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On Azamara journey at present there is a really bad cough going round - it’s not hayfever as people say because it’s a rasping rattling chest cough and unfortunately when you’re on tour you have people bringing up phlegm beside you and doing very little to take care of where they dispose of their tissues. Also, the concept of putting your hand to your mouth is not something that many of the older guests seem to want to do. Despite being extremely careful we now are coming down with it and I think we can pinpoint which shore excursion that happened on - even our guide spoke to the guest about her coughing fits. Many crew have the cough as well and I really think the ship should have been more open about the problems and perhaps to have made facemasks more readily available. For several guests the argument for not wearing one when they should be as they did not bring any with them If embarking tomorrow you might want to get some cough medicine before boarding

Captain Dario has taken over from Captain Kresimir on journey today and Darren Lynton has rejoined as the cruise Director replacing Steven Willet who has been excellent and deserves his holiday. Darren will be on until the 10th August.

Shimizu was an interesting little town again an opportunity to see a real Japanese fishing town. Many made attempts to try and see Mount Fuji on ships excursions, but it was clear from sailing in today that it was not going to be the iconic picture day. I know the Cruise before I did have the iconic picture day, but then they had a lot more bad weather elsewhere than we had and it’s the price to pay for the many good days we’ve had. We had identified that there was a simple little ferry that cruises around the port with a 40 minute cruise costing ¥1500 but we even abandoned that idea when the clouds rolled down Fuji almost as soon as we arrived, Instead, we took the shuttle which dropped you off at the main station and walked over the walkway to the fish market -again the helpful locals made sure we were pointing in the right direction and as always the station overpass was absolutely immaculate. I think it’s going to be a real culture shock when we get home and start seeing litter and graffiti. I can’t really explain how clean you have to experience it to it. Two weeks in and we’ve never seen one piece. The market had so many different little restaurants serving fresh fish and it was clear that local people stopped for a snack whenever they wished Some of the restaurants had terminals that you ordered your seat and the food was brought to you The stall holders were so welcoming though spoke little English so google translate was a must. We did get the opportunity to try the local delicacy Sakura prawns which are so small so sweet and so fresh you do not even cook them We had an afternoon on the ship and also enjoyed a quiet evening They experimented with the timings on the ship moving the ABBA night to 2015 in the Cabaret lounge but unfortunately most of us were not out of dinner until later so could not enjoy it. It was over by 9 o’clock it was not the disco but the band and again many had to leave the cabaret because the band were too loud so not a huge success in our view. The Assistant CD was doing her show in the living room at 9:30 but we were so tired we decided to have an early night and be ready to enjoy Tokyo again. Unfortunately more and more people are coughing on board. It is certainly not an allergic reaction. It’s a deep rattling mucus chesty cough and those who have it are showing no regard for others - very rarely even wearing a mask to give some protection to others. It’s obvious who has got it and I do feel a little bit more should be being done directing these people to distance themselves and protect others and one critical direction should be to avoid travelling on the shuttle bus or shore excursions. I don’t think Azamara has done enough to limit the spread of these chest infections onboard.We saw crew working in state rooms and also in food service area with the same hacking cough which really surprised us.

As well as the guidance of sites already given I would suggest a starting point for your knowledge enhancement might also be the Apple site which is known for straight facts and no spin

It’s not allergies coughs. They aren’t typically coughing fits. They are very different and for the last week we’ve beyond the areas affected.

Next to the funnel is shuffleboard or a walkway

Fortunately we didn’t have to cancel any but I wish the guests who had hacking coughs had

Cabanas would likely have issues up there - everything has to be secured on Deck 11 whenever there is any breeze or when sailing in open seas.

Lunchtime pool deck music used to be pleasant eg piano player from the Den or a guitarist. The use of the band from the living room only works if they play at half the volume they assaulted our ears with. Yesterday it averaged 130 db of music that wasn’t the more relaxing popular stuff for over an hour. Today there is no music, it’s a beautiful day and everyone is relaxing. I don’t hear anyone saying this needs music 🎶

Sadly no. Manoj seems to be the lead sommelier just now

This is the confusing picture that we currently have in journey in other words very much depends on the excursion what the cancellation deadline is. I believe it has been quite forcibly applied from what I’m hearing and also that guests who were unwell were not given a refund unless they visited the ship doctor before the excursion Sadly this meant a large number of excursions had guests who should not have been on the bus. There are no repeated statements that if you have a cough cold or unwell you should not join the tour. There is also no freely available masks eg at Guest Relations. This Cruise the amount of coughing and I mean really bad coughing that is now prevalent is the worst I’ve ever seen in over 40 Azamara cruises. We sat on a bus for 10 hours with a woman who should have been in her bed and who did not even have the courtesy to wear a face mask or cover her mouth when she was having coughing fits. The guide was very uncomfortable with this and offered her medicine sweets to try and stop her coughing

She’s the hostess in the Speciality restaurant if that’s who you’re thinking of

Kobe Day 2 This was a half day in port. Again shuttles were provided downtown but many people either stayed onboard or went a short stroll around the harbour area. And then there were those with no sense and decided to max out sightseeing and head on the Best of Osaka tour which left at 0745. Well you’re possibly only here once etc! We were on one of the four buses of early rising lunatics 😃 Our first stop was at Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka. This is a shrine part of which dates back nearly 2000 years and has 2 million worshippers every year particularly at the New Year time. Sailors and those associated with the sea including ship builders come here and companies make offerings for which flags are placed each month to offer their prayers to the gods for safe passage and prosperity in the coming period. The shrine is incredibly tranquil after the busyness of the previous day and we were very lucky to be on a bus with an excellent guide - she was a former school teacher and she told us that she would be checking our understanding of places to meet and times as she would her school class. It really worked very well. She was also a fount of fantastic knowledge. One hint that nearly caught people out later at the castle the guide did make it clear what tree we were to meet and on the way in that seemed obvious but on the way back there were an awful lot of similar looking trees. So suggest a quick pic of the immediate surroundings might calm nerves! After enjoying time at the shrine on our own in the peace after thr initial introduction to all the main parts we headed off to Osaka Castle This is of course we entered the parking lot as usual 15 to 20 minutes walking from the castle and encountered the crowds though not as bad as the previous day they were still extensive. The castle is a restoration of an original castle as always they managed to burn down the previous versions as we have frequently discovered throughout Japan The most significant artefacts are on two floors where you can’t take photos but what is great for pictures is the view from the top of the castle over the Osaka area but it is an 8 storey climb. The second type of cherry blossoms are coming to bloom and they made for some lovely photo opportunities We returned to the ship just before sailing traffic was really bad, but of course it was no problem. The ship would wait. The barbecue was in full swing when we got back very crowded and very noisy. The band was far too loud and unfortunately completely drowned out the beautiful brass band that had come to play to send us off. That was a very much a fail by Azamara. We had a leisurely afternoon the loyalty event which was very well attended and a pleasant evening. We really enjoyed the evening evening entertainment creweoke which featured members of the crew performing really well one lady in particular should be given a slot in the Den in my view.

There is no shade on deck 11

No

It has on Journey some were also 72 hours ahead - also a high number are non cancellable eg where lunch is included

Today on Journey was an example of what we hate about live music on Azamara. We find the current band to be fronted by a screamer and they play unrecognisable sounds - maybe known in their country but what we could call grunge. It was the deck BBQ. (Also virtually no loungers for our only afternoon sailing in warmer weather). The noise was unbearable spoiling lunch for us. The lunch food was good. What made the assault on our ears worse, it was sail away - a local brass band had come to send us off as is the custom in Japan - they were virtually ignored and drowned out. It was a bad result all round in our view.

Kobe Day 1 It’s hard with an overnight to know how much to try to do. Kyoto is a 90 minute drive (or 40 minute Shinkansen) from the port. We did the 10 hour tour to Arashiysma, the Golden Pavillion and Fushima Inari shrine (10000 tori gates though you only go through 1000). It goes by bus each way and was the only way we could find to see these three places. I wish Azamara had charged more, used the Shinkansen and allowed a little more time at each spot. The problem was in each spot we stopped nearly half the time was spent walking from parking lots to the actual site. It was a Sunday so super crowded though we were ok with that - some weren’t As is often our challenge we were on the bus with the less competent guide. Ours was incapable of giving clear instructions on where/when to meet - thank goodness our bus had a ships escort!! Anyway despite the guiding chaos we achieved our aim of seeing the three amazing sites The bamboo forest The Golden Pavilion The tori gates And shrines

I’m ok with the sun deck as it is. There are lounger chairs and sofas and is a nice/different ambiance to the pool deck which on Quest suffers grunge Muzak during what should have been a relaxing sail through beautiful scenery yesterday. Deck 11 was a great escape

Didn’t Azamara give guidance on this pre cruise?

Takimatsu We had a beautiful morning sailing the Inland Japan Sea under the key bridges (some before dawn) and passing islands arriving to a warm welcome at lunch time . Takimatsu is a lovely port as you can see from this balcony shot and many enjoyed visiting the bonsai gardens nearby. In planning our excursions I wanted us to enjoy a range of experiences so we went to a Noodle School followed by a visit to Kotohira temple. Ok it said strenuous we’ve been cracking strenuous but this was something else The noodle school is in Kagawaken about an hour from the port. Two highly energetic (and loud) ladies shout directions in Japanese. It was a bit chaotic because they interrupt the guides interpretation so no one really knew what they were doing but it was fun. A key part of the process was placing the dough in poly bags and stamping on it ! After we had to cook and eat our efforts! The little town was so lovely non touristy would have been a better trip if we had longer there. The temple was challenging. After 200 steps and reaching this pretty temple we gave up. These final 150 stairs up and up beat us. Those who made said it wasn’t that special but maybe we are all temples out. We’ve all given feedback - noodle school plus time in the town would be a far better experience. Indeed only 9/17 even got on the bus to go to the temple. We got back at 1835 (which messed up some dinner reservations) to a beautiful Sunset snapped from the gangway. We enjoyed our trip but feel it needs reworked before we would recommend it

Hiroshima Onboard today was White Night. I’ve posted more about it on Anyone onboard. It was ok, not the spectacle of the past and the band whilst we were eating was far too loud. Conversations were impossible which spoils the night. The Cruise director had made it very clear in the night before conversations, and also in the insider that white was not an absolute requirement and they wanted everyone to come. It was lovely that those who had not brought white, and there were quite a lot of them, and those with only had a small item of white felt able to come. There were guests in all white, but probably due to the luggage restrictions when you are away for nearly 3 weeks less than on other trips. For those doing Hiroshima on their own, there was a ship shuttle that left guests near the Peace Park, so it was possible to do that on your own. Yesterday, there were no long queues to enter the museum, though I believe on other days there are, and our guide said yesterday it was quite unusual. Shore Excursion We opted to be driven around again, and had the nine hour excursion, which went to both the sites in Hiroshima, and Miyajima We visited Hiroshima first, walking from the peace dome through the park, stopping at memorials, and then having an hour in the peace museum which gives you just enough time to walk through the main exhibits so if your interest is more extensive, you probably are going to have to do this on your own. What struck us was the absolute silence as everybody walked through the museum exhibits, and how very few people even felt able to take photos or previously we saw no one take selfies anywhere in the park It was a very powerful display, and it had hidden none of the truth which could of course upset others. Our trip went to Hiroshima first and the island second- you had no way of knowing what your bus would do. Psychologically that worked better for me though those who went island first had a higher tide and water surrounding the shrine. It’s the luck of the draw. We drove to lunch, which was on a seafront hotel, from which you could just see the Tori gates on the island in the distance. Lunch was a Japanese Bento experience which we really enjoyed. It was clearly advertised it would be a Japanese lunch and those who who not happy with the lunch - Yes there were some - need to learn to read the guidance before booking. After, we headed to the island on a 10 minute ferry and then then we were walked by the guide all the way round to the shrine, and of course the gates outside it meeting the local deer regularly on the way. After the shrine, we were given over an hour to make our way back to the ferry which allowed you to either to go and visit other little shines or rivers on the island or to wander through the shopping street which were fascinating with the different snacks that were being sold anything from rather unusual ice creams to deep fried oysters We arrived back at the ship exactly 8 hours later - Japanese timing of excursions is very precise and where able to get ready quickly ask white night was starting at six It was an extensive 16000 step day, we did feel we had experienced some contrasting activities between the horror of war and peace of temples

White Night Journey in Hiroshima The buffet was nice but not the range of premium foods from days gone by. It got very cold just after the crew parade so many moved indoors. The atmosphere in the Den was great - almost an inside party with no music. Outside the music was far too loud. My watch was registering in excess of 130db for the entire period. Many others had similar issues. One thing I noticed, as far as we could tell the crew parade had no representatives from marine, engineering or security- I think they used to come. I think it’s sending the wrong message if they are not represented other than by the principal officers.

I think the World Cruise is the one offering the extensive variety of Chefs Tables

Kitakyushu Ship life This morning was immigration to get back into Japan. It was very well organised, documents to be completed and guidance on completion were sent to your room in advance and clearance was run by deck number. In the evening we had two special performances (no cocktail) at 5pm. First a demonstration of Kembu that combines sword play, fans and dance Then students from the local high school gave a karate demonstration We also had a surprise fireworks send off. Shore excursion We didn’t do one, we got really brave as did many onboard (safely in numbers and all that!). There was very little to do where we were docked but the “town” had a beautiful station about 400 yards away. We invested 280 yen each way from this station (Mojiko) to Kokura which we used our suica cards for, others went to the booking window and bought tickets there. Once in Kokura it was so easy to walk to the Castle and the market (and the more adventurous made it to the Toto Toilet Museum which is free of charge, we failed on that one!) The town was so well signposted everyone was so friendly and it was so nice to bump into so many fellow guests who kept each other on the right tracks. There were lots of shopping opportunities We didn’t find these pasta heads so helpful with directions! So a very inexpensive day and one you can easily manage on your own