Hong Kong to Bangkok

[TooManyBags]

Hi heard a great deal about cruising and we are in planning stage and are a little overwhelmed. Could anyone advise what would be the best resource to search for Hong Kong to Bangkok in 2012 . Duration about 14 days plus or minus a few days. We intend to finish in Bangkok and spend some time in Thailand again

Just found this site by luck-thanks in advance

[6rugrats]

I only see one cruise that sails from Hong Kong to Bangkok, on Silversea's Silver Shadow on 25 October 2012.

 

You may want to visit a travel agent (we aren't allowed to name them here) and see if there are any other options, or just do an online search.

[paul929207]

Some of the cruise lines have stopped using Bangkok as the start/end of cruises after the trouble there. They still stop in Bangkok, but often use Singapore for start/ending cruises. This gives them the flexibility to easily skip Bangkok if conditions warrant.

[Keith1010]

There are additional options if you would sail from Hong Kong to Singapore and the cruises include Bangkok.

 

Seabourn, Azamara, Holland, Celebrity,

 

Keith

[TooManyBags]

Hi thanks for the fast responses and some clues on where to look. Yes sadly Bangkok blotted their copy book with some troubles. We would like to see some of Vietnam as well on the way down.

Interesting site this, excellent for Novices like us

[LHT28]

Hi thanks for the fast responses and some clues on where to look.

 

We cannot give websites here but if you go to the top of the page there is a FUND A CRUISE section

That should point you in the right direction

[ab0si]

TooManyBags:

 

First, good "name." :)

 

Second, welcome to cruisecritic.

 

Third ... My choice would be to cruise to Singapore. Eat Chili Crab (one of my requirements when in The Lion City) and take the train to Bangkok. If you have lots of money are feel Victorian, you can take the Orient Express. Otherwise the normal trains are actually quite nice. (I think they all require connections). Of course, there are quite a few non-stop flights into BKK also.

 

Choices for cruises ending in Bangkok are simply too limited.

[paul929207]

We sailed last spring from Shanghai to Singapore on the Ocean Princess. Stops included Okinawa, Taipei, Hong Kong (over night), DaNang, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Ko Samui.

 

We loved it.

[TooManyBags]

aBosi now there an idea the train journey has a lot of appeal I like train journeys. Orient Express well ,,,, in my ladies dreams but we do want to spend some time in Thailand again and trains much more interesting than a flight .

Cheers

[John Bull]

Its a great place to cruise -Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, HK, China.

 

A number of cruiselines offer itineraries in SE Asia, anywhere between Singapore & Beijing.

Princess (US) are perhaps the best-known mainstream cruiseline for SE Asia.

Costa (Italian) offer super itineraries with low ticket prices but are not neccessarily everyone's cup-of-tea, so check reviews carefully.

Azamara (US) offer great itineraries, & their ships being smaller they can port in much more convenient locations - for instance they sail right up the Saigon River & berth in downtown Saigon, whereas larger ships berth on the coast, a couple of hours drive from Saigon. Azamara prices are a little higher.

Seabourne (US) similar, but more luxurious - and expensive.

Voyages of Discovery (UK) ship is same size & goes to some way-out destinations. She sails the oceans like a tramp, rather than the back and forth repeat cruises offered by the others. Ship has comparatively basic facilities, low prices, mainly UK clientele.

Star Cruises (Asian) lots of short itineraries, low prices, Asian & Aus clientele, used a lot by chinese for gambling.

 

Or consider a leg or two of a world cruise - P & O, Cunard, etc.

Most folk on a "world cruise" join it for a leg or two, a minority sail from start to finish.

 

I don't see Bangkok's troubles a couple of years ago as anything to concern you, their big problem at this moment is flooding. Various destinations have their temporary problems. Folk on this website were even concerned about London during the recent bout of bad temper.

We've recently returned from a cruise to Israel. Israeli ports are sometimes missed depending on who's blowing up who. The cruise was supposed to include Egypt but the itinerary changed some time back cos of Egypt's problems. Egypt's problems are now behind them, but the itinerary had been switched from Egypt ..........to Athens, straight into a strike :rolleyes::D

 

One advantage of the SE Asia itineraries is that most are one-way, giving you the opportunity to spend a few days at either or both ends of the cruise.

You are quite severely limiting your choice of cruises by specifying embarkation in Bangkok.

So consider a cruise which starts or finishes in Singapore, as Keith's post.

Subject to approval, you can join (or leave) the ship in Bangkok, just a day or so from Singapore, & normally the next port-of-call.

Well worth flying out to join the cruise a few days early, not just to explore the embarkation city, but to minimise the risk of missing the sailing due to a travel delay.

 

Check out those cruiselines' websites to see what they offer. But don't book through them, cruisers from the UK will get a better deal through a travel agent - and for a first-time cruiser I'd strongly suggest a cruise-specialist T/A. They know their stuff, and can be very helpful with cabin selection & hints/info about life on board.

 

There's stacks of forums on this website, including reviews & pages on destinations. Access them by scrolling to the bottom of this page & clicking on the arrow at "forum jump"

Lots of search options too, but a little complicated til you get the hang of them.

Heres a direct link to the Asia page

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=70

 

JB :)

[Carolin]

Before you book, please check on what type of visa's you will need for the trip. You will need to have that all sorted out. If you do not have the proper visas, you could be denied boarding and no one wants that headache.

 

This is a cruise on my bucket list. Have a great time.

[TooManyBags]

Hey the advice here is first class John Bull/Keith you guys rae making sense about limiting options I will Open up

Carolin sound Visa advice and your picture just about sums up the chill we want

Thanks all