Anyone Been On Asia Cruises

[Elysia]

Just heard that P&O is going back to Asia with Pacific Star. Would love to do the cruise that is called "Eastern Sunsets". Has anyone ever done these Asian cruises before?? My friend went on Sky and wasn't that impressed.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Keepcruising and Kezza have both done the Asian cruises. A couple of others too, not sure of names. I am sure one of the would be able to give you pointers.

[kezza]

We went on both Eastern and Tropics and had a fantastic time. To be honest the one we enjoyed the most was the Western Tropics, up thru to Phuket etc.

 

It is an eye opener to see how they live especially in Bangkok but it was a wonderful experience. When I have a bit more time hopefully tomorrow I'll post a bit more info.

 

Kerri

[mummsie]

We did an Asian cruise in July this year on the Superstar Gemini. We had originally booked on P&O and they cancelled on us so we swapped over. Best move we made. We had a fantastic cruise up the Straits of Malacca. Ports are all fairly ordinary unless you want to shop but we had a great time. Went from Singapore to Port Klang (KL), Phuket, Lankawi, and Penang not necessarily in that order. We were also supposed to go to Krabi but it was too rough to tender so had an extra day in Phuket and then back to Singapore. Just be careful what time of year you go as the temperature stays about the same but the humitidy is very bad for most of the year. Temps in June July (their winter) are same as Qld in the summer time. Just a note, these countries are nearly all muslim so you need to wear clothes that will not offend - for guys that basically means trousers (Yes trousers in the heat) and for ladies no midrif tops and no short shorts (except for Phuket where its a lot more liberal) - Mummsie

[kezza]

We found when we went that there was no problem with wearing shorts. Everyone was wearing shorts even the girls. The only place we had to be aware of was Bangkok and that was only when you went to the Grand temple, otherwise it was shorts and singlet tops.

[cheznandy]

Yes kezza, totally agree, only need to cover up for temples. Men are totally acceptable in shorts anywhere else, except maybe a 5 star hotel for dinner.

 

Have a look at the Trip Advisor forum for info, we are going to Thailand for three weeks in April/May and it has been a useful source of info.

 

Cheryl

[novemberbravo1974]

Asian cruises can be complex in some respects as you need to look carefully at where you are going as many of the ports offer unique challenges particularly if your an independent traveller in each port

of call.

 

What ports do you want to visit?

 

Do you tend to take ship arranged tours or do you wing it!

 

How used to travelling in Asia are you? ( Its not like Port Vila )

 

I would suggest you look at all the cruise options as good as P&O

maybe in your mind, check out all the offering available. Asia is a

big growth market so expect to see the choice of ships grow.

 

How you travel can really dictate what cruises and ports of call

will serve you best. Also consider entry and exit ports if you not

doing a roundtrip.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Novemberbravo1974

[NARELLE]

I agree with Novemberbravo

 

We went last year from here to Bangkok on Sapphire Princess. As it was out first time to these places we did ships tours except in Singapore where we were familiar to get around on our own. In hindsight you really must look into where the ships dock at these places. eg you go to Thailand but it is a few hours drive from Laem Chabang to actually get into Bangkok. Similar when we went to Vietnam. It was an hours drive to get into the city. So if you are going to be independant traveller you really need to have your transport worked out.

Having said that we loved every minute of our trip and would love to do it again one day maybe in a few years time. Next year the Sun Princess awaits us for our 32 day Sydney to San Francisco cruise with many of our CC friends we met on our Sudney to Bangkok cruise.

 

narelle

[kezza]

At Bangkok and KL P&O offerred at a minimal cost to get the bus into and back to the ship. By doing this you can do your own thing and in Bangkok with the overnight stay you don't need to go back to the ship that night. You just need to let them know you won't be back to the ship until the next day.

 

Doing a tour thru the ship, especially in Bangkok and KL, if you've never been there is the way to do it. Being in a foreign country and knowing nothing about the country, I was concerned we'd get lost and never make it back to the ship in time. As it was we caught a taxi from the Grand Palace back to the hotel we were to catch the bus from and thankfully, we were told how much is should cost in fares so when he tried to take us all over the place and then tell us his fare price we told him that we were told the price it was to be no greater than and in that case to stop and let us out (which he wouldn't do) and that we would take his number and report him. He had a metre but would not turn it on. When I made the threat of reporting him he quickly agreed to our price which was what we were told it shouyld be at the most.

BEFORE you get into a taxi you must make sure they have a metre and it is on!!

[cheznandy]

Friends of ours have left today to do their first cruise, flying to Singapore to board the Sapphire Princess, then visiting Bangkok, Vietnam, Kota Kinabalu, Darwin before heading down the Australian east coast.

They also said that the boat docks a couple of hours away from the main cities. They have chosen Princess Tours for this reason. Her partner hasn't visited Vietnam since he was there in the war, so it should be a very emotional return for him!

 

I would assume the Gemini cruises that do the west coast ie Phuket, Langawi etc would dock in the major tourist areas??? so there would be less travelling?? It is an interesting point, as some people just jump on a cruise without really knowing these things.

Sometimes wish I could do that!:rolleyes: i end up planning it for a year then when I travel I feel like I have already been:eek: Oh well, least with all the research I don't miss too much:D

 

Cheryl

[novemberbravo1974]

If you going to go on an Asian Cruise visit at least some real parts of Asia. Look for example at the Bangkok to Beijing ( Xingang / TJ ) cruises where

you visit some Asian Ports that doesnt always feel like you just jumped in the car and drove down to your local version of Chinatown. ( Sorry but there are Asian Ports and Asian Ports )

 

I had a quick look at whats on offer and HAL's Osaka to Hong Kong Cruise is a pearler for anyone who hasnt done that region via cruise ship. This cruise included overnights in Xingang ( For Beijing ) and Shanghai ( You can really enjoy this city in 2 days if your smart ) plus calls at Nagasaki ( Dont buy ship tours they are useless for the most part unless you going to the Holland Village ) Pusan ( Downtown Markets are good ), Dalian ( Great Port for a Chinese City - Be sure to keep an eye out for PLAN Aircraft Carrier parked at the nearby Shipyard ) Taipei and Xiaman ( Chinese Hollywood of sorts ) and ending in Hong Kong.

 

Star has a good Offering doing a full circle around South East Asia and Rhaposody of the Seas Asian season has some interesting cruises from Singapore to Hong Kong. Costa has a few interesting cruises thankfully not on that ugly barge they run out of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Look out for a few new operators making a move towards this area over the coming year.

 

Yes Princess Ships do dock outside of lots of Cities. In Shanghai they dock at the Pudong Container Terminal ( 1 to 2 Hours depending on traffic out of the city ) Princess do offer a shuttle from the ship to the Freindship Store downtown - Word of Warning Shuttles dont always get allowed on to the dock and last time I seen a group of passengers stopped at the front gate and the Boys in Green are not renown for being flexible. ( The

ship had to send an officer and the port agent up to get everyone back )

 

In Hong Kong you also dock at Kowloon Bay Container Terminals, Bank on 20 to 40mins to and from Downtown Kowloon depending on traffic. Its not the worlds most userfriendly cruise ship facility ( compared to Ocean Terminal but good news of sorts if that a new terminal is planned for the

old Kai Tak Airport Locale, about the same distance in the opposite direction.

 

Docking facilities in Vietnam and other areas are often decided at the last moment and are often in container ports etc once again out of town. Port access at some Chinese Ports can be restricted unless your in a Bus.

 

Asian cruises are a fantastic way of getting a feel for the region. I particularly recommend spending the extra time both pre and post cruise to get a feel for the area. In lots of ports you can do the independent thing with a little planning. This BBS has plenty of recomendations and suggestions for tours in China, and fellow travellers recommendations as always are gold for the most part.

 

Cruising and Asia - It just doesnt get much better in my view.......

 

Keep on Cruising.

 

Novemberbravo1974