First Time in Asia Need Help With Shore Excursions

[Lobbylin]

In Shimizu (at least 7 yrs ago!), I recall there was a little shopping area by the port. We did the ships tour to see Mt Fuji, which was very pleasant- we ended up on a beach with Mt Fuji in clear shot in the background. Perfect on a clear day. But the irony was that when we got back to the ship and sat up on aft buffet open deck, we could also still see Mt Fuji in the distance lol! (Albeit further away) so if there is something else that appeals… I’m just saying 😉

[shaycamp21]

Thank you to everyone for all the tips with our trip being a week a away I just wanted to share our planned itinerary, hopefully it's helpful:

We are staying 5 nights in Singapore pre-cruise and nothing is set in stone (really our only must do is Gardens by the Bay) --weather will be permitting and we know it will be scorching hot so that is a factor in how much we'll be able to do.

 

We arrive into Singapore just past midnight from Toronto, Canada (23 hrs in transit😴 we have a 3hr layover in Tokyo) so our first day is just going to be a chill pool / beach day getting over our jet lag (staying on Sentosa Island--on a family friendly resort on Siloso Beach as we have our daughter in tow).

Day 2: Garden's By the Bay*(Cloud Forest and Flower Dome), Marina Bay walk to see the Merlion and the Art & Science Museum*, we would like to hit some Hawker Centres for lunch & dinner (either take a cab or if we can figure out public transit Maxwell Road or Lah Pa Sat Hawker doesn't seem to be too far), Garden Night Show 

Day 3: Explore Haji Lane, Arab Street, Little India and Chinatown (Chinatown Complex Food Centre), if time maybe shopping on Orchard Road.

Day 4:  Botanical Gardens or just explore Sentosa Island & Night Safari*  * planning to buy tickets on Klook: Singapore Pass seems to be a good deal and we can purchase it online when we 1st arrive.

Cruise

Day 5 : Cruise Embarkation Day 

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Nha Trang Vietnam,  Pham Tours Cultural City Tour (Ponagar Cham Tower, Hon Chong Promontory, Long Son Pagoda, Dam Market & lunch), after maybe 

Day 8: At Sea

Day 9: Hong Kong, taxi to Hong Kong Disneyland

Day 10: taxi or public transit to Star Ferry Terminal to Hong Kong Island for Hop on Hop off Bus Tour (hoping to find somewhere to have Dim Sum)

Day 11: At Sea

Day 12: Keelung, Taiwan Yolo Tours: Northern Taiwan Full Day Tour: Yehilu Geopark Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall & Pingxi Sky Lantern ( we get to customize once we meet our guide), in the evening we hope to try some food from the Keelung Night Market as we are in port until 11:30 pm

Day 13 & 14 At Sea

Day 15: Kobe, Japan: we ended up just booking a the Iconic Kyoto tour (Kinkaku-ji Temple, Heian-jingu Shrine, Gion Geisha District and Kawaramachi-dori Street where we have lunch) with the ship as it was surprisingly less expensive than other tour companies I contacted.

Day 16: Shizumi, Japan we are only in port for a short time so debating whether we should take a taxi to the Sunpu Castle Grounds or just walk around the port. Sadly since we won't get into port until 1pm I read it's unlikely that we will be able to see Mt. Fuji (also read August in general is not a good time to see Mt Fuji). I cancelled the ship tour that I had originally booked here as it was only a half day tour and was almost as much as the full day one in to Kyoto.

Tokyo

Day 17: Disembarkation Day Yokohama, Japan : I agonized about the best way to get to our hotel in Tokyo with our luggage then RCCL released a tour that drops you off in the City Centre in Ginza (which is where are hotel is even if we have to take a taxi from where it drops us off it will be much less than from the port) it goes to the Sensō-ji Temple and Nakamise Shopping Street and then Ginza--- our hotel will store our luggage prior to our 3 pm check in. There is an art aquarium in a department store in Ginza that we may check out. Our daughter has a long list of things she'd like to do and see but we only have two days in Tokyo. She is really into Anime so wants to check out the anime merch stores in Akihabara, Sanrio shops & cafe.

Day 18- Team Lab Planets (we booked this on Klook), Shibuya sky & crosswalk, World's Largest Starbucks--daughter's bucket list lol--she also wants to go to one of those revolving sushi places like Kura Sushi 

Tokyo Disney Resort

Day 19- check out Miramu Tokyo Ginza East and check in to Tokyo Disney Ambassador Hotel (still figuring out the best way to get here with our luggage--wondering if we could take the Limousine Bus?), pool and explore Ikspiari.

Day 20- Tokyo Disneyland

Day 21- Tokyo DisneySea

Day 22- check out, Limousine Bus to Narita Airport & that's wrap.

I have the most anxiety about getting around Tokyo and am hoping to do some more planning during our Sea Days to figure out what is most feasible. I am excited about this vacation but stressed as well, I don't think I'll be able to relax until we land in Singapore.🙂