artmc Posted June 17, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 17, 2018 DW and I will be taking a Princess Sapphire cruise in Southeast Asia this December. One of the stops will be Bangkok. Does anyone know of a private company that can show us city highlights that would be cheaper than the ship excursion? Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJHNorthyorks Posted June 17, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 17, 2018 We were in Bangkok on Celebrity Constellation earlier this year and joined a small group tour of 6 people arranged via Cruise Critic with BKK travel. This was a 2 day tour and we spent an overnight in Bangkok. Everything about the tour was excellent. The company suggest an itinerary but it is possible to amend it. I can’t remember the costs but I do remember that at the time we calculated that our excursion was significantly cheaper than the same trip offered by the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zowie57 Posted June 18, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 18, 2018 DW and I will be taking a Princess Sapphire cruise in Southeast Asia this December. One of the stops will be Bangkok. Does anyone know of a private company that can show us city highlights that would be cheaper than the ship excursion? Thx! Does your cruise overnite in Bangkok or just stop for the day? If you are considering organising your own Bangkok tour you need to factor in that the port of Laem Chabang is approx 2 hours out of Bangkok. The ships tour may be the safest alternative if there are delays on the highway in either direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted June 18, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 18, 2018 We were in Bangkok on Celebrity Constellation earlier this year and joined a small group tour of 6 people arranged via Cruise Critic with BKK travel. This was a 2 day tour and we spent an overnight in Bangkok. Everything about the tour was excellent. The company suggest an itinerary but it is possible to amend it.I can’t remember the costs but I do remember that at the time we calculated that our excursion was significantly cheaper than the same trip offered by the ship. I just checked the BKK site and it now states that they no longer offer shore excursions from the port of Laem Chabang, (the port we will be docking at)as it is too far from Bangkok. Too bad; it sounds like it would have been a great tour. Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zowie57 Posted June 18, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I just checked the BKK site and it now states that they no longer offer shore excursions from the port of Laem Chabang, (the port we will be docking at)as it is too far from Bangkok. Too bad; it sounds like it would have been a great tour.Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) I am sure there would be other Bangkok based tour companies who would pick up and return you to the port of Laem Chabang. The risk with any private tour is getting back to the ship on time and the road in to Bangkok is notorious for traffic delays. If you don't want to be on a bus for two hours each way the beach resort of Pattaya is only half an hour away in a taxi. Pattaya has a bit of a mixed reputation but there is absolutely nothing to see or do at the port of Laem Chabang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaasher Posted June 18, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 18, 2018 My roll call has booked a tour called Bangkok highlights through Travelhub. It is a really good tour that includes lunch and a boat ride as well as visiting the main temples. They pick up from the cruise dock. Have a look at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJHNorthyorks Posted June 19, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I just checked the BKK site and it now states that they no longer offer shore excursions from the port of Laem Chabang, (the port we will be docking at)as it is too far from Bangkok. Too bad; it sounds like it would have been a great tour.Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) That’s where we docked so that is very disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelbug1 Posted June 22, 2018 #8 Share Posted June 22, 2018 We used BKK for an overnight in Bangkok in 2017. Just contacted them for our next cruise in February and yes, were told they no longer pick-up at the port. I'm considering using the ships 2 day transfer (Celebrity Constellation) to get us in/out of the city and BKK for a tour. If anyone has used the ships transfer can you advise what time it leaves the ship and returns (approximately)? As an fyi, we also used Tours by Tong a number of years ago for another overnight in Bangkok and it was great. She was very responsive to emails etc....since then I think she's just too busy and the responses are VERY slow....that's why I tried BKK tours on our last trip and they have always been very responsive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zowie57 Posted June 24, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 24, 2018 We used BKK for an overnight in Bangkok in 2017. Just contacted them for our next cruise in February and yes, were told they no longer pick-up at the port. I'm considering using the ships 2 day transfer (Celebrity Constellation) to get us in/out of the city and BKK for a tour. If anyone has used the ships transfer can you advise what time it leaves the ship and returns (approximately)? As an fyi, we also used Tours by Tong a number of years ago for another overnight in Bangkok and it was great. She was very responsive to emails etc....since then I think she's just too busy and the responses are VERY slow....that's why I tried BKK tours on our last trip and they have always been very responsive. The overnite ships tour is usually called Bangkok on Your Own or something similar. It's not really a tour just a transport service and you need to book your own overnite accommodation and make your own arrangements in the city. The bus will generally leave Laem Chabang port approx an hour after docking and drop you in Bangkok approx 2 hours later. The drop off point used to be the Asia Hotel (highly recommended and well located) and the bus will pick up from there approx 2pm the next day to return you to the ship. That does not give you a lot of time on the second day. You should be able to arrange a day tour privately in advance for the first morning which picks you up from the Asia or wherever the drop off point is now. By booking the ship's overnite tour you are guaranteed to not miss the ship if there are delays returning on the highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted June 25, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Why does it have to be BKK? Tours by Locals has vendor who will pick you up at Leam Chabang. She has a five star rating and has one and two day tours. We are going on Azamara and docking much closer to Bangkok, but I always consider TBL or others vetted on TripAdvisor as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zowie57 Posted June 25, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Why does it have to be BKK? Tours by Locals has vendor who will pick you up at Leam Chabang. She has a five star rating and has one and two day tours. We are going on Azamara and docking much closer to Bangkok, but I always consider TBL or others vetted on TripAdvisor as well. Azamara ships usually dock at Klong Toey port which is in the heart of Bangkok. Very few ships are small enough to come up river and use this port. The rest have to use Laem Chabang which is two hours out of Bangkok. Unfortunately many cruise passengers seem to be unaware of the distance involved when making arrangements to tour Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted June 26, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Azamara ships usually dock at Klong Toey port which is in the heart of Bangkok. Very few ships are small enough to come up river and use this port. The rest have to use Laem Chabang which is two hours out of Bangkok. Unfortunately many cruise passengers seem to be unaware of the distance involved when making arrangements to tour Bangkok. I think some who dock at Laem Chabang, book a hotel for the night in Bangkok. That port is inconvenient, but many guides on TripAdvisor will pick up customers there. One of the reasons we chose Azamara was the convenience of Bangkok port and also more multiple day ports and more hours in port. Sometimes, it's worth it. There are other options for Laem Chabang though even with BKK not doing it. Cruisers will find a new favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted June 28, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Those ships that also port at a remote location outside of Bangkok also have a similar problem in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) where they dock 80 miles away. Docking at these ports also puts pressure to take the more expensive cruise ship excursions. At some point, the quality of the experience just misses the mark on these larger ships. For Da Nang, Ha Long Bay, and originating and ending ports Hong Kong and Singapore, there probably is no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernbreezes Posted July 5, 2018 #14 Share Posted July 5, 2018 We booked our tour with Thai Tour Guide pick up and drop off at the port 2-day tour 1/2 the price of Celebrity Ship tour. http://www.thaitourguide.com/ The review is excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooManyBags Posted August 27, 2018 #15 Share Posted August 27, 2018 We booked our tour with Thai Tour Guide pick up and drop off at the port 2-day tour 1/2 the price of Celebrity Ship tour. http://www.thaitourguide.com/ The review is excellent! Hi another guide worth considering is Wandee of wandeetours.com. Great guide and fair prices. She arranges many tours from the ports. We have had a few very high quality interesting trips with her. Always good to stay overnight in Bangkok if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalibi Posted September 4, 2018 #16 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Two and one-half bus ride from port via Princess trips. Anyone who has done this? Is it worth paying Princess prices? Do they take any breaks on the two hour ride? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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