Our Cruise holiday began with an overnight stay in Beijing at the Double Tree Hilton, this is a great high standard hotel with good food and a lovely room with a huge bed which is very welcome when you have travelled so far. The Princess staff were always around to give information and as soon as we entered the hotel we were offered trips for that day and the following day and although we were all very tired, we had come so far to see the city that most people were happy to take them. The afternoon trip in Beijing on the day we arrived was excellent, we were taken to the Hutong district, had a ride on a Rickshaw, driven to a Jade Factory which was lovely and taken to a "tea" display which sounds quite boring but in fact was very good, we tasted different Chinese teas and could then purchase them for ourselves. Although a little expensive I am so pleased that we did buy some as it really is delicious. After this we were taken to a lovely restaurant where Peking Duck is their speciality. It was superb and great to sit down and chat with fellow travellers.

The next day we were taken on a half day trip to see the great wall of China, there were other trips available if you preferred. We really wanted to see the Wall and we were not disappointed. After which we were driven to the port to embark the Diamond Princess.

A beautiful ship with many facilities it's impossible to be bored, day and night. During sea days we attended the art exhibitions which we found really interesting and did actually make some purchases which we are pleased with. Dan, who is in charge of the Art Department, and his staff are very informative. Read more