First Time on an Asian Cruise - Itinerary thoughts?

[davela2]

We were offered to join friends on this specific itinerary later this year in November, on NCL Jewel.  We've never been to Asia, and I know I'll be doing a huge amount of obsessive research before we sail.  But just as a starter, I would appreciate thoughts on this itinerary.  Thanks so much in advance for any insight from those you who have cruised or lived in these areas!

Day 1: Depart from Singapore 7PM

Day 2: Port Kiang (Kula Lampur) Malaysia 9AM-7PM

Day 3: Langkawi, Malaysia 11AM-7PM

Day 4: Sea day

Day 5: Sea day

Day 6: Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam, 8AM-midnight

Day 7: Sea day

Day 8: Sihanoukville, Cambodia 7AM-7PM

Day 9: Ko Samui, Thailand 8AM-6PM

Day 10: Arrive Bangkok 6AM

 

[Jamietravelstheworld]

1 minute ago, davela2 said:

We were offered to join friends on this specific itinerary later this year in November, on NCL Jewel.  We've never been to Asia, and I know I'll be doing a huge amount of obsessive research before we sail.  But just as a starter, I would appreciate thoughts on this itinerary.  Thanks so much in advance for any insight from those you who have cruised or lived in these areas!

Day 1: Depart from Singapore 7PM

Day 2: Port Kiang (Kula Lampur) Malaysia 9AM-7PM

Day 3: Langkawi, Malaysia 11AM-7PM

Day 4: Sea day

Day 5: Sea day

Day 6: Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam, 8AM-midnight

Day 7: Sea day

Day 8: Sihanoukville, Cambodia 7AM-7PM

Day 9: Ko Samui, Thailand 8AM-6PM

Day 10: Arrive Bangkok 6AM

 

A couple things I'd want to know:

 

Which ports are used for Ho Chi Mihn City and Bangkok? For large ships (which NCL are), the port for Bangkok is 2-3 hours from Bangkok and for Ho Chi Mihn City I believe it's an hour away. Take that into consideration when planning for excursions. I love Bangkok so I'd recommend spending several days there after the cruise. In 2020 I was supposed to go to HCMC and Sihanoukville in 2020 but never made them (aborted cruise midway due to COVID) so I can't tell you much, but Sihanoukville seems like a beach resort city. Singapore is a fascinating city as well. I'd recommend going in at least one day early in case of messed up flights and to see it as well - you can see a lot of Singapore in one day with a private guide (that's what I did) but it's exhausting due to high heat and humidity.

[davela2]

32 minutes ago, Jamietravelstheworld said:

Which ports are used for Ho Chi Mihn City and Bangkok? 

Thanks so much.  Phu My and Laem Chabang are listed

[John Bull]

Hi Dave,

 

We've  been to Bangkok several times, including a two-day cruise stop.

Laem Chabang is the usual port for mid-to-large ships for Bangkok, it's about 2 hours away..

There's no sensible public transport from port to city, you need a pre-booked private or shared transfer or ship's bus. Taxis are available on-spec at the port but they're run by a cartel and are seriously over-priced cos they know that the un-prepared have no alternative.

I concur whole-heartedly with Jamie that you should spend at least a couple of full days in Bangkok. A hotel on or close to the Chao Phraya River - very handy for ferries instead of the log-jammed streets eg to the Grand Palace, the Royal barges, and Wat Arun. And for a long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals) - best on a private long-tail boat (not expensive) rather than a tourist-filled one, enquire at a ferry stop. Also river cruises eg converted rice barges or dinner-cruises. Sheraton Royal Orchid is ideally-located if your pocket can stand it, but there's cheaper further back from the river.

 

For Saigon (HCMC), Phu My is the best port for all but the smallest cruise ships - major road improvements have brought the transfer time down to about 80 minutes. Best to pre-book a private or shared or ship's tour or transfer. Transfers usually drop near the Rex Hotel, easy walking to Re-unification Hall, War Remnants museum HCM museum and the architectural gem of the French main post office (tourist info desk inside).

Crossing the roads in Saigon is an art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmOVAPxg9v4

Ideally be on the downstream end of a group, walk across slowly and steadily, don't run & don't stop, the motorbikes will weave around you. But that doesn't work with cars and buses. 😄

 

Most countries in SE Asia are tiger economies - Cambodia is the odd one out, its still stuck in about the 18th century and it's poor and grubby.

Some folk were shocked by Sihanoukville - they took  quick look at the town then hurried back to the civilisation of the ship. But it's part of our planet and it's an education to see how the other half live.

We shared a van  which we bartered at the port, silly cheap. A great day - a waterfall, a long-tail boat across to a little "resort" island, a stop at Ream Nat Park and on the way back a stop at a fishing village - fish laid out on the dusty ground to dry. Bartering is fun, but the driver's needs were greater than ours and we gave him a huge (by western standards)  tip.

BTW, we had to tender in because a  cargo ship had sunk at the berth. Turned out it had sunk several  years earlier. It's probably still there That's Cambodia.

 

Stopped over in KL  for 24 hours on a flight to Australia. 

Sorry, didn't rate it. 

Petronas Towers, and that's about all we saw of any interest.

 

For pre-booked shared excursions, use Cruise Critic's RollCall (from the main menu select your cruise line then ship then sailing date)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by John Bull

[davela2]

On 2/5/2023 at 9:58 PM, John Bull said:

Hi Dave,

 

We've  been to Bangkok several times, including a two-day cruise stop.

Laem Chabang is the usual port for mid-to-large ships for Bangkok, it's about 2 hours away..

There's no sensible public transport from port to city, you need a pre-booked private or shared transfer or ship's bus. Taxis are available on-spec at the port but they're run by a cartel and are seriously over-priced cos they know that the un-prepared have no alternative.

I concur whole-heartedly with Jamie that you should spend at least a couple of full days in Bangkok. A hotel on or close to the Chao Phraya River - very handy for ferries instead of the log-jammed streets eg to the Grand Palace, the Royal barges, and Wat Arun. And for a long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals) - best on a private long-tail boat (not expensive) rather than a tourist-filled one, enquire at a ferry stop. Also river cruises eg converted rice barges or dinner-cruises. Sheraton Royal Orchid is ideally-located if your pocket can stand it, but there's cheaper further back from the river.

 

For Saigon (HCMC), Phu My is the best port for all but the smallest cruise ships - major road improvements have brought the transfer time down to about 80 minutes. Best to pre-book a private or shared or ship's tour or transfer. Transfers usually drop near the Rex Hotel, easy walking to Re-unification Hall, War Remnants museum HCM museum and the architectural gem of the French main post office (tourist info desk inside).

Crossing the roads in Saigon is an art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmOVAPxg9v4

Ideally be on the downstream end of a group, walk across slowly and steadily, don't run & don't stop, the motorbikes will weave around you. But that doesn't work with cars and buses. 😄

 

Most countries in SE Asia are tiger economies - Cambodia is the odd one out, its still stuck in about the 18th century and it's poor and grubby.

Some folk were shocked by Sihanoukville - they took  quick look at the town then hurried back to the civilisation of the ship. But it's part of our planet and it's an education to see how the other half live.

We shared a van  which we bartered at the port, silly cheap. A great day - a waterfall, a long-tail boat across to a little "resort" island, a stop at Ream Nat Park and on the way back a stop at a fishing village - fish laid out on the dusty ground to dry. Bartering is fun, but the driver's needs were greater than ours and we gave him a huge (by western standards)  tip.

BTW, we had to tender in because a  cargo ship had sunk at the berth. Turned out it had sunk several  years earlier. It's probably still there That's Cambodia.

 

Stopped over in KL  for 24 hours on a flight to Australia. 

Sorry, didn't rate it. 

Petronas Towers, and that's about all we saw of any interest.

 

For pre-booked shared excursions, use Cruise Critic's RollCall (from the main menu select your cruise line then ship then sailing date)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Thanks sooo much for that response!!

[ssawjo]

On 2/5/2023 at 7:58 PM, John Bull said:

Hi Dave,

 

We've  been to Bangkok several times, including a two-day cruise stop.

Laem Chabang is the usual port for mid-to-large ships for Bangkok, it's about 2 hours away..

There's no sensible public transport from port to city, you need a pre-booked private or shared transfer or ship's bus. Taxis are available on-spec at the port but they're run by a cartel and are seriously over-priced cos they know that the un-prepared have no alternative.

I concur whole-heartedly with Jamie that you should spend at least a couple of full days in Bangkok. A hotel on or close to the Chao Phraya River - very handy for ferries instead of the log-jammed streets eg to the Grand Palace, the Royal barges, and Wat Arun. And for a long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals) - best on a private long-tail boat (not expensive) rather than a tourist-filled one, enquire at a ferry stop. Also river cruises eg converted rice barges or dinner-cruises. Sheraton Royal Orchid is ideally-located if your pocket can stand it, but there's cheaper further back from the river.

 

For Saigon (HCMC), Phu My is the best port for all but the smallest cruise ships - major road improvements have brought the transfer time down to about 80 minutes. Best to pre-book a private or shared or ship's tour or transfer. Transfers usually drop near the Rex Hotel, easy walking to Re-unification Hall, War Remnants museum HCM museum and the architectural gem of the French main post office (tourist info desk inside).

Crossing the roads in Saigon is an art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmOVAPxg9v4

Ideally be on the downstream end of a group, walk across slowly and steadily, don't run & don't stop, the motorbikes will weave around you. But that doesn't work with cars and buses. 😄

 

Most countries in SE Asia are tiger economies - Cambodia is the odd one out, its still stuck in about the 18th century and it's poor and grubby.

Some folk were shocked by Sihanoukville - they took  quick look at the town then hurried back to the civilisation of the ship. But it's part of our planet and it's an education to see how the other half live.

We shared a van  which we bartered at the port, silly cheap. A great day - a waterfall, a long-tail boat across to a little "resort" island, a stop at Ream Nat Park and on the way back a stop at a fishing village - fish laid out on the dusty ground to dry. Bartering is fun, but the driver's needs were greater than ours and we gave him a huge (by western standards)  tip.

BTW, we had to tender in because a  cargo ship had sunk at the berth. Turned out it had sunk several  years earlier. It's probably still there That's Cambodia.

 

Stopped over in KL  for 24 hours on a flight to Australia. 

Sorry, didn't rate it. 

Petronas Towers, and that's about all we saw of any interest.

 

For pre-booked shared excursions, use Cruise Critic's RollCall (from the main menu select your cruise line then ship then sailing date)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

JB, we will be in HCMC overnight and I was wondering if you could recommend a good hotel in the city for one night.  We really don't want to go back and forth to the ship.  Thanks, Bill

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, ssawjo said:

JB, we will be in HCMC overnight and I was wondering if you could recommend a good hotel in the city for one night.  We really don't want to go back and forth to the ship.  Thanks, Bill

 

Sorry, can't help with hotels - we were on a small ship which sailed up the Saigon River and ported close to Saigon city centre for two nights.

 

But yes, overnight in the city makes a lot of sense, saves travel and gives you an evening in the city.

If you plot the Rex Hotel, that's the city centre - plenty of hotels in that area, mainly to western standards and not expensive  (unless you lose count of the noughts in the Vietnamese dong 🤫)

 

https://www.booking.com/hotel/vn/rex.en-gb.html?aid=376362&label=bh-yRUEyMXdyFdX6V220K8x8QS541115883818%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap22%2C563%2C000%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atiaud-1183547560947%3Akwd-1983705807%3Alp1006715%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm%3Appccp%3DUmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YTQUGSsRwx9_llxDbUbGjaI&sid=18fa2770b94d56cde2bfd5a718f53275&dest_id=71004;dest_type=hotel;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1677360220;srpvid=7348966d1def0181;type=total;ucfs=1&#map_opened-hotel_header

 

Mebbe check out the Golden Dragon water theatre - we were told about it early evening by folk who'd been there so we jumped in a couple of taxis & went there on-spec.

Arrived two minutes before the show was due to start, when we went in the only line of empty seats was in the very front row.

We'd lucked-in. 🙂

Same as those who find the front seats available at SeaWorld think they've lucked-in 😄.

Yes, we got splashed, but quite trivial and a great experience. 

http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.vn/

 

JB 🙂

 

[CAcruzfunatic]

We just returned from a 14 day back to back cruise from Singapore on the Spectrum of the Seas.   We had stops in Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Port Klang, Penang and Phuket.  We did an overnight in Bangkok and totally enjoyed it.   It is two hours into Bangkok from the port and at least 2 hour in Ho Chi Minh.  One of our days in Ho Chi Minh we went to the Mekong and it was more like three and a half hours drive.   But the drive times were worth it.   We used ToursByLocal guides in Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok and Penang.   They were all fantastic!  Our Bangkok guides were Tommy W and Ling.  Both were GREAT!  For our overnight in Bangkok we stayed at the Salil Riverside Hotel along the Chao Phraya river and it was very nice for about $120 a night.  If we stayed long we would pay a bit more for a pool or river view room.   What the city view rooms look out at is not great.  This areas was close to the grand palace and other temple sites which was great.   We had only been to Asia one other time and that was to Bali.   We totally enjoyed our time in each port and found travel in Southeast Asia much easier than we had anticipated.   The guides were careful to find us important sites and important (clean western) facilities. 😉  

 

Have an amazing trip.

[nolafrank]

Good itinerary.  We’ve been to most of the ports except the Malaysia ones (KL is on our wish list) but all good stops. Like others said, all or most these require more time than a single day allows.  But you could spend extra time on the front end in Singapore and back end in Bangkok.