Mekong Cruise Questions

[worcestergal]

We will be on a Scenic Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia trip starting in early March. We have been really looking forward to it for so long, but now that it’s almost here I am starting to worry about what to bring. What kind of clothing and footwear do you suggest?  If you’ve done a similar trip, what do you wish you’d brought and what did you regret bringing?  Any tips for this first time visitor to SE Asia?  This is also our first time on a river boat (we’ve had many ocean cruises on Seabourn), so any suggestions for appropriate dress on Scenic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[gnome12]

20 minutes ago, worcestergal said:

We will be on a Scenic Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia trip starting in early March. We have been really looking forward to it for so long, but now that it’s almost here I am starting to worry about what to bring. What kind of clothing and footwear do you suggest?  If you’ve done a similar trip, what do you wish you’d brought and what did you regret bringing?  Any tips for this first time visitor to SE Asia?  This is also our first time on a river boat (we’ve had many ocean cruises on Seabourn), so any suggestions for appropriate dress on Scenic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Here are a number of recent threads on the Mekong. They all showed up (with more) on the first page of a search for Mekong in the River Cruising Forum.

 

[worcestergal]

Thank you very much for the references. I’ve reviewed them all and there is lots of great information. 
I'm still a bit up in the air as to how much of everything to take and what kind of footwear to bring. Hopefully, it will not be too difficult to wash clothes regularly (or have the hotel or ship take care of it). I don’t want to overpack, which I know I have a tendency to do!

[Rebel54]

We went in March a few years ago and it was H O T.  Bring light weight breathable clothing.  I wore Teva type shoes to be able to rinse them easily from the dust.  I do recall that with Avalon we left our shoes at the door when we returned from shore trips and they returned then to us clean.  (I'm old so I could be remembering that incorrectly).  Make sure that you have something to cover knees and shoulders when entering temples.  "Cool towels" are a life saver. 

[gnome12]

1 minute ago, worcestergal said:

Thank you very much for the references. I’ve reviewed them all and there is lots of great information. 
I'm still a bit up in the air as to how much of everything to take and what kind of footwear to bring. Hopefully, it will not be too difficult to wash clothes regularly (or have the hotel or ship take care of it). I don’t want to overpack, which I know I have a tendency to do!

If you have any internal flights, they are quite strict on baggage allowance. One of the nice things about warmer weather cruises is that light tops and bottoms don’t take up too much room. 
 

As to footwear, I can’t really walk in sandals - I have the feet of the princess and the pea. I also wear shoes with orthotics, so I went for the white New Balance walking shoes with mesh tops. If my feet were’t as sensitive, running shoes would have done. For indoor wear, my sandals (open back) serve to walk around the ship and as slippers. And, since our ship had a small pool, a pair of rubber thongs. 

[worcestergal]

Thanks. That’s very helpful. Sounds like I don’t need dressy shoes for evenings. And, I expect this will be much more casual than Seabourn, which does make it a bit easier. 

[ljandgb]

Very casual.  I brought a pair of Tevas and a pair of tennis shoes (princess and pea feet with orthotics here too!)  Honestly, you can also buy some elephant pants once you get there.  Touristy yes, but seriously light weight and cool.  My friend, who resisted until almost the very end said "it's like air conditioning for your legs!"

 

One of those trip reports are mine.  I don't remember if I mentioned the one thing I needed more of was deodorant.  I travel very light, carry on only, and I brought enough deodorant to last for a few weeks longer than I needed BUT did not factor in that I was showering 3-4 times a day, so was applying 3-4x more than I planned. Same would go for any toiletry you have limited amounts of. You can get more there, but something to consider.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, worcestergal said:

Thanks. That’s very helpful. Sounds like I don’t need dressy shoes for evenings. And, I expect this will be much more casual than Seabourn, which does make it a bit easier. 

Definitely no need for dressy shoes. Because of the heat I had a number of gauzy tops which worked fine for evening wear. 
 

I don’t know what your schedule is like, but for my trip we started in Hanoi, spent a night on Halong Bay then flew to Siem Reap. Our hotel is Seam Reap had a deal for laundry; one beg with as much as you could stuff in for a fixed price. I took advantage of that, and washed underwear and sometimes tops in my cabin and hung them to dry. 

[worcestergal]

That sounds perfect. Thank you. We also start in Hanoi for a few nights, then HaLong for a couple, back to Hanoi before flying to Siem Reap. I image that we should be able to find similar laundry deals at one or more of the hotels. I am happy to pay a bit and not have to deal with washing anything more than underwear. 😁

Thanks so much for your help!

[worcestergal]

@ljandgb Thanks for the suggestion. We will definitely bring extra toiletries. And, @Rebel54, I love the idea of cool towels. I’ve ordered some from Amazon. 

[Kristelle]

We are booked on similar trip in Jan 2025. On land in Cambodia 3 nights then 7 nights on Mekong River and fly home from HCMC

I have been to Vietnam before on land trip, in 2017.

We are also on Scenic - my understanding of Scenic Spirit, their Mekong river ship, is that there is a free self serve laundry on board. 

Also Scenic Spirit has a pool so bring swimwear for that.

Everything I read says dress casual, same as we did on Scenic Europe river cruise.

Itinerary has one or two nights where in Scenic literature words " you might like to dress up a bit"

I will be interpreting this as capris and dressy tops or a summer sundress 

 

Do be aware of need for coverage in temples though. This includes Angkor Watt. 

So make sure your casual summer clothes do include below knee length pants or skirts and shoulder coverage tops. 

[margbem]

Thank you for all this advice. We leave in a week’s time for a month - Hanoi to Siem Reap and all points in between, including a Mekong cruise. Whole thing with APT then we head for Aonang for six nights for a rest! Worcestergal - we are regular Seabourn sailors and it’s so different planning the packing for this trip. I am having to stop myself getting my dresses out! Our itinerary does say that we might like a dressier outfit for the welcome and farewell dinners so two summery light dresses are going!

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, margbem said:

Our itinerary does say that we might like a dressier outfit for the welcome and farewell dinners so two summery light dresses are going!

I promise that nobody would bat an eye if you wore the same dress for both. 

[Rebel54]

When packing, remember that if you have internal country flights they are VERY strict on checked luggage.  If you don't mind paying, don't worry.  We had several people in our group that had to pay over $100 for overweight bags and were mad.

 

[ljandgb]

There was a lady on our cruise that dressed nicer than everyone else.  She looked quite nice, with long shift dresses and light jackets and gauzey over-dresses, with a different pair of fancy heels, usually 2 different outfits a day.  She was the one everyone talked about.  LOL.  Mostly of the "how many suitcases did all THAT take??" 

[margbem]

34 minutes ago, ljandgb said:

There was a lady on our cruise that dressed nicer than everyone else.  She looked quite nice, with long shift dresses and light jackets and gauzey over-dresses, with a different pair of fancy heels, usually 2 different outfits a day.  She was the one everyone talked about.  LOL.  Mostly of the "how many suitcases did all THAT take??" 

That definitely WON'T be me!!!

[worcestergal]

No way will I bring enough for two outfits per day!  I will make sure that I avoid the overweight luggage fees, as well. My fellow passengers are just going to have to get used to me wearing the same things. I’m sure there will be plenty of other excitement on the trip. 🥴

[gnome12]

37 minutes ago, worcestergal said:

No way will I bring enough for two outfits per day!  I will make sure that I avoid the overweight luggage fees, as well. My fellow passengers are just going to have to get used to me wearing the same things. I’m sure there will be plenty of other excitement on the trip. 🥴

That’s the proper spirit!

[Kristelle]

given that the dressy occasions are beginning and end of trip - ie Welcome and Farewell dinners - nobody will probably even remember which dress you wore first time round, let alone care.

 

On Europe river cruise  I did not take a dress - but I had one evening sparkly top which I wore with black pants and wore to both. (obviously cooler weather conditions than  SE Asia) )

did not even wash it in between since had only worn it for few hours sitting down in air conditioned dining room

 

For Mekong I intend to take one semi dressy mid length dress, the type  I would wear out to dinner at home but not to a wedding - it is easy wash non iron material so if neccesary will wash and hang up for 2nd occasion.

[vada_9]

Make sure you are comfortable with having your shoes washed. Most asian river ships wash your shoes on your return to the ship. It helps with keeping the decks clean. Sneakers may not dry in the humidity between wears. Also you will probably need to remove shoes ( and socks) for temple visits. I take a pair of thongs - easy off and on and dry quickly.

[Mrs. Claypool]

I bring along a tote bag for mosque or temple excursions. Then I can carry my shoes along with me when I go inside and not have to worry about how on earth I’m going to find them again when we come back out. 

[worcestergal]

Great suggestions!  Thanks so much to you all. 

[CDNPolar]

As gnome12 said above, be very aware of any internal flights and the luggage size and restrictions.  You will / may find that the accepted carryon is restricted in both size and weight from the typical international airline that you fly in on.  

 

We have friends on a trip now, and this was one of their challenges, as what they expected to be able to pack was acceptable for flying from USA to Cambodia, but the internal flights that they had they would have had to check everything - including carryon - and then pay additional fees.  They worked it out with smaller and lighter bags before leaving home.

[JordanF]

Thanks for all of this.  We are leaving in three weeks for a Gate 1 land tour that includes Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam--so four internal (to the region) flights.  The tips about baggage and attire have been very helpful!

[worcestergal]

I just called Scenic to confirm luggage limits for the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap and was told that the “normal” international limit of 23 kg applies for checked baggage. The representative said that carryon limits were “normal” as well - and I have no idea what that means!  
I am curious if any of you have had experience with this.