16 hour layover in Shanghai?

I am checking out flights for my Southeast Asia (Hong Kong to Singapore) cruise in December/January...

Right now, the lowest fare offered is a mere $971 pp from/to LAX on China Eastern.

The only bizarre part is a 16 hour layover in Shanghai...We'd get off the ship on Saturday, January 5 in Singapore and get an 11:25 pm flight to Shanghai--arriving there at 4:55 am Sunday morning!! Then, the continuing flight departs at 9:00 pm Sunday night Shanghai time, arriving at LAX at 6:00 pm Sunday night LA time...

 

This is not terrible as my wife has to be back at work Monday morning...she may be tired, but at least she should be there in time.

 

The question is what to do with, basically, a whole day in Shanghai? We've been there before, but on a Viking River Cruise tour--so we really just went wherever they told us... I am assuming there would be no problem leaving the airport since we'll need Chinese Visas anyway since our cruise starts in Hong Kong...and I assume they let you leave the airport with that much time between flights...Questions would be logistics and what to do...???

 

And, of course, for the time being, I will keep looking at other flight options...

 

Thoughts, anyone?

I am checking out flights for my Southeast Asia (Hong Kong to Singapore) cruise in December/January...

Right now, the lowest fare offered is a mere $971 pp from/to LAX on China Eastern.

The only bizarre part is a 16 hour layover in Shanghai...We'd get off the ship on Saturday, January 5 in Singapore and get an 11:25 pm flight to Shanghai--arriving there at 4:55 am Sunday morning!! Then, the continuing flight departs at 9:00 pm Sunday night Shanghai time, arriving at LAX at 6:00 pm Sunday night LA time...

 

This is not terrible as my wife has to be back at work Monday morning...she may be tired, but at least she should be there in time.

 

The question is what to do with, basically, a whole day in Shanghai? We've been there before, but on a Viking River Cruise tour--so we really just went wherever they told us... I am assuming there would be no problem leaving the airport since we'll need Chinese Visas anyway since our cruise starts in Hong Kong...and I assume they let you leave the airport with that much time between flights...Questions would be logistics and what to do...???

 

And, of course, for the time being, I will keep looking at other flight options...

 

Thoughts, anyone?

 

What to do?

I lived in Shanghai for several years.

After Tokyo, it is one of the most exciting and mysterious cities in the world.

I would have difficulty seeing Shanghai in only 16 DAYS.

You will have only 16 hours.

I am checking out flights for my Southeast Asia (Hong Kong to Singapore) cruise in December/January... the lowest fare offered is a mere $971 pp from/to LAX on China Eastern ... for the time being, I will keep looking at other flight options...

Thoughts, anyone?

You do not need China (PRC) visa to visit & stay in HK-SAR (unless you go across the border to mainland side) as US Citizens and if your cruise do not make stops en route to SIN somewhere in southern China ?? (Vietnam/Thailand, etc.)

 

The long layover isn't that unusual, China Southern's main hub is Shanghai but probably has just 1 or 2 daily LAX non-stop (although not with the same aircraft due to turnaround & ground servicing). On your return, are other mainline carriers like Air China offering a better layover/connection & price competitive ... that is, booking two sets of one-way tickets instead of a round-trip. Although, these carriers don't have a great deal of pull with mainland's air traffic control, which always prioritized military aircrafts ... and on top of it all, need to cope with smog, fog & weather systems.

 

If your PVG is just a long layout - under the rules in effect now, you do NOT need to obtain visas & as transit pax, you fall under the 72 and recently expanded 144 hours guidelines, waiving visas - flying in from SIN and destination being LAX.

 

Should these assumptions are close/as described, you should be able to go into the city (i.e. Bund along the river) for a few hours, it's about an hour of taxi ride each way in "typical" traffic - or high speed MAGLEV train between airport station & the city's vast Metro subway systems @Longyang station. (I agreed w above post, will be vastly limited in what you can see, minus travel time & getting back to allow for security & check-in, screening, etc.)

Traveling eastbound to PST/PDT zone is the worst on jetlag ... the "bug" typically hitting on the afternoon of day 2 or 3 upon being home. Yes, DW would be back at work/office but functionally, not so much.

Edited February 8, 2018 by mking8288

Follow-up:

I dropped the idea...No long layovers anywhere for me...I booked a nonstop LAX to Hong Kong and a nonstop Singapore back to LAX...Came out to only $360 pp more than any of those "low fares" with the long layovers and bad flight times...

We arrive in Hong Kong the morning before embarkation...and we depart Singapore at 11:00 am on disembarkation morning (the ship overnights in Singapore and the airport is only about 20 minutes/12 miles away)...Instead of China Eastern, we'll be on Cathay Pacific going and United returning...

Follow-up:

I dropped the idea...No long layovers anywhere for me...I booked a nonstop LAX to Hong Kong and a nonstop Singapore back to LAX ... Instead of China Eastern, we'll be on Cathay Pacific going and United returning...

Excellent, that's vastly superior and better choices, booking two one-ways, paying a little more but your body clock will thank you. With non-stops, trimming the odds for delays. On these long-hauls, you will get the cheerful & younger FA on CX with very good services & meals vs. United's "mature" flying grandma's & grandpa's (seniority) mixed in, average services & blah meal trays in the main cabin. Bilingual skills on China Eastern not known to be their strength for "laowai" passengers 老外 or slang for "foreigner" - but, plenty fly them vs. US carriers.

 

Enjoy & happy cruising ... and, the polar flight routing, over/on top of the world going over ... might even catch the colorful northern lights.