"LIVE" - Ovation of the Seas (April 9-26, 2018), Bill & Marie's slow boat to China

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My apologies for such an early start to this report. However we fly out to Singapore Friday night and I wanted to get a few things posted before we left. This will be our longest trip yet as we do not get back home until April 29th. This will also be our second B2B cruise, first a 5 day then a 12 day.

Wow. Excited and subscribing!! We lived in the PRC for three years (Shanghai) and traveled Asia extensively. Will be some nice memories! Thank you for sharing and bringing us along!!!

We have been looking at this cruise for a long time and booked the 12 day cruise all the way back in September 2016. A few months later several people on the roll call alert us about the 5 day cruise and we decided to add that to make the long flights more worthwhile. For the longest time we had the same cabin for both cruises, a balcony cabin 11688

Then as we got close to final payment date Royal start offering JS guarantees for not much more than we had paid for the balcony so we took them up on the offers. The downside we could not get the same cabin for both cruise but the upside is we got a Spa JS for the 5 day cruise and a Family JS for the 12 day cruise. After a few swaps we also managed to get the cabins on the same deck and only about 7 cabins apart. Who knows, they are close enough we may get the same cabin steward for both legs.

Wow! What an amazing itinerary. Safe travels and have an awesome time. Looking forward to traveling along your first week. I will be on my own cruise in the middle of yours. lol. So I'll have to catch up when I get back.

Looking forward to reading all about your adventures and seeing Marie's smiling face! I have never read a review about this part of the world and am excited to see some wonderful pictures and learn something about the areas. Enjoy yourselves and thank you so much for taking the time to do this- I just got off Allure and realized I only took 5 pictures! :rolleyes: So I know it takes time and effort to create the wonderful reviews that you do! We booked Anthem for next year so maybe I will take more pictures then. Safe travels to you both!

Barbara

Wow! So exciting! Hope you have a great time! Thanks for taking us along!

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This trip will take some adjustments are we progress and the climate shifts from tropical to a more temperate weather.

Flollowing along, looks like a few changes of clothing will be needed for the different weather you will encounter. Safe travels and looking forward to your review.

Thanks everyone, we are really excited for this trip.

Of course I can't travel without some reading materials about the area. I actually started reading earlier this year and have finished some of the books.

For China

The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history—a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author.

An engrossing record of Mao’s impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung Chang describes the extraordinary lives and experiences of her family members: her grandmother, a warlord’s concubine; her mother’s struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parents’ experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a “barefoot doctor,” a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving—and ultimately uplifting—detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.

For Malaysia

Facing challenges in an increasingly colonial world, Chye Hoon, a rebellious young girl, must learn to embrace her mixed Malayan-Chinese identity as a Nyonya—and her destiny as a cook, rather than following her first dream of attending school like her brother.

Amidst the smells of chillies and garlic frying, Chye Hoon begins to appreciate the richness of her traditions, eventually marrying Wong Peng Choon, a Chinese man. Together, they have ten children. At last, she can pass on the stories she has heard—magical tales of men from the sea—and her warrior’s courage, along with her wonderful kueh (cakes).

But the cultural shift towards the West has begun. Chye Hoon finds herself afraid of losing the heritage she so prizes as her children move more and more into the modernizing Western world.

For Korea

“The year was 4214 after Tangun of Korea, and 1881 after Jesus of Judea.” So begins Pearl S. Buck’s The Living Reed, an epic historical novel seen through the eyes of four generations of Korean aristocracy.

As the chronicle begins, the Kims are living comfortably as advisors to the Korean royal family. But that world is torn apart with the Japanese invasion, when the queen is killed and the Kims are thrust into hiding. Through their story, Buck traces the country’s journey from the late nineteenth century through the end of the Second World War.

For Vietnam

Joseph Sherman first visits Saigon—the capital of French colonial Cochin-China—as a young man on his father’s hunting trip in 1925. But the exotic land lures him back again and again as a traveler, soldier, and reporter. He returns because of his fascination for the enchanting city—and for Lan, a mandarin’s daughter he cannot forget.

Over five decades Joseph’s life becomes enmeshed with the political intrigues of two of Saigon’s most influential families, the French colonist Devrauxs, and the native Trans. In this sweeping saga of tragedy and triumph, Joseph witnesses Vietnam’s turbulent, war-torn fate. He is there when millions of coolies rise against the French, and during their bloody last stand at Dien Bien Phu. And he sees US military “advisors” fire their first shots in America’s hopeless war against the Communist revolution.

For Hong Kong (My favorite so far)

At seven years old, Martin Booth found himself with all of Hong Kong at his feet. His father was posted there in 1952, and this memoir is his telling of that youth, a time when he had access to the corners of a colony normally closed to a "Gweilo," a "pale fellow" like him.

His experiences were colorful and vast. Befriending rickshaw coolies and local stallholders, he learned Cantonese, sampled delicacies such as boiled water beetles and one-hundred-year-old eggs, and participated in vibrant festivals. He even entered the forbidden Kowloon Walled City, wandered into a secret lair of Triads, and visited an opium den.

From the plink-plonk man with his dancing monkey to the Queen of Kowloon (a crazed tramp who may have been a Romanov), Martin Booth saw it all---but his memoir illustrates the deeper challenges he faced in his warring parents: a broad-minded mother who embraced all things Chinese and a bigoted father who was enraged by his family's interest in "going native."

For Thailand

The Falcon of Siam: An action-adventure thriller that weaves historical fiction, epic storytelling and high drama into an unforgettable journey where a young Greek stowaway on a British East India Company ship finds his destiny in opulent 17th-century Thailand.

Epic in scope, this historical fiction bestseller transports the reader to the mystery and beauty of the ancient Kingdom of Siam (modern-day Thailand) and is rated by a growing number of readers as one of the best action-adventure novels of all time. Against the backdrop of the fight to control the Asian trade routes of three centuries ago, The Falcon of Siam is a thrilling ride through a bygone era, across the high seas and through the bejeweled halls of power.

Flollowing along, looks like a few changes of clothing will be needed for the different weather you will encounter. Safe travels and looking forward to your review.

We are use to layering here in Seattle so we should be good. Even though it shows in the 60s for Korea that is still warmer than here at home. :D

Can't wait for this review. This is a part of the world I know I will never get to. I'm surprised at how low the temperatures are in China and Korea. Have a great trip.

Bill, I’m looking forward to your cruise adventures. Safe travels to you both. There is no chance that you could sail most of the way home from Hawaii to Vancouver? It would be a great way to finish the trip.:)

Bill, I’m looking forward to your cruise adventures. Safe travels to you both. There is no chance that you could sail most of the way home from Hawaii to Vancouver? It would be a great way to finish the trip.:)

That would be a long wait as I don't think Ovation heads to Hawaii until 2019. :D

I am in the same boat (well, ship) as the OP - literally! I'm also doing the B2B (plus staying on for the next leg ending in Hong Kong, as I wanted to have a quick visit to Japan).

Thank you for the book recommendations. My Kindle is always grateful for more content. I can add in a couple of travelogue books for information on China:

Barbarian Lost: Travels in the New China by Alexandre Trudeau (yes, one of those Trudeau's - related to our Canadian Prime Minister) [Personal review: I found it a bit "dry" in parts, but did have background to modern China.]

Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China by Paul Theroux [Personal review: Really enjoying this one, it is a bit dated as he travelled through China in the 1980's(?), but I like his style.]

I fly out on Friday, arriving Singapore on Saturday. Look forward to perhaps meeting you at the meet n'mingle for the 12 day cruise.

Westcoasttech [aka Canadian Kate]

I am in the same boat (well, ship) as the OP - literally! I'm also doing the B2B (plus staying on for the next leg ending in Hong Kong, as I wanted to have a quick visit to Japan).

 

Thank you for the book recommendations. My Kindle is always grateful for more content. I can add in a couple of travelogue books for information on China:

 

Barbarian Lost: Travels in the New China by Alexandre Trudeau (yes, one of those Trudeau's - related to our Canadian Prime Minister) [Personal review: I found it a bit "dry" in parts, but did have background to modern China.]

 

Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China by Paul Theroux [Personal review: Really enjoying this one, it is a bit dated as he travelled through China in the 1980's(?), but I like his style.]

 

I fly out on Friday, arriving Singapore on Saturday. Look forward to perhaps meeting you at the meet n'mingle for the 12 day cruise.

 

Westcoasttech [aka Canadian Kate]

Thanks for the books suggestions, they sound like good reads. We fly out 1:30 am on Saturday and arrive in Singapore about noon on Sunday.

Speaking of flights we are flying on Eva Air for our trip from Seattle to Singapore with a stop in Taipei. First flight is 12 hours and the second is 4 hours. Business Class was not in the budget for the trip over but we are in their Elite section which is really just Economy Plus. The seats and pitch are a little bigger and there are only 2 seats in our row so no stranger elbowing me for 16 hours.

As I mentioned we arrive in Singapore around noon. The plan is to do our best to stay awake till 8 or 9 that evening. What may help with that is we are staying at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. I used part of my 20 year anniversary work bonus to book what they call a The Grand Club King.

I am hoping to keep Marie awake by taking her up to the rooftop infinity pool. Should be a great way to spend the afternoon.

That would be a long wait as I don't think Ovation heads to Hawaii until 2019. :D

LOL, I could handle daily pics from the Islands. You two are fairly familiar with them after all. :)

That resort is amazing! I think it was the one on Mega Food. It is like a city! Have a great time!

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Bill, I know you have been planning this for a long time and I am so excited for you. Great trip, and a great literary build-up. You may be saddened as the locals don’t seem to be too emotional about their history. We did several historical tours and I think that makes you in the small percentage.

MBS is an amazing hotel. Singapore will be hot, Vietnam will be hotter. Korea and China likely to be the opposite of hot, when we left Hong Kong the weather was so rough they shut down the flowrider and Ifly and most on deck activities, when we sailed from Seoul it was barely 50 degrees 10 C.

Have a great trip.

JC

Thanks for the book recommendations and that hotel looks amazing. The pool is unbelievable.

Bill and Marie, cannot wait to follow your cruise adventures.

You are so blessed to be able to share these travel escapades together.

Also I am so blessed that you are taking the time to share with us.

Safe travels.

Enjoy

Thanks again

Bill and Marie, cannot wait to follow your cruise adventures.

 

You are so blessed to be able to share these travel escapades together.

 

Also I am so blessed that you are taking the time to share with us.

 

Safe travels.

 

Enjoy

 

Thanks again

Thanks Sue, glad that you are following along.

Safe travels. And i do not envy your flight. Gosh i remember you mentioning this cruise when i was reading your hawaii review!!

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Safe travels. And i do not envy your flight. Gosh i remember you mentioning this cruise when i was reading your hawaii review!!

 

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The flight are the one part we are not looking forward to.

For the 5 day cruise we have stops in Penang Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand. For the first port we have set up a private tour.

Penang Malaysia

Custom Heritage, Food and Sight Seeing Tour

Proposed Itinerary

08:00am to 08:30am : Clearing port and getting ready to see Penang

08:30am - 09:00am : Depart to one of the local coffee shop called Ping Hooi for local breakfast. They do serve good Char Koay Teow (fried flat noodles), Prawn Noodles and many more local delights.

10:00am - 10.30am : Making our way to the Kek Lok Si Temple.

10:30am - 11:30am : Guided walk around the Kek Lok Si Temple premises.

11:30am - 12:00pm : Depart to the UNESCO heritage core zone of Georgetown

12:00pm - 03.30pm : Guided heritage and food walk along the Street of Harmony. Here, we will be visiting St.George Church, Goddess of Mercy Temple as well as Kapitan Keling Mosque.

03:30pm - 04.45pm : Cool down drink at a local bar (*Alcoholic drinks are not included in the price quoted)

05.00pm Arrival back to the port

In Phuket the ship will be anchored out so we decided this would be the one port we would use a ship's tour.

Phuket, Thailand

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary

Enjoy opportunity to spend quality time with elephants in their natural home. Witness stunning views of the surrounding jungle, mountains while interacting with friendly, happy elephants in a safe and sustainable environment. Enjoy walking with your guide through the Sanctuary, where you will find free-roaming elephants and hear their individual stories. You can touch, feed, photograph, and interact with the elephants at your leisure while you learn about their lifestyle and behaviors. After you have met all the elephants, you will accompany them to a nearby mud spa. Get muddy with the elephants as you apply a healthy cosmetic mud treatment to their skin. Next, you will walk with the elephants to a nearby river and join them in the water for a refreshing bath. Take a swim and help bathe and brush the elephants while they wade through and play in the water.

Wow...this looks amazing! I love reading your reviews, and it's great to see an unusual itinerary rather than the typical Falmouth/Labadee/Grand Cayman...although I do see Georgetown on your itinerary! ;)

Have a great trip, I'll be following along!