We are experienced cruisers, seniors, from Florida. We chose this cruise because 1) It offered a pre-cruise stay in Hong Kong, where we have relatives and 2) we have always been more than satisfied with Celebrity. You will need a visa for China, not Hong Kong, and they don't make the visa situation easy. Lots of paperwork. Allow plenty of time. There was also a post-cruise stay in Shanghai.

Asia from Florida is a looong flight, so we broke it up, flying to LA, staying overnight and continuing to HK the next day. Point of information. If you can, fly Cathay Pacific. We opted for "premium economy." which means larger seat, more leg room, better food (yes it was good) a separate cabin and amenities. We were pleasantly surprised when we were upgraded to business class on the trip over, at no charge. Talk about pampered! Seats become beds, very nice on a 14 hour flight.

We were booked into the Eaton Hotel, just off Nathan Road, the main shopping street of Hong Kong. Excellent. Great service, staff that spoke English, interesting included breakfast with both western and Asian choices. We spent two nights there. Our travel service picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the hotel, then, at the end of our stay, picked us up to take us to the ship. Read more