Quest-Singapore to Hong Kong tours

[GrammaB4]

I am looking for advice re shore excursions. I have never cruised with Azamara. Recommendations greatly appreciated

[uktog]

Hello Gramma

 

Welcome to Cruise critic. Are you booked on this itinerary - if so you are in for a treat. As regards excursions we found those delivered by Azamara to be of a higher quality than those on Celebrity - maybe because less people are trying to go on them.

You have the choices of overnight stops or long days in Bangkok and Hanoi. We opted for long days which in both places allowed us to do interesting local trips the other day - yes we maxed out on excursions but this was a special trip.

Bangkok – We did the Treasures of Bangkok trip. The journey into Bangkok took about 2 hours each way and the coach was very comfortable. We went to Happy Rooms – yes a new name for the holiday vocabulary – at very clean service stations. We had an excellent guide and were taken to Wat Trimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha, known for its famous Golden Buddha which is 3m high and then on to Wat Po, the most extensive temple in Bangkok with its 15 meter long reclining Buddha. Lunch was excellent, with a Thai buffet served on a converted rice barge as we cruised along the Chao Phraya River – this was a really good use of time. Later we visited King Rama V's favourite place, Vimanmek Palace. Unfortunately shopping was at a “Jewellery store” – the cruise line had warned us about this in advance it seems it something they have no control of for this year but have made it known that this is not what is wanted.

 

Day 2 we went to the amazing Sanctuary of Truth, a wooded temple that has given employment for over 25 years to local crafts people but is still 15 years away from completion. It is hard to describe this place – but you can also leave your own bit of carving, so up top beam front building left you will find my scratch. I would not go to Pattaya itself - its seedy. If you want to shop in Thailand it is going to be tricky as the port is not near any shopping and the excursions do not give you any opportunity. Pattaya on your own does not really help as Pattaya is not a good place to find any shopping.

 

Sihanoukville – Many went on the long trip to Pnomh Penn and came back with good stories. We knew that we could not do too many long trips and decided to have a local day which gave us a good chance to explore locally. We took the ships shuttle (free) into town and then negotiated a Tuc Tuc for $5 to get to Sokhu Beach which has a good hotel. For $8 we were able to enjoy all the facilities including their private beach (no hawkers etc), nice loungers. It must be the best place to go as we met the Captain, Hotel Director and four other senior officers on the beach during our day there. Cambodia is a poor country, you will see sights that are not what westerners are used to and you probably will not want to eat much ashore. But it is worth every minute ashore

 

Ho Chi Minh City – We did the highlights tour and it was a really good value 5 hour trip with a good guide in which we saw all the main highlights. Although you will see lots of lovely buildings etc the fun of this place is the sights and sounds. Just count how many are on the motorbikes and see what is the most eccentric thing you see being carried on the back of the bikes - you will have dinner conversation material for the rest of the trip and beyond!!

 

Hoi An – When we were here it was Chinese New Years day. Again, the port in Da Nang has nothing near so we opted to see if we could find anything open further afield. We went on the Hoi An on your own trip. This is the best way to do Hoi An you have the advantage of the transport (local taxis are very scarce indeed) and a little input from the guide but then you are free to see all the sights on your own and all the places are well signed and have explanatory plaques. This is also an excellent shopping stop –

 

Hanoi – Again a 2 hour bus run from Halong Bay took us on the Hanoi Past and Present trip. This is another day when the shopping is not good – whilst it states shopping opportunities this is at the Service Station (overpriced) you stop at both ways for a rather long time. Good news – absolutely spotless Happy Rooms. Past and Present gives a really good overview of Hanoi including a visit to the “Hanoi Hilton” and a fun rickshaw/cyclo ride – individual seats and shut your eyes at the junction; remember red lights are only suggestions in Vietnam. Seriously though you really get the feel for the city in this half hour ride right at street level.

 

We had an overnight stop and the must do was the Day one trip we did to Halong Bay by boat. You can see why the Bay is being considered as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. It is a very pleasant cruise around though be prepared for traders who rope up and hop onto the boats. The first words the little children learn there is not Mum or Dad but “One dollar”. Just remember to have plenty one dollar bills with you (Guest Relations have loads as they know everyone will need them all this cruise) and the traders do give up quite quickly and move on to another boat.

 

Hong Kong – We did our own thing in Hong Kong with a subway card to get around, it was very easy

 

Hope this helps

[Jade13]

 

Sihanoukville – Many went on the long trip to Pnomh Penn and came back with good stories. We knew that we could not do too many long trips and decided to have a local day which gave us a good chance to explore locally. We took the ships shuttle (free) into town and then negotiated a Tuc Tuc for $5 to get to Sokhu Beach which has a good hotel. For $8 we were able to enjoy all the facilities including their private beach (no hawkers etc), nice loungers. It must be the best place to go as we met the Captain, Hotel Director and four other senior officers on the beach during our day there. Cambodia is a poor country, you will see sights that are not what westerners are used to and you probably will not want to eat much ashore. But it is worth every minute ashore

 

We had an overnight stop and the must do was the Day one trip we did to Halong Bay by boat. You can see why the Bay is being considered as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. It is a very pleasant cruise around though be prepared for traders who rope up and hop onto the boats. The first words the little children learn there is not Mum or Dad but “One dollar”. Just remember to have plenty one dollar bills with you (Guest Relations have loads as they know everyone will need them all this cruise) and the traders do give up quite quickly and move on to another boat.

 

 

 

Hope this helps

 

UKtog, Was this itinerary this year? Unfortunately (at least on our date) we had to decide between the itinerary with Sihanoukvile, Cambodia or Halong Bay/Hanoi.

 

We decided on Cambodia as we can take an overnight trip to Angkor Wat. However, we are missing Halong Bay. I did not realize that in the past Azamara offered both on the same sailing. I sure wish that was the case in 2010.

 

Btw, is there enough to do in Saigon for 2 days? What about in the evening? I sure wish they were cruising up to Halong Bay instead of 2 nights in Saigon.

 

Also, did Azamara bring on any local entertainment, in Saigon or Bangkok? Thanks.

[uktog]

This was how it was in January 2009 but as it was their first season I am sure they are making alterations. As regards Saigon although we were only there for a day there were markets and shopping as well as the key sights. Also you would be able to spend longer at a Water Puppet theatre show though I am not sure it is worth a 2 day stay but I say that because I only researched a one day trip,

 

We had no entertainment brought on board, I wonder in part if that was because we were there over the Chinese New Year which was absolutely great in other ways but I understood because they are so family focussed they were struggling to even get us guides and drivers through the days and certainly as we drove through towns on the way back to the ship in the evening it was interesting to see into houses and they were all families around the ground floor shrine and the streets were empty.

[Jade13]

This was how it was in January 2009 but as it was their first season I am sure they are making alterations. As regards Saigon although we were only there for a day there were markets and shopping as well as the key sights. Also you would be able to spend longer at a Water Puppet theatre show though I am not sure it is worth a 2 day stay but I say that because I only researched a one day trip,

.

 

I knew it. If only they had planned the itinerary with a one day stop in Saigon there would have been time for Hanoi/Halong Bay. They also have a 2 night stop in Bangkok but it only covers one full day since scheduled arrival is at 4:00pm and departure two days later at 1:00pm.

[uktog]

I think one reason for the revised timings is that there were some real problems with currents and swell woring against the ship which are evidently very common at that time of the year. We were in fact an hour late into Bangkok - at one point they thought we were going to be 5 hours late. We were also late to Halong and Hoi Ann. At the end of the cruise the Captain indicated he had had to run the ships engines flat out virtually the full trip which he said could not happen all the time

[shoshona2]

To Jade 13,

 

On the second day in Saigon, you can take a tour out to see the famous caves where the Viet Kong hide during the Vietnam War. Several war movies have shown the damage they did to our troops.

 

Sheila

[Jade13]

To Jade 13,

 

On the second day in Saigon, you can take a tour out to see the famous caves where the Viet Kong hide during the Vietnam War. Several war movies have shown the damage they did to our troops.

 

Sheila

 

Hi Sheila,

 

Is that the tunnels or somewhere else? I have wanted to go to Saigon for a long time so I should be happy. I am just curious since the ship lists only a few tours as do other web sites.

 

Thanks.

[shoshona2]

Hi Jade13,

 

It's the Cu Chi Tunnels near Saigon. Google Cu Chi tunnels or Tunnels in Vietnam and you will see photos of them. We have been to Vietnam twice -- once 20 years ago and four years ago. The Tunnels were NOT open 20 years ago, but now it is a BIG tourist attraction. It really is worth seeing because of the history of the tunnels. We even found the prison where John McCain was held captive while we were in Hanoi.

 

Sheila