Asia cruise

[NMTraveller]

I am looking at booking my first Asia cruise.  However I have no idea on which itinerary is best?  What are the best ports to visit in Asia?  We are looking at a 14 day cruise.  Any ideas and favorites would be appreciated.

[SilvertoGold]

Just my experience:  Any port in Japan, plus Shanghai, Hong Kong, any port in Indonesia. 

[Sir PMP]

Which itineraries are you looking at?

[USN59-79]

I would look at the 14 day sailings of the Westerdam from now thru March.  Keep in mind that you will need a China visa before boarding.  The other visas, if required, can be obtained on board.  I recommend that if getting a China visa, get the one good for ten years.  You may want to come back again.

[CJcruzer]

Some Asia cruises have port stops which are far from the main sightseeing city, i.e. Saigon (HCMC), Hanoi, Bangkok, to name a few.  this will incur more travel time to and from the main city,

 

Carol

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

What time of the year are you thinking of?

 

What are you mainly interested in seeing? Culture/history/nature?

 

I notice you have also posted this query on the Celebrity and Princess boards - so you should get a wide variety of suggestions. 

[NMTraveller]

We were thinking of a Christmas cruise in two years.

 

We like seeing culture, history, and nature.

 

Right now we are looking at all itineraries and are looking to narrow it down.  

 

We have been on the Westerdam before and enjoyed it.

Edited November 28, 2019 by NMTraveller

[GeorgeCharlie]

We have done two Christmas cruises in that area of the world.

 

One with HAL on the Volemdam, which did a cruise out of Singapore, up to Myanmar and back.

 

The other was with Celebrity on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi to India and back. Arrived in India on Christmas morning and we were back in Dubai for New Years Eve.

 

🙂Both of these cruises were fantastic and would highly recommend either of them - if they're still being offered.

 

I did a review on the India cruise and can sent you the link if you're interested.

[bennybear]

We loved the circumnavigation of Japan with .Russia during cherry blossom time!  So clean and safe and beautiful.  We would love to do more, but have been concerned regarding the political situation in some places.  

[ger_77]

In February/March of this year we did a 23 day SE Asia cruise on the Maasdam, beginning and ending in Singapore.  We had had several stops in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Hong Kong and enjoyed the itinerary so much that we're thinking of doing it again.

 

BTW, it took me 6 tries to get this post typed and posted - I finally realized that our beloved Ragdoll was sitting on the mouse, moving text around on me!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Betty in Cozumel]

On 11/28/2019 at 2:30 PM, bennybear said:

We loved the circumnavigation of Japan with .Russia during cherry blossom time!  So clean and safe and beautiful.  We would love to do more, but have been concerned regarding the political situation in some places.  

 

Did you need a visa for the one day stop in Russia?

[Betty in Cozumel]

We did 14 nights thru Vietnam and Thailand and the ports were really far from the cities/attractions.  We then did a 14 night visiting Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and these were wonderful as you could just get off the ship and walk around.  For the couple that were a little far to walk for the older passengers; HAL offered a free shuttle bus to the centre of town.  

 

We are actually doing another 14 night cruise in 2020 visiting Japan and Taiwan again for this reason.  Some ports are different and some are the same.  We even get an overnight in Keelung (Taipei) which I am really excited about.

Edited November 30, 2019 by Betty in Cozumel

[Betty in Cozumel]

On 11/28/2019 at 1:43 PM, USN59-79 said:

I would look at the 14 day sailings of the Westerdam from now thru March.  Keep in mind that you will need a China visa before boarding.  The other visas, if required, can be obtained on board.  I recommend that if getting a China visa, get the one good for ten years.  You may want to come back again.

 

We sailed on the Westerdam from Shanghai this past March and we only used the 144 hr Transit Without a Visa as we were not visiting any other port in mainland China.  We are also doing the same cruise again this coming Feb/March.  Would have loved to do the 28 night cruise but you need a real visa for that as it visits several China ports (other than Taiwan and Hong Kong) and it's very difficult for us to get.

Edited November 30, 2019 by Betty in Cozumel

[Floridiana]

On 11/28/2019 at 2:02 PM, NMTraveller said:

We were thinking of a Christmas cruise in two years.

 

 

In that case, Japan is it not a good choice. Anything further south. Also have a look at cruises out of Dubai.

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

Did you need a visa for the one day stop in Russia?

Not on a ships tour and maybe on other organized tours.  

[Betty in Cozumel]

2 hours ago, bennybear said:

Not on a ships tour and maybe on other organized tours.  

 

Thanks.  Could you just stay on the ship if you wanted to?

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, Floridiana said:

 

 

In that case, Japan is it not a good choice. Anything further south. Also have a look at cruises out of Dubai.

Thanks.  I am not seeing many Japan itineraries around that time

 

Dubai is an interesting area that I want to see.  I need to have a list of places to see in the winter time in USA as we get that time for vacation/holidays off from work.

 

I have been to Australia/NZ and Carribean.  I am looking for a different USA winter destination.

Edited December 1, 2019 by NMTraveller

[NMTraveller]

On 11/28/2019 at 12:15 PM, GeorgeCharlie said:

We have done two Christmas cruises in that area of the world.

 

One with HAL on the Volemdam, which did a cruise out of Singapore, up to Myanmar and back.

 

The other was with Celebrity on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi to India and back. Arrived in India on Christmas morning and we were back in Dubai for New Years Eve.

 

🙂Both of these cruises were fantastic and would highly recommend either of them - if they're still being offered.

 

I did a review on the India cruise and can sent you the link if you're interested.

I am interested.

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

Thanks.  Could you just stay on the ship if you wanted to?

I am sure you could, but it was interesting! 

[Floridiana]

9 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

 I am looking for a different USA winter destination.

 

Florida of course! Skiing?

 

As to cruises, have you been through the Panama Canal? Or gone around South America? The Galapagos Islands are another destination. Anything on the Amazon from an ocean going ship to expedition and river boats.

 

One of our favorite trips was the Napo River Wildlife Center in Ecuador. We flew into Quito, then a one hour plane hop into the Amazon basin and a motorized river boat down the Napo. A short break where we switched to a canoe rowed by a local Indian. The lodge (wildlife center) will book everything from the one hour plane ride to the transfer and you don't have to worry about your luggage. They take care of everything including guides. The lodge has running hot water! It is owned by the local tribe. We chose it on a recommendation and because it has a parrot lick.

[GeorgeCharlie]

9 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I am interested.

 

The review is posted here.

 

Unfortunately, I'm still having problems with Photobucket showing their watermark - even though I have a paid account with them.

 

🤬Hopefully they'll get the problem fixed someday.

[NMTraveller]

55 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

 

Florida of course! Skiing?

 

As to cruises, have you been through the Panama Canal? Or gone around South America? The Galapagos Islands are another destination. Anything on the Amazon from an ocean going ship to expedition and river boats.

 

One of our favorite trips was the Napo River Wildlife Center in Ecuador. We flew into Quito, then a one hour plane hop into the Amazon basin and a motorized river boat down the Napo. A short break where we switched to a canoe rowed by a local Indian. The lodge (wildlife center) will book everything from the one hour plane ride to the transfer and you don't have to worry about your luggage. They take care of everything including guides. The lodge has running hot water! It is owned by the local tribe. We chose it on a recommendation and because it has a parrot lick.

Well we have been to Florida a number of times and we love it.  I would expect to retire there as we absolutely love the warm weather.  Not skiers and not fans of the cold.

 

Thanks for the beautiful picture!  We will keep that in mind for sure.