Port Power

My TA gave me the PNR/record locator. I could only select seats once SS had paid for the flights and they were ticketed. Every time I went into the booking, a notice displayed advising seat “not yet ticketed”. Once the seat was ticketed, I selected my seats and I lodged an upgrade request in the usual way.

It seems my 31 days of really good weather was a super bonus. Although those hot days after Yokohama were debilitating to many. That last extremely wet day was an anomaly for us. I’m so sorry you have had a rocky start to your cruise.

@drron29 surmised correctly. The ship ran a shuttle to the train station in the middle of town. From there, passengers caught the JR train and reported that it was all very easy.

I’m sitting in the United Airlines lounge drinking a tasty Australian Cab Sav. Boarding in 20 minutes. This is a much nicer and more spacious lounge than ANA. You will see much more of Jonathan at trivia! But say hello to Joyce, behind the Dolce Vita bar, please. Carol.

Our last day on the ship was fairly quiet. People were packing, I guess. A few of us had a farewell lunch in Atlantide. We came fourth at trivia and then visited the prize claim desk. They ran out of pens! I have a certificate to take onto to Silver Dawn next month. Keshia performed her solo cabaret. The remaining group of solos left Dolce Vita for a drink up in the Observation Lounge. Then our final delicious dinner at Silver Note. Two of us remained for the third set, but the singer took an extra 15 minute break (half an hour), so we finally gave up and left, meeting the duo at the door as they returned. An unfortunate end to a wonderful cruise. My suite was on deck 5, so I always walked through Dolce Vita on the way “home”. If there was good music, or people I knew, I would stay awhile. If it was already very late, I would collect my mug of green tea from Joyce and walk on. I had a wonderful time and met all manner of people from all over the world. I might try writing a blog on my next cruises on Silver Dawn. During that trip I will remember to take more photos of the fun little things going on. 📸 Until then, happy cruising to you all. 😄

It has been raining so hard that our bus decided to forego the beautiful Sankeien Garden. Walking to the Kawasaki Daishi Temple had umbrellas blowing inside out and back again, and trouser legs were saturated. No one wanted to stroll through gardens for an hour in the pelting rain! Fair enough. The guide rang his office and they would not let him take us or a shopping mall, so we headed to Narita Airport instead. For those flying with ANA, check in is at any time. For many of us, it is a long wait with the luggage. No going through to the lounges for us! 😫

Yes, I am on the starboard side. I went out and waved to you, but as the weather has already worsened, you probably wouldn’t have seen me! I will follow you through your cruise to Cairns as well as I can whilst in Europe. Internet will be somewhat limited, plus we will be kept very busy. Happy travels.

Welcome aboard @drron29 and @rojaan19

After the very warm weather we experienced previously in Yokohama, this is what we arrived to this morning. The photos are in full colour! Evidently there might be another rainy day, but then sunshine and warmth all the way to Hong Kong. I had to go back into my suitcase last night for my runners (sneakers) and socks. Sandals would probably not be the best option walking around gardens in the rain. ☔️

I was disappointed with Mark’s show. I love him in the Lounge, but did not think he worked as well on stage. I thought he would sing more, not just a different version of his usual patter. Some very good bits, but some segments should have been left out. I will still be in Dolce Vita tonight though, joining in on the tambourine! The various extra performances in the Venetian Lounge are because there are no longer six singers who can break up into many smaller combinations. Changes are once again afoot.

I was on a small group (12) tour in March/April. We visited the Imperial Palace gardens as, fortunately, it was one of the two days a year (or is it just one day?) they are open to the public. We did a river cruise. We walked down that busy, crowded shopping street. Some weird outfits! We went up yo the top of two different high buildings. From the tallest we could see right across to Mount Fuji. The other overlooked that famous intersection of pedestrian crossings. Which we crossed! The red dog statue is there, as well. So nothing out of the ordinary. I would have liked just to walk for miles along the river under the cherry blossom trees. 🌸 Beautiful!

My tour departs 8:30/8:45am on Monday. I’ll wave in your general direction. 👋 Unfortunately it is the same tour I went on during changeover day, but it was peaceful being at the Buddhist temple early, without crowds. The Sankeien gardens are worth a walk through again, too. I should be at NRT about five hours before my 7:00pm flight. No opportunity to walk around the harbour this day.

I’ve been away for 31 nights and will also be flying to Budapest two days after arriving home from this cruise. I spent several days in Tokyo during March/April and will be doing a second Yokohama tour en route to the airport on Sunday.

Mark did tell me his work history. I have given several “performances” over the last month. I’m sure you did the same. How he remembers people days after seeing them once is amazing! I will pass on your regards.

Tomorrow is a sea day and my final day on Silver Muse. 😭 A few of us are dining at Kaiseki tonight, which is also formal night. At 9:45pm Mark Farris is performing his show in the Venetian Lounge. He is a staple of Dolce Vita and definitely not to be missed! @drron29 take note. Mark disembarks in Hong Kong, and I do recommend seeing his formal show if he does another one. Or just play the tambourine along with him in Dolce Vita! 🎶 Either of you! Or both! Tell him “Carol from Perth” passed the tambourine to you! 😂

At the base of the Hadokate Ropeway is a radio station. The crew are in full view behind soundproof glass.

Today’s final destination was the Hakodate Ropeway. The views from the top were incredible. Before we dispersed to take in the view from the upper decks, we received a warning. Due to the strong winds, the Ropeway would be closing after the 12:45pm departure. That gave us 15 minutes to take in the views. That is Silver Muse down there. A rusty old workhorse ship is next to it. Ropeway staff scoured outside to make sure everyone who wanted to descend had come inside. As the car was very near to docking, we could definitely feel and see the effect of the wind. So back to the ship. I went over to the aforementioned shops because I was still looking for Japanese whiskey as a gift for my son. None at the 7-Eleven or the other two shops, but I did find a single malt at the main store across the road. No age mentioned, but there was no 8-year old or port barrel aged choice. **For the record, I cannot buy liquor duty free at Narita airport because I am flying through Singapore. Changi has second security at the gate. If you buy duty free at Changi, the store delivers it to the gate for scanning and the goods are handed to passengers after security. Even in a sealed duty free bag from Tokyo, my whiskey would not have been allowed through secondary security. Bye-bye whiskey!

The second visit was to the fish market right next to the ship! If this stop had been last, everyone would have walked back to the ship. However, our escort (from the boutique) clocked the 7-Eleven and shops next to the railway station and went and bought his pot noodles/pot rice instead. I went over after the tour returned. 😊 The visit really was a waste of time. No one want to buy food at that time. However, there were some items to wonder at and compare prices. NB. ¥100 is just below AU$1.00. The R3RTMB of you will have to work out prices for yourselves. These crab legs are not out of the shell. Shelled (meat only, ready to eat) they were AU$105 for the “hand”.

Once again I am writing from my iPad, but have to post to save before going to my iPhone to add the photos. Photos do not upload to the cloud very quickly to transfer across easily. Bear with me!

Today is quite windy. This morning’s tour started with the Goryokaku Tower. The view from the observation deck was wonderful. The Goryokaku citadel’s base defence walls and moat were clearly visible. The park would be stunning in spring with all those cherry trees! Look closely and you will see the ship. Time was not included to walk around the citadel grounds, but I managed a quick walk over the bridges for closer peek before returning to the bus.

If only I could stay on! 😭

Silver Muse has docked in Hakodate. A sunny day with partial cloud cover. ⛅️

Captain Tomasz Kulas.

I read that passengers would be emailed in due course to order their parkas. Is that still true? I’m still about 10 weeks out.

The ship sheltered in the strait between the two islands of Honshu and Hokkaido overnight and then headed south down Honshu for a bit. The Captain has just made his announcement. The ship is now sailing north again, on track to dock at Hakodate tomorrow at 7:00am.