Transport minister pledges Thailand will become hub of luxury liners

[steven100]

I spilt my beer on the keyboard when I seen this envisaged image of Pattaya .  

 

are they all dreamers  !  .......   absolute knucklehead for even thinking it will look like the picture

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by steven100

[Leaver]

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

I spilt my beer on the keyboard when I seen this envisaged image of Pattaya .  

 

are they all dreamers  !  .......   absolute knucklehead for even thinking it will look like the picture

 

 

They are not dreamers, just misleaders.  ????  

 

Invest in Pattaya because we are building great things like this.  Meanwhile, flooding, beach erosion, uneven sidewalks, ocean water quality, scams etc etc are not addressed.  

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Leaver

[pomchop]

I have been on over 70 cruises all over the world. 

 

Laem Chabang port is controlled by a taxi mafia that is one of the worst I have ever seen anywhere and they rule with an iron fist insuring that passengers get fleeced.  It all operates very openly with posted taxi fares to Pattaya and Bangkok at prices that are truly obscene.  Obviously a Mr Big is receiving some very nice fat envelopes and TAT is either on the take or scared to mention the stain that this creates for visiting cruise passengers.  The ships dock at a mile or more walk from the front gate so good luck with older passengers being able to escape the mafia.  Heaven help any taxi that are not allowed by Mafia that tries to pick up any passengers near the ships.

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, pomchop said:

Laem Chabang port is controlled by a taxi mafia that is one of the worst I have ever seen anywhere

And until Thailand has the courage to take on situations like this, it will not attract the cruises. I believe the Laem Chabang taxi mafia even scared off the US Navy, when they tried to supply mini-buses for the crew to get into town! How long were the jet-ski scammers allowed to cheat and bully with impunity?

[pomchop]

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

And until Thailand has the courage to take on situations like this, it will not attract the cruises. I believe the Laem Chabang taxi mafia even scared off the US Navy, when they tried to supply mini-buses for the crew to get into town! How long were the jet-ski scammers allowed to cheat and bully with impunity?

The last time I was there I would say maybe 1/3 or more of the people on the ship got so fed up with the rip off taxi mafia ($400 USD r/t Bangkok for example) that they just stayed on the ship meaning that they spent nothing in Thailand.  Truly disgusting.

[Leaver]

14 hours ago, jacko45k said:

And until Thailand has the courage to take on situations like this, it will not attract the cruises. I believe the Laem Chabang taxi mafia even scared off the US Navy, when they tried to supply mini-buses for the crew to get into town! How long were the jet-ski scammers allowed to cheat and bully with impunity?

 

It's been happening for years, all over Thailand.

 

I remember this one, in Phuket.  It happened on more than one occasion.  One time, the US Navy pulled anchor and went somewhere else, no sailors even getting off the ship, taking their millions of dollars, not baht, with them.

 

Until the Thai authorities address the terrible land transport issues for tourists, Thailand will never attract high end tourists.

 

 

[clivebaxter]

My friends came here on a cruise a few years ago docked at that port in Chonburi, they were told it was the port for Bangkok. Bus trip into Bangkok took almost 3 hours, left an hour and a half here then back on the bus. They were not impressed, just had time for a meal in MBK food court and that was it. I would have thought the sea here was too shallow for those enormous ships like Princess line have now

[oznomad]

On 12/10/2021 at 3:16 PM, RichardColeman said:

only an idiot would get on a cruise ship for the next 5 years , would have thought the stranded cruisers during the past 2 years would put anyone off.

Actually, since Sep 2020, there have been 5 million 'idiots' on 240 ships, visiting 87 countries.

Perhaps a broadening of your horizons might be of advantage.

[gargamon]

39 minutes ago, oznomad said:

Actually, since Sep 2020, there have been 5 million 'idiots' on 240 ships, visiting 87 countries.

You have a link from a reputable source for that?

[pagallim]

Phuket is already a regular call in for cruise ships, typically their itinerary is Singapore, Penang, Phuket, India, Sri Lanka, Dubai.   As others have pointed out, the passengers are only ashore for hours, again typically 0900 - 1700, and many of them do pre-booked tours.     Big earners for local businesses they are not. 

 

Many will remember at the start of the pandemic, cruise ships were having major problems and being denied berthing for quite some time.   I doubt that cruises will figure very highly on most peoples vacation plans for the foreseeable future.