Shuttle in Bangkok?

[Hermione60]

We are on the Dec. 2012 Singapore round trip cruise. We had booked the "excursion" in Bangkok which was a simple drop-off into the city in the morning and pick-up at the end of the day, but it has been canceled. My question is: Will there be an Azamara-organized shuttle from the dock to the city?

[little britain]

We are on the Dec. 2012 Singapore round trip cruise. We had booked the "excursion" in Bangkok which was a simple drop-off into the city in the morning and pick-up at the end of the day, but it has been canceled. My question is: Will there be an Azamara-organized shuttle from the dock to the city?

 

Last year the ship ran a complimentary shuttle from the port to the Central World Plaza shopping centre on Ploenchit which is just by the Siam skytrain station. Depending on traffic this could take anything from 30 mins to 1 ½ hrs.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Agree with Little Britain. They had a shuttle and it worked out fine. Just be prepared for some BAD City traffic. It is an everyday occurrance. Enjoy the cruise. It is GREAT

[cruiseaholic78]

We are on the 3rd April Journey HK to Singapore and had also been thinking around the drop off/pickup option, just checked and this is no longer being offered. I hope this means that we will also have the choice

of a shuttle, it should give more flexibility presumably with different times available instead of one set time. Can anyone out there confirm that Azamara has chosen to provide this shuttle service??

 

Rosalyn

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Shuttle Service Requesters -

 

While I'm seeking information from our shore excursion team about the shuttle service that is scheduled in Bangkok for the forthcoming voyages I thought it might make sense to reiterate the general reasons why we are sometimes unable to offer you the specific shuttle schedule for some of the ports in which we call.

 

Actually, there are many ship's operations variables to consider and because of that reason the shuttle buses are booked and scheduled by the ship and not in advance by shoreside operations. So when you read the statement - "Specific loading and unloading points will be detailed once onboard"- you'll understand why we included that statement.

 

Generally, we usually operate shuttle buses about 60-90 minutes after the ship has arrived in a port and/or after the tours have been dispatched. Our first priority is to assist the guests booked on tours and then to focus on the shuttle bus operation. If you have pre-determined individual arrangements, then you might want to consider using a car or taxi.

 

Shuttle buses are offered in places where the berth is located inconveniently to the nearest town and once there to a "central" place for all rather than a "particular" place because of the multitude of options that might be expected. Of course, the specific schedule will include the pick-up and drop-off points.

 

And yes, this shuttle service is offered on a complimentary basis.

 

I hope that my explanation gives you a behind-the scenes glimpse into the planning and execution of the our complimentary shuttle service.

 

Once I have specific information about your shuttle service, I will share that information with you.

 

Regards,

 

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Hermione60]

Thanks Bill, i appreciate your looking into this matter. A pity, really, that this drop-off "excursion" was dropped (no pun intended ;))

[xander]

Bill ,

 

We are on Journey in April 2013 and scheduled to dock in BKK 12-14 April.

 

1.Could you tell me what transport options , other than the ship shuttle service, will be available in the port (along side the ship).

 

2.What are the approximate running times of the shuttle service - first and last shuttle of the day.

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

[pickypicky]

Bill ,

 

We are on Journey in April 2013 and scheduled to dock in BKK 12-14 April.

 

1.Could you tell me what transport options , other than the ship shuttle service, will be available in the port (along side the ship).

 

2.What are the approximate running times of the shuttle service - first and last shuttle of the day.

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

 

We were on the Singapore to Hong Kong cruise this past February and had a fantastic time in Bangkok. We had a private guide during the day, so did not use the shuttle, although saw it running regularly. However, we wanted to go to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and had been told by our guide what we should expect to pay for a taxi from our ship to the restaurant. There were taxis (about ten of them) waiting just past the gangway, but the price was more than double what our guide (our our guidebooks) had told us to expect to pay, and it was definitely fixed...not one of them would negotiate. There really is no other transportation, as it's a huge container port where it's impossible to walk to anything, so expect to pay as much for your ride as for your meal!!

[Bill Leiber]

Bill ,

 

We are on Journey in April 2013 and scheduled to dock in BKK 12-14 April.

 

1.Could you tell me what transport options , other than the ship shuttle service, will be available in the port (along side the ship).

 

2.What are the approximate running times of the shuttle service - first and last shuttle of the day.

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

 

Hello Ian and Gus -

 

I'll check with our shore excursion team about the shuttle service that is scheduled in Bangkok between April 12-14, 2013.

 

Please stay tuned for my response and as I mentioned in my first message I might not be able to provide all the details since the shuttle buses are booked and scheduled by the ship and not in advance by shoreside operations.

 

In the meantime, thanks for your patience.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Krakatoa]

All taxis in Bangkok are required by law to have a meter. Always check that the driver has the meter on before moving off, if not get out.

[xander]

Krakatoa - thanks , I will make sure the meter is running !

 

Bill - thank you , look forward to hearing your reply.

Also just wanted to confirm that there will be taxis operating in the port - we can step off the ship and be able to hop in a taxi ( I understand that it is a 20-25min walk to the port gates/entrance)

[Krakatoa]

xander

 

Not sure if taxis can pick up at the cruise terminal. Never had need of a taxi at the ship as the shuttle is hourly throughout the day. You are right, the entrance to the docks is a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

 

Caution, the Shuttle was hourly last February, this month ????

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Shuttle Service Requesters -

 

As a follow-up to my December 9 message, Complimentary Shuttle Service 101, I did the learning the following information:

§ Bangkok - We offer shuttle service to the Central World Plaza (CTW Plaza). Complete schedule will be available onboard.

§ Singapore - In Singapore when the ship is disembarking and embarking guests (a "turn-day") we do not operate shuttles on that specific day. However, on the "port day" when we're calling in Singapore, we will be operating a "Singapore On Your Own" type of "Hop-On and Hop-Off" shuttle and will be selling tickets for about $22 per person. Details will be available on board.

 

I'm sorry that I'm unable to provide you with more specific information and I'll reiterate that the reason is because the shuttle bus operation is booked and scheduled by the ship and not in advance by shoreside operations.

 

Please enjoy your time as you anticipate your Azamara vacation !

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Hermione60]

Thank you Bill, that is exactly the info I needed!

[Bill Leiber]

Bill ,

 

We are on Journey in April 2013 and scheduled to dock in BKK 12-14 April.

 

1.Could you tell me what transport options , other than the ship shuttle service, will be available in the port (along side the ship).

 

2.What are the approximate running times of the shuttle service - first and last shuttle of the day.

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

 

Hello Ian and Gus -

 

Thank you for your patience. Here is the information which I received from our shore excursion team about the shuttle service that is scheduled in Bangkok between April 12-14, 2013.

 

There will be a complimentary shuttle service throughout the three day period. However, I'm unable to provide you with the shuttle bus details for April 12 and 14 since those schedules will be booked by the ship and not in advance by shoreside operations.

 

I'm able to share with you the Shuttle Bus schedule for the full-day in port on April 13 to the Central World Plaza (CTW Plaza):

§ Depart Pierside - First bus at 8 :00 AM and then subsequently every 30 minutes; the last bus from Pierside is at 8:00 PM.

§ Depart CTW Plaza - First bus at 9:00 AM and then subsequently every 30 minutes; the last bus from CTW Plaza is at 9:00 PM.

 

Unfortunately, I was not able to secure up-to-date taxi information from our shore excursion department. Here is a link to the Port of Bangkok: http://www.bkp.port.co.th/bkp/home_eng.asp

I've read that there are taxis offered but to be sure to select those that are metered.

 

I hope you find this information helpful as you plan for your Azamara discovery of Vietnam and Thailand!

 

Seasons Greeting and Happy New Year!

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[xander]

Thanks for getting back Bill , that's great !

[shintaro]

We are on the 3rd April Journey HK to Singapore and had also been thinking around the drop off/pickup option, just checked and this is no longer being offered. I hope this means that we will also have the choice

of a shuttle, it should give more flexibility presumably with different times available instead of one set time. Can anyone out there confirm that Azamara has chosen to provide this shuttle service??

 

Rosalyn

 

 

This is a copy of an enail received today it relates to our upcoming cruise this November from Singapor to Honk Kong but should be standard

 

 

Good day,

 

The Azamara Journey will be docking (as always in the past) at Klong Toey and we provide shuttle buses to the mall (approx. 20mins ride), inside Bangkok as the city is so huge and from there you could go anywhere, depending on your purpose.

 

But Bangkok is so massive and we always have a hospitality service onboard that could assist you with questions.

 

Thank you!

 

Kind Regards,

 

Errol James R. Chicano

Land Discoveries Manager

Azamara Club Cruises® | 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132

tel: 2509 | cell: 6456 | JR_LandDiscoveriesManager@AzamaraClubcruises.com

 

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