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CRUISE SHIPS
273
May15
Mountains. Thailand’s Chaweng Beach,
on the island of Koh Samui, beats Phuket
for its sand quality, scenery and more
laidback vibe.
Mekong River Delta:
If your ship is
small enough to transit the Saigon
River (Seabourn, Crystal, Silversea and
SeaDream ships are), you’ll enjoy several
hours meandering along the waterway
between the South China Seas and Ho
Chi Minh City, a rare opportunity to see the
rice fields and small boats of the Mekong
River Delta up close.
Overnight in port:
Most ships dock for
two or three days in the ports for Ho Chi
Minh City, Hanoi and Bangkok to give
passengers more time to explore.
Lacquer:
In Vietnam, shop for lacquer
boxes, tableware, coasters and furniture.
Many guided tours include shopping stops.
Military history buffs:
The Cu Chi
Tunnels are an intricate underground
tunnel system, dug more than 60 years
ago outside of Ho Chi Minh City by the
Viet Cong and used in their fight against
French and American forces during the
Vietnam War. The city’s War Museum
has a graphic photo collection that
illustrates the brutality of war.
Drawbacks
Long drives to attractions:
In most
ports on the eastern routes, it’s a long
(up to four-hour) bus or taxi-ride each
way between the cruise docks and the
main attractions; for example, in the
cities of Hue and Halong Bay. Smaller
ships can navigate closer to the main
cities and attractions in a few places,
including Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City
and Hong Kong.
Industrial ports:
Several of the stops
are at unattractive container ports, where
giant cranes and gantries dominate the
view from cabin balconies and windows.
Sample cruise
Holland America’s 1,440-passenger
Volendam
is an appealing mid-sized
ship with a classic navy-blue hull, and it
forgoes glitz and theme park gimmicks
in pursuit of a more refined, traditional
cruise experience. Between December
and March, it does two-week cruises
between Singapore and Hong Kong,
one of which I recently sampled with
my family.
More affordable than luxury lines like
Seabourn, Silversea, Crystal, Regent
Seven Seas and Azamara that ply similar
Far East routes, the
Volendam
still
offers some built-in extras that similarly