We chose this cruise because it left from and returned to Singapore as we were in Malaysia for an extended time. We are age 64-75, from Canada. We liked the itinerary but unfortunately the day in Borocay was scrubbed due to tender problems. The ports in Vietnam were very interesting. We took the ship's bus (no tour, just the bus to the city) to Ho Chi Minh City and were there on our own. Thanks to Cruise Critic we found a group being organized in Hue and joined that group. We met up during the CC meet and greet. Our organizer used Tommy Tours and Transfers for Hue. recommended!As we had read beforehand, independent taxis and tours were not allowed into the immediate port area. They were available just outside the port, about a 10 minute walk from the ship. It was because of the distance from the port to Saigon that we chose to take the ship's bus, not trusting what we may or may not find outside the port.

We had cruised with Celebrity before but found that their standards had dropped, particularly in food. The food was unimaginative and there was little effort to incorporate local food in the menu in the main dining room. While there was Vietnamese and Filipino food at the buffet it did not appear in the main dining room menu. And while we were steaming through tropical waters there was no papaya and no mangoes available.

We used US dollars in Vietnem. There were no ATMs at the Hong Kong embarkation point. We obtained Filipino pesos from, and exchanged them back, at the ship's desk. The ship did not have Malaysian ringitt available. Read more