Anthem of the Seas - Penang & Phuket from Singapore

Where this cruise calls, day by day

4 ports and 1 sea day over 4 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Singapore

   SingaporeDepart

   Singapore is the turnaround hub for most Southeast Asia itineraries, so for a lot of passengers it is embarkation day rather than a port call. Ships use either Marina Bay Cruise Centre, purpose-built for the largest hulls, or the older HarbourFront terminal next to VivoCity. What you get on arrival is an efficient, very hot city where the metro is fast and cheap and almost nothing worth seeing is more than half an hour away.

   • Gardens by the Bay - the Supertree Grove, Cloud Forest and Flower Dome
   • Hawker lunch at Maxwell Food Centre or Lau Pa Sat
   • Chinatown and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, then the shophouses of Little India
   • Singapore Botanic Gardens and its National Orchid Garden

   Getting ashore

   Docked. Marina Bay Cruise Centre is a 10-minute walk from Marina South Pier MRT and a short taxi from downtown; HarbourFront sits directly above its own MRT station.

   Best months

   Feb-Apr (driest); hot and humid year-round

2. Day 2

   Penang (George Town)

   MalaysiaPort

   Penang is the easiest port day in Malaysia, because Swettenham Pier puts you at the edge of George Town's UNESCO-listed old quarter and you can simply walk off. The town is a layered Straits Chinese, Indian, Malay and colonial city of shophouses, clan houses and street art, dense enough to cover on foot. It is also one of the best eating stops in Asia.

   • The Khoo Kongsi clan house and the Chew Jetty stilt village
   • Fort Cornwallis and the colonial buildings along the Esplanade
   • Kek Lok Si Temple at Air Itam, and the Penang Hill funicular
   • Street food at Gurney Drive or the hawker stalls off Lebuh Chulia

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Swettenham Pier, on the edge of George Town's historic centre - most of the old town is a 10-20 minute walk from the gangway.

   Best months

   Dec-Mar (driest); Sep-Nov is the wettest

3. Day 3

   Phuket

   ThailandPort

   Phuket is a large island rather than a single town, and where your ship puts you changes the day considerably. In the November-to-April high season most ships anchor off Patong and run tenders to the beach; in the wetter months they use the deepwater pier at Ao Makham on the east coast. Patong is loud and commercial, but Old Phuket Town's Sino-Portuguese shophouses are a genuinely different Thailand.

   • Old Phuket Town - Thalang Road's Sino-Portuguese shophouses and the Chinese shrines
   • The Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, with the view over Chalong Bay
   • Wat Chalong, the island's largest and busiest temple
   • A longtail or speedboat out to Phang Nga Bay and the limestone stacks

   Getting ashore

   Varies by season - tender to Patong Beach in the Nov-Apr high season, or dock at Phuket Deep Sea Port (Ao Makham), about 20-30 minutes from Patong and 15 from Old Phuket Town.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (dry season, calm Andaman)

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Singapore

   SingaporeArrive

   Singapore is the turnaround hub for most Southeast Asia itineraries, so for a lot of passengers it is embarkation day rather than a port call. Ships use either Marina Bay Cruise Centre, purpose-built for the largest hulls, or the older HarbourFront terminal next to VivoCity. What you get on arrival is an efficient, very hot city where the metro is fast and cheap and almost nothing worth seeing is more than half an hour away.

   • Gardens by the Bay - the Supertree Grove, Cloud Forest and Flower Dome
   • Hawker lunch at Maxwell Food Centre or Lau Pa Sat
   • Chinatown and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, then the shophouses of Little India
   • Singapore Botanic Gardens and its National Orchid Garden

   Getting ashore

   Docked. Marina Bay Cruise Centre is a 10-minute walk from Marina South Pier MRT and a short taxi from downtown; HarbourFront sits directly above its own MRT station.

   Best months

   Feb-Apr (driest); hot and humid year-round