Many cruise passengers fly into Bangkok and spend a few days seeing the sights before joining their ship. For the individual passengers who are not on an organised tour, they will need to get to the port. One of the wonderful things about Thais is they can all help you to get there but few know where or how. Firstly, Laem Chabang Port is the largest container port in Thailand and it is a maze just to get in, never mind the security aspects of it.
I very often go to the Cruise Terminal to welcome and help direct our passengers to & from their vehicles. I am amazed how many people spend months planning for their cruise and visit to the Far East, but will end up in any old car arranged by someone on a Bangkok street the night before, or just hailing a taxi. Having lived and worked in Thailand for 10 years, all I can say is .... think again!
The distance from Bangkok is about 130 kms, so you need a good car and a safe driver (I will not go into road safety in Thailand, and would suggest you don't if you want to get in a car), and someone that knows where they are going.
A typical taxi driver in Bangkok when asked if he knows where so and so is, will most probably say YES. Once you get in the car, you already have to pay a fare, so you will then be asked where again, a map may not really help as Thais do not seem to read maps, so no guarrantee you will get to your destination.
Now - you are going crusing the high seas for a trip of a lifetime, a trip you spent months planning and looking forward to, my advice is organise your transport through my company Image Limousine (as reccomended by Cruisecritic.com) or someone else who is repuatble, but if you miss that ship, then what????
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