Stayed at the Novotel before we cruised, independant booking, cruise only. Very handy for river, etc. Embarkation was very easy and everything was well signed. Went to Night Safari, ok. As we left early we did not get much of a chance to do other things.
Had organised our own tours with local firm, very very good. The port is a short ride from the temples, etc. We unfortunately were told that we were leaving early, once we were on board, so we had to spend hours trying to email relatives and the company to let them know, Azamara said it was not possible to give free internet access, so had to purchase a $50 package...not a good start!!! However Bangkok is fantastic, the temples amazing, a feast for the eyes, the food is great and really cheap, eat out locally if you get a chance.
The weather let us down but the ship docked in good area easy for prom, they used to dock the other side of rive, so we were lucky, did our own thing. Easy to get around and use buses, etc, makes it more of an adventure.