Shanghai Bangkok

[tommui987]

. Are you staying overnight in Shanghai and have you researched hotels there? .

 

Brandon: We stayed at the Westin (Bund) Hotel at the tail end of our Viking River cruise.

Great hotel. It's located on the Bund and about 4-5 blocks from "Old" Shanghai. When my wife went shopping in Old Shanghai, it was a easy walk and the hotel, being somewhat high, has a top that looks like a rack of lamb and visible = hard to get lost that way!

[Mimg Pao]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are from the US and will be taking the 16-night Shanghai to Bangkok Princess Cruise departing Dec 18, 2009. It seems that most of you will be taking one of the later sailings after us, so I will make sure I take lots of notes on the ports of call, best ways to get from the ports, and any other ship tips, after I come back in early January.

 

I am currently exploring visas and found that we only need a single-entry visa for China and can buy the one for Vietnam on the ship. I was quoted by a *****.com manager (where I booked my cruise) that the visa to vietnam is very inexpensive -- just "a few dollars." However, the visa to China looks like it is between $169 USD - $217 USD per person depending on which visa agency I go with. Most agencies will only accept your visa application within 90 days of cruise departure, which I've just hit (yeah!). I'm trying to decide if I should go with the Visa agency that the Princess cruiseline recommends, Zierer Visa Services ("ZVS") 01.866.788.1100, or with another agency which seems to be less expensive. Has anyone used ZVS for any visas in the past?

 

My husband and I really want to see the Great Wall, so we decided to fly to Beijing first for 4 days before flying to Shanghai to pick up the cruise boat. We're staying in the Courtyard Marriott right down the street from Tiananmen Square (the only international hotel chain right in the center of the tourist area) but in Shanghai we booked the JW Marriott (with our points) as we read one of the guidebooks said it was one of the best hotels in Shanghai in terms of amenities and locations. But I have not booked our hotel for the one night in Bangkok and would appreciate suggestions. We are Marriott rewards members, so if there is a Marriott of a convenient location in Bangkok, that would be ideal.

 

I also noticed that the shore excursion booklet isn't fully prepared yet for the cruise, but I did find some information on the princess website for some ports of call. 2 or 3 of them have a 30 min - 2 hour drive into the "city" from the port, but that's to be expected given our ports of call. But if anyone has suggestions for what to see in each port, please let me know! We're really winging it on this trip as we don't speak the language and don't know anyone who has traveled to many of these cities.

 

I look forward to continuing to read this message boards for everyone's advice! Looking forward to the cruise!

 

Hi Michigan Fan

 

There is a roll call for the Dec. 18 sailing on the Ocean Princess. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one posting. Would love to be able to talk about our trip with people that are actually on board. It really keeps the momentum up when you are able to share ideas back and forth.

 

DH and I live in Toronto and have travelled to Asia many times. We are leaving Dec. 9 and will visit Xian and Shanghai before boarding the ship. We also plan to spend one month in Thailand after the cruise, perhaps going to Laos within that time period.

 

We are fortunate enough to live near the Chinese consulate in Toronto so it is very easy for us to obtain our own visas. As for Vietnam visas, Princess arranges this and your shipboard account is debited.

 

Have you considered private touring instead of Princess excursions. We are looking to share in both ports in Viet Nam.

 

The Marriott in Bangkok is on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phrya River but there is an excellent comp shuttle service and of course there are bridges. We have never stayed there, always staying on the Bangkok side but I have heard great things about this hotel.

 

Hopefully, you will now join our roll call which incidentally was started about a year ago by someone who will be sailing with another cruise line in Asia. Just click on Princess roll calls, Ocean Princess, and scroll down until you find the Dec. 18 sail date.

 

Lynne

[brandonjordan]

Hello fellow cruisers. We are on the 1/19 Shanghai to Bangkok and want to use Hilton points in Bangkok and found 2 hotels, the Conrad and the Hilton Millenium. Can anyone tell me anything about either one of them, especially their locations and proximity to what we want to see and do? We will probably use a private guide. Would also appreciate info on a guide as well. As always, thank you for the info.

[laughing husky]

Hi Brandonjordan....We are staying at the Arun residence....in Bangkok....have the Arun suite......I have read different things but the location seems wonderful....It is on the property of the Wat Po....It is not an "American" hotel but it will fit our needs. Do not have a place in Shanghai as of yet....but have been thinking of the Astor.....Have you made any decisions????

[Krakatoa]

brandonjordon

 

I have stayed at the Conrad many times since it was built and would recommend it to anyone. Friendly staff, selection of restaurants inhouse, a free shuttle bus to the near Skytrain station. Taxis are cheap in Bangkok

[brandonjordan]

Laughing Husky. We haven't made any decisions but are getting close. As I mentioned in a previous post, we want to use Hilton points in Bangkok but if the Arun is inexpensive and good than it doesn't pay to use the points. How much is the Arun? We are also considering the Arun as well as the Jin Jiao Pacific Hotel in Shanghai. I just got a referral/suggestion to try the Carolina in Shanghai too. Looks good but location isn't the best. We will make our final decision within the next 2 weeks when our Princess reservation is finally straightened out. Stay tuned.

[sandydownunder]

I have 'nt posted for a while. Just got home from two cruises. On 14th August I was playing around on Priceline. Bid $80 for a hotel in Shanghai and nearly fell off my chair when I got the Hilton 250 Hua Shan Road. We will stay three nights before our Ocean Princess on 20th March.

 

Hope this helps someone get a good deal too.

 

Sandra

[WWLL]

Excuse me for butting in on your thread.

 

I was looking for the dock location and one of the previous replies gave the location as

 

Wai Gao Qiao #5 Terminal

999 Gangian Road

Shanghai

 

When I googled it I found the location. If you input

Huang Jia Wan #5 Terminal

999 Ganjian Road, Shanghai, China

into Google Maps you can see where it is.

 

How do I know? I was born in Shanghai in 1948 although I lived there for only the next four months. But I still read Chinese. You will see the dock is pretty close to Line 6 of the subway.

[mohicanfan]

Lynne,

 

Thanks so much for the reply - I have been offline for a while, but am now back into the planning. We are first flying to Beijing Dec 13th and spending three days there before flying to Shanghai on the 16th. We are staying at the JW Marriott and then plan to take a taxi to the port - I just pulled off the port address from another post I read here.

 

I plan to join the roll call right now for the Dec 18th trip. We would be interested in joining private tours in Vietnam as that is the only country I don't feel safe doing on our own. I also heard we may need a private tour or transfer to Tapei as the boat docks quite far. Do you have anything arranged yet?

 

I have only confirmed my plans for Beijing and Shanghai, so I have lots of trip planning to do over the next 7 weeks! We received our multi-entry China visas without any problems, and are now trying to negotiate with our health care provider for any innoculations and vaccinations. Do you plan to get any shots before traveling? Is it necessary?

 

Looking forward to staying in touch with trip updates and to meeting you in person!

 

Regards,

Meredith

 

PS - my direct email address is meredithalarson@yahoo.com

[mohicanfan]

Message deleted and reposted

[mohicanfan]

Thanks, Lynne, I will check out the Marriott! What are you planning to do about transportation from the ship? I heard it costs about $70 - $80 USD for a private van, which is a much better deal than Princess' $59 per person charge for transportation. We would be interested in sharing transporting into the city center, if that is something you plan to do....