Can we expect to disembark at Tianjin by 8:00 or 8:30 a.m.?

We are trying to set up independent tour in Beijing and would like to take the bullet train. Does anyone know if Chinese Immigration will be finished in time to get off the ship by 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. - or is that just wishful thinking?

More details, please - what line/ship/itinerary and scheduled arrival/docking time for that port ?

Is this a day stop or overnight stop, sailing next day ? What is your tour plan once arrive in Beijing and how to meet up with your guide ?

With more specifics, it's more than guestimate for anyone to try to answer the original question.

PRC immigration/border control officers and customs are professional, courteous and usually efficient while carrying out their duties. If the ship is delayed with arrival due to fog, harbor traffic or other unexpected events beyond cruiseline/ship's control, then ... you should and need to have a Plan C along with Plan B. :halo:

More details, please - what line/ship/itinerary and scheduled arrival/docking time for that port ?

 

Is this a day stop or overnight stop, sailing next day ? What is your tour plan once arrive in Beijing and how to meet up with your guide ?

 

With more specifics, it's more than guestimate for anyone to try to answer the original question.

 

PRC immigration/border control officers and customs are professional, courteous and usually efficient while carrying out their duties. If the ship is delayed with arrival due to fog, harbor traffic or other unexpected events beyond cruiseline/ship's control, then ... you should and need to have a Plan C along with Plan B. :halo:

Sorry. You are absolutely correct. I am so used to posting on the HAL boards.

It is HAL's Grand Asia and we have two days in Tianjin. We are considering an overnight in Beijing, with pickup and return at the ship. One tour uses the bullet train, but to make it worthwhile, we would need to be off the ship around 8:00. Otherwise it is an hour's drive to the Tianjin station to pick up the bullet train. So it will depend on what number we get for disembark. At this point, I guess, we will go through Chinese immigration. My question: How long can we expect that process to take? A couple of minutes? 5 or 10 minutes?

The ship I work on calls at Tianjin about 6 times every year. Every stop is completely different, and impossible to guess how long it will take.

The Chinese officials are very inconsistent, frequently late, often refusing to do anything until we feed them first. Sometimes 30 officials show up. Sometimes only 4 or 5.

 

Ship clearance can take 15 minutes or 3 hours. There is no way to predict it.

Are these cruise ships? Disappointing, if so.

... It is HAL's Grand Asia and we have two days in Tianjin. We are considering an overnight in Beijing, with pickup and return at the ship. One tour uses the bullet train, but to make it worthwhile, we would need to be off the ship around 8:00 ... we will go through Chinese immigration. My question: How long can we expect that process to take? A couple of minutes? 5 or 10 minutes?

I see, okay ... now, what does the tour operator say or recommend - since they are working hard for your business and money, they should have an outline & plan. No ?

I see the HAL ship scheduled for this March/April has a posted arrival time of 8 AM local time, which - common sense - meant that hoping to be off the ship in 30 minutes is more than wishful thinking, even if you have priority/elite status & get escorted off first ... and that ship tours usually get preference next.

Plus the above feedback about what not to expect. Add time for locating your tour guide/driver once you are beyond PRC immigration/border control & customs. I suggest also making sure you have a direct means of communicating on land, i.e. cellular voice calling & texting, even at roaming rates.

As you know, there are 4 railway stations in Tianjin with daily bullet trains to/from Beijing. Tangqu Railway Station is closest at 30 km & about 40 minutes by taxi - but, limited HST scheduled. Tianjin (main) Railway Station is 80 km away and a little over 1 hour by taxi - with frequent HST (bullet train) scheduled.

I would check & book with the tour operator with a practical plan tailored to your ship's schedule, as you are doing an overnighter & sailing is the following evening at 6 PM, if I am reading it correctly. Pick & choose your stops as there is simply way too much to see even with 2 full days in BJ, even if you don't hike up the Great Wall.

I see, okay ... now, what does the tour operator say or recommend - since they are working hard for your business and money, they should have an outline & plan. No ?

 

I see the HAL ship scheduled for this March/April has a posted arrival time of 8 AM local time, which - common sense - meant that hoping to be off the ship in 30 minutes is more than wishful thinking, even if you have priority/elite status & get escorted off first ... and that ship tours usually get preference next.

 

Plus the above feedback about what not to expect. Add time for locating your tour guide/driver once you are beyond PRC immigration/border control & customs. I suggest also making sure you have a direct means of communicating on land, i.e. cellular voice calling & texting, even at roaming rates.

 

As you know, there are 4 railway stations in Tianjin with daily bullet trains to/from Beijing. Tangqu Railway Station is closest at 30 km & about 40 minutes by taxi - but, limited HST scheduled. Tianjin (main) Railway Station is 80 km away and a little over 1 hour by taxi - with frequent HST (bullet train) scheduled.

 

I would check & book with the tour operator with a practical plan tailored to your ship's schedule, as you are doing an overnighter & sailing is the following evening at 6 PM, if I am reading it correctly. Pick & choose your stops as there is simply way too much to see even with 2 full days in BJ, even if you don't hike up the Great Wall.

Most helpful. Thank you very much. It does appear that we will have to be driven by the tour guide to Tianjin Station (1 hr); then 40 minutes to Beijing South- result at least 2 hours to get to Beijing. In contrast, a vehicle-driven tour is going to take, so I am told, 2-1/2 to 3 hrs. I wonder - is the time saved worth the train? I'm leaning in that direction.

... I wonder - is the time saved worth the train? I'm leaning in that direction.

China's modern & vastly new highway system (with tolls) is just amazing and I say that then, from our 2010 escorted land-based tour in greater Shanghai - put I-95 and/or FL Turnpike alike to shame.

Traffic in & around BJ can be miserable plus the smog ... HST at 250 km/hr is the way to go (caution, you will NOT want to board another Amtrak again either) even in basic, coach class on the bullet train ... less likely to face delays.

My thoughts, go with what the tour operator/guide propose - they know best locally.

China's modern & vastly new highway system (with tolls) is just amazing and I say that then, from our 2010 escorted land-based tour in greater Shanghai - put I-95 and/or FL Turnpike alike to shame.

 

Traffic in & around BJ can be miserable plus the smog ... HST at 250 km/hr is the way to go (caution, you will NOT want to board another Amtrak again either) even in basic, coach class on the bullet train ... less likely to face delays.

 

My thoughts, go with what the tour operator/guide propose - they know best locally.

ThanksMKing. Train is the way that this tour operator (Coco and Jason) go, providing car transportation to and from the ship to one of the Tianzin stations. As far as I can see, it frees up at least 2 hours for further touring.

Most helpful. Thank you very much. It does appear that we will have to be driven by the tour guide to Tianjin Station (1 hr); then 40 minutes to Beijing South- result at least 2 hours to get to Beijing. In contrast, a vehicle-driven tour is going to take, so I am told, 2-1/2 to 3 hrs. I wonder - is the time saved worth the train? I'm leaning in that direction.

Hi Tampa Girl,

We are also going to Beijing not on the same ship as you, I did quite a bit of research for Beijing as we are do it yourselves kind of people, however what I learnt is that there are only two bullet trains from the train station at Tianjin, (and you have to get to the train station, I heard taxi drivers as they have a captive audience charge quite a bit to get you from the port to the train station), one is early around 8:00 am and the other is 12:00pm, so it looks like you will have to wait until noon to get the Bullet Train which is 40 minutes to Beijing, all the other trains are 1.5 to 2 hours you will most likely have to take one of those, and then once you get into Beijing will have to take other trains to see the sites. For us, even though we would take train or bus any day of the week (we do our own self excursions 95% of the time), our time is limited, (finding someone who speak English is difficult) so we booked a tour guide for an overnight tour. You got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.

ThanksMKing. Train is the way that this tour operator (Coco and Jason) go, providing car transportation to and from the ship to one of the Tianzin stations. As far as I can see, it frees up at least 2 hours for further touring.

Hi Tampa Girl,

We're doing an overnight Beijing tour with Coco and Jason in October on HAL, bullet train both ways. When are you going? If you go before October, I'd love to hear how the arrangements went.

Tampa Girl is on the same ship we are the MS Amsterdam. jantoby, We might all be on the same ship.

.

Hi Tampa Girl,

We're doing an overnight Beijing tour with Coco and Jason in October on HAL, bullet train both ways. When are you going? If you go before October, I'd love to hear how the arrangements went.

As Floridiana said, we are on the HAL Grand Asia, which is in Beijing October 24 - 25th . Is that your cruise, as well? If so, Coco and Jason must have several guides available for this tour. I think the Westerdam is in port at the same time.

If you are on our Grand Asia, think about joining our roll call.

Dear all, I am looking forward to reading reviews hopefully from all travellers above who are planning on going into Beijing from Tianjin via trains DIY or with drivers. We are booked on Feb 2020 Celebrity cruise that hits Korea, Japan and China and I am starting to reconsider as it seems like it will be quite an effort to get into Beijiing on our own with or without assistance via drivers or custom tour guides. If only this cruise started in Bejiing and ended in Shanghai rather than starting in Hongkong and ending in Shanghai. Oh well. The two cities we really wanted to see and branch out from were Shanghai and Beijing but that appears unlikely with this itinerary. I will be watching for another cruise line to post something with starting in Shanghai and ending in Bejiing or vice versa for 2020.

To answer your original question, it was about 9:15 am, when we finished immigration in Tianjin port on ms Volendam 2 Aptil 2018.

You would be wise to listen to your tour operator.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Barbara

We have disembarked at Tianjin twice within the last year. Both times we were not able to leave the ship before 2 pm.

First we could not get into port (fog), then there was a backlog of all the ships, then immigration with all the paperwork (1 x visa required, 1 x transit rule applied) took ages etc. etc.

According to others this seems to be a frequent thing in Tianjin.

We were not too worried because we had added days in Shanghai. However, based on those experiences I would not be too sure about early disembarkation in this port.

We are trying to set up independent tour in Beijing and would like to take the bullet train. Does anyone know if Chinese Immigration will be finished in time to get off the ship by 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. - or is that just wishful thinking?

Most likely not. This Is China. PRC. You wait until they are ready for you.

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise.

Most helpful. Thank you very much. It does appear that we will have to be driven by the tour guide to Tianjin Station (1 hr); then 40 minutes to Beijing South- result at least 2 hours to get to Beijing. In contrast, a vehicle-driven tour is going to take, so I am told, 2-1/2 to 3 hrs. I wonder - is the time saved worth the train? I'm leaning in that direction.

Hi, would you be kind enough to give me the name of the tour guide. We are going at the end of October with Celebrity. Thanks

Hi, would you be kind enough to give me the name of the tour guide. We are going at the end of October with Celebrity. Thanks

Yes. There are several reputable tour guides that do the same trip.

Good luck. And enjoy.

"La Sirena Y El Tiburon

Cool Cruiser #19 Ontario, Canada 119 Posts Joined Jul 2006 Posted Yesterday, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by Tampa Girl Most helpful. Thank you very much. It does appear that we will have to be driven by the tour guide to Tianjin Station (1 hr); then 40 minutes to Beijing South- result at least 2 hours to get to Beijing. In contrast, a vehicle-driven tour is going to take, so I am told, 2-1/2 to 3 hrs. I wonder - is the time saved worth the train? I'm leaning in that direction.

Hi, would you be kind enough to give me the name of the tour guide. We are going at the end of October with Celebrity. Thanks"

China Highlights made us very happy touring from the port of Tianjin last spring.

Barbara

I am starting to reconsider as it seems like it will be quite an effort to get into Beijiing on our own with or without assistance via drivers or custom tour guides. If only this cruise started in Bejiing and ended in Shanghai rather than starting in Hongkong and ending in Shanghai.

I'm not sure from your posting what you are trying to do.

No cruise STARTS in Beijing unless you fly into Beijing or get there somehow before your cruise begins.

You will have the problem of getting from Beijing to the port where the cruise ship is located - which would be one of the terminals in Tianjin - the terminals are NOT next to each other or even walkable!

Actually if this was your first trip to China, I would get (1) the ten-year visa and (2) take a river cruise - we were on Viking - which would give you a couple of days in Beijing and in Shanghai.

The ten-year visa would give you a chance to re-visit China later on a cruise!