The light cruiser joined the squadron on 23 October, finally bringing the strength of the unit back to its prescribed four cruisers. In January 1908, "Fürst Bismarck" steamed to Siam, where she was visited by the King of Siam. The rest of the year passed uneventfully for "Fürst Bismarck", and in early 1909 she received orders to return to Germany for repairs. The scale of work necessary for the ship, which had been abroad for nine years, was greater than could be done in the floating dock in Tsingtao and it would have been too expensive to do elsewhere in Asia. On 8 April, she began the voyage home and she rendezvoused with the new flagship of the East Asia Squadron, the armored cruiser , in Colombo on 29 April. "Fürst Bismarck" arrived in Kiel on 13 June, where she was decommissioned on 26 June.