Whittier Alaska to Beijing sept 2012

[spree]

Would appreciate some feedback for shore excursions for Vladivostok. russia, Sapporo Japan, Aomori Japan,Dalian China, Shanghai China? Are any ports just walk off and walk around or is an organized tour wiser for time etc.

thank you

[Bowie MeMe]

Your best bet for information for YOUR cruise is to join your rollcall here on cruise critic. To get to your rollcall go to the roll call section (just below this section) click on Princess roll calls. Then click on Diamond Princess. Go down the list until you find your date and your destination. Many on your cruise will also continue on up to Bangkok where they will give the Diamond over to those of us on the Bangkok to Beijing cruise. Somebody will come on here and give you the one click link to your roll call but I like to show you how to get to it on your own. You take good care of the Diamond for us and have a fabulous cruise. :D

[NVanHiker]

Not sure I'd recommend this particular roll call - I've been following it but not joining. It's a very clubby group of Brits and Aussies that seems to talk about their weight loss progress as much as anything to do with the cruise. I WOULD recommend using the search function in this section to answer your questions - I'm just starting my own research as well!

[caribill]

Would appreciate some feedback for shore excursions for Vladivostok. russia, Sapporo Japan, Aomori Japan,Dalian China, Shanghai China? Are any ports just walk off and walk around or is an organized tour wiser for time etc.

thank you

 

In most of these ports, even if you could walk around you would not see near as much as if you are on an excucurion that takes you away from near the dock area. This is a fascinating part of the world, and if you just see what is near the port area you are missing quite a bit.

 

In addition, unless you know Japanse, Chinese, Russian, you may find it hard to get around even if you wanted to use a local taxi or other public transportation.

 

My knowledge of some of the ports.

 

Vladivostok: The ship docks downtown. Yes, you can walk around on your own and do not need a visa to do so. We did both -- walked around on our own for a couple of hours in the morning and took a Princess tour in the afternoon.

 

Dalien: Nothing worth seeing near the pier. A tour is recommended.

 

Shanghai: Ship must dock a good ways from the center of town. Take a tour.

 

If you are interested in Princess tours, book them now as the popular ones are likely to be full by the time you board the ship. With Princess you can book now and pay at the end of the cruise. If you change your mind, you can cancel with no penalty up until an onboard deadline which will be on a card that will be with your pre-booked tour tickets which will be in your cabin the day you board.

[spree]

Looking into organizing a shore excursion for Sapporo. The cruise ship will be there on September 30 2012. Open to suggestions.

[Denverite]

We are doing a similar cruise in 2013 so I have done some research. We rarely take ship-sponsored tours and usually take private tours or on our own. However, for this particular cruise, we may do a couple of ship tours.

Vladivostok: We may take a 4 hr. tour with Princess and then walk around the town to see the train station. There doesn't seem to be a lot to do and I have read that the weather can really be rainy and cold. Trip advisor does have a couple of guides recommended.

Dalian: We will probably do a private tour with China Highlights. We used them for a previous trip in Beijing and will also use them for a Beijing to Xi'an trip in 2013. If nothing else, you can go to their web site and see the recommended sites in Dalian. They will do a one-day tour of Dalian although I haven't confirmed anything with them yet since it is some time before we leave (Sept. 2013)

Sapporo: We may go with a Princess tour or try to find a private guide. I found one recommended on this board but it was from 2007. If you find a private guide, I would be interested in contact information. I know we want to venture out from Muroran but unsure if we want to go to Sapporo or the volcano area.

[gottagocit]

I'll be on this voyage in september also. Contrary to the advice in the post above I'd recommend going to the roll call for this trip and ask for help. I did so a few times early on and was told a tour was needed in Shanghi and Aomori but the other ports can be seen on foot or by using convenient local transportation.

 

I'd also recommend searching for the "Live from the diamond princess" thread in the Princess forum which was maintained during the April or perhaps May voyage of the Diamond on the reverse of our route as the ship was relocating to the Alaska coast. There was a tremendous amount of details offerred by some one the ship them.

[STRS2010]

We are too!!! Would love to join a group doing one.

[Birder1]

In Vlad, walk straight fr the ship to the first,main road (runs along the shore). Turn right, walk approx 20 mins to the C-56 submarine & WWII memorial across the street. Very easy. Cannot recall the entrance fee to the sub,but I believe it was <200R (I changed $s @ the bank, which is on the first block on that road fr the ship, but to the left. I speak Russian, but other Princess Diamond folks were changing $s just fine w/out the language skills). navigating (yes, pun) through the sub is extremely easy & intuitive. If you/your party has limited mobility, please note while in the sub, you will have to step-over a couple bulkheads that are about 2.5' high...if you're tall, you'll have to duck. Otherwise, very interesting. Get your photo w the periscope!

 

Do NOT use the ATMs/Kiosks (at the bank & post office (across street fr bank)). Those do not take US cards, regardless what the cards are.

 

If you need more info, please let me know.

[Birder1]

&, the train station (terminus of Trans-Siberian), unfortunately not much to see. It is just a couple minute walk fr the port/ship. Go inside the station (very small). Kinda disappointing in comparison to other Soviet (really, Italian)-designed stations. I was only in there long enough to take 2 pics of the mosaics on the ceiling...