Terracotta Army

[MBP&O2/O]

A little bit of advice if I may be as bold as to ask? Far East experts???

We are tentatively considering a ‘Far East’ cruise for 2021, and are exploring our options. Being that it is ‘long haul’ we might as well see what we can in one trip and this is where the advice comes in.

There are two things to see that are cast in stone ... one is that we would like to incorporate a visit to Xian to see the Terracotta Army (I like to see things that are even older than me😀) ...... and the second is a short stay in Singapore.

Would it be easier to visit Xian as a pre-trip option and then trot off to join the ship or would it be better to find a cruise that offers the mid-trip overnight excursion? 

I personally am erring towards the separate stay for reasons of flexibility as I presume that you can get to many of the normal embarkation ports from Xian?

We have a cruise booked on the Shadow in October so I am trying to research this as best as I can as, if anything suitable crops up in the next schedule release in September (?) i.e. before we sail,  we could consider booking on board as I understand the fare will then be discounted by 5% ... which is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick 😀

All opinions gratefully received.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Unibok]

Hi Mike,

 

My recent voyage last month went northward, from Singapore to Hong Kong. The Terra Cotta Warriors were offered as a post-trip land extension from Hong Kong. Singapore is a wonderful pre-cruise port, very easy to explore on your own for as many days as you like. If those are the two things you really want to do, consider a northbound Singapore - to - Hong Kong to readily facilitate both.

[MBP&O2/O]

Thanks for that ... something like that seems ideal. I am not really bothered if Xian is post or pre cruise so I am looking forward to the next release of Itineraries.

[Bill B]

Personally, I would never do a mid-cruise overnight excursion to Xi'an (or Angkhor Wat, or Machu Picchu etc.) because of the distances/logistics involved in getting to the destination and back to the ship. While it will be (relatively) luxurious, it will be a 'whirlwind' in which you miss 90% of what there is to see (but 10% is better than nothing). 😉

 

At the risk of stating the obvious, all your planning will depend on the itinerary of cruise you book:

- Do you want to start in Singapore or end in Singapore?

- How are you going to enter China... from where?

- How are you going to get to/from Xi'an... from where?

- Air or rail?

 

In a nut shell, this is what it boils down to -

Whether you go to Xi'an pre-cruise or post-cruise doesn't matter. The question is -

Do you want to be independent and flexible - there will be 'challenges' 😱 (I lived six years in China); or, see/experience less, go in cocoon and pay through the nose to have your hand held and not worry about anything?

 

 

[Stumblefoot]

Sounds like a fun trip Mike!  You’ve been given good advice from both Unibok and Bill.  Here are my 2-cents.

 

1. Singapore is a great city.  Stole our hearts to be honest.  A reason to contemplate ending your voyage there is that it’s a great city to “recover” from what is invariably an exceptionally busy itinerary on the ship.
2. As you can probably imagine, Xi’an is an incredible site and so much more than just the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.  It’s a little more than a 3-hour flight from Hong Kong, 2-1/2 from Pudong, and just 2 from Peking.  Personally, I would encourage you to visit at the beginning of your trip and base yourself in Beijing.  You can incorporate a day at the Forbidden City and key temples in the city, and on another day head out in the countryside to hike the wild wall before traveling back towards the city to stop at any number of sites where the government has reconstructed the wall.  Another nice thing about Beijing is that you can travel on the high speed rail line to Xi’an for a super relaxing 5-hour journey.
3. Lastly, I would disagree with Bill’s assessment of traveling with SS to experience Xi’an, other than cost and worry.  SS will always be more expensive than private arrangements and you will never have to worry about anything.  However, I have never felt than any of the mid-voyage land tours we have done with SS have kept us from seeing/experiencing all that we wanted too.  I can give you multiple examples of where we did more than was promised, added additional stops that weren’t planned, never had our hands held as we were always allowed to leave the group and explore on our own as much as we liked, all the while traveling in comfort.  The nice thing is mid-voyage land tours are conducted during sea days, so you don’t miss any ports.

Have fun fun planning your trip!

[CruisinPashmina]

We always preferred to take PreCruise Trips. And, all the ones we chose were really well organized, and just what we wanted.  First of all, choosing  a precruise Trip arranged by SS was good all the way around. We were fresh and excited, and we were paying for the specific trip..not double paying for the per diem on  and off the ship. We never chose an after cruise excursion as we always felt when the party is over, it’s over. We then, and I now alone, like to disembark and fly home the same day. The one exception was a knock your socks off mid cruise overnight in Florence. Cost a fortune, but was a one night wonder. I think that because this was easy..just a car and driver and one night off the ship, it was something I would joyfully recommend. For longer more exotic trips, I would always chose a pre cruise adventure.

 

[MBP&O2/O]

All .. your comments are exactly why I asked 😀

Before or after - to me - is immaterial, but I would tend to favour before for the reasons as shown.
Would completing a cruise in HK assist with the visa situation? Probably not as I understand that a visa is not required for HK and I have also heard that with effect from 1 November 2018, all visa applicants aged between 14 and 70 inclusive will need to make their China visa application in person at a Visa Application Centre. As part of the application process, biometric data (scanned fingerprints) will now have to be provided.

This could be a nightmare ... for starters, my nearest Application Centre is an overnight stay away 😏
Hand held or independent? I was thinking about using a specialist TA or an SS land tour to sort out the finer details
As stated, it will depend on what is available / suitable on the cruise front. All things being equal I would prefer to start in Singapore and finish HK or wherever if for no other reason that flights to SIN are easier than PEK .... coming home it doesn’t really matter .... as stated .. the party is now over 😢

Good a reasons as any for starting early 😀

[Unibok]

Hi Mike,

 

Stumblefoot knows all of this far better than I do, but I think that if you end your cruise in HK, SS will take care of the China visa for you as part of your post-cruise land tour. For me, that would be reason enough to do it at the end, and to book it through SS. You don't need a visa for Hong Kong, but you sure do for the land tour.

 

However, I didn't actually do that land journey, and he did, so mine is just an educated guess. I'll be interested in hearing what you decide.

[Stumblefoot]

On 4/7/2019 at 5:30 AM, MBP&O2/O said:

...I have also heard that with effect from 1 November 2018, all visa applicants aged between 14 and 70 inclusive will need to make their China visa application in person at a Visa Application Centre. As part of the application process, biometric data (scanned fingerprints) will now have to be provided.

Mike, what was the source of this info?  We've never had to apply in person or provide biometric data in the past, but maybe something changed like you noted last November.  We've just always sent our application and photos to their Chicago facility and have the VISA returned in less than 2-weeks.

[MBP&O2/O]

My source has sent me a link to his source ...

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/entry-requirements

 

Looks like he copy / pasted the relevant bit ...

 

Mike

 

[Stumblefoot]

Ah, and now I know why I haven't had to provide biometric data or go to a Chinese facility in person before; different rules for citizens of the UK.  Thx for the clarification Mike.  It really stinks the effort they make you go through to get a Chinese visa.  It's as if they think you might try and steal an island, or something.  😉

[MBP&O2/O]

Nah ... we would swap it for a couple of clapped out warships 😁