Roundtrip Shanghai, China Cruise

Day 1 - Shanghai

Arrive: Sun 14 April 2024 / Depart: Sun 14 April 2024 at 17:00

When your MSC cruise brings you to Shanghai it is easy to understand that after years of stagnation, this great metropolis is undergoing one of the fastest economic expansions the world has ever seen. As Shanghai begins to recapture its position as East Asia’s leading business city, a status it last held before World War II, the skyline is filling with high-rises – there are well over a thousand now. Gleaming shopping malls, luxurious hotels and prestigious arts centres are rising alongside, while underneath everything snakes the world’s longest subway system. Shanghai’s 23 million residents enjoy the highest incomes on the mainland, and there’s plenty for them to splash out on; witness the rash of celebrity restaurants and designer flagship stores. MSC Grand Voyages cruises also offer excursions to the Bund – Shanghai’s original signature skyline –, a strip of grand Neoclassical colonial edifices on the west bank of the Huangpu River Pudong on the opposite shore – a backdrop domestic visitors queue up against to have their picture taken. Named after an old Anglo-Indian term, “bunding” (the embanking of a muddy foreshore), the Bund’s official name is Zhongshan Lu but it’s better known among locals as Wai Tan (literally “Outside Beach”). By whatever name, this was old Shanghai’s commercial heart, with the river on one side and the offices of the leading bank and trading houses on the other. Jinmao Tower is a beautiful building, an elegant tapering postmodern take on Art Deco, has an observation deck on the 88th floor. An ear-popping lift whisks you up 340m to the top in a matter of seconds. The spectacle of the city spread out before you is of course sublime, but turn round for a giddying view down the building’s glorious galleried atrium. Shanghai Museum is one of the city’s highlights, with a fantastic, well-presented collection.

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - Kagoshima

Arrive: Tue 16 April 2024 at 07:00 / Depart: Tue 16 April 2024 at 19:00

In the far south of Japan an MSC cruise will help you discover the city of Kagoshima. It is populated by little more than half a million people and enjoys a mild climate for most of the year. The town is dominated by the active volcano Sakurajima and is called the "Naples of Japan" for its similarity to the landscape of the city of Naples. It is not uncommon for the volcano to perform with spectacular eruptions. On an excursion you can visit Shiroyama Park, located in the city centre but stretching all the way to mount Shiroyama. Just over a hundred metres high, it was the backdrop of a battle between the Imperial Army and a group of samurai rebels in the late 19th century. The park leads to the Observatory from where you can admire the spectacular scenery of the town and the bay of Kagoshima as well as the volcano. Along the northern coast of the centre are the Senganen gardens, also known as Isoteien, a lovely example of a Japanese garden with ponds, streams, shrines and a bamboo grove. They date back three hundred years and were constructed by the Shimazu family. There is a fine restaurant inside the garden where you can dine and enjoy the meat and fish specialities that this country offers and for which it is famous all over the world. Next to Senganen is a building which dates back to the mid-19th century which originally housed a machinery factory and is now the "Shoko-Shuseikan" museum. It houses objects from the Shimazu family 700 year history.

Day 4 - Sasebo, Japan

Arrive: Wed 17 April 2024 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 17 April 2024 at 19:00

Sasebo is a city on Japan’s Kyushu Island. It's known for Huis Ten Bosch, an amusement park modeled after a Dutch town, with canals, replica buildings, windmills and flower gardens. Kujukushima Aquarium has dolphins, coral reefs and many jellyfish. Off the coast, boats cruise among the forested Kujukushima Islands, part of Saikai National Park. To the south, Saikai Bridge is a popular spot to view cherry blossoms.

Day 5 - At Sea

Day 6 - Shanghai

Arrive: Fri 19 April 2024 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 19 April 2024

When your MSC cruise brings you to Shanghai it is easy to understand that after years of stagnation, this great metropolis is undergoing one of the fastest economic expansions the world has ever seen. As Shanghai begins to recapture its position as East Asia’s leading business city, a status it last held before World War II, the skyline is filling with high-rises – there are well over a thousand now. Gleaming shopping malls, luxurious hotels and prestigious arts centres are rising alongside, while underneath everything snakes the world’s longest subway system. Shanghai’s 23 million residents enjoy the highest incomes on the mainland, and there’s plenty for them to splash out on; witness the rash of celebrity restaurants and designer flagship stores. MSC Grand Voyages cruises also offer excursions to the Bund – Shanghai’s original signature skyline –, a strip of grand Neoclassical colonial edifices on the west bank of the Huangpu River Pudong on the opposite shore – a backdrop domestic visitors queue up against to have their picture taken. Named after an old Anglo-Indian term, “bunding” (the embanking of a muddy foreshore), the Bund’s official name is Zhongshan Lu but it’s better known among locals as Wai Tan (literally “Outside Beach”). By whatever name, this was old Shanghai’s commercial heart, with the river on one side and the offices of the leading bank and trading houses on the other. Jinmao Tower is a beautiful building, an elegant tapering postmodern take on Art Deco, has an observation deck on the 88th floor. An ear-popping lift whisks you up 340m to the top in a matter of seconds. The spectacle of the city spread out before you is of course sublime, but turn round for a giddying view down the building’s glorious galleried atrium. Shanghai Museum is one of the city’s highlights, with a fantastic, well-presented collection.