Cruise Lines

Spirit of Adventure stayed overnight in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) last night so today it was time to take a tour of some of the city's highlights. So it was back on the coach for another hair-raising drive trying to avoid the 3.8 million scooters.

I have to take my hat off to the drivers on these excursion coaches for the very calm way they negotiate their way around the scooters just at the moment the scooters are negotiating their way around the coach.

Imagine this: He's turning left, but they keep driving around his left side until he is 90 degrees across the road and there really is just no more room for them to squeeze through. Well all right, maybe room for just one. Basically, the word stop just doesn't exist on Saigon's roads.

I decided to put Vien's advice from Monday on how to get across the road to the test. Walk slowly and don't stop. Easy ... ok so there was no traffic the first time but I did also give it a go on a much busier road and I'm still here to write my blog!

Our guide for today's highlights tour was Dung, known as Zoom for his love of photography. In fact, the tour turned into something of a lesson in how to take pictures ("take a picture here, use your flash, push it to 400 ISO") as we visited the history museum, the church of Notre Dame de Saigon, the oh-so-grand Post Office and the former presidential palace, now the Reunification Conference Hall.

A North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates at 11.30am on April 30 1975, signalling the end of the Vietnam War. Zoom told me President Minh, who formerly surrendered to the northern troops, had only taken office at 5pm on April 28. Must be one of the shortest presidencies in history.

We also visited the Rex Hotel, a favourite with foreign correspondents reporting on the war. Having seen the glorious colonial decor and rooftop garden, I can understand why they liked it so much. When I come back - like everyone else I was smitten with Saigon, so note I say when, not if - I'm definitely booking a room there.

It felt a really friendly city and although there are people hanging around all the main tourist sights trying to sell things, they are rank amateurs compared to the Egyptians. A nice smile, polite no thank you and they set their sights on someone else.

Although officially a socialist country, capitalism rules - and is actively encouraged by the government.

I was especially interested to see how the scooter has become a status symbol in Vietnam. Zoom said you can buy one for $300, but it's made in China, so they all aspire to buy $9,000 one. "You are buying respect," he explained.

Vien was more specific. With a $9,000 bike that girl you've always wanted to talk to is more likely to take off her mask (remember I said the women all wear masks when riding their scooters?) and smile back. That means things are happening. Then it's off to one of the city's coffee houses and the sound of wedding bells.

And all because the lady loved his bike.

We left Saigon at lunch time Tuesday. Next stop Na Trang, also in Vietnam.

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu.

Royal Caribbean International says Allure of the Seas, the second of two world's biggest cruise ships - 225,282 tons and with room for 5,400 passengers, will be launching early. The first revenue cruise will now be December 5 this year instead of December 12 as planned.

Sound familiar? That's because the same thing happened with sister ship Oasis of the Seas, which was also due to set off on its inaugural on December 12 last year and launched one week early on December 5, but they threw in an extra four-night cruise to Labadee on December 1 as well.

Clients booked on Allure's original inaugural can switch to the new maiden voyage - a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise. If they switch by the end of February, they will be guaranteed the same cabin.

Prices for the December 5 sailing start from £774 per person cruise-only. Clients already booked will pay the lower of either the price paid or the current price.

This was the day I had been so looking forward to. An excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside Ho Chi Minh City or, as the Vietnamese call it, Saigon.

Crashing and banging on the ropes outside my cabin announced Spirit of Adventure's arrival in the city just before 9am on Monday. When I emerged onto the aft deck for breakfast, there was Silversea's Silver Whisper moored up behind us. First other cruise ship I've seen on this trip.

The big cruise ships have to dock way a long way out of town, but Spirit of Adventure was able to sail right up the Saigon River and moor in the city, 85km from the sea. Once we were loaded on our excursion coach, we turned a few corners out of the port and dived into the chaos that is Saigon roads.

There are eight million people in this city and 3.8 million scooters. To cross the road, you should walk slowly and never stop because the drivers will see you and steer around you. At least that's what our guide Vien said. So far I haven't put it to the test.

Drivers have to wear helmets by law. Woman also wear masks against pollution and gloves so they don't get tanned by the sun. "Men want to wear masks too but it's seen as a bit womanly," Vien whispered.

I'll bring you more about Saigon in the next post (we're in the city overnight so it's the city tour tomorrow) because today was the tunnels. They are about two hours' drive outside the city, in the province of Cu Chi, which was a Viet Cong stronghold during the war with the US.

Around 15,000 Viet Cong lived in the province, many of them in these tunnels, where they could hide and leap out at unsuspecting GIs. The entrance to the tunnels was incredibly small - this is me going inside, ready to shut the "door" behind me. I was the only one in our group small enough and agile enough to be able to give it a go. That really made my day!

The others had to make do with going into the tunnels that have been "westernised" - that is, they have made the entrance bigger! You can see once inside, they are still not very big and many either wouldn't try going in or turned back when they realised how small and claustrophobic it would be.

The first tunnels were dug in 1948, when the Vietnamese were fighting to be free of the French. Then there were 20km of tunnel. Twenty years later, they stretched 200km, were on three levels, either three metres, six metres or up to 10 metres below ground, and even ran under an American/South Vietnamese army base at one point.

As well as going inside the tunnels, we were able to see some of the booby traps the Viet Cong used to snare the Americans. It's brutal stuff. This was a pit, camouflaged with grass. When the GIs stood on it, it swung around, they fell in and were pierced by the sharpened bamboo stakes below. And there was a lot more in this vein.

There was also a hospital - well, a bed but no anasthetic where they would operate in an emergency - a workshop where they made weapons and another where they made VC uniforms.

Vien had some fascinating stories from the war. His was an affluent family so he and his sisters had a driver to take them to school and his mother also had a chauffeur to take her around. Turned out one was Viet Cong, the other was CIA, each in a covert job trying to get information about the other side. And neither ever knew who the other was!

After the war ended, life was very tough under the Communists and 90% of the South Vietnamese tried to leave. Remember the boat people?

But by 1985, when the old guard died out and younger people took over the government, things started to improve. And remember I said they call it Saigon? "We won the war as the name is still the same," Vien said.

I'm probably not the only person who really only associates Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot and the Killing Fields.

It was a very important time in the country's history, and of course we should all know about it, but I was amazed - and just a little humbled - when we visited yesterday on Spirit of Adventure to discover his regime lasted just four years, from 1975 to 1979.

That means Cambodia had an awful lot of history both before and after that I knew nothing about. After attending a very interesting lecture about Thailand given by former British ambassador Sir James Hodge en route to Vietnam, it seems quite a bit of it was spent invading their Thai neighbours. But that was a long time ago.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, at peace only since 1998, because once Pol Pot had gone it was still ruled by Communist dictators and in the grip of civil war.

My initial plan on seeing it on the itinerary for this cruise was to do the excursion to Phnom Penh, the capital. But that's before I saw it was a four-hour drive each way - eight hours on the road - and you had just four hours there.

It would have been fascinating to visit, and very soboring to see the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed thousands of people, but I also noticed that if I did the local sightseeing tour in Sihanoukville, the port town where we were tied up, I would also be able to join the Evening in Cambodia excursion and get a taste of local food. Decision made.

Incidentally, the few people I've spoken to who did do the 12-hour trip to the capital said it was a very long day but was well worth going.

There isn't much to see per se in Sihanoukville, but it was fascinating to get a feel for the local culture and hear Bora, our guide, talk about his country. Actually it was also quite a challenge to listen to him as his English was poor, but he was quite charming - so cheerful and so keen to try to give us an understanding about his country.

It would have been so easy to go for the sympathy vote by dwelling on those terrible Pol Pot times, but he didn't. He talked about them in the same even tones that he talked about the French times, the civil war, the communists. It was his history and now they are rebuilding. He told us about that too. He was visibly so pleased that we had come to see his country.

First stop, the Ngean Pagoda, we picked up our first batch of young children, this lot just intrigued to see the things we were carrying (in my case my pen and notebook) but by the time we visited Tumnub Rolok fishing village they had become more demanding.

One woman made the mistake of handing out either some money or pens to a couple of the kids and rapidly became a modern-day Pied Piper.

In between the pagoda and fishing village, we had time at the local market - a fascinating, noisy, busy, grubby place selling clothes, souvenirs and the most scary-looking fishy things and sticky desserts, made all the more yucky because when a buyer came along, they were spooned into little plastic bags and handed over. They really did not look at all appetising.

I'll post some pictures, either when I feel strong enough to take on the steam-driven computers on Spirit of Adventure or when I get home.

The market made me realise that evening's local dinner might be a bit of a problem for me as I don't eat fish or seafood, so back at the ship I tucked into extra lunch. A good thing too!

Dinner was a buffet with fish soup, a shrimp salad, squid spring rolls and pasta with a fish sauce on the menu (there was also beef bourgignon but after the woman next to me pronounced it was a good thing she had her own teeth to chew it, I decided to give it a miss).

Luckily, on a cruise ship you're never going to starve so I just sat back and enjoyed the rest of evening. The Sokha Resort where we were dining had set out tables on the beach, we had lovely smiley waiters who could not do enough to help (some of the more elderly passengers found walking in the sand quite hard) and were treated to a performance by a local dance troupe. Apparently all were orphans who are picked early and go to a special dance school, which gives them special privileges.

Back on board, the ropes were cast and we set off. A day at sea and next stop Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where we are staying for a day and a half. I'll see you there.

My thanks to Sagaman for responding to my blog about the price of a 33cl bottle of Becks on a selection of cruise lines.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines came out cheapest at £2.20 a bottle, but Sagaman says Saga can top - as in undercut - that. Just £2 a bottle.

But sorry, Spirit of Adventure, the ship I am on at the moment somewhere off the coast of Vietnam, is the clear winner. A bottle of Becks on here is just £1.70. If you're worried about the price of a pint, this is the place to be.

In fact, if you want a pint, it's a mere £2. There's Heineken, Heineken or Heineken on draft so not a lot of choice. But at that price, who's complaining!

Last time I visited Bangkok I arrived on P&O Cruises' Aurora and we docked at Laem Chebang, from where it was a two-hour drive to the city (apparently we were lucky - it can take up to three hours if the traffic is bad).

However, Spirit of Adventure is a much smaller ship so it was able to sail up the Chao Praya river and park close to the city. I joined it straight from the airport on Wednesday and we stayed docked overnight so there was some time for sightseeing on Thursday.

Spirit of Adventure includes at least one excursion per port in the cruise price, which is very civilised. For Bangkok, there were two, one to the Temple of the Golden Buddha, the other to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Most of us chose the latter, which proved a good move.

The drive to the temple took us through the city's Indian town, past the flower market, where the pavements are packed stalls selling mainly yellow flowers - it's the colour of Buddha and of gold - and also through the very colourful Chinatown - all the more colourful as the streets are dressed up with red lanterns for the Chinese New Year on February 14.

"This is a very big area for buying gold," Oh, our guide, said (OK, it's a nickname but at least it's easy to spell).

I was more interested in the food stalls and shops, and really wished we could get out and wander for a while. But the big Buddha was waiting. And boy, was he big. Really stunning. We had time to walk around him and see the ladies dropping coins in the buckets along one side of the temple for good luck.

They are supposed to put a coin in each, but I noticed they were being selective, no doubt to save on the pennies. I guess that means the good luck will be selective as well!

"There are three seasons in Thailand - hot, hotter and hottest - and you are lucky because you have come during hot," Oh told us back on the coach. One man had collapsed while we were in the Ordination Hall, another attraction in the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, overcome with the heat, I suspect, and others were starting to moan and groan. I do wonder what they expected the weather to be like in Thailand.

Next stop was the Marble Temple, which was beautiful but disappointing after the grandeur Reclining Buddha, and then on to the inevitable shopping stop.

Oh did her best to dress it up by explaining how the government had encouraged local crafts during a previous economic downturn and at this stop we would see local jewellery being made, but at the end of the day it was just a shopping opportunity with highly-priced goods and Rottweiler sales staff.

"I was just going to walk through but I ended up buying a ring," one woman told me later. She was not the only one who had been "grabbed". Happily they completely ignored me as I walked through, realised the prices were way out of my league and went to watch the parking attendants trying to manage the coaches and mini buses coming in and out bringing hordes of unwitting tourists, which was a lot more fun (and shows how boring the shop was).

At 4pm that day, Spirit of Adventure's ropes were cast and we set sail down river for our next stop, Ko Kood, an island on the way to Cambodia. It's just a beach stop so a day off from the intellectual stuff, but that all starts again tomorrow when we visit Sihanoukville.

I'll see you there.

Someone had to fill the gap Ocean Village is leaving when it is closed down in November this year by launching Brit-friendly cruises from Palma, and I have to admit I always thought it was going to be P&O Cruises.

The cruise line is ultra-British and Ventura has proved itself a good family-friendly ship that appeals either to first-time cruisers or those who like a more relaxed holiday at sea, with not too much of the formal stuff and freedom to dine when they choose.

Of course Ocean Village is being shut down because parent company Carnival UK said they could not make the flycruise model pay so I don't know if ex-Palma cruises were actually ever considered.

But it's irrelevant now anyway because Royal Caribbean International has just announced it is stepping in to fill the OV gap. I'm intrigued to find out what they are doing differently so they think they can make it pay.

Starting May 2011, Grandeur of the Seas will be based in Palma, sailing seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises to France, Italy and the Balearic Islands that will be on sale only in the UK and Ireland that can be put back to back into a 14-night voyage.

It's a clever move. Spending two or three days sailing over the Bay of Biscay to get to the Med is not everyone's idea of fun, especially if the weather is bad, which is always a very strong possibility over that stretch of water.

And aside from the chance of choppy seas, many people - and especially families and young people - can't be bothered with all those sea days (and don't forget you have to do the same journey coming home). They just want to get to the sun as fast as possible. And then get home just as fast.

For those who do like the Bay challenge, there's always Royal's Independence of the Seas, which is now sailing year-round from Southampton.

Grandeur, which holds a maximum 2,446 passengers, has Royal's trademark rock-climbing wall and Adventure Ocean kids' club as well as all the usual cruise trappings including a spa and gym, bars, lounges and plenty of places to eat.

Prices will be released next month, when the cruises go on sale. As Royal will be going head to head with Thomson Cruises, I predict they will be very competitive.

Watch this space.

I'll be spending the next two weeks cruising in Asia, visiting Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo and Brunei, on Spirit of Adventure.

It promises to be a real adventure, with river rafting, a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam and hiking in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo on the menu.

Internet willing, I'll be keeping you posted about my adventures as I go, as well as keeping an eye on other cruise news, so do keep looking in.

What was that I was saying about the cruise lines' obsession with safety and security?

Carnival Cruise Lines has told embarking passengers they are no longer allowed to lock the luggage they hand over to porters for delivery to their cabin "to maintain a safe and secure environment".

I think it is safe to say the idea has gone down like a lead balloon with most passengers.

Aside from the fact that many dislike the thought that porters, security guards and whoever happens to be wandering by at the time is free to nose through their luggage, there is a very slightest suspicion that this is nothing to do with safety and security at all but rather is an attempt to stop all those fun-loving passengers smuggling booze into their cabins.

Here's what John Frenaye, writing in Travel Research Online, said:

"As we all know, alcohol sales are one of the top moneymakers on a cruise. And as anyone familiar with Cruise Critic knows, most of the Carnival loyalists routinely share stories on how to best smuggle booze on board."

And they say we Brits are tight because we object to the cruise line's forced tipping policies!

Frenaye also makes the point, as do Cruise Critic readers, that there is a small issue of liability here. Just who would be liable if something were to disappear from your suitcase between you handing it to the porter and it arriving in the cabin?

Not Carnival, because the porters are not their employees."Try to sue the Longshoreman's Union. Fat chance," writes pnjkeith on the Cruise Critic.

Everyone writing in response to Frenaye's comment is also unhappy, including several agents. "I've been selling Carnival for over 23 years and guess what - that will be stopping soon," writes Kenagain.

Can't help feeling this will be a decision Carnival lives to regret.

I was sad but not surprised to see Star Clippers has decided to drop Antigua, for the rest of this winter season at least, after one of its passengers was murdered there last month.

Not surprised because the last thing any cruise line wants is to risk the safety and security of passengers - an irritating phrase most of the time but I'll admit it maybe has some validity in this case.

Sad because my daughter and I had a lovely few days at the Blue Water Hotel on the island last October. We found it a friendly place, but with the usual annoying hassle if you wanted to buy something at a market stall.

The taxi drivers were efficient, chatty and all abided absolutely to the rates per journey system laid out by the government or whoever (such a good idea as it saves having to haggle every time you want to go anywhere).

Murders can and do happen everywhere. The problem is, it's happened too many times lately in Antigua. This was the fourth murder in less than two years.

As I've said before, it's easy for a destination to get a bad reputation, far more difficult to win back it's good name.

Star Clippers is the first to leave, but I suspect other cruise lines will follow - not immediately maybe, and they'll say it's nothing to do with this incident, but slowly, slowly they'll find other islands to visit because they can't afford to take a risk.

For once, I hope I am wrong.