Shanghai Cruise Port Guide

My Shanghai Day – A First-Person Account

Every time our Royal Caribbean ship sails up the Huangpu River at dawn and the skyscrapers of the Bund and Pudong appear like a scene from Blade Runner, I honestly pinch myself. Shanghai is one of the most mind-blowing Asian ports (4.8–5.0 average 2023–2025) because it's the perfect marriage of 1930s Art Deco glamour and 22nd-century futurism.

My perfect day starts early: I'm off the ship and straight to The Bund for that iconic sunrise photo with the colonial buildings on one side and the rocket-ship skyline on the other. The Bund is Shanghai's protected historical waterfront district along the western bank of the Huangpu River, and walking that mile-long promenade feels like strolling through what they call a "museum of buildings" – fifty-two architectural masterpieces from the 1860s to 1930s, when this was the rich and powerful center of the foreign establishment in China's legally protected treaty port. I always linger in front of the HSBC Building at No. 12 (completed 1923, once proclaimed "the most luxurious building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait") and the Customs House at No. 13 with its clock tower modeled after Big Ben – the chimes still ring out across the water just like they did in 1927. Gothic spires, Baroque domes, Neoclassical columns, Romanesque arches, Art Deco flourishes, Renaissance details – every style of Western architecture stands shoulder to shoulder here, and I never tire of it.

Then I take the ferry (50 cents!) across to Pudong and the contrast hits me like a physical force – suddenly I'm standing beneath the futuristic skyline that makes The Bund look quaint. The Oriental Pearl Tower with its pink spheres, the Shanghai Tower soaring 632 meters as the world's second-tallest building (locals call it the "lucky dragon" for its twisting form), and the World Finance Center Tower that everyone affectionately nicknames "the giant bottle opener" – this is where the 21st century lives. I ride the elevator to the 118th-floor observatory in the Shanghai Tower, and on a clear day I can see 50 kilometers in every direction, the old Chinese city and the French Concession spreading out like a living map below. Breakfast is always xiaolongbao soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung or street jianbing crepes from a sidewalk vendor who's been at the same corner for twenty years.

Then I head to Yu Garden (Yuyuan), and stepping through those gates is like entering a different century entirely – this classical Chinese garden was built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty, then lovingly restored in 1784, and every element of classical Chinese landscaping is here: elegant pavilions with upturned eaves, tranquil koi ponds reflecting the sky, intricate rockeries that look like miniature mountains. The famous Huxinting Teahouse sits on a platform overlooking the central pond, connected by that zigzagging nine-turn bridge (evil spirits can only travel in straight lines, the story goes), and sipping tea there while watching the koi glide beneath me is pure serenity. After that I usually visit the Propaganda Poster Art Centre (hidden in a residential basement – chilling and fascinating), then Nanjing Road pedestrian street for people-watching and bubble tea, and finally the French Concession for those plane-tree-lined streets that make you forget you're in China. The French Concession dates back to 1849 and didn't officially end until 1943, and it's still immensely popular with foreigners for its European-style cafés, vintage shopping, and quiet, shaded boulevards that feel like Paris with Chinese characters on the signs.

Lunch is hairy crab in season or spicy Sichuan hotpot. Afternoon options: Zhujiajiao water town (the "Venice of Shanghai") or the Power Station of Art contemporary museum. Nighttime is the Bund again for the neon light show and a rooftop bar at Vue or Sir Elly's with the skyline exploding in color. Shanghai feels like the center of the future – fast, delicious, and impossible to take in all at once.

Getting Around

Spectrum of the Seas and larger ships dock at the brand-new Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal (Baoshan) – about 45–60 minutes by taxi/Maglev + metro to the Bund, or Royal usually runs shuttles. Smaller ships sometimes use the older terminal closer to the city.

Depth Soundings Ashore: The sheer scale and energy of Shanghai are exactly what make it legendary – embrace the buzz as your invitation to experience tomorrow today, and you'll leave buzzing with memories.

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