Millennium Amazing Asian Adventure 2014

[Mparis184]

Jenna Plan B is a great solution to the Bali situation you will have a wonderful 4 days in Bali. It's a lot if work to put this all together at such short notice but it is all working out. Happy Travels.

 

Marion

[hamrag]

Blan B it is. 3 nights and 4 days in Bali!

 

When you get lemons, make lemonade.

 

What a fantastic attitude you have. Hope you recover quickly from the sleepless night, and have an awesome time in Bali.

[hulamoon]

Blan B it is. 3 nights and 4 days in Bali!

 

When you get lemons, make lemonade. Thanksgiving in Bali anyone?

 

I'm very fortunate enough to have the miles and ability to "throw" this plan B together on short notice. It felt a LOT like work, flights, hotel, visas, ground transfers, etc, which is a shame as I am on vacation, but better than the alternative I guess.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

I hope you have a great time! Jenna and Dee, I have always admired your vacation style. Enjoy the vacation holiday!

[Caribbean Chris]

If there's was such an award as "traveler of the year," you'd get my vote!

 

I'm really impressed that you grabbed the bull by the horns, took action within your power and fixed a problem without dwelling on the negatives. So many people would be (and are?) probably sitting around wringing their hands, moaning and groaning.

 

Hope your time in Bali is fabulous!

[cruise kitty]

Hi, I'm thoroughly enjoying your review! So sorry about the Bali fiasco, but it sounds like you've managed to come up with a wonderful solution :)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

[tinywingz]

I know - the wording of that travel alert really stopped me in my tracks. It has to be something exceedingly serious or costly for Celebrity to pull the plug at the 11th hour, knowing how drastically this change disappoints and inconveniences their passengers.

 

Yes, they have a contractual right to change itineraries but - It's not like skipping St. Thomas. And it's not an Act of God like a major storm or volcano eruption.

 

Maybe the Captain will give more details to passengers who, no doubt, will be demanding a more detailed explanation.

 

Jenna, I am SO sorry and I know others are too. I'd be foaming at the mouth.

 

Someone on the Jan 04 2015 roll call (with same itinerary as the Nov 23 sailing) mentioned this:

 

'Maybe this could have something to do with an incident that happened on the Solstice in Bali. Tendering was delayed for 3 hours or so and the first tender was eventually being sent back claiming that the local authorities were demanding extra money...'

 

While everything is just speculation at this point I must say this sounds highly probable - I was suspecting something along this line too. Not unusual at all in this part of the world - and ironically we were just talking about 'bypassing the system' etc...

 

If this is true then I doubt anyone from Celebrity will come out to officially state the reason, now or ever.

 

Finally kudos for Jenna for making lemonade out of lemons, and having managed to do that in such a short time too. Good to see that you have had a good time here in Singapore (despite the heat and humidity), and hope you have a great time in Bali!

Edited November 23, 2014 by tinywingz
typo

[uktog]

I can confirm this also happened in 2013 - I posted already this on Arno's thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=44809121&postcount=3

 

This demanding money from the Bali authorities has been getting out of hand I am sorry for those whose trip has been so badly affected

[Anzie]

Jenna - thinking of you and missing the Millennium. Glad you were able to change your plans! Anne & Ron

[need2bespoiled]

Jenna - thinking of you and missing the Millennium. Glad you were able to change your plans! Anne & Ron

 

Hello Anne and Ron! I hope you made it home safely. I heard you have that nasty four letter word coming your way just in time for the holiday! YUCK. Happy Thanksgiving :cool:

 

We've made it to Bali and I'll be updating soon on our last day in Singapore, as well as a bit of the first sea day and our trip to Bali :)

 

Highlight so far? REAL, high speed internet, yeah!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[need2bespoiled]

So after staying up all night, going for a run to clear my mind and figuring out how to make Bali work, AND getting flights booked, all was mostly better in my travel universe. Our friend Toni met us at the hotel, a bit of breakfast and off for nails. I actually skipped it and decided to spend (eerr, waste?) my money having it done on the ship. Our plan was to then hang out at the pool, but it rained, and hard so we set on our pool side patio and watched the rain. At about 4pm we hopped a can for the Raffles hotel to have a Singapore Sling. Singapore Slings are better in Singapore, but be prepared to pay EXHORBITANT prices. $28 for a drink, even with the conversion it is EXPENSIVE at over $22/drink. Three drinks and three apps was $180 SDR (over $140)!

 

 

 

 

Then it was off to the ship and to unpack in our new cabin.

 

We returned to the beginning of Christmas decorations.

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

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Edited November 26, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[hulamoon]

Beautiful pictures, thank you. Enjoy Bali!

[need2bespoiled]

After a light breakfast in our cabin as it was TOO hot on the deck in the sun we met up with Toni and were off to the port to meet our guide Ana (same guide) and our car (no public transportation today). First stop was the Botanical Gardens. WOW. I like flowers and my run through the other day was nice, but the National Orchid garden is simply INCREDIBLE if you like flowers and horticulture. I simply can't post all of the amazing pictures, but here are some....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

Next we drove to little India, walked around a bit, shopped a bit for gifts and then went off to lunch in an apartment of a local couple. There is a new program in Singapore for tour guides to connect with local residents to cook lunch (or maybe other meals too) in their homes to get an authentic experience. 80% of citizens buy their "apartments" from the government, and they're relatively nice but do vary greatly. Privately owned apartments are MUCH more expensive to buy. Our meal was prepared by an Indonesian woman, who married a French man and lived in Thailand. She is a personal chef and able to prepare French, Indonesian/Malaysian or Thai food. Our guide had a chance to screen the cooks she chose and sample the food before taking clients. We chose Indonesian/Malaysia and while it was definitely different, it was good and a nice experience. Ana asked for input on what could be better and we told her we could have been made a bit more comfortable at first. Apparently Nadia, our host is mostly worried about her English skills.

 

A little food porn of some authentic Malay food:

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued . . .

Edited November 26, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[need2bespoiled]

After lunch we were off to the Muslim section of town, and Haji Lane, which I am totally bummed we didn't get to earlier in our stay. Where Orchard Road is everything a shopper could love and hate in mall after mall of every level of shopping with lots of luxury goods, Haji Lane is a narrow road of local shops and boutiques NOT selling tourist crap.

 

 

We just didn't have enough time to really stop before we needed to be back to the ship for all aboard to turn in our passports to get the ship off on time. Incidentally after muster they were still looking for 30 passports and we were delayed leaving almost 90 minutes from Singapore for Ho Chi Min. No biggie.

 

Goodbye Singapore, until Wednesday:

 

Tuesday was our typical do nothing Sea Day. Yoga in the morning, burgers at the pool grill, limited sun, as it was HOT, I got my nails done, and in the early evening was treated to this, so big I couldn't get it in one shot. We shared the view with a couple of officiers who stopped by our cabin to see a maintenance issues that needed to be dealt with.

 

Tonight was formal night, including a reception with the officers in Michael's club, and I love to glam up, but sorry, no selfies

 

This morning we met our car for the nearly 2 hour drive through harrowing mini bike traffic to the airport. Singapore Air was nice and very efficient, with great service rivaling United or any US airline's Business class, except for the seat. The seat was typical economy and something I am not used to as I get economy plus or upgrades readily. It was too expensive to book business on such short notice, and I figured for the short flights, it would be no big deal (and of course it wasn't). We arrived back in Singapore a bit early but headed to our gate, where not long after checking email on the free wifi we boarded for Bali. The load was even lighter on a larger plane for a short 2+ hour flight, but we had the 3 seat bulkhead and the extra leg room to ourselves.

 

I always love sunsets from the air:

 

2 and a half ours or so later, after obtaining our VISA on Arrival, clearing immigration and customs pretty quickly we were in a cab and on our way to the hotel. Our first impressions of Bali was meh, more tourist crap stalls, night clubs and hotels. However the Stones Hotel looks great, has excellent security and our room is delightful. It's a "Marriott Autograph" property, which means it's unique and different. They offer lots of benefits for Marriott Platinum members such as free order anything you want breakfast, 20% food discount, lots of little welcome gifts and an upgrade to a pool front room with a plunge pool, double sized jumbo shower with two of everything (two rain forest shower heads, two hand held shower heads), large bathroom, plus all the normal 5 star amenities we'd expect in this type of boutique hotel.

 

Just a quick shot of the lobby, I'll try and take a few of the hotel and pool tomorrow, but you can always find pictures of hotels online.

 

 

At 8am we're being picked up by our tour guides for the day. It's not really a tour, but instead of going on a dive, we have a private boat for diving and heading out to an island for diving, snorkeling, remote beaches and lunch on Nusa Penida.

 

We may do a bit of touring outside of town on Friday, but our primary goal is to relax

 

We're on a direct flight on Thai Airways I booked in business with miles to Bangkok on Saturday night. We arrive back in Bangkok at about 7:20pm before anyone who is on the ship could actually get to Bangkok, so we're really only missing the two Ho Chi Min days and 1 sea day.

 

Happy sailing,

 

Jenna

Edited November 26, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[hulamoon]

Interesting seating in the lobby! Have fun our dive boat.

[need2bespoiled]

First dive done, sitting having lunch in Nusa Lembongan. Dee is going to hang out while I get my second dive in. Turtles, eels, slugs, lobsters and of course lots of fish. Underwater pictures to follow later but a few teasers for now.

 

a

 

Lunch view.

 

Happy thanksgiving and sailing,

Jenn

 

 

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[h20cruzer]

Fabulous!!! love you review. Its a nice Thanksgiving present.

Norma

[need2bespoiled]

A few diving pictures, off Bali at Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan are below. I'd say the diving was good, not great, not bad. I dove with Bali Jet Set who only does private diving, and other water sports, and I would recommend them. Lunch and anything else we wanted was included, as this was a private trip, and like everything we've found in Bali, it was very reasonably priced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

A few more underwater

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, Day 2 in Bali.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[hulamoon]

Those are great shots for a dive!

[need2bespoiled]

Today we met up with our guide, "Giri" at 10am where he picked us up at the hotel. The cost for the half day was $50, totally amazing compared to tours in some places we've been. Our plan was to leave the developed, southern part of Bali and into Central Bali, that has been less impacted by development. We headed out towards Ubud and the local villages of the area.

 

Our first stop was at Monkey Park, and while a bit touristy, was worth the few dollars and quick stop. The monkeys are well fed and cared for and not caged.

 

 

 

 

From there we headed out to Ubud and the rice patty terrace, all while hearing how the village culture and life works.

 

 

 

It is pretty amazing how they build and irrigate the terraces.

 

From there we headed to the "backyard" of a village and on to lunch at a restaurant frequented by Indonesians on vacation. It was wonderful in a great setting.

 

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

Each village has a primary craft or trade they're responsible for, from farming, to smithing (metal, gold, silver), wood, furniture, etc. Some are sold to tourist, but many is wholesaled overseas. We asked to stop at a local silversmith shop for some shopping and while we had to haggle well, we purchased some gifts, and items for our own use.

 

Traffic was not great, so we headed back towards our hotel in the touristy party area of Kuta. After dropping our bags, it was after 5:30pm so we headed out to the beach to watch what we could of sunset on an overcast evening. After a short walk on the beach we purchased a few sodas and an ear of corn grilled on the beach with chili sauce, it was quite yummy.

 

 

 

Once the sunset was no more, back across the street to the hotel and a proper Indonesian meal of Rijsttafel. I feel like we're eating our way through South East Asia.

 

 

Tomorrow we're going to spend a day at the hotel pool which is pretty stunning in and of itself though my picture doesn't do it justice.

This picture is a bit better, but still not a great representation.

 

Early afternoon we have to head the airport for our 4pm flight to Bangkok to meet back up with the Millennium.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[need2bespoiled]

I took a quick pic today of the pool from the other angle. We have only a few hours left before having to leave for our flight.

 

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[cruisingsfun]

Hi Jenna, Looks like you had an amazing trip to Bali. Love the underwater pictures. Now I just have to hope that our cruise starting 1/18 will be able to get there.:)

[need2bespoiled]

Just a quick update. Our arrival in Bangkok went well, however our Celebrity provide transfers we ended up not using, and finding and reboarding the ship was not as smooth as it should have been. We've moved past the issues as well as some issues on our balcony that we hoped to be addressed while we were gone but now would eliminate our recommendation of this cabin on Millennium or the one aft of it. Our friends one forward do not have the issue. #6140.

 

Since arriving back we had the Bangkok day which we used as a sea day and three sea days. We've spent s good deal of time at the spa, some at the pool and unfortunately almost none on our balcony.

 

I participate in top chef at sea which was a HOOT.

 

This morning we arrived in Phuket to a nice sunrise. I was able to go outside long enough to watch a beaut sunrise and hopefully have breakfast on our balcony.

 

 

We're off in a bit off to elephants trek and some other activities including the beach. In general MDR food and service remains better than expected and we're having a great time.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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