Meeting the ship at the next port.

[velotaco]

We are on the 16 Oct sailing from Kobe to Hong Kong aboard the Volendam. We do an overnighter in Beijing and and overnighter in Shanghai with two sea days in between. My DW and I are planning on getting off the ship in Beijing spending two nights, taking the night bullet train to Shanghai and then spending the remaining two nights there. We will reboard the ship in Shanghai. This will give us six full days and five nights in China. The bullet trains are brand new and have sleeping accomidations, and it only takes ten hours to get to Shanghai while you sleep. Has anyone else done something like this before? Any advice? I have emailed HAL to inquire if there is anything I need to do in advance, but have not gotten a reply.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[carosave]

We did left the ship for a couple of nights on a cruise--we had to notify the front desk. (We didn't decide to do it until we were already on the ship.) I would call a few more times--although it seems as though there is sometimes a difference in what happens in Seattle and what happens on the ship. Seattle might be able to get you info to contact the ship directly, so the front office staff, security, etc. have the information prior to you boarding.

 

We "jumped ship" in Australia and New Zealand, no China, so you may have different requirements regarding visas, etc. I am assuming that you are doing all this independently, so all arrangements are on you...

 

Sounds great, though, if you can get it arranged! Good Luck!

 

Carol

[Mary Ellen]

We had a cruise booked for earlier this year where we were going to do the same thing. We were going to take a private tour while in India, getting off in Cochin and meeting up with the ship in Mumbai. According to the TA we booked this cruise with (specialists with a LOT of experience with HAL) all we need to do was notify the Front Desk once onboard. We ended up canceling due to health issues (thank goodness for cruise insurance) so I can't say how it worked out, but that was what we were told.

[alsas]

We have left the ship many times. The only thing you must pay attention to is the VISA type you have . This year we left and entered Vietnam before the ship and we needed a multi entry visa. This is very easy to accomplish. Do not let little things effect your choices. Happy sailing Alsas