SimplyMarvie

October is half-term for most European schools, so you'll get a lot of families on vacation. Same with mid-February, although they often call that one "ski-week" and that's what a lot of people tend to do. Frankly, I love Europe in January, especially Paris and Germany. Bundle up, get a decent pair of waterproof shoes and you'll have everywhere nearly to yourself.

Also curious about how the immigration process works. We'll be doing it in Akita for our sailing, and have a taxi booked for a tour starting 2 hours after arrival in port. It will be interesting to see if we're able to either make the trip and/or explain to the driver that we'll be late, or if we have to pivot to our B plan!

I don't think you can call local numbers -- or perhaps they just don't usually pick up. Pocket wifi or a local eSIM is probably an easier, cheaper and more reliable option.

Pretty much every hotel I've seen in Japan has laundry, usually free. So that is also an option. (I suspect this means I am grossly overpacking for our trip, but it's also going to be firey and sticky outside and I'm going to want to change out of sweaty clothes more often. So maybe it all works out?)

Princess is the same -- go to guest services and get your medallions switched to allow access (for the parents at least) to both rooms. On NCL we got a key card for each one. The lines are used to this, it's very common. 🙂 (This is actually why we've been cruising so much with Princess... the medallion system lets me keep an eye on my kids from afar, which is precious for my peace of mind.)

Do you know which Yokohama station? I'm trying to find out if they have one at Shin-Yokohama and hitting a wall. *sigh* I just want to get ramen WITHOUT my suitcase, why is it so hard?

Has anyone ever done one of these? Am I crazy for even considering it? I have wavy/curly 3c-ish hair with a top layer that frizzes like it's in it's job description. I'm seriously considering one of those mini-keratin treatments at sea as a splurge -- we'll be on the cruise for the first half of a 3 week trip where it's going to be roughly the temperature of the surface of the sun and 80% humidity the whole time. I don't have time to have anything done at my salon at home before we go (and I'm super busy and never remember to call and schedule anything anyway) and I love the idea of a treatment that would get me reduced frizz for 6+ weeks without necessarily giving me stick-straight hair. But like most women I'm wary of a new salon and a new treatment and getting it done at sea. What do you think?

We're doing the upgraded beverage package for the first time ever, and wanted to take advantage of it by letting the kids order some fun tiki-style mocktails at sea. Any ideas of what might be fun for them?

We really struggled to find a guide who would take us to Borgund from Flåm, and never managed to make it work. If that one is a must-do for you, I would suggest booking it first and then booking the railway journey around it, if you still have time.

It depends on where you dock, but for our cruise (we'll be on Diamond 7/27) it wouldn't be. There is a bus stop within a short distance that can take you into the city, though.

I was thinking of getting some Won when we arrive in Narita, even though the exchange rate is likely to be worse than what I'd get at a bank or an ATM, just to have a bit of spare change on me. We'll see whether I remember to do so in the midst of the jetlag.

Latvia and Lithuania are less completely cashless than Finland, Estonia and the nordics, so you could probably use the Euros if you wish... but they're not required, except for the occasional pay bathroom, or the occasional outdoor market.

What about a re-usable rice heating pad? It would require a microwave to heat, but I would think you could find somewhere to do that. Or you can put it in a drybag or double-bag with ziplocks and soak it in a warm sink for a bit.

I think the Suica cards are refundable, so I'm planning on doing that one. The "Welcome" Suica with the cherry blossoms apparently is zero deposit and refundable. Will report back on how that works, but agree with your main point -- you definitely want a stored value card for trains and vending machines.

We have tiny LED flashlights for the kids, that they can hook on to their lanyards. It really helps when one comes back later and needs enough light to brush his teeth and get to bed without waking his brothers by turning the big light on. Or one is ready for breakfast and needs to find shoes while the other two are sleeping (that's never the teenager, though...)

There's a Yamato office right across from the Hyatt, at 23 Yamashitacho, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0023, Japan. They'd probably be the closest to the port, and it would be a four or so block walk. (I've tried to attach a picture, but this is my first go at it on the forums... hopefully it works?)

I wouldn't worry to much... we board the Diamond 7/27 and there's still plenty of options available.

Yeah, the coffee package still exists (and thank God! The MDR coffee is really regrettable) but it's a part of the Medallion system now.

Order from Amazon.it. If it's shipped from the Italian site, they will handle the customs clearance issues as long as your hotel is OK with receiving it. That said, I can't imagine needing hand-warmers in September in the Med, unless your cruise takes you into the North Sea. I wouldn't need them at home in Latvia, which is much further north. I think you'd be fine with nothing at all, but worst-case a light set of gloves should be fine.

Exactly. I've only ever used it once for luggage, but have used it several times for shoes, purses, cars and blisters. Plus, there's an almost Douglas Adams like cachet to being able to whip out the duct tape and problem solve. It's a bit like touring the galaxy with your towel. 😉

Ken, Was there a gift shop in the Namahage museum? Spouse wants a mask to scare visitors away from our house, so possibly for the first time ever I am hoping there is not. 🙂

I'm the queen of "Don't cruise without a passport" but for this case even I would be tempted to let it go. Like, everyone should have a passport but if you're going to Canada, you have enhanced ID and everyone traveling is a grown adult over the age of 16 I could be tempted to risk it.

They are traveling with a child who does not belong to them, and who has never been issued a passport before so there are no records in the federal system showing who the child's legal parents are and whether they have ever consented for the child to be issued a passport. Even if they're traveling with a birth certificate, neither of the adults recognized as parents on that birth certificate are available to execute a passport application. Ya'll can think what you want, but I do this for a living and I'm telling you that this would be a big mess. Bring an executed consent with you if you decide to travel.

The duct tape is about 1/8th of an inch, all told -- way less than all the annoying loyalty cards (and money!) I have to carry.

They wouldn't abandon the child, but they are going to require that the legal requirements are followed. It's possible that she could be issued and emergency one-way passport for direct return to the United States, but that requires more clearance and work on the Embassy's part which will take more time -- and depending on the Embassy it can limit your opportunities for flight, because it is supposed to be a direct return to the US, without transfers. That's not always possible. Otherwise, they'd require mom and dad to sign consent and either overnight it to the Embassy or do the signature at a Passport Agency so it can be sent directly to the Embassy. If you don't have a passport agency close, that can cause additional delays. The US takes child protection and anti-trafficking very seriously when it comes to passport issuance.