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Which ports for self exploring and where to organise tours

Miss Jolly

By Miss Jolly,
in Asia

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Miss Jolly

Miss Jolly

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My family of 4 (including two mid-teens) is booked on Diamond Princess for next year's cruise from Bangkok to Beijing :D including stops at Singapore, Vung Tau (for Ho Chi Minh Cuty), Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung (for Taipei), Okinawa, Shanghai and Nagasaki. I would like to know which ports you feel that we can explore on our own and which ones would benefit tours. We prefer to arrange private tours rather than go with ship tours so all suggestions and information will be very welcome.

Thank you.

Jennie

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boxguyswife

boxguyswife

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I would second the opinion about Hong Kong. Just incredibly easy to navigate, and the Hong Kong Tourism office is at the Star Ferry Terminal which is literally right next door to the cruise ship pier. We used Have Fun Travel in Taipei and were extremely pleased. Found Keelung to be an awful place, so would definitely recommend finding someone to take you to Taipei. We loved our private tour guide in Beijing. Her name was Sophia and as I am unsure about the guidelines of the website....I hope I can mention her. Her email is quding1716@yahoo.com.cn. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime on Oceania. We hope to be able to do Hong Kong to Athens with them in the future to do more of the Asian ports.

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Miss Jolly

Miss Jolly

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I would second the opinion about Hong Kong. Just incredibly easy to navigate, and the Hong Kong Tourism office is at the Star Ferry Terminal which is literally right next door to the cruise ship pier. We used Have Fun Travel in Taipei and were extremely pleased. Found Keelung to be an awful place, so would definitely recommend finding someone to take you to Taipei. We loved our private tour guide in Beijing. Her name was Sophia and as I am unsure about the guidelines of the website....I hope I can mention her. Her email is quding1716@yahoo.com.cn. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime on Oceania. We hope to be able to do Hong Kong to Athens with them in the future to do more of the Asian ports.

 

Thank you. I shall look up Sophia's tours.

Jennie

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Spikesgirl

Spikesgirl

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We had an overnight in Hong Kong and we did a ship tour one day and spent the next morning just wandering around. Transit system was great and easy to use - we did both the bus and the subway. If you've ever taken mass transit, it's pretty much like that.

 

We also grabbed the shuttle bus ($5 USD each way) when we were in Nha Trang and went to the market. Hawkers were pretty insistent and we had one lady hassle us all around the lower floor of the market. They just won't take no for an answer some times.

 

The traffic is horrendous in Shanghai - took us nearly ten hours to complete a six hour toyr due to traffic and we were never more than five miles from the ship at any one time. I would reccomend a ship's tour for that city, just so that you don't have to worry about being left behind. Don't miss the museum though - it's spectacular.

 

We also did a ship's tour in Singapore and really had fun there - it's probably the easier of the bigger cities to navigate within and we really enjoyed our time there.

 

Our time in Nagasaki was severely abridged due to a typhoon and we had chosen a two hour tour to get a lay out before heading into the markets. However, we hit town on a Sunday and nothing opened until after lunch, which was when we sailed. There was a shuttle here - $5 pp each way.

 

Hope that helps a little.

 

Charlie

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mtlcruiser10

mtlcruiser10

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in vung tau and natrang beware of viet value travel they will give you a price and ask for more in the middle of no where but on the other and today travel ask for M Tan very good we use him in halong bay and hanoi it was great and he can organise every where in vietnam

 

bye

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  • 2 weeks later...
Tab K

Tab K

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Jennie:

 

My wife and I were in Nagasaki recently and decided to 'do it on our own'.

 

We got tram passes for 500 yen each (about $5) and went to Ground Zero, the Atom Bomb Museum, the Peace Park and more.

 

Everywhere we went we saw passenger from our ship with tour stickers. I asked one gentleman what he paid for the tour and he told me $47 each. We did EVERYTHING we wanted to do, had a snack, bought and mailed post cards, bought a book in the museum and all for the low, low price of about $9 each.

 

We also did Ho Chi Min City on our own and found it easy to get around with taxis very reasonable. We saw the Museum of the American Atrocities (that's the museum that the ships tour did NOT go to), the Post Office, the Rex Hotel (where the American Army would hold its Friday night new conferences aka 'the Friday night follies') and walked around looking for a dress for my granddaughter.

 

We hit Singapore on the same trip and found it to be very clean and easy to get around as well. Again we did everything we wanted to do for very little money (except what I spent at the Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ken

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cruisinlivin

cruisinlivin

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My family of 4 (including two mid-teens) is booked on Diamond Princess for next year's cruise from Bangkok to Beijing :D including stops at Singapore, Vung Tau (for Ho Chi Minh Cuty), Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung (for Taipei), Okinawa, Shanghai and Nagasaki. I would like to know which ports you feel that we can explore on our own and which ones would benefit tours. We prefer to arrange private tours rather than go with ship tours so all suggestions and information will be very welcome.

Thank you.

Jennie

 

I have private guide and excursion information if you send me an email I will send it to you.

 

Totally agree with Tab K about Nagasaki. The tram is right across the street from the ship and the map for it is on the web.

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Aussie Gal

Aussie Gal

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doggylover,

 

I have hunted on this Asian Board to find your reports but to no avail and the search engine is not working at the moment. Can you please give us the link to these reports.

 

Thansk.

 

Jennie

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seasoned

seasoned

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Miss Jolly,

 

Hong Kong and Singapore are easy on your own, and I've not yet been to Keelung, Okinawa or Nagasaki.

 

In the cities below, I've used these guides multiple times and I've always been very pleased. They know me by name, so please say hi from me!

 

BANGKOK: Tong (http://www.tourwithtong.com or tourwithtong@yahoo.com)

 

For more information and what to see, also visit http://www.planetsukey.com/PlanetSukey/Bangkok,_Thailand,_Day_1_-_April_14-15,_2008.html

 

and

 

http://www.planetsukey.com/PlanetSukey/Bangkok,_Thailand,_Day_2_-_April_16,_2008.html

 

SHANGHAI: Contact Shen Shen Chen (http://shanghaitours.skene.org/index.htm or shenshen@public8.sta.net.cn)

 

BEIJING: Get in touch with Jane Yeo (http://www.beijingguide.co.uk/ or janeyeo@macmail.com or janeyeo@163bj.com)

 

SAIGON and NHA TRANG: Email Tony at anntours.com; he arranged my Mekong overnight from Saigon, but that was in August of 2007, so he probably doesn't remember me.

 

See http://www.planetsukey.com/PlanetSukey/Saigon_and_the_Mekong_Delta__-_April_5-6,_2007.html

 

I have enjoyed enormously all these trips and guides. I have nothing to gain be recommending them (and I hold no liability for them). I just like to share my good experiences.

 

-Sukey-

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