LIVE from the Diamond Princess - 35 days Singapore to Vancouver

[ccrain]

WOW What a trip! From Singapore to Thailand, to Vietnam, to China, to Japan, to S Korea, to Russia to Alaska. What a grand tour of people and places most westerners will never see – and they should. Convinces me that my grandkids need to see some of these other places in the world in order to appreciate what we have at home – not that they ever will appreciate what they have at home – but it might open their eyes a bit. We really enjoyed the different sights, sounds and people we met along the way. From the strange looks from the older people in Vietnam and China to the respectful bowing of the Japanese, to the unique curiosity we represented to the young people in all the countries – they all wanted their picture taken with us!

 

Notable Highlights:

 

Asian Ancient Architecture – from the grand scale of the great wall to the minute details of the guardians at the entrance to the Royal Palace in Thailand. Buddha’s in so many variety of faces, poses and materials. And when compared to western architecture, a real interesting contrast. A veritable feast for both right and left brained people of all ages. I’ll never forget the painstaking engineering and construction required to build arched roofs on the temples. Straight roofs are so much easier, but not only are they arched and curved, the roof joists are carved and most are put together with no nails, glue or screws. Only mortices and joints. That’s attention to detail.

 

Asian Modern Architecture – From the high rise heaven of Hong Kong to the rural little farms and “factories” of Vietnam to the blue tarp roofs in Alaska. From the super highways of Singapore to the confused mass of roadways in China to the oh so precise, smooth and complex series of tunneled highways in Japan. There was more than enough for fans of both rural and urban architecture. The waterfront of Hong Kong is so modern, so packed, so WOW at first sight. And then the details of the buildings start to standout, and each has its own story. From Feng Shu to modern classical high rise.

 

Cultural – From the serious, 90MPH, on the way to work, determined, young professionals of Singapore to the laid back, ambling down the mall style of the same people on a weekend shopping trip. Ranging from a cute little smile to an outright thumbs up I would get 9 times out of 10 when butchering an attempt to use their language. The bowing of the Japanese, the love of anything western in S Korea. I’ll never forget the lady chasing the octopus across the sidewalk that had gotten out of its bucket in the Busan Fish market. Everyone around her was laughing in a dozen different languages, but the message was all the same – ‘don’t care who you are, that’s funny’!

 

People – The girls Winter and Allyson in Dalian, Mike in Nagasaki, Mr. Lee in S Korea and Herman in Hong Kong. Unforgettable tour guides that really made the excursions special. The girls on the motor bikes in Vietnam. (Hard working, persistent capitalists.) The Japanese girls on holiday in Shimabura that wanted their pictures taken with us. And not to forget Stepanie (Night Manager), Kim (Zumba instructor), Kelvin and Matt, Frank our room steward, Monica the aft ship’s bar manager, Monica and Piya – waiters in Pacific Moon and Savoy respectively. Paul, Jorge, Heidi and Nicole from the cruise staff. Kathy, our lobby bar barrister and a host of other people on the ship that really made for a great cruise.

 

Fellow Passengers – You really have to look no further than the other passengers on this ship to see a variety of cultures. Americans are a distinct minority on this ship. I think Canadians are in the majority, but there are a lot of Aussies, Chinese, Koreans and Japanese on board as well. A lot of Asian cultures are represented, more than any other cruise we’ve been on. We’ve met some really interesting people from different countries and listened, really listened. I love being a fly on the wall in Skywalker’s when a bunch get together and talk about stuff ranging from food on the ship, to Princess cruising, to retirement planning, to politics.

 

The Food – The Ciappino in San Francisco before we left. The food in Business Class on the ANA flight from SFO to NRT. Laksa and Scallops in Brown Sauce in Singapore, as well as carrot cake – which has no carrots and no cake in it at all – its basically a sweet egg omelet. The Japanese lunch in Nagasaki. The Chinese lunch on the floating restaurant in Hong Kong, the Vietnamese buffet in Vuc Trang, the Chinese lunch in Dalian, the Clams in Seward, the clam chowder in Juneau, the smoked fish in Juneau. The cold salads in the buffet for both lunch and dinner – really exceptional. The vegetable cream soups, the bread, OMG, the baked breads around the ship.

 

I cannot recommend this ship and this itinerary enough. Everyone should do this trip, or at least one of the smaller trips the Diamond does in the east. It is an eye opener and a fantastic way to do an overview of an area, only having to unpack once, and sample many different sights and locations for later travel. We may do this trip again in 2014 or 2015. We won’t be doing as many ship excursions then, concentrating on getting out on our own and more immersed in the local culture and food. Or we might travel back on a land tour. Kong Kong and Japan are really high on my list to re-visit if we ever have the time.

 

Trip tips for this itinerary:

 

Plan on arriving at least a couple of days prior to departure to get used to the time zone differences. The complete reversal of the circadian rhythm is a killer for a few days.

 

Prepare for hot weather at first, cold weather at the end. From 95F and 100% humidity to 28F and snowing. That’s the range. We brought layers and they actually worked out well.

 

Bring the pharmacopeia. See your doctor before you leave. The two most important prescriptions we brought, besides getting all of our shots updated (DPT, Polio, Hep A & B), was a sleeping aid and a wide spectrum antibiotic. OTC cold medications are also important as the supplies on board are expensive and can run out.

 

Bring local cash. I would recommend at least $100US in each currency. More if you plan to shop for more or if you are doing things on your own, less if you are just touring with Princess on full day tours.

 

Learn a few words in the language. Thank You, Hello or an appropriate greeting, How much, and basic numbers. Smile, smile, smile. You will 99% of the time, get a nice smile back from the locals even if you completely butcher the words.

 

Youtube your ports of call. Watch prior tourist videos, professional videos and others to get a feel for the area or port you are going into.

 

Be mindful and respectful of cultural differences. Asian cultures are different. They don’t always do things the way we do in the US. That’s ok. Revel in the differences. Its part of the experience.

 

Prepare for the squatty potty. Both men and women. Squat toilets are the norm in Asia. Western toilets are few and far between. Believe it or not, getting your leg muscles in shape for squatting is not a joke. It will help. But so will bringing packaged wipes with you at all times – the TP is either outside the stall or not around at all.

 

One of the most important things I brought on this cruise was my Kindle, packed with books. Whether waiting for a show, you can only read the patter so many times, whale watching, killing time in the HC, or just stretching out on the balcony, having something to read was vital to not getting frustrated. Judy brought her Itouch and her smart phone, so she had plenty of games to play.

 

Cell Phones – we brought our Incredible 2’s with Verizon. We always had cell service, either on the ship or on shore. We did not have data service in Vuc Trang (Vietnam), Shanghai (away from the main highways) or Tienjen (at the wall), but had no problems in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, S Korea, Vladivostok or any of the ports of Alaska. Google maps worked everywhere we had data service without a glitch.

[ccrain]

I have so enjoyed these "live froms". This cruise (or actually these cruises) are now on our bucket list. As my husband is now retired, we have the time to do the things on our list! Now what will I read until June 19?

 

OCPD (Obessive Cruise Planning Disorder)

 

Start haunting YouTube for videos of your cruise and ports. Google the tourist websites for your destination. Google map the area and use streetviews to get an overall lay of the land.

 

Most of the major destinations have independent websites that have a lot of information, as does Cruise Critic boards and TripAdvisor boards as well.

 

I spent many, many hours researching to pass the time away. And it actually helped a lot. I felt much more comfortable in Singapore by knowing where to go and what to do.

[ccrain]

On long cruises I would normally have gotten a minisuite, but the Emerald deck mini's were booked when we reserved this cruise. So I stayed with an aft balcony. E732 actually.

 

I was worried. It would be our longest cruise ever, and in a standard balcony, but at least it was an aft balcony and would be usable at all times, but our three prior cruises (technically 4) were in suites.

 

How would we cope?

 

In summary, it was not bad at all. No cabin fever, missed a few amenities of a suite, but never to any extreme - we adapted just fine.

[KYteach]

OCPD (Obessive Cruise Planning Disorder)

 

Start haunting YouTube for videos of your cruise and ports. Google the tourist websites for your destination. Google map the area and use streetviews to get an overall lay of the land.

 

Most of the major destinations have independent websites that have a lot of information, as does Cruise Critic boards and TripAdvisor boards as well.

 

I spent many, many hours researching to pass the time away. And it actually helped a lot. I felt much more comfortable in Singapore by knowing where to go and what to do.

 

Thanks for these suggestions. I now have a new morning routine:)

[grandmaa]

Thank you all for sharing your cruise with us who have been following you on the Diamond Princess from Singapore to Vancouver. Wishing you all safe travels home.

[Grammyluvs]

I, too am so sad I won't have anyone to follow. I have enjoyed this so much. Felt like I was there. Our next cruise is less than a year away but seems like forever. I really envy everyone who goes on cruises 2-3x a year. Hope to follow you again "Down Mexico Way".

[icat2000]

Thank you to Ccrain and Pia for your commentary on this cruise.

 

Ccrain - your post on the summary of the cruise was very informative. I am on this cruise next year from Beijing to Vancouver and your post is very helpful.

[earljr]

Thanks again Pia and Donna

Brought back lots of fond memories

Earl

[balcony queen]

Thank you for an informative read

[HRPro]

Thanks to all who contributed to this "live" report. I really enjoyed reading it every day and living the cruise through your experience. This cruise would not have been high on my bucket list before this, but I've now added it to the list of cruises I want to do in the next 2-3 years. Thanks for an enjoyable and educational read.

[Waynetor]

Thanks for the great reporting of this trip and excellant wrap-up.

[rdsqrl]

Thanks to Pia and ccrain and DonahCBrown and David for a fantastic Live!

 

Once again, you guys have taken an itinerary that wasn't really on my radar and turned it into a must-do! If only someone could work similar magic on my bank account . . .

 

Safe travels home or to wherever your final destination may be (sorry, I just got off an airplane!). I await the next Live, impatient but anticipatory.

[laughing husky]

Thank you so much....all of you for your "lives"....It was so incredible that you took the time to do this. My husband and I went on a 16 day in Asia a year or so ago on one of the small ships (Princess) and we enjoyed it so much that we wanted to do it again. I was worried that they had stopped doing them when I didn't see the Sept one for 2013 in the wings....However, there it is now...with a slightly different itinerary....now we are trying to decide which one of the two we should take....with much thanks to all of you....May or September....You are right....It is an amazing experience to go to Asia....and I was so glad when we did the 16 day that we took lots of time at the beginning...(Shanghai) and at the end in Bangkok....They are both amazing cities...Like you....it is most certainly a teaser....Again...Thank you....very, very much...

[laughing husky]

PS...and thanks for bringing her back to Alaska so I can get on her in a couple of weeks and go see all of my friends in Alaska....:)

[ROSEBERRY]

OCPD (Obessive Cruise Planning Disorder)

 

Start haunting YouTube for videos of your cruise and ports. Google the tourist websites for your destination. Google map the area and use streetviews to get an overall lay of the land.

 

Most of the major destinations have independent websites that have a lot of information, as does Cruise Critic boards and TripAdvisor boards as well.

 

I spent many, many hours researching to pass the time away. And it actually helped a lot. I felt much more comfortable in Singapore by knowing where to go and what to do.

 

ccrain, I too FORTUNATELY have the disorder OCPD. That is how I found this site:cool:

Thank you very much everyone who shared their experiences. You certainly helped in the planning of our cruise on the beautiful Diamond Princess 9/12.

Safe Journey home:)

Cheers,

Kathy.

[Pia1913]

I had tried to log in many times yesterday to no avail. Trying again now to say goodbye. The internet manager told me she would be closing down at 10 PM and even though lots of us still have minutes ……………… alas, we won’t be able to use them. Since our flight is a redeye tonight, we also won’t be able to check in and print boarding passes. It is now 5:45 AM and we are docked in Vancouver. Internet seems to still be on, so will try now.

　

Anyhow, I once again want to thank you for your participation and I’ll be seeing you shortly on the next one. When a thread geta more than 40,000 hits, you know it's been successful. Bye. :D

[MKKruiser]

I am doing Beijing to Vancnouver in May 2013 and this has been so helpful.

Mary Kay

[CALIGAL42]

WOW What a trip! From Singapore to Thailand, to Vietnam, to China, to Japan, to S Korea, to Russia to Alaska. What a grand tour of people and places most westerners will never see – and they should. Convinces me that my grandkids need to see some of these other places in the world in order to appreciate what we have at home – not that they ever will appreciate what they have at home – but it might open their eyes a bit. We really enjoyed the different sights, sounds and people we met along the way. From the strange looks from the older people in Vietnam and China to the respectful bowing of the Japanese, to the unique curiosity we represented to the young people in all the countries – they all wanted their picture taken with us!

 

Notable Highlights:

 

Asian Ancient Architecture – from the grand scale of the great wall to the minute details of the guardians at the entrance to the Royal Palace in Thailand. Buddha’s in so many variety of faces, poses and materials. And when compared to western architecture, a real interesting contrast. A veritable feast for both right and left brained people of all ages. I’ll never forget the painstaking engineering and construction required to build arched roofs on the temples. Straight roofs are so much easier, but not only are they arched and curved, the roof joists are carved and most are put together with no nails, glue or screws. Only mortices and joints. That’s attention to detail.

 

Asian Modern Architecture – From the high rise heaven of Hong Kong to the rural little farms and “factories” of Vietnam to the blue tarp roofs in Alaska. From the super highways of Singapore to the confused mass of roadways in China to the oh so precise, smooth and complex series of tunneled highways in Japan. There was more than enough for fans of both rural and urban architecture. The waterfront of Hong Kong is so modern, so packed, so WOW at first sight. And then the details of the buildings start to standout, and each has its own story. From Feng Shu to modern classical high rise.

 

Cultural – From the serious, 90MPH, on the way to work, determined, young professionals of Singapore to the laid back, ambling down the mall style of the same people on a weekend shopping trip. Ranging from a cute little smile to an outright thumbs up I would get 9 times out of 10 when butchering an attempt to use their language. The bowing of the Japanese, the love of anything western in S Korea. I’ll never forget the lady chasing the octopus across the sidewalk that had gotten out of its bucket in the Busan Fish market. Everyone around her was laughing in a dozen different languages, but the message was all the same – ‘don’t care who you are, that’s funny’!

 

People – The girls Winter and Allyson in Dalian, Mike in Nagasaki, Mr. Lee in S Korea and Herman in Hong Kong. Unforgettable tour guides that really made the excursions special. The girls on the motor bikes in Vietnam. (Hard working, persistent capitalists.) The Japanese girls on holiday in Shimabura that wanted their pictures taken with us. And not to forget Stepanie (Night Manager), Kim (Zumba instructor), Kelvin and Matt, Frank our room steward, Monica the aft ship’s bar manager, Monica and Piya – waiters in Pacific Moon and Savoy respectively. Paul, Jorge, Heidi and Nicole from the cruise staff. Kathy, our lobby bar barrister and a host of other people on the ship that really made for a great cruise.

 

Fellow Passengers – You really have to look no further than the other passengers on this ship to see a variety of cultures. Americans are a distinct minority on this ship. I think Canadians are in the majority, but there are a lot of Aussies, Chinese, Koreans and Japanese on board as well. A lot of Asian cultures are represented, more than any other cruise we’ve been on. We’ve met some really interesting people from different countries and listened, really listened. I love being a fly on the wall in Skywalker’s when a bunch get together and talk about stuff ranging from food on the ship, to Princess cruising, to retirement planning, to politics.

 

The Food – The Ciappino in San Francisco before we left. The food in Business Class on the ANA flight from SFO to NRT. Laksa and Scallops in Brown Sauce in Singapore, as well as carrot cake – which has no carrots and no cake in it at all – its basically a sweet egg omelet. The Japanese lunch in Nagasaki. The Chinese lunch on the floating restaurant in Hong Kong, the Vietnamese buffet in Vuc Trang, the Chinese lunch in Dalian, the Clams in Seward, the clam chowder in Juneau, the smoked fish in Juneau. The cold salads in the buffet for both lunch and dinner – really exceptional. The vegetable cream soups, the bread, OMG, the baked breads around the ship.

 

I cannot recommend this ship and this itinerary enough. Everyone should do this trip, or at least one of the smaller trips the Diamond does in the east. It is an eye opener and a fantastic way to do an overview of an area, only having to unpack once, and sample many different sights and locations for later travel. We may do this trip again in 2014 or 2015. We won’t be doing as many ship excursions then, concentrating on getting out on our own and more immersed in the local culture and food. Or we might travel back on a land tour. Kong Kong and Japan are really high on my list to re-visit if we ever have the time.

 

Trip tips for this itinerary:

 

Plan on arriving at least a couple of days prior to departure to get used to the time zone differences. The complete reversal of the circadian rhythm is a killer for a few days.

 

Prepare for hot weather at first, cold weather at the end. From 95F and 100% humidity to 28F and snowing. That’s the range. We brought layers and they actually worked out well.

 

Bring the pharmacopeia. See your doctor before you leave. The two most important prescriptions we brought, besides getting all of our shots updated (DPT, Polio, Hep A & B), was a sleeping aid and a wide spectrum antibiotic. OTC cold medications are also important as the supplies on board are expensive and can run out.

 

Bring local cash. I would recommend at least $100US in each currency. More if you plan to shop for more or if you are doing things on your own, less if you are just touring with Princess on full day tours.

 

Learn a few words in the language. Thank You, Hello or an appropriate greeting, How much, and basic numbers. Smile, smile, smile. You will 99% of the time, get a nice smile back from the locals even if you completely butcher the words.

 

Youtube your ports of call. Watch prior tourist videos, professional videos and others to get a feel for the area or port you are going into.

 

Be mindful and respectful of cultural differences. Asian cultures are different. They don’t always do things the way we do in the US. That’s ok. Revel in the differences. Its part of the experience.

 

Prepare for the squatty potty. Both men and women. Squat toilets are the norm in Asia. Western toilets are few and far between. Believe it or not, getting your leg muscles in shape for squatting is not a joke. It will help. But so will bringing packaged wipes with you at all times – the TP is either outside the stall or not around at all.

 

One of the most important things I brought on this cruise was my Kindle, packed with books. Whether waiting for a show, you can only read the patter so many times, whale watching, killing time in the HC, or just stretching out on the balcony, having something to read was vital to not getting frustrated. Judy brought her Itouch and her smart phone, so she had plenty of games to play.

 

Cell Phones – we brought our Incredible 2’s with Verizon. We always had cell service, either on the ship or on shore. We did not have data service in Vuc Trang (Vietnam), Shanghai (away from the main highways) or Tienjen (at the wall), but had no problems in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, S Korea, Vladivostok or any of the ports of Alaska. Google maps worked everywhere we had data service without a glitch.

 

THANK YOU...This review has been exceptionnal and so helpful for my future cruise. Safe trip home to all of you.

[curiouscat]

Wow, thank you so much.... I am definitely adding this to my bucket list... For us this would have to wait until retirement... as we couldn't get that much time off from work. If we took six weeks we would be in forced retirement:D

 

So off to work hard and look forward to this journey in the future.....

 

and the best quote... thanks as I certainly agree

 

"Be mindful and respectful of cultural differences. Asian cultures are different. They don’t always do things the way we do in the US. That’s ok. Revel in the differences. Its part of the experience."

 

 

CC

[JimShockz]

OCPD (Obessive Cruise Planning Disorder)

 

Start haunting YouTube for videos of your cruise and ports. Google the tourist websites for your destination. Google map the area and use streetviews to get an overall lay of the land.

 

Most of the major destinations have independent websites that have a lot of information, as does Cruise Critic boards and TripAdvisor boards as well.

 

Its incredible what info the digital age has to offer,there is a wealth of information available to us by the push of a couple of buttons.;)

 

-JH

[Pia1913]

Hi Folks:

Checking in from Seattle airport where we are patiently waiting in the Sky Club lounge for our 10:50 PM flight home. We took Princess transport; easy peasy. I believe there wasa a 2 hour wait at the border, but buses were waved through after about 20 minutes. An officer asked for everybody's passport which he collected through the driver's window. The driver had collected all of them because our bus was sealed in Vancouver. Very comfortable bus with only 20 passengers and 54 seats. Needless to say we all had our own space. Also, restroom on bus made life quite easy.

So here we sit snacking for quite a few hours. Tina and Ken are with us too. We are on the same flight as far as Atlanta, which I understand is oversold. They offered me a bump, but not DH. Pretty strange. Anyhow, bump means tomorrow, and today is long enough.

Goodbye again.

[Pam in CA]

Have a safe flight home and a good tailwind. :)

[Pia1913]

Have a safe flight home and a good tailwind. :)

 

Thanks. With so many hours to kill, I'm already on my second glass of wine. :D

[DonahCBrown]

What ccrain said... and - thanks to all the fabulous crew of the Diamond for making it a memorable experience, my amazingly wonderful house/dog/mom sitter Nancy without whom this trip wouldn't have happened for us, to Mike for taking care of Dennis' stitches, Lew for taking care of my cough, and all the friends who made it such a fun trip. For those who have asked - no it was NOT me who made the major jewelry purchase (although I did see a fabulous black opal in Ketchikan...but at $28K it was a little out of my price range...) Let it be known by all and sundry that Bob really rocks at movie poster trivia!

 

On a more practical note - we got sort of forced into an overnight stay (our original flight home on Air Canada today at 3:30 PM got cancelled - last one of the 'seasonal' Saturday flights to Honolulu was last week so we got moved over to the Sunday flight) and we booked at the Holiday Inn Express at Riverport. Checked and found that they had an airport shuttle so decided to take the SkyTrain (thank you Vancouverite passengers and Hutch!) from the port to the airport and then shuttle to the hotel. This is SO easy and inexpensive, as long as you don't have an overwhelming amount of luggage - we had 4 pieces - two medium cases and two carryons - that were easily managed for the relatively short distances involved. The hardest thing was getting out of the terminal, as there were around 5000 people trying to get out and an equal number starting to arrive. One of the travel groups from our ship complicated the exit to the city center by gathering perpendicular to the flow of traffic and basically not letting anyone through for a while. We got behind a very agressive porter with a big luggage rack and finally got through.

 

From the top of the ramp out of Canada Place, you go to the corner - I think it was Compton Street - and go left - there is what looks like a SkyTrain station right at that corner but it isn't the line that goes to the airport - go about a block and there is another station on the left and that takes you to the line that goes direct to YVR - we got an all day pass- $9 CA for adult, $7 for seniors - that is good for travel on the SkyTrain, bus system or water bus - and in about 35 minutes or so, were at YVR. Trains are clean, plenty of room for luggage, stations have big elevators to make getting luggage on and off easy and you can't beat the price. Taxis were at a premium, there were huge queues and the ride to the airport runs around $50. Ticket machines for the SkyTrain take credit cards as well.

 

Called for our shuttle and we were picked up promptly. Got a nice upgrade at the Holiday Inn Express and early check in as well, and free internet (thus this update) Ran into some fellow cruisers on the shuttle who live in Victoria and they told us that this particular HIE (Riverport) allows you leave your car here for free if you stay one night pre-cruise - they had taken an airport shuttle bus from the port at $14 per person, so for local folks, that is another good option. They picked up the shuttle at the airport and were picking up their car to head to the ferry and home.

 

Guess that is it from us.

 

It was a great trip, but we're looking forward to getting home, too.

[caribill]

Hi Folks:

 

Checking in from Seattle airport where we are patiently waiting in the Sky Club lounge for our 10:50 PM flight home. We took Princess transport; easy peasy. I believe there wasa a 2 hour wait at the border, but buses were waved through after about 20 minutes.

 

How long did the entire bus trip take?

 

As a "sealed bus," did you go through both Canadian immigration/customs and then US immigration/customs at Canada Place?