Delay for Nautica March 4

[2Cmore]

Unable to board Nautica in Beijing/Tianjin today as the ship was not in port on time, a day late in fact! Not much of an explanation, fog has been mentioned, but we have been fed and are now in a beautiful room at the Hilton. We are more fortunate than the passengers disembarking as I am sure some have missed their flights home. Apparently all of the ships tours have been cancelled for tomorrow and as sailaway is scheduled at 6pm (hopefully) fellow travelers have missed out seeing the Great Wall etc.. Understandably, they are upset. A representative is said to be explaining all in morning. My time clock says sailed...I say...not quite yet!

Edited March 4, 2016 by 2Cmore

[LHT28]

sorry to hear you are missing the ship maybe it is a conspiracy just to P*** off the passengers :rolleyes:

fog , noro or some other reason

[cbb]

we who are on the RTW right now lost an overnight port in Beijing because of a decree from the Chinese government and there is nothing O or anyone else can do about it. Most of us had a real disruption in the tours we were doing whether it was shorex or private.

 

We also could not sail from shanghai to beijing but had to visit an intervening non-Chinese port which will be Jeju, S Korea thanks to the Chinese government.

 

Several of us have added excursions out of our last day in Shanghai that will give us time in Beijing; some are private tours, or shorex with O.

 

We will go to Xi'an for 2 days and then fly to Beijing for an overnight that gives us the 2 days needed in Beijing to see Wall, Forbidden City and T Square....and not much more given the time needed to get back to port. We decided to go with O so that they will hold the ship for us!!

[RJB]

sorry to hear you are missing the ship maybe it is a conspiracy just to P*** off the passengers :rolleyes:

fog , noro or some other reason

Boy, you are a real sour puss !!! Say something nice for a change. :(:(:(

[corpkid]

The Hilton is really nice and people seem to be in OK spirits. We had a nice breakfast and it looks like we will be boarding in not too long. Had to cancel our private Tianjin food tour but no big deal - things happen when you travel. We are fortunate in that we came into Beijing early and had three days to do the sights. Understand why some would be disappointed but that ship has sailed (pun intended). Hope those heading home are able to do so without too much trouble. It is China after all. :)

[Iamthesea]

Oceania is really having a tough few weeks. Starting to feel sorry for them. ;)

[no fuss travel]

China is making it difficult for all cruise lines, not just Oceania. Unfortunately cruise lines have no control over Government bureaucracies.:eek:

[RJB]

China is making it difficult for all cruise lines, not just Oceania. Unfortunately cruise lines have no control over Government bureaucracies.:eek:

Do you think if the cruise lines stopped showing up it would make any difference to them? :confused::confused::confused:

[hypercafe]

Do you think if the cruise lines stopped showing up it would make any difference to them? :confused::confused::confused:

 

Not at all!

[Paulchili]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJB

Do you think if the cruise lines stopped showing up it would make any difference to them?

 

Not at all!

 

Agreed. Ditto for Putin.

[RJB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJB

Do you think if the cruise lines stopped showing up it would make any difference to them?

 

 

 

Agreed. Ditto for Putin.

Exactly the answer I was expecting. Just put the question out there to see what other people thought.

[Dwtlion]

There may be something else at play with the Chinese Government. Within the next few months every major line (NCL, RCCL, Princess, Carnival, etc.) will have mega ships home-porting in China. The Chinese market is HUGE.

This will put pressure on dockage, chandler services, shore excursion suppliers and other providers.

 

One off stops by smaller ships may not be as important as they once were.

[RJB]

There may be something else at play with the Chinese Government. Within the next few months every major line (NCL, RCCL, Princess, Carnival, etc.) will have mega ships home-porting in China. The Chinese market is HUGE.

This will put pressure on dockage, chandler services, shore excursion suppliers and other providers.

 

One off stops by smaller ships may not be as important as they once were.

So what does that mean for Oceania? We now are part of a major cruise company NCL. I guess we will just have to see how this plays out in the future. :(:(:(

[Travelcat2]

Really interesting thread and posts! We were booked to go to China but the itinerary kept changing and we ended up cancelling. Are the dock areas for Beijing and Shanghai large enough to permit multiple large ships to dock? It does seem that most major cruise lines will have ships in China in the near future - many of them quite large!

 

Dwtlion brought up some good points. My concern is not only the availability of dock space but how busy the ports will be with multiple ships in at the same time (thinking Santorini and the Caribbean -- not comfortable to be there with 10,000-20,000 passengers in port.

 

While we have been many places in Asia, China is no longer on our bucket list (although we would return to Hong Kong if it was not too difficult to get there and if there were few other ships in port.)

Edited March 5, 2016 by Travelcat2

[RJB]

Really interesting thread and posts! We were booked to go to China but the itinerary kept changing and we ended up cancelling. Are the dock areas for Beijing and Shanghai large enough to permit multiple large ships to dock? It does seem that most major cruise lines will have ships in China in the near future - many of them quite large!

 

Dwtlion brought up some good points. My concern is not only the availability of dock space but how busy the ports will be with multiple ships in at the same time (thinking Santorini and the Caribbean -- not comfortable to be there with 10,000-20,000 passengers in port.

 

While we have been many places in Asia, China is no longer on our bucket list (although we would return to Hong Kong if it was not too difficult to get there and if there were few other ships in port.)

If you can get there Shanghai and Beijing are wonderful cities to visit. So much history there and so different from most places that we have been.

[Floridiana]

A small ship like the Nautica should be able to dock in downtown Shanghai. It is not interfering with the large ships at the port facility further outside. The facility outside Tianjin (for Bejing) is built for several large ships. Who knows what's going on. We can only speculate.

 

We went to Jeju Island on a different cruise, very nice but not spectacular. South Korea's highest mountain is on Jeju.

[Travelcat2]

If you can get there Shanghai and Beijing are wonderful cities to visit. So much history there and so different from most places that we have been.

 

Thanks -- we may still go but not necessarily by ship. The port for Beijing is so far from the city that it may be easier to fly into the city (not sure how far the airport is). Our TA loves Shanghai - she loves buying pearls there (everyone seems to place their orders with her:-) FDR was fairly recently in Shanghai and indicated that he really liked it.

[Paulchili]

 

While we have been many places in Asia, China is no longer on our bucket list (although we would return to Hong Kong if it was not too difficult to get there and if there were few other ships in port.)

 

With all due respect, you would be only short-changing yourself by not visiting China (pretty much all of it as it is so diverse and each part has its own attractions).

There is so much history, old civilization and natural beauty - unfortunately along with massive new construction and pollution - that you would be missing much of human history and culture by not visiting China.

Kind of like saying "Greece is not on my bucket list because of their political & refugee problems (or Egypt because of XYZ)"

It would be your loss - not theirs :)

Just my opinion.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Paulchili

[RJB]

A small ship like the Nautica should be able to dock in downtown Shanghai. It is not interfering with the large ships at the port facility further outside. The facility outside Tianjin (for Bejing) is built for several large ships. Who knows what's going on. We can only speculate.

 

We went to Jeju Island on a different cruise, very nice but not spectacular. South Korea's highest mountain is on Jeju.

Yes, we did dock in downtown Shanghai, right on the river. Across from the famous TV tower. Was a great place to be as we were right in the center of the city. In Tianjin it was ok as it was the end of the cruise and were staying in Beijing for 3 days. Took about an hour or so to get into the city but no big deal.

[corpkid]

Beijing was amazing and I would tell anyone who has the means to visit for several days at least once. It is very safe and you can openly "explore" the alleys (hutongs) etc. We enjoyed it very much. It takes about an hour from the airport to downtown Beijing. About two hours from the Tianjin port. The Great Wall is about 90 minutes from Beijing. China is quite honestly the most fascinating place I've ever visited. It's one of those places that really changes your perspective on the world.

[Pet Nit Noy]

There may be something else at play with the Chinese Government. Within the next few months every major line (NCL, RCCL, Princess, Carnival, etc.) will have mega ships home-porting in China. The Chinese market is HUGE.

This will put pressure on dockage, chandler services, shore excursion suppliers and other providers.

 

One off stops by smaller ships may not be as important as they once were.

 

I was interested in your comment so I did some research of 2016 itineraries, including some other cruise lines. Warning, this post is a loaded with details. For those without the patience to wade through the specifics, the posted itineraries for 2016 do not suggest that mega-ships are home porting in China.

 

RCCL will have 185 cruises scheduled to depart from some Asian port, only a small portion even visit a Chinese port. And, to the best of my memory, few -- if any -- embark/disembark from Bejing/Tianjin. Many of them are 3- and 4-night cruises, but the overwhelming majority are 5-night cruises. I assume these are for the local market..

 

The longest RCCL trips were 14 days, and I only found two of those. Both departed from Singapore and focus on India and Southeast Asia, with no port calls in a Chinese port.

 

In 2016, Princess has two ships that between them will sail three 17-day itineraries beginning in Beijing/Tianjin and ending in Singapore,with port calls throughout Asia/Southeast Asia.

 

There are perhaps three more itineraries -- out of a total of Princess' 76 Asian itineraries -- with port calls at what we used to call mainland China. Port call in Hong Kong, yes. However, since Hong Kong doesn't require a visa, I refer to it in somewhat different terms even though, legally it is part of China.

 

In 2016, NCL is offering only 8 cruises with Asian itineraries. None includes ports of call on mainland China, although five of them either embark or disembark from Hong Kong.

 

In 2016, Oceania offers two itineraries with calls in China. On March 15, 2016, there's a cruise from Singapore to Shanghai. There are no port calls on mainland China, but the ship calls at Hong Kong. The April 3 cruise Shanghai to Syndey (36 days) will make a port call in Beijing/Tianjin.

 

In 2017, I found three Oceania itineraries that will include port calls in China.

 

I've devoted enough time to this topic so I haven't looked at the itineraries for Carnival or HAL. If anyone wants to follow up where I left off, I'd be interested in seeing those results.

 

Still, I think even this sub-set of itineraries suggests there's no overwhelming demand on the port in Tianjin to warrant the hard time small ships are getting from the Chinese government.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[buggins0402]

I was interested in your comment so I did some research of 2016 itineraries, including some other cruise lines. Warning, this post is a loaded with details. For those without the patience to wade through the specifics, the posted itineraries for 2016 do not suggest that mega-ships are home porting in China.

 

RCCL will have 185 cruises scheduled to depart from some Asian port, only a small portion even visit a Chinese port. And, to the best of my memory, few -- if any -- embark/disembark from Bejing/Tianjin. Many of them are 3- and 4-night cruises, but the overwhelming majority are 5-night cruises. I assume these are for the local market..

 

The longest RCCL trips were 14 days, and I only found two of those. Both departed from Singapore and focus on India and Southeast Asia, with no port calls in a Chinese port.

 

In 2016, Princess has two ships that between them will sail three 17-day itineraries beginning in Beijing/Tianjin and ending in Singapore,with port calls throughout Asia/Southeast Asia.

 

There are perhaps three more itineraries -- out of a total of Princess' 76 Asian itineraries -- with port calls at what we used to call mainland China. Port call in Hong Kong, yes. However, since Hong Kong doesn't require a visa, I refer to it in somewhat different terms even though, legally it is part of China.

 

In 2016, NCL is offering only 8 cruises with Asian itineraries. None includes ports of call on mainland China, although five of them either embark or disembark from Hong Kong.

 

In 2016, Oceania offers two itineraries with calls in China. On March 15, 2016, there's a cruise from Singapore to Shanghai. There are no port calls on mainland China, but the ship calls at Hong Kong. The April 3 cruise Shanghai to Syndey (36 days) will make a port call in Beijing/Tianjin.

 

In 2017, I found three Oceania itineraries that will include port calls in China.

 

I've devoted enough time to this topic so I haven't looked at the itineraries for Carnival or HAL. If anyone wants to follow up where I left off, I'd be interested in seeing those results.

 

Still, I think even this sub-set of itineraries suggests there's no overwhelming demand on the port in Tianjin to warrant the hard time small ships are getting from the Chinese government.

 

It looks like the HAL Volendam is doing three B2B Chinese ports in March/ April. Princess itineraries ...HK to Tiajin, with Shanghai and two non Chinese ports, so no B2B mainland stops. Also a Tiajin to Shanghai...but no mainland ports in between. In 2017, Seaborn has a ship doing multiple B2B mainland.

 

I guess the question is whether HAL has run into problems with its Volendam itinerary.

[shemansl]

We were supposed to get off the ship on March 4 and tour the wall prior to spending the day in Beijing. Well, that didn't happen! Glad to hear some didn't miss it. Here was the view from our cabin. Crazy!

[MVPinBoynton]

We were on the Nautica last year at this time for an outstanding China/Japan cruise. It is a amazing and enlightening place to visit. I understand why cruise lines are moving ships to this area. China was so different from what I expected and so enjoyable to see this fascinating part of the world. The Tianjin port is huge and I would think be able to handle many ships there at one time. I don't know what is causing the current delay for the Nautica; but we had a problem in Shanghai last year with the fog. We had to spend an extra day in Shanghai while other ships trying to get there couldn't get to the river due to severe fog at the entrance. Unfortunately, we couldn't get off the ship, because they didn't know when we would be able leave port. With the beautiful skyline right across from the ship, it did give us our best night to watch the light show.

 

 

If you can do a trip to China and Japan, don't delay, it is so worth visiting there.

[Travelcat2]

I did a quick check on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Carnival has two ships that will be based in China - one starting next year (Carnival Miracle - 2,125 passengers - Spring, 2017 and the Splendor - 3,000 passengers will start in Spring, 2018.

 

RSSC already has at least one megaship in China with a lot of itineraries (not all mainland China).

 

From what I've read, ships that are based in China are being set up to accommodate Chinese guests rather than those from Europe or North America. There will be larger casinos and a lot of upscale shopping and undoubtedly food to meet Asian tastes.