South East Asia Immersion Cruise

[Flamingo70]

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

[little britain]

You obviously booked the cruise because you were interested in seeing the ports and the cultures. "Orientals" live in this part of the world do the ship is likely to have more of that demographic on board. It's like saying don't book a cruise out of New York as it's full of New Yorkers.....[emoji50]

Yes there will be culture differences, but the menus etc will be the same. It's all about the ports. Fabulous.

 

 

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[easyboy]

It is not primarily geared towards Orientals only. It is a Southeast Asia cruise that you chose. With immersion, it is a way to learn their culture and way of life.

[Miaminice]

We did this cruise in March.

Just a few orientals. Americans, Canadians, Brits and many Germans because of a sales special in Germany.

It is different on ships permanently stationed in Asia. In part they are even remodelled to cater for different tastes. Not so on Celebrity. This was one of our best cruises. Started and ended in Singapore and we fell in love with this fabulous city.

 

Do this cruise, you will not regred it!!!!!

If you want to know more on excursions etc. just ask. We had excellent tour operators.

Unfortunately I a m not done with our review yet - otherwise I could just send you a link.

[chemmo]

We did do an RC cruise with a similar but shorter itinerary and were greatly outnumbered by Chinese guests. We had a wonderful time! There were several Americans, quite a few assorted Europeans and I think we were the only guests from the UK. We were shamed by the Chinese guests ability to chat with us when we were struggling to say 'hello'! We really enjoyed the diversity of the mix.

 

The only thing we found different from a standard cruise was how busy the casino was and how quiet the bars were post dinner! There certainly seemed more interested in gambling than drinking! All usual options were available in the buffet and at dinner.

 

Tours were offered in English so no worries there!

 

As a previous post said Celebrity's cruises are not targeting locals but if you did have a large number of Chinese on board I think it would enhance, not diminish, your cruise experience. We were booked on this cruise and owing to health issues recently had to cancel. It really is a great itinerary which I am sure we will do one day!

[DYKWIA]

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

 

I've travelled extensively all over Asia for the last 25 years and it is a wonderful destination, never travelled on a cruise to this part of the world.

 

If you do go I'd advise you don't refer to people as "Orientals"

[hcat]

I was taught that rugs and vases are oriental...people are Asian, etc...

[NantahalaCruiser]

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

When we were on this cruise last year there were passengers from over 50 different countries! We had a wonderful trip.

[nekzaadvakil]

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

 

It was quite nice to read so many favorable reviews of Celebrity's Asian cruise. Unfortunately, we've not received the same feedback from close friends and family members when they did their cruises in Asia. Yes, you're going to have alot of Chinese cruisers and that's normal since the cruise ports are close to China. We knew that their 'culture' includes cutting lines at the buffet, elevators, talking loudly, smoking where they shouldn't etc. (Heck who are we to complain, its not like we Indians are the best behaved either!)

 

But it did ruin their overall experience on the ship. The ports of call in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia were all lovely, but their experience on the cruise ship was well below par. I think one needs to keep expectations really low, be prepared to cruise with people who may not have the same high levels of etiquette that one expects from westerners and you should be good to go.

 

Personally, I yet have not found it worth my while and money to do so.

[westcoastcruiser]

I was taught that rugs and vases are oriental...people are Asian, etc...

 

Yes!

[DYKWIA]

there are a few things that make me think that some of the Asian cruises are not for us.

 

Many of the Asian cities have a wealth of attractions that you could easily spend 3-4 nights explloring. Combine that with how far the cruise ships dock (Bangkok) for example and you realise that you've got very little time in some of these great destinations.

 

 

Reliable, quality and often private excursions are often very cheap if organised through a hotel. We have enjoyed excellent whole day private excursions for the two of us in some locations for as little as £150 total! You may pay 10x that on a ship's private excursion.

 

 

Weather can be very changeable in South East Asia and the need to be flexible with sightseeing is sometimes an advantage.

 

 

Finally, many of the hotels in South East Asia are world class, offer outstanding service, and very good value for money. Even the 3 and 4 star options are usually excellent. When these cruises stay overnight in some of these destinations I know we would prefer to enjoy the luxury these hotels provide.

[[g]cruiserke]

We have done several Asia cruises over the last few years, all of them on Celebrity, including a Singapore to HK "immersion cruise" earlier this year. Our three Celebrity cruises in Asia have been among our top 5 cruises all-time (out of 25 so far). And we have consciously only cruised in Asia on Celebrity and NOT on Royal Caribbean, the other of our favourite cruise lines offering Asia cruises.

 

The reason for this is because the RCL Asia cruises are mostly aimed at the local market: They're true "immersion cruises" in that the onboard entertainment, food, bar staff, announcements, etc are all adapted to the local customs. These cruises are usually shorter (4 to 5 days) because that is the average length of holiday taken by people in Asia. They are also mainly (though not exclusively) offered and promoted via local travel agencies. They are, in short, a different experience than any Royal Caribbean cruise you would take in the Caribbean, the Med, or Australia. I believe that RCL explicitly have a disclaimer for those cruises on their site telling people about the differences.

 

However, this is NOT the case for Celebrity cruises in Asia: These are much more similar all aspects to any Celebrity cruise you would have taken elsewhere and they are usually longer cruises of 12 to 14 days, which as mentioned does not fit into the average holiday pattern in Asia. There will of course be local Asian travelers onboard, because Celebrity do sell the cruises to the local population but in my experience, there usually is a healthy mix of nationalities.

 

You do have to be informed that this kind of cruise requires much more preparation and logistical considerations than a Caribbean of Med cruise, where the ship will usually be close or very close to the areas of interest. Most of the ports are industrial ports a few hours from the places you're likely to want to visit. To get the most out of your trip, the do-it-yourself style of exploring will yield the most enjoyable experience.

 

As to the fact that the places you visit on a cruise in Asia warrant at least a few days to do them justice, that is without a doubt true. However, all of the Celebrity cruises I have done in Asia have had at least one overnight, giving you two days in a location, and most of have offered even double overnights (three days) in the most interesting stops (those were Bangkok and Beijing, and we stayed in those cities for three days, booking hotels).

 

This gives you more time to explore those places than you usually get on a cruise, even Med cruises where I would argue the same consideration applies; most ships stop only one day in places like Rome, Naples, Barcelona, Marseille, etc, and certainly those cities offer much more than can be done in that amount of time.

 

Lastly, we consider any cruise stop to be at most a chance to flavour a city, even with a three day stop. Those places which we have visited where we felt we needed more time, we have subsequently planned in for a longer stay, either on a land trip or as the pre- of after-cruise portion of our holiday.

 

In short (though it may be too late for that ;-) my advise would be to keep your booking.

[DYKWIA]

cruiserke;53531443']...

This gives you more time to explore those places than you usually get on a cruise' date=' even Med cruises where I would argue the same consideration applies; most ships stop only one day in places like Rome, Naples, Barcelona, Marseille, etc, and certainly those cities offer much more than can be done in that amount of time.

 

....[/quote']

 

I will admit that my comments re Asian cities needing several days were from the perspective of my wife and I as European travellers. Rome, Naples, Barcelona, Marseille are a hop skip and jump for us and with a bit planning very easy for us to do very cheaply - weekend break territory. Its 11am here, If I drive to the airport from my office now I can be in Barcelona by 4pm. I won't be doing that unfortunately, and don't expect to get home until 6pm this evening :(

[hvbaskey]

Here is my blog review from our Asian Immersion Cruise this past January:

 

Southeast Asian Immersion Cruise - Celebrity Millennium

 

I do not have Hong Kong entered as of yet (my old travel blog site closed down in June - so still transferring data!)

 

However, in the meanwhile - there is some information that may help ... we enjoyed this cruise, very much!!!

 

Heather

[Hlitner]

The term "Xenophobia" comes to mind....when we hear folks say things like "there will be a lot of Orientals on a cruise." So what! A few years ago we were on a HAL Canada/NE Cruise (out of Quebec City, that was packed with Japanese! Big deal.....These folks came all the way to Quebec city to see the fall foliage. If you take any cruise that begins and ends in Asia, you are going to have a good number of Asians (with probably others from Australia and NZ). That is what international travel is all about! All the major US cruise lines have been actively reaching out to Asia to attract new cruisers and also to get experienced cruisers to try out Western cruise lines.

 

DW and I have been traveling Internationally (on cruises and land) for decades. Next spring we will be flying over to Singapore (where we plan on spending a few days) before taking a cruise. Guess what? There will be an awful lot of Asians in Singapore :). Personally, I do not want to go to Asia to be surrounded by a group of Americans (or Canadians). One reason DW and I prefer to travel by ourselves is that we enjoy meeting people from all over the world...and this does not often happen when you are stuck in a group of fellow North Americans.

 

Speaking of foreign travel, we are becoming big fans of "Google Translate" which is an app for phones or many tablets (like iPads). It can be very handy in parts of the world where there is a real barrier. And the language barrier is our own ignorance of the local language... Its nice having an app that can tell a taxi driver to "take me to the train station" or "take me to the cruise port." When I was a young man (in the Air Force) and lived in Japan...we had no apps (or cell phones) and had to manage! Travel is so much easier these days.

 

Hank

[Miaminice]

The term "Xenophobia" comes to mind....when we hear folks say things like "there will be a lot of Orientals on a cruise."

 

I understand what you are saying. However, I do not think (or hope) this applies here.

Every one of us has certain preferences regarding travel and cruises - which is also why we choose certain cruise lines.

I for one, although living in Germany, avoid German cruise lines or cruise lines frequented by Germans. And no, it´s not xenophobic but has a number of different reasons.

 

Back to the topic of cruises in question. Worrying about a high percentage of Asians on board is something even we did - although we love Asia in general. It is without question that certain nationalities can be quite loud for example. I do understand that that is not to everyone´s liking. And while you can escape that even when (land) traveling in Asia, on a cruise ship it might have more of an impact.

 

Some cruise lines remodel their ships to adapt to Asian customers (RCCL, NCL e.g.). Liking such a changed ship or not has nothing to do with being xenophobic. So I do understand the OP´s thoughts - but I can say we had no problems whatsoever on Celebrity on our Southeast Asia cruise on Constellation. In fact it was one of the best ever.

[ptrpanpens]

Personally I would only be concerned with the smoking issues.

[bigbenboys]

Jan 2017 we did a 12 night cruise on Millie. The cruise was Hong Kong to Shanghai. This cruise was fantastic. I'm sure there were Asians on board. We met 2 other couples from the greater Seattle area. A very nice couple from England. There was the family of 5 from Australia. Oh there was the Englishman living in France with his wife born in the Philippians. Others from Northern Ireland, North Carolina, New York, California and Florida. This was our 3rd cruise in Asia. We will be doing more cruises in Asia at some point.

[janny56]

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

Hi did you go on this cruise and how did you enjoy it thinking about going too and have the same reservations as you.

[Essiesmom]

Hi did you go on this cruise and how did you enjoy it thinking about going too and have the same reservations as you.

 

The OP has not visited Cruise Critic since he/she started this thread. EM