Choosing Itinerary

We are starting to plan a cruise to Asia for next Winter and I don't know this part of the world well. We plan to take a few days in Hong Kong, would probably like the Malaysian islands, but are also open to Japan. Any feedback regarding itineraries you have enjoyed would be great. Any places that would be considered less safe? Are there any must see stops, as this will be a once in a lifetime trip for us. We would like to do a newer ship as well so any ideas on ships would be great too. Thanks!

If you have dates in mind, check now to see what is available. I found many Japan cruises were sold out a year in advance, and missed out on my first choice.

I've seen cruises for these areas with Celebrity. Princess with ports I liked.

This site has reviews on cruises that go to Japan.

My personal favorite is Japan, several cruise lines go there. Ours was Ponant. Japan is safe, polite, clean and has a culture all its own, just a great country. We followed up with a great land tour.

My second favorite is China, but a land tour is much, much better. It is also safe, people can be pushy and some parts are dirty. Both countries are worth while visiting.

Our next cruise will be through Indonesia and the Philippines. Ponant goes there as well but also Hapag Lloyd. We did not consider the large well-known cruise lines, but they also have ships there.

Coastal cities I liked best: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore.

We are starting to plan a cruise to Asia for next Winter and I don't know this part of the world well. We plan to take a few days in Hong Kong, would probably like the Malaysian islands, but are also open to Japan. Any feedback regarding itineraries you have enjoyed would be great. Any places that would be considered less safe? Are there any must see stops, as this will be a once in a lifetime trip for us. We would like to do a newer ship as well so any ideas on ships would be great too. Thanks!

We have visited China on a three week tour that included a river cruise, fantastic.

Also, we did a cruise from Singapore to Dubai that stopped in India and Oman.

Stopped in Bali, Indonesia on a cruise around top end of Australia.

In 2015 we did a wonderful cruise on the Celebrity Millennium out of Japan that ended in Hong Kong. Fantastic cruise.

We loved Japan. Spend 8 days there prior to the cruise. Also, our ship stopped in five Japanese ports.

Here is my review of that cruise.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=518503&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

My research for this cruise discovered that there are only a few cruises that do Japan. Celebrity, Princess and perhaps HAL. Don't go in the Summer, it is desperately hot that time of the year.

On our Singapore to Dubai cruise we did a two day tour of Malaysia. It was good, but does not compare to Japan, Taiwan and HK on our Japan and China cruise.

Japan is very safe, the crime rate is very, very low. The streets are spotless, the people friendly and helpful. The food is great. Don't miss Kyoto!

Thanks all for the info. Great review from the last post, very helpful

We are starting to plan a cruise to Asia for next Winter and I don't know this part of the world well. We plan to take a few days in Hong Kong, would probably like the Malaysian islands, but are also open to Japan. Any feedback regarding itineraries you have enjoyed would be great. Any places that would be considered less safe? Are there any must see stops, as this will be a once in a lifetime trip for us. We would like to do a newer ship as well so any ideas on ships would be great too. Thanks!

We are recently returned from a lovely cruise (Princess) that took us from Beijing, China to Sydney, Australia. Some ports we highly recommend: Osaka (& for Kyoto), Nha Trang, Vietnam and a port that will allow you to travel into the Mekong Delta (we did it from Phu My, Vietnam) Hong Kong, Bali, and of course, the wonderful Sydney Australia!

Specifically in Hong Kong, we were thrilled with the private tour we arranged using Tours by Locals. Frank Law was our local tour guide and we couldn't have asked for better. Tours by Locals has an excellent website, and you can even choose your preferred tour guide using the bio they have on each guide. It covered all the basics, including Victoria Peak, Aberdeen, Stanley Market, Tai Tam Reser, Victoria Harbor via local ferry, Kowloon Peninsula, and the Nan Lian Garden which includes the Chi Lin Nunnery.

Enjoy the prep and planning for your next vacation. You've selected a thrilling part of the world to explore.

My research for this cruise discovered that there are only a few cruises that do Japan. Celebrity, Princess and perhaps HAL.

There are more, for example Ponant. Some of their cruises around Japan are partially chartered by Tauck which is a well-known US company. Also have a look at other high end cruise companies if the price is ok for you. Like Ponant ships, the ships are smaller and use smaller ports with access to places that are usually only seen on coastal land tours.

Windstar has just announced Asian itineraries, some of which include Japan.

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I like oceania feb 4 trip Singipore to hongi kong 16 days many good stops

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