, excursions, activities or hotels - (both pre- and post cruise and for the overnights in Bangkok and Vietnam). My e-mail is kathyspooner at hotmail dot com.

Steve, I found out yesterday that the day we arrive in Singapore is the Chinese New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I heard that most businesses in Chinatown will be closed starting Feb 13 afternoon thru the 14th. I had wanted to spend a few days in Singapore, then fly to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat for 2-3 days, then back home to the US.

Kathy

When we took this cruise we flew into Singapore a few days early and then flew to Cambodia for a couple of days to visit the Wats. We used Exotissimo for our tour. They were great -- a very good guide who spoke great English met us at the airport with an airconditioned car and took us everywhere and adjusted the tour for us once he found out that we werein good shape and could walk and climb a lot of steps. We stayed at L' residence -- an orient express hotel -- very cambodian with teak every where and tropical gardens. Most of the other hotels are very vanila and could be found anywhere else in the world.I cannot say that i am a big fan of Singapore -- i fould even China town and some of the out of the way places a little"unexotic." We stayed at Raffles -- so unimpressive. Never again.A faded rose with a tourist trap for a bar. In Hong Kong we spent three terrific days -- do make time to take the train to Sha Tin to see the Temple of Ten Thosand Buddha's. We loved the Ritz Carlton on Hong Kong island but i understand that it has closed because the developer is reveloping the property. I personally think the Penninsula is overrated( but many do like it) -- I prefer being on Hong Kong island. Next time we are looking and another hotel over there. In know it is not canotonese but we went to a terrific restaurant for the best Peking Duck ever and watched the chef make noodles -- stringing them out between his arms.What fun. And the light show on the riverfront at night timed to music is quite impressive with many of the high rises "playing"their part.'