Thailand to cash in on holiday cruise business

[kartman]

14 years ago when i had a package tour cruise flew into Phuket was bused to the port straight onto the ship and to sea (sure Cruise companys don't like port fees) did not spend 1 baht although on return did stay in Karon but now perhaps if i read all the bad press would just go straight back to the airport. All the ports we stopped at had max 8 hours on shore so ships cruising to Thailand are not going to stop 3/4 days.

[trainman34014]

How would they get to chiang mai???

high speed rail

I thought the high speed rail was only for fruit and vegetables

so they can be exported faster

The high speed railway is only for dreamers and others who see a chance for a substantial pay off. The lunch boxes that go with it are the idea of the biggest dreamer in the Government !

[CIHUAHUA]

Squeeze out as much as you can. Better if you sell rice.

[thrilled]

I think it's great come over to LOS by ship.

[bigbamboo]

Where do they get their information from?

Most cruise ships stop over for one day, occasionally two days if it's a late arrival or somewhere special, which hardly applies to Phuket.

If TAT really believe the average tourist stays three or four days then someone has been telling them porkies.

[noitom]

They can start by issuing a Thailand Elite card to Schettino, so that he can come train the locals. alt=thumbsup.gif width=25 height=19>

And he'll be bringing his own Grappa and girlfriend.

[bigbamboo]

They can start by issuing a Thailand Elite card to Schettino, so that he can come train the locals.

Not necessary. Thais already know how to flee the scene.

[Cnxforever]

They are just dreaming - the only cruise line which operates in the area is Star Cruises the rest is only passing through on World Cruises or very few seasonal calls.

Of the seasonal calls most visits are to China / Hongkong / Vietnam / Malaysia / Singapore and lately Burma.

Thailand features usually only with 2 ports Phuket (just passing through on the way to Europe) - and Laem Chabang for tours to Bangkok's Wat Pra Kheo.

Only small ships the size of Silversea's Silver Wind and Silver Cloud are able to sail all the way up river into Bangkok Port.

With the red tape that Thailand requires when it comes to ships clearance / customes / immigration paperwork / taxi mafia in ports like Phuket most cruise lines will stay away.

As the onboard purser you fill out several thousand arrival and departure cards in backward countries, copies and copies of passenger and crew manifests, copies and copies of customs declarations and a ton of other paper work - you will be classified as a third world destination with unreasonable requirements for "day visitors" which cruise passengers usually are - and if you expect a favourable report to the company about this port of call - then Thailand - you must be dreaming!

As a paying cruise passenger I expect to go ashore unhindered with my passenger ID card after the ship is cleared by local authorities in record time - see and enjoy the sights and return to the ship without any hassle - any destination not offering this kind of experience to a cruise company will be dropped from their itinerary.

Cruise companies only put up with this kind of bureaucratic crap for destinations like St. Petersburg / Russia because it used to be a "must see" destination for many passengers and even there passengers are now getting fed up to wait in line forever everywhere and they choose other destinations - Thailand / Phuket / Laem Chabang are not "must see" destinations!

I was ones told by a Thai customs official that the ships stores (top cruise line in the world) would be sealed during our 4 day 3 nights call to Bangkok and the customs official really thought we could tell our passengers on a 5 * ship who had paid many thousands of dollars for the cruise (all drinks inclusive) that they would have to do without any drinks for the next 3 days and nights because he thought he had to follow some rules unless he would be offered "that many bottles of whiskey and that many cartons of cigarettes and that many bottles of wine" to "bent" the rules.

Cruise ships don't work that way. Cruise companies do not expose their passengers to this kind of intimitation and inconvenience - they have a choice - to call a certain port or not!

Reports about passenger satisfaction are sent to the main office and they are considered when the itinerary is put together for the next few years.

If I paid 6000 $ average per person for a 12 day cruise and some corrupt customs official in Bangkok wants to tell me I can not have a drink in the bar or a glass of wine in dining room for the next 3 days / 4nights unless he gets a certain amount of "goodies" I will not only be upset but also will not book this itinerary again. (we are not talking about duty free alcohol taken ashore here but consumed onboard)

Needless to say the cruise line which carefully studies passengers comments at the end of the cruise will remove a port like Bangkok from their itinerary.

Cruise ships do not deal with rip off tuk tuk drivers because " they control " a certain village in Phuket - as their reputation is at stake.

Cruise Ships arrange and sell tours to their passengers through contracted travel agencies which are carefully chosen as cruise lines make lots of revenue on tours they sell to their passengers but are also responsible / liable for the tours they are selling - again passenger satisfaction is priority because only a satisfied passenger will return.

So until real quality is offered, immigration procedures are simplified and "mafias" - official or not - who bother passengers are eliminated - cruise lines will never seriously think of Thailand as a repeat / permanent destination.

Cruise Lines do not need Thailand - they can call any other port they want - they choose ports which are "passenger friendly" hassle free because they want their passengers to enjoy themselves without problems - so they will return again and again. And any passenger inconvenienced for whatever reason will not choose a certain cruise line / itinerary again.

Any cruise destination which inconveniences passengers will be dropped from the itinerary like a hot potato - thats how it works when you have a choice - Thailand just has to wake up to this reality.

By the way one of the worlds top cruise lines - Silversea Cruises - previously objected to the Tuk Tuk mafia's blockade in Phuket has dropped almost all except very few calls to Thailand on their 2013/2014 Asian itinerary in favor of Vietnam / Burma / Singapore / Hongkong.....they don't want their passengers to be hassled and inconvenienced by people who rip off visitors for a living in Phuket.

So until Thai officialdom gets it's act together - Thai ports as a major cruise destinations will be nothing more than wishful thinking!

[PoodMaiDai]

Can you IMAGINE the amount of scams and violence that will take place against them if the Thais know for a fact they are all leaving in 8 - 24 hours. They more or less already have a free pass to do whatever they want to tourists, but that would be like handing them treasure chests full of gold.

[Sydebolle]

So we are looking forward to Thailand - the hub of all cruise pit stops then!

[Ricardo]

A one stop shop sounds great

Ship stops at port

Tourists head to gangway to disembark

Tourists place ALL their money in box and return to cabin and pose for photo width=20 alt=biggrin.png>

Money is divided by tuk tuk's, jet ski and taxi operators

Perfect holiday width=32 alt=cheesy.gif>

Not to forget the politicians, amongst those other three special-interest groups, mustn't let the poo-yais miss-out !

But didn't former-DPM Chalerm already eliminate the jet-ski mafia, 90+ days ago ?