The Celebrity cruise, itself, was good, as usual. Going in & out of Chinese customs & immigration is ridiculously long. Boarding in Shanghai was unorganized & chaotic both on the part of Celebrity & the locals. Beijing customs getting on & off the ship....hours ( this was not in any control of Celebrity). We booked an independent Beijing tour, so we had to wait for all the people booked to get off the ship & go through immigration. The tour was suppose to leave at 9AM, we could not leave till 11:30. Other ports (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong) were no problem with immigration. We really enjoy the enrichment and port lectures. Most of the Asian ports are not close to the cities you think you are stopping at. You need transportation to get to Shanghai (45min drive), Beijing (2+ hours), Seoul (1 hour), Taipai (1 hour). Jeju is spread out nature sites, not much in the little town of Jeju. Hong Kong & Nagasaki get off the ship & public transportation is right there.
Aqua class cabin very good as usual
The iconic building from the opening Olympic ceremonies. See it from the pedestrian walkway over the highway for the best view
Overall the 3 day tour the guides were really good with walking us around & telling us the history. At the summer palace, they let everyone go off on their own, so if you hadn't already read up on this sight you would miss a lot. Luckily I had been here before, so I could give my husband the tour. The summer palace is quite big, so could have used more time here
Beautiful park & temple. Must see
The huge square itself is not much to see, just really big. But the Forbidden city is at one end & Mao's tomb at the other
The Hutong area is the old section of small homes & alleys. Rickshaw bicycles will ride you through the narrow streets. Lots of fun
Good tour, guides spoke good English. Toured the Gyeongbokgung palace, they timed it so we could see the changing of the guards. Jongmyo, Confucian shrine to honor ancestors. Suwon Hwaseong fort & palace. The Insadong shopping area for lunch.
I love a port where I can get off the ship & do my own thing. Tram is right there at port, hop on & get everywhere. Atomic bomb museum, peace park, Urakami cathedral, Hypocenter park, 26 martyrs memorial, and so many temples you can't visit them all
Wow do not miss this. Large temple, people praying, burning incense, food & flower offerings. Elaborately decorated everywhere
Booked a post cruise tour with on line vacation that included hotel & tours. Aberdeen fishing village was part of tour. We had lunch at the floating Jumbo Restaurant (good). It was nice to see the old boats and Sanpans that you no longer see in Victoria Harbor
I love to do my own thing, so walking Kowloon was great. Lots of shopping, street eats, went to the night market on our own, walk the large Kowloon park( do not miss this)
Part of the post cruise tour. Typical market with small stall size stores, selling mostly souveniers. Must bargain
One of those tourist things you have to do. Ride the tram to the top of Victoria peak. Good views if you get there on a clear day
Every night all the sky scrapers light up, which is pretty in itself. At 8PM they put on a show. I guess I was expecting more, You fight massive crowds to watch the lights change. Nice but not great