Was able to book our excursions today on the Mariner Tokyo to Hong Kong cruise in September/October. However, the 10 hr excursion to Suzhou from Shanghai was not offered on the website. Also, the Geisha and Sukiyaki dinners in Tokyo were not either. Any idea why? Any suggestions on a tour operator in Shanghai which we could book a tour there? Thanks in advance, Linda & Larry

I'm not sure how many days you will be in Shanghi but I would strongly recommend you see the evening acrobatic show. It was very enjoyable.

We loved Shanghi and one of the highlight for me was all the GREAT bargains.....We shopped until we dropped. The Day Market is the BEST, much better than the Friendship store where the shuttle drops you off. We also got fabulous hair things done (cut and color) massages, manicures, pedicures that type of thing for a fraction of what we pay in the USA and really a HUGE savings compared to the ship prices for these services!! Shanghi is a vibrant city and can be easily enjoyed on your own.

I second the pedicures, manicures and head massages - of course my husband got a haircut and fell asleep while they were cutting - due to language problems he got a semi buzz

Where in relation to the Friendship Store did you get your hair done?

There are salons all over Shanghi but the place we went to is just outside the Day Market (the Day Market is a huge, very popular out door swap meet type place but all the items are brand new). You can tell by looking if the salon is upscale, clean etc. which ours was. The Chinese are very up to date on all types of salon services. It amazed me how many times in large cities on the World Cruise the passengers would leave the ship and look for salons for hair and nails.

BTW, if anyone wants the address of the Day Market let me know your fax # and I'll be happy to fax you a copy. You just show it to any taxi driver. Sorry I can't post the address as it's in Chinese!!

Yes, I just went to book my excursions and saw that the Suzhou trip is no longer there. I'm hoping it will be reinstated when we board. My last RSSC cruise had an excursion I wanted showing until the time came to book, when it was gone. But, when we boarded, there was info in the cabin indicating that it was available. I had no trouble switching from what I'd booked to that one. Let's keep our fingers crossed on Suzhou.

Please write a review of this cruise - we are very interested. What are you doing in Beijing? Ngaire mentioned an overnight excursion but cannot find anything about it on the web. Has anyone done this??

I can tell you how it was handled on the World Cruise if that helps. Ngaire is correct. You flew from Shanghai to Beijing and stayed for 2 nights at the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing. The excursion covered seeing everything with English speaking guides, 2 first class dinners, two lunches and breakfast. I did not go on this excursion but have friends who did and they raved about it!! From Beijing they flew and met back up with the Voyager in Hong Kong

anaclaire, on the 9/26 Tokyo to HK cruise, you dock at Tianjin and take a three hour bus trip to Beijing and stay overnight at the Shangra-la (sp?) Hotel. It's a long drive, but feel that it's worth it to see Beijing. It is included in the cruise (i.e., it isn't an excursion). Linda & Larry

The Beijing activities are not mentioned on the website, but are in the brochure. Request the Grand Circle Pacific brochure--it will have the info in it.