Best cruise ship currently operating out of Singapore?

[yflyer]

Hello everyone, possibly slightly off-topic, but I am trying to persuade the wife and kids to try a short cruise vacation.

From Mrs yflyer's perspective, ships are crowded and often the catering is mediocre. The kids have never been on a cruise ship.

Can anyone suggest a particular ship or company, operating cruises out of Singapore, that we should explore as a first cruise for a short break (Say 5-7 days or even less), which is less prone to large crowds, and which would offer both good cabins and catering that would satisfy a foodie?

Any advice on a decent itinerary would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

[9V-JKL]

http://www.cunard.com/cruise-search/...503-sin1-hkg1/

I look forward to the TR

[yflyer]

http://www.cunard.com/cruise-search/...503-sin1-hkg1/

Thanks 9V-JKL! I had no idea the Queen Mary 2 operated cruises out of Singapore. She looks like quite an impressive vessel.

I look forward to the TR

Yes about time someone posted a TR about a cruise on this forum :-)

It will be a while before I post one, though! I wish I led the kind of lifestyle where I could book a cruise on impulse (QM2 departs 13 Feb...). As it is, I keep a roll-a-board permanently packed and ready to travel only for business trips!

But I would definitely keep Cunard and the QM2 in mind. In a different league from Star Cruises or Royal Caribbean, in my mind (anyone with an opinion on those?).

[SQtraveller]

post deleted

[9V-JKL]

QM2 TR for you yflyer

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/234638

[yflyer]

QM2 TR for you yflyer

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/234638

Thanks, 9V-JKL!

They really pamper guests on the QM2. Quite different vibe from some of the other cruise operators in Asia or the US.

The waters in the Atlantic crossing between UK and New York look a lot rougher than what you get in Asia.

[tiltonhall]

Many cruise lines sail through Singapore. Some only come seasonally, during the "winter season" when Asia is warm and it is too cold to sail in Alaska and Europe, while some cruise lines are positioned year round in Asia catering to the Asian source market.

In the high-end luxury segment, you can find the following cruise lines with cruises sailing from Singapore:
- Crystal
- Silversea
- Seabourn
- Oceania
- Regent

The above are the 5-star or 6-star luxury cruise lines. Expensive and usually with "small" ships of 300 to 800 pax, typically. Most of them only call in Singapore during the winter period from December to April.

Then, you have the giant cruise lines, also high quality, but catering more to the mass market (i.e. 2,000 to 3,000 pax). Cruise lines such as:
- Princess
- Royal Caribbean
- Cunard
- Costa
- Star Cruises
Several of them have ships positioned year-round in Asia as they focus on growing their market from the populations of the region, especially North Asia (China, Japan, Korea) and including India and South East Asia as well.

If you want to find a good cruise suiting your interest, try talking to a travel agent specialising in cruises (you can see them in the newspapers). Unlike the airline industry, cruise lines do take care of travel agents well, educate them and compensate them well with commissions, to be part of their marketing network. The agent's selling price is usually the same or lower than what the cruise line would sell direct on the internet.

There's all type of cruises ... and i haven't even mentioned niche areas like river cruising, adventure cruising, etc. So lots of choices ...

[yflyer]

I hear from relatives that Princess Cruise is pretty good. Large ship so it doesn't feel so crowded

I would not mind trying a mega-ship, just to experience the sheer scale of it.

But then, I also have this picture in my mind of a large crowd descending on the ship's buffet like a swarm of locusts...

[yflyer]

Many cruise lines sail through Singapore.

<...snip...>

There's all type of cruises ... and i haven't even mentioned niche areas like river cruising, adventure cruising, etc. So lots of choices ...

Thanks, tiltonhall! Very useful info...

[Kyo]

Interesting, might look into this...

[Guitarsingapore]

My family loves to cruise and we have been on many cruises, most with Royal Caribbean but now trying other cruise lines.

We are ok with large ships, but don't expect the superior service. It is a lot of fun though, if you like cruising.

[MSPeconomist]

Many cruise lines sail through Singapore. Some only come seasonally, during the "winter season" when Asia is warm and it is too cold to sail in Alaska and Europe, while some cruise lines are positioned year round in Asia catering to the Asian source market.

In the high-end luxury segment, you can find the following cruise lines with cruises sailing from Singapore:
- Crystal
- Silversea
- Seabourn
- Oceania
- Regent

The above are the 5-star or 6-star luxury cruise lines. Expensive and usually with "small" ships of 300 to 800 pax, typically. Most of them only call in Singapore during the winter period from December to April.

Then, you have the giant cruise lines, also high quality, but catering more to the mass market (i.e. 2,000 to 3,000 pax). Cruise lines such as:
- Princess
- Royal Caribbean
- Cunard
- Costa
- Star Cruises
Several of them have ships positioned year-round in Asia as they focus on growing their market from the populations of the region, especially North Asia (China, Japan, Korea) and including India and South East Asia as well.

If you want to find a good cruise suiting your interest, try talking to a travel agent specialising in cruises (you can see them in the newspapers). Unlike the airline industry, cruise lines do take care of travel agents well, educate them and compensate them well with commissions, to be part of their marketing network. The agent's selling price is usually the same or lower than what the cruise line would sell direct on the internet.

There's all type of cruises ... and i haven't even mentioned niche areas like river cruising, adventure cruising, etc. So lots of choices ...

I wouldn't put Costa and Cunard in the same category. To me, Cunard ranks significantly higher, although it's still huge ships.

In the high end luxury segment, do any ships with sails visit Singapore? Of course, this would bbe a different kind of luxury, with even smaller ships.

[Guitarsingapore]

Cruise critic is your place to find cruise info, though most of the reviews are for sailings out of Caribbean and Europe.

Royal Caribbean sails out of Singapore. For a review with plenty of pictures, this sailing was to Borneo - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813495

[yflyer]

Cruise critic is your place to find cruise info, though most of the reviews are for sailings out of Caribbean and Europe.

Royal Caribbean sails out of Singapore. For a review with plenty of pictures, this sailing was to Borneo - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813495

Thanks for the useful link, Guitarsingapore!

[Guitarsingapore]

Thanks for the useful link, Guitarsingapore!

Glad you found it useful.

We often fly to Europe and other places to cruise, rather than cruise out of Singapore. If you are interested, here are some other reviews done that may be useful reference for you and your family. Three different cruise lines.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL Jade) Greece and Turkey Cruise
http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogsp...ce-turkey.html

Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas Iceland and Norway Cruise
http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogsp...ay-cruise.html

Celebrity Silhouette, Med and Adriatic Seas cruise.
http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogsp...-adriatic.html