Sort of live Diamond Princess 9/18 to Asia.

[BLS]

We were on the Diamond Beijing to Vancouver in May of 2009 and loved Muroron. What delightful people. Everyone went out of their way to see that the Ships passengered enjoyed their day.

[Scrapchick]

We're on the next sailing on Oct 4!! Please look after the Diamond for us till she gets to Beijing....

 

Please say hi to LuAnn for me! We met on another cruise...

 

Question for you about the gym... Do the spin bikes have clips for bike shoes???? What brand are the ellipticals and are they heavily used??

 

Thanks! Have a great voyage...

[alaskagirl2010]

At sea day again on the way to Russia. We saw really bright light last night. I thought it was a large city but apparently the light were squid boats. They filled the horizon with lights.*

Vladivostok is a city that resembles San Francisco because of all the hills and steps. We walked are feet off. Everyone trying to follow the Princess and city maps were lost. The maps were in English, the street signs were not. Would have helped if the map showed the Russian words *We finally got oriented and found everything we wanted to see. The day was gorgeous so just walking by the seawall was great.*

For the questioner: *the treadmills and elliptical aren't a brand I recognize. Not Precor 100i. They are hooked up to video. They have an added cost spin class. The 3 other bikes in the gym work just like the ones at my own gym. The weight machines cover all the muscle groups.*I haven't been back since the first day. I understand it gets crowded in the morning with cranky people. I walk on the deck.*

[Kiwi Kruzer]

[mmyorkston]

So glad to see a "live from" thread on this cruise. We have friends aboard and are following by webcam. Have a great trip.

[rdsqrl]

. . . I understand it gets crowded in the morning with cranky people. I walk on the deck.*

 

This made me laugh . . . is there any other way to be when one is working out besides cranky? Sure, afterwards, I feel all virtuous and happy but during the torture itself?! No way!

 

Really enjoying your live reports; thanks for sharing with us!

[GOcanucksGO]

At sea day again on the way to Russia. We saw really bright light last night. I thought it was a large city but apparently the light were squid boats. They filled the horizon with lights.*

Vladivostok is a city that resembles San Francisco because of all the hills and steps. We walked are feet off. Everyone trying to follow the Princess and city maps were lost. The maps were in English, the street signs were not. Would have helped if the map showed the Russian words *We finally got oriented and found everything we wanted to see. The day was gorgeous so just walking by the seawall was great.*

For the questioner: *the treadmills and elliptical aren't a brand I recognize. Not Precor 100i. They are hooked up to video. They have an added cost spin class. The 3 other bikes in the gym work just like the ones at my own gym. The weight machines cover all the muscle groups.*I haven't been back since the first day. I understand it gets crowded in the morning with cranky people. I walk on the deck.*

 

Thanks for the update....keep them coming please...i'll be on this cruise next Sept.

Also will you have any pic's from this Cruise?

[Balliett]

Hi Alaskagirl. We are live now, a couple days ahead of you. We left Alaska on 9-15 with stops at Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, then Petropavlosk, and now Japan for four days before ending in Bejing. We dodged the typhoon but rumors are you were delayed. We will watch for your lights behind us. We have seen NO cruise ships in our stops, Hokodate, Sendai, Yokohama and Nyoga, Now off to Koyoto... Sail well. Check out our posts on Regent Seven Seas CC blog "9-15"

[JeanRoll]

If anyone knows or sees Dianne from the Mushrooms, tell her Jean from Georgia is keeping track of her journey.

[alaskagirl2010]

Landed at Busan, Korea. Princess offered a free shuttle to downtown *we did that instead of an excursion *Very modern city and many American brands at the stores. We walked down a long street with Starbucks, McDonalds, Krispy Kreme and stores with Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Levi, etc. The woman's fish market was amazing. It was unbelievable how fast the fish, clams, squid, octopus were cleaned. It was ringed with restaurants but we weren't that courageous. We did try a fried pancake from a street vendor. It was filled with sesame seeds but tasted like peanut butter and jelly. *The Koreans put on a cultural sail away show that was touching. It is amazing how much work and effort they put in just to see us off.*

 

Last day at sea before landing at Qingdao China. I enjoyed the ice carving demo. Those guys are fast! *Last formal night and Captain's Cocktail party. We saw the illusionist Peter Gossemer and really enjoyed his show. You know the bartenders have been just great on this ship especially Darwin, Anthony, Gerard, and Rommell of*Crooner's and the Wheelhouse.*

The Internet is simply not reliable to continue so this is the last update.*

The city of Qingdao China is very modern. I was struck by how many sculptures graced the streets. We took a "self-guided" tour. We thought that meant we would be dropped off to return at a certain time. It really meant we went on a long walk with two guides who didn't point out any sights and we weren't allowed to leave the group. *They were friendly and kind though. It was a lovely walk along the Yellow Sea.*

This has been a great cruise. If you plan to take it next year, book on the starboard side as that is next to the dock at the locations with the sailaway festivities.*

[Putterdude]

Thanks for taking us along, I have enjoyed it.

[Colo Cruiser]

At sea day again on the way to Russia. We saw really bright light last night. I thought it was a large city but apparently the light were squid boats. They filled the horizon with lights.*

Vladivostok is a city that resembles San Francisco because of all the hills and steps. We walked are feet off. Everyone trying to follow the Princess and city maps were lost. The maps were in English, the street signs were not. Would have helped if the map showed the Russian words *We finally got oriented and found everything we wanted to see. The day was gorgeous so just walking by the seawall was great.*

For the questioner: *the treadmills and elliptical aren't a brand I recognize. Not Precor 100i. They are hooked up to video. They have an added cost spin class. The 3 other bikes in the gym work just like the ones at my own gym. The weight machines cover all the muscle groups.*I haven't been back since the first day. I understand it gets crowded in the morning with cranky people. I walk on the deck.*

 

 

Thanks for doing a live! :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi Alaskagirl. We are live now, a couple days ahead of you. We left Alaska on 9-15 with stops at Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, then Petropavlosk, and now Japan for four days before ending in Bejing. We dodged the typhoon but rumors are you were delayed. We will watch for your lights behind us. We have seen NO cruise ships in our stops, Hokodate, Sendai, Yokohama and Nyoga, Now off to Koyoto... Sail well. Check out our posts on Regent Seven Seas CC blog "9-15"

 

 

Thanks for joining in!

[Balliett]

on our way out of the hotel in bejing (Regent Hotel, most 6* execellent) we met some princess cruisers who had arrived for the next leg. Good luck on any land tours, because this is a holiday week in China and all Chinese (this implies many people) visit tourist sites. The result is, our two days in Bejing did not result in our seeing the great wall (five hour traffic jam, with our bus finally being turned back) and no way to see Tiannamin Square, packed already with a zillion locals. Imagine the pique of our Regent cruisers. Better luck to Princess folks. Moral: never travel to tourist sites during Chinese national holidays.

[caribill]

Good luck on any land tours, because this is a holiday week in China and all Chinese (this implies many people) visit tourist sites. The result is, our two days in Bejing did not result in our seeing the great wall (five hour traffic jam, with our bus finally being turned back) and no way to see Tiannamin Square, packed already with a zillion locals. Imagine the pique of our Regent cruisers.

 

Pictures below of the Great Wall on a Princess tour when it was not a Chinese holiday. The people you do see are almost all from the Princess tour.

[Woobstr112G]

[quote name='alaskagirl2010']Landed at Busan, Korea. Princess offered a free shuttle to downtown *we did that instead of an excursion *Very modern city and many American brands at the stores. We walked down a long street with Starbucks, McDonalds, Krispy Kreme and stores with Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Levi, etc. The woman's fish market was amazing. It was unbelievable how fast the fish, clams, squid, octopus were cleaned. It was ringed with restaurants but we weren't that courageous. We did try a fried pancake from a street vendor. It was filled with sesame seeds but tasted like peanut butter and jelly. *The Koreans put on a cultural sail away show that was touching. It is amazing how much work and effort they put in just to see us off.*

Last day at sea before landing at Qingdao China. I enjoyed the ice carving demo. Those guys are fast! *Last formal night and Captain's Cocktail party. We saw the illusionist Peter Gossemer and really enjoyed his show. You know the bartenders have been just great on this ship especially Darwin, Anthony, Gerard, and Rommell of*Crooner's and the Wheelhouse.*
The Internet is simply not reliable to continue so this is the last update.*
The city of Qingdao China is very modern. I was struck by how many sculptures graced the streets. We took a "self-guided" tour. We thought that meant we would be dropped off to return at a certain time. It really meant we went on a long walk with two guides who didn't point out any sights and we weren't allowed to leave the group. *They were friendly and kind though. It was a lovely walk along the Yellow Sea.*
This has been a great cruise. If you plan to take it next year, book on the starboard side as that is next to the dock at the locations with the sailaway festivities.*[/quote]

Thanks for taking the time to repoort your observations. Much appreciated.....:):):)

Bob

[alaskagirl2010]

As other posters have said, getting off the ship can be a challenge. China only allowed one gangway, so you can imagine the crush. We got caught up and missed a bus by seconds so we waited over an hour because some folks did not pick up their luggage. I felt so bad for the Chinese representative who had to deal with some impatient ugly Americans. After everyone was off we could go as they picked up the left luggage and took it with us to the airport. Our bus wasn't allowed to leave until they were sure that everyone who needed a ride to the airport was on board.
As I previously posted, it was a great cruise. However the end could be improved. After this, I learned that next time I will make my own travel arrangements and not use Princess. We were dropped at the airport at noon for a 9pm flight. There was no option for a short excursion. We flew to LA on a 12 hour China Air. It has received bad reviews but it was okay. Economy is economy it sucks no matter who the carrier is on long flights. We stayed over night in LA and flew a regional jet (big shock) to Seattle then on to AK. All went very well.
I would advise everyone considering this part of the world to be aware of the pollution. If you have breathing problems think really hard. I don't but I got clogged lungs and a cough starting in Russia and progressively worse. I'm already getting better now that I'm home.
So that's it for me. Happy cruising to all of you.

[onthelake]

When we did this itinerary two years ago, it was the same situation on turn-around day in China. We were signed up for a tour to the Great Wall which was delayed approx. 2 hours due to this situation. After we were phyically off the ship, each person had to walk through a metal detector like at an airport. But, Very Slowly! It really did take an extremely long time that seemed unnecessary. Not that the procedures were unnecessary, just that there system was not very efficient or timely.