REVIEW - Sapphire Princess April 11 2005

[stingraynz]

ASIA CRUISE

APRIL 7 – 26, 2005

CRUISETOUR APRIL 8-11, 2005

CRUISE APRIL 11-23, 2005

POST-CRUISE JAPAN APRIL 23-26, 2005

 

My first trip to Asia, something my sister and I have been planning for years and haven’t had the best of luck in putting it together. At first, I always thought it would cost too much money. Then around 1999, I started seeing good specials through Renaissance cruises. We booked our dream cruise (complete with balcony) on the R8. A few months before leaving, they cancelled the cruise and just booked us on another voyage of their choosing. Well being working stiffs we could not just take any sailing. We explained this to Renaissance and we could not be accommodated on a sailing that suited us so our trip was not to be.

 

Then a few years later we noticed Princess had some good sailings to Asia, so we booked again. This cruise was cancelled due to ‘lack of interest’ because it sailed the autumn after the SARS scare so once again, Asia was not meant to be. Princess did make a deal with us for a wonderful sailing on the Royal Princess from Manaus to Rome, which I can say did ‘ease of pain’ of missing out on our special Asia cruise.

 

On board the Dawn Princess we booked the Asia itinerary once again for April 2005. This was a 16-day Bangkok to Beijing. I began my research, and started reading everything I could on the ports we were going to. As the time drew closer we found out that we would not have the time to do everything we wanted to on one trip. We wanted to spend time pre-cruise in Thailand, as well as post cruise in Hong Kong. The other problem was we had to climb the Great Wall and that was in Beijing. We were not going to have enough time to do all this.

 

We started looking at the itinerary right after ours, and like an angel out of nowhere, we received a captain’s circle special for a complementary cruise tour in Beijing (including the great wall) if you purchase a balcony stateroom on the 12-day sailing Beijing to Osaka. We took a closer look at this itinerary. It would allow us to see the great wall, Beijing and still gave us enough time to stay a few days in Japan afterwards. All this and it would still only mean being away for three weeks from work.

 

We booked it and decided to leave Southeast Asia for a future trip. I started studying the new itinerary ports and really became excited at the opportunity to go to Vladivostok and the possibility of seeing Tokyo and Mt Fuji.

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 2005 - DEPART TORONTO

 

For years I was dreading the flight to Asia. I can take a five hour flight no problem, but once the flight gets to be 10+ hours I start getting antsy. With our planning we looked into the most direct flights from Toronto to Beijing and home from Osaka to Toronto. We flew 5 hours to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Beijing was just slightly less than 10 hours. It wasn’t too painful at all. We did the air through Princess but paid a deviation fee for our chosen Air Canada direct flights.

 

We purchased our Princess transfers from the Beijing airport to the hotel. The transfer cost about US$35 each and was about a 30 min drive. Cab drivers do not really speak English so unless you have a map or your destination written in Chinese I was not comfortable that I could make myself understood.

 

I remembered the Beijing airport being quite nice and very easy to navigate. Customs was a breeze and the people were immediately making me feel welcome.

 

TIP #1: I picked up a great map of Beijing free at the airport just before going into the customs hall on a huge escalator. This map was excellent and I never saw another one like it. Everyone was asking me where I got it, so look for things like this when you are there.

 

Immediately at the luggage carousel I found a porter and I spoke to him to see if he spoke and understood English. He got our bags and new where to take us when we showed him the Princess logo on our tickets. After he found our representative he then found out where we were to go and get the bus. Now, this is where the tip comes in handy.

 

TIP #2: Unless you can totally handle your own bags – get a porter.

 

Where we got the Princess bus was not right out the doors where all the cabs were. We had to go upstairs to a big bus loading area. The Princess representative did not even know where to go. It was our guy that led everyone to the elevator. Of course, he got our bags on the elevator first and he asked people until he found the bus and every one just follow him.

 

People were dragging their heavy bags themselves. We had four bags, so I didn’t know if $10 dollars was enough, since we went all over the place but he seemed more than happy. Furthermore, since he was looking after getting our bags put onto the bus as we went right on and got the front seats. So I figured that was money well spent. Thinking about him now, I wish we took a picture with him because he was the first local person we met and really set the stage for the others we would meet in China along the way.

 

Once we arrived at the Great Wall Sheraton we checked in to the cruisetour desk and got our room. This was all pretty painless. We were on the 15th floor which was the Starwood Preferred floor. I am a member but I did not give Princess my number or anything so I am not sure if the Sheraton looked up the names on their database or we just lucked out. I noticed that only us and one other couple were on that floor. Most people on our tour were on the fifth floor.

 

Our room was great! It was really nicely appointed, a great size and very comfortable. The large king size bed had great feather pillows and nice bedding and was a relaxing sleep. I was a bit worried since the reviews were sparse and not many positive ones. So if you are staying here – don’t worry your stay will be pleasant.

 

I remember the hotel having the most beautiful exotic flowers like ginger torches and orchids. Beijing is not a tropical climate so I greatly enjoyed them.

 

Beijing has a road network made up of many ring roads. The Great Wall Sheraton was located in the NE corner of the third ring road. It was in the right in the heart of the Embassy district so it was very safe. The only thing wrong with this location was there was not anywhere you would want to walk to. There was not a lot around the hotel. This did not pose a problem because taxis were so cheap you could get anywhere for next to nothing. The hotel prices were fairly inexpensive compared to American standards. This is why I was worried it was going to be a ‘flea bag’.

 

By the time we got into our room it was about 4pm. We knew this afternoon was one of the only chances we got to do some shopping in Beijing so we had planned to get right out there into the trenches and shop! The thought of all the goodies we were going to get recharged us after the long flight. Our plan was two fold, we figured we would be so tired after the shopping we could just flop into bed and fight any jet lag.

 

As mentioned before the taxi drivers do not speak English so you must get a card from the hotel that has the hotel name in Chinese to get you back. They also have a list of all the major attractions and shopping areas so you merely point to it to tell the driver where you want to go.

 

The silk market was on the list so that is why we decided to go there first. Just in the weeks prior to us going there, Beijing had started to rip down and attempt to clean up a lot of these older markets. We were concerned our shopping areas we had been researching were not going to be there. Do worry about this, as they have just moved them to new, more mall-like structures.

 

The doorman arranged a private car to take us to the silk market for about 21cny which was less than $3usd. It was definitely not walkable to the silk market – it was about a 25 minute drive and would be longer in traffic.

 

The weather was cloudy and threatening rain. This would be the worst day as far as weather was. We were so excited about being there, that the weather did not hinder us.

 

CHINA exchange rates April 2005

1 CAD = 6.89369 CNY 1 USD = 8.27670 CNY

1 CNY = 0.145060 CAD 1 CNY = 0.120821 USD

 

NiHao (knee-how) - Hello or standard greeting. Often said twice along with a nod or slight bow

 

SHOPPING IN BEIJING

 

We did quite a bit of research regarding shopping. What to buy, where to buy (in Beijing vs. Shanghai – another stop later on in the week).

 

We walked into the silk market and before us was a myriad of stalls of designer clothing knockoffs, copies and factory overruns. The market was in a very plain looking building of five or six floors filled with stalls.

 

Top floor – filled with kitsch and other Chinese souvenirs.

 

3rd floor – bolts of silks and other materials, robes, table cloths, scarves, pillow coverings and anything else you could think of.

 

2nd floor – clothing, shoes and more Chinese robes and materials

 

1st floor – clothes, jackets, overcoats, men’s suits, trench coats and anything else designer related that you could imagine.

 

Basement – this was the best place and we only discovered it 40 minutes before leaving. Here was anything & everything related to leather or vinyl. Luggage, purses, wallets, briefcases and on and on.

 

We started off buying imitation Goretex jackets. Now they may have been North Face jackets but they are certainly not Goretex. However, we got two winter coats complete with fleece jacket lining for $450 cny. This is about $20usd each. This booth was run by some high bargaining, high powered business women. We really enjoyed bartering with them.

 

TIP #3: The regular market-shopping rules applied. Try to buy as much as you can from one vendor, buy in bulk and work in a team with your shopping partner.

 

Once we made our first purchase there was a taste for blood and there was no stopping us. Here we bought silk pillow covers, some vintage Chinese 50’s era advertising posters, Tommy Bahama shirts, knockoff designer wear and some kitschy souvenirs. If you are interested in further shopping information you can email me at: StingrayNZ(nospam)@aol.com

Just remove the (nospam) from the address please.

 

This was the first place we got taken. We bought the ‘little red book’ of Chairman Mao’s teachings on the souvenir floor. Near the end of our trip when Beijing was a world away I went to read some passages and noticed…..the book was in @#$%#& French!

 

TIP #4: make sure you check everything you buy!!! Check clothes for holes or the wrong sizes (hence the second….and last…time we got taken)

 

When we had more bags then we could carry we went outside to find a cab. To our surprise it was already almost 9pm, dark and pouring rain. There was only one cab waiting and he wanted $150 cny, out of principle we said ‘no’ but thinking back it was only about $12usd. There were so many pedi-cabs but we could not ask them to peddle us a minimum 20-minute drive away in the pouring rain. We decided to cross the road to a busier street to hail a cab. Well, it was a Friday night and pouring rain and hailing a cab was just as impossible as hailing a cab in Manhattan on a Friday night when it is pouring rain!

 

We eyed a McDonalds and decided to go in there to get out of the rain and have something to eat. We had a Big Mac to test out the quality control and for only a few dollars we both ate and rested our weary bones.

 

Afterwards, we walked and walked and finally stopped at another hotel thinking we could catch a cab. We finally did but even at this hotel it was hard to get a cab. At this point it was teeming rain and we bonded with the non-English speaking driver because all of us were nervously giggling at the times when we could not see the road in front of the car!

 

TIP #5: Make sure you point to the meter to alert the driver to turn it on or who knows what you may be paying at your destination.

 

I remember the fare on the meter barely changed and I thought it was broken. In fact, it was just really inexpensive. The fare was barely a few bucks and there were two of us paying so we doubled it and gave it to our friendly driver. He was so shocked that he was refusing it. When we insisted he thanked us like we gave him the world. I thought he deserved it and quite frankly, we were just happy to get back to the hotel.

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 2005 - DAY 1 CRUISE TOUR BEIJING

 

Getting up on time was no problem because of the jetlag. In fact, most people were up at 2am and wide-awake. Breakfast was between 6 and 8am. We arrived down around 7am to find no seats and no food. So from then on we went to breakfast after the mad rush but just before we had to go out to the buses.

 

Our first stop on the cruise tour was the Forbidden City also called “Palace Museum”. It is right in central Beijing and was the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing (pronounced Ching) dynasties. Construction of the Forbidden City began in 1406 and emperors rules from here for nearly 500 years.

 

My reflections on this are mostly overwhelming and awe inspiring. These words I will probably use to describe many of the things I would see in Beijing.

 

This massive walled palace was meant to protect the emperors however, it is said that some emperors felt it imprisoned them. You cannot imagine the size of this walled city. Even though the day I visited there were thousands of tourists, it appeared and felt uncrowded. It occupies an area over 720,000 sq. metres and has 9,000 halls and rooms.

 

There was a lot of work being done and scaffolding covering buildings. I imagine there will be much more of this restoration before the Olympics in 2008.

 

After seeing The Forbidden City, we went to Tien’namen Square which is right across a huge boulevard from the walls of the Forbidden City. Tien’namen just seems a little more infamous in my eyes as my generation watched protests that took the lives of tens of thousands of protesting students. I was so affected by this visit, as I too, was a student during the days of these protests and could only imagine the oppression felt that would cause those to give up their lives.

 

The square was actually nothing as I pictured, even though this was the one place I was most familiar with. The layout, the size, the placement of the buildings and the feeling of it all, was not at all what I expected. This is one of the reasons travelling has become my passion. You can picture something in your mind and then you get there and it is not what you imagined at all.

 

Be very aware of your possessions in the square, I did get the feeling of many pickpockets and thieves that would grab a purse, bag or camera and disappear into the crowd. We bought some souvenir picture books and I was very nervous taking out my money.

 

There are all sorts of things you can buy from people wandering around so make sure you have some small bills handy in your front pockets. We ended up buying four books on different Beijing sights for around $3 usd each. Usually I buy the same type in Europe for about $8 or 10 each so I was happy to get them at that price. I found that generally the peddlers in the tourist areas (Tien’namen Square, Summer Palace, Great wall etc.) they bargained in $usd but they would take any currency. This way I found it easy to do some fast bargaining because I knew what I wanted to pay in dollars vs. converting CNY on the fly.

 

After seeing the square and buying my books we boarded the bus and went to a big restaurant for lunch. At the provided lunch and dinners on the cruise tour we did eat Chinese food and I always enjoyed it. I noticed most people were interested in trying everything that was offered. There were a few that did not want to try anything and I suspect they went on a forced diet for the few days we were there. Meat and potatoes were definitely not on the menu.

 

In the afternoon we went to the Temple of Heaven, also right in downtown Beijing. Here the peddling was rampant, it reminded me a little of Jamaica. There were two factors that made it unpleasant but I still can’t figure out which one was more against the law. Firstly, they all took US dollars which is definitely black market. Secondly, this was the only place they sold Olympic souvenirs. Obviously they were not authorized and the gear was not authorized. I would have preferred to buy the authentic Olympic wear but there were no stores or stands that sold it. Here the peddlers seemed to be giving this stuff away so if you’re going to buy wait until you are coming out and back to the buses because the prices really drop. I’m talking six hats for $3 or $1 each. They are not well made but by any means, but we all bought them anyway. T-shirts we bought at first for $5 ea and later the prices dropped even lower. Check everything very carefully for flaws. I thought my shirt looked black but it was actually navy blue. I have washed it a few times to date and it washes quite well and everyone loves it. I love my shirt, but I probably would not have gone through the black market garbage I had to go through to get it. I would just wave the people away and be on my way.

 

The Temple itself was very grand but by this time I had enough and was ready to see something else, like the pearl market.

 

After leaving the Temple, we headed back to the hotel and had a free night. We again took advantage of our free time by shopping the fabulous markets of Beijing.

 

We went back to the hotel, got some money together and headed to the pearl market. It is located basically right across the street from the Temple of Heaven, but our guide would not let us stray from the group and it seemed we all had go be delivered back to the hotel together. Our guide did arrange for a ride for us back to the pearl market. We were met by one of the managers of the pearl selling establishments upstairs at the market. She relentlessly kept showing us very expensive pieces of jewelry. Even if I was interested in buying any of this stuff, it was way out of my price range. We finally convinced her to show us something under $50 dollars and I did end up buying a pair of earrings I liked. She just didn’t seem to understand that we were interested in buying just plain stuff for a few bucks here and there not thousand-dollar pieces of jewelry. So if you are interested in such pearls you can get anything you want at the pearl market.

 

I believe through the last few months, they have been clearing out a lot of the older outdoor markets. I read in my Toronto newspaper travel section the original silk market and others are now cleared out. As much as I read people liked these older markets, I think I really preferred the new ones they were clean and well laid out. Even the pearl market I found to be too much. Picture hundreds of stalls with everything under the sun piled 20 feet tall. One area was clothing, another area was scarves, electronics, Chinese kitsch. You really needed a clear head for this place and after a full day of touring we needed easier shopping or we would have been defeated.

 

Some of our best purchases at the pearl market were silk scarves which we thought were only ‘silk-like’ but my sister saw the exact ones here at home for $49 each and my sister bought six for $2 at the Pearl market. We also bought some really cute wine bottle covers for 3 for $1. In our China town here in Toronto, I saw them for $5 each. We gave one to our beloved travel agent on a wine gift and it looked really great. It was like a little Chinese silk robe on the bottle. I wish I bought more because I realized only when I got home how cute they were. While we were at the market there were literally hundreds of thousands and you really had to go through them to look for runs and flaws. The more we asked “do you have more like this?…..the woman went away and came back with hundreds more. This was about the point my sister turned to me and said I’ve had enough. I said I would leave but to only go back to the silk market and she would have to brave it out!

 

On the whole, we thought the pearl market was too overwhelming to pick through and we preferred the silk market.

 

We went outside and caught a cab. With our card that had all the destinations written in Chinese, we pointed to the silk market and motioned to the meter. Once he turned the meter on we were off.

 

As it was we were quite a distance away from the silk market our driver took the freeway. As the driver went to exit the freeway, it was all barricaded off. I can’t understand Mandarin but I could see he had no idea why the exits were blocked. He tried each exit as we drove down the freeway and they were all blocked off. OK what was going on? We took the long way around and you could feel something weird was happening. We saw a pack of marching soldiers – something big was going down. I could see from the driver’s reactions that this was not too common. We finally got to the silk market.

 

First, we had to nourish up so we went back to the McDonalds around the corner. It was just like home and a third the price.

 

We went back to the market and bought more jackets from our friends right at the stall right inside the front door. We went downstairs to check this floor out – since we didn’t get to it the other night. We went down the escalator and my eyes almost bulged out of my head! Purses, bags, leathers and luggage! I wanted so many things and knew I only had time to make one deal.

 

Oh Yeah! We found out later on…. (back at the hotel) that there was a huge protest at the Japanese embassy due to some new history books that were being used that were re-writing history by not claiming atrocities that took place.

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 2005 - DAY 2 CRUISE TOUR BEIJING

 

The weather in Beijing was a very pleasant low to mid 70s. At the Great Wall it was about 10 degrees cooler and a great temp for climbing.

 

The drive to the Great Wall at Badaling Pass from Beijing was about an hour. I have a list of places in the world that I have to see in my lifetime. The great wall has been on the list for a long time. In fact, one of the selling points of this cruise was that it began in Beijing so we could see it. During the drive the landscape outside Beijing turned Mountainous. I new we were getting closer. With my eyes peeled out the bus window, I suddenly got a look at a walled structure, then, I saw it in the distance, The Great Wall of China! A structure that is said can be seen from space.

 

Once we got to the area where we could have access to the steps to start climbing up I became very excited with emotion and almost could not believe I was there. I just took my time and stopped often and kept looking out over the expanse and enjoyed my walk. I noticed there was a dusting of snow on the ground but not on the steps. I found out later that due to the snowfall the day before it was almost impossible for the others on the cruisetour that had gone the day before to climb the wall.

 

At this area of the wall, there is a very commercial area and a garrison type structure that you buy your tickets before you start your climb. At this point there are two directions in which you can go up the wall.

 

TIP #6: Where you stand to buy the tickets (if you are facing that direction) you can either go to the left or the right. There are pluses and minuses to both directions. The left is steeper and harder to climb and because of this, less crowded. Our guide recommended us to go this direction because you could tell the other side was already getting very crowded. We took his recommendation and I was glad we did.

 

We wanted to get a picture on a camel, just as our friends did on their visit last fall. We thought that was so odd to have a picture taken on a camel on the Great Wall. The day we were there the camel was not there. We went all the way to top of our section and no camel! Actually, the camel was there, it was on the more crowded side, so we missed it.

 

Choose your side accordingly. If you are not interested in buying the picture on the camel I would take the recommendation of Edward, our guide and stay to the left side. It was not hard to climb and I think having less people make it easier as it is hard to walk up steps behind crowds of people.

 

Wear layers so you can peel them off as you become warmer from climbing. You may also want to bring gloves so you can grab onto the railings and walls even if they look grubby. In fact I wore my gloves for most of my time touring in China.

 

At the top of the section we were climbing, they have someone you can buy a souvenir certificate of your accomplishment. They even have a laminating machine so it stays protected. You cannot say the Chinese are not enterprising.

 

For those who do not want to walk up, there are sitting areas you can sip tea and of course, shop. We spent about 1.5 hours at the great wall, which is about the minimum time you need here.

 

The great wall or as they call it the ‘long wall’ was built for protection against Mongolia. It is a true symbol of the tireless spirit and wisdom of the Chinese people in ancient times.

 

After visiting the wall everyone was in the greatest spirit. We drove through the Yan mountains and their terraced slopes toward our stop for lunch. We went to the Yulong restaurant that was attached to a ‘friendship store’ where you could visit a cloisienne (sp?) museum, change currency and shop. The good thing about this shopping stop was all the prices were marked so you got a good feeling of what things cost. Keep in mind everything here however, is probably twice as much as in the markets. If you were making any big purchases such as pearls or rugs I would buy them here because you have the confidence nothing is fake. We bought some pearls and I love mine. They were freshwater, but still a great deal. In Japan, they would have been far too expensive for me to justify buying.

 

TIP #7: Remember to check to make sure pearls are real you must rub them against each other. Real pearls will feel like sand paper and rough. They should not be a smooth texture when you rub it against another pearl on the strand.

 

The lunch was very enjoyable, however, I loved all the Chinese food we had on the tour. There were some who barely ate a bite. We had about 2 hours here total.

 

After the shopping and a fantastic lunch we were fueled up for some more treasures from the dynasties. We visited the Sacred Road, a burial place of 14 emperors. For the most part we just walked down the road and admired the gorgeous statues. We spent about 40 minutes here and then we had to get back to get ready for our banquet dinner with our Chinese hosts.

 

Regardless of the time we got back I was so bagged I had to have a shower to wake myself up or I would be afraid I would sleep at the dinner table. We had to leave 40 minutes to drive there even though it was only a few miles away because the traffic is so horrendous. The banquet was at the Beijing hotel and it was beautifully ornate in Chinese tradition. Everyone on any of the Princess cruisetours attended the banquet as well as all the guides and hosts. The grand ballroom must have held over 1000 guests. The night was a real treat, not only was the food phenomenal but there was a classical orchestra from the symphony and they had a soprano and a tenor from the opera. The performance was one I will never forget and the voice of the tenor made me very emotional. After dinner, there were many performances from children dance troops and they were so cute.

 

On the way back to the Great Wall Sheraton, I would say most people were sleeping on the bus from such a fun-packed day.

 

The hotel I noted as having the best location was the Grand Hotel Beijing. This is the hotel where we attended the Princess Banquet. Our guides said this hotel was the oldest, the best & very famous. It was over 100 years old and had a very long history. That would be the location I would stay at if I were to go to Beijing again

 

MONDAY, APRIL 11 2005 - LEAVE BEIJING TO XINGANG

 

This morning as every morning we were out at the bus by 8am. We said goodbye to our suitcases as they were going straight to the ship and the next time we would see them would be in our stateroom.

 

Today we were visiting the Summer Palace. It was located on the outer edges of western Beijing and the Monday morning was chalk full of hustle and bustle.

 

The Summer Palace was a palace of gardens used for entertaining for banquets, meetings, opera and other performances of the arts. The emperor went from Forbidden City to Summer Palace by boat down the rivers and canals. They never spent the night there, even thought the place had many palatial buildings and was unbelievably huge. The opulence reminded me of the palaces of the Czars in St Petersburg Russia.

 

The Summer Palace had a huge expanse and was on the shores overlooking a beautiful lake. It was very busy with tourists, pickpockets and peddlers.

 

We finished with a boat ride on the lake and then we were off to eat. Again!

 

This time we would visit central Beijing to the famous Quanjude restaurant that specializes in no other than Peking Duck. There were many courses and the duck comes towards the end of the meal so make sure you save some room. It is roasted and is enjoyed with a thick brown sauce. I enjoyed the meat but the skin was very fatty.

 

After lunch we took this opportunity to walk around the area of the restaurant as it was on a very busy Beijing street. The best part of the area was in behind, there were mazes of back alleys, almost a city within a city that you would never see from the street. This alley community seemed to me to be what the real Beijing was all about. These are the types of areas that are being demolished for newer buildings and huge high rises.

 

We then boarded the bus for the last time and headed for the port and the Sapphire Princess. The port’s name was Xingang and was in the city of Tianjin. Tianjin is the third largest city in China after Beijing and Shanghai. It was a 2.5 – 3 hour drive to Tianjin mostly rural areas. Tianjin is 120 km from Beijing. Tianjin dates back around 600 years to 1405, same time period that forbidden city was built. Our tour guide Edward lived in Tianjin and commuted to Beijing everyday. He told us that within ten years, Beijing and Tianjin would be connected as a huge megalopolis. Unbelievable!

 

I remembered people complaining about Princess having check in at the Renaissance hotel on the CC boards. In fact, this was a great idea, as the port area where the ship is docked had no facilities for check in and people to be comfortably processed. In fact, the Renaissance hotel Princess check in was one of the most organized and pleasant experience in almost 20 cruises. For those that were complaining because they did not want to do a Princess transfer, I’m not sure, but I don’t think you could just hail a cab a get into the port as they are all blocked off. I often think people forget this is still a communist country. If you are planning to get to the ship on your own make sure you investigate this.

 

We were finally boarding the Sapphire Princess and it already felt like we had done so much and been away so long….

 

Once we were welcomed on board we went to the room and unloaded our clothes from the tour days in Beijing and did laundry. The laundry rooms were pay machines but there was a change machine and a place to buy detergent and dryer sheets. We figured our stuff would be washing/drying during the muster drill.

 

We took a cabin on Caribe 735 on the port side. We paid a little extra to get the larger veranda that the Caribe deck offered. We choose the port or starboard side according to itinerary, often it turns out to be a port side balcony. We like to think it is POSH (Port Outbound Starboard Homeward). We had never sailed on the grand class of ships on Princess. We were not sure how the terraced balconies would be. This was also the biggest ship we have ever sailed on. The Celebrity Constellation or Radiance of the Seas would be the largest ship we sailed on to date.

 

We sailed at 7pm just as we were finishing up our laundry and sailing out of Xingang on a very misty and cool night. Air temp was 57.2F and the seas were calm. We sail through the Bo Hay Bay setting a east/north easterly course toward Dalian.

 

Usually on a longer or particularly special sailing like this, we would go see the Maitre D’ to check our table location and size. This time we just didn’t get a chance. We showed up and had a table for 8, which is a size we enjoy. This is the only time this has happened so far but the table dynamics were not great.

 

We are the kind of people that enjoy a lot of banter and fun at the dinner table. Both of us also look to the waiter for recommendations on almost everything. In fact, one of our favorite waiters we had was on the Constellation and it came to the point where he told us what we were eating for almost every course. They have tried all the dishes they see them all the time, not to mention they see what it looks like on the first seating so they know what looks good. He would often say “don’t get the lamb tonight because tomorrow it is much better” and so on. I would order the pasta and he would smile and say ‘beef it is!’

 

Our waiter on the Sapphire was a little too serious and refused to commit to a recommendation. If I ask what to have, I am not going to come back and complain to them later for making a recommendation. I asked him about a dressing for the salad and he said he does not know me well enough to recommend. However, if I go to a restaurant at home they have not seen me before and they still make recommendations. I asked him what one (dressing) he likes and he said ‘I don’t eat salad’. I asked him what entrée is the best tonight? And he replied, “everything is good tonight” Ok we all know some things are better than others. He then said he does not feel comfortable making a suggestion. OK fine I get it.

 

After dinner, I mentioned the experience to my sister and it was bizarre as she had pretty much the same conversation with the waiter. I felt since we paid a lot and this was a 12 day cruise, we should look into some other options. Having the same waiter and tablemates is the precise reason we do the traditional seating at dinner. The next day we decided we would go see the maitre d’.

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 2005 - DALIAN, CHINA 8am – 5pm

 

Temp 50F / Fresh Breeze / Overcast / Smooth seas

 

A Distance of 196 nautical miles from Xingang. NOTE: 1 nautical mile = 1.15 Statute miles = 1.85 Kilomteres = 6,076 feet. We traveled at an average speed of 18.8 knots. Before you get completely awestruck by my knowledge of our nautical course, I’ll credit that to the ship’s navigator.

 

I woke up just after dawn and very excited about our first day of the cruise. There was a morning dawn I will never forget. The sun was a particularly odd shape because of the haze and clouds, it was a bright orangey-red and completely exquisite. A good day to be alive!

 

Usually, we try to book our own tours and guides wherever possible. The Asian itinerary proved to be difficult to do this. We were also very concerned about navigating on our own and the language barrier. There was very limited information on CC regarding these ports and I found it hard to locate guides. So I hope my review will aid you to do more things on your own.

 

In Dalian we thought the kite flying looked like a fun option. We did a bit of a walking tour first. It was actually more walking than a tour as the students were not that comfortable narrating what we were seeing. In fact, the walking part of the tour could very well be done on your own. Unless there is something specific in the list of tours you want to see you could very well just walk around the city on your own. The only thing was, it was a far walk into the town from the port (maybe 30 minutes) before you start seeing anything interesting. The ship being large must dock at commercial ports. There is a huge monument of a soccer ball (football). Walk towards this monument and then just walk around the main streets. Take note of landmarks to find your way back. Most people do not speak English.

 

This day was very windy and cold so the walk was good to keep us warm. After the walking part of tour, but before the kite flying, we stopped into a small basement bar. It was very unusual and weird. We all had a drink and some odd snacks consisting of small cakes and black eggs.

 

After the bar stop we went to the kite flying park. This made the tour all worth it. The park was up on a hillside and overlooked the entire city and the cherry blossoms were still in bloom. It was breathtaking! We picked out our kites and had about 1 hour or so to fly them. My kite had the face of the dude from the famous Peking opera. After the kite flying we returned to the port. It seemed when there were students hosting the tour they may be 3 – 5 of them so bring smaller bills to tip – just in case. We usually give a $5usd or $10 and we had no money to split between them. These students are mostly college students who are majoring in English. Many of them were studying to be interpreters. They work on a completely volunteer basis so tips were very welcome.

 

The Dalian student guides mentioned how Dalian was a small city in China. With a population of six million, that makes it twice the size of Toronto, the largest city in Canada - where we come from. Dalian is the 3rd largest port in China, with Shanghai being the first and Tianjin being the second largest. We were lucky enough to visit all three on this itinerary and being on such a huge ship we were always berthed at the commercial piers.

 

After we left Dalian, Sapphire Princess rounded the Huanbai Zui Cape and entered into the Yellow Sea at a southeasterly course headed for Shanghai.

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 2005 - AT SEA

 

Temp 62F / moderate breeze / sunny / slight seas

 

The days at sea are all about relaxation for us, after all this is our vacation from very busy careers. My sister and I are usually on the same page. This makes things very easy. We usually sleep in. On most sea days, if it weren’t for the lecturers I would barely be out of the room by mid morning.

 

On this sailing we were very lucky to have a lecturer from NASA. His first topic was on the investigation into the space shuttle accident. I won’t tell you the findings – you’ll have to go to the lecture series. He was an excellent speaker, very knowledgeable and well spoken. Sometimes you get lecturers who are very intelligent but very dry and boring. You know the types from the university lecture hall – I wonder why no one went to class?

 

Today was the planned day to meet our CruiseCritic group at the wheelhouse bar. We already knew one of the roll call members, a friend of ours from a previous Princess sailing. When we arrived, only Barbara was there which was great to see her however, unfortunately there was no one else there from the roll call. Afterwards, when I returned home there was a posting to the original roll call message board from a couple who said they arrived at the meeting time and no one was there. This was very unfortunate, because we were there and we even sat for a bit and stood around the bar. There were very few people in the wheelhouse bar and no one seemed to be looking to meet a group. So I am quite surprised by the post.

 

We made plans with Barbara to eat at Sabatini’s for brunch. Sabatini’s was the alternative Italian restaurant on board that has an extra fee. I had heard from these boards that the dinner was excellent and very much worth the money, but just too much food to consume at night. They do have a brunch and it was excellent. Sabatini’s was a highlight of our on board experience. The brunch really became popular as the cruise went on and it was often booked. Brunch is only available on sea days so get in there early.

 

The other onboard item that quickly became our favorite was the lecturer from NASA. We always made sure we were up and ready to attend his lectures on Space and other related topics.

[stingraynz]

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 2005 - SHANGHAI, CHINA

 

Temp 69.8F / gentle breeze / hazy sky / calm seas

Distance from Dalian to Shanghai is 511 nautical miles at an average speed of 15.5 knots.

 

One of the main selling points of this itinerary and the one before our sailing was the overnight in Shanghai. Shanghai is one of those places you must see at night and one port day is just not enough. I had the feeling Shanghai was going to be a highlight of the trip and indeed it was. I could certainly spend a week here exploring the city.

 

One drawback of being on the Sapphire Princess, being such a large ship it could not get into the smaller berthing areas and ports. We were always at the large commercial ports and though they were interesting to see, it would have been nicer to dock closer to the cities. The smaller ships such as Pacific Princess and Oceania ships would dock very close to the famous bund.

 

Our plan in Shanghai was special because a co-worker of my sister comes from Shanghai and her sister still lives there. We made arrangements with her to meet her sister and she spent the day with us. We discussed a plan months earlier about what we would be interested in seeing and more important - buying. We decided that the day we would spend with Hua would be mostly going to shopping areas and markets. We felt having a local to help us communicate prices and deals would best suit our needs and we would tour the following day.

 

The main worry we had was no idea where we would dock due to the size of the ship so we knew we had to meet Hua somewhere in the city. We decided that we would meet her at the Peace Hotel Main Lobby (north bldg) 10:30am. The hotel is located at 20 Nanjing Road East – near the Bund. Thank God Barbara our friend that was on board was also on board the sailing prior, so she gave us a very good idea of how it worked with the port in Shanghai. There would be no taxi’s available because it was a secure commercial port but there would be a shuttle bus available for $8US pp each way. This shuttle idea worked great with us we knew we would just take the earliest one possible and then we would have enough time to get us to the hotel by 10:30am

 

The ship arrived fairly early. It was very foggy. We later learned that was not fog, but smog! There was so much pollution that caused the air to be very thick and grey.

 

Due to the large ship we dock about 1 hour from Shanghai

Port Name: Shanghai Wai Gao Qiao (free trade zone – Pudong)

*** There are no taxis allowed by the ship. You have to take the Shuttle at a cost of $8.00 each way. It drops you off at the Silk Exhibitions Hall at 190 Dagu Road (Dagu Lu).

 

We really lucked out to get the last two seats on the first shuttle and we even got the escort’s front seat – what a score!

 

The documentation with the information and shore excursions said the ship would dock 1 hour away from Shanghai and this estimate was bang on. It did take almost 1 hour on the nose each way to go back and forth into Shanghai. I did not mind it so much as I like to drive through areas and see the environment and neighborhoods.

 

We asked on board the shuttle how far it would be to walk to Nanjing Rd from the silk store and they said it was about a 15 minute walk. So we decided to walk it than take a taxi. We arrived at the Silk Exhibitions hall and store and now had to find our way to Nanjing Road. I had a book on Shanghai with what I found to be a fairly good map. This map proved to be only good once you knew where you were on the map ;) and had your bearings as far as directions. We walked around for a good 10 minutes around the silk store in various directions before we saw a landmark we could follow. Once we got oriented it was very simple to find our way. The day became nice and hot and sunny. The temp on that spring day was about high 70s – low 80s.

 

We finally made it to Nanjing Road and the 15 minute walk was more like 40 minutes. On top of that we were at the wrong end of Nanjing road. We knew the Peace Hotel was on the corner of Nanjing and The Bund. This was at the HuangPu River and the Pearl Tower was also on the river, so we just kept walking towards the Pearl Tower. To walk the main stretch of Nanjing Road should be about a 15-20 minute walk, but the buildings and surroundings were so fabulous I would give myself at least 40 minutes to walk it. As the day goes on it also gets very busy.

 

We got to the Peace Hotel at about 10:15 perfect timing to meet Hua at 10:30. The Peace Hotel was a really beautiful example of Art Deco Architecture from the 20s in Shanghai. I was particularly interested in this hotel and the Bund area as The Art Deco period is my favorite.

 

We looked around the hotel and then waited by the café area and we saw our Shanghai escort approach us. It was a wonderful surprise to see two of them. Hua, is Yvonne’s sister and her cousin Jasmine also joined us for the day. We greeted hello and got right down to business. They planned where we would go and what we would see around a shopping list we provided to Yvonne months beforehand. .

 

I would almost classify ourselves as professional shoppers and bargainers. We did a lot of research on what to buy on this trip. A few examples of what we did was we would go to the local mall and look for anything that we wanted and had labels ‘made in China’ which was almost everything. I also bought a book on what to buy and where to shop in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. This book was read cover to cover a number of times and became our bible for this particular trip. We got a lot of ideas from the book and priced everything out at home before we left. We gave the list of things we would get in Shanghai to Hua and she planned the day accordingly.

 

The first stop was to purchase down jackets. We went to a department store just a few stores down from the Peace Hotel on Nanjing road. Nanjing was the main shopping street of Shanghai and would be their version of 5th Avenue. In this department store there seemed to be several smaller shops all run by different owners. When you purchased items they would fill out an invoice you would take it to the cash (they also took Visa) and they would give you a receipt and you would bring it back showing you paid and they would give you your items. It was a real scene in this store with the four of us. For obvious reasons my sister and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Then we would look around find things we liked discussed with our guides and then they would go to town to get us a price. My sister wanted a down coat and Hua came back with the one she picked out and said ‘this one is also on sale 30% percent off’. Bring it on! Then as we thought we were finished with this store we came across the down pillow and duvets.

 

I’m going to tell a story, right in the middle of our Shanghai day. This story goes back to my first Princess cruise for my 30th birthday. We went on the Regal Princess and we did not have the requisite Princess gold blanket and horrible foam pillows. I remember for a fact we had feather pillows and feather duvets in our stateroom. I slept like I had never slept before. My sister said it was because of the nice feather bedding. So there it was, when I got home I outfitted my bed in feather pillows and a duvet and I am ruined for anything else, all due to Princess. The funny thing is that we never have had duvets again on Princess and whenever we ask the cabin steward they say there are no duvets. We tell them we had duvets on the Regal Princess. But I digress.

 

Here we were in the Shanghai shopping mall faced with all this down bedding. As we looked closely, we realized they were almost giving it away. We looked at the ever so coveted eider down. Personally I had never seen this stuff myself, it is the really fine fuzz in the underside of the down. There is no feathers or spines – it just floats. We chose a 98% eider down and the process was fascinating. They brought out the down from huge bales, then they weighed out the amount – I think we bought 2 lbs of down. Then we choose the coverlet and then a woman proceeded to take the coverlets, blow in the down and sew it all in front of us. We paid approx. $180 Canadian and comparable ones at home are about $1200 because of the eider down. Fabulous find! BTW, we also bought down pillow as well. We left all our pkgs with the store to keep them until we wanted to pick them up at the end of the day.

 

Just in between this mall complex and the Peace hotel on Nanjing road there was a silk store called ‘Silk King’ we went in to check about buying some silk in various patterns. It was located at 66 east Nanjing Road http://www.silkking.com. We loved looking at all the beautiful silks and this was a store on Nanjing road so it seemed a lot more reputable than the market and not overpriced like the touristy Julong Silk store (the silk store at the shuttle bus stop) or the Friendship store. I selected a great silk with a tone on tone pattern of a dragon. Bought two metres and the store finished all the edges to make a fantastic evening wrap. Perfect for formal nights on the ship. We arranged to pick up the goods we needed work done on the next day. This was also a bonus of the two-day port time. We also bought some yellowy gold silk pillow covers for a neck roll or bolster shaped pillow. Even though we purchased a lot of material it was fairly lightweight and easy to pack. I also bought a bunch of Chinese styled patterns so I could make pillows or frame it or do something later on.

 

We traveled this day mostly on foot and by using cabs. We then went to eat an authentic Shanghai lunch with our Chinese hosts. I have no idea what this restaurant was called or where it was. Hua told us it had a very long history and it was so delicious! We had made our requests early on in the planning, being up front we would not eat any animals we would consider to be classified as pets. However, I did agree, if I had to be adventurous I would try snake. When we were ordering at the restaurant Hua said there was no way she was eating snake – we all had a good laugh. We had a couple dishes that we would order at our own authentic restaurants here in Toronto and we also had congee which I had often seen but never tried.

 

After we were fueled up we headed out for the markets on HuiHai Road. This was located in the French quarter.

This was a very large and popular outdoor market. It was packed and almost overwhelming. We still managed to buy a few trinkets but we were tired of being there very quickly. We did manage to get our Chinese kitsch in the form of Chairman Mao watches and Mao lighters that sang when you flicked the top. These items were a few dollars each as we were buying two of each thing. I also bought a few knock offs in the form of a Gucci hat ($10) and some Gucci sunglasses ($5) I love both items. This is certainly the market where you could buy clothes, fake rolex and other watches, belts and sunglasses. The French area was very beautiful and a fun section of Shanghai.

 

In the shopping guide we read there were sections from the contributors listing their favorite finds. The writer’s young son listed he bought DVDs for $1 at the CD café across from the Hilton in Shanghai. They specifically mentioned they bought the 20 DVD box set of all the James Bond movies for $20. Both of us wanted to purchase that! We told Hua we wanted to go to this store and she looked at us like we were crazy – you want to buy what? Where? Never heard of it! So we said lets just go find the Hilton and see. We took a cab there and asked around no one knew what we were talking about. We walked across the road and there was a cart creating a make shift store selling DVDs right beside the Shanghai Café. We got the box sets and a few more goodies and ‘yes’ everything was $1 each. The guy selling the stuff was so nice and he even told us we could watch anything we wanted on a portable player ha had available for us. We didn’t bother watching anything but since then, I have watched most of them and they are all good quality.

 

We sat in the Shanghai Café patio for a cold one and realized we were all just bagged. We were still supposed to go on a sightseeing cruise along the Bund on the HuangPu river and then possibly the Pearl Tower. We had all our bags from a serious shopping outing and we now had to carry them with us wherever we were planning to go. So we decided to take a cab back to the Julong Silk store – the Princess shuttle pickup and drop off and we would go back to the ship. Once we got back to the silk store we hugged, thanked and said goodbye to our special Chinese hosts.

 

SHANGHAI AT NIGHT

 

We took the shuttle back to the ship and we were not the only ones that did shopping that day. We dumped our loot off at our room grabbed a power bar for strength, reloaded our cameras with film and ran back to the shuttles. It was now dark and there were only male crew members on the shuttle heading for a wild night in the famed ‘sin city’ of Shanghai. Now we were very oriented with Nanjing Rd and that section of Shanghai. Photographing the lights and neon of Nanjing road was our goal tonight. We had to get back for the last shuttle at 10pm. The crew’s shuttle went until 1am and we wanted to get on that one and the shuttle operators were adamant about passengers leaving by 10. We couldn’t figure that out and we did not want to take the chance of getting a cab back to the port 1 hour away with someone who does not speak English.

 

We walked quickly to Nanjing road and the sight in front of me I would not soon forget. The bright lights and neon of Shanghai at night was phenomenal!

 

The pedestrian section of Nanjing was packed but we did not feel unsafe. We caught the last shuttle back and dropped into bed to prepare for another full day tomorrow.

 

SHANGHAI ORIENTATION

 

The Julong silk store and exhibitions hall was the main point of both shuttle and tour drop off for most princess tours. Once at the silk store if you are standing our front facing the road, turn to left and go to the end of the street. The was a fairly big China telecom building at the end of the road. At this corner, you want to walk to the left. If you turned right you came to very large highway onramp and it was very hard to cross. So by turning left you walked about 5 minutes and you would then pass the huge Shanghai center and People’s square. This is a very good orientation point and you can find most things on the map from here. Nanjing Road, The Bund, Shanghai Museum were all walking distance from here. The old town and YuYuan Market were a bit further in the other direction. I would take a cab to that area and go from there. The French area and HuiHai Road, Xiang Yang Road & Shan Xi Road where there were a lot of markets and beautiful neighborhoods to walk through and see architecture from colonial periods were also a short cab ride away.

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 15 2005 - SHANGHAI, CHINA

 

Temp 65.7F / gentle breeze / foggy sky / smooth seas

 

We had breakfast in our room as we had to meet today for our ship tour. This tour was called the ‘Shanghai Sampler’ and we choose it because it was going to take us to a couple of sights we had not got a chance to see and also allowed us some free time. We just hopped back on the ship’s shuttle whenever we wanted to go back. The ‘Shanghai Sampler’ cost $59 and was from 9am until latest 5pm when we had to be back on the ship. The guided part of the tour ended around noon.

 

This was now our third time driving into Shanghai so we were becoming very familiar with the route. Our first stop was in the Pudong area of Shanghai at the JinMao Tower. This 88-floor office tower is the 4th (or maybe 5th) largest in the world. It houses the world’s highest hotel as the Hyatt (I think it is the Hyatt) is on the 55th floor. The view would probably be spectacular from up at the observation deck. However, I think it is usually hidden by a blanket of smog, as it was the day we were there. We were there no more than about 40 minutes. I tried to make the best of it and I got some effective pictures of the Pearl TV Tower, engulfed, in an eerie blanket of fog.

 

The next stop was old town Shanghai and specifically the Yu Yuan gardens. This was our first time seeing the old section of the city and it was excellent for taking great art shot photos. Between the two of us we must have taken four rolls of film each just in the old town. I definitely recommend seeing the old town section of Shanghai. We spent around 1 hour at the gardens and in regular cruise ship tour fashion, whipped through the market in 5 minutes. Good thing we already did our purchasing, some ladies on this tour were scrambling to buy anything possible.

 

We were dropped off at the Julong silk store by way the Bund so we all could have a fast glance. They furnished us with passes to take the shuttle bus back and not have to pay the $8. They gave me two passes stuck together so I made another fellow cruiser very happy by giving him the free pass. This was were our free time started and of course, we had to pick up our purchases at the silk store on Nanjing Road that were being created for us. We knew this route easy now and we walked over to Nanjing Rd and went to our store and the employee there recognized us immediately and went to get our wraps. They were so happy to show them to us and they were incredible, the ladies really did an excellent job. It is now one of those items I have that I love so much I don’t even want to wear it as I am scared it may get wrecked. Well, not really I did wear it to dinner one night, and it is gorgeous.

 

We grabbed a quick bite at McDonald’s on Nanjing Rd – we had to compare the quality control to Beijing’s of course. We then walked around and absorbed as much of Shanghai before we had to leave and then grabbed a cab back to the Julong shuttle bus stop.

 

TIP #8 – As in any large city when late afternoon arrives, it became very hard to hail a cab. Leave yourself plenty of time and at least get yourself in walking distance to the shuttle stop or the ship.

 

To get rid of our remaining Chinese yuan as we still had some left over we only had time to make some purchases at the JuLong silk store which was the cruise ship recommended store. TIP #9 - Check all merchandise very carefully before you go to the register or bring out your cash. I was paying for my scarf and checking the silk for flaws as I always do. I had the money out and on the counter and they grabbed it just as I found a huge blotch on it. Then they would not give my money back!!!! Another girl that was assisting me kept saying that was unfair and the scarf was certainly damaged. They were all like that it must have been something wrong with the silk screening. I was starting to feel very cheated by these women. They ended up having to choose something else because there was no way they were giving me my money back. I did find a scarf in the same pattern but a different color. I really liked the new scarf my sister helped me find. She is the best shopping partner hands down! So disaster averted. The thing that bothered me was this was one of the highest priced items I bought. Even at the cruise ship store you can still get ripped off, as they do not stand behind their merchandise. Check everything first!

 

SHOPPING RECAP

 

Pillows & Duvet $180 cdn

DVDs $1 usd each

Sunglasses 50 yuan (less than $10)

Hat 70 yuan

2 Mao watches & 2 Mao lighters 65 yuan total

Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts 50 yuan (less than $10)

Postcards sets (10 in a set) 4 sets for $1usd nicer sets were 1 set for $1

Chinese fans 4 for $1usd

Silk 60-80 yuan per metre ($10 – 12 cdn per metre)

Silk bolster pillow cover 120 yuan ($20 cdn )

Silk scarf (Chinese motif) from Julong Silk store 320 yuan ($55 cdn)

 

 

 

Just as we were about to leave we watched some of the oddest-looking barges go by on the Huang Po River. It became so foggy we thought for sure there would be a few collisions as these barges and merchant ships seemed to be going head on into each other. We had heard that the on the stop in Shanghai on the previous sailing, one of these barges did hit the Sapphire towards the bow and it was quite loud onboard. We never got a chance to go to the front of the ship to check the damage. Apparently it was mostly cosmetic.

 

After departing Shanghai Sapphire Princess set a easterly course into the East China Sea toward Pusan. We said goodbye to China and on to the next leg of the adventure.

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 16 2005 - AT SEA

 

Temp 62.6F / moderate breeze / sunny sky / slight seas

 

Many were a buzz talking about their great experiences in Shanghai. In particular, people really liked the shore ex to Suzhou (sp?) and anyone who saw the Shanghai museum were very impressed.

 

One really cool thing we saw during dinner we saw hundreds of florescent lights scattered outside the window for as far as you can see. The captain announced they were fishing boats and the light attracted the catch. We passed these fishing boats for a long time. There were around 200-250 boats.

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 17 2005 - PUSAN, SOUTH KOREA 8am – 5pm

 

Temp 68.9F / gentle breeze / sunny sky / calm seas

Distance from Shanghai to Pusan is 429 nautical miles at an average speed of 13.7 knots.

 

This was one of these beautiful sunny spring days where the blossoms were in full bloom and not a cloud in the sky. It was very warm in Shanghai but generally smoggy. Pusan was the best weather we had so far.

 

Pusan is the second largest city in Korea, Seoul being the largest. Even though Seoul is the capital, Pusan is the largest and most important seaport.

 

We took the ship’s tour to the Ancient Silla Capital by way of Gyeongyu, a small resort area. This tour was all day from 8:30am to 4:30pm and was $126 usd. We selected this tour as it was the only all day tour offered. We find the all day tours are well done and the half day tours are very hit and miss. Again, on this particular itinerary we choose the ship tours because of concern of the language barrier.

 

Many people did not like the 1 hour drive to the tour destination there and back. I did not mind it so much as I like driving. The Buddhist temple was really ancient and quite interesting. It was very nice but I did not feel the same warmth and laughter as the people we met in China.

 

We had a big Korean lunch buffet at the Hilton hotel. I enjoyed the food but the food in China was more to my liking.

 

When shopping here you are paying pretty much double the prices of China and stall keepers at the market do not want to haggle or reduce the prices.

 

The sail away was really beautiful as the sun was just beginning to set behind the hills of Korea.

 

Sapphire Princess set a northeasterly course along the Korean coast. In the evening she left Korean waters and entered the Sea of Japan with a north / northeasterly course towards Vladivostok.

 

During dinner, once again, we saw all the fishermen and their bright lights attracting the catch.

 

MONDAY, APRIL 18 2005 - AT SEA

 

Temp 50.9F / fresh breeze / cloudy sky / slight seas

 

This sea day was spent generally walking around the deck, taking in a movie and relaxing.

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 19 2005 - VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA 5am – 7:30pm

 

Temp 43.7F / moderate breeze / overcast / calm seas

Distance from Pusan to Vladivostok is 515 nautical miles at an average speed of 16.5 knots.

 

Even though this port is in Russia, we did not need to get visas to go ashore on your own. However, there was some logistics that had to happen very early in the morning. Everyone had to collect their passports from the cabin steward prior to leaving the ship OR meeting your tour at the meeting place. This posed to be frantic for some people who tour meeting time had come and gone and they still have not received the passports. We tried to have one of us at the tour meeting area and one waiting for the room steward. The ship being so big they can only do this so fast and the only advice I can give is to be patient, yelling at the employees is not going to get anything done faster. I did not hear of anyone missing tours because of this, so no need to panic.

 

On the other side of this, you had to keep your passport on you all day and it had to have it pack in a few hours before sailing. Keep in mind that if you come back in the afternoon, don’t give back your passport if you want to go back in port and walk around later.

 

The ship was docked right at the railroad station, which is it the end of the line of the Trans Siberia Route which starts in Moscow which is 9288km away. To take this train ride from Moscow to Vlad it would take six days. It is the longest continuous railroad in the world. It also is famous because the last Czar, Czar Nicholas, laid the corner stone in the station. This is the same Czar who was found murdered along with his family after the Russian Revolution in 1917.

 

In front of the ship was the port building and crowds of people came out all day long to view the beautiful Sapphire Princess. Not many cruise ships call at this port and this was the Sapphire’s first time. It was really interesting to watch their reactions to the ship. I have pictures of the Sapphire in Vlad and she is so big she dwarfs the port authority building, which in itself was quite large.

 

Vladivostok is located in and around the hills of the Golden Horn Bay. This port is the home of the Russian fleet and many warships can be viewed in the town there was a real military presence. Until 1992 it was a closed port. In fact, we learned that in 1992 only Russian ships could call at this port and it was open to other nations only after 1998. This explained why the people of Vladivostok were intrigued to see the Sapphire, as this is very new occurrence.

 

Vladivostok was just so stereo typical, everything you think Siberia would be; dark, dreary & cold. Even our tour guides were called Anna and Igor.

 

We took the Russian Military History tour with the ship for $39 for four hours from 8am to 12pm. Our first stop was at a Military training school. They taught their students combat war fare, hand to hand combat, navigation and navy maneuvers. Their students were anywhere from six to eleven years old. They put on a few choreographed numbers demonstrating marching and gun assembly for us and then they had some paintings and Xmas decorations made by the students that we could buy if we wanted. I had to buy something made from the little Russian kids of course, so I bought a nice Xmas ornament.

 

We went to a museum that highlighted items used for border guarding & the war against Japan circa 1896 – 1906.

 

The next stop was the Lookout point and fortress. This fortress was around on the edge of the mouth of the bay/port area. It is situated on a hill just behind the oceanarium. We walked up a very tough and scrubby path. This was clearly not used to seeing tourists I felt this added to it’s feel of authenticity. This area would be a cold war buff’s dream. They had examples of hundreds different types of guns, artillery, bombs, bazookas and in behind on tailers and within the parking lots they had warheads and huge missiles on trailer beds. All this stuff was right out and you could touch pretty much anything you wanted, except for maybe sharp items like knives or old photographs. One of the dancers on board the ship who was from a former Russian country was absolutely astonished that the these items were all out on display for us to examine up close.

 

Here we had the most fascinating opportunity to see the Russian relics and armory so in depth, it is hard to believe it is the actually available.

 

Our last stop was Eagle’s Nest Hill provided a panoramic view of the entire Golden Horn Bay area. The viewing area was within the university grounds. There was also the opportunity to shop at a ship sponsored souvenir shop, a local liquor store as well as some local outdoor vendors. To buy anything at a local shop you needed to have rubles. Otherwise the tourist souvenir shops and outdoor vendors took dollars.

 

After our tour ended back at the ship, we took this time to walk around in the square and also check out the railroad station.

 

You had to exchange currency into rubles to buy anything in the city or local shops. The exchange rate was about 27 rubles to 1 usd. There wasn’t too much to buy here I found, other than the Excellent Russian chocolate. The large chocolate bars at local shops were about 20 – 45 rubles, very good prices. If you like dark cocoa rich chocolate, I certainly recommend this chocolate.

 

All the souvenirs were available from vendors set up around the port area and here you could use American dollars.

They sold all the regular Russian souvenirs such as, nesting dolls, lacquer boxes, Russian hats (Siberian army hats more than fur hats), postcards, stamps and coins. They had some pretty cool coins packaged with some paper notes. I saw some Olympic coins from the 1980 Moscow Olympics and I did not buy them because they were a few bucks more and I thought for sure I could find some more and there were none like that to be found again. For a few bucks I missed out on something I liked (stupid, stupid)!

 

The city of Vlad was preparing for a milestone anniversary. It has been 60 years since the end of WWII in 1945. As far as orientation, many sites were walkable right from the ship. The railway station was right out front. The town square was about 10 minutes and the submarine museum and exhibit were about another 5 minutes from the square. We decided not to go to the sub even though it looked fascinating, because the area surrounding it was all under construction. I imagine it is going to be a really nice park area after once it is finished.

 

The people were a really interesting point to this visit. They were as fascinated with us, and the Sapphire, as we were with them, and Russia. The Sapphire visit really became a highlight to the citizens as they were coming down to the port building in droves to bear witness and take pictures. I would have never believed it to be such a novelty if I did not witness it myself. They were still taking picture well after sunset as you could see the flashes. The tourists were not the only ones taking all the pictures that day.

 

Very misty and cold damp day is was only a high of 51 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

This evening was a very special sail away and one I will always remember. I really do take a lot of pictures to document my travels and tonight I was not the only one. I could see dozens and dozens of flashes during the sail away. This is when I noticed they were coming from the service ships. Sailors were on deck taking pictures of us leaving port. I waved at them and they waved back, true international relations. J That was really fun. Usually sail away is exciting for those on board and you rarely see people on shore waving or even interested in the ships are pulling out.

 

Tonight we had dinner with our friends we met all the way in Beijing on the cruise tour we ate at the Vivaldi restaurant. This was the Italian ‘anytime dining’ restaurant. In any of the restaurants on board you could choose from the main dining room menu as well as the menu of the Specialty restaurant. If you are dining in the main dining room on traditional seating then every night there was also a Specialty restaurant menu that was being promoted so you could also order from that one. This made a lot of choices available.

 

In late evening Sapphire Princess left Russian national waters and once again entered the Sea of Japan and set a south / southeasterly course towards Nagasaki.

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 2005 - AT SEA

 

Temp 55.4F / fresh breeze / sunny sky / calm seas

 

That morning, as well as the night before had fairly strong winds and seas. The ship had a slight rock but all in all still a very smooth ride. It became a beautiful day at sea very sunny but still cool and windy. We made plans to meet our table mates for a afternoon drink of Bailey’s with coffee and chocolate cake on our veranda. We really enjoyed their company and we knew we made the right choice of changing our table.

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 21 2005 - NAGASAKI, JAPAN

Temp 68 F / fresh breeze / partly cloudy sky / calm seas

Distance from Vladivostok to Nagasaki is 655 nautical miles at an average speed of 19.1 knots.

 

Sapphire Princess berthed at Matsugae Pier.

 

Having the opportunity to see Nagasaki on this itinerary was a mixed feeling for me. Nagasaki had previously only been synonymous with atomic bombing, atrocities and war. Even in the Princess brochure the following quote begins the lead in to the shore excursion choices. ”For most travelers, Nagasaki is a symbol of the horror and the inhumanity if war.”

 

I new I had to see the A-bomb museum and ground zero, so we booked a half-day tour to both those sites and it also took us to a beautiful park that was dedicated to ‘peace’. The tour we booked was called Tour to Ground Zero and memorial 3 hours 8am – 11am at a cost of $69.

 

This park was full of fountains and flowers, as flowers and water are a representation of life. Water is especially important as a symbol in the peace park because the lack of water caused the death of so many after the bomb’s initial death toll. It symbolizes that they will never be thirsty again. This park gave me the most surreal feelings. It was very beautiful and joyous to see all the memorials and gifts representing peace from many countries but you could not avoid feeling solemn and somber due to the subject matter.

 

Afterwards at the atomic bomb museum, it was a little bit harder to take but extremely eye opening. Just to see actual steel beams and pieces of building melted from the impact are enough to educate you. They say that 2.59 sq. miles were completely leveled and even more was destroyed. Across the street from the museum is the bombing epi-centre. I was so happy to see that this city is completely re-built and revived.

 

I did see the most beautiful sight from the bus window on the drive through the city’s winding streets, a very traditional Japanese woman in the most stunning kimono. This was the first taste of old Japan I would see and it just reminded me where I was and that there would be more to come.

 

Around this part of the city, there are a few reminders of war such as, scarred buildings and the ‘one-legged torii gate’ but they would have to be pointed out or you would not notice them in this pristine city.

 

If you did not want to be reminded of the horrible events that thankfully ended WWII, you certainly don’t have to be. The city area surrounding the ship’s berth is incredibly beautiful and other than a memorial statue, you would never think anything took place there sixty years ago. The city itself is very hilly and built up, but is incredibly clean and beautiful. This certainly set the stage for the rest of Japan.

 

The spring cherry blossoms were enjoyed by the previous sailing, as they were in full bloom. When we were in Nagasaki we saw the most incredible and rich azaleas and many other blooming flowers such as westeria. As much as I wanted to see the blossoms in Japan because they are such a symbol of Japan, I felt the spring flowers we saw in bloom were second to none.

 

Glover gardens was right up in the hills across from where the ship was berthed. There were many ship tours offering excursions there. There is absolutely no need to pay the extra $$ money for this as you can walk and enjoy the entire area on your own. There was a small information office just out front where you disembarked the ship. This office was primarily for public transportation information. Many people did this port on their own and wandered around for good places to eat and used public transportation to get around with no difficulty. The trolley day pass was Y500 about $5-6 dollars. We got a great visitor’s map and the trolley looked really easy to navigate.

 

The travel information on Nagasaki website is http://www.ngs-kenkanren.com (taken from the map we got).

 

After the tour we had some lunch on the ship and headed out to take in another side of Nagasaki. We walked out to the main road, crossed it and headed into the neighborhood. Look for the church steeple to guide you towards the town center. There were some small shops and we walked into a grocery store to look around. The prices were outright shocking and I realized very quickly that I would not be eating much in my stay in Japan. A very small platter of sushi from the diary case was the equivalent to $50usd. Yikes.

 

Up the winding roads was were we came across Glover Gardens. This was a plantation and garden of some very successful Scottish family circa late 1800s. It was Y600 (about $6) to get in and walk around the marked pathways. Everything was marked in English and offered some great views of the bay area and of course, the Sapphire Princess. One small aside; I used the public ladies washroom and I have to say it was the most pleasant restroom experience of my life. It was just as clean as a bathroom in a private home and had a nice aroma of citrus.

 

Once we walked back to the pier area, we stopped to sit on a bench by a pedestrian bridge. School children in groups of four were constantly coming out to see the ship. It was so fascinating to me to see how fascinated they were by the ship’s visit.

 

The Sapphire was built in Nagasaki so that was special for us and the people of Nagasaki. It was built at the Mitsubishi Shipyard and it was the original Diamond Princess that caught on fire when it was being built. A friend of mine said he saw it in Nagasaki when he was on a HAL cruise to Asia and said it was a real mess and could not believe it could be salvaged. I will say if I didn’t know better, I would never believe it was the ship that burned. There is absolutely no sign of such a disaster for any of you who were curious about this. It was delivered to Princess on May 27th, 2004 and so she was just under a year old on our sailing.

 

Many citizens of the town and school children came out for the sail away. It was such a send off a perfect way to end such an emotional day.

 

The sail away was very beautiful as there was an incredible sunset forming in behind hundreds of Japanese islands.

 

I was so excited to be here.

 

Japan exchange rates

 

1 CAD = 87.1139 JPY 1 USD = 104.596 JPY

1 JPY = 0.0114792 CAD 1 JPY = 0.00956063 USD

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 22 2005 - AT SEA

 

Temp 67.1F / fresh breeze / sunny sky / calm seas

Throughout the day the Sapphire Princess maintained a northeasterly course across the North Pacific Ocean towards Osaka.

 

This was the last day – and I was very sad (as I always am). The weather was gorgeous so it was a good day to get some rays at the poolside. The water in the North Pacific Ocean was a beautiful bright sapphire blue.

 

Sapphire Princess

 

DINING: we mostly had dinner at the traditional seating dining room, the sterling dining room. Breakfast and lunch we ate at both the Pacific Moon and Santa Fe dining room. We ate in the Vivaldi dining room for dinner once and all of them were good. We ate at Sabatini’s twice for brunch because it was so enjoyable and worth the $20 fee.

 

LAUNDROMAT: we did laundry a few times and it was the most painless of any self service laundry room on any ship. They had stacked machines so once you finished washing, everything went right into the dryer above. They had change machines to get your quarters. They also sold washing detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. We noticed people leaving (neatly) what they didn’t use for others, so we did the same. Isn’t sharing nice?

 

ENTERTAINMENT: we did not go to many shows, as we were always tired from the days touring or else planning to get a good night’s sleep for the next day’s hectic schedule.

 

We always went to see the NASA lecturer on sea days, but he was a popular guy and they had the lectures in the Explorer’s lounge, this lounge became packed right away and it was not closed off at the back so there was a lot of traffic going by and making noise. I wish they would have these lectures in the main theatre where you aren’t so easily distracted.

 

The wheelhouse bar (A Princess staple) was very comfortable and relaxing.

 

POOL: the pool areas are incredible and I thought this would be a great ship to do a Caribbean itinerary.

 

CABIN: Caribe 735 was very well laid out lots of place to put things and a very large closet/changing area outside bathroom. Our veranda was about 2x the size of the same sized cabins on Aloha deck (one deck above). The veranda had to large chairs with pads and a patio table with three chairs.

 

The Sapphire was a fantastic host. I loved this ship design, layout and décor. This was the biggest ship I have been on to date. Unfortunately, the main drawback was the size of her, as we could not dock at some of the smaller central piers in some cities. This caused us to be berthed at commercial piers further away. This was a problem particularly in Shanghai.

 

Tonight we had to say goodbye to our table mates and our wait staff. It was all coming to a close but we still had our post cruise stay in Japan to look forward to.

[stingraynz]

SATURDAY, APRIL 23 2005 - DISEMBARK OSAKA JAPAN

 

Temp 61.7F / gentle breeze / partly cloudy sky / calm seas

A total of 2759 nautical miles was traveled on this sailing. Nagasaki to Osaka 468 nautical miles at an average speed of 13.6 knots.

 

We were now in Osaka and I was sad to say goodbye to the Sapphire Princess but ecstatic to be in Japan now for the last leg of our adventure.

 

Japan post cruise planning

 

I started researching right away by checking on Cruisecritic for any information on Japan. Luckily enough I had saved a bunch of old posts from before the boards switched over. I had thankfully saved one or two reviews. Next I went to the Japanese official tourist board sites (http://www.jnto.go.jp & http://www.japantravelinfo.com ) and from found some links for Sunrise tours, Japan rail lines etc.

 

Being working stiffs we had to get back to work so we could stay in Japan for only a few days post cruise. We knew we had to make the most of this time and wanted to get an overview of a number of places we had to see. We realized it would have been best to stay in Kyoto for at least two days but we couldn’t. We contacted a Toronto based travel company (Tour East) that specializes in Asia. I emailed them and told them the number of days we had and that we were ending the cruise in Osaka and that our flights would leave from there. I gave the agent an idea of what we were interested in and she came back with a plan.

 

The agent we used from Tour East had been to Japan many times and was obviously in love with the country. We knew we would begin and end our journey in Osaka as that is where the cruise ended and our flight also left from here after our stay. She told us we should probably use Osaka as a base of operations and stay at the same hotel because we could store our heavy luggage for free. She also recommended that we see Nara and Mt Fuji via Tokyo, as these are two very important places in the heart of the Japanese people. This would only allow half day in Kyoto, which was unfortunate but we went with her recommendations. She was right on both accounts. Actually when thinking of going to Japan on the whole, I just felt I wanted to be in Tokyo for some reason - I felt it calling me. Seeing Mt Fuji was on our list of things to do for both my sister and me, so when Wanda made these suggestions we knew she was the agent for us. Even though we asked her literally hundreds of questions we gave her pretty much free range to make all the decisions and she stayed right within the budget. It was a terribly hectic schedule and there was no rest for the wicked, but we whirled around Japan and we saw a lot! It is probably the best place I have been to in terms of complete culture shock, beauty, friendliness of locals and of course cleanliness!

 

I will list the itinerary and plan for each day first and I marked $$ beside all the items that were not included in the pre-paid prices. This give us an idea of what we needed to still budget for.

 

Osaka Afternoon

Day one Plan

Meet private transfer at pier to take us to New Hankyu Hotel

$$Lunch on own

Afternoon city tour of Osaka

Tour Includes: Osaka Castle, ****ennoji Temple and Tsutenkaku Tower. The tour disbands on arrival at Osaka Station around 5:15pm

$$Dinner on own

After dinner pack an overnight bag for Tokyo

Consider storing luggage at night so not so busy in the AM

 

 

Once we disembarked Sapphire Princess, there was our guide to pick us up and take us to the hotel. This was prepaid before we left, however, once at the hotel, the guide seemed to be oddly mulling around us saying goodbye. We had heard and read there was no tipping in Japan so we didn’t. We felt very uncomfortable in that it afterward became quite obvious he wanted a tip. But we were worried about offending people so we did not offer a tip. After that we decided to offer a tip to everyone we would usually tip anywhere else. They either accepted the tips with thanks or graciously said ‘no’. But no one ever seemed offended, except for of course, how we felt on the first episode.

 

We stayed at the New Hankyu hotel. This 4 star hotel was a big concrete box and not much to look at. But the location was fantastic. It was right beside and across a street from the Osaka train station. The train station is a fantastic place to be as there are literally thousands of small restaurants and eateries that are well priced, since you are paying $$$$ for the hotel room. We paid roughly $400USD for our little box room that had safe, 1 double bed, TV, kimonos and slippers. The price also included a fairly decent breakfast.

 

We used this hotel as our base of operations in Japan and went to Kyoto and Nara then to Tokyo and back to Osaka. They were very good about keeping our luggage while we were gone with just our small bags. You cannot bring large bags on the Shinkansen, there is just not enough room.

 

The other hotels I noticed in the area were the Hilton is right across the street about 1 to 2 streets down but all very close. Right incorporated with the train station is the Granvia Hotel and it looked very nice.

 

When we checked in we received our maps, vouchers, tour tickets and directions for our stay in Japan. We then dropped off our bags and went out to look around. Right on the corner toward the New Hankyu is a tourist information office where they can give you any info you need. We inquired about a restaurant for that evening. We wanted to have some Kobe beef, as this is as close as we’ll ever get to Kobe again. They warned us of the expense of the Kobe beef but we were still going to do it.

 

If you walked straight through the train station and across the road there was a post office. Here you could use some very funky talking ATMs. They were in English and easy to use. You will be visiting the ATM often, as Visa didn't seem widely accepted and everything was so much more than expected. Once we were flush with money again we went out to find where our meeting point was for our afternoon tour of Osaka.

 

The Japan Sunrise tour picked us up at the Monterey Hotel, a fantastic boutique hotel. We found the sign that pointed out the meeting spot. While we were waiting I tried my first Japanese vending machine experience, which became one of many. We also were surprised when a group of about seven 20-something year old girls came over to talk to us. We heard that the Japanese liked to practice their English and were very friendly. These ladies were so nice and very interested in what we were going to visit and where we were from. They were on a break between classes at their college. We got a great picture with them and then they had to go back to class.

 

We were told everything in Japan left right on time and yet our tour was late to pick us up. We ended up asking the parking garage supervisor to phone the company to tell them they forgot us. Then a man from inside the hotel came out to tell us they called and would be around in a few minutes to pick us up. The bus finally came and they were so apologetic. Apparently, there were some dignitaries in town and the roads were blocked off and this caused traffic. The next thing we found out is that the tour we were expecting to take us to the Osaka Castle, ****ennoji Temple and Tsutenkaku Tower was the morning tour. The afternoon tour consisted of visited the Sanyo building & the Sanyo Museum, Asahi Brewery and an old site of Expo from the 70s. This was more of a tour of businesses than historical sites.

 

I couldn’t have been happier this happened as we were going to Kyoto the next day to see even more of these historic sites and shrines. I loved the idea of this tour, but there were people on the bus that were also misinformed as we were, but not happy at all and got off the tour. The tour guides were so sorry and became so relieved when the rest of us said we liked the new itinerary. The fact was it was not their fault that some of us we uninformed. I noticed in all the literature for Sunrise tours that this was the regular afternoon tour schedule for a Saturday. All of our tours were booked through the Japanese Sunrise Tours. I think this is tourist board run operator. Anyway they were fantastic! http://www.jtb.co.jp/sunrisetour/

 

The tour disbanded at the Osaka train station so on our walk back to the New Hankyu hotel we checked to find out where our tour in the morning was meeting. The meeting point was listed at the Granvia hotel lobby and this hotel was accessed right from the train station.

 

We went back to the room and changed for our special Japanese dinner. That night we went to a great steak house serving Kobe Beef (when in Rome) at teppanyaki tables. It was called RIO and we got the address from the tourist info office. It was located on the 7th floor of the Maru building. Yes we got lost so what I can tell you is it was near the Hilton hotel. Once we got there, we could get a table right away, it was about 8pm. We were the only tourists in there & most tables were full and we sat at the teppayaki counter there was a steady stream of people coming in. I noticed most of them got the surf and turf combo, Kobe beef and lobster. The restaurant was very modern and nice minimalist Japanese décor.

 

Price examples;

$70 for 120g filet

$15 stir fry veggies

$5 green tea (only one cup)

 

I think I am spoiled when I go to Japanese restaurants here in Toronto as you get complementary green tea and they are constantly filling the cup.

 

The dinner was excellent and we felt so good afterwards. Probably because we were comfortable rather than full. I would recommend the Kobe beef. It really did melt in your mouth.

 

Walked back to the hotel to drop into bed.

 

Oh! I forgot to mention about the Japanese Toilet experience. They have very funky – high tech toilets. It is a combination toilet and bidet. There is a control panel on the side (almost like an armrest) that played classical music or toilet flushing sound effect for privacy – I guess. One button would spray water to wash in front (for women) and another button to press to wash your behind. You could set the intensity of the spray as well as the temperature of the water. You can also warm the toilet seat as well. Although, this was really weird at first, you really will take to it. I did get a briefing on this from another cruisecritic post I read from an American women’s experience. So at least I was not completely unawares.

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 24 2005 - KYOTO JAPAN

Breakfast at hotel (included)

Check out and leave luggage in storage at hotel

 

Day Two Plan

Bring overnight bag for Tokyo

7:55am Join Sunrise Tours “Kyoto & Nara 1 day from Osaka”

Pickup at Hotel Granvia in Osaka

Take train to Kyoto (tickets included)

Morning tour of Kyoto (included)

visit Nijo Castle, Golden Pavillion, Imperial palace & Handicraft centre

Lunch with tour (included)

Drive to Nara

Afternoon tour of Nara visit Todajji Temple, Deer Park & Hasuga Shrine (included)

$$Dinner on own probably around Kyoto station

Take the Nazomi train from Kyoto to Tokyo (included) Dep 7pm Arrive 9:30

$$Get a taxi to hotel

About 10Minutes at CA$ 15/Cab ( JPY 1300/cab)

Grand Palace Hotel in Tokyo

 

Kyoto and Nara are about 40 min by commuter train. There is a separate train station for the shinkansen (bullet train). It is about 1000 yen ($10) to get a cab there or you can take the train.

 

Largest cities in Japan by population were Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Sapporo.

 

Niijo Castle 17th century. This building is considered a national treasure.

Home of shogun

Squeaky floor called the Nightingale floor. Created to warn shogun of intruders. When you walked on it, it truly sounded like birds chirping.

 

To preserve the floor, everyone must take off their shoes. If you have a sensitive nose (as I do) bring a nosegay or something to sniff while in there. The stench of foot odour from all the tours would kill a thousand cockroaches. You’ve been warned.

 

We visited a shrine (yes, another one) and he we saw many traditionally dressed Japanese including quite a few women in incredible kimonos. Just driving through the streets of Kyoto you could see the rich history and a mystical atmosphere.

 

Our next stop was the Golden pavilion. It was built in 1397 as a villa for the Shogun. In 1950 a monk committed arson and burned it down. What we see know is actually a replica and in 1987 the gold leaf was replaced in 22 carat. Now it is considered a Buddhist temple. The golden pavilion had gorgeous gardens.

 

We then stopped at the handicraft center and here you could buy any Japanese souvenir you needed. There was so much, I felt overwhelmed and did not want to carry anything else around so I did not even look. On the top floor was a restaurant and this is where we had lunch

 

GENERAL INFORMATION ON JAPAN

 

Kimono making is a cottage industry. There are no factories, they make them on looms primarily using their fingernails. It can take 2-3 months to make the belt called an obie and that alone can cost $6000 they usually have the most details. The rest of the kimono can cost $10,000. Before I went I saw a show on the discovery channel that showed kimono fabric prints being produced on huge inkjet printers. They could now scan in images to make the most intricate designs on fabrics.

 

Symbol of Pine Trees - Most important tree in Japan. Symbol of strength therefore longevity and prosperity. You will see the pine trees painted on many lanterns.

 

Religion – they have a saying in Japan and it goes something like 98% of Japanese are Shinto and 95% are Buddhists.

 

Torrii Gate – marks an entrance to a sacred shrine.

 

After lunch we drove about an hour to Nara. Here we were going to visit Todai-ji Temple & Deer Park and then the Hasuga Shrine.

 

The temple and deer park was Buddhist and the deer although very cute, smelled. We made our way to the temple that has the world’s biggest wooden Buddha. This was truly a grand sight. It is from the 8th century, the head was bronze, the body was Cyprus and the feet were made of copper. It was so colossal and breath-taking it was hard to believe my eyes and I was looking straight at it!

 

After the Buddhist temple the Shinto Hasuga shrine with it’s 1000s of lanterns did not feel as grand. It was still a nice nature walk through the grounds. The Shinto religion has a god for everything; a god for travel, a god of sake, a god for nature, you get the picture.

 

We drove back to Kyoto and some people were let out at the hotel right across from the train station south entrance, it was the Miyako Hotel. Many people on our tour were staying there and I had also noticed in Kyoto also had a hotel Granvia right in the train station just like in Osaka.

 

We were going to head to the train station to take the Shinkansen ‘bullet train’ for Tokyo. You have to make sure you ask what part of the huge train station has the Shinkansen tracks, as these trains always have either their own station or at least their own tracks.

 

From Kyoto station the Shinkansen only had two tracks. The trains arrive every 8 to 10 minutes and are right on time. There is a post marking where to start the line and the arrival/departure board will list the order in which trains are arriving. The tickets mark what car you are on and you then line up when your train is slated to arrive next. There are many station employees on the tracks to answer any questions.

 

We pre-paid for a reserved car and they are just line commuter airlines. There are three seats on side and two on the other. Or I also believe they can be 3 and 3. Food and beverages are made available from carts. All in all these trains are clean, comfortable and really easy.

 

By the time our train left Kyoto at 7:46pm it was already dark and our train sped until our destination at Tokyo by 10:06pm. We were greeted to Tokyo with a full moon and the night air was a little cool.

 

We took a taxi to the Hotel Grand Palace, located right by the Tokyo Tower and the taxi fare was Y1500 or around $15.00.

 

We were booked at the Hotel Grand Palace and this was also a 4 star hotel, same as the New Hankyu where we stayed in Osaka. We were not expecting much as we were also paying $400/night here and that does not go far in Japan you pretty much just get the basics. We arrived at the Grand Palace about 10:30pm and were checking out at 7am. I think the young lady at the front desk took pity on us because she gave us a fantastic room. Sometimes you just get lucky. She told us it was a nice room with a good view. First of all the room was huge and we had nice duvets and bathrobes and kimonos as well! I loved our night at the Grand Palace and I am going to give them a great plug!

 

We also had the sweetest bellhop. He was so interested in where we were from and what we were seeing. One thing I noticed was that hotel and restaurant staff clearly refused tips or said they were not allowed to accept them. However, any staff on tours would gladly accept tips and very graciously received them.

 

MONDAY, APRIL 25 2005 - TOKYO JAPAN

Breakfast at hotel (included)

7:50am Join Sunrise Tour “MT Fuji Hakone 1 day Return by Shinkansen”

Tour to Mt Fuji will pick us up at hotel (included)

Lunch with tour (included)

$$Dinner on own

8:00pm Shinkansen ‘Bullet Train’ back to Osaka

Cab fare from Shin Osaka to New Hankyu Hotel approx. JPY 1500/cab 15 min.

Check back in at New Hankyu Hotel

 

I hated to leave our room at the Grand Palace but we had to see Mt Fuji today. We packed up and went downstairs and there was our same bellhop! So we got a picture with him before we left. The Japanese were right into getting in pictures with us and/or taking pictures for us. The minute we held up a camera to them they were very obliging.

 

A bus for Sunrise tours picked us up at all the area hotels and dropped everyone at the main bus terminal where the tours departed from.

 

This process was extremely orderly and the bus station was unbelievably clean.

 

Typical Japan, they are so orderly there was a seat assignment on the tour bus. This ensured no fighting over seats etc. We were quite happy as we got the front seats. We know the seat assignment was not in alphabetical order since we would be always last (our name begins with a ‘ZU’). However, we did book these tours probably 7 or 8 months in advance and we showed up in the bus station line up first. So there you go – justice served. This seating arrangement also helped the tour guide know who was sitting where, in case someone went missing.

 

One thing about Japan all tours, trains, buses, everything left on time. You always had to come to the assigned meeting spot 15 minutes early, if you came on time you were late!

 

We were on this tour leaving Tokyo at 8am Monday morning and as you can imagine – a sea of blue suits filled the sidewalks. Leaving Tokyo and driving towards Mt Fuji we saw and drove some triple and quadruple decker highways.

We drove through three prefectures of Tokyo, Yokohama and Kofu. Once out of these prefectures and into the more hilly terrain of Kanagowa prefecture, it surroundings reminded me of driving through Pennsylvania. About 75% of Japan is mountainous and only around the shores are flat. The area we drove through toward Fuji was said to be typical of Japan.

 

On the drive we saw an experimental track being used for the magnetic levitation or MagLev trains. This train can go 500km/hr. The main thing keeping them from developing this further is mostly monetary. I had seen a show on the discovery channel before I went that showed this very track and the testing they were doing with Maglev technology. It was so cool to see this in Japan. The Maglev technology is already being used in China. The train to the airport in Shanghai is Maglev and Princess offered an excursion to take this train to the airport and back. I thought that would have been a cool excursion to do.

 

Our tour guide was Tadashi and he was absolutely fantastic! He was an older man and you can tell he sincerely cared about our day and was so into being a guide. Have you ever had a guide that only speaks to the first few rows on the bus and if you are walking in a group and only the people next to the guide hear the conversation. Well Tadashi was the complete, opposite he would always speak over the microphone if it was available and if we were standing in a line he would tell each and every person the information you needed to hear. As we were leaving the area of Tokyo he was already apologizing for possible clouds covering Fuji. We knew right away that was not good. Although we were certainly not looking for apologies either.

 

Here is some general Information we were told during our drive to Fuji.

 

Only 100 years ago Tokyo was rice patties.

 

Shogun was the general commander of the armies of Samurai.

In 1868, there was a very powerful Shogun but he was also very peaceful.

1873 there was a big debt and the American commodore Perry wanted to open trade to US via the Nagasaki port. The Shogun at first refused but later gave into Perry in 1868.

 

The 15th Shogun was also the last one, he gave the power back to the emperor. In 1854, Yokohama was opened by Shogun.

 

Tokyo was at one time named Edo and in 1868 it was renamed back to Tokyo.

 

Fuji is 20kms from the Pacific Ocean. There are only 100 days a year where you can see Fuji. In July the top of Fuji is not snowcapped and it looks quite different.

 

On this tour we were going to drive up to the 4th stage of Mt Fuji. The 4th stage is 200m below 5th stage. The 5th stage was struck by a typhoon in October 2004 and this caused a landslide that covered the road in rocks. Tadashi was so apologetic and we all felt he need not be – since a typhoon was a fair enough excuse. Fuji has 10 stages and the day we were there the snow was up to the 7th stage.

 

Fuji is 12345 feet or 3776m.

 

Second stage is at 1596m, 3rd stage is at a height of 1786m and the 4th stage is 2020m.

 

The amusement park at the base of Fuji beside the resort where we had lunch has a roller coaster that goes 170km/hr. it is the fastest in Japan and the highest in the world. I think it was called Fujikyu Coaster.

 

Fuji is located in the Yamanashi prefecture.

 

The last time Fuji erupted was in 1707. Since the last eruption is has been dormant. It is said it is beginning to tremble again. Fuji means fire.

 

At the base of Fuji we saw a forest where Tadashi told us 100 people/year commit suicide. In Japan, 30,000 people have commit suicide in the last 5 years. Suicide plagues the young people who live beyond their means. Financial concerns are great problems especially since everyone wants the latest and greatest products and living costs are so high.

 

In the same forest Tadashi also told us many campers get lost as compasses do not work because of the earth’s natural magnetic fields.

 

As we rounded corners going up the mountain passes. Tadashi, literally screeched with delight as we rounded the corner and there was Fuji, in all her glory and completely cloud free! I think Tadashi was even more excited than we were – and we were pretty excited to be there!

 

We got out and walked around, looking up at the famous peaks. We had about 40 minutes to do so.

 

Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch at the most beautiful hotel. It was a resort that overlooked Fuji and the restaurant was at the top. The lunch unfortunately was not Japanese food, which I would have preferred. It was actually very American with buttery rolls and roasted chicken. The food was delicious and the view was spectacular – another great day!

 

After lunch we went to a peace park and had more great views of Fuji in full view across a valley. Here we were lucky enough to still have the cherry trees in bloom with fantastic pink blossoms.

 

We went to lake Ashi that was 47m deep and the ropeway that was 47m high. At this time in the afternoon it was becoming very windy. This area is a tourist resort town and is very busy in summer tourist season. The spring day we were there we had everything to ourselves, so a great time to visit.

 

The tour ended at Odinawa station where we took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. The tour ended at the Tokyo train station and everyone disbanded and was to go on their own from there. On the train Tadashi asked each person/couple where they needed to go at the end of train ride he directed every person to their track, hotel or made recommendations for a restaurant. That’s what I call ‘above and beyond the call of duty’.

 

At the Tokyo station Tadashi recommended to us to eat in a certain section of the train station. I have never seen so many places to eat. You go toward Yaesu Central exit to the Yaesu underground central. There was 100s of small restaurants of varying menus and prices. Then there was a huge department store with more eating and restaurant selections.

 

Then we were back on the Shinkansen back to Osaka from Tokyo. When we arrived back at our little shoe box room at the New Hankyu, we watched the news and found out that the worst train crash on over 40 years had taken place right in Osaka just during rush hour that day. It seemed a train operator was going much to fast, trying to keep the schedule and the train derailed. We did not know this even happened because we were on the Shinkansen which uses separate tracks and even has it’s own station in Osaka. You never know when something is going to happen and it can happen so close and in this case we were not even aware. Of course, everyone at home was super worried.

 

It was now time for us to depart to back home. We had so much stuff I was worried they were not going to let us on the bus to the airport. Everyone else seemed to have such tiny little bags. No Problem! There were tons of people with way more stuff than we had.

 

For those that have long layovers at Kansai International in Osaka, they do have a hotel and there is some luggage storage areas right in the terminal. The flights are all posted and the times you can begin checking in. Do not even think you will be lining up before your allotted time. This is Japan you know and everything is extremely planned out.

 

Every time I come home I always say ‘that was the best trip’! This one is going to be a tough one to top. This is the end – I am getting really tired of writing this review.

 

Next up! Istanbul and Greece.

[hmh]

Thank you for a very interesting review of your April 2005 cruise. You provided me with some information which has been missing in my research about a similar HAL cruise.

 

Do you have any more comments about the port Xingang. You mentioned that it is in Tianjin. Do you mean that "literally." --or that it is within that area or near that city? We would be two days in that port and while we plan to take the Great Wall excursion one day, we were hoping to go in to Tianjin on the 2nd day. But I have yet to find specific info on this. (On a recent HAL cruise to Mexico, shuttle busses were provided by the Port Authorities to take you in to the closest towns. I was hoping that would be the case at Xingang.)

 

Thank you again for your review. Ciao. hmh

[dcollier]

Thanks also for that incredibly comprehensive review - looks like you had a great time. You've also given me a great starting point for my own research for our cruise to some of these ports next March as well.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Sandy R]

Thank you for such a detailed report. We will be sailing Anchorage to Osaka next September and you've helped in my quest for additional research on some of our ports.

 

Sandy

[stingraynz]

I am going to try my best. However, if someone notes my info is not completely correct please post.

 

I know this was very confusing for me too! The port area is called Xingang and the city is Tianjin. I think this because first of all Tiangin is way bigger than I thought (pretty much like all Chinese cities - it is huge). There definitely seems to be a lot there to sightsee and shop, but just not the more famous sights like the great wall.

 

Once we got to the Renaissance hotel and checked in, it seemed the port was right down the street - could have been anywhere from 5 but less than 15 minute drive to the port. Pretty close yet not close enough that I would want to walk anywhere. The port area was huge and unsightly. Princess had the check in at that hotel because there is NO facilities at all. The only thing on the dock was the metal detectors and the ships gangway. That went back on the ship when we left.

 

I would hope that your cruise offers a shuttle. I can't see them not offering one because I do not think people are allowed to wonder around these Chinese port areas.

 

Maybe you could contact the Renaissance hotel and see if you can book a tour to see the Great Wall through them. Otherwise, if the ship is offering one I would take it. You can't be that close and not go! We took most tour with the ship just to take the guess work out of the 'difficult to plan' ports. It is not my first choice but we were very happy and stress free in the end.

 

Hope this helps.

[hmh]

Thanks for the information. The cruise we are considering is a HAL cruise and is in Xingang for two days. We would take the Great Wall tour on one day, but on the 2nd day, thought we might at least go to Tianjin if possible. Somewhere, I had read that you could take a train/bus into Tianjin and that it was not too far from the port. This coud have been "wishful thinking" on my part, however. My friend, who was on a Princess Cruise, similar to yours, a few years ago, doesn't remember much about it, as it was where she disembarked. hmh

[stingraynz]

HI

 

I think I was unclear.

 

If you are on HAL for two days in Tianjin (Xingang), they are probably assuming most people are going to Beijing for assorted tours. HOWEVER, urban Tianjin is VERY close to the port. I am not sure why the port is called Xingang but you could walk to the city from the commercial port area.

 

I would imagine HAL will have some kind of transportation to Tianjin, because even though it was fairly close - I do not think people are allowed to roam around these huge port areas. Nor would you want to.

 

It may be similar to Princess where they bused people to The Renaissance Hotel. That I can't tell you. One would think HAL would take care of this.

[minke]

Thankyou for a very comprehensive review, not many reports about on Asia cruises. This helps us a lot as we are on the same cruise as Sandy R.

[Katie333]

What a wonderful review! The shopping notes alone make me want to cruise, and I think the Sapphire would also be a nice ship to see.

 

This is one to add to my list I think!

[Marbella]

Just finished your amazing review. Thank you so much for all of your time and great effort. We found it very informative and very interesting.

 

I printed it off--it is a small book! Have you considered going into the travel guide business??

 

We are on the HAL cruise leaving Hong Kong on the 17th of April out of Hong Kong.

 

We are most interested in the titles of the books you used. One in particular was on the shopping in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.

[Crown Prince]

Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing : The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love to Shop (Born To Shop) - Suzy Gershman

I ordered mine from Amazon for $9.70 USD. It actually has a lot more than just shopping, like hotels and restaurant recommendations.

I read Suzy's very first book, Born to Shop Hong Kong, in the '80's. She travels all the time and keeps her books constantly updated so the information is very fresh. In my book, a Must Buy. It will save you a lot of time and money. It is a Frommer's book.

[stingraynz]

Yep! You got it!

 

SUZY GERSHMAN'S

BORN TO SHOP

 

 

Some other guide books I used that I liked were

 

FODOR’S CITY PACK - They have great maps that you can pull out and stick in your pocket and they are small enough to bring with you.

 

FODOR’S EXPLORING GUIDES - I like these more than ‘Lonely Planet’ as LP is geared towards backpackers.

 

KNOPF MAP GUIDES – This is the map book I used for shanghai to study areas before I left and while I was there. Each page is a fold out map highlighting a certain section of the city.

 

DK EYEWITNESS GUIDE BOOKS – or the DK EYEWITNESS TOP TEN GUIDES. These I love because they are light, have great photos and they list everything so they are easy to read and refer to on the fly.

[anniecat]

thanks for sharing your cruise report...great info. I wish I could write as well as you have. thanks again

[Debi Girl]

Stingraynz:

If you are not a professional writer - you should be!! That review was fantastic! I'm going to China, S. Korea and Japan in March - you have made me even more excited to be going!!! Thanks again for sharing!!!

[Marbella]

Stingraynz

 

Thanks again for the info. Wondering about your private transfer from the pier to your hotel. Did you arrange this as well with Tour East? We have a couple of days before flying home but thought we might just go to Kyoto, and are wondering about the best way to travel there with the large bags.

 

You were very ambitious and made very good use of your time in Japan!

 

Thanks again!

 

ps we are 'neighbours' to the west of you.

[stingraynz]

Hi Marbella

 

Yes, from the moment we docked in Osaka to arranging for our bus tickets back to Kansai Airport in Osaka, Tour East looked after everything. We told the TA what we wanted and gave them a reasonable budget and they put it together and made some excellent suggestions such as fitting in Fuji. We went with all their suggestions.

 

If you want the contact info of the Tour East rep we used feel free to email me at StingrayNZ(no spam)@aol.com

 

Just remove the (no spam) from the address.

 

It was very nice to get off at the port and have someone there to pick us up with all our luggage.

 

You could have done all the same arranging yourself and next time I probably would try. But we did not know where to stay the best areas etc. I am so glad we did it this way as it took all the headaches out of the equation and probably came to about the same cost. I would definitely use Japan Sunrise tours again. and would choose a hotel near the train station.

[qqq266]

Wow, that was the most comprehensive cruise review I have ever read. I hope the relevant information is still applicable now, six years later, as we will be visiting some of the same ports on our next cruise. THANK YOU, if you are still reading this thread.

[KirkNC]

Wow, 2005.....back from the dead.

 

Kirk