Review: Bangkok to Beijing/Princess

Since I saw some Board acquaintances asking questions that I may have answered, I'm posting a personal review here. The cruisetour was a wonderful, enlightening experience and I would take a similar itinerary in a few more years.

Sapphire Princess—March 26 for 16 days—Bangkok to Beijing, otherwise labeled Laem Chabang to Xingang.

Summary: The Sapphire Princess is too big for this itinerary, put your time and money to better use. We’ll definitely take the size of the ship into consideration for future cruises. Why? (1) shorter port times for you because of long, tiring transportation times to the sights, and (2) docking at faraway, unattractive, "untourist-friendly" cargo terminals (so far that commercial transportation can’t come into the zone if they even know where it is and, in some cases, so secure they couldn’t enter if they got there).

This was our 13th Princess cruise, all over the world.

Pre-cruise: We opted for the stay at the Shangri-La hotel and it was lovely. You’re given 2 bottles of water each day in your room and routine American electrical connections are part of the room decor. The "care" service from the contracted Thai tour company was impeccable. We went on an additional countryside tour the first full day and the highlight, a longtail boat ride, is what most previous male visitors ask about. A hint we stumbled upon was to eat at the restaurant on the riverside as it wasn’t as costly as the featured dining rooms, it served the same food, and it was quite romantic. Our only regret is that we didn’t even try to get my DH a suit; we really should have done this as each day the tour guide would end by recommending a tailor, a spa, etc. It was also suggested that the concierge would probably have recommended a fine tailor in exchange for a tip. Remember to bring regular pants and closed shoes; there was a dress code review in the lobby for a Buddha visit—no Capri pants or open-back shoes.

Embarkation: It turned out to not only be a holiday but also the time of year many people visit the gravesites of their relatives so the long ride to Laem Chabang was even longer. It was raining at the Cultural/Elephant Show stop but eventually everyone was persuaded to exit the coaches for the covered structures. The shows were quite good and at the end of the Elephant Show you could interact with the elephants for $2 US (the elephants also eat bunches—not individual--of bananas for $2US each). Lunch was at a hotel where departing Princess passengers were also eating and they told those of us who had followed the ship’s turbine problem story in the Australian press that the turbine had not been fixed—look out, skipped ports, ship going too slow for the itinerary. At the terminal people were lined up all the way outside so they kept us on the coach for a while. After watching people arrive on private transportation and streaming in, they had us join the lines. Other than moving to another line when we overheard the fellow in front of us say he had been ill, it was our usual port: wait, wait, wait. (We only heard of four men being ill pre-cruise. Actually, this appeared to be an exceptionally healthy cruise—no noticeable coughing, you saw many of the same people every day, everyone was at dinner each night. In fact, the good health was a commented upon at a group breakfast three days after the cruise.)

The Ship: The ship wasn’t extraordinary, except maybe in size. We only had rough weather one night and the ship noticeably creaked and shuttered, to the point of questioning whether the top portion of the ship could crack off. Otherwise, wear and tear was already evident in the stateroom and, boy, the shower stall is awfully small.

It was a long, long walk toward the traditional dining room from our stateroom near the front of the ship and then you had to find the dining room. After a few days, signs were put up indicating the way because it’s essentially only accessible from one stairwell/ elevator bank. A big thank you goes to out to whoever mentioned that the first night line-up at the dining room door might be people trying to change their arrangements because entire foyer was packed and my spouse was reluctant to charge through. Throughout the dinner hour people were still conferring with the maitre’d. Our head waiter didn’t make an appearance at our table until the third night.

The main showroom wasn’t very large, you had to go early. Cruise Directors (CD) spent a lot of time and energy before the shows finding seats for people. One CD said there were 750 seats and the ship had over 2,500 passengers on board. The production talent was exceptional and there were more dancers/singers than usual; good shows, especially Piano Man.

The internet café was adequate for size but the satellite connection was usually very slow. The guest speakers and ministers were a much appreciated addition considering the number of sea days, and the events that happened (assistant pastry chef apparently committed suicide by jumping overboard and it was the time of Pope John Paul II’s funeral).

Liquor: The prices at the Hong Kong airport Duty Free were good. On this itinerary don’t rely on the ship. This cruise followed the one (same ship) where the Australian press reported they had run out of Australian beer. The 1,000 remaining Australians were still heard bemoaning a shortage of beer on this sojourn. Room service told a Canadian there was no Rye available but a bartender offered to sell him a bottle of Rye by the drink. Supposedly the ship was going to restock in Pusan, Korea. Oh, when they ask you at the Beijing airport whether you have any "Chinese lacquer" they’re really inquiring about any kind of liquor; it has to be packaged ($1) and shipped with the luggage.

The Food: Nothing much exceptional here either. We ate in the traditional dining room and had an amicable table. My spouse said meats were their forte. The same dish was offered as something else occasionally: the shrimp dish was the same as the scampi dish on the Personal Dining menu, and the pheasant, or whatever they called it, was really chicken, according to a person who had previously eaten the former. Our waitress did a fine job and gained a lot of experience in ice cream sundaes. The Kahlua Crème Brulee was of note and some were reserved for another night, ask for this favor if you like it.

Our Journey: Of course, with the gas turbine not functioning the ship was going slower than anticipated and after the pastry chef unexpectedly left us, we were detained from reaching Singapore at the scheduled times and were told that Vietnam would be skipped. However, following the sea search, the turbine did start to operate and the navigator told passengers in a public forum that the Vietnam visit could have been accommodated. The Singapore tours were rearranged and perhaps for the better; we had fun visiting the Raffles Long Bar at night for Singapore Slings and riding a trishaw through some of the night markets. The Princess-corporate Vietnam decision was a big disappointment to the very end and continues. Since there were two days scheduled for Shanghai and that dock was really distant from the city, the more acceptable change may have been to lop off a day there—Princess wishes that too now, since a tanker collided with the bow just before our departure). Three days after the cruise a man who had served in Vietnam told how he had chosen this itinerary because he wanted his wife, also retired military, to see where he had spent an important part of his young life. In addition, there was also a decision to change the Ship Photographer’s Photo Opportunity from the UN Cemetery in Korea to a fish market and this offended those veterans who had planned to take back pictures to those with whom they had served in the Korean War.

The Tours: We only do ship tours and these were the usual. I did see that people showed up very early for the tours and men, leaving their spouses behind, rushed to the coach. (They didn’t burst out until after they exited the usual gathering place, the showroom, because the Princess person stood at the end of the following aisle. Once a woman smashed the Princess person and when he asked her to wait she smashed him again and went anyway.) These men would get on the coach and select a near-front seat and then their wives would saunter on board at their leisure. (See below at Post-Cruise for why you might want to arrive early or late.)

I also witnessed what I’ll call "digital camera abuse:"

1. persons who didn’t have a good window view on a coach hanging over the back of the seat and, with one hand, clicking away out the window behind them indiscriminately (not really appreciated by those seating in the "behind" seat),
   
2. persons, again with one hand, clicking hither and yon with no photo composition whatsoever,
   
3. people walking in front of a digital photographer and commenting, "that’s what digital cameras are for, you can take another picture."
   

Disembarkation: We personally had a post-cruise package and were first off the ship and put on a nearby coach. After a while it became apparent we would be waiting for a group of coaches before we would leave (we needed our cruise cards to go back on the ship to use the restrooms, it was that long of a wait). In the meanwhile we watched what looked like a big mess dockside. A lot of tour agencies were crowded near the bow with signs trying to match up with their parties. We learned that the luggage was on the dock near the stern of the ship when the tour groups got concerned that they needed to go somewhere to identify their belongings. That was not the case; the luggage went by truck to the hotel.

Post-Cruise: We made the Great Wall of China choice and only during the cruise did we find out that there was an offering including both the Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors (TCWs). We’ll not go back anytime soon and pay for a tour, visas, immunizations, etc., so the government of China would be better served if they persuaded Princess to change the way they present these cruisetours in their brochures/to the Travel Agents. People on the latter choice we’re surprised, however, because they hadn’t realized they would have to surrender their rooms (check their luggage/take an overnight bag) in Beijing while they were gone to the TCWs. The Sheraton Great Wall of China where we stayed wasn’t anywhere near the quality of the Bangkok Shangri-La and they didn’t have American electrical outlets (we burned up a surge protector there, the hotel’s transformer outlet wouldn’t fit an American plug).

We had a wonderful tour guide but she usually works in the office of the agency. Another coach in our group had a guide they couldn’t understand and she may not have had the ability either. Eventually our coach was filled to the brim and the third day another guide was provided to that coach. By that time it appeared that the whole group of guides was in some type of "trouble" and on our way to the airport the guide pleaded for understanding when filling out our evaluation forms. In Korea, our guide told us the Asian custom was that the supervisor and the next in charge take the first and last coach of each tour group, so arrive early or late.

Beijing was a pleasant surprise with its wide boulevards, elaborate plantings, and many, many new buildings. The Forbidden City, or Palace Museum, is being restored for the 2008 Olympics, as are many other places. Look to October, 2008 to return—on a smaller ship. The dinner show that Princess Air/China Tourism sponsors is fabulous—orchestra, a little bit of opera, cultural dances, karate "dance" (really good), and young children performing adorably (two very good dances).

Princess Air: Surprisingly it wasn’t too bad for this trip. Four-hour layovers stateside but otherwise seated together in not too unreasonable seats.

Jet Lag: We suffered a really bad case of jet lag, and weird dreams for a while too. The lag lasted almost three weeks. The peculiar dreams happened for almost a week. We had eaten unfamiliar foods on the "swirling" tables during the trip but we also exercised, drank a lot of water, slept well, etc.

Last Thought: Since the President/CFO of Pepsico brought it up recently in her speech at Columbia, it comes to mind that you may want to be know that the toilet porcelain-holes-in the ground are encountered during this trip. Many times commodes are available but the wait is, of course, much longer. Rolling up pant legs appeared to be the way many people coped with these occasions.

Thanks for sharing. I am most appreciative of those who take the time to share with others. Your post will prove helpful. Thanks again.

Thank you for the review. Sounds like you encountered a rather rude bunch of fellow travellers. We are taking the smaller ship, the Pacific Princess on the Beijing to Bangkok 16 nighter July 26th. Hopefully the smaller ship can dock closer in to the main areas of the ports. I'm still trying to find non-cruiseship sponsored tours or guides for many of the ports, but it was great to hear about your experiences. Overall, did you enjoy seeing this part of the world? We have never been to Asia and are really looking forward to the cultural differences!

Suzie