I will be sailing on a 2 week cruise to Indonesia next March.
A total Solar Eclipse and a visit to Komodo Island are the big draws for me.
However there are several other ports where we will stop and I know nothing about Indonesia.
Borobudur? Bali? Java?
Which Indonesian sights are not to be missed?

Good questions, Betty. I'd be interested in knowing as well.

We loved the Regent excursion to Borobudur, but would only take the excursion if it was offered through the ship. The police escort was necessary, and, even then, we just made it back to the ship in time. People on our cruise did not give flattering reviews of the port area.

In Bali, I would recommend a private tour. However, that depends upon what you wish to do/see. There are group tours that go to areas for white water rafting; or you can go to one of the luxury hotels/spas. We wanted to see the island and that included Ubud, the countryside, the daily life of local people, etc. We did not want to go shopping, or to see one of the performances that most tours offer. We planned, with our guide's help, where we would stop and have lunch. It was fantastic!

If you include the ports you will visit, I might be able to provide more information.

It sounds like a wonderful trip.

Caroline,

Thanks so much for the offer for ideas. There are some ports that Crystal and I plan either private tours of the Hop On Hop Off bus. Here are our Asian ports. Hope some of these are also ports for Betty. If some of these are ports where you used a private guide, would you mind sharing the guide's contact information?

Bali/Benoa, Indonesia »

Semarang/Borobudur, Indonesia »

Kuala Lumpur/Port Kelang, Malaysia »

Penang, Malaysia »

Langkawi, Malaysia »

Singapore »

Koh Samui, Thailand »

Bangkok/Laem Chabang, Thailand »

Sihanoukville, Cambodia »

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam »

Chan May, Vietnam »

Hanoi/Hongai, Vietnam »

Hong Kong, China »

Xiamen, China »

Shanghai, China »

Incheon, South Korea »

Jeju Island, South Korea »

Pusan, South Korea »

Fukuoka, Japan »

Shimizu, Japan »

Tokyo, Japan »

Aomori, Japan »

Otaru, Japan »

Hi Carman
Thanks for all your information. It helped. I have only booked the ship's tour to Borobudur . It goes via train part of the way. My other ports in Indonesia are Tanjung Priok, Jakarta; Probolinggo, Java; Ujung Padang, Sulawasi; Lembar, Lombok; and Benoa (Denpasar), Bali.
I like the idea of a private tour in Bali and will look into that. Any other suggestions would be great
Beth, I have already been to some of your ports and will be repeating others you will be doing. As I get mine booked, I will let you know what I've decided on..

Beth, that looks like a great itinerary! (Betty's does too...) In Bangkok, a group of us used Bangkok Day Tours for 3 days and were very happy with them. They have an extensive website listing the options they offer.

Bangkok Day Tours

We're planning a trip later this year which includes Bali and Singapore, so I'm also interested in guide recommendations.

Dena

Thanks, Dena,

Appreciate the Bangkok tip. I have been there but I don't think Crystal has. We don't get to Bali and Singapore until March 2016 so I don't think we can help you much. What I listed was the Asia portion of our World Cruise.

Beth: Michael lived and worked in Japan for five years. He may be able to give you some ideas. You probably won't have enough time, but if you can get to Hiroshema, I would - it's very moving. If you're lucky enough to see Mount Fuji, have the camera ready as it disappears pretty quickly.

If anyone is in Penang, don't miss the Kek Lok Si Temple. Way more than a 15 minute stop for sure.

My daughter and I were there with Silversea in the mid 2000's, and loved taking taxis from the ports. It was in the daya when no excursions were included with ANY line. We hired a taxi driver for about $7 per hour (no kidding) right off the dock.

He drove us up the hill (high) and we wandered around for a long time. This is a very special site for the city, trust me, and google it.

A bit foggy in memory, since so long ago, but I know in several ports in this area, we hired the driver in the morning (I particularly remember Langkawi, too), came back to the Shadow for lunch, and they would pick us up in the afternoon for another go round. I would choose our destinations straight out of the Silversea excursions list. Really no need for a private guide if this is still available at the port. But then, I'm adventurous, and trust I'll be in good hands. In Penang, as I remember, after lunch, the driver took us to a place in town that was a museum of sorts, with big diaramas of life in years past.

We had some great conversations with our taxi drivers, all family men with grown children.

I was also with Dena with the person she recommended for Bangkok. We did an absolute 3 day marathon with that company. A long way from the port to the city, and they made sure we saw it all to the max! We all loved it, as well as the hotel we chose.

Anyone can PM me and I will send you the pictures from my time in these areas.

Betty, I wish that I had been to the ports so that I could provide you information. I hope that you will post about your visit after you get back as we plan on going to some of those ports in the future.

Beth, I will post information on the Japanese ports within the next couple of days. Here is some information on other ports that we have gone to:

Bali/Benoa, Indonesia: I think that we had booked our private guide through Regent (2007), but I cannot find any reference to it, or a business card in my cruise papers. If we were to go back, I would not hesitate to pre-book a guide, and not book through a cruise line. We had a someone who drove the vehicle, and a separate guide. Bali could have changed a lot since we were there, and I hope someone else will chime in and give you more current information.

Semarang/Borobudur, Indonesia: I just looked at my photographs, and I would highly recommend going to Borobudur on the ship’s tour.

Singapore: We loved Singapore. There are so many options that you will need to narrow down what you would like to do when you are there. Check out all of the following to see what fits you best: HiPPO; The Singapore Tours & Attractions Pass; Singapore Ultimate Sightseeing Pass; Chinatown Walking Tour; Little India Walking Tour; Singapore River Cruise; Sentosa Saver; or hire a taxi tour guide for Singapore sightseeing. Enjoy a chilli crab with an ice cold beer. If you want to spend a lot of money on a drink for a taste of history, order a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel.

Bangkok/Laem Chabang, Thailand: This is another place we were glad that we had booked a private guide. There is so much to see and do – everything from temples, daily life, shopping, river tours – that I would recommend you narrow down where you want to spend your time. Once again, it has been too many years for me to give you any recommendations for a tour guide.

Vietnam: We have not been there since 1997, and you need more current information. We are booked to return in 2017, and will be interested in any information that you can provide to us after your visit.

Hong Kong, China: I think you will be docked at the Ocean Terminal. You will walk through a shopping mall when you disembark. The shopping mall is right beside where the ferries leave, and it s perfect location to tour Hong Kong on your own. You have lots of options: the Hop On Hop Off Bus that has three different routes If the weather is good, I suggest going to Hong Kong Island and taking the Peak Tram route. In the evening, the Temple Street Night Market is an exciting place to go. If you take the bus to the Langham Place Mall, it is easy to walk to the Flower Market, Goldfish Market, Ladies Market, Temple Street Night Market, and the Jade Market. If you get hungry, food courts are a great place to eat, and we had no issues with cleanliness anywhere.

Shanghai, China: We took a private tour last year, but I cannot recommend the tour company that we used. This year, we took a Crystal tour on the first day that gave us a tour of the city. We would now choose to tour Shanghai on our own. On day one, we would take the train and go to one of the water towns. We went to Zhouzhuang which was fabulous, but there are other towns closer to Shanghai. If you take the train, you need to have your passport. Crystal offers a shuttle to the Bund Area (Huangpu Park), and you can easily join one of the Big Bus tours. We loved Old Town, and the Nanjing Road area. Pudong has ultramodern buildings, and we enjoyed watching the buildings at night. In fact, one of the highlights of our Crystal cruise this year was dining in Prego at a window table when we had the overnight in Shanghai. The view, food, and service were unbelievable.

Jeju Island, South Korea: This is an amazing island, and is very beautiful. We took a whole island tour last year. Some people took local busses, but we did not. Many of the people do not speak English, but everyone is very friendly, and there is a wonderful map for touring. I would contact the tourism department, and get information sent to you ahead of time.

Pusan, South Korea: The Crystal shuttle takes you to the Phoenix Hotel. This is within easy walking distance of the fish market, international market, and the Lotte Mall. On our first visit, we tour a tour and went to see temples, and other areas of interest. This year, we took the Crystal shuttle and walked around. Both provided us with interesting experiences. If you go to the fish market, make sure that you go upstairs. That is where you will see the locals dining on fish they have bought. If you are hungry, and don’t want to eat at the fish market, the lower level of the Lotte Mall has an amazing number of food options. They also have baked goods, and sweets.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

Olivia & Caroline,Thanks so much for sharing your information. I know it will be helpful for us.

Tokyo, Japan: What a great city! We had a private tour guide, Yosuke Yokokura, Discover Japan Tours, who provided an afternoon, and evening tour (12 noon until 8 p.m.), as well as a morning tour to the Tsukiji Fish Market. We would definitely do this again. I would recommend taking a shore excursion, or hiring a private guide for at least some of your time in Tokyo. Crystal has a shuttle that takes you to Ginza. There are also busses that come to the port, and you could probably take them on your own if you know where you want to go, and the bus routes. You can also use the Yamanote line or subway. I will e-mail you some of the sites I used.

Aomori, Japan: We arrived here at the perfect time for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Hirosaki. If you are interested in going to this festival if it is on, or just going to see Hirosaki Castle and the surrounding area, there is a member of LCT with whom we sailed who made all of the arrangements for our group to go there. Perhaps, he will chime in on this thread. If not, I will check with him about posting his information. I am still kicking myself for not going to Hirosaki with them. On a positive note, it means that I can tell you about Aomori. This is an easy port to do on your own. There is a tourist centre within easy walking distance from where the ship docks. It has a variety of shops, an area where they put on a show, and places where you can eat if you wish. On top of that, there is a welcoming area right on the dock where they hand out maps, provide information, and also have a walking tour that begins at 9:30 a.m. (at least that was the time given when we were there). If you choose to walk on your own, there are many shops, shrines, and areas to explore. There is also a park very close to the Aomori Prefectural Office, and District Court that has some beautiful scenery including cherry blossom trees.

Otaru, Japan: Initially, I thought this was a port that had an interesting shopping area, and wonderful restaurants (including one where we had fantastic sushi/sashimi) and was content when we walked back to the ship. However, I met people I knew and went out again to go exploring with them. We had initially missed one of the best tourist options. This is the Canal area. There are boats available to take you for a ride down the canal. There are artists and musicians who line the walkway that goes beside the canal. On the opposite side of the canal are original buildings that make you feel like you have gone back in time. This is all within easy walking of the ship. (Crystal also offers a shuttle if you prefer not to walk as far.)

Japan was amazing. Despite the number of people, everything is orderly, and trains/busses run on time. It is extremely clean, and there was not one place we saw where I would worry about eating off the ship. I felt totally comfortable walking around on my own (making sure I had a map as street names are often not in English). Even in cities, there are many areas that feel like a small town, and the gardens are gorgeous.

I recommend downloading one of the Apps that allows you to translate from English to Japanese. It worked perfectly when we wanted to order a glass of water or a beer, get the bill, etc. Most people do not speak English, and their faces lit up when I would press on the App and it would “speak” for me. Sometimes, I had to show them the Japanese translation. Just as everywhere else we have travelled, there are different accents, and the App was not always “Crystal” clear. I used SpeakEasy Japanese. We learned a few basic words such as "thank you".

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Caroline,

Thanks so much for this information on your stops in Japan. They all sound wonderful. I've heard great things on Cruise Critic about Yosuke. Also, I believe I know the LCT poster of whom you speak. I'll contact him regarding the Cherry Blossom Festival in Hirosaki unless he posts here first. Again, many thanks for sharing your experiences.

Hi, Beth - As Caroline noted, I was indeed the one who organized our little private excursion for six from Aomori to Hirosaki to experience the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival, which turned out to be, at least for Pat & me, one of our great travel memories. There were 3,000 cherry trees in full bloom in the park surrounding the little castle. The castle moats were carpeted in pink petals. Each time there was a gust of wind, we were engulfed in a "snow flurry" of petals. It was magical.

Hirosaki is an easy trip from Aomori by train or taxi. I'll send you the link to the train schedules.

You may be a bit early for the bloom, as you will be at Aomori on April 16. However, this year the bloom was quite early, forcing the festival organizers to move the beginning of the festival at Hirosaki from its usual start date of 23 April to 18 April. Thus, if next year is also an early blooming year, you may be in luck. At your other stops in Japan, you will be a couple of weeks late for the cherry blossoms, unless next year is a very late blooming year.

Whatever the blooming cycle is next year, you might get lucky in Tokyo, as there is a variety of types of cherry trees in the magnificent park around the Imperial Palace. Some of them bloom at very different times from the others.

Editing to add the link to the calendar (thanks for the help, Karen):

Cherry Blossom Calendar

Here is a good site for info re: Hirosaki:

Hirosaki Park

Cheers, Fred

Hi Beth ... Great guide in ho.chi min city.

dungzoom@gmail.com


His name is zoom.we got him through Regent and he was one of our best guides. He was even the Clinton's private guide. He's our age with perfect English.

Thanks, Fred and Andi. Really appreciate the time you both took to give me such detailed information and email addresses and websites. Lots of researach to still do.

Andi, when do you and Doug leave for your trip?

We are back now a month. Loved it!