We picked the cruise (Far East Explorer) as something of an afterthought... We are very frequent cruisers but hadn’t been to the Far East previously and therefore took the opportunity.
The itinerary was the attraction, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Busan, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Min City, Bangkok, Koh Samui, then Singapore... It was a fabulous itinerary.
We hadn’t sailed with Princess before but had been told it was comparable with Celebrity and therefore set our expectations about the ship on our past Celebrity experiences. that proved to be unfulfilled.
Excellent cabin on deck 11 (midships). Much better than we had anticipated.
Overnight after flight, great hotel, appalling embarkation procedure (worst ever)...
Did our wn thing, really easy from the ship. Peace Park, Atomic Bomb museum, spectacles bridge and a stroll around town....
Ship provided a shuttle to the metro system thereafter we did our own thing. Bumped into friends off the ship who were on a ship tour several times at key sites. Lots of walking. Could have done with 48hrs really.
Rented a car once ashore ($33). Toured the entire island... excellent and very easy provided you have a decent map...
Enjoyable and tiring day. Did Wat Po then the Grand Palace. After that took a river boat along the river then a Turk Tuk to the designated pick up point. All very enjoyable.
Dropped in town, given good information en route. Made our own way easily and readily got back to the pick up point.