Shanghai Cruise Experience for $38
Cruise
This is probably a trip that is on many people's dream travel list.
But there may be many questions in your mind, such as... I can't speak English that much, will I be able to communicate? How do I book? And how do I get to the ship? And do I want to bring my family or elderly parents with me? Will I be able to go?
Today, I will answer these questions based on my experiences. Who wants to know... Let's see.
1. The trip started when my mother, who loves to go out and see the world, wanted to take my children on a cruise trip, like someone took them there 20 years ago. When my mother wanted to go, my children had to arrange it...
But since I'm a salaried person, I didn't want to buy a trip or pay a lot. We went to look for a cruise promotion that took off and landed in Asia. From the search, we found that there was a cruise ship from Royal Caribbean Cruise that departed from Baoshan Port in Shanghai, China. And that day, we found a promotion for the second guest to get a 60% discount from the normal price. We chose the cheapest room without a window, called the Spectrum of the Sea. When we looked at the cruise plan, It was found that it was a cruise from Shanghai to Okinawa, Japan and then back to Shanghai, taking 5 days (the average ticket price per person, including all meals on the ship and tips, was about 22,000 baht, but when swiping the card to pay, it was paid in US dollars). One trip included both China and Japan at the same time, so we were easy-going and booked it. 😆😆😆 I have to tell everyone first that this price does not include the Wi-Fi fee on the ship (which is calculated as a 24-hour internet fee of about 1,200-1,300 baht and does not include free flow drinks, which have packages to choose from, starting from 19/29/49 dollars per person per day. The drink package is required to be purchased for all 4 days and cannot be purchased separately per day).
2. After booking the cruise, we started booking the plane tickets. For the outbound trip, we went with Air Asia. For the return trip, we flew with Shanghai Airlines, which was expensive because we flew during Songkran (if I can recommend, I would recommend that my friends fly round-trip to Shanghai Airlines). Which includes the weight of the luggage and 1 meal on the plane, which is more than the personal opinion. 🙂🙂)
3. When we arrived at the airport, we used the service of a car to pick us up from the airport and take us to the Baoshan Port. The price was about 1,900 baht for 4 people. It was a comfortable van with a heater on the seat. We found it from a group traveling in Shanghai. The contact person was a Chinese who spoke clear Thai. Friends, don't worry. I recommend that friends make an appointment for a car to pick us up around 10:00 or 10:30 at the airport. The car will take us to the front of the port. Because the car takes about 50 minutes to 1 hour, we will arrive at the port at 11:00-11:30. If we arrive before 11:00, the car will not be able to take us to the front of the port but will take us to the cruise ship's service hall instead. And when it arrives at 11:00, we will have to walk to take the shuttle bus to board the ship again. It is very inconvenient for people with heavy bags or bringing elderly people with us (we made this mistake before. Don't want my friends to miss out 😅😅😅)
3. Then it's time to board the ship. When we arrive, there will be someone to receive our luggage, which is a Chinese staff member. We can submit the ship reservation form with the room number because we can't talk to them clearly. But don't be alarmed... They just need the room number to tag our bags. For those who are prepared, when the day is near, there will be an email sent to us with documents to prepare: a copy of the passport page, a booking confirmation, and a bag tag. We can take the printed tag and submit it to the baggage claimant. But we didn't prepare it, lol. So we had to be shocked for a while, lol 😆😆😆
4. Once we have sent our luggage, we can go check in to board the ship. Before boarding, there will be an identity verification to issue a seapass card. They will take a photo and confirm the last 4 digits of the credit card. Then, they will print out the check-in line documents, which will be in English letters A B C D E F. We have to remember which letter we are, such as
D8 in case of an accident or gathering. We have to go to the point that the officer recommends in case of evacuation. And in the case of leaving the ship to travel outside, which we are in Okinawa, we have to go according to the specified letter. When you pass through, on the boat, there will be a line to check in, go through immigration, etc. There will be officers to advise you all the way so you won't get lost. For those who are worried about the boat time, let's choose the check-in time that we chose in advance from the website to check in. Don't worry. We chose the time at 13.30, but in the end, I came at 11.00 so I could check in right away. I didn't have to wait until the time. Another thing is that I recommend checking in early because once you check in and get on the boat, you can go eat the boat buffet right away. At the Windjamer restaurant, there is a wide variety of delicious food, which is included in the boat price that we paid. While eating, someone offered to sell a special restaurant, which we didn't buy. It's expensive. Let's end this episode for now. I'll continue with the activities on the boat later. ...