We are also going on this cruise and also not sure about the excursions ! We plan to go to Victoria Peak in Hong Kong by ourselves. My understanding it is possible to take public transit from the cruise terminal in Hong Kong to the star ferry. Once on the other side of the harbour, they sell tickets and transportation to the tramway up to the Peak. As for Vietnam, the bus ride is a about 90 minutes one way to the city, so must likely we will stay on board or close to the ship. I think we will do the same for the port of Keelung. I think you can walk around Keelung and there are interesting shops to see. As for Kobe we would like to see Kyoto but haven't signed up for anything yet.
Would anyone know if you need to get visa's for Vietnam or any other ports? Also do you know if there are any vaccination(typhoid, cholera, etc) requirements to visit countries on the intinerary?