Beijing

[pinotlover]

Does anyone know why both O and Regent only go to Beijing in the dead of winter? Feb and early March is not the time to be going to Northern China or Korea. I've only spoken with a couple of people that have made the O cruise there and both recommended against it. Brutal cold and not enjoyable. One spoke of having their visit to the Great Wall cancelled because of a driving snowstorm! :eek: I've been to Seoul that time of year (business), and know that's not a time of year to visit there either.

 

So what's up? Why no April & May or Sept/Oct visits to that region? I've heard stories such as : Dockage is cheaper then, or they want to do the area and be long gone before typhoon season arrives, but does anyone know the actual scoop? I like O's ports visits, but not the timing. Is a river cruise, with a Beijing visit, really my only logical option?

 

Thanks!

[Noxequifans]

We were on an O cruise starting in Beijing in March. The weather was cold but the city was wonderful and interesting.By the time we got to Taiwan it was really hot. Terrific trip.

[wripro]

Probably because those same ships will be visiting Southeast Asia as well and the only time of year that is not unbearable humid and hot there are the winter months.

[CintiPam]

Probably because those same ships will be visiting Southeast Asia as well and the only time of year that is not unbearable humid and hot there are the winter months.

 

I did a land trip to China in mid-October (2011) and the weather was fantastic: mid- to hi-60's, my favorite temperature for sightseeing.

[Mura]

It seems there may be lots of opinions.

 

We did a China trip on Viking in May 2008 and had wonderful weather. Our TA had a friend working at Viking who had lived in China for several years. She recommended May or September as the best times to travel.

 

I don't know if she was right but it was good for us. We were there a few months before the Olympics so there was still LOTS of smog. I had photos that were barely visible from the schmutz in the air.

 

We had friends from an earlier cruise who were in Beijing just before the Olympics and saw little smog at all ... possibly because TPTB wanted to clear the air!

 

Still, we loved our time in China. It was a great trip.

 

I can't give an opinion about temperatures in February, etc., but we were very comfortable in May and have been advised NOT to travel there during the summer months. (Also that September/October have more rain... I have no idea if that is true or not, just that is what we were told.)

 

Mura

[MVPinBoynton]

We will be on the Nautica March 10 China/Japan cruise. March works out very well for that cruise, since it will be cherry Blossom time in Japan.

[RJB]

Does anyone know why both O and Regent only go to Beijing in the dead of winter? Feb and early March is not the time to be going to Northern China or Korea. I've only spoken with a couple of people that have made the O cruise there and both recommended against it. Brutal cold and not enjoyable. One spoke of having their visit to the Great Wall cancelled because of a driving snowstorm! :eek: I've been to Seoul that time of year (business), and know that's not a time of year to visit there either.

 

So what's up? Why no April & May or Sept/Oct visits to that region? I've heard stories such as : Dockage is cheaper then, or they want to do the area and be long gone before typhoon season arrives, but does anyone know the actual scoop? I like O's ports visits, but not the timing. Is a river cruise, with a Beijing visit, really my only logical option?

 

Thanks!

We were on Nautica about 7 years ago and in Beijing the middle of March. Weather beautiful. Walked around for 4 days in only light jackets that were not needed half the time. Could be that we just got lucky, but no problem with the weather anywhere but Korea, which we did not like anyway. :):)

[Bowie MeMe]

I did a land trip to China in mid-October (2011) and the weather was fantastic: mid- to hi-60's, my favorite temperature for sightseeing.

 

I also did BJ in mid Oct and it was truly lovely. Flowers left over after Golden Week were beautiful and LARGE displays. Just wonderful even if the Great Wall was a little cool and windy. Coming back in mid-November it was dismal. Cold/rainy/dismal/gloomy/no flowers/traffic backups with large amounts of smoke coming from tail pipes and did I mention really raw and cold. I decided not to do Princess in winter seeing a picture posted on CC with 10 foot long icicles hanging from the docking ropes. Nope Maryland is better weather. Go when China is showing off in good weather! It is also a fact that breathing is very hard in the winter in China (Asia in general )-- read the news reports EVERY year. As far as SE Asia -- Bangkok is AWFUL HOT always so a couple of degrees cooler does not make up for the poor air quality of China in the winter. IMHO. I would not do a cruise including China from November to March (or from Oct. Golden Week to May Golden Week).

[hondorner]

...So what's up? Why no April & May or Sept/Oct visits to that region? I've heard stories such as : Dockage is cheaper then, or they want to do the area and be long gone before typhoon season arrives, but does anyone know the actual scoop?

 

Thanks!

Take the Oceania World Cruise or the Asia segment...we'll be in China in April.

Edited July 12, 2014 by hondorner

[Aloha 1]

Take the Oceania World Cruise or the Asia segment...we'll be in China in April.

 

We did a Celebrity trip to China this past April and I agree it is the perfect time to visit! Worst of the smog tends to be dissipated by then and temps are perfect, low 70's. Coldest weather was in South Korea (Busan, Jeju) and warmest was Taipei. Have fun, China is amazing and not at all like our preconceived idea of it.

[Pet Nit Noy]

We will be on the Nautica March 10 China/Japan cruise. March works out very well for that cruise, since it will be cherry Blossom time in Japan.

 

We took a similar version of your cruise four years ago; visiting Kyoto during the Cherry Blossom festival was the highlight of the cruise. (And this praise comes from former Washingtonians who visited the local Cherry Blossoms annually.) Kyoto was beautiful. The trees are planted throughout the city in contrast to Washington, DC which has its trees concentrated in a ring around the Tidal Basin. Kyoto residents were enjoying the beautiful trees as much as the tourists. At night, I saw lots of groups of business men and women strolling among the cherry blossoms still dressed in their business attire.

 

FWIW, this year the first blossoms were predicted to open in Kyoto on March 28 with full bloom in the April 6-7 range. I don't if the 2014 date was typical or early or late. I know your itinerary brings you to Kyoto March 22-23. Our cruise departed later and brought us to Kyoto April 2 and 3.

 

Here's the URL that includes the blossom predictions:

http://www.tokyo-top-guide.com/japanese-cherry-blossom-festival-2014.html/

 

We stayed overnight in Kyoto which allowed us to make a nighttime visit to both the Kinkaku-ji Temple and the Nijo Castle. Truly a memorable experience! We also attended a performance by the geishas of Kyoto, but I think that is possible even if you don't stay overnight in Kyoto.

 

The grounds of the Kinkaku-ji Temple and the Nijo Castle are specially lit to highlight the cherry trees. We weren't able to enjoy the architecture of either place as much as we might have during the day, but the Cherry Blossom display was magical with the temporary lighting.

 

During Cherry Blossom festival, all the geishas of Kyoto come together for a performance of dance, music, and singing. It is held in a huge hall, not the typical smaller "house" where each group of geishas normally works. We did not make the arrangements to attend this event so I can't supply a link or a name. The private guide with whom we worked handled all the ticket purchases. Fascinating and beautiful to watch although the traditional music is somewhat jarring to Western ears.

 

If you think you're going to stay overnight in Kyoto, make your hotel reservation early. We thought we were booking early, but from the number of rejections we experienced, we felt as if we got the last hotel room in the city. We ended up staying at the Westin Miyako, a perfectly lovely hotel but not particularly conveniently located. Definitely a cab ride required from the tourist destinations.

 

Incidentally, we went to Nara, another very ancient, very traditional town the next day. After our day in Nara, we took the train back to Kobe and returned to the ship. We did not visit Osaka, another accessible option from the Kobe port.

 

After the success of that experience, we now look at port stays as an opportunity to leave the ship. We don't always follow through, but we weigh the distance from the port to the destination and make a decision.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Pet Nit Noy

[MVPinBoynton]

We took a similar version of your cruise four years ago; visiting Kyoto during the Cherry Blossom festival was the highlight of the cruise. (And this praise comes from former Washingtonians who visited the local Cherry Blossoms annually.) Kyoto was beautiful. The trees are planted throughout the city in contrast to Washington, DC which has its trees concentrated in a ring around the Tidal Basin. Kyoto residents were enjoying the beautiful trees as much as the tourists. At night, I saw lots of groups of business men and women strolling among the cherry blossoms still dressed in their business attire.

 

FWIW, this year the first blossoms were predicted to open in Kyoto on March 28 with full bloom in the April 6-7 range. I don't if the 2014 date was typical or early or late. I know your itinerary brings you to Kyoto March 22-23. Our cruise departed later and brought us to Kyoto April 2 and 3.

 

Here's the URL that includes the blossom predictions:

http://www.tokyo-top-guide.com/japanese-cherry-blossom-festival-2014.html/

 

We stayed overnight in Kyoto which allowed us to make a nighttime visit to both the Kinkaku-ji Temple and the Nijo Castle. Truly a memorable experience! We also attended a performance by the geishas of Kyoto, but I think that is possible even if you don't stay overnight in Kyoto.

 

The grounds of the Kinkaku-ji Temple and the Nijo Castle are specially lit to highlight the cherry trees. We weren't able to enjoy the architecture of either place as much as we might have during the day, but the Cherry Blossom display was magical with the temporary lighting.

 

During Cherry Blossom festival, all the geishas of Kyoto come together for a performance of dance, music, and singing. It is held in a huge hall, not the typical smaller "house" where each group of geishas normally works. We did not make the arrangements to attend this event so I can't supply a link or a name. The private guide with whom we worked handled all the ticket purchases. Fascinating and beautiful to watch although the traditional music is somewhat jarring to Western ears.

 

If you think you're going to stay overnight in Kyoto, make your hotel reservation early. We thought we were booking early, but from the number of rejections we experienced, we felt as if we got the last hotel room in the city. We ended up staying at the Westin Miyako, a perfectly lovely hotel but not particularly conveniently located. Definitely a cab ride required from the tourist destinations.

 

Incidentally, we went to Nara, another very ancient, very traditional town the next day. After our day in Nara, we took the train back to Kobe and returned to the ship. We did not visit Osaka, another accessible option from the Kobe port.

 

After the success of that experience, we now look at port stays as an opportunity to leave the ship. We don't always follow through, but we weigh the distance from the port to the destination and make a decision.

 

 

Thanks so much for all the great info. I knew we were going to be right at the beginning of the cherry blossoms; but I am hoping they will still be gorgeous by the time we get to Tokyo on March 25. We will keep our fingers crossed.

[pinotlover]

I've been to both Japan and Korea during several different seasons, but never China in general or Beijing in particular. So this post was primarily about Beijing and visiting there. It seems that on the majority of O and Regent cruises, Beijing seems to be a schedule filler with travel to other places (Kyoto during cherry blossom) being the primary attraction(s). Understand. So as pointed out by many of the earlier posters, I'm better off not doing Beijing with O, but utilizing one of the river cruise companies during the better visiting months. Totally agreeable to that. Thanks for all the great replies.