Back from Diamond cruise in Asia - any questions?

[intrepid23]

This forum has been a wealth of information for me so I would like to repay the favour if possible. We have just returned from the 16 night cruise from Singapore to Beijing on the Diamond Princess - if you have any questions, just ask and I will do my best to answer them. I have written a review which I suppose will be posted soon.:)

[BLS]

This forum has been a wealth of information for me so I would like to repay the favour if possible. We have just returned from the 16 night cruise from Singapore to Beijing on the Diamond Princess - if you have any questions, just ask and I will do my best to answer them. I have written a review which I suppose will be posted soon.:)

When you arrived in Beijing (Port),was it at the new terminal?

Hope you had a great cruise!

[sailaway5]

Did you go on the Princess land tour out of Beijing? We are anxious to hear about how that tour is. We're anxious to read your review.

[Chelsea1]

I am interested to hear about the food - dining room and casual options.

Also Shanghai - is there a shuttle into the city?

And the beds - were they hard?!

General feeling of the ship and atmosphere on board.

 

Very much looking forward to your review.

[cruise flotsam]

Thank you for doing this. Does Princess provide any shuttle to Tianjin on Disembark? If they do what cost will it be? I am staying in Tianjin after my February cruise on the Diamond Princess and flying out in a couple of days from Tianjin. If Princess does not provide transport what other options do I have to get to Tianjin

[intrepid23]

Hi Bev yes the port seemed very new and modern. Unfortunately I have thrown out our documentation but from memory it was the newer one at Tainjin-sorry have forgotten the name. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere! The name of the port was written on our itinerary (or at least somewhere in our documentation) so perhaps yours will be too.

[intrepid23]

Hi sailaway5, no sorry can't help you with any information on the land tour. I know our table mates were doing it and were very much looking forward to it. We had two nights and two days in Beijing on our own. On our arrival day, we did Forbidden City, (not the Palace though) Tianamin Sq, Wangfujing St. The second day we used public transport to Badaling Wall (that was quite an experience!), then walked through the hutong area near the lakes. On the third day, we made our way back to Tainjin on the bullet train for our Air Asia flight. We would have loved to have had more time in Beijing - it is fascinating. I hope you enjoy the Princess land tour.

[intrepid23]

Hi Chelsea1, Food - We generally loved the food - there was so much choice in both the selection and venues. We only ate at the buffet a few times but we were more than satisfied. For breakfast, there was cereal, fruit, yoghurt, cheeses, cold meats, huge selection of breads, muffins etc, and lots of hot choices. You could order omelets or eggs as you desired. The breakfast in the International Room was very relaxing and you ordered from a menu - all the standard breakfast fare as well as a few 'daily specials'. We had most of our lunches in the International Dining Room, and again, the meals were wonderful. A few choices within each course - have as much or as little as you want! The lunch selection at the Horizon Court was very good as well - I loved the salads. Also, there was a pizza bar open from 11-11, a hamburger\hotdog grill open from 11-11, some days there was an English Pub Lunch in the Savoy Restaurant, some days a themed buffet by the pool. For dinner, we chose Traditional late sitting dining in the International Dining room and loved it. Again, within each course there was always 3 or 4 choices and also there were certain meals that were offered everynight - some of the things on this everyday menu were steak, salmon, caesar salad, alfredo pasta and lots of others. There was never a night I could not find anything that I wanted. I did find the soups very salty. We had lobster twice on our cruise which was a nice treat. Desserts were great - apparently one of the all time overall favourites is the everyday cheesecake.

 

Shanghai - there was a free shuttle which ran from the port to a Silk museum?/ shop - it took about 30 -45 minutes I think. From there you could either take a taxi into the centre of town or walk - we walked but it is a fair hike ( at a guess 5km).

 

Beds - yes, I would say a bit on the hard side - guess it depends on how you prefer your mattress. I slept like a baby,,, however i did find the pillows too soft for my liking.

[intrepid23]

Hi, sorry I do not know if Princess had a transfer to Tainjin. Perhaps ask Princess reservations. I know that once on the ship. I noticed that there were a few other options for day tours and transfers into Beijing that I had not been aware of prior to boarding so perhaps just make enquiries directly with Princess. The feeling I got was that it can be quite overwelming to get off the ship and have to negotiate taxi costs - we did speak to a couple in Beijing who said that they had negotiated with a taxi driver to take them to Taijin Train station for I think it was 200 yuan but heard others that were told that the fare was 200 dollars! We were going into Beijing and had prebooked a seat on a bus for $50 per person. Hopefully, someone else will be able to give you some more concrete information. Have a great trip. Oh by the way, the bullet train from Tainjin to Beijing and visa versa was inexpensive (1st class about 65yuan) and takes only 35 or so minutes.

[cruise flotsam]

Thanks for the information. It was years ago that I was on the Diamond and do not remember the ship except that it was a long walk from the front of the ship to the back. I used to take my shoes off to walk home. Thanks again

[cruise flotsam]

Thanks for the information. Can you tell me what entertainment production shows etc was currently on board. I know it might change when she comes into Australian waters. How long was your cruise that you were offered lobster twice. Sounds so lovely.

[intrepid23]

We were on 16 day from Singapore to Beijing. On the last 2 formal nights we had lobster.

 

According to my Day 1 Patter, Here are some of the entertainers we had

Comedien Cary Long,Instrumentalist Bayne Bacon,Instrumentalist Craig Richard,Hynotist Erick Kand, Vocalist Mark Newsome, Piano Entertainer Glenn Armer, Magician Bobby Borgia.

 

The production shows were:

Ports of call

Do you want to dance

Words and Music

I Got the Music

Piano Man

(the last two listed were my favourites)

 

 

In club fusion some of the entertainment at night was:

Country and Western Hoe Down

Marriage Game Show

Dance through the Decades

Princess Popstar

50's and 60's Rock and roll party

Ballroom Blitz

 

Some of the day/evening music was provided by

Maurizio on the Piano (had quite a following - had people dancing all over!)

Pianist Rodolfo Loredo (often in the Wheelhouse)

Argo Trio (I think by memory quiet ballroom dance stuff but not 100% sure

A band called Serious Sounds - sang/played popular music

Diamond Princess Musicians

[Chelsea1]

Thanks for posting your review, it is really good and helpful

[fun cruiserz]

Intrepid23:

 

I just read your review it is excellent. I have a question for you, did you stay pre cruise or post cruise in a hotel in Beijing, if so where did you stay? Did the hotel provide you with complimentary bottled water for teeth brushing etc?

[stiven]

Hi Intrpid 23.I read your review,realy good and helpful,I have a question for you,where in Shanghai is Silk museum,,and where you walkd from Silk museum.Thank you for informaton . Jim.

[BLS]

Hi Bev yes the port seemed very new and modern. Unfortunately I have thrown out our documentation but from memory it was the newer one at Tainjin-sorry have forgotten the name. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere! The name of the port was written on our itinerary (or at least somewhere in our documentation) so perhaps yours will be too.

 

Thank you! When we sailed out of that Port in 2009, it was from the old (OK, very old) teminal. Very happy to hear you used the new one.

 

Aloha,

Bev

[intrepid23]

Hi Andrea,, we stayed at the Park Plaza Wangfujing. We were very happy with both the location, quality of hotel and value for money. Perhaps have a look at Trip Advisor for more detailed reviews of the hotel. We thought it was great. And yes, it provided a bottle of complimentary water. Hope you enjoy Beijing as much as we did.

[Bowie MeMe]

Hi sailaway5, no sorry can't help you with any information on the land tour. I know our table mates were doing it and were very much looking forward to it. We had two nights and two days in Beijing on our own. On our arrival day, we did Forbidden City, (not the Palace though) Tianamin Sq, Wangfujing St. The second day we used public transport to Badaling Wall (that was quite an experience!), then walked through the hutong area near the lakes. On the third day, we made our way back to Tainjin on the bullet train for our Air Asia flight. We would have loved to have had more time in Beijing - it is fascinating. I hope you enjoy the Princess land tour.

 

Can you tell me more about the bullet train? I am planning for 4 folks and we will be doing private tours in Beijing/Xian and Bangkok before our Oct. 25 Bangkok to Beijing cruise on Diamond. I am thinking of a private pickup to bullet train to Beijing south train station and then private transfer from train station to airport for flight home.

 

Also could you share about what the flight cost was this year so that maybe we can recognize a good deal if we see one? thanks!

[BridgeMates]

Hi Andrea,, we stayed at the Park Plaza Wangfujing. We were very happy with both the location, quality of hotel and value for money. Perhaps have a look at Trip Advisor for more detailed reviews of the hotel. We thought it was great. And yes, it provided a bottle of complimentary water. Hope you enjoy Beijing as much as we did.

 

We too stayed at the Park Plaza Wangfujing a couple of years ago after our Asia cruise. It is well located and they can't do enough for you. You can easily walk over to the main Blvd (can't remember the name off hand...popular "walking street," no cars). They have a wonderful American breakfast buffet or you can just order from the menu. There was a Starbucks right across the street if you just want coffee and a roll. Just ask one of the housekeepers if you need more water. We had a great time in Beijing but guess our "time was up" on the one day we were scheduled to go to the Great Wall. It was rainy, foggy and cold. Couldn't see more than 6 ft. in front of you. Spent about 15 min. there. If we could have, we would have rearranged our tour, but we saved the best for last and our luck ran out. Another reason to do the cruise again but it was hard to get my DH to go the first time. Getting there is a killer (but well worth it).

[chiapetti]

I am staying in Tianjin after my February cruise on the Diamond Princess and flying out in a couple of days from Tianjin. If Princess does not provide transport what other options do I have to get to Tianjin

[intrepid23]

Hi Jim

Again, I wish I had kept everything from the cruise but didn't...In Shanghai the shuttle took us to a silk museum? shop? factory? (sorry not sure what it was because we didn't actually go into it). We walked from there, passed a restaurant area called the Cool Docks, down quite a major road which ran sort of parallel to the river for a few kms until we hit the Bund. We then kept going in the same direction along the Bund (which is a major promenade along the river) for another couple of km until we got to the centre. From there we used a map to make our way to Old Shanghai and the Yu Gardens by weaving through the streets, and then proceeded back to the promenade and back to the silk place. We are avid walkers and it took us all day but lots of people used taxis to wherever they wanted to go from the Silk Place.

[bcnvcanada]

Please could you email at girlatsea at yahoo.com with who used for transfers. Airport hotel, hotel to port. I know you did this port to hotel, and hotel to airport I will be going back in late March. I was on the cruise with you. We stayed on for six days, our transfers were done through Princess. Thanks j

[Chelsea1]

Many thanks for your reply to my earlier questions....I have a few more!

 

How were the seas, any rough patches and how did the ship handle?

Approx. cultural mix of passengers

Does the Captain make a daily announcement?

Any speciality or buffet selections of asian food (which I love)

 

(we did a 13 night Royal Caribbean last November so interested to compare)

[AdrianaSampaio]

Hi,

I've just booked Diamond (Aus-Nzd) december 16th, getting excited !

We have been allocated cabin C236 (it's an outside with balcony) on 10th floor, do you know if it's a good one? I've heard that some of the balconies doesn't have any privacy as the people above you can see your entire balcony?

Thanks

[CruzinNoony]

Balconies on the Caribe deck (deck 10) are larger than those on the other decks. They are half covered and half open. :)