April 15, 2009 Diamond Princess Bangkok to Beijing

[Princess Cruiser]

Is anybody sailing with us on the April 15, 2009 Diamond Princess Bangkok to Beijing cruise?

[dsawyer]

Hi all.  We are booked on this cruise and it should be the cruise of a lifetime. Looking forward to chatting with others here.

[Mrqcace]

Hello:
We are on board from BKK to Whittier. Looking forward to this long cruise, we hope to go even earlier to PEK and BKK precruise.

Ron & Barbara

[Princess Cruiser]

We have Princess air with an added Bangkok Princess hotel package.  I'm wondering if doing our own air would be smarter.  I know that Princess likes Northworst and Delta, soon to be NorthDeltaworst.   

[dsawyer]

Hi again.
We have Princess air from LAX to Bangkok and will be looking for cheaper fares to do on our own too.  We hope to use FF miles to get from local airport in Norfolk, Va to LAX. 

We also have the Princess hotel package for the 4 Seasons but may use a B & B which our tour guide in Bangkok has just opened.  We are waiting to hear some reviews.

[Mrqcace]

Hi again.
We have Princess air from LAX to Bangkok and will be looking for cheaper fares to do on our own too.  We hope to use FF miles to get from local airport in Norfolk, Va to LAX. 

We also have the Princess hotel package for the 4 Seasons but may use a B & B which our tour guide in Bangkok has just opened.  We are waiting to hear some reviews.

Hi Dsawyer: (Not sure you want me to state your first name here, so won't)

How do you think we will be able to see Ratt's reviews of her B&B? Has she indicated anything to you about that, or are you just going to search the threads here or at other boards?  We still have our 4 nights booked there also for now, but will do some more checking when hotels are available for booking in BKK.

Ron

[dsawyer]

Hi Ron,
No problem using my name. 
There doesn't seem to be too much knowledge of Ratt on CC so I guess in a few months I will ask a question on Tripadvisor about her B & B and find out if anyone has stayed there yet. 
If we don't get any info by the end of the year, maybe we should rethink staying there.
I guess we could always check out if we don't like it.

[Princess Cruiser]

Do you all have any plans for getting visas?  I have to wait until I return from a Ruby Princess cruise in mid November before I can work on the visa issue.   

[Princess Cruiser]

From my limited research, and nothing I say is for sure, the only visa we'll need in advance is China.  On past Princess cruises on these stops the Princess excursion ticket is your visa.  If you do your own thing in say, Vietnam then you'ld better check visa requirements very closely.  If I hear more I'll post here rather than on any other board.

[Host Mike]

WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TO PROVIDE AN IMPROVED PASSENGER EXPERIENCE, THE ITINERARY HAS BEEN MODIFIED AS FOLLOWS: THE PORT OF CALL TO NAGASAKI HAS BEEN CANCELLED ,AND WE ARE PLEASED TO ADVISE THAT AN OVERNIGHT STAY IN HONG KONG ON APRIL 22,2009 HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE ITINERARY.  IN ADDITION, THE PORT DATES FOR KEELUNG, OKINAWA AND SHANGHAI HAVE BEEN CHANGED AND ARE NOW AS FOLLOWS: KEELUNG-APRIL 25, OKINAWA-APRIL26, SHANGAI- APRIL 28. ALSO, THE PORT OF CALL TO VUNG TAU (A TENDER REQUIRED PORT) HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A CALL TO PHU MY (FOR CHI MINH CITY ).  THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS NOTIFICATION WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU ABOARD THE DIAMOND PRINCESS

[Host Mike]

Below is the itinerary that the cruise line has on their web sight.
Printed from Amadeus Cruise on 7 Sep 2008 08:41 Local time
DIAMOND PRINCESS Itinerary

Cruise Line : PRINCESS CRUISES
Date : Wed 15 Apr 2009
Cruise Length : 32 Nights


Date Port Arrival Boarding Departure Remark

Wed 15 Apr LAEM CHABANG 1:00PM 5:00PM CHECK IN FM 1:00PM-4:00PM
Thu 16 Apr AT SEA
Fri 17 Apr SINGAPORE 9:00AM 5:30PM 6:00PM
Sat 18 Apr AT SEA
Sun 19 Apr PHU MY 7:00AM 5:00PM 5:30PM
Mon 20 Apr NHA TRANG 9:00AM 5:30PM 6:00PM
Tue 21 Apr AT SEA
Wed 22 Apr HONG KONG 8:00AM ON OVERNIGHT
Thu 23 Apr HONG KONG 5:30PM 6:00PM ON OVERNIGHT
Fri 24 Apr AT SEA
Sat 25 Apr KEELUNG 7:00AM 4:30PM 5:00PM
Sun 26 Apr OKINAWA 12:00PM 6:30PM 7:00PM
Mon 27 Apr AT SEA

[Mrqcace]

Hi Everyone:

We are on this sailing to Whittier, and arriving in Bangkok 4 days prior to sailing.  We have private tours booked for two of those days with a well regarded Bangkok agency.  Our group is limited to 6, one couple just canceled due to an illness that prevents them from making the cruise.  Our tour dates are April 12th and 13. One day in the city, and one outside the city.  Anyone interested please email mrqcace@yahoo.com  If we don't reply quickly, it is because we are on our Holy Land cruise, but will reply with details as soon as we can.

RonC

[Host Mike]

We got a great Princess air itinerary.  On United: Tulsa to Chicago to Toyko to Bangkok.  And the Princess air price was great since we bought it early.  Completely insured by Princess.  I'm happy.   

[Host Mike]

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/country.php3?r=ASI&refer=

[Host Mike]

For those of you going early and staying at the Four Seasons in the Princess Extend Your Stay package listen up.

Monday the 13th is our free day.  Contact me at the Four Seasons that morning because I've got a plan and a great map.  At 3 pm there is a floral parade that starts at Amporn Park that proceeds south down Thanon Ratchadamnoen Nok road, then turns at the Democracy Monument and goes west down Thanon Ratchadamnoen Klang road and ends at the huge Sanam Luang park just off the river.  Floral judging occurs at 6 pm.  I plan to taxi from the Four Seasons to the park late afternoon, after a jet lag nap, and observe parade and festivities.  This park is directly north of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which we Princess Extend Your Stay people will visit the next day.

At first I thought the water fights would be a real downer but now I think we're arriving in Bangkok at one of the very best days, second only to Sunday, the day before which is when the Songkran Festival starts.

Mike Reynolds