? about Asia cruises.

[kath00]

Hi there,

 

We are looking at taking a cruise from Singapore to Tokyo in 2014. The best time for us would be an April cruise. How are the seas in Asia around that time? And the weather? Are the ports safe with kids (looks like some stops in Vietnam on the way to Japan). Is the cruise scenic if you stay on the ship (elderly parent possibly coming with us who can't do shore excursions).

 

Finally, we'd like to bring our kids with us in April. Are there children on these cruises or are they mostly for a more elderly crowd?

 

It would prob be on Diamond Princess. We have sailed the Sapphire a lot so we are familiar and love this ship...

 

Thanks for any and all advice.

[rdsqrl]

The only thing about that time frame is that in Japan, there's a big festival in April -- wait, I'll google. . . . Golden Week, that's it, in late April. So internal travel can be crowded, with hotels booked up well in advance. Just something to keep in mind, if you don't like crowds. Otherwise, April's cherry blossom time, just like here at home (well, if your home is DC!), so a beautiful time to visit.

 

Why would you think Vietnam wouldn't be safe for kids?

 

[kath00]

I dunno. My previous nanny is from Vietnam and she said there is a lot of disease and poverty and the water is "very dirty" so she would not advise someone who is a novice international traveller to go there, even on a tour, with the kids...

[caribill]

We were on the Diamond a couple of years ago which included two stops in Viet Nam (the port for Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang). In both ports we took privately arranged excursions. You would be perfectly safe there on either recommended private excursions or on Princess excursions.

 

In April there are not likely to be a large number of chilren on board as school is in session almost everywhere.

 

For the most part, the ship will probably not dock in a scenic part of the ports, so I would not expect someone who remains on board in the ports to get a good flavor of what the area is like.

[kath00]

We were on the Diamond a couple of years ago which included two stops in Viet Nam (the port for Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang). In both ports we took privately arranged excursions. You would be perfectly safe there on either recommended private excursions or on Princess excursions.

 

In April there are not likely to be a large number of chilren on board as school is in session almost everywhere.

 

For the most part, the ship will probably not dock in a scenic part of the ports, so I would not expect someone who remains on board in the ports to get a good flavor of what the area is like.

 

Thank you. Did you enjoy the cruise? We are looking at the Diamond too. Now we are thinking Asia and B2B toward Sydney if we can go at the right time of the year...

[caribill]

Thank you. Did you enjoy the cruise? We are looking at the Diamond too. Now we are thinking Asia and B2B toward Sydney if we can go at the right time of the year...

 

Ours was Singapore to Sydney and included stops in Viet Nam, Bali and three Australia ports before reaching Sydney. Greatly enjoyed the entire trip.

[Northeastal]

We were on the Diamond last May travelling from Singapore to Beijing.

 

We stopped at Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Busan, Nagasaki and Shanghai.

 

We used Princess tours at all stops and these were wonderful. The weather was very hot and very humid, at some places it was 95 F with 100% humidity.

 

The tour is often nicknamed the tour of the Aisian container ports because these are the only places that the Diamond can dock. It follows that they are not attractive for anyone left on the ship.

 

Whilst many of the tours that are on offer both with Princess and privately are historical and cultural, think lots of steps and lots of Buddhas, there are some tours associated with the Vietnam war that may interest your children depending upon their ages and interests.

 

Vietnam is a fascinating place and on any organised tour you will be well fed and watered in a very safe environment. In all Asian places that you would visit the locals are welcoming and friendly.

 

Some of the tours involve long days as the ports are some two hours drive away from the city centres meaning four hours of coach travel.

 

All in all this was perhaps the best cruise that we have ever been on and we would recommend it to anyone. There is certainly no problem with Vietnam and the Diamond is in my opinion is a wonderful ship.

[aoco]

We were on the Diamond last April. Singapore to Vancouver.

 

We were extremely lucky with the seas. Very calm in all ports. There was a storm for our crossing so to avoid rough seas the captain went into the Baring Sea. We got to view the Aleutian Islands and enjoyed calm seas. Not many people get to see the Aleutians. Amazing scenery. Again for a 35 day cruise we were extremely lucky not to hit any rough seas! That most likely doesn't happen often!

 

There were only a few children on board. VietNam was very friendly I would not hesitate to get off the ship. In fact we felt safe everywhere we went. For the most part the ship docks in industrial ports, far away from the cities. You will need to take a tour. You also have to understand that the culture is different from what we are use to. For us that was part of the adventure. If I had 1 recommendation it would be to make sure you carried tissues and hand sanitizer with you at all times. None of the restrooms provided toilet paper.

 

We had an amazing cruise and will always cherish the time we spent in all the countries and we loved the Diamond!

 

AOCO

[cnd crsr]

We have cruised that area in April and had calm seas. As other posters have stated the Diamond docks at container ports and these are not scenic. It will be an older crowd with very few children, that said, I would not hesitate taking children as travel is educational. We found all stops in Vietnam safe, just be careful crossing streets in Ho Chi Mihn City!