Bangkok Port (Laem Chabang)

[JRIH]

Is anyone familiar with this port?  We will be there in February and would like to know if there will be a lot of taxis to take us to Bangkok for a tour.  Or, would we be better off making arrangements in advance.

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, JRIH said:

Is anyone familiar with this port?  We will be there in February and would like to know if there will be a lot of taxis to take us to Bangkok for a tour.  Or, would we be better off making arrangements in advance.

If you want to go into Bangkok, don't even think of doing this as a DIY... take a cruise line excursion.  The distance from the port to the city is substantial and the possibility of getting stuck/delayed in traffic is very good.

[John Bull]

We cruised there a few years back, so I may be out-of-date.

 

Bangkok is about two hours away, allow at least 2hrs 30 mins for the return to the ship.

There's no suitable public transport from Laem Chabang.

No problem in pre-booking a well-reviewed private tour-operator

But don't rely on taxis available at the pier - they're operated as a cartel which knows that those who've not pre-arranged transportation have no option, and preys on them - expect to pay double what you would have paid if you'd booked.

We didn't take a tour, we'd visited Bangkok before so we booked a transfer and hotel in Bangkok, and our hotel fixed up our return taxi next day. We visited the Grand Palace (take drinks with you, only water available in the complex) took a river ferry, and a long-tail boat through the klongs (canals). Next morning we wandered the Chinese quarter.

A great place to visit

 

JB 🙂

[cruiseaholic78]

Maybe your ship like ours (Westerdam October/November) offers the possibility to book “Bangkok on your own”. This is basically just a shuttle there and back with a certain number of free hours to do your own thing with the certainty of getting back to the ship.

Happy planning

Rosalyn

[JRIH]

9 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

Maybe your ship like ours (Westerdam October/November) offers the possibility to book “Bangkok on your own”. This is basically just a shuttle there and back with a certain number of free hours to do your own thing with the certainty of getting back to the ship.

Happy planning

Rosalyn

My ship is the Oceania Riviera.  Believe it or not, Oceania is not offering any excursions from the ship.

[d9704011]

12 minutes ago, JRIH said:

My ship is the Oceania Riviera.  Believe it or not, Oceania is not offering any excursions from the ship.

When is the cruise scheduled?

[JRIH]

4 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

When is the cruise scheduled?

January 28 - February 12, 2024

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, JRIH said:

January 28 - February 12, 2024

Yes, I see you're arriving in Bangkok on Feb 11, 2024.  Perhaps they'll add more excursions over the next couple of months.  Good thing is that the cruise ends there so that may provide much more flexibility to find a reputable private tour operator.  I expect you are already on one of the Roll Calls for this cruise to find like-minded fellow passengers?

[JRIH]

5 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Yes, I see you're arriving in Bangkok on Feb 11, 2024.  Perhaps they'll add more excursions over the next couple of months.  Good thing is that the cruise ends there so that may provide much more flexibility to find a reputable private tour operator.  I expect you are already on one of the Roll Calls for this cruise to find like-minded fellow passengers?

Yes I am on the roll call for this cruise, but it's not seeing much action yet.  Hopefully, the cruise line will add some excursions in the future.

[ssawjo]

54 minutes ago, JRIH said:

January 28 - February 12, 2024

We are on this cruise with you.  Our plan is to debark on Feb. 11 and use a local tour company to go to Bangkok, our last port.  We'll tour the city for a few days and then fly to Angkor Wat.  

 

If you are continuing on from Bangkok, my recommendation would be to find a reputable tour company and stay overnight in the city instead of traveling back and forth.  That way you will be able to experience the cities night life.  

 

Bill

[JRIH]

On 4/23/2023 at 11:32 AM, ssawjo said:

We are on this cruise with you.  Our plan is to debark on Feb. 11 and use a local tour company to go to Bangkok, our last port.  We'll tour the city for a few days and then fly to Angkor Wat.  

 

If you are continuing on from Bangkok, my recommendation would be to find a reputable tour company and stay overnight in the city instead of traveling back and forth.  That way you will be able to experience the cities night life.  

 

Bill

Thanks Bill,

We are taking the ships post-cruise to Angkor Wat after we disembark.  So we have to come back to the ship.  But it looks like we will take everyones advice and get a local tour company to tour Bangkok.

[Expat Cruise]

I lived in Thailand for several years. The port is really not near the City, a few hours away in normal daytime traffic, but can be much longer. It is not a cruise port, it is a commercial cargo port. You really should set up transportation in advance. Pattaya Thailand is about 30 minutes to the south of the port. 

 

[grmmybtty]

On 4/23/2023 at 10:15 AM, JRIH said:

My ship is the Oceania Riviera.  Believe it or not, Oceania is not offering any excursions from the ship.

We are also on this cruise. Tours for Laem Chabang were posted when I checked the Oceania website yesterday. The website seems to be down today.

[JRIH]

4 hours ago, grmmybtty said:

We are also on this cruise. Tours for Laem Chabang were posted when I checked the Oceania website yesterday. The website seems to be down today.

Thank you I appreciate it.  We will probably do the "Bangkok on your own" tour.

[grmmybtty]

10 hours ago, JRIH said:

Thank you I appreciate it.  We will probably do the "Bangkok on your own" tour.

You’re welcome. We’ll do one of the tours in the area - Pattaya or An Sila since we’re spending 3 days in Bangkok post cruise.