MIAMI (Apr. 2, 2019) –Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific islands are known for their inspiring beauty, immersive experiences and ancient culture. Luxury travelers are increasingly sailing to Exotic locales visiting multiple destinations in one voyage, and: Exploring a new island paradise every day in the South Pacific, with stunning beaches, shimmering azure seas, and lush forests brimming with tropical flowers; Admiring the magnificent Blue Mountains outside Sydney, feeding stingrays near Gisborne, and posing …
ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS — Early this morning the Quantum cruised into the mouth of China’s Yangtze River and then turned left on to the Huangpu River. After docking again at Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal we had a late leisurely breakfast and waited to disembark after other passengers, as we can’t board the Westerdam until 11AM. The Westerdam just happens to be conveniently docked bumper-to-bumper in front of the Quantum. Nevertheless, clearing Chinese immigration in …
ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS – We’re on our final sea day and I have a few loose ends to tie up in my coverage of the Quantum experience, such as ways to spend the final day of the cruise. Certainly there are numerous activities less strenuous than skydiving and rock climbing that I’ve failed to mention. Reading in the library, playing cards, and there is surely a game of mah-jongg going on somewhere. Jewelry and art …
ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS – Upon first seeing a megaship, I was a bit overwhelmed. Yes, they are huge, if that isn’t an understatement. In order to further describe megaships, cruise writers and bloggers have invented a few analogies that I’d like to explore aboard the Quantum of the Seas. The first analogy for the largest Oasis-class ships is that their split “open-atrium” structure is made possible by their hulls extraordinary width that is double most …
ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS — I’m in Shanghai with my wife, Jialin, for a twofer, two cruises back-to-back with Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and Holland America Lines (HAL). I expect they will differ considerably. We arrived at Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, this morning at 11 AM to board the Quantum of the Seas, the fifth largest of Royal Caribbean International’s innovative megaships and sixth largest cruise ship in the world, for a four day cruise …
A parade of ducks, half a dozen plucked and ready for roasting, hung from the kitchen ceiling. Beside the ducks hung pigs, butchered and prepared for the high heat of an oven’s glowing charcoal. The roasting of ducks and pigs was the highlight of my Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tour, a four-hour walking meal in the culinary capital of Asia that continues to grow as a port for starting and/or ending cruises. If you have only one …
Ovation of the Seas moves its homeport with the seasons in a grand circle, including Tianjin (Beijing’s seaport), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney, Australia. Cruises cater to Chinese passengers when the ship sails from China. HONG KONG Gone was Johnny Rockets, a fast food mainstay of Royal Caribbean cruise ships. So, a meal of burger and fries was difficult to find on the 4,180-passenger Ovation of the Seas during a five-night voyage into the South China Sea. …
Manila The Philippines is my first stop on a journey to Asia that will consume the next four weeks, most of it in China, including Hong Kong. Battling jetlag, 12 hours ahead of the Eastern U.S time zone, my first goal was a long walk in Manila’s business district, which also is home to gigantic indoor shopping malls that are packed to the gills on weekends. Thanks to the concierge at the fashionable and well located Peninsula …
Cruising south on the Irrawaddy River through Myanmar is a lesson about the impacts of tourism. The farther south you go from remote Bhamo toward busy-but-beautiful Bagan, the closer you get to the more beaten track where souvenir sellers await and beggars line the paths to some of the most amazing temple ruins in the world. Best travel plan: Get a good look at the Bagan temples at sunset, then head north. Myanmar, which was off-limits to …
Pandaw, the luxury river ship operator, has launched a new ‘Into the True Heart of Borneo’ seven-night river expedition on the Kapuas River System in western Kalimantan; the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. The river system is the largest in Borneo flowing over 700miles (1,100km), fringed with rainforest and surrounded by mountain ranges. The seven-night expedition on the RV Katha Pandaw takes in the upper part of the Kapuas, a voyage of over 500km that …
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