Sea change in Shanghai?

Ooo, 1982CruzStart, do the photographs on my blog look familiar!? (spooky!) Do you remember being cold in Dalian as well? (we flew kites and had huge fun)

 

It was a great cruise - we loved it and even though we had no intentions to return to China, we enjoyed our few days there. (I think that's really enough for us now though!)

I think you might have been getting off Voyager as we were boarding based on the date on your blog.

Oh right..."ships that pass in the night then"? You were sailing southbound? Shame...but perhaps we'll meet on another Regent cruise before too long? Hope so.

 

BREAK BREAK

 

Fred, Flossie or others on the recent trip to Burma; did you take the excursion to Mandalay or to Bagan?

Marc

We also did Began last January 2016. Was one of the better and cheapest tour that we have done on Regent. For your fist time to Burma it is a must do. They used Yangoon Air and the plane was an ATR-72. This is a high wing turbo prop with an excellent safety reputation. Hotel was Began Lodge and room was an exceptionally nice bungalow. There food was very good too.

j

595/40

Oh right..."ships that pass in the night then"? You were sailing southbound? Shame...but perhaps we'll meet on another Regent cruise before too long? Hope so.

Yes we did the trip south. It was a wonderful cruise full of firsts for both of us. We were planning on the Navigator in the Baltic this fall but we believe my DH has a medical issue that may cause us to cancel all our travel plans this year. We just have to wait for a definitive prognosis and then the resulting impact of treatment.

With luck we will meet up sometime.

Oh, absolutely. Sorry to hear that you have had to rethink travel plans as a result of your dh's health. Do hope he is soon declared fit and well and able to travel again. My best wishes to you both at what must be a worrying time.

You will have a wonderful cruise in this fascinating part of the world

 

Glad to hear that you will be making the best of both Hong Kong and Beijing. If you want a good Chinese meal in Beijing try the Black Sesame Kitchen; email them in advance for a booking; you will not be disappointed:

http://blacksesamekitchen.com/

 

Check the weather forecast before you go - Beijing can be cool/cold in March

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A few observations following this thread about harbor tides, weather, and such based on my wife and I completing a similar (approximately) February-March 2013 Voyager itinerary.

This was a great cruise, which included travel early to spend a few days at Hong Kong; then sailing to Taipei, Okinawa, Shanghai, Hiroshima and Osaka; Seoul, and Dalian, China before winding up at the port of Tianjin (Beijing). Then, a three-day add-on at Beijing. We stayed at the China World Hotel, which was centrally located and great in every respect. That said--

First--be prepared for really-cold conditions at Beijing. Numbing cold. And, when combined with extreme air pollution, not pleasant. We prayed for wind from a favorable direction to blow some of the "haze"--as it was characterized by our "minder", "Duncan"--away. BTW, hope Duncan remains affiliated with Regent. He is a very-trustworthy guy who speaks perfect English with a sense of perspective (regarding the political realities of functioning in a dictatorial environment which does NOT tolerate any dissent) and humor. For example--when your group visits The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square: no jokes or comments regarding authority. Plain clothes political police--as well as a plethora of uniforms are all over the place to deal swiftly with "disruptions" either by actions or comments. Such would not reflect favorably upon a minder.

Second: backing up to Shanghai: You will be sailing up the Wan Po River, probably the most-polluted body of water in the world; (Just don't look down. Anything could be floating-by. I am not kidding) to a dock site which should put you right across that River from the spectacular TV Tower. Yes, the waterway is very-congested with merchant craft from very-small, family-sized boats to container ships. Three days at Shanghai. I reviewed pictures taken during several daylight tours. It was as if a gauze had been placed over the lens. Again, air pollution. At some point, it does no good to complain; that is the way it is. Just enjoy the experience.

If your itinerary includes Incheon-Seoul, be sure to take the DMZ Tour up to near the 38th parallel--and a trip in an underground "tram" device through one of the infiltration tunnels constructed some years ago by the North Koreas to transport men and materiel south, anticipating an opportunity to invade South Korea (again). A sobering trip.

Assuming your return flight is from Beijing; That airport is spiffy and efficient; and the Air China Lounge is the best we have experienced anywhere in the world. Well, maybe the one at Singapore is just as good.

Enjoy!

Go ARMY!

Maybe we were on the same cruise as we did ours in 2013 as well.

 

It was very chilly in Beijing when we were there in March 2013. If your tour includes a trip to the Great Wall in March bring gloves and a hat and wear layers, it was cold up there.

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Hey, Sue and I were probably Voyager shipmates with you in 2013. See my comments, below, in response to another posting.

The Great Wall experience--and a day at Hiroshima--were highlights of that voyage. An added bonus at the Great Wall was that the pollution finally abated. Sue and I made it to the top of the Wall segment assigned to our group. What a view. Best of all, we made it back down in time to get on the bus back to the hotel.

Go ARMY!

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A few observations following this thread about harbor tides, weather, and such based on my wife and I completing a similar (approximately) February-March 2013 Voyager itinerary.

 

This was a great cruise, which included travel early to spend a few days at Hong Kong; then sailing to Taipei, Okinawa, Shanghai, Hiroshima and Osaka; Seoul, and Dalian, China before winding up at the port of Tianjin (Beijing). Then, a three-day add-on at Beijing. We stayed at the China World Hotel, which was centrally located and great in every respect. That said--

 

First--be prepared for really-cold conditions at Beijing. Numbing cold. And, when combined with extreme air pollution, not pleasant. We prayed for wind from a favorable direction to blow some of the "haze"--as it was characterized by our "minder", "Duncan"--away. BTW, hope Duncan remains affiliated with Regent. He is a very-trustworthy guy who speaks perfect English with a sense of perspective (regarding the political realities of functioning in a dictatorial environment which does NOT tolerate any dissent) and humor. For example--when your group visits The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square: no jokes or comments regarding authority. Plain clothes political police--as well as a plethora of uniforms are all over the place to deal swiftly with "disruptions" either by actions or comments. Such would not reflect favorably upon a minder.

 

Second: backing up to Shanghai: You will be sailing up the Wan Po River, probably the most-polluted body of water in the world; (Just don't look down. Anything could be floating-by. I am not kidding) to a dock site which should put you right across that River from the spectacular TV Tower. Yes, the waterway is very-congested with merchant craft from very-small, family-sized boats to container ships. Three days at Shanghai. I reviewed pictures taken during several daylight tours. It was as if a gauze had been placed over the lens. Again, air pollution. At some point, it does no good to complain; that is the way it is. Just enjoy the experience.

 

If your itinerary includes Incheon-Seoul, be sure to take the DMZ Tour up to near the 38th parallel--and a trip in an underground "tram" device through one of the infiltration tunnels constructed some years ago by the North Koreas to transport men and materiel south, anticipating an opportunity to invade South Korea (again). A sobering trip.

 

Assuming your return flight is from Beijing; That airport is spiffy and efficient; and the Air China Lounge is the best we have experienced anywhere in the world. Well, maybe the one at Singapore is just as good.

 

Enjoy!

 

Go ARMY!

Really appreciated your very informative post. Your description of Beijing is what we expected - as is the traffic going into and out of Shanghai. The only reason that I posted on this thread is to explain one possible reason why the port times in Shanghai change so frequently. Just as when someone lives in a large city (like NYC or Los Angeles), it is not unusual to change your commute times in order to avoid hours of traffic.

<<

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A few observations following this thread about harbor tides, weather, and such based on my wife and I completing a similar (approximately) February-March 2013 Voyager itinerary.

 

This was a great cruise, which included travel early to spend a few days at Hong Kong; then sailing to Taipei, Okinawa, Shanghai, Hiroshima and Osaka; Seoul, and Dalian, China before winding up at the port of Tianjin (Beijing). >>

 

 

 

Sounds like you were on the same cruise as we were!

Back to the topic:)

Just received extra info from Regent about our trip/cruise and also a small Shanghai change.

Arrive: SAT 25MAR17 Shanghai, China 01:30 PM (was 02:00 PM)

Depart: SUN 26MAR17 Shanghai, China 02:00 PM (was 04:00 PM)

So that is not a big change but our day trip on the second day was 08:00 for 7h. Now 07:00 for 7h:rolleyes: So we be back round 2PM and the ship is leaving at that moment :confused:. I think the duration time of the trip will be shorter.

That's really interesting information Goarmy, thankyou. When you mentioned the cold temperatures in Beijing, what type of clothes did you wear, or what would you recommend?

We have seen pictures on TV of the recent pollution in Beijing and I think we will get some masks just in case.

We will be in Shanghai on 11/12.th of March 2017 so we are on the previous cruise.

That's really interesting information Goarmy, thankyou. When you mentioned the cold temperatures in Beijing, what type of clothes did you wear, or what would you recommend?

 

We have seen pictures on TV of the recent pollution in Beijing and I think we will get some masks just in case.

 

We will be in Shanghai on 11/12.th of March 2017 so we are on the previous cruise.

When we were there about the same time as you back in 2013 it was very cool/cold up at the Great Wall. I recommend gloves/mitts, a warm hat, scarf and layers of clothes that allow you to be warm up at the wall but that you can peel off in the bus and when you are in the city.

Our tour guide handed out face masks on at least 1 day on our 3 day tour. i took advantage of one but my DH didn't. The pollution was so bad that when we looked out our hotel window we couldn't see the high rises across the 6 lane roadway. Also be prepared to spend a lot of time in traffic. Having said that the pollution and traffic didn't dampen our enjoyment of seeing this fascinating area.

The one thing we did that we are so glad we did was make a 1 day trip to Xian to see the terracotta warriors. Fantastic.

The one thing we did that we are so glad we did was make a 1 day trip to Xian to see the terracotta warriors. Fantastic.

That's on my bucket list - there was an itinerary that included that in the pre or post (can't quite remember which one) but it was in December and we can't get away then.

I've heard that the warriors are absolutely incredible.

That's on my bucket list - there was an itinerary that included that in the pre or post (can't quite remember which one) but it was in December and we can't get away then.

 

I've heard that the warriors are absolutely incredible.

When we did it we added an extra day to our trip. We traveled to Beijing, stored our checked luggage at the airport, got on another plane to Xian and was met by our tour guide and car, taken to our hotel for the night, spent the next day touring the warriors and other highlights, back on a plane to Beijing, met by our tour guide who had met us on arrival in Beijing, picked up our luggage and they took us to our Regent hotel where we fell into bed so we could get up bright and early for our 3 day pre-cruise tour with Regent. Hectic but worth every second.

We did find the time to buy two 1/3 actual size warriors and a silk rug while at the warriors site.

In hindsight i might have gone in 2 days early and spent 2 days in Xian as there is lots to see. Then we didn't have the time to add more as we were doing Xian, the 3 day pre-cruise tour in Beijing, the cruise Beijing to Bangkok then the 3 day post cruise to Angkor Wat. What a fabulous trip it was.

We are also booked on the Hong Kong to Beijing cruise and very disappointed when our TA told us about the schedule change and Regent cancelled one of our tours. Shanghai is one of the most beautiful cities and always get shortchanged somehow. We were there two years ago and due to problems with Voyager (they said it was the currents) we arrived in Shanghai at 7pm instead of 1pm. Then the Chinese authorities took their time to clear the ship and we didn't go on tour (previously scheduled at 7pm) till 9pm. I wish on this trip they will shorten the second day in Xiamen (not a lot to see from what I've read and we skipped it on last cruise to get to Hong Kong on time) and allow more time for the "tides" or whatever is causing a change in arrival time.

Shanghai deserves more time.

HENK123, Glad I read this thread as I had not received the time change for Shanghai yet, not that it really will affect us. Thanks

We were on the (a) cruise that got into Shanghai very late, too. As I recall we were held late by authorities getting out of Beijing's port city which messed with us getting to the river into Shanghai at the proper time for the currents even though we skipped the port before. I was also led to believe that weather conditions impact the river and that's why tide level charts can change and what comes out so far in advance are "best" estimates.

We, too, wished we had more time in Shanghai and maybe some day will make it back.

Same advise on warm clothes and layers for Beijing and masks.