DIY or ship excursions for north asia cruise

[craftymarie]

Hi we are doing this cruise in November.  ports are Kagoshima, ishigaki, Taipei, Hue/Danang (Chang May) Vietnam, Hong Kong.
Should we be booking excursions with Celebrity, or is it safe to book private excursions. our roll call is not great at the moment.
I welcome any advice please
TIA Marie

[bunnyette]

Hong Kong is very easy to get around on your own.   It depends how far the ports are from the sites.   Perhaps check tripadvisor as well.  

[Ocdublin]

Check TripAdvisor!  We were able to get around everywhere.  There is a bus outside the cruise terminal, runs all day and late into night when ship in port.

[Jim_Iain]

Generally private tours are very reliable but can take a bit of work especially if you book a full 6-8 passenger van and sell off the extra places in your roll call.

 

On an Asia trip I had 6 private tours arranged on a B2B.   We were hit by two typhoons and on the second cruise all ports were shifted by a day.

 

If you book on your own make sure your contract includes a Fore Majeure clause allowing a full refund if ship doesn't make it to port due to acts of God.

[NMTraveller]

Hmmm.

 

Quite a few on here suggest private excursions,  but I have not gotten to that point yet.

 

I have had a Celebrity excursion bus break down and barely get back to the port in time.  If on a Celebrity excursion they will wait.  Others you are on your own.

 

I have had cruise ports get changed around due to weather.  When that happens it is easier to reschedule on the ship.  The people on private excursions had a tougher time.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by NMTraveller

[smtcan]

We took private tours and diy in Asia with no problems.  We have generally found that tour operators are aware of changes in itinerary, in fact when we had a tour booked in Israel a few years ago, the first we knew of a change was when we had an email from the operator telling us that our money had been returned to our credit card because the ship was not docking.  Celebrity's notification came the next day.

[PelicanLvr]

Asia is the "advanced class" of DIY excursions.  So, it all depends on your experience with DIY and risk-tolerance for problems.  

 

Remember, unlike Europe, out on the streets, few, if any, speak English.  You can't even understand posted signs (even numbers).   

 

I have quite a bit of DIY experience in the "western world".  But in Asia, I'm not sure I would try.

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

I can understand some concern about things like signs,   all you need is Google Translate -  take a picture and it translates both name and number.   I've always found people in Asia to be very helpful and always find a way to communicate.

 

Possibly I feel more comfortable because I use to travel to Asia on business and spent 3 months working in Thailand and a couple in Singapore.   

 

To me Japan is the easiest to get around because most things are in both English and Japanese and many of the young love to speak to you so they can practice English.   I even had some come up to us to help us order food - many places you order and pay on a kiosk and then go in to collect your meal.

 

I've probably done 50 tours on our own in Asia and never once had a problem.   If booking with most private tours you have an English speaking guide and they take care of everything for you.

 

 

[smtcan]

30 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I can understand some concern about things like signs,   all you need is Google Translate -  take a picture and it translates both name and number.   I've always found people in Asia to be very helpful and always find a way to communicate.

 

Possibly I feel more comfortable because I use to travel to Asia on business and spent 3 months working in Thailand and a couple in Singapore.   

 

To me Japan is the easiest to get around because most things are in both English and Japanese and many of the young love to speak to you so they can practice English.   I even had some come up to us to help us order food - many places you order and pay on a kiosk and then go in to collect your meal.

 

I've probably done 50 tours on our own in Asia and never once had a problem.   If booking with most private tours you have an English speaking guide and they take care of everything for you.

 

 

We travelled independently in Japan for two weeks following a cruise and had very little difficulty.  Trains and buses have screens giving the next stop in several languages including English and if you plan your route either on the internet or with a guide book it is easy to get where you want to go.

[craftymarie]

thanks everyone. if booking a private tour, should this be done beforehand, or can i grab a tour at the port like you can in europe? 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, smtcan said:

We travelled independently in Japan for two weeks following a cruise and had very little difficulty.  Trains and buses have screens giving the next stop in several languages including English and if you plan your route either on the internet or with a guide book it is easy to get where you want to go.

 

In Japan our first tour was with a Tours by Local private tour.   He was incredible and helped us learn how to read the maps and determine the fair.   After that we were really able to get our tickets without waiting on line for an agent.   BTW all the agents spoke perfect English and were both polite and patient.