Japan, South Korea and China (Tokyo to Shanghai) not on 2020 schedule

[zitsky]

I do plan to call Celebrity.  But has anyone been on this itinerary?  (Tokyo to Shanghai)  Anyone know why it was on the schedule for 2019 and not 2020?  I know things change all the time.  

[zitsky]

I pulled up the online brochure but it's still 2019.  Maybe customer service will have more up to date info.

[TrulyBlonde]

We did Shanghai to Tokyo this past November 2019. 

[zitsky]

Well this is interesting.  Celebrity customer service could not find the same cruise as last year.  But I did get them to send me a new catalog which, believe it or not, is supposed to be more up to date (2020-2021) than what is online.

[TrulyBlonde]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

Well this is interesting.  Celebrity customer service could not find the same cruise as last year.  But I did get them to send me a new catalog which, believe it or not, is supposed to be more up to date (2020-2021) than what is online.

We actually boarded Oct 26. It was a nice cruise on Millenium. 

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, TrulyBlonde said:

We did Shanghai to Tokyo this past November 2019. 

 

Thanks.  Did you have any stops in South Korea?

[TrulyBlonde]

Yes, Incheon for Seoul and Jeju Island.  Shanghai, Beijing, the 2 stops in S. Korea, Kobe for Kyoto, Shimizu for Mt. Fuji, and Tokyo.

[Boatharbour]

We sailed Tokyo to Hong Kong in November with a stop in Shanghai. Great cruise, but there was a lengthy debacle over the need for visas to visit Shanghai. Celebrity sent out multiple emails about visas and at one point stated passengers without Chinese visas may not be allowed to board in Japan. 
 

The original itinerary was actually changed so that we had a “ technical stop” on a buoy off South Korea. One day at sea to go around a buoy and then another day to reach Taiwan! This was to comply with Chinese immigration rules that would make  passengers eligible for the visa waiver scheme. In the end, a number of passengers with and without visas were not allowed off the ship when we reached Shanghai. 
 

Perhaps Shanghai became too much of a headache for Celebrity?

Edited January 14, 2020 by Boatharbour

[bubbachief]

Perhaps Shanghai became too much of a headache for Celebrity?

 

We were on the November sailing also and the one day stop in Shanghai wasn't worth the hassle we went through.

Our suggestion was to drop Shanghai from future itineraries. If the Chinese want to make it that difficult and expensive to visit their county, who needs them.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, bubbachief said:

Perhaps Shanghai became too much of a headache for Celebrity?

 

We were on the November sailing also and the one day stop in Shanghai wasn't worth the hassle we went through.

Our suggestion was to drop Shanghai from future itineraries. If the Chinese want to make it that difficult and expensive to visit their county, who needs them.

 

Are you talking about visas?

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, bubbachief said:

Perhaps Shanghai became too much of a headache for Celebrity?

 

We were on the November sailing also and the one day stop in Shanghai wasn't worth the hassle we went through.

Our suggestion was to drop Shanghai from future itineraries. If the Chinese want to make it that difficult and expensive to visit their county, who needs them.

Does Hong Kong have the same visa issue?

[TrulyBlonde]

Shanghai is worth the price of the Visa. The Bund is fabulous especially at night. We embarked in Shanghai and spent two days prior to enjoy the city. Well worth it and you won't be disappointed.  Just my suggestion. It deserves more than one day.

[Boatharbour]

4 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

Shanghai is worth the price of the Visa. The Bund is fabulous especially at night. We embarked in Shanghai and spent two days prior to enjoy the city. Well worth it and you won't be disappointed.  Just my suggestion. It deserves more than one day.

Absolutely agree. We found Shanghai very interesting. 
 

Yes, the “ headache” was around the visa issue in Shanghai.  I’m sure others can explain it better, but in a nutshell most passengers didn’t need a visa. This is because of a waiver that’s available if you are there less than 144 hours.

 

However, Celebrity sent out multiple confusing emails prior to departure stating or inferring that you would need a visa. There was also conflicting advice about not needing one if you went on a Celebrity shore excursion. 
 

The upshot was that some passengers had visas, some didn’t and some were barred from entry by Chinese immigration - even if they had a visa. It was a mess. 
 

To add to that, there was the whole technical stop issue off South Korea - which wasn’t a stop. We reached the spot, turned around and headed back. 

We had Chinese visas,  were allowed off in Shanghai and had a wonderful day. We chose the cruise for the comprehensive itinerary which took us to a wide variety of ports in Asia. Loved them all. 

[zitsky]

6 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

Absolutely agree. We found Shanghai very interesting. 
 

Yes, the “ headache” was around the visa issue in Shanghai.  I’m sure others can explain it better, but in a nutshell most passengers didn’t need a visa. This is because of a waiver that’s available if you are there less than 144 hours.

 

However, Celebrity sent out multiple confusing emails prior to departure stating or inferring that you would need a visa. There was also conflicting advice about not needing one if you went on a Celebrity shore excursion. 
 

The upshot was that some passengers had visas, some didn’t and some were barred from entry by Chinese immigration - even if they had a visa. It was a mess. 
 

To add to that, there was the whole technical stop issue off South Korea - which wasn’t a stop. We reached the spot, turned around and headed back. 

We had Chinese visas,  were allowed off in Shanghai and had a wonderful day. We chose the cruise for the comprehensive itinerary which took us to a wide variety of ports in Asia. Loved them all. 

 

Please tell me more about this "stop" in South Korea??

 

I have been to Shanghai once before on a short grad school trip.  Went to I think the Hyatt Hotel on 54th floor of a skyscraper.  Wonderful view.

Edited January 15, 2020 by zitsky

[4774Papa]

We did the Mille in Fall of 2015, Tokyo to Hong Kong, also visited Shanghai, Okinawa and Taiwan.  It was great.

[sippican]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

Please tell me more about this "stop" in South Korea??

 

I have been to Shanghai once before on a short grad school trip.  Went to I think the Hyatt Hotel on 54th floor of a skyscraper.  Wonderful view.

 

We did this cruise in April of 2019. We chose the itinerary because it had two stops in South Korea - Seoul and Jeju Island. My daughter was born in Seoul so we really wanted to visit. What would you like to know about the South Korea portion?

[bubbachief]

15 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

Are you talking about visas?

Yes.

[bubbachief]

15 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Does Hong Kong have the same visa issue?

No. Right now, no visa is required for Hong Kong

[zitsky]

15 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

We did this cruise in April of 2019. We chose the itinerary because it had two stops in South Korea - Seoul and Jeju Island. My daughter was born in Seoul so we really wanted to visit. What would you like to know about the South Korea portion?

 

You said

 

To add to that, there was the whole technical stop issue off South Korea - which wasn’t a stop. We reached the spot, turned around and headed back. 

 

So I'm confused whether you did or didn't make it to South Korea?  What is a stop that isn't a stop?

[sippican]

8 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

You said

 

 

 

 

So I'm confused whether you did or didn't make it to South Korea?  What is a stop that isn't a stop?

 

Your second quote is from a post by  "Boatharbour", not mine. On our itinerary in the spring of 2019, we did indeed make two complete port calls in South Korea.

 

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, sippican said:

 

Your second quote is from a post by  "Boatharbour", not mine. On our itinerary in the spring of 2019, we did indeed make two complete port calls in South Korea.

 

 

Ok my mistake, sorry.

[Boatharbour]

7 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

Please tell me more about this "stop" in South Korea??

 

I have been to Shanghai once before on a short grad school trip.  Went to I think the Hyatt Hotel on 54th floor of a skyscraper.  Wonderful view.

This is from the email sent to passengers on our cruise after Celebrity changed the original 23 Nov 2019 itinerary -

 

 Due to Chinese Immigration Law we are prohibited from sailing directly to Taiwan from mainland China. We have therefore added a stop in Jeju, South Korea after we depart Shanghai and before we arrive in Taipei. Our call to South Korea will be considered a technical stop during which time all guests will remain onboard. 

We didn’t actually stop. Sailed there, turned around straight away and headed to Taiwan. 
 

[4774Papa]

We had two days in Taiwan and it was great.  Loved the amazing museum in Taipei.  It had all the great stuff that Chang brought from Beijing in 1948.  The 1001 horses tapestry alone was worth going to see.

We stopped in Okinawa after Shanghai, then on to Taiwan.

[sippican]

5 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

This is from the email sent to passengers on our cruise after Celebrity changed the original 23 Nov 2019 itinerary -

 

 Due to Chinese Immigration Law we are prohibited from sailing directly to Taiwan from mainland China. We have therefore added a stop in Jeju, South Korea after we depart Shanghai and before we arrive in Taipei. Our call to South Korea will be considered a technical stop during which time all guests will remain onboard. 

We didn’t actually stop. Sailed there, turned around straight away and headed to Taiwan. 
 

 

So, South Korea was not on the planned itinerary? 

[Boatharbour]

13 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

So, South Korea was not on the planned itinerary? 

Not as a port where we could go ashore.
Jeju, South Korea was listed on the itinerary as a  ‘technical stop’ to satisfy Chinese immigration laws. 

Edited January 16, 2020 by Boatharbour