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  1. Chris970 - as I said we are not into the normal tourist things like temples, old buildings and museums. It is all about the food for us lol. We eat where the Asians eat, food courts and street food. So I am probably the wrong person to ask about 'must see and do'. Did Saigon today and headed for the Ben Thanh market. Street food in market was awful. They dropped us off at Bitexco, a 10 min walk to the market. The food court on the 5th floor of Bitexco was amazing - so would recommend eating there rather. Ben Thanh is like any market in Bangkok. Lots of the same shops selling the same thing. What surprised me was a few lanes of the most amazing fabric. Hand painted and hand embroidered stuff. We had 6 hours to spend in Saigon. KWofPerth - my husband has a thing about paper. He throws stuff away. I will attach today's one for you. 2nd last night on cruise tonight. Have enjoyed the rest and relaxation. Next problem is getting rid of gained weight. I did find the gym on board, but chose to walk past it lol.
  2. As i said, the passengers are mostly British (probably as much as 85%) so the outside pools are full and deck chairs are all occupied. The Solarium was basically empty on most days. I supppse the water was too hot inside. Some links to articles about the debacle over the visa issue https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7554359/Couple-miss-4-500-cruise-officials-refuse-entry-China.html https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1188687/cruise-ship-chaos-royal-caribbean-cruise-china-jail
  3. As i said, the passengers are mostly British (probably as much as 85%) so the outside pools are full and deck chairs are all occupied. The Solarium was basically empty on most days. I supppse the water was too hot inside.
  4. The cruise at the end of the day was NOT a cultural immersion. The boat is mostly full of British then some Americans and Germans, and the balance are made up of Australian and other parts. There are more Chinese waiters than any other nationality, but they can generally speak some basic English to understand what you want. Some speak some really good English. A serious word of warning. We were told by our agent that we did not need a visa in China as we would fall under the 144 hour transient visa. We did our research and confirmed that that was correct. When we arrived at Tianjin we were detained at the passport control area for 1.5 hours because we did not have the 144 hour visa to be transient in China. They took our passports off us, left us just before the immigration point on our own in an empty hall for about 30 min. Numerous people came and questioned us a few times. Eventually a lady took us somewhere and written on the wall was '144 Visa Application'. The person who was obviously in charge and holding our passports did not recognize or accept the documents we had for the cruise ship because he wanted a ticket out of China. We showed him all the stuff we had printed off, our agents itinerary, plus all the accommodation etc, but still he was not convinced. Eventually we had 9 people involved all looking at our paperwork passing it around, talking through translators to us. Someone in a high viz vest arrived who understood the cruise documents and then they took our photos and we filled out some forms. We were then taken to another area, more forms. Then through immigration. The lady behind that was not happy with one of the forms. Luckily the high viz man was standing on the other side and then a bit of discussion and pointing. When we boarded the ship, we had heard that about 300 people, who were booked on the cruise, were turned away at Xian and Beijing airports because they didn't have visas and were relying on the 72 or 144 hour transient Visa. Some went back home while others changed their flights to Japan and joined the cruise in Japan. We thought it was an elaborate story until we actually ended up at a shared dinner table with 2 couples who were affected. My agent has also confirmed this as true becuase it was on the news in Australia and New Zealand. The one couple were rejected for no reason at Xian and the other couple were split up. They let the wife in and not the husband. When asked why they were refused entry, they were told they didn't have to give a reason and that the computer says no entry. They told us that 2 entire plane loads of people where turned around at Beijing airport. Apparently the one was Emirates and the other a Turkish airline. We also met a couple who went through what we did at Beijing, except they were not alone. Just about everyone on their plane who was on the cruise didn't have visas, and they were all ushered around a corner to apply for visas. Some of the people who were in the visa que were also refused visas and had to make other plans. They would not allow people to buy tickets on planes leaving from a different terminal - they could only book flights departing from that terminal. The only flights leaving from that terminal were to Seoul. Some had already booked tickets departing from other terminals, and had to book another flight via Seoul to end up in Japan. Some went back home. Passengers were not allowed to leave the area were everyone was been detained until they could produce boarding passes on their phones. There was one Scottish man whose phone would not connect with the Wifi and he could not book his ticket. Another couple paid for his ticket just so that he could leave. He was very stressed out by it all and was not well at the end of it. Apparently the cruise is short of about 120 passengers who decided to go back home. From what I gather, they were from various places around the world, not just one country. The food has been all Western food. I must admit i am a little dissapointed because Asian food would have been wondeful. A strong recommendation - you have to eat at Wonderland on the boat. Go hungry. It is something like Hestons style food. It was the most incredible evening and allow for 2 hours to eat. All the activities are free, the Solarium was open to all, Northstar and Ripcord just needed booking at Guest Services, but free. You could not book Northstar or Ripcord through the app because it was still set for the short Asian cruises and was going to charge you. Apparently on the short Asian tours, which is for the Asian market, they have to pay for a lot of things. As we dont drink a lot of alcohol, we did not get an alcohol package. But a word of warning, alcohol is very very expensive. The only drinks that you dont have to pay for are water, tea, coffee out of a urn (not barrister coffee), juice cordial mixed with water. He rest costs money. If you want fresh juice or barrister coffee, then that costs. We drink tea, so we did not see the need to purchase a package either. They have a hot dog and ice cream stand by the pool, which is free. The one thing that is open from early till 3am is a place that makes really nice pizza. There are always the best cookies around as well. Our room had a kettle, cups, tea, cofee, milk etc in the room. With regards to shore excursions, we tend to always do our own thing as we are not into looking at old buildings and museums, and all big cities look the same. For us it is about finding the nearest food court or street food and eat local, having lived in Thailand and China before. The good thing about doing the 'On Your Own' shore excursions that the cruise offers, was that they wait for you if the bus is late. I found this to be important especially if you are traveling at peak traffic hours. Our shore excursion was cancelled in Hong Kong due to safety issues with the demonstrations which i fully understand and appreciated, so we got off the boat and were told by the local tourism people who were answering questions at the port, that we could catch bus 22 outside the door and get off at the end of the route at a shopping mall, then later catch the same bus back. It only cost us Hong Kong $5 each. Much cheaper than a shore excursion. In Taipei we went into town with cruise 'On Your Own' excursion and were dropped off at Taipei 101 - tallest building (peak traffic time). Did not get off at Japan. Da Nang - had not planned to get off plus it was bucketing down, so between the downpours we walked around the wharf as there were some hawkers selling stuff. We would have liked to have walked to the village which was about 25min walk away, but did not want to get that wet. Am planning on doing the 'On Your Own' in Saigon. We bought the basic Vroom package for internet. It was worth it. Easy and quick internet. Could live stream to family, watch Netflix. I did not see the need the buy the one where you can make calls because we use Whatsapp. The weather is hot and muggy. I struggle to understand how people can lie in the sun all day in this weather. My insides would cook. So we spent a lot of time in our cabin which was cool - resting on our balcony. The shows and entertainment were wonderful. A different one every night. For those that like to party and drink, it is all go. We booked the cruise for some rest and relaxation, and it has been good. 12 days is just enough - put on far too much weight with all the food. I would recommend the longer cruises if you dont want a cultural immersion. We have been told by the crew, that the short cruises around Asia are the cultural immersion ones. Wow, that was a long reply
  5. I have read that Quantum of the Seas will be dry docked in Singapore for a month after we arrive from China on the 19th, and that she will be changing her home port from China to Singapore. I have also been reassured by my travel agent and Royal Caribbean that the 12 day cruise i am on is NOT a cultural immersion cruise and that most of the travellers are from the UK and USA. Apparently the email i got from Royal Caribbean giving me the details of boarding etc, was incorrect when it said it was a cultural immersion cruise. Uhmm makes me worried. I dont mind the cultural immersion because i love asian food, but it would be nice to know up front.
  6. Are any other English speaking people going on this 12 day cruise departing China 7th October 2019 and ending up in Singapore 19 October? This is my first time ever cruise. I received an email from Royal Caribbean to say that this is a cultural enriching cruise, yet my travel agent has been reassured by the cruise wholesaler that it is not. Having read some of the reviews about cultural enrinching cruises, how bad are they really and what is not included in the package. We are staying in a balcony stateroom. Some advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
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