We procrastinated on this post for so long we would have gone on the next cruise by then already.

Disclaimer: We got THE KEY on a huge discount. This gave us priority check in and check out, allowed us earlier disembarkation and provided us with a complimentary lunch on the first day as well as priority slots for rock-climbing and bumper car rides. It also gives you free Wi-Fi for the entirety of the cruise. We HIGHLY recommend it, and purchase it when it hits 35% discount.

The route

Day 1: Embark

Day 2: Cruising

Day 3-4: Ship docks in Laem Chabang, nearest areas to go to: Pattaya and Bangkok

Day 5: Cruising

Day 6: Nha Trang, Vietnam

Day 7: Ship docks in Phu My: nearest areas to go to: Ho Chih Minh

Day 8-9: Cruising

Day 10: Back to Singapore

The experience

Embarking

We got priority passes, as we learnt in our last cruise, so with THE KEY - we got past the checks pretty quickly. We also got our bags sent to our rooms instead of needing to carry it with us.

The embarking was pretty quick. If you’re new to cruising, you check in on the app/online and then choose a timing to head down to Marina Bay Cruise Center.

You find the queue that you’re allocated to, or ask any of the friendly staffers around. Checking in means you surrender your passport AND collect your cruise pass card. NEVER LOSE THAT.

Once you’re clear and boarded the ship you would be free to roam around until your dinner slot. People do go up earlier so they can play at the pool or chill around and drink till their rooms are ready for check in. You would need to head to your location for a short safety briefing. Happy boarding!

The first night was a tad bit less smooth as we navigated through choppy waters, so you could really feel the ship rock slightly. But this didn’t affect the trip in any way. Do bring seasick pills if you need to!

Activities we played

We tried most of the activities including the sports and trivia nights. We really love trivia so that was quite an experience. The RC (Royal Caribbean) app will have your room and details once you’ve logged in and gotten connected and you can see a list of activities that you can do every single day. It’s kinda like making a schedule for yourself. But for us, jokes on us, we planned to go for every single trivia there was.

Some activities on board include:

Sports: Rock Climbing, Table tennis, Badminton, Basketball, etc
iFly: this is paid, but The Key holders get a complimentary trial experience.
Bars and Pubs: you can drink to your hearts content here, check out the drink packages which you can buy on the ship. (Tip: Ask the pool bartender for a USD80 for 10 drinks package)
Trivia games are available every few hours at different bars around the ship. There’s also gameshows.
Watch musicals and skits, magic shows and other entertainment put on by great artistes and performers.
Eat - pretty much eat till you drop.

*Watch the Su Peng Fei magic show, it was really good!*

There are truly too many things to do to name them all, you probably will be tired out before you complete the list. Have fun!

*Breakfast on the balcony! What a view!*

Thailand and Vietnam Section - disembarking the ship

This is the part that gets tricky so here we go.

Thailand

DROP-OFF: In Thailand, the ship drops at a location called Laem Chabang.

It’s important to note because we googled before going on the cruise where the drop-off will be and there was no information as to where we would be dropped at so that made arranging travel and pick-ups very tough for us.

Laem Chabang is a 2 hour car ride from Bangkok, the capital. You would need to arrange your own transport there and back if you do not follow the cruise’s designated drop off. The driver cannot come into the cruise drop off point for some types of cars, and for others the car operator may let you know that you will have to pay an entrance fee to enter the port. Do check all these things before you take the cruise. You do not want to be stranded at the port, wanting to disembark but not being able to.

take note: you will need to exit the secure zone to access your private drop off — pass the D1/B1 depending on where you’re dropped off from the port

Tip: We think we made a mistake because we were spending more time travelling than we did in Bangkok. We did not account for how long the jam would take to clear so it was more travelling than anticipated.

What we did in Thailand:

Shrimp Head Tom Yum at Mit Ko Yuan - a quiet shop on the side of the road, family owned business. Really solid good tom yum soup. Note: they close by 2pm after lunch service, don’t be late!

Enjoyed amazing bread at Mont Nom Sod Toast - mind-blowing good toast. Thinking about it makes me hungry again.

The Artist House @ Bangkok - array of art and crafts, pottery, small cafes and friendship bracelet making areas.

Spa and Massage at Yunomori Onsen and Spa - there are a couple of branches take your pick

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the ship drops at two locations:

Nha Trang
Phu My — which is the Ho Chi Minh cruise drop-off

What we did in Nha Trang

Hon Chong Promontory

Lunch - such gooooood Pho.!!

National Oceanographic Museum - went to read maps and watch performances!

What we did in Ho Chi Minh

Saigon Central Post Office

Pizza 4Ps

Maison Marou - amazing chocolates

War Remnants Museum

Book Street
Some other things here and there!

Total cost of activities (2 pax, in USD)

Cruise base ticket cost: $2412 per person, but we booked a 50% discount offer = $2412 for 2
Service charge: $391
Taxes and port expenses: $231
The Key: after discount, around $400
$300 per port (Thailand and Vietnam) = $600 including transport and food
Drinks Package $80

Total for 2 people, 10 days all in = $4114~

final reflections

Would we go again? We would cruise again, but there is only so much you can eat and things you can do before you are tired. We enjoyed ourselves but felt the holiday was a bit longer than we would have liked. One of us got a bit sick on day 3 too, which meant we stayed in bed during the day 3 cruising and that was a tad bit of a bummer. But the service and food, nothing compares to Royal Caribbean. The service crew as always were a 10/10 and everything we needed was provided, more than what we could ask for. We loved the interactions with our servers at dinner and we even got them thank you cards at the end of the trip!

10 day Cruise Vacation on Royal Caribbean Cruises to Thailand and Vietnam

The route