Twelve nights round trip from Singapore aboard Diamond Princess, calling at Port Klang, Langkawi, Penang, Phuket, Ko Samui and Laem Chabang. Four days at sea.
Every time on this page is ship’s time. It is set by the captain and does not always match the local clock — or your phone.
Six ports, and four days at sea. You end where you started.
Singapore is where you board and where you return. The line on the map is indicative; the course a ship actually steers is set on the day for weather and traffic.
Times are the ship’s scheduled arrival and departure and can move for weather or port traffic. All-aboard is normally 30 minutes before sailing.
Ships use either the Marina Bay Cruise Centre or the older terminal at HarbourFront, and both sit on the MRT network, so the city is a train ride rather than a taxi fare. She sails at four in the afternoon, so the first evening is aboard. Embark Singapore.
This is a gateway rather than a destination. Kuala Lumpur is the day: the Petronas Towers, the mosque and colonial buildings around Merdeka Square, and the limestone caves and coloured staircase at Batu Caves on the northern edge. Chinatown and the central market fill an afternoon if you would rather walk than tick things off. Klang town itself, nearer the port, has a good Indian food street and very little else. Ships berth at the cruise terminal at Port Klang, which is a working port with nothing around it; Kuala Lumpur is about an hour away by road. Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur.
Langkawi is a beach and duty-free island rather than a sightseeing one. The cable car up Machinchang and the curved sky bridge at the top is what most people come for, and the view runs to Thailand on a clear day. Otherwise it is Cenang beach, a mangrove boat trip through the limestone, or the waterfalls inland. Kuah itself is shops rather than scenery. Rain here is heavy and brief rather than all day. Ships berth at the jetty at Kuah, the island's main town, with the duty-free shops and the waterfront eagle statue a short walk away. The cable car closes in high wind and for maintenance, and it is the one thing most passengers plan the day around.
George Town is a walking day. The old quarter is shophouses, clan houses and Chinese, Indian and colonial buildings within a few blocks of each other, with street art scattered through it that people follow like a trail. Food is the other reason to come, and the hawker stalls do it better than the restaurants. Penang Hill and the Kek Lok Si temple are out of town and need a taxi, which is a half-day in itself. Swettenham Pier is inside George Town, so the shophouse streets, the clan jetties and Little India are all within a walk of the ship. The funicular up Penang Hill queues badly in the middle of the day, which is exactly when a ship's passengers arrive at it.
Phuket is beaches, limestone and a very developed tourist strip, and which of those you get depends on how far you are willing to drive. Phang Nga Bay by longtail or speedboat is the scenery people remember: karst islands straight out of the water, sea caves, quiet lagoons. Ashore, the old town in Phuket City has Sino-Portuguese shophouses and is the more interesting walk. Patong is the busy beach and is where most tenders land. It is a tender call for much of the year, so weather in the bay can shorten or cancel the day ashore.
The first of five days at sea. She is running for Ko Samui. Everything on board is open and the day is yours to spend on it.
The second of five days at sea. She is running for Ko Samui. Everything on board is open and the day is yours to spend on it.
The third of five days at sea. She is running for Ko Samui. Everything on board is open and the day is yours to spend on it.
Samui is a beach day with a few fixed points. Chaweng and Lamai are the long swimming beaches on the east side, and both are a drive across the island from where the tenders land. The big Buddha at Bang Rak, the Na Muang waterfalls and the coconut plantations inland are the sightseeing version. Nathon itself is the working town, with a market and shophouses along the water, and is worth an hour if you would rather not travel. There is no cruise pier; the ship anchors off and tenders to the pier at Nathon on the west coast, and everywhere else on the island is a taxi from there. A tender call with an open anchorage, so swell or wind can cancel it.
Nobody comes for Laem Chabang. Bangkok is the reason for the call: the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, the river boats, and the markets. It is a long day for a short list. Pattaya is much nearer and much less interesting, though the Sanctuary of Truth, an enormous carved teak building on the shore, is genuinely worth the shorter drive. Ayutthaya, the old capital and its brick temple ruins, is the other option and is inland. Laem Chabang is a container port with nothing walkable around it; Pattaya is roughly 40 minutes away by road and Bangkok around two hours. NOT AN OVERNIGHT. A 15-hour call, 08:00 to 23:00 the same day -- see `laem_chabang_overnight` below.
The fourth of five days at sea. She is running for Singapore. Everything on board is open and the day is yours to spend on it.
The fifth of five days at sea. She is running for Singapore. Everything on board is open and the day is yours to spend on it.
The cruise ends here and you disembark in the morning. Ships use either the Marina Bay Cruise Centre or the older terminal at HarbourFront, and both sit on the MRT network, so the city is a train ride rather than a taxi fare. Disembark. 07:00 is the 2027-01-02 departure (M702). The 2027-01-14 departure (M703) is published as arriving 05:00. If only one time can be shown, 07:00 is the lead sailing.
Six grades on this ship. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest is wider than most people expect, and so is the difference in what you get.
About fifteen square metres, no window, twin beds that convert to a queen. The cheapest grade by a clear step, and completely dark with the lights off. This is a mid-sized ship by current standards, so an interior cabin is never far from daylight, which takes some of the sting out of the grade.
A picture window, sealed, on the lower decks. The cheapest grade with daylight and a horizon, which is the one that matters on the Japan and Australia runs where the sea can be lively. Several categories within this grade are partly blocked by lifeboats or ship structure and are sold as obstructed - check the cabin, not the grade.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors onto a private veranda with a table and chairs. On Diamond Princess's Japan itineraries this is the grade we would point most people at, because a great deal of the scenery is coastal and passes while you are aboard. Some balconies on the lower decks are overlooked from above.
Noticeably more room than a balcony cabin: a separate sitting area with a sofa bed, a walk-in wardrobe, two televisions and a bathroom with both a bath and a shower. It is a large cabin rather than a suite - no priority boarding, no separate dining room, and none of the suite privileges come with it.
The same mini-suite in a better position, plus a reserved section of the dining room with its own seating, a wine set-up on arrival and a handful of small extras. Princess called this Club Class until recently, so older brochures and some agents still use that name for it. The cabin itself is no larger.
From around forty-three square metres upward, with a full separate living room, a large balcony and the privileges that actually distinguish the grade: priority boarding and disembarkation, complimentary laundry, reserved dining and specialty restaurant access. Family suites are three connected rooms. There are few of them, and they go a long way ahead.
Midship and low is the calmest ride. A ship pitches around its middle and rolls around its centreline, so the middle of the ship low down moves least. Forward and high is the worst combination.
A “guarantee” fare is a category, not a room. It saves real money and the line assigns your actual cabin whenever it likes — sometimes days before departure, sometimes with an obstructed view. Fine for a couple who do not mind. A poor choice if you are travelling with children, need a specific location, or are prone to seasickness. On some lines a family of four booked this way can be split across two cabins.
The fare you compare online rarely covers everything. Tick anything you want priced with the cruise — bought with the booking it is usually cheaper than on board, and you know the total before you go.
Singapore. Cambodian passport: NO VISA REQUIRED. Cambodia does not appear on Singapore's list of nationalities requiring an entry visa (the ICA list of 40 visa-required countries and territories). Passport must have at least 6 months validity. Australian passport: NO VISA REQUIRED. Australia does not appear on ICA's visa-required list. Passport must have at least 6 months validity.
Malaysia. Cambodian passport: No visa for a stay of under one month. Cambodia does not appear on Immigration's published list of 'Countries required to apply for a visa to enter Malaysia', and the note under that list states: 'Visa is not required for a stay of less than one (1) month for ASEAN nationals except Myanmar. Visas required for duration of stay exceeds (1) month except for Brunei and Singapore nationals.' Cambodia is an ASEAN member and is not the excepted Myanmar. THIS IS THE ASEAN EXEMPTION AND IT DOES APPLY HERE -- it is stated by Malaysian Immigration as a rule covering ASEAN nationals as a class, not inferred from another country's treatment. Australian passport: No visa. Australia is not on Immigration's visa-required list, and appears in the department's second list -- countries 'which do not require a visa for any purpose of entry' (entry 3 of 51, between Antigua & Barbuda and Bahamas).
Thailand. Cambodian passport: No visa, on two independent footings. (1) BILATERAL AGREEMENT: the Thai MFA Department of Consular Affairs summary lists Cambodia under 'Bilateral Agreement -- period of stay 14 days' for ORDINARY passport holders; the only other entry in that column is Myanmar, and Myanmar's is restricted to international airports while Cambodia's is not. (2) UNILATERAL SCHEME: the MFA announcement of the visa exemption scheme in force from 15 July 2024 lists Cambodia as number 11 of 93 countries and territories entitled to visa exemption, with a stay of up to 60 days for tourism. THIS IS THE ASEAN-NEIGHBOUR EXEMPTION AND IT IS REAL AND DOCUMENTED, not inferred -- Thailand states it as a Cambodia-specific bilateral agreement, separately from the 93-country list. Australian passport: No visa. Australia is listed at number 3 of the 93 countries and territories entitled to visa exemption under the scheme in force from 15 July 2024, stay up to 60 days for tourism. Australia also appears in the earlier MFA consular summary under the unilateral tourist visa exemption scheme. Australia holds no 14-day bilateral agreement with Thailand -- that column contains only Cambodia and Myanmar -- so the unilateral scheme is the whole of the Australian position.
Checked 2026-08-12. Immigration rules move, so we re-check yours when you book — and we arrange the visas ourselves.
The fares above include taxes, fees and port expenses. The line charges an automatic daily gratuity to your onboard account, and drinks, specialty dining and shore excursions are extra. We set the whole total out for you before you pay a deposit.
Many standard travel policies exclude medical treatment beyond a set distance from land — which is exactly where you are on a sea day — and cap or exclude evacuation from a vessel. Helicopter evacuation from a ship runs into six figures.
Buy a policy with explicit cruise cover, and buy it on the day you pay the deposit, not before you fly. Cancellation cover only works if the policy is already in force when the thing that cancels your trip happens — and cancellation penalties on a cruise typically begin months before departure, not days.
Check the evacuation limit as a number. “Unlimited medical” does not always mean unlimited evacuation.
Seasickness is a smaller problem than most people expect — about one in ten visits to a ship’s medical centre. Slips and falls, and ordinary coughs and colds, are both more common.
If you are susceptible: take something before you sail rather than after symptoms start, pick a cabin midship and low, and get where you can see the horizon. This route is sheltered by comparison with open ocean, and a ship this size moves very little.
The medical centre is an urgent-care clinic, not a hospital, and it is not free — consultations and medicines are charged. Bring your own of anything you take regularly.
Tell us how many of you there are. We will come back with the cabin grades, the total including gratuities, and what the flights and any visas will take — before you commit to anything.
Enquire about this sailing→Tell us who is travelling and we will come back with the cabin grades in US dollars, the total including gratuities, and what the visas will take — before you commit to anything.
If you do not hear from us, email info@dltravel.net and we will pick it up.