32 Day Cruisers... Shore Excursions are On-Line

Just wanted to let you know that Buzz & Karen has informed me that for our 32 Day Cruisers that your Shore Excursions are Available for viewing and scheduling. 

Hope you have signed up on Princess.com, My Princess !

Thanks Vaughn's
Happy Exploration!

16 Day Cruisers can sign up NOW!

It has been confirmed by Alex, that 16 Day Cruisers can NOW sign-up for Princess Cruises’ Shore Excursions. Fellow cruiser Jo Mary and Michael Murphy have already signed up for their pick! 

32 Day Cruisers will have to hold to the Planner Timeline as I have been informed by Alex that the reason we are unable to sign-up at this time is because the second segment cruise shore excursions have not solidified their contract agreement. So stayed tuned will let you know if I hear of any changes.

ALEX' s: Pre & Post Cruise Options

Direct Words from our travel agent, Alex! 

She says ...”You shouldn’t start thinking about 

airfare until you’ve thought about how many nights you can or want to stay in Bangkok, prior to the cruise, or after the cruise in Beijing (for 16 day-ers) or in Whittier/Anchorage, Alaska for (32 day-ers). I will be offering a 2 night package in Bangkok with 1 full day touring. In Beijing, I will be offering a 2 night, 1-1/2 day tour package with transfer included in both destinations.

If you would like something other than these 2 options, please contact me either by phone or email and I can price out whatever you would like to do.”

Photo: Davis' 08 Mediterranean Cruise, Venice Italy

Princess Cruises' SHORE EXCURSIONS

Still not registered on Princess Cruises? Okay,  then check this one for Ports and Excursions! 

Head to ... Princess.com home page > Learn About Princess > Ports & Excursions > Browse By Port > Select a Destination (Asia/Africa or World Tour) > Select a Port of Call. 

The Ports are listed under the cruise itinerary for you on the right hand side bar of our blog. So how hard was that...not bad huh?

The Princess Cruise Shore Excursions are basically categorized in the following:

SIGHTSEEING & TOURS

Guided tours that show you many of the top highlights of a port city and/or the local area

NATURE & WILDLIFE

Excursions that allow you to enjoy wilderness areas, view/interact with local fauna or marine life.

ACTIVITIES & ADVENTURES

Fun, exciting explorations that get you outdoors in the sun or surf: hikes, rides, water sports, beach visits, ziplines, flightseeing and more!

                                                                                                                                                                      

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Focused excursions and walking tours that visit select highlights while exploring particular aspects of the port's appeal in greater depth: Cuisine, History, Art/Culture, Religion, or Guided Shopping.

EXPLORING ON YOUR OWN

Resources that help you make the most of an independent exploration of the area.

Now if you are registered and have access to MY PRINCESS then Princess Cruise recommends:

Already Booked? Visit Cruise Personalizer

Visit Cruise Personalizer to

• Browse excursions, create your wishlist and share with your travel companions
• Pre-reserve excursions within 120 days of sailing

Photo and Information provided by: 

Princess.Com

Princess Cruises' PORTS OF CALL

There are Wonders of the World and then there is the Wonders of the Internet!

In our last posting, I had directed you to start by getting yourself registered with Princess Cruises. So you haven’t done so yet, right? Well fear not, as I thought this might be the case for some of you. So, lets ease you into taking a few steps at a time to explore  Princess Cruises website and NOT having to register. As I explored the pages of Princess Cruises: Prepare for Your Cruise, I couldn’t wait to share this source with you:

Yup, you will have to register at some point or pull out your check book and sweet talk Alex to do your work and then maybe she just might assist? ....Well for right now, let’s just start getting you to explore, drill, search and enjoy the journey of the Wonders of the Internet! So grab a drink of your choice, as Roger often says,  and let me lead you to a source for preparation and exploration to some of our Ports of Call via Princess Cruises....Oh by the way, be sure your drink of choice isn’t too close to your computer as Diana found out that her coffee cup hates that laptop screen when it leans and makes her coffee pour all over the tabletop. Yikes, what a mess!

On this blog posting, I have linked for you some of the pages on Princess Cruises where you can explore the various ports of call we will be visiting. Just double click on the highlighted turquoise word or phrases in this blog to get you to the appropriate page.

Also, I want to point out some great information for you to either create a hardcopy notebook or download to your computer folder for reference. Under each port of call page is also a pdf icon which has terrific introduction information to get you started on each of the city/ports of call we will be visiting. So be sure to look for this. 

I leave you with this thought....”A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” Lao Tzu ...so shall we begin our journey?!

Ports of Call - Asia

Bangkok, (Laem Chanang) Thailand

Singapore, Malaysia

Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Hong Kong, China

Shanghai, China

Nagasaki, Japan

Busan, South Korea

Beijing (Tianjin) China

Dalian, China

Osaka, Japan

Tokyo, (Yokohama) Japan

Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska

Photo provided by Princess Cruises - Find A Cruise

UNESCO SITES for VIET NAM

Listed below are the UNESCO World Heritage Sites for Viet Nam. Unfortunately with our only two Ports of Call for Vietnam being Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. The UNESCO sites are not within an easy access for a day trip and so it is my personal guess as to why Princess Cruise Shore Excursions do not offer these on this particular cruise. 

I understand that some of our guests may be particularly intrigued with Vietnam and if these stops are of importance. I recommend a couple of options. First, extend your Pre-Cruise Days and contact Alex directly to see how she can assist you to make arrangements for meeting your particular needs.  Secondly, I would like to encourage you to explore the option to return and consider a River Cruise with Viking River Cruise as an example and be sure your itinerary covers these points of interest. The other option is  to consider a private tour or a smaller cruise ship sailing which will allow you more access to other Ports of Call in Vietnam and even other countries we will be visiting. 

The Diamond Princess is a larger ship and though it will provide you with many fantastic cruise ship amenities and options on your sailing days. Unfortunately, our access to some of these sites such as those listed below for the UNESCO Heritage Sites for Vietnam is not always accessible to larger ships such as the Diamond Princess. 

Stay tuned and come back to our blog for future postings as we spotlight the specific ports of call such as Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. And a special thanks to Cristen for her question as to Vietnam's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

VIETNAM

• Complex of Hue Monument
• Ha Long Bay
• Hoi An Ancient Town
• My Son Sanctuary
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
• Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long- Hanoi
• Citadel of the Ho Dynasty

Photo provided by: UNESCO & Wikipedia

UNESCO World Heritage

With our cruise visiting seven different countries, including USA when we land in Anchorage Alaska. There will be plenty of shore excursions and sightseeing to be had.

In my previous blog article “Diana’s Top Five Trip Thoughts for Now”, the number three thought highlighted, was Shore Excursions you might want to participate in. So in this article I wanted to introduce the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that our Ports of Call may entice you to visit.

To begin with what is UNESCO? The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO, seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world which are considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. And by the way, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional, is its universal application. World Heritage sites, truly belong to all the people of the world and noted below I have listed some of the closer sites by their countries we will be cruising to so you can begin to research and explore your options.

THAILAND

• Historic City of Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya Province
• Historic Town of Sukhothai & Associated Historic towns, Sukhothai and Kamphaeng Phet Provinces
• Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, Kanchanaburi, Tak and Uthai Thani provinces

CHINA

• Imperial Palaces of the Ming & Qing Dynasties in Beijing
• Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
• Temple of Heaven:an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
• The Great Wall, Beijing, Tianjin, and other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
• Imperial Tombs of the Ming & Qing Dynasties, Changping District, Beijing (Ming Tombs)
• Mountain Resort & its Outlying Temple Chengde, Chengde City, Hebei Province
• Historic Centre of Macao, Macao Special Administrative Region/Hong Kong

JAPAN

• Buddist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, Nara Prefecture
• Himeji-jo, Hyogo Prefecture
• Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, Kyoto & Shiga Prefectures
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial/Genbaku Dome), Hiroshima Prefecture
• Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Hiroshima Prefecture
• Historic Monument of Ancient Nara, Nara Prefecture

KOREA, Republic of

• Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks
• Seokguram Grotto & Bulguksa Temple
• Historic Villages of Korea:Hahoe & Yangdong

ALASKA

• Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek

CAMBODIA

• Angkor
• Temple of Preah Vihear

Although Cambodia is not one of our visiting ports of call. I wanted to point out that Princess Cruise shore excursion options are available for Angkor and can be accessed prior to the cruise. If you are thinking about this option, be sure to contact Alex our travel agent for alternative options as well. 

Additionally, allow me to apologize in advance if some of these UNESCO sites are not accessible as I had posted. Believe you me, I am not an expert by any means and so some of these locations are truly new and a learning exploration for me as well. So let us explore together and we can further the adventures with our upcoming future study groups. Thanks for your understanding!


Photo provided by: UNESCO Education Blog

DIANA’s TOP FIVE TRIP THOUGHTS FOR NOW

Embarkation for boarding the Princess Diamond may seem a far distant day in the future. But in reality, your successful vacation getaway begins today, in the preparation and planning. I wanted to get you thinking, excited and most of all prepared so you won’t get caught off guard  So here are my TOP FIVE TRIP THOUGHTS to think about to get you planning and prepared about your upcoming journey!

No 1. PRE-CRUISE & POST CRUISE PLANS

As you are aware, our destination begins in Bangkok Thailand and ends in Beijing, China if you are 16day cruiser or Anchorage, Alaska if you continue on with Roger and I on the 32 day cruise. Either cruise options will have you reflecting on how many additional days you will need in add to your booked cruise. As you try to figure this out, keep in mind that you will be crossing the International Date Line which may make a significant “day” difference. As you journey across the sea to this exotic world,  think about the must see sights, places and things of this area. So this is a good time to think of your bucket list and see if there are places or things that you must do and see while you are there. If you can spare the time my recommendation is to go and do it! 

No. 2. PAPERWORK

If you haven’t found your passport or your birth certificate.....this might be the time to do it. Alex will be asking you for your passport information as we get closer and we will also be needing Visas in some of the countries we will be visiting. So know where these important documents are and nows a great time to check the expiration date on your passport!

No. 3. SHORE EXCURSIONS

In addition to the sailing days of the cruise, Princess Diamond will be visiting a number of Ports O’ Call and you can count on Princess Cruise will be offering a number of shore excursions for you to consider. So become familiar with the visiting ports, know what you would like to see and do, consider your activity level and ability, budget your costs and yes there is a time limit so pick wisely as unfortunately we can’t have it all. 

FYI...Princess Cruise on-line has shore excursions posted for your viewing. Alex is also working on some Pre-Cruise and Post Cruise Excursions that she hopes to offer us after her research, so stay tuned. 

No. 4. STUDY GROUP

Roger and I will be hosting a Study Group for those that might be interested. We did this for the Mediterranean Cruise and it was a great success as well as a good reason to get together. I understand that since our guests are not all located in the Southern California area you all won’t easily be able to join our particular group. So may I offer up a recommendation that you think about who your travel companions are and start your own group either face to face or use today’s technology and share, share, share via the internet. We will look at starting our study group come this Fall 2012, so more information will be forthcoming.

No. 5. AIR TRAVEL

Yes come April 2013, we will all meet and embark on the Princess Diamond in Thailand. Specifically, Laem Chabang, Thailand. This is the port where we will board the Diamond Princess. Some of you may choose to book your own air flights, others will look at using Princess Cruise Line Air and still others will be looking at me and saying what are you doing? One of the joys for me in working with Alex is that she truly knows Roger and me! Our choice is to get to our destination safely, make our timeline without worrying and to be as cost effective as possible so that we have more money to spend else where whenever possible. I will be asking Alex once again to help us out on searching for a way to get us to Asia and back with all these criteria. So think about what you would like to do about your flight arrangements as in the upcoming days ahead we will be touching on this topic and yes, inquiry minds will want to know what you would like to do.... so start thinking, preparing, planning and having your decisions and answers ready to go!    

Photo provided by Flickr: Gwen's River City Images