River Cruise or Ocean Cruise to see Asia

[Hoyaheel]

30 minutes ago, Philob said:

In Asia as a general rule always carry a pocket-size packet of Kleenex or two; TP is not always provided  

That rule applies just as well at truck stops in the US, airports in Europe, universities in South Africa. In other words - I *always* travel with tissues (and I have little tp rolls in plastic too 😉

[iancal]

Over five winters in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia we have never encountered a real language problem.  Yes, we had challenges a few times in smaller places but it never was a big issue.

 

i cannot speak to other countries but our thoughts are that you will not see much of Thailand or Vietnam on a cruise compared to what you will see and experience on a land trip.  For starters just do the math and see how many actual hours of sightseeing you will have after accounting for disembarkation, travel times, ship sailing time. 

 

The the goal of the cruise line is to keep you on the ship as much as possible......and spending money on board.

Edited March 18, 2019 by iancal

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, Philob said:

In Asia as a general rule always carry a pocket-size packet of Kleenex or two; TP is not always provided  

Very true, nor is running sink water..in some restrooms...I always bring antibacterial wet wipes too.

[TLCOhio]

Many excellent pro/con factors have been explored and offered on this thread.  "Yes and yes" is a good, honest answer!! There are a wide variety of trade-offs, including your budget flexibility, time potentials available, depth of experience/immersion you seek, etc.  As detailed below on my live/blog, we did a combination of a seven-day Mekong River cruise, combined with flying to various other parts of Vietnam, Bangkok, Cambodia and Hong Kong.  Agree that just doing a Hong Kong to Singapore cruise would have been cheaper for us, but we desired a more in-depth experience that better connected to these key cities, the countryside, etc.  Below are a few visual samples from our various stops and sights. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.!  Live/blog from early 2018, first adventure through SE Asia, stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before exploring all over Vietnam and Cambodia, seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Now at 45,061 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

 

Here are just a few visuals samples from what we saw and did with Avalon while sailing along the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Many, many more photos and details on the full live/blog.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

 

We saw many temples, palaces, markets and samples of daily life/work, including at this below spectacular Royal structure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.: