Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) in brief
Phu My isn't a cruise port. It's a working container and petrochemical complex on the Thi Vai River — ships tie up at cargo berths inside it.
No tender step — but no terminal building, no shops, and nothing to walk to either.
Nine terminals in the Cai Mép–Thi Vai cluster were cleared in October 2025 to receive international cruise ships. SP-PSA International Port, SP-SSA International Terminal, Tan Cang–Cai Mép, PTSC Phu My and Saigon International Terminals Vietnam are among them.
That clearance was written to run through June 30, 2026 — and whether it was formally renewed past that date isn't something we could confirm. We'd rather say so than guess.
Calls are still being scheduled. A dedicated Vung Tau International Passenger Port — 840 metres of pier, ships up to 225,000 GT — is still only at pre-feasibility stage.
Ho Chi Minh City is the reason anybody calls here, and it's a genuine haul away.
Royal Caribbean's own port page puts it at about 1.5 to 2 hours from central Ho Chi Minh City. Published road distances run roughly 70 to 80 kilometres depending on which guide you read.
That's four hours of the day gone, minimum — out of a call that typically runs 07:00 or 08:00 to 19:00.
Traffic on the route is genuinely unpredictable, and expressway widening on the Long Thanh–Dau Giay corridor has been adding bottlenecks through 2026.
One administrative wrinkle worth knowing. Phu My is now legally a ward of Ho Chi Minh City, not a separate province — Ba Ria–Vung Tau was folded into an expanded HCMC by Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 on June 16, 2025.
Your ship still calls it a two-hour transfer, because the road didn't get shorter.
This page covers the berth, the paperwork and the geography. The specific tours, and whether to book through the ship, live in our Ho Chi Minh City shore excursions guide.
On foot from the ship
A high-security industrial zone — no shops, no cafes. A free shuttle runs ship to main gate in roughly 10 minutes; the walk takes about 15 to 20. Either way you land on a cargo road, not in a town.
Royal Caribbean's own figure, each way, in normal traffic. No public bus serves this route, and no rental motorbikes either. A booked vehicle is the only realistic way in.
Roughly 33 km southeast, and the traffic behaves. Beaches, a promenade and the Christ the King statue — the honest alternative on a short call.
The nearest real town, and the shortest trip anyone sells here. Markets and everyday street life, not headline sights.
What's nearby, broadly
Every one of these except the container cranes needs a vehicle and a booking. There is no version of this port day where you wander out of the gate and find something. Decide before you sail: four hours in a coach for Saigon, or a short run to Vung Tau.
None of this is a walk. Which drive are you buying?
- War Remnants Museum
- Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica (exterior only)
- Ben Thanh Market
- Reunification Palace
- Cu Chi Tunnels
- Mekong Delta
- Cai Mép container terminals
- Vung Tau beaches
Commonly reached from
Most Phu My calls sit on Southeast Asia loops round-tripping from Singapore, usually nine to eleven nights, and our Singapore departure-port guide covers that embarkation end. Shorter Singapore round-trips sometimes stop at Phu My alone; longer ones add Nha Trang (Cam Ranh), Da Nang and Ha Long Bay. Confirm which Vietnamese ports your specific sailing calls at — it changes the visa you need.
Practical notes
The visa is the whole ballgame here. A U.S. passport earns no waiver in Vietnam at any length of stay — an eleven-hour call is treated exactly like a three-month visit.
The only exception is Phu Quoc island, arriving direct from abroad — which no Phu My itinerary does.
Visa-on-arrival was discontinued in 2022, and it never covered seaport cruise entry anyway.
What you need is a pre-approved e-visa, applied for at evisa.gov.vn and nowhere else, printed and carried with your passport.
The government fee runs US$25 single entry or US$50 multiple — and the State Department says applications usually clear in 3 to 5 working days.
Apply a couple of weeks out, not a couple of days.
Your passport needs 6 months' validity beyond arrival and a blank page. An e-visa can't be extended or renewed once you're inside Vietnam — it's a one-shot document.
The form will ask you to name a port that isn't on your itinerary. The e-visa application wants a checkpoint, and "Phu My" isn't one of them — it appears nowhere on Vietnam's e-visa seaport list.
Vung Tau Port is on that list, and Phu My sits inside the Vung Tau seaport area. So Vung Tau is what belongs in the field, even though nothing your line sends you will use that word.
That containment is a destination expert's reading of the geography, not a government page — we looked for one and didn't find it. Confirm it against your line's own documentation before you pay.
Ho Chi Minh City Port is a separate listing, covering downtown river berths rather than Phu My. Choosing it because your itinerary says Ho Chi Minh City is the specific mistake this port invites.
December 2, 2025's Resolution 389/NQ-CP took the eligible checkpoint list from 42 to 83 and the seaport count from 13 to 39. Phu My still isn't a name on it.
What 389 did to the port-of-entry field itself is contested. One 2026 visa service reads the field as dropped from the issued e-visa, so any of the 83 checkpoints would work. Another says it still binds you, and arriving anywhere else gets you turned away.
That's a question for Vietnam's immigration service, not for us, and we're not going to pick a side we can't support.
Nominate the seaport your ship actually uses. That answer holds under both readings, which is the whole reason we're comfortable giving it.
If your sailing also calls at Ha Long Bay, that call has a named checkpoint of its own and a different confusion attached to it — our Ha Long Bay port guide works it through.
The group visa some lines sell. On certain sailings Vietnamese immigration officers board off Vung Tau and issue landing cards to the whole ship, billed to your onboard account.
Passenger reports from 2023 through 2025 put the government's own fee at around US$5 a head — the lines' service charges ran anywhere from US$50 to US$99 per person.
That's two to four times what the e-visa costs you directly.
We couldn't reach any line's current published Vietnam policy, and reports differ on whether a group landing card leaves you free to travel independently or ties you to the ship's tours. Treat that as unresolved.
Ask your line in writing — and if the answer is vague, buy the US$25 e-visa yourself and stop worrying about it.
Getting out of the gate. The free port shuttle covers ship to main security gate in roughly 10 minutes; walking is about 15 to 20.
Independent guides who want to collect you at the ship need an inside-port permit — reported at around US$25 to US$30 per person.
Local drivers generally need your passport details in advance to arrange seaport passes. That isn't a scam — it's how a cargo port works.
Ride-hailing apps function in Ho Chi Minh City, but they're a poor bet for a late-afternoon return leg to a remote industrial port.
Money. Everything you pay for inland is priced in dong, and our conversions use roughly 26,000 VND to US$1, the rate on September 18, 2026.
Small entry fees are cash-only in dong, not card. The War Remnants Museum runs 40,000 VND — about US$1.55 — and opens 07:30 to 17:30 daily. Cu Chi's Ben Dinh site is 110,000 VND, roughly US$4.25.
One sight isn't what the brochure shows. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica has been under restoration since July 2017, now targeted for 2027 after repeated extensions.
Its gold-plated tower crosses went up on March 19, 2026 — the scaffolding is finally coming down.
The interior stays closed to general visitors, open only for Mass — 05:30 and 17:30 on weekdays, outside any port-day window.
You'll see the outside. That's the honest version.
Sources: Seabound Journeys' own Asia cruise guide, Royal Caribbean's Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) port page, travel.state.gov Vietnam country information, evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn, Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Jan 5 2026) on the Cai Mép–Thi Vai cruise approval and the Vung Tau passenger-port project, CruiseMapper, Venture Ashore, Shore Excursions Asia, GoWithGuide, and Vietnamese-press restoration coverage of Saigon Notre-Dame (Mar 21 2026), consulted September 17–18 2026.
Planning a Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) port day?
Tell us how much time you've got and who's with you.
A short call, a full day, kids in tow or a couple wanting quiet water — we'll point you at the actual right answer, not just a list.
Answers verified against current pricing and itineraries before you book.
Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) FAQ
Do I need a visa for Vietnam as a U.S. citizen on a cruise?
Yes, and there's no way around it — a U.S. passport earns no waiver in Vietnam at any length of stay, and visa-on-arrival was discontinued in 2022. Get a pre-approved e-visa from evisa.gov.vn before you sail: US$25 single entry, usually 3 to 5 working days.
Which port of entry do I put on the e-visa for Phu My?
Vung Tau Port — a name your itinerary never mentions. "Phu My" isn't on Vietnam's e-visa seaport list at all, and Phu My sits inside the Vung Tau seaport area on a destination expert's reading we couldn't confirm against a government page. Ho Chi Minh City Port is a separate listing for downtown river berths. Nominate the seaport your ship actually uses.
Won't the cruise line just handle the visa for me?
Sometimes, on some sailings, for a fee — immigration officers board off Vung Tau and issue landing cards to the whole ship. Passenger reports put line charges at US$50 to US$99 per person, against a government fee of about US$5. Ask your line in writing.
How far is Ho Chi Minh City from the ship?
About 1.5 to 2 hours each way, on Royal Caribbean's own port page. Roughly 70 to 80 kilometres, depending which guide you read. On a call running 07:00 to 19:00, that's four hours in a vehicle before you see anything.
Can I do Phu My independently, without booking a tour?
Barely, and we wouldn't — there's no public bus on the route, and ride-hailing is a poor bet for a late-afternoon return to a remote cargo port. A private car booked before you sail is the realistic version: roughly 3,000,000 VND, about US$115, for a ten-hour day.
Do ships dock or tender at Phu My?
Dock — at cargo berths in the Cai Mép–Thi Vai cluster, where nine terminals were cleared in October 2025 to take cruise ships. No tender step, and no passenger terminal either. A free shuttle runs to the main gate in roughly 10 minutes.
Is Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica open to visitors?
The outside is — the inside isn't. A restoration running since July 2017 keeps the interior closed to general visitors, open only for Mass at 05:30 and 17:30 on weekdays. Plan on the square, not the nave.
Can I fit the Cu Chi Tunnels and the city into one port call?
Geography says no. Cu Chi sits about 45 kilometres northwest of central Saigon — the opposite direction from your ship, so the combination adds the Phu My drive to both ends of an already long day. We run the operators' own published hours against a typical call in the shore excursions guide, where it kills a specific booking.
What if I don't want four hours in a coach?
Take Vung Tau instead — roughly 33 kilometres and about 45 minutes, with traffic that behaves. It isn't Saigon, but it's a real day ashore rather than a windscreen.