Just back from SE Asia cruise, ask me

[suekay]

You are dealing with two separate issues. 1. Permission to leave the ship for a non cruiseline sponsored overnight which is the parameter of the cruise line 2. The ship issued visa which is the parameter of the country of Vietnam.

 

Yes, you must have a letter from the Captain to leave the ship. We have done it a couple of times on cruises and yes, it takes a week or so because the main office has to fax the Captain, he has to approve, fax back to the main office, then the main office to you or a TA.

 

Sure appears to me that Brits need a visa in advance just as US citizens do if they are leaving what is actually considered the immediate port area, flying in Vietnam or going out of the country and then returning (visit to Angkor Wat would be most common). http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/visa-requirements/united-kingdom.html

 

You CANNOT get visa on arrival in Vietnam unless you FLY into the country. So if you are arriving by ship, then leaving the ship for a couple of days, you should get a Vietnam visa BEFORE you enter Vietnam or you will not have officially "entered" the country when you reboard at Chan May. It is certainly not something I would take a chance with (and I have spent quite a bit of time in Vietnam for business). You are dealing with a Communist country that has their own sets of rules and bribes every place you go. And you have left the sovereignty of the cruise ship by going on land, via train, bus or car to Chan May.

 

I received a reply from the Vietnamese Embassy saying that cruise ship passengers can contact the cruise line to obtain advice, or alternatively, can obtain a standard visa direct from the embassy. Having been on hold for 30 minutes to speak to somebody at Celebrity in Miami, only to be told that they can only give advice to US passport holders, I' m loathe to waste another 30 minutes phoning Celebrity UK (especially as cruise lines are notorious for giving conflicting advice depending on who you speak to) , and have decided to get visas in advance. Now to decide whether to get single entry or multiple entry given that the ship goes from Thailand to Phu My, Chan May then Halong Bay and finally Hong Kong. Any advice gratefully received (we will be entering Vietnam by ship at Phu My then rejoining the ship in Chan May 2 days later, having spent one night in Saigon and one night in Hoi An)

Edited February 26, 2014 by suekay

[greatam]

I received a reply from the Vietnamese Embassy saying that cruise ship passengers can contact the cruise line to obtain advice, or alternatively, can obtain a standard visa direct from the embassy. Having been on hold for 30 minutes to speak to somebody at Celebrity in Miami, only to be told that they can only give advice to US passport holders, I' m loathe to waste another 30 minutes phoning Celebrity UK (especially as cruise lines are notorious for giving conflicting advice depending on who you speak to) , and have decided to get visas in advance. Now to decide whether to get single entry or multiple entry given that the ship goes from Thailand to Phu My, Chan May then Halong Bay and finally Hong Kong. Any advice gratefully received (we will be entering Vietnam by ship at Phu My then rejoining the ship in Chan May 2 days later, having spent one night in Saigon and one night in Hoi An)

 

FORGET dealing with the cruise line for a visa. Those are the very limited ship visas good only on port days and for the actual port.

 

You really only need a single entry visa. You are NOT leaving Vietnamese waters (or shouldn't be), so you will enter on your self procured Vietnam visa and there would be no reason to get a mulitple entry visa IMHO. You are NOT leaving the country-like the very easy trip by air to Angkor Wat from Saigon or the 4 hour overland bus crossing across the border into Cambodia. On the bus, you end up in Phnom Penh where you can take the fast boat to Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is one of my two favorite cities in the world-Homer Alaska is the other. Such disparity but so much alike underneath. They are both truly the Wild West (particularly Phnom Penh as there are few rules about anything other than drugs.)

 

Are you flying, taking a car, bus or train to Chan May? The road trip via car or bus will be pretty darn slow. Traffic moves on HWY 1 about 30 miles per hour max. It took 11 hours to drive approx 300 miles from Da Nang to NhaTrang a few years ago when we realized the train would get in too late to catch the boat to the Vin Pearl resort. If you have a chance, take a look at Cam Rahn Bay (our HUGE military port during the Vietnam War) and a drive up to Cam Rahn Airport which has one of the longest largest runways in the world. An 8 MILE runway to give all those huge cargo planes enough room to get off the ground. It was also one of main entry points into Vietnam during the War for US soldiers.

 

The train is pretty neat. We have taken it 3 times along the coast, primarily from Hanoi to DaNang over Hai Van Pass (that was basically the DMZ during the War) but one time all the way to Saigon. We have always booked an entire sleeper car for ourselves (about $180 per night for the entire car). 4 beds, very clean sheets, pillows, pillow cases and a lightweight duvet. Electrical outlet to charge laptops and phones. And the "soft sleepers" have great air conditioning and a lot of windows in the "walkway" to stand and look out at the scenery if you don't want to sit in your cabin. They serve you food which is included in the price-3 meals per day. NOT fancy-more like Japanese bento box lunches except for breakfast where it is mostly pho and croissants. But it was still decent food, with tea or beer for an extra $.50 per beer. And a free bottle of water. They usually have one car at the very back of the train for "foreigners" with a REAL toilet-not a squat toilet.

 

Enjoy your trip-particularly your land trip. THAT is where you will see the REAL Vietnam.

[prish]

We used Ms. Aom @ Thai Tour Guide. Her email from her business card is aom_thaitourguide@yahoo.com. I have honestly never had a nicer tour guide. She was was so sweet and bought us so many things I felt bad. Such a delightful person and good guide. Let me know if you want the itinerary for our tour.

 

 

Thanks Lynn, have emailed Aom for a quote, hopefully we'll get at least another couple to join and split the costs.

 

suekay, yes, even if we take Celebrity's "overnight on your won" transfer we'd still have to find tours for the two days, so it might be just simpler to go with a tour operator who'd handle the transfer too. Unfortunately I logged onto the RC only last week, by which time most tours were full:(

[suekay]

FORGET dealing with the cruise line for a visa. Those are the very limited ship visas good only on port days and for the actual port.

 

You really only need a single entry visa. You are NOT leaving Vietnamese waters (or shouldn't be), so you will enter on your self procured Vietnam visa and there would be no reason to get a mulitple entry visa IMHO. You are NOT leaving the country-like the very easy trip by air to Angkor Wat from Saigon or the 4 hour overland bus crossing across the border into Cambodia. On the bus, you end up in Phnom Penh where you can take the fast boat to Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is one of my two favorite cities in the world-Homer Alaska is the other. Such disparity but so much alike underneath. They are both truly the Wild West (particularly Phnom Penh as there are few rules about anything other than drugs.)

 

Are you flying, taking a car, bus or train to Chan May? The road trip via car or bus will be pretty darn slow. Traffic moves on HWY 1 about 30 miles per hour max. It took 11 hours to drive approx 300 miles from Da Nang to NhaTrang a few years ago when we realized the train would get in too late to catch the boat to the Vin Pearl resort. If you have a chance, take a look at Cam Rahn Bay (our HUGE military port during the Vietnam War) and a drive up to Cam Rahn Airport which has one of the longest largest runways in the world. An 8 MILE runway to give all those huge cargo planes enough room to get off the ground. It was also one of main entry points into Vietnam during the War for US soldiers.

 

The train is pretty neat. We have taken it 3 times along the coast, primarily from Hanoi to DaNang over Hai Van Pass (that was basically the DMZ during the War) but one time all the way to Saigon. We have always booked an entire sleeper car for ourselves (about $180 per night for the entire car). 4 beds, very clean sheets, pillows, pillow cases and a lightweight duvet. Electrical outlet to charge laptops and phones. And the "soft sleepers" have great air conditioning and a lot of windows in the "walkway" to stand and look out at the scenery if you don't want to sit in your cabin. They serve you food which is included in the price-3 meals per day. NOT fancy-more like Japanese bento box lunches except for breakfast where it is mostly pho and croissants. But it was still decent food, with tea or beer for an extra $.50 per beer. And a free bottle of water. They usually have one car at the very back of the train for "foreigners" with a REAL toilet-not a squat toilet.

 

Enjoy your trip-particularly your land trip. THAT is where you will see the REAL Vietnam.

 

Thanks greatam for your really helpful advice. I've downloaded the visa application and will post it today. Unfortunately we've had to pay an extra £15pp for express service as we need our passports in 2 weeks time, and it wasn't worth stressing that they wouldn't be back in time if we went the standard application route

 

We decided to stay off the ship for 2 nights after Celebrity changed the itinerary and exchanged our overnight in Saigon for an extra seaday:thumbdown:. Once we've done the Saigon day tour with Zoom, we'll stay in a hotel so we get to see the water puppet show and night market. The following morning I've booked the CuChi tunnels by express river boat. We then fly from Saigon to Danang, and I've booked taxi transfer to a hotel in Hoi An for the night. After touring Hoi An the following day, I've booked the same taxi to take us to Chan May port to meet up with the ship. We get to see so much more in exchange for missing one of the 5 seadays. The only problem I can see is if the ship doesn't dock in Chan May, but no point in worrying about that. I'd love to take the train one day but with limited time off the ship, it wasn't practical this time

[suekay]

 

suekay, yes, even if we take Celebrity's "overnight on your won" transfer we'd still have to find tours for the two days, so it might be just simpler to go with a tour operator who'd handle the transfer too. Unfortunately I logged onto the RC only last week, by which time most tours were full:(

 

Hopefully, with so many late entrants to the roll call you'll be able to raise enough people to organise your own private tour

[greatam]

Thanks greatam for your really helpful advice. I've downloaded the visa application and will post it today. Unfortunately we've had to pay an extra £15pp for express service as we need our passports in 2 weeks time, and it wasn't worth stressing that they wouldn't be back in time if we went the standard application route

 

We decided to stay off the ship for 2 nights after Celebrity changed the itinerary and exchanged our overnight in Saigon for an extra seaday:thumbdown:. Once we've done the Saigon day tour with Zoom, we'll stay in a hotel so we get to see the water puppet show and night market. The following morning I've booked the CuChi tunnels by express river boat. We then fly from Saigon to Danang, and I've booked taxi transfer to a hotel in Hoi An for the night. After touring Hoi An the following day, I've booked the same taxi to take us to Chan May port to meet up with the ship. We get to see so much more in exchange for missing one of the 5 seadays. The only problem I can see is if the ship doesn't dock in Chan May, but no point in worrying about that. I'd love to take the train one day but with limited time off the ship, it wasn't practical this time

 

Good move applying for the visa. If I would known you were flying, I could have told you in the very first post you MUST have a Vietnamese visa (and NOT the ship issued one) or they won't even let you on the plane. They do a pretty thorough check most of the time in Saigon. And sometimes they go completely overboard checking. And then I have seen people put $5-10 in their passports and they are stamped and out of there in about 2 minutes. You MAY have to get out of bed very early to "enter" the country in Phu MY and meet the immigration authorities. BE SURE you check when you board the ship because MOST of those on the ship will be on the list with the ship issued visa. MAKE SURE your passport has been stamped as entering the country BEFORE you leave the ship.

 

If the ship doesn't make it to the port in Chan May, just hop another plane to Hanoi and get transport to Halong Bay. You may have more of an adventure than you bargained for. But those are ALWAYS the best times.

 

Enjoy!!!

[suekay]

Good move applying for the visa. If I would known you were flying, I could have told you in the very first post you MUST have a Vietnamese visa (and NOT the ship issued one) or they won't even let you on the plane. They do a pretty thorough check most of the time in Saigon. And sometimes they go completely overboard checking. And then I have seen people put $5-10 in their passports and they are stamped and out of there in about 2 minutes. You MAY have to get out of bed very early to "enter" the country in Phu MY and meet the immigration authorities. BE SURE you check when you board the ship because MOST of those on the ship will be on the list with the ship issued visa. MAKE SURE your passport has been stamped as entering the country BEFORE you leave the ship.

 

If the ship doesn't make it to the port in Chan May, just hop another plane to Hanoi and get transport to Halong Bay. You may have more of an adventure than you bargained for. But those are ALWAYS the best times.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

Thank goodness you made the first post otherwise we'd have assumed the ship visa was acceptable, and not found out until the ship had already sailed and we were stuck at the airport. We're waiting for the letter giving permission to leave the ship and we'll certainly confirm our plans with guest services once onboard. Good idea to check the entry stamp before leaving Phu My. I'd already planned the possible need for a flight from Danang then transport to Ha Long bay in the event that the ship doesn't make Chan May, just not going overboard on flight times and transport companies. Although I've prebooked all transport and hotels four our trip off the ship, I'm pretty laid back about changes ( not too sure about DH though......I just don't warn him about possible hitches:))

[BRUCENLYNN]

Thank goodness you made the first post otherwise we'd have assumed the ship visa was acceptable, and not found out until the ship had already sailed and we were stuck at the airport. We're waiting for the letter giving permission to leave the ship and we'll certainly confirm our plans with guest services once onboard. Good idea to check the entry stamp before leaving Phu My. I'd already planned the possible need for a flight from Danang then transport to Ha Long bay in the event that the ship doesn't make Chan May, just not going overboard on flight times and transport companies. Although I've prebooked all transport and hotels four our trip off the ship, I'm pretty laid back about changes ( not too sure about DH though......I just don't warn him about possible hitches:))

 

Sounds like a fun plan. I'll be anxious to hear how it all works out for you! Good luck!

[BRUCENLYNN]

We used Ms. Aom @ Thai Tour Guide. Her email from her business card is aom_thaitourguide@yahoo.com. I have honestly never had a nicer tour guide. She was was so sweet and bought us so many things I felt bad. Such a delightful person and good guide. Let me know if you want the itinerary for our tour.

 

 

Thanks Lynn, have emailed Aom for a quote, hopefully we'll get at least another couple to join and split the costs.

 

suekay, yes, even if we take Celebrity's "overnight on your won" transfer we'd still have to find tours for the two days, so it might be just simpler to go with a tour operator who'd handle the transfer too. Unfortunately I logged onto the RC only last week, by which time most tours were full:(

 

I think I'm pretty adventurous and normally my husband and I prefer exploring cities on our own using public transportation. I do recall in Bangkok thinking I was so glad we were on a tour. I found the traffic and amount of people overwhelming! Maybe it was my state of mind at the time (in lots of pain) and it isn't as bad as it looked!

[madmacs]

Lynn

 

Thanks for your helpful advice. We are on Millennium next February. I too have emailed your contact in Thailand - any recommendations for Vietnam and especially Ho Chi Minh? By the way are you on Solstice April 2015?

 

Thanks

 

Phil McLellan

[BRUCENLYNN]

Lynn

 

Thanks for your helpful advice. We are on Millennium next February. I too have emailed your contact in Thailand - any recommendations for Vietnam and especially Ho Chi Minh? By the way are you on Solstice April 2015?

 

Thanks

 

Phil McLellan

 

Hi Phil,

 

We did a private tour to Saigon that was booked through Smile. Our guide was good but not as personable as Ms. Aom in Bangkok. There were things I liked and disliked in Saigon but I was glad we went but happy it wasn't an overnight. The bus they provided was very nice and we had plenty of room for our group.

 

I can give you info on Hanoi and Hoi An as well if you are interested.

 

We are on the Solstice in 2015 but in February!

 

Lynn

[boogs]

I can give you info on Hanoi and Hoi An as well if you are interested.

 

Hi Lynn. Thanks for providing first hand info for those of us going through the planning stages.

 

Any info on Honoi and Hoi An would be appreciated. We are trying to decide whether it is worth while taking the 3-1/2 hour drive to Hanoi. Since the ship arrives at 1:00 pm the first day, and leaves at 10:00 pm then next, we're having a hard time deciding the best approach time wise. We certainly want to do Ha Long Bay by boat. But the rest is still up in the air.

 

We prefer set dining times in the MDR. How was the MDR handled during overnight stops? Was it open seating, or the normal set dining times?

Edited March 3, 2014 by boogs

[madmacs]

As said by others any info on Hoi An and Hanoi appreciated. We are currently minded not to go to Hanoi because of the journey time but would be interested to hear more

 

Phil and Doreen

[coldweathergirl]

Hi Lynn

 

we'll be arriving in Chan May in a month from now on Celebrity Millenium and I'm thinking of just a beach day. Looking at google earth it appears of there are beaches close to the port. Just wondering if you happened to notice this. I'm not interested in the celebrity excursion to the beach. Were there many taxis available at the port.

 

Our other option is just taking the ship transfer to Hoi An to do on our own. I've read a couple of reviews from people saying they enjoyed that. If you have more info on Hoi An that would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

[suekay]

I wouldn't miss Hoi An. Of all the stops on this cruise, its the most attractive and historical

, giving a taste of the old Vietnam.Even if you just take the ship transport, its easy to wander round the old world village and diy

[suekay]

Good move applying for the visa. If I would known you were flying, I could have told you in the very first post you MUST have a Vietnamese visa (and NOT the ship issued one) or they won't even let you on the plane. They do a pretty thorough check most of the time in Saigon. And sometimes they go completely overboard checking. And then I have seen people put $5-10 in their passports and they are stamped and out of there in about 2 minutes. You MAY have to get out of bed very early to "enter" the country in Phu MY and meet the immigration authorities. BE SURE you check when you board the ship because MOST of those on the ship will be on the list with the ship issued visa. MAKE SURE your passport has been stamped as entering the country BEFORE you leave the ship.

 

If the ship doesn't make it to the port in Chan May, just hop another plane to Hanoi and get transport to Halong Bay. You may have more of an adventure than you bargained for. But those are ALWAYS the best times.

 

Enjoy!!!

Yay! The passports are back complete with visas and I can breathe again:D. Many thanks to greatam for invaluable advice

Edited March 6, 2014 by suekay

[diane.in.ny]

Lynn,

 

Friend heading off to Hong Kong soon and was wondering about use of American $$ vs Hong Kong $$. She remembers from a trip in 2000 that all the vendors in Stanley Market accepted American $$ but was wondering about now.

 

And even if they did, would she get better pricing using HK$?

 

Thanks!

 

Diane

[BRUCENLYNN]

Lynn,

 

Friend heading off to Hong Kong soon and was wondering about use of American $$ vs Hong Kong $$. She remembers from a trip in 2000 that all the vendors in Stanley Market accepted American $$ but was wondering about now.

 

And even if they did, would she get better pricing using HK$?

 

Thanks!

 

Diane

 

They accepted both. I feel you are always better off using local currency but dollars will work too. We always hit an ATM in each port.

[BRUCENLYNN]

Hi Lynn. Thanks for providing first hand info for those of us going through the planning stages.

 

Any info on Honoi and Hoi An would be appreciated. We are trying to decide whether it is worth while taking the 3-1/2 hour drive to Hanoi. Since the ship arrives at 1:00 pm the first day, and leaves at 10:00 pm then next, we're having a hard time deciding the best approach time wise. We certainly want to do Ha Long Bay by boat. But the rest is still up in the air.

 

We prefer set dining times in the MDR. How was the MDR handled during overnight stops? Was it open seating, or the normal set dining times?

 

We did Halong Bay by boat from 1-5 then the bus took us to Hanoi for the night. It is a long bus ride! I would never do Hanoi in one day, no way. I'm glad we went but I didn't love it there. I was pretty miserable though because it was cold and the bus had no heat.

 

I liked Hoi An, good shopping, very quaint, lots of restaurants (4 ate for $20) and a very nice day. The bus ride took us through Da Nang and we saw lots of beach. I wish I had bought more of my souvenirs there because there was no shopping in Hanoi.

 

The MDR didn't change on overnights, the set times were still in place.

[BRUCENLYNN]

Hi Lynn

 

we'll be arriving in Chan May in a month from now on Celebrity Millenium and I'm thinking of just a beach day. Looking at google earth it appears of there are beaches close to the port. Just wondering if you happened to notice this. I'm not interested in the celebrity excursion to the beach. Were there many taxis available at the port.

 

Our other option is just taking the ship transfer to Hoi An to do on our own. I've read a couple of reviews from people saying they enjoyed that. If you have more info on Hoi An that would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

This port was kind of isolated if I recall correctly. I know the bus passed by lots of beaches but it wasn't real close to the port. I also do not recall seeing taxis but then I wasn't looking for them. Lots of private tour buses. I'm not sure anyone really "wings" it in the out of way ports because you may be stuck with no way to go anywhere.

 

I think you will enjoy Hoi An if you want a nice relaxing day.

[BRUCENLYNN]

As said by others any info on Hoi An and Hanoi appreciated. We are currently minded not to go to Hanoi because of the journey time but would be interested to hear more

 

Phil and Doreen

 

I'm glad I went to Vietnam and saw the places I did but I have no desire to return. That said, I felt like while I was there I should take the opportunity to see all I could. But I would not do Hanoi in one day of driving!

[BRUCENLYNN]

I wouldn't miss Hoi An. Of all the stops on this cruise, its the most attractive and historical

, giving a taste of the old Vietnam.Even if you just take the ship transport, its easy to wander round the old world village and diy

 

Agree!

 

Glad you got your visas and are set to go!

[coldweathergirl]

Thanks for the information. I think we'll do Hoi An for the day.

 

We leave home in less than two weeks to start out for Asia. I'm getting excited now.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[sunshine 16]

Hi BRUCENLYNN,

 

did you dock in Pu My? Does the cruise line offer a shuttle to Ho Chi Minh? If so, how much? Thinking of hiring a private guide but may consider just taking the shuttle if offered.

 

BTW, I just returned from New Zealand on the Solstice. Noticed your signature, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

I have been told by 2 world cruisers that VietNam was VERY dirty, people

unfriendly - both were jostled in the market. What did you think?

[BRUCENLYNN]

I have been told by 2 world cruisers that VietNam was VERY dirty, people

unfriendly - both were jostled in the market. What did you think?

 

I agree that in general the Vietnamese people were not as friendly but realizing it is just their culture it didn't bother me. You can't help but get bumped in a market as they are so crowded but then no one seemed to care if they did bump you. Yes, it is pretty dirty. I used the "toilet" at the market and let's just say it is an experience I'd like to forget! :eek: