Remind me again of why I booked this Princess Cruise

[bajacoral]

Unfortunately the Diamond is a bit too large for most of the ports in the far east. Thus the dockage is often in an industrial area. For that rasson we elected to go with another cruise line for this itinerary. We love Princess, but for the Far East, I suggest looking for a smaller ship. Smaller ships dock right in town in Hong Kong and Shanghi And none of them get to Beijing, That port is a good 2 to 3 hours away from the water.

 

I was excited to book this 31 days Far East, SE Asia cruise on Princess. Went to all the places that I have always wanted to see. Was looking forward to all those sea days.

 

Now after reading all the posts on CC, I am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake.

 

Yes, we are going into many ports, but are docked at commercial terminals where we often have to ride 3 hours:eek: to the city and 3 hours back (Bejing) leaving maybe 2-3 hours of actually visiting the "port" city. Only one port where we actually dock.

 

They took away the jogging track on the Diamond and replaced it with a "pay" for a sunbed experience. I have yet to tell my husband there is no jogging track for his daily run.

 

The mattresses are so bad according to CC'ers that you have to request a foam topper to be placed on them in order to get a good night's sleep.

 

The coffee is so terrible that you have to bring your own Starbuck's instant or purchase a coffee card in order to get a decent cup of coffee.

 

Now I don't know about you but the thoughts of being on a ship for 31 days with a horrible mattress and coffee not fit to drink has put a damper on my excitement for this cruise.

 

I would like to hear some positive comments from anyone who has sailed the Diamond on this particular itinerary so I can once again look forward to this "bucket list" cruise.

[C&Sun]

IMO - This pretty much summarizes my feeling cruising too .. Make the best of it and enjoy the overall pluses and minuses of the cruise experience..

 

 

 

 

Also IMO the small ship experience is great and no one here disputes that, but then so are their prices, not really fair to compare the Diamond and the Princess per diems to the small ship lines and their significantly higher fares

Srpilo

 

Not comparing small to large as I have enjoyed both and agree that small usually costs more. I believe that I also stated the Diamond had the better itinerary as well as the time of year that we always cruise.

[C&Sun]

We just completed a cruise on the Diamond Princess last month. What a wonderful ship' date=' you will have a ball.

 

Beijing is a fascinating city, try and book a private tour that will enable you to visit more on the day you visit. I know it is a long way from the city proper to the port (which is amazing - this huge facility in the middle of nowhere - I would love to visit in 5 years time and see what is built around it then!) but the journey in itself is fascinating! Your guide should inform you of the history of the region and if you book a private tour there is a "chinatown" markets in the port of Tianjin which we visited which was fantastic for shopping (Bargain hard, offer 10% of what they want and go from there) I got some wonderful bargains there. In fact I think I enjoyed those markets more than the Silk Markets in Beijing.

 

Whatever you do decide to do you will be blown away by the building activity going on in Beijing and surrounding areas.

 

If I only had time for one day in Beijing I would book a private tour (other members of your roll call will join you) which could take you to the Forbidden Palace (this is a huge place so tell the tour guide you only want to spend an hour here, just to get the idea of the place) then you can drive past Tianamen Square (nothing to see there except wide open spaces - huge though - you don't really need to get out) You could then go to the Summer Palace or you could take a rickshaw ride around the hutongs (I recommend this) You could then do some shopping at the Silk Markets or make your way back to the port stopping at the markets I told you about in Tianjin. By this time you will be exhausted and the closer to the ship in the afternoon the better because traffic can be horrific in the afternoon in Beijing.

 

Good luck with what you decide, but believe me when I say that Beijing is worth visiting as is South Korea (amazing) Asia is generally a fascinating area and one I hope to go back to very soon.

 

[img']http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad331/eileenjsmith/Diamond%20Princess%20Asia%20and%20Alaska%20May%202011/DiamondPrincessMay2011052.jpg[/img]

Rickshaw ride in the hutongs

 

Forbidden city

 

Chinatown in Tianjin

 

New Terminal in Port of Tianjin

 

There is nothing around the port - it has just opened

 

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and advice. Do you per chance remember the name of your guide or the company? Did the ship leave port at 6pm? This is my main concern for hiring a private guide because we are so far from the ship and have so little time. Usually when we port far from the city or sites, ie, Cairo and The Pyramids, Florence, we take a ship tour just to guarantee that we return to the ship in time.

[cruisemom42]

OP specifically mentioned Beijing which even a smaller ship cannot get closer to.

 

If the Diamond has to dock further away in cities such as Shanghai, it is not a three hour bus ride to town, more like 30 minutes.

 

Yes, my apologies -- I misinterpreted the initial post.

[lois1112]

I did southasia on the Sapphire in 2006. Heard all the comments about the container ports and elected to go any way. The trip was wonderful. None of the port were that far out. they always had some type of entertainment when we got back to the ship. All the sea days were great to ret up for the next port.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and advice. Do you per chance remember the name of your guide or the company? Did the ship leave port at 6pm? This is my main concern for hiring a private guide because we are so far from the ship and have so little time. Usually when we port far from the city or sites, ie, Cairo and The Pyramids, Florence, we take a ship tour just to guarantee that we return to the ship in time.

 

Her name was Qing (pronounced Ching) and her email address is chineseqing_2008@hotmail.com She was a wonderful tour guide and spoke excellent english. I would use her again if we were in Beijing again.

[Rosebery]

We did a 17 day tour of China and spent hours on buses, trains and planes between cities, the country is enormous, but being in the bus and seeing how the place is organised is definitely part of the experience. You can check out the bamboo scaffolding round the buildings in progress and the people climbing it in flip flops without hard hats, and see how many people it takes to clip hedges or cut grass in China. You can see the way that people travel with whole families on one scooter and how the traffic and pedestrians interact. Some of our favourite moments occurred while on the transport as you have a bird's eye view. China, in my experience, does try to be a bit sanitised for tourists, but cannot manage it when you have to travel a long way through suburbs and countryside

 

There will never be sufficient time to see Beijing on a cruise, I reckon you could devote several days to the Forbidden City alone, it is the most amazing place, but you will certainly get the feel of Beijing in a day. We walked for an hour and a half through a suburb our first day and did not see another 'different' face. People turned and did a double take at my husband who is now grey but definitely fair, blue eyed and with a prominent nose. Others came up on Tiananmen Square and asked one of our party for photos with their baby - he was a tall fair man with a beard. It really is a different sort of place. We loved it. Sue

[BosoxI]

DW and I have been on many ships, mostly Princess, and we've never had a complaint about the mattresses on any of them. As with most things in life, we've got to see for ourselves. Why trust the opinions of others, especially faceless strangers on sites like this?

[C&Sun]

Her name was Qing (pronounced Ching) and her email address is chineseqing_2008@hotmail.com She was a wonderful tour guide and spoke excellent english. I would use her again if we were in Beijing again.

 

Could you tell me exactly how the tour was handled? Did Qing meet you at the port? Did you drive into Beijing or take the train? Most importantly what was the time frame as to when the ship docked and when it departed?

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Could you tell me exactly how the tour was handled? Did Qing meet you at the port? Did you drive into Beijing or take the train? Most importantly what was the time frame as to when the ship docked and when it departed?

 

Qing organised all the details regarding transport, driver, and she will meet you at the port. She is very popular for tours...... I would advise you to get in touch with her asap and get your booking in. Otherwise someone else will grab her. Her and her husband have an appartment close to the port and usually stay overnight there before the ship comes in and will be there to meet you at the first opportunity you are allowed off the ship.

[ROCruiser]

Oh, I would love to go on your cruise! I would think just sailing in and out of the ports would be a great experience. I have not done a cruise in Asia but I am sure sailing in or out of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong would be an unforgettable experience. Don't miss the laser show, check out my avatar. My point and shoot camera can only capture a tiny part of that show. Have a great cruise!