Indonesia or Malaysia

[sj-cruiser]

We're currently deciding between the HAL cruises from Singapore in Feb 2023.  One goes to Thailand and Malaysia while the other goes to Indonesia.  I'd like to hear from folks who've been on cruises in those areas to find out which you preferred and why you preferred it.  It doesn't need to have been a HAL cruise.

[wcook]

Sorry I can’t offer advice, but those both sound wonderful to me. Have a great trip. 
 

Note: This may seem silly, but I’ve always dreamed of sailing across the equator and having a King Neptune ceremony. I don’t know if HAL goes in for such silliness, but if they do I’d definitely head South to Indonesia. 

[Essiesmom]

I’m afraid I won’t be much help, either.  I like Singapore, been there twice.  I would probably do the Malaysia itinerary because I haven’t been to any of those ports other than Singapore.  But the Indonesia itinerary is also interesting, as the only places I have been to are Bali and Jakarta airport.  EM

[Hlitner]

The easy solution is to do both cruises (back to back) :).  We have been to that part of the world (a few times) and would slightly favor Thailand/Malaysia.  But some of those Indonesian ports are also quite interesting.  After all, how many of your friends can say they have been to Borabudur?   We are booked on the same ship for a few weeks once it gets to Japan (March) but would bet the farm that HAL will completely cancel their cruises to Japan and make major changes to the itinerary of the Westerdam.   Hopefully (for you) any changes will not impact the Feb cruises.

 

Hank

[CanobieFan]

I did Singapore to Malaysia and Thailand on Royal 4 years ago and it was amazing. The ports were Singapore to Port Klang (and then a bus ride to Kuala Lumpur), Penang Malaysia, and Phuket Thailand... and then we spent time in Singapore after the cruise as well as Southern Malaysia before flying to Bangkok for a couple days.  Klang didn't seem to have much at it and the bus into Kuala Lumpur takes a very long time limiting your actual time there (but we managed to get a lot in!) Penang was stunning. We did an Excursion that involved taking a mountain tram high up into the hills as well as a fantastic temple tour. Phuket was very much Cozumel or Nassau vibes, we did a highlights tour that got modified and we missed the highlight we actually booked for.....but what we did/saw was pretty cool and we got some (short) freetime at the end to explore a giant mall and the tourist Market stalls near the tenders. 

[Heidi13]

On 7/22/2022 at 12:30 PM, sj-cruiser said:

We're currently deciding between the HAL cruises from Singapore in Feb 2023.  One goes to Thailand and Malaysia while the other goes to Indonesia.  I'd like to hear from folks who've been on cruises in those areas to find out which you preferred and why you preferred it.  It doesn't need to have been a HAL cruise.

 

Over the years, I have been to most of the ports in both countries. However, without knowing your interests, it is impossible to suggest one over the other.

 

I suggest researching the local attractions and available tours in each of the ports and picking the itinerary that meets more of your interests.

[Ine]

We did the Indonesia cruise some years ago on HAL. Indonesia has many things to offer, more then just Bali. What made this cruise so special was the fact that family of the crew could visit  their sons/husbands/father etc. Also many of them were allowed on board. We made many family photos for them. I remember one of our cabin boys could not work that night as he was in his cabin crying after leaving his family again. Of course we limited the service in our cabin those days so the crew could have more time for the family. 

[CruiserBruce]

On 7/22/2022 at 10:10 PM, wcook said:

Sorry I can’t offer advice, but those both sound wonderful to me. Have a great trip. 
 

Note: This may seem silly, but I’ve always dreamed of sailing across the equator and having a King Neptune ceremony. I don’t know if HAL goes in for such silliness, but if they do I’d definitely head South to Indonesia. 

HAL was doing the ceremony before Covid. Lots of fun.

[John Bull]

On 7/22/2022 at 8:30 PM, sj-cruiser said:

We're currently deciding between the HAL cruises from Singapore in Feb 2023.  One goes to Thailand and Malaysia while the other goes to Indonesia.  I'd like to hear from folks who've been on cruises in those areas to find out which you preferred and why you preferred it.  It doesn't need to have been a HAL cruise.

 

Ports-of-call, please.

And anything else relevant, such as ship's hours in each port, number & mobility of your group.

 

A few points .....

We found Kuala Lumpur pretty boring. There's the magnificent Petronas Towers, and ........ errrrr ...ummmmm .... give me a minute ..... Nope - just the Petronas Towers. But the east coast is waaay more interesting.

Bangkok is brilliant - lots of sights, busy busy markets, long-tail boat trips along the river and thro the klongs (canals), etc. But apart from small ones, cruise ships port 2 to 3 hours away in Laem Chabang.

If the ship overnites it's worth a hotel in the city - saves double-travelling & gives you the evening in Bangkok.

 If the ship is in Laem Chabang for just a one-day visit, that's just not long enough.

Bali is great, Buddhist rather than Muslim, very religious, very friendly,, very different to the other Indonesian islands. The craft villages of Ubud are well worth a visit, as is the adjacent monkey sanctuary where you wander amongst the residents.

 

JB 🙂

[sj-cruiser]

21 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Over the years, I have been to most of the ports in both countries. However, without knowing your interests, it is impossible to suggest one over the other.

 

I suggest researching the local attractions and available tours in each of the ports and picking the itinerary that meets more of your interests.

 

Thank you Heidi13, here's a bit more about our interests.  We tend to be more active than a lot of other folks we meet on cruises and like to either go hiking or bicycling in the ports we visit.  We also enjoy walking around the cities we visit on our own "tour" rather than taking something organized.  We do occasionally take food tours in ports when there's time to take one.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, sj-cruiser said:

 

Thank you Heidi13, here's a bit more about our interests.  We tend to be more active than a lot of other folks we meet on cruises and like to either go hiking or bicycling in the ports we visit.  We also enjoy walking around the cities we visit on our own "tour" rather than taking something organized.  We do occasionally take food tours in ports when there's time to take one.

 

Unfortunately, those interests are fairly generic and really not much help, especially as you didn't mention the ports.

 

Bangkok is a great city and is very walkable around the Royal Palace/Emerald Buddha. However, very few ships dock in the river, as most of them are dock in Laem Chabang, about 80 miles from the city.

 

Kuala Lumpur is similar in that the ships dock in Port Klang, which is about 30 miles, but with traffic can easily be an hour each way.

 

Where the ships dock in both those ports there aren't any areas close to the ship worth walking around.

 

Therefore, as I noted before, I suggest researching each of the ports on both cruises and list the points of interest that are important to you. I still complete this research and I have been to many of the world's ports, lots of them multiple times.

 

Good luck picking the best cruise.

[Essiesmom]

I had no trouble pulling up the Singapore cruises on Westerdam on cruise timetables.com.   It appears the only port in Thailand is Phuket.  EM

[ldubs]

We did a R/T Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Phuket.    It was a fun cruise but time in ports really only allowed a snapshot of the places.  Best was Singapore. My advice would be to spend as much time there as your plans allow.  It is a terrific place.