Statistics:

*2 single woman in their 70's.
*Live in Honolulu, HI.
*16-20 something days.
*Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong.
*Supervised tours.
*Cooler weather but not winter (Aug/Sept maybe).
*Have points to travel to Asia if needed.
*Safety, safety and safety.

Current offer but have NOT called for details:

Holland America Line Japan, Korea and China 2009 16 Night Cruise via local travel agent (October 8-27, 2009)

*1-Night Hotel accommodations in Osaka, Japan (does not say which hotel).
*1-Night Hotel accommodations in Hong Kong (does not say which hotel).
*Roundtrip airfare from Honolulu (does not say which airline).
*Unlimited shipboard gourmet dinning.
*24 Hour Shipboard Room Service.
*Full Shipboard Casino.
*Nightly Shipboard Entertainment.
*Shipboard Enrichment Program.
*Bus transfers & NCF.

Exclusive Bonus from Travel Agency:

*Hosted Pre-Cruise Luncheon.
*Hosted Shipboard Private Cocktail Party.

Inside Stateroom from $5195
Oceanview Stateroom from $5655
Verandah Stateroom from $7815

Itinerary:

10/8 Depart Honolulu.
10/9 Arrive Osaka w/overnight stay.
10/10 Kobe, Japan. Embark ms Volemdam.
10/11 Relaxing day at sea.
10/12 Nagasaki, Japan.
10/13 Pusan, South Korea.
10/14 At Sea.
10/15 Dalian, People's Republic of China.
10/16 Xingang (Bejing), China. Overnight aboard ship.
10/17 Bejing, China.
10/18 At Sea.
10/19 At Sea.
10/20 Shanghai, China. Overnight aboard ship.
10/21 Shanghai, China.
10/22 At Sea.
10/23 Naha (Okinawa), Japan.
10/24 Keelung, Taiwan.
10/25 At Sea.
10/26 Hong Kong, China. Disembark ms Volendam. Overnight Hotel stay.
10/27 Return flight to Honolulu.

Questions:

*Good deal?
*Would traveling by points to destination be a better deal (if travel dates available)?
*Which stateroom and what decks are best?
*What is NCF?
*Use the Internet i.e. cruisecomplete, cruise411, discountcruises, etc. to talk to an agent to see what is better?

What else do I need to know/do to get the best deal? Like I said, I have not called so do not know if Senior Citizens rates are available or other 'perks' i.e. BYO water, wine, or soda and able to pre-purchase credits.

Any help appreciated,
Robert

This is more to everyone's desire for a cruise. Because, they want to have time in port of calls to SIGHTSEE the locations an NOT just to travel there.

2009 Northeast Asian Experience aboard Azamara Quest from $3999.

*14 Night Deluxe Cruise
*3 Nights Hotel stay in Beijing, China + Sightseeing & Meals.
*1 Night in Hong Kong.

2A- Deluxe Oceanview w/Verandah $4200
1A- Deluxe Oceanview w/Verandah $4300

Itinerary:

2/10 Depart Hawaii
2/11 Arrive Beijing. Overnight stay in Hotel Oriental Bay International or similar.
2/12 Beijing sightseeing to include: Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven. Breakfast, lunch and special dinner.
2/13 Beijing sightseeing to include: Great Wall and Ming Tombs. Breakfast, lunch and Special dinner.
2/14 Beijing. After breakfast at hotel, embark Azamara Quest.
2/15 Dalian, China.
2/16 Seoul, South Korea.
2/17 Relaxing day at sea.
2/18 Kyoto, Japan. Arrive 7:30pm, Overnight aboard ship.
2/19 Depart Kyoto at 6pm.Only have a day to sightsee on their own which is not enought time.
2/20 Hiroshima, Japan.
2/21 Busan, South Korea.
2/22 At sea.
2/23 Shanghai, China. Arrive 7am. Overnight aboard ship.
2/24 Departs Shanghai 9pm.This is not bad as have 2 days to sightsee on own.
2/25 At sea.
2/26 At sea.
2/27 Hong Kong, China. Arrive 7am. Overnight aboard ship.
2/28 Hong Kong. Return to Hawaii.Looks like only a day to see Hong Kong which is to little time.

January 29-Feb 17 has the extra 1 night hotel stay.

Now you add sightseeing in Japan and maybe Hong Kong and that is what I desire in the Asian cruise.

Will be calling local agents to see if I can get this type of cruise.

Thanks,
Robert

Azamara has some really great values right now - as you can see for yourself. Of the two you mention; I would jump on the Quest.

I have had great success with cruisecompete - great price plus lots of extras!

There are often better deals for over 55's (something for me to look forward to in the future) and for where you live.

Sorry for the late reply.

Still doing research but looks like Sept/Oct will be their time frame. From what we have gathered, seems like a good time of year to travel to Southeast Asia.

Will update as more information becomes available.

Thanks,
Robert

If you really want to sightsee at length, a cruise is not the way to go. Cruising offers the chance to see a lot of different places in a short amount of time, getting a taste of each of them, while also traveling from place to place in style.

Regarding HAL vs. Azamara, before you book just ask yourself why Azamara has to discount their product so deeply.

I'm not so sure this is a fair "comparison". Azamara (part of Celebrity) is still very new on the market and, as such, is only in their first season in SE Asia. At the moment, just about ALL cruise ship lines have incredible offers on almost all their itineraries. (Have a look at the NZ/Australia, South America, and Transatlantic sailings -- we just booked a 14 day transatlantic cruise in an oceanview cabin on Jewel of the Seas in May for $660 pp.)

One advantage of Azamara in SE Asia that comes to mind, is that Journey and Quest can dock at the smaller ports since the ships only carry 700 passengers. The others, including - for example - the Diamond Princess (ca. 2,500 pax), with which we just did a 32 day cruise from Whittier, AK to Laem Chabang, Thailand, are almost always docked at container ports -- quite a ways out of the cities.

HAL vs. Azamara may not be a fair comparison in all regards, but it definitely is regarding the OP's question where they are considering both lines for similar cruises in Asia. And I've been pricing HAL itineraries which are not the least bit discounted in comparison to previous years. It may be different in commodity markets like Alaska or the Caribbean (or even transatlantics, which have a lot more passenger capacity than they used to), but for high-demand, low-supply itineraries the prices are staying high on HAL.