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Suggestion on what to do in Shanghai, China for the day??


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We are going to Shanghai on the Queen Mary 2 and we have never been there before.

 

I know Shanghai is quite a big and busy city... (From photos/Video I have seen on the internet).

 

I was wondering what is their not to miss in Shanghai?? & what would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

Does the cruise ships dock near the city? or do we dock a long way from it?

 

Also is there any private tour company's you would recommend??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome

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Kiwi_cruiser: I can't help with cruise ship docking I'm sorry. But we did a land trip to China a few years ago and one of the tours we did (4 hours) was with this company ....

 

http://www.shanghaiinsiders.com/datas/

 

Click on the Shangahi Insiders banner on the R.H. side and check out the video. LOL we did this tour in the middle of winter and had warmed blankets, jackets and hats, etc., provided oh and the mulled wine too. It was the most exciting and exhilarating tour I've ever done. Privately booked, our driver arrived on time at agreed point, spoke about what "we" wanted to see in Shanghai and worked around our interests.

 

Good luck with your day in Shanghai ... an amazing city (and I rarely use the word "amazing" to describe anything). But when Joe (our driver) gunned that bike along the Bund .... OMG!!!!!! DH was on the back behind Joe and I was in the sidecar ... LOL sorta like the Fat Ladies (remember them?)

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When on QM2 a couple of years back, we were 4 hours late docking because of fog. Pushka had arranged a shopping tour for the day and was able to cancel it luckily as we were far too late.

Here are a few places I have been to and found them great:

Shanghai Museum has a wonderful collection of porcelain etc and is well worth a visit

Yuyuan Garden - traditional garden from the Ming Dynasty

 

The Shanghai Number 1 Department store is the first of its kind and fun to look around.

 

If you are interested in buying some china, Blue Shanghai White 17 Fuzhou Road, had some lovely pieces.

 

There was a great chopstick shop but it seems to have closed now and been replaced by a large department store.

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I went to Shanghai a few years ago. This is a few ideas for your day in Shanghai, Yu Garden, the museum, Nanjing Rd, Bund, cruise on Huangpu River. Also if you want to go up one of the towers, I would recommend the Jin Mao tower. Then that allows you to see the Pearl tower, from a different angle.

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For what you have had to pay for your Visa for just one day in China , you will want to get the most out of the day . A ships tour or a private tour would be the way to go. We have friends on this cruise and that is what they are intending to do. You also have a Roll call you could use and organise a small group tour of your own.

 

 

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The port is some distance North of the city. It took us 45 minutes by bus to reach the centre of town due to the traffic. I looked into using the train from the port but it was not really practical.

 

Seeing the view (if it isn't obscured by smog) from the Pearl Tower is great on a clear day.

 

The people-mover under the river near the Pearl tower is a unique experience but don't do it while on psychedelic drugs - it may freak you out too much :D

 

I'll add another vote for the Yuyuan gardens. Beautiful place and good shopping surrounding it.

 

Factor in plenty of time for travelling around. Traffic can be horrible but the subway system is a good option. If you are anywhere near the maglev station and have an hour to spare a trip out to the airport and back is a nice 430 km/h diversion.

 

Shanghai is a great city. It definitely deserves more than a day so make the most of your time.

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DH & I were there a few years ago on the Cherry Blossom cruise. We docked a fair way from the city if I recall, but at that time a cruise terminal was under construction closer to the city. As you can imagine it is a VERY busy city and the air quality is nothing we have ever seen before. I would advise, as a previous post did, to consider an organised tour (ships or private) or you could spend your entire day trying to work out how to get around.

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Hopefully you get better weather than us. We were fogged out and only arrived at 1pm so all our plans went astray. There will be a free shuttle from port to just near the river - close to the Bund. It took about 40 mins but no traffic due to weather.

 

I had planned trying out the super fast train then a shopping trip organised from recommendations on TA. Both were cancelled. This is what the main street looked like:

fef992ad0d074f1c2948d5f2fcdb6b30.jpg

 

This was the fog in the channel leading to the Port. QM2 was sounding her fog horn for all of the night. We had to anchor off the river overnight as it was doubtful we could enter - it takes 3 hours to get to the Port from here and we were only 30 mins off skipping the port altogether.

296dc7763e887ebb2b277882d7f292c2.jpg

 

Having spent quite some $ organising the visa it was disappointing.

 

But I LOVED the cruise and I am so jealous.

1182140eb53ebc0a763297c8dd237792.jpg

 

Hey there Aussieflyer! :D

 

Funny story. Normal announcements dont get beamed into your cabin unless they are serious. One young lady (:D) was in her shower at 7am and was extremely startled when the Captain started talking to her in the shower! Did you drop the soap Aussieflyer?

Edited by Pushka
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The Sun Princess cruise to Japan last Apr/May didn't get into Shanghai at all because of fog.

We are on the Sea Princess this year and are scheduled to be in Shanghai on the 21st March. Would be real disappointing to miss the port due to fog, along with the $$$'s for the visas not required.:(

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We are on the Sea Princess this year and are scheduled to be in Shanghai on the 21st March. Would be real disappointing to miss the port due to fog, along with the $$$'s for the visas not required.:(

 

Yep, our fogged in cruise was in late March as well. As I live in Adelaide I had to pay something like $130 in courier fees alone.

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Yep, our fogged in cruise was in late March as well. As I live in Adelaide I had to pay something like $130 in courier fees alone.

That would have been a real downer. I did read of a travel insurance policy that covers missed ports, but my policy doesn't.:mad:

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That would have been a real downer. I did read of a travel insurance policy that covers missed ports, but my policy doesn't.:mad:

 

We did end up getting there - so we couldn't have claimed. But couldn't do the excursions we had planned. The ship pretty much had to get there as many were permanently disembarking and others were embarking (part of a world cruise).

Edited by Pushka
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The ship pretty much had to get there as many were permanently disembarking and others were embarking (part of a world cruise).

 

I've been in a port where we didn't enter for a storm but had people joining and leaving.

 

They had a connecting transfer like a tender join the ship to take people both ways. Must have been a big hassle, but they have to do it (otherwise it gets to flight transfers which are even more complicated).

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I've been in a port where we didn't enter for a storm but had people joining and leaving.

 

They had a connecting transfer like a tender join the ship to take people both ways. Must have been a big hassle, but they have to do it (otherwise it gets to flight transfers which are even more complicated).

 

Shanghai is way too complicated. Until the fog lifted, you cannot enter the River Channel. The entry to the River Channel is approx 3 hours away from the Port.

 

Fancy a 3 hour tender ride in the fog on the Yangtze? - which would be more like six hours given the speed tenders travel at. And then there is luggage!

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Hopefully you get better weather than us. We were fogged out and only arrived at 1pm so all our plans went astray. There will be a free shuttle from port to just near the river - close to the Bund. It took about 40 mins but no traffic due to weather.

 

I had planned trying out the super fast train then a shopping trip organised from recommendations on TA. Both were cancelled. This is what the main street looked like:

fef992ad0d074f1c2948d5f2fcdb6b30.jpg

 

This was the fog in the channel leading to the Port. QM2 was sounding her fog horn for all of the night. We had to anchor off the river overnight as it was doubtful we could enter - it takes 3 hours to get to the Port from here and we were only 30 mins off skipping the port altogether.

296dc7763e887ebb2b277882d7f292c2.jpg

 

Having spent quite some $ organising the visa it was disappointing.

 

But I LOVED the cruise and I am so jealous.

1182140eb53ebc0a763297c8dd237792.jpg

 

Hey there Aussieflyer! :D

 

Funny story. Normal announcements dont get beamed into your cabin unless they are serious. One young lady (:D) was in her shower at 7am and was extremely startled when the Captain started talking to her in the shower! Did you drop the soap Aussieflyer?

Hey Pushka, what happens on board, stays on board!!!! I have some stories about you as well. I forgot that part of the story. Remember the fog though; it was a pea souper.

Do you still have the little black dress, P?

Must be something about me and China. The time before we were snowed in on the Yangtze River and it was doubtful if we would dock in Wuhan (where we were disembarking :eek:).

If worried about fog, I would not arrange a private tour unless you know you would be able to get a refund.

Edited by Aussieflyer
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The Shanghai Tower is due to open sometime mid-year so depending on when you are cruising and if you have a clear day you could experience the view from the worlds second tallest building. The observation decks are up around the 123rd floor. I've only seen the tower from the ground but it is very impressive.

 

The subway is easy to use but as you only have a few hours I'd suggest taking taxis. They are very cheap.

 

cheers

 

Stu

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  • 1 month later...

Shanghai port for the big ships is a long way from the city. Our ship docked late due to fog & then coz of busy traffic it took almost 2 hours in a cab to make it to our city hotel. Once there the Bund area is really nice to see, especially if you can see it at night once all the lights are on.

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Do the Maglev train. When we went on it a couple of years ago I think it got up to 431k per hour. Quite an experience. Then we wnet into the city and just walked along the edge of the river into the Bund - just great. It is a wonderful city and I would go back there anytime. Just remember that you are not going to see it all in a day.:)

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That's a shame The Big M. I have just checked my photos to make sure I was telling the truth and yes the screen in the carriage which displays the speed is showing 431kph. I suppose it probably is not a big deal but it is nice to say that you have experienced it.:)

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Seems it goes that speed only sometimes.

 

 

 

When I rode it went at 300km/h. Nice and smooth though I wondered why they mentioned a higher top speed when it didn't go at that.

 

 

When I was doing my research on Maglev the time of day impacted on the speeds travelled on that sector. So I chose a mid morning train (I think) to get the faster one.

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