Shore excursions/Ship's shuttle/Diamond Princess

[travelers2]

We are on the Diamond Princess leaving Bangkok April 15. We visit Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung, Taiwan, Okinawa and Shanghai. Can anyone who has cruised to these cities on

the Diamond Princess tell me if Princess offers a shuttle service at any

of these ports? I'm not talking about the organized tour that can be

pre-reserved, I'm just talking about the shuttle you pay a nominal fee

that gets you into town. Any help in this matter???

Also, were there any organized excursions that you can recommend?

Thanks for any help,

Travelers2

[LAGAAN]

I am on the same Cruise departing April 14 2010 and would also be interested to hear answers to this question

[Bufrenee]

We are on the Diamond Princess leaving Bangkok April 15. We visit Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung, Taiwan, Okinawa and Shanghai. Can anyone who has cruised to these cities on

the Diamond Princess tell me if Princess offers a shuttle service at any

of these ports? I'm not talking about the organized tour that can be

pre-reserved, I'm just talking about the shuttle you pay a nominal fee

that gets you into town. Any help in this matter???

Also, were there any organized excursions that you can recommend?

Thanks for any help,

Travelers2

We were on the Diamond from Vancouver to Tianjin and there were free shuttle services in most of the ports that were not close to the city centres.These were run by the locals in conjunction with Princess as they had welcome parties at most of the ports/

For your cruise:

Singapore will be docked almost smack in the middle of town so will not expect any shuttles.

Ho Chi Minh: The ship will be docked about 11/2 hours away so again will not expect any shuttles. We were there on the Regal and there were no shuttles then. Can't tell where they will be docked in Nha Trang.

Hong Kong, on the way out was serviced by tender to the city centre.

No Idea on Taiwan but Okinawa is serviced by shuttle. Shanghai is serviced by Shuttle but there might be a charge but haven't heard of any so far. It will be docked at a container terminal about 45 minutes away.

Hope this helps.

[travelers2]

Thanks Bufrenee for the information, I really appreciate it.

Travelers2

[paul929207]

We were on the Pacific Princess three years ago. They offered a shuttle in Shanghai, but I think we docked closer to the city since the ship is smaller than yours.

[Miss Jolly]

I have James's details from his recent Diamond Princess cruise Bangkok to Beijing and will go through it all soon to check on this. I know off hand that the shuttle takes you to Julong Silk and Crafts Exhibition centre in Shanghai after about an hour's drive. I'm on your cruise too.

[barron1951]

My wife and I are also on this cruise but we are going all the way to Anchorage. Does anyone know the name(s) of the docks used in Hong Kong and Shanghai? Also which ports where tenders are used? Thanks

[Bohemian]

My wife and I are also on this cruise but we are going all the way to Anchorage. Does anyone know the name(s) of the docks used in Hong Kong and Shanghai? Also which ports where tenders are used? Thanks

 

Hong Kong - first day - shuttle bus will take you from a container terminal (about half way to the airport) to within a short walk of the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon. After 6 PM, the ship relocates to an anchor spot in the bay and that's where it will remain until the next day when it departs HK.

 

HK - second day (and first day after 9 PM) - local tenders will take you from the ship to the Central Pier #4 in Hong Kong. These boat are much bigger than the ship's life boats so the waiting times aren't too bad. One way trip takes 35-40 minutes.

 

Shanghai - a distant container terminal with free shuttle buses provided to and from a silk factory/shop.

 

Nha Trang - tender port using ship's own life boats. There's a cable car stretched across the bay preventing larger ships from getting near the town. Also, the tendering process here is very slow as the tenders have to be pulled out of the water frequently, sometimes after a single round trip, due to garbage and fish nets stuck in the propellers. I've never seen filthier water and beaches anywhere else in the world.

 

 

 

Here we are anchored at Nha Trang

 

[rugbypopsie]

I agree with the previous poster..I am "elite" on Princess and have never been stranded anywhere without a shuttle.

 

Re these ports no experience but I know there is a shuttle in Shanghai. Often the bigger ships have to dock in the container ports as they are too big for the closer in ones.

 

Funnily enough they dont give you the shuttle information until you are onboard...I suppose to encourage people into buying ships tours?