AMA Vietnam

[amyr]

Denmom,

 

If you haven't checked the reviews lately there are two relatively new ones. The AMA Lotus gets consistently poorer marks than La Marguerite, not sure why. I'm chalking it up to growing pains and trust they'll have it worked out before too long and also realizing it's all subjective.

 

I'll be curious to see how you work out your visas. I can't remember if Vietnam requires them within a certain time frame prior to your visit like China does? I remember China wouldn't grant a visa more than 60 days out or something like that.

[doreen22]

Swamp1 -

 

You posted, "Freddie's original and plaintive post, 'Where do you go when you've been everywhere?' broke my heart." Perhaps if you had bothered to read the post, you would have discovered that the thread was started by MomC, not by me. That was not my title; and my response, like many on that thread, suggested that she consider traveling to less common destinations, such as the Antarctic, the Galapagos, or the Black Sea. I am not sure which part of my post was "plaintive". It may have been my lack of political comment or philosophical reflection that rendered my post as such. ;)

 

Like other posters, I would "respectfully" remind you that this is a forum for discussions regarding cruising - the name "Cruise Critic" might provide a hint about that purpose. Otherwise, a quick reading of the Guidelines might be useful. Perhaps the teacher in you might allow us to discuss those aspect of cruising that we choose to discuss, including things that seem trivial to you.

 

Oh, back to non-political river cruising: Denmom - We obtained our Cambodian visas online. It was quite easy; and the e-visa check-in process at Siem Reap airport went entirely smoothly. We made several color copies of the e-visa and trimmed one of them to the size to fit into our passports. Your hotel or tour agency in Vietnam can provide you with a visa authorization letter that allows you to obtain your visa for Vietnam at the airport in Hanoi. Be sure that you request a multi-entry visa.

 

By the way, Amalotus carries 120 pax, rather than 175. Even though that is a bit more than the 90 pax on our boat, La Marguerite, it is not likely to overwhelm a small town like the arrival of large cruise ships would. Our adventure with the ox carts, as with the pedicabs, went quite smoothly.

 

Cheers, Fred

 

Fred, I remember your great sense of humor from your postings before our cruises last year - and how much I enjoyed your writings and insightful comments!

Denmom, I am trying to think of some helpful hints for you. We were impressed with AMA's organization of all the excursions. I do remember having a little trouble getting up onto the last rickshaw ( I think it was called a trishaw). They had a step which helped at the start, but not at the stops and I am fit but quite short! I am sure the driver would assist if needed though. Speaking of the drivers my husband got quite a kick out of these last rickshaw drivers. No sooner had we tipped them,then a number of them found a shady spot, plunked down a cloth, and started playing poker with our tips!

If you would like to borrow DVD's or books onboard I would advise that if you "snooze you lose"...I suspect a lot of people headed right for the library as soon as they boarded, as the pickings were slim by the time we got there.

Also on the Amalotus, during the delightful Khmer kids concert, we were in the second or third row and could hardly see, so I would suggest going early and getting front row seats. (The next night they had the crew presentation so we thought we would be smart and get front row seats- forgetting that naturally we would be first choice to be picked to get up and dance with them!).

Anyhow must get back to work, so that's it for now.

Susan

[freddie]

Susan - Thanks for the kind words. Perhaps the current "Conscience of CC" will regard them and not think me too evil because I have not posted regarding my travel philosophy, reaction to historical tragedy, and other such personal matters. ;)

 

Denmom - With respect to things that we mere non-philosophical travelers consider worthy of discussion, I would suggest to passengers on La Marguerite (I don't know the physical set-up of the lounge on Amalotus) that the best place to view the Khmer kids show and the crew show is a stool at the bar. From that lovely perch, one can see over the heads of the seated pax, be close to quick refills of drinks from the bartenders, and, most importantly, be safe from inclusion in that most dreadful of cruise experiences, "audience participation".

 

As we're on the subject of sitting at the bar, a few comments. The included wine, Dalat, is probably the worst wine I've ever tasted (and that is saying something, as I go back to the days of Ripple and Boone's Farm in the 60's). The red is pretty much undrinkable, while the white is pretty astringent but manageable in a pinch. We either bought wine from the wine list (each night there were a couple of "specials" at about $20 or so which were good) and brought our own wine that we'd purchased in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. In one of my previous posts on this wonderful thread, I posted (as I recall - these days the old memory is a bit dodgy) the directions to a couple of good joints to buy hooch off of the boat.

 

The "included" spirits vary from a peculiar rum to a quite tolerable gin (an "English dry gin" made in Vietnam by a British-Vietnamese partnership) that is perfectly good in a gin & tonic.

 

Ah, I should now go off to meditate upon my memories of the trip and my reaction to it. With great good luck, I should achieve enlightenment (or at least some ideas about how to pay for the next one).

 

Cheers, Fred

[Denmom]

Thanks guys for getting on with information. I try not to discuss religion and/politics as it ends in debate. And of course, we aren't just an American board! ;)

 

Anyway, just wondering was it worth it to just pick up the visa in New York versus doing it online. but sounds like no one has done it. As far as the hotel, we are doing a package with a company for hotel, tours, food, air to Cambodia from Hanoi, shuttles from airport to hotel to catch river cruise, ****tle from from river cruise to HCMC, and so on. So I guess I better get ahold of them for paperwork needed for the visa then. Do I need any paper for visa in Cambodia for. A hotel and/or tour company?

 

Someone mentioned the visa in CHINA and we did get it in New York ourselves. that is why I thought maybe we could do the same with Cambodia and Vietnam. We will do more checking as we will be reading our Frommers book while on our upcoming transatlantic cruise and start handling it all when we return. We will finalzye our tour package still this week.

 

OXcart ride, trishaw, etc, my thought was even with 100 people, how many oxcarts do they have? And how many ride at one time? Lol. or the other things? But from what everyone is saying, it isn't overwhelming to them. I have not checked out the latest reviews so I better do that. I have been on cruise critic for years and never read a review. I know shocking.

 

From movies I see river boats going down the rivers and people looking over seeing the locals working their fields, etc........ no one has me talked about this so either it is just the "movies" or the river cruises boat travel only at dark. Speaking of movies, my hubby takes 64 movies every where he goes. So if there is a DVD player in the room, we are set. Otherwise he will have his laptop. Lol

 

Still looking for shoes though. Lol

[freddie]

Denmom - Here is the government website for obtaining your Cambodian e-Visa:

 

http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/

 

The process is quite simple and fast. We received our e-Visas by email a few days after transmitting the application. It is a very impressive system, particularly for a developing country.

 

Two people ride on each oxcart. It's a bit bumpy but fun; and it provides much needed revenue to the farmers who own the oxen and carts. In the town where we rode on the cycle rickshaws - Tan Chau, Vietnam - it was one passenger per rickshaw. As that is a common mode of transport in that town, Indochina Sails was able to arrange for enough rickshaws for all the passengers on the tour. It appeared that on our particular tour, the rickshaw drivers pooled their tips, which was good for the drivers who got stiffed by their passengers.

 

As I recall, all of the cabins had DVD players (the TV has no other function). However, I don't know whether the DVD regional format is compatible with the DVD's your husband will be bringing from home. If his DVD's are designated as 0 or ALL on the little regional symbol, they should work; but I know very little about this technical issue. Sorry.

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited April 4, 2012 by freddie

[amyr]

You know, if there's a DVD player hooked up to the TV then there must be either composite or component jacks that would allow you to plug in an iPod or iPad that you have downloaded movies to. I've done it on larger cruise ships many times. Fred, do you know if you can access those jacks or if the tv screens are perhaps recessed into the wall?

[freddie]

Amyr - Aauugghhh!! You question just gave me a serious headache. I don't even understand it. You must address this question to the general pool of wise travelers on this board to determine if any of them: 1. understands the question; or 2. has an answer.

 

The best that I can tell you, based on my feeble knowledge of high-tech (or even low-tech) devices, is that the flat-screen TV was sitting on our desk, with some sort of connections to the DVD player below. As we never used the beast, I had no occasion to check out the connections. I would guess (please note how dangerous my guess will be in this matter) that the connections are all quite accessible, as nothing seemed to be particularly "built-in". I can, with moderate confidence, however, tell you that at least in the case of our cabin, the TV was not recessed into the wall.

 

Of course, you will realize, dear Amyr, that a discussion of such a shallow topic as TV connections might offend the delicate sensibilities of certain members of CC who would prefer that we bare our traveling souls on this board, irrespective of the fact that they have not the slightest knowledge of our respective traveling histories and experiences, philosophies of travel, or reactions to our travels.

 

Fortunately, we will ignore such silly noise and continue to discuss the elements of travel which we prefer to discuss, leaving politics, philosophy, and grotesque self-righteousnous out of the discussion. Sound like a good deal???

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited April 5, 2012 by freddie

[FlyerTalker]

The TV is free standing. The DVDs onboard are Asia region coded. I would tend to doubt that they have an all-region player in the cabin. As for inputs, I can't say, but everything would be freestanding and should be accessible.

[ReturnCruiser]

You know, if there's a DVD player hooked up to the TV then there must be either composite or component jacks that would allow you to plug in an iPod or iPad that you have downloaded movies to. I've done it on larger cruise ships many times. Fred, do you know if you can access those jacks or if the tv screens are perhaps recessed into the wall?

 

As I recall, the LCD TV was attached to the wall on the AMALotus and the back/sides were accessible. I don't recall what type of connectors were present. There are different TV format standards (NTSC and PAL) and, while many laptop computers can play formats both via an internal screen, there may be issues when using an external monitor (e.g., LCD TV) attached to the computer. Perhaps someone who has tried this on either AMA ship can chime in.

 

Bob

[Denmom]

In the worst case, he takes external speakers and headphones on every trip also. So he will plug in the laptop, put in a DVD, and watch it right there. Lol. S please tell me a laptop. An plug I to a wall. Zor do we need converters to. Lol lol

[swamp1sg]

Amyr: What is "trolling?"

[amyr]

Amyr - Aauugghhh!! You question just gave me a serious headache. I don't even understand it. You must address this question to the general pool of wise travelers on this board to determine if any of them: 1. understands the question; or 2. has an answer.

 

The best that I can tell you, based on my feeble knowledge of high-tech (or even low-tech) devices, is that the flat-screen TV was sitting on our desk, with some sort of connections to the DVD player below. As we never used the beast, I had no occasion to check out the connections. I would guess (please note how dangerous my guess will be in this matter) that the connections are all quite accessible, as nothing seemed to be particularly "built-in". I can, with moderate confidence, however, tell you that at least in the case of our cabin, the TV was not recessed into the wall.

 

Cheers, Fred

 

Ah, Fred, you actually do know how to use them, you really do. Here it is in layman's terms. There's a cord thingy that plugs into the TV with three jacks on it and the jacks have color coordinated rings on them to match the rings on the TV input - either red, white, yellow or red, blue green. You can buy a thingamajiggy at BestBuy, Fry's, Apple, or wherever you buy cords for your device that has these jacks on one end and a plug for your device on the other. You simply plug the doohickey in, queue up iTunes or whatever and play your rented or purchased movie/tv show. You can also view your daily photos that way. That's the shallow explanation anyway.

 

Thanks, Flyertalker for the input on the inputs. The important question is always whether the TV has inputs (obviously would if a DVD player is hooked up) and whether you can get at them. Even though we usually read before bed while traveling, it's nice to have the option to watch something you have squirreled away on your hard drive, particularly if one is laid up for a day or two with gastro.

 

Denmom, he won't need a converter for the laptop as the power cord should do the converting,but may need an adaptor to change the plug type going into the wall. Somewhere in this thread (or maybe in the reviews?) there's a good explanation of the electrical situation on the ship and in the hotels, but I'm not sure exactly where.

Edited April 5, 2012 by amyr

[FlyerTalker]

Ah, Fred, you actually do know how to use them, you really do. Here it is in layman's terms. There's a cord thingy that plugs into the TV with three jacks on it and the jacks have color coordinated rings on them to match the rings on the TV input - either red, white, yellow or red, blue green. You can buy a thingamajiggy at BestBuy, Fry's, Apple, or wherever you buy cords for your device that has these jacks on one end and a plug for your device on the other. You simply plug the doohickey in, queue up iTunes or whatever and play your rented or purchased movie/tv show. You can also view your daily photos that way. That's the shallow explanation anyway.

OOOOOHHHH....I love it when you talk all techie and such!!! ;)

[Denmom]

In the worst case, he takes external speakers and headphones on every trip also. So he will plug in the laptop, put in a DVD, and watch it right there. Lol. S please tell me a laptop. An plug I to a wall. Zor do we need converters to. Lol lol

 

Oh my gosh, you type one thing, IPAD puts it a little different. Grrrrrrrrr. The above last sentence should have said, "So please tell me a laptop can plug into a wall or do I need a converter. ". Sorry about that.

[freddie]

Debe - Gee, I simply thought that you were trying out some photo captions for icanhascheezburger!

 

FlyerT - Wouldn't Mr. Denmom (is that DenDad?) be able to use his DVD's on an Asia-region coded DVD player if his DVD's were marked with the "0" or "ALL" region symbol? Of course, most DVD's sold in the U.S. are marked with the "1" symbol; but I have found either "0" or "ALL" on a few of mine (probably the pirated ones??).

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited April 6, 2012 by freddie

[FlyerTalker]

FlyerT - Wouldn't Mr. Denmom (is that DenDad?) be able to use his DVD's on an Asia-region coded DVD player if his DVD's were marked with the "0" or "ALL" region symbol? Of course, most DVD's sold in the U.S. are marked with the "1" symbol; but I have found either "0" or "ALL" on a few of mine (probably the pirated ones??).

Region 0 or ALL will play in all players. Region 1 discs will only play in Region 1 players OR all-region players. I don't know if the ones onboard are all region, just that there were asian region discs onboard.

[Denmom]

Freddy, you are so funny. Wish you were joining us to keep us laughing thru our sweating. lol (or rain since we are going on the July rivercruise)

 

 

Hubby is worried though. lol lol lol But he says whatever it takes, he will make it work. lol He use to carry a small case with all types of plugs, attachments, etc on cruises so he could want movies. I guess you all wouldn't be shocked to hear he does have a theatre room in the house complete with stadium seating and a dvd room that has around 2500 - 3000 dvds. Last count was over 2500 and I kept them super organized. Then his daily unorganization of them made me stop. Especially since I AM NOT a movie buff and have way to much to do versus watching movies. But, he now has our 5 year old grandson happy to come watch ANY type movie with him on Wednesday nights. They have been watching Steve McQueen old western black and whites for the last few months. lol

 

Oh well, I will stick to figuring out visas, packing, etc..... and he can worry about rather he has movies to watch when he gets bored. Because I definitely can sit around and talk to strangers about the excitement of the next day ahead instead. ;)

[freddie]

Debe - You might tell Dendad to bring DVD's that are designated as Region 0 or ALL, in order to be able to play them easily on the set-up in the cabin. Just think of this as a way to keep him happily occupied between now and the time you leave for the trip, while he checks each of his astonishly great number of DVD's to determine whether they are so designated. You can pack; and he can check the labels on a couple of thousand DVD's. Sounds like a good plan, no??

Edited April 6, 2012 by freddie

[Wingtips56]

Well, now when I'm out in the lounge or on deck with nobody to talk to, I'll know everyone else flew half-way around the world to sit in their rooms watching TV. :confused:

[Denmom]

Well, now when I'm out in the lounge or on deck with nobody to talk to, I'll know everyone else flew half-way around the world to sit in their rooms watching TV. :confused:

 

Will everyone be sitting out On the decks in 90 plus temps. Or will they be inside reading versus watching movies. :cool: Reading versus movies, not really a huge amount of difference. Me personally, I sleep five hours a night so I will be finding something to do. But overall, without a casino, production shows, club to dance, what other things are offered when you are sailing? Maybe I should just be asking what time does the river cruise ship set sail and dock each day? Because when in port with no tour, I am thinking someone said you can do the town!

[swamp1sg]

Thumbs up to Wingtips.

[Denmom]

The pool is an overgrown jacuzzi tub. If it is five feet wide and 20 feet long, I'd be surprised. Do NOT expect anything like an ocean cruise pool, nor a pool deck experience. Hardly anyone used the pool on our cruise..

 

 

So hear I am told the pool isn't used and pretty much useless.

 

Well, now when I'm out in the lounge or on deck with nobody to talk to, I'll know everyone else flew half-way around the world to sit in their rooms watching TV.

.

 

And here I get that people plan to sit on the deck and socialize rather than watch TV (hubby prefers movies)

 

 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. So no one swims, no one watches movies in the cabins (even though someone also said you better get to the Library for movies on board quick if you want any for the week because if you "snooze you lose") Oh, and we won't be planning on sitting at the bar as we don't drink either. Makes us even more boring but hey, we remember everything we see and do. :). So, only readers and socialitescruise on river cruises? Or maybe no one admits that they race to the library, grab up all the movies for the week and watch them in their cabin. :eek:

 

As for me, well being from the south, (Kentucky -let's go Wildcats) honesty flows from the tongue. So we will be watching movies half way across the world, we will be sitting and probably using the pool, I mean little hot tub, I will be careful with what I consume, and we will love seeing and experiencing the cultural of Cambodia and Vietnam just as we have other countries. (even though I could pass on using Asia bathrooms ever again and did pass n drinking the Kauva in FIJI) .

 

We live in the country in Missouri. I had chickens and goats before we begin to travel more and we have 7 kids and 9 grandkids between mine, his, and ours. So when you have that much around you on a very often basis, it is nice to relax in the a/c on a hot day after taking a dip in the pool and watch a movie, or play games on the IPAD. :rolleyes:

[Denmom]

Debe - You might tell Dendad to bring DVD's that are designated as Region 0 or ALL, in order to be able to play them easily on the set-up in the cabin. Just think of this as a way to keep him happily occupied between now and the time you leave for the trip, while he checks each of his astonishly great number of DVD's to determine whether they are so designated. You can pack; and he can check the labels on a couple of thousand DVD's. Sounds like a good plan, no??

 

That sounds like a great idea but I am sure he will be looking for a min series or something like that, that he can watch. On Cruise Ships we are totally happy (especially him) watching movies right from the laptop. So as long as that will work, we are good to go. But as far as the packing, he sure will not be doing the packing. At least we don't need to pack formal wear.

[amyr]

Well, now when I'm out in the lounge or on deck with nobody to talk to, I'll know everyone else flew half-way around the world to sit in their rooms watching TV. :confused:

 

Hard to know :confused: In my limited (2 prior) river and small ship cruises I've found that there's always a dedicated social group on deck and at the bar - great way to make friends with people you'll keep up with and possibly see on a cruise again. As for me, when I'm halfway 'round the world, most of my reading and movie watching happens at 4:00 a.m. when, sadly, I'm done sleeping for the night. :mad:

[Denmom]

Hard to know :confused: In my limited (2 prior) river and small ship cruises I've found that there's always a dedicated social group on deck and at the bar - great way to make friends with people you'll keep up with and possibly see on a cruise again. As for me, when I'm halfway 'round the world, most of my reading and movie watching happens at 4:00 a.m. when, sadly, I'm done sleeping for the night. :mad:

 

I hope to not get up at 4 am but who knows with the major time change. Good news, we have days to adjust prior to the cruise. Saying that, normally my bedtime is 2 or 3 am and get up at 8:30 am but I will have lots to day. I do keep a journal of my travels and have since 1993. I also write an online travel blog complete with photos since 2006 but I wont be doing it during the cruise. I need a little time when I return to do it. I am always a trip or two behind. Them I have games on my IPAD that take up my most boring times. Sudoku, spider solitaire, and of course Smurfville which my grandson faithfully keeps up with so I will also. None of which need internet so that is good. And, I will be one that sits by the pool rather socializing or sunning if it is daytime. Of course, We were told to expect rain alot so that could mean cabin time.

 

The good news, we will be on vacation so no cooking, cleaning, or working. (even though I am pretty much OCD and keep my cabin clean myself) And I love to see history and cultural differences so talking about the days events does sound like great fun to.