Seven Seas Mariner Review
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We flew Japan Air which was quite good in business class and we arrived as scheduled. We travelled by private car to the ship, arriving late in the evening, about 8:30 pm. Nevertheless there was someone to greet us at the terminal and we were checked in in 15 minutes or so. We ordered a sandwich from room service, our luggage arrived promptly and we were sound asleep.
The next day we did the full day tour of Tokyo and like many organized tours it was informative but not particularly memorable. The next day was at sea and we made our spa reservations, played trivia and bingo, enjoyed tea and so forth. All in all a very pleasant and relaxing day. Mariner's cabins are not as big as the Voyager's and although initially I was disappointed, I got used to it and it was just fine. Nagasaki: we opted to skip the Peace Park and go to Unzen Hell. This was a very bizarre day. Unzen Hell is a group of hot springs and an active volcano. It was interesting for awhile but this trip could have been much shorter and no one would have complained. Then we went to lunch at a BAVARIAN themed restaurant???!! The food was German-like and the Japanese staff were all dressed in dirndls and lederhosen. It was truly weird. Like "Heidi goes to Japan".
Next stop China! We LOVED China. Dalian was kinda forgettable. Although we did enjoy flying kites which is one of DH's passions, but otherwise this port is a bit of a mystery to me. But the complimentary excursion to Beijing was a lifetime experience. Radisson Seven Seas provided this to all passengers and it was wonderful. We went to the Great Wall and although very crowded because of a Chinese holiday was nevertheless, just awesome. We stayed at the China World hotel with all others who were going on to Xi'an. The trip to Xi'an to se the Terra Cotta Warriors was an optional trip taken by about 50 of us. Those who were returning to the ship stayed at the ShangriLa. China World was absolutely beautiful. It has an attached shopping mall which includes Ferragamo, Cartier, Bvlgari and the like. I thought "who shops here? Isn't this a Communist country?"