Thinking about Asia

[cl.klink]

Never cruised Asia, want to. Never cruised Oceania yet either, but want to do that too. We like nice ships and visiting another culture. DW cannot walk long distances.  Choosing between cruises that focus on Japan, vs. span several countries. What do you recommend for a first timer?  
 

Thanks, 

 

- Joel

[Tranquility Base]

If considering Asia with Oceania an important consideration (for me) is the size of the ship and where it is scheduled to dock.

IE: An 'O' or an 'R' ship.

 

Note: The following info is 5 years old, so I am not up to date as to current docking locations.

 

1. Bangkok:

  Laem Chabang : 2 - 2.5 hour bus drive, versus

  Klong Toey: 30-40 mins shuttle ride.

 

2. Saigon:

    Nah Rong: 15 minute shuttle ride, versus

    Down river at various docks as far down as Phu My: 30min - 80 min ride.

 

3. Da Nang: 

        Da Nang, closer to Hoi An,

       Chan May, closer to Hue.

 

4. Hong Kong:

    Kai Tak: 20-30 min taxi, versus

    Ocean Terminal: Downtown Tsim Tsa Tsui.

    

Edited April 25, 2023 by Tranquility Base

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, cl.klink said:

Never cruised Asia, want to. Never cruised Oceania yet either, but want to do that too. We like nice ships and visiting another culture. DW cannot walk long distances.  Choosing between cruises that focus on Japan, vs. span several countries. What do you recommend for a first timer?  
 

Thanks, 

 

- Joel

A lot there rolled into one question! 😂

 

We are currently booked for the Riveria 4/1/24 cruise in Japan. This cruise has a decent itinerary and you get to see many of the main sights. One can typically find tours, meetings their physical criteria, with a combo of private tours via the Roll Call or Oceania ship offerings. 
 

Oceania cruises are commonly comfortable, enjoyable, and they offer good food. Other cruise lines offer more variety in itineraries, such as a Japanese circumnavigational, along with more immersion into the food and culture of the country visited. Riveria, sailing in Japan, will offer the exact same foods as the other O ships sailing in the Caribbean or doing a TA to Europe. Any local offerings, typically in the buffet, will be highly Americanized to suit the palates of most O travelers. This is the reason we always do large regional on shore lunches when we cruise Oceania. To get the flavors and the variety of the visited countries. The best meals we have on a cruise is rarely aboard ship. This isn’t to downplay play Oceania’s food, but we don’t pay to fly to Japan , or elsewhere, to eat Americanized French, Italian, or other dishes. But that’s just us. 
 

Our cruise is 14 days. We will fly in 3-4 days early to do some sightseeing and tackle jet lag. Highly recommended to all. We will then stay 3-4 days post cruise to travel and visit some sites/cities our cruise omits. With flight times and time zone changes, one should reasonably expect this trip to be 23-24 days minimum. 

[cl.klink]

3 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

If considering Asia with Oceania an important consideration (for me) is the size of the ship and where it is scheduled to dock.

IE: An 'O' or an 'R' ship.

 

Note: The following info is 5 years old, so I am not up to date as to current docking locations.

 

1. Bangkok:

  Laem Chabang : 2 - 2.5 hour bus drive, versus

  Klong Toey: 30-40 mins shuttle ride.

 

2. Saigon:

    Nah Rong: 15 minute shuttle ride, versus

    Down river at various docks as far down as Phu My: 30min - 80 min ride.

 

3. Da Nang: 

        Da Nang, closer to Hoi An,

       Chan May, closer to Hue.

 

4. Hong Kong:

    Kai Tak: 20-30 min taxi, versus

    Ocean Terminal: Downtown Tsim Tsa Tsui.

    

Thanks. Which size shop do you prefer?  I’ve read about this but not sure what I’d like best. 

 

- Joel. 

[cl.klink]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

A lot there rolled into one question! 😂

 

We are currently booked for the Riveria 4/1/24 cruise in Japan. This cruise has a decent itinerary and you get to see many of the main sights. One can typically find tours, meetings their physical criteria, with a combo of private tours via the Roll Call or Oceania ship offerings. 
 

Oceania cruises are commonly comfortable, enjoyable, and they offer good food. Other cruise lines offer more variety in itineraries, such as a Japanese circumnavigational, along with more immersion into the food and culture of the country visited. Riveria, sailing in Japan, will offer the exact same foods as the other O ships sailing in the Caribbean or doing a TA to Europe. Any local offerings, typically in the buffet, will be highly Americanized to suit the palates of most O travelers. This is the reason we always do large regional on shore lunches when we cruise Oceania. To get the flavors and the variety of the visited countries. The best meals we have on a cruise is rarely aboard ship. This isn’t to downplay play Oceania’s food, but we don’t pay to fly to Japan , or elsewhere, to eat Americanized French, Italian, or other dishes. But that’s just us. 
 

Our cruise is 14 days. We will fly in 3-4 days early to do some sightseeing and tackle jet lag. Highly recommended to all. We will then stay 3-4 days post cruise to travel and visit some sites/cities our cruise omits. With flight times and time zone changes, one should reasonably expect this trip to be 23-24 days minimum. 

Some really good points. 
 

Thanks,

 

- Joel

[LHT28]

The Priesmans  did  a trip  a few years back   you may find it informative

They  posted guides they used   etc

 His late wife used  a folding scooter  for the trip

 

 Some ports in Japan but  other Countries in Asia  as well

https://www.thepreismans.com/china_japan_page1.htm

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, cl.klink said:

Thanks. Which size shop do you prefer?  I’ve read about this but not sure what I’d like best. 

 

- Joel. 

For this particular region I would choose an 'R' ship IF I had a reasonable expectation that the planned ports were the "downtown" ones at Bangkok and Saigon.

Only the 'R' ships have that flexibility.

That docking factor is a higher consideration for me than being on an 'O' ship which has other advantages.

 

Insignia is due through that region in May & June on their World Cruise; so closer to the date you could ask on their roll call.

Another info source is to use a site such as 'marine tracker' and  see in real time where they actually dock.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Tranquility Base

[cl.klink]

5 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

For this particular region I would choose an 'R' ship IF I had a reasonable expectation that the planned ports were the "downtown" ones at Bangkok and Saigon.

Only the 'R' ships have that flexibility.

That docking factor is a higher consideration for me than being on an 'O' ship which has other advantages.

 

Insignia is due through that region in May & June on their World Cruise; so closer to the date you could ask on their roll call.

Another info source is to use a site such as 'marine tracker' and  see in real time where they actually dock.

Very helpful. Thanks. 
 

- Joel

[PSahoy]

I took an amazing Asia trip on Oceania for 3 weeks: Dubai (I know not Asian) to Singapore through India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar. Everything about it excursions, overland trips, fellow cruisers, crew and tour leaders was exceptional. Everyone was happy.

[clarku]

DW and I recently (4/12-4/22/23) took a R/T Tokyo cruise aboard Nautica, our first experience on an R Class ship, having only sailed on the Riviera. We were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed the smaller layout, although we really felt the smaller, and IMO more chaotic, experience in The Terrace Cafe. While we tried to avoid eating there, others really enjoyed it and would eat there most meals.  One other major difference we noticed in R class ship were the slightly smaller bathrooms in conc ver category.  While it was tighter than ideal, we did get used to it and wouldn’t hesitate in booking smaller ship again.  If walking is an issue, wasn’t for us, I would also recommend booking private tours, quite often there’s very little difference in pricing and then you can have a customized tour at your pace.

[Docked Discoveries]

On 4/25/2023 at 6:34 PM, cl.klink said:

Never cruised Asia, want to. Never cruised Oceania yet either, but want to do that too. We like nice ships and visiting another culture. DW cannot walk long distances.  Choosing between cruises that focus on Japan, vs. span several countries. What do you recommend for a first timer?  
 

Thanks, 

 

- Joel

Hi Joel, 

 

Jeremy here, I am a port lecturer, with many years Asia cruise experience. Whilst South East Asia is my favorite part of the world, if looking to avoid long walking distance, perhaps Japan is the better option?

 

Most ports in South East Asia involve arriving into container ports that require transport to get anyway, albeit to amazing places.

 

With Japan, you often dock much closer to the cities / towns you are visiting, and on top of that, you have great access to public transport / taxis if you aren't taking tours. Yes Japan is more expensive, but its also more accessible.

 

Here is a link to all my port information pages for Asian cruise ports that might help you decide:

 

https://www.dockeddiscoveries.com/asia

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Jeremy

[cl.klink]

6 hours ago, Docked Discoveries said:

Hi Joel, 

 

Jeremy here, I am a port lecturer, with many years Asia cruise experience. Whilst South East Asia is my favorite part of the world, if looking to avoid long walking distance, perhaps Japan is the better option?

 

Most ports in South East Asia involve arriving into container ports that require transport to get anyway, albeit to amazing places.

 

With Japan, you often dock much closer to the cities / towns you are visiting, and on top of that, you have great access to public transport / taxis if you aren't taking tours. Yes Japan is more expensive, but its also more accessible.

 

Here is a link to all my port information pages for Asian cruise ports that might help you decide:

 

https://www.dockeddiscoveries.com/asia

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Jeremy

 

Thanks, Jeremy.  This is helpful.

 

Appreciate.

 

- Joel

[nursinadream]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:00 PM, LHT28 said:

The Priesmans  did  a trip  a few years back   you may find it informative

They  posted guides they used   etc

 His late wife used  a folding scooter  for the trip

 

 Some ports in Japan but  other Countries in Asia  as well

https://www.thepreismans.com/china_japan_page1.htm

Thanks for this suggestion about the Preisman's photo blog.  Like the OP we're interested in an Asian cruise.  The photos and commentary are insprirational and educational.  Japan is now on our list.

Deb