Thinking Of ... Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Hong Kong

[charlielinda]

Has anyone sailed in Asia on Celebrity? We are considering a 2020 cruise with some friends. We have sailed the Caribbean many times, Panama Canal, Alaska and a Transatlantic. We are in our early 60’s and wondered if this would be something we’d like. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

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[Emdee]

I have done a couple of cruises in the far east though not on Celebrity.

 

Would suggest that you look at the itinerary, time in each port and Distance from port to sightseeing. It is possible also to add on something pre cruise or post cruise. If you are going all that way it makes sense to use your time to the fullest.

 

The flights are quite taxing so look into business class or premium economy. Maybe buy a couple of Platinum card to accumulate points.

 

Sometimes a cruise just doesnt work out in a particular region. We did Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar by plane.

 

If Celebrity itineraries dont work out look at other lines. We did Indonesia and Malaysia on Crystal. With the huge OBC we received from Crystal, AMEX and TA we did not have to spend extra for excursions. Gratuities, Internet and drinks are included. Further there are free laundry facilities and irons in the laundry room.

 

So many choices...enjoy the planning.

[riclop]

Sounds great.

[jkgourmet]

We looked at the itineraries and how long it would take to travel from the port to what we were interested in seeing. Too far away for our taste - but we feel the same about many ports in Europe. 1.5 or 2 hours each direction by bus to the sites? No thanks.

 

That said, we ARE booked to do Japan and S Korea next year. Those port stops generally made sense, or at least provided an overnight.

[jelayne]

We did a B2B in February on the Constellation. First leg was r/t Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Manila, Boracay & Kota Kimabulu. 2nd leg Singapore, Phuket. Sri Lanka, Cochin, Goa, Mumbai, Oman, Dubai and ending in Abu Dhabi. We have done 44 cruises covering much of the world accessible via cruise ship and by far this was the most memorable.

 

If I had to chose between the first leg and the 2nd I would choose the 2nd leg, as it was the most interesting. We did all independent tours on both legs and we were fortunate to be taken to see the homes of a couple of the guides/drivers- eye opening! Saw poverty and extreme wealth, met so many wonderful people who were as curious about us and our life as we were about them

 

Life is short , Go for it!

[txflood33]

Subscribing to this thread to possibly learn some info with the OP. My wife and I have wanted to see many parts of Asia and have loved Celebrity, so we just picked an itinerary that hit some places we had on the list to see. We start in Hong Kong and end in Shanghai so we can get a few pre and post days in 2 incredible cities. We will also get 3 days in Beijing...Tianjin actually...but we will travel and stay in Beijing for a private tour company. Will also get Taipei, Nagasaki, and some South Korea.

[TeaBag]

We have sailed from Singapore to Vancouver, and Hong Kong to Vancouver on Millennium. We have been to Singapore and Hong Kong many times not on cruises. Hong Kong is as busy and crazy as Singapore is, orderly and tidy. I really love Singapore and the island off shore...Sentosa. Love the Night Safari in Singapore, the food, shops, everything. I loved visiting the factories in Hong Kong and the markets. The Cloisonne factory in Beijing is fascinating and of course, the Wall. Haven't been to Vietnam or Philippines. i'm sure you'll enjoy it all.

[PDXgranny]

Subscribing to this thread to possibly learn some info with the OP. My wife and I have wanted to see many parts of Asia and have loved Celebrity, so we just picked an itinerary that hit some places we had on the list to see. We start in Hong Kong and end in Shanghai so we can get a few pre and post days in 2 incredible cities. We will also get 3 days in Beijing...Tianjin actually...but we will travel and stay in Beijing for a private tour company. Will also get Taipei, Nagasaki, and some South Korea.

 

 

We’re sailing on Constellation in January and the last port is Shanghai. We’ve decided to stay 2 nights there after cruise ends. The we fly back to the US. Are you planning on applying for a full China visa or for the 144 China transit visa?

Thanks!

[debshomespun]

Definitely worth the trip, IMO. We spent 6 weeks last year in Asia. We flew to Singapore, and were fortunate to stay with friends. We did a land trip to Phuket for 4 nights. Then a 4 night cruise on RC to Malaysia, with stops in Penang and Langkawi. Next was a 14 night cruise on Millennium with 2 stops in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Manila, Boracay, and Kota Kinabalu. We then did a land trip to Bangkok for 3 nights. We were supposed to go to Bali for a long weekend, but the Volcano was not co operating, so we could not go. We spent this time in Singapore. We ended up with 13 nights total in Singapore, and had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the whole experience. Combining both land and cruise will give you a great way to see many places at one time.

[smtcan]

We have done several cruises in Asia with Celebrity. The first was B2B from Singapore to Vietnam, Philippines, and on via Hong Kong to India then on to Dubai. Next was Vancouver to Yokohama followed by ten days in Japan. Next was Shanghai to Japan. We really enjoy travelling in Asia and next year we are going back to Singapore and cruising to Halong Bay, Thailand and Vietnam, ending in Hong Kong. From there we are flying to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat. We have also taken two land tours in China, because most of the places we wanted to see were not readily accessible from a cruise.

 

We try to share private tours or explore independently when possible. Although some interesting places are a long way from the port it is worth the effort to get there. We are in our mid seventies and while the long flights in economy are arduous, we prefer to travel more often than we would be able to afford if we flew business class.

[txflood33]

We’re sailing on Constellation in January and the last port is Shanghai. We’ve decided to stay 2 nights there after cruise ends. The we fly back to the US. Are you planning on applying for a full China visa or for the 144 China transit visa?

Thanks!

 

We don't cruise until 3/2020 so I'm really just researching right now. At this point, I thought the 10 year Visa was the best(really only) option. I'm not sure what the 144 transit visa is.

[smtcan]

We don't cruise until 3/2020 so I'm really just researching right now. At this point, I thought the 10 year Visa was the best(really only) option. I'm not sure what the 144 transit visa is.

 

We have obtained Chinese visas four times. The old system only allowed one trip per application, but now the visa is for ten years which makes much more sense. The 144 hour visa only works if you are in transit from one country to another with an up to 144 hour stop in China. If I was travelling so far, I would want to spend more time in China, but that is just my opinion.

 

We are in Toronto and the process for getting a visa was very simple. We filled out the forms on line and printed them. Made an appointment at the visa centre. Took in the forms, official checked them and told me to come back in five days to pick up our passports and visas. I was finished (for both of us) before husband had parked the car. Five days later, paid the fee and collected passports, less than ten minutes again. Now we are good for ten years of travel.

 

Contrast this with a three hour our wait in the India visa office, but I have tried to forget that!

[txflood33]

We have obtained Chinese visas four times. The old system only allowed one trip per application, but now the visa is for ten years which makes much more sense. The 144 hour visa only works if you are in transit from one country to another with an up to 144 hour stop in China. If I was travelling so far, I would want to spend more time in China, but that is just my opinion.

 

We are in Toronto and the process for getting a visa was very simple. We filled out the forms on line and printed them. Made an appointment at the visa centre. Took in the forms, official checked them and told me to come back in five days to pick up our passports and visas. I was finished (for both of us) before husband had parked the car. Five days later, paid the fee and collected passports, less than ten minutes again. Now we are good for ten years of travel.

 

Contrast this with a three hour our wait in the India visa office, but I have tried to forget that!

 

This is good info. I appreciate the feedback.

 

Just out of curiosity, are you going directly through the Chinese Consulate/Embassy or are you going through a service? Also, am I to understand you are leaving your passports at the Consulate or the service you are using? It does look like this may be the norm. I am just apprehensive to leave these.

[smtcan]

We went directly to the official Chinese government visa office. If you can easily access an office there is no advantage to using a service which will only charge a large extra fee. You do have to leave your passport which is another reason to deal directly rather than adding the extra complication of a service. We were given receipts for our passports and they were returned with the visas affixed.

[juanita1767]

We have obtained Chinese visas four times. The old system only allowed one trip per application, but now the visa is for ten years which makes much more sense. The 144 hour visa only works if you are in transit from one country to another with an up to 144 hour stop in China. If I was travelling so far, I would want to spend more time in China, but that is just my opinion.

 

We are in Toronto and the process for getting a visa was very simple. We filled out the forms on line and printed them. Made an appointment at the visa centre. Took in the forms, official checked them and told me to come back in five days to pick up our passports and visas. I was finished (for both of us) before husband had parked the car. Five days later, paid the fee and collected passports, less than ten minutes again. Now we are good for ten years of travel.

 

Contrast this with a three hour our wait in the India visa office, but I have tried to forget that!

 

 

If we are only staying in Shanghai for a couple of days after our cruise would we need to get a visa or would the 144 hour one work. Going in January 2019 and just trying to figure this out. Thanks for any help

[NantahalaCruiser]

Has anyone sailed in Asia on Celebrity? We are considering a 2020 cruise with some friends. We have sailed the Caribbean many times, Panama Canal, Alaska and a Transatlantic. We are in our early 60’s and wondered if this would be something we’d like. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

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For our 50th anniversary, my wife and I did a four-week B2B on the Millennium in October, 2016 from Japan to Hong Kong to Singapore. Best cruise ever!

[tjunmin]

Has anyone sailed in Asia on Celebrity? We are considering a 2020 cruise with some friends. We have sailed the Caribbean many times, Panama Canal, Alaska and a Transatlantic. We are in our early 60’s and wondered if this would be something we’d like. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

We've done three cruises with Celebrity covering southeast Asia and far east Asia.

 

The reason for us to go on a cruise is my desire to visit Asia and my spouse's preference to a Western style of traveling. Cruises were the best option, as the morning and evening meals were western style on board the ship, and the exposure to the local culture were limited to day time, retreating to a familiar relaxing environment in the evening, after a full day of sensory overload at ports of call. These were the constraints I had to work with and Celebrity fit the bill.

 

A few comments and photos of our explorations below.

 

The first itinerary we did started in Hong Kong, with a side trip to Macau, covering Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, finishing in China. Of these ports, the most challenging ones were in China; air pollution was an issue, and despite all advances in China, Beijing and Shanghai are still not at the same level as Hong Kong and other world class cities.

Album one [link], two [link], three [link] and four [link].

 

Our second cruise itinerary started in Abu Dhabi, onward to Dubai, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, finishing in Singapore. We landed in Dubai, where we spent a couple of days prior to the cruise, and after we finished the cruise in Singapore, we returned to India to visit Delhi and Agra. India, without a doubt, has the most culturally challenging ports of call in this itinerary. Agra is absolutely not to be missed. Celebrity offers a (paid) shore excursion skipping all Indian ports of call in favor of visiting Agra, which in my opinion is not worth it.

Album one [link], two [link], three [link] and four [link].

 

Our most recent itinerary started in Hong Kong and took us through Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. After the end of the cruise, we returned to Thailand and also visited Cambodia. Vietnam has limited tourism infrastructure. My research indicated that the drive from Ha Long Bay to Hanoi is not worth it. Ho Chi Minh City was not worth visiting in my opinion, although my spouse was very interested due to the history behind the Vietnam War. Loved Thailand, especially Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. My experience in Cambodia is limited to Siem Reap, where they have a good tourism infrastructure in place. Weather wise, Siem Reap is hot, but it is worth it.

Album one [link] and two [link].

 

Each itinerary offers views into different worlds. Each one has its own highlights. If I could go back in time, I would still have done all three of them. No regrets.

 

Hope this helps. Happy planning!

Edited October 7, 2018 by tjunmin