RachelG

We have only directly tipped a couple of times on Regent, and it was when the person went above and beyond what was expected. However, on our last cruise, I had about $50 cash in Korean money left, and I knew the ship was going back to Korea the next week. So I gave it to the room steward who could actually use it to buy something rather than take it home and put it in our safe, where it would probably never leave.

My son’s first and middle name have been run together on AA ever since he started flying at age 3 months. He is now 36. He has never had an issue.

US Marines are stationed in Djibouti. I know this from when my son was in the Marine Corps. He told me the worst place in the world to be stationed was Djibouti. And this is from a Marine who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan with war actively going on.

I was just about to post the same thing. We had to have our actual passport at every port in Japan. Not worried much about getting my passport stolen in Japan, but it was a requirement. No passport card, no photocopy, no iPhone picture.

Don't use the word "but" in the middle of a sentence. I will have to remember that one. One of the biggest complements I ever received (outside of "you are a wonderful surgeon, you saved my life, blah, blah, etc.") was from a friend who used to be an editor for the LA TImes and who reads my reports here. He told me that if I wanted a job writing, he would hire me. BUT I didn't know about the prohibition of using the word "but" in the middle of a sentence.

The hole in the wall sushi bar had just a small sign--it was really tiny. We found it using tripadvisor and google maps. Otherwise we wouldn't have even noticed it probably.

No

We have had excursions cancelled on every Regent cruise except one to western Caribbean we have taken post covid. So that is 3 cruises (Israel to Rome, Quebec to NYC, and recently Tokyo to Tokyo) Pre-covid it was extremely rare, but now, it seems to be routine. It is tour operators canceling, not Regent, but very frustrating because with the late cancellations (sometimes being notified after we board the ship), there is no availability on other Regent excursions and not enough time to find a private tour. I am very good at researching and planning, but it is difficult after we are already on the ship, particularly with a poor internet connection. I do think there advertising is somewhat deceptive to be honest. They probably need to back off on the claim of unlimited free excursions and put a disclaimer in there that excursions are not guaranteed to be available.

Very common these days. We had 2 excursions cancelled after we boarded the ship. None other alternatives offered in one port.

Fletcher, I am glad you got posting again, as I want to hear about all the adventures in real time!

Back in the day, as a med student on peds, I had the cutest little patient, a 3 yr old boy, with a nasty Giardia infection. You brought back memories of him.

That pizza looks perfect to me. i am confused about Salt, as I bought it was supposed to be regional food, but the only thing that looks regional to me is the pasta.

I have never used Regent air either. For our upcoming trip this fall, I actually was going to do so (since I couldn't find any reasonable fare with money or miles), until everything they offered me was going to have a big surcharge . So I am just doing it myself.

We found a little hole in the wall sushi place near the Shinjuku gardens that was great, and cheap, but no idea of the name.

Just binge read to catch up as George and I were in Japan on Regent, then I had a ton of work to catch up on. Love your photos. The hospital in Barcelona looks interesting. Sorry about Rojaan’s knee and hope it is better soon. I must say, you are looking very svelte. Have you lost weight, or is it just the camera angle?

Nice picture, Fletcher. It is the sort I am often trying for and usually miss.

We just ordered an uber. But he was outside the terminal across the street.

In Beppu, we loved the excursion to the shrine and the stone buddhas but it is only for the very physically fit. It involves very steep climbing on an uneven stone trail. In Okinawa, the peace park is a must see. We would have loved to have stayed there longer. In Nagasaki, we enjoyed the lunch and Arita excursion. It also went to the peace park there which I really wanted to see.

$89 pp from Yokohama to Narita is a bargain. Grab it. We disembarked in Tokyo and flew out of Haneda, which is really close. So the cab fare was was way less than what Regent was charging.

The Makino botanical garden is a absolute must. It is huge and beautiful. We could have spent all day there. The temple is interesting and different than most of the others we saw--has a 5 story pagoda which is unusual. But the gardens are definitely the highlight.

Wow, Fletcher, I will be following along. Looks to be a very interesting voyage.

Too bad about Jeju, as it was really different and something we enjoyed very much. I guess that they paid attention to our complaints about the lack of disembarkation option. Do note however that the transport to airport is $89 per person. You can get a cab easily for way less.

A few final thoughts. We mostly enjoyed this cruise. The weather was mostly good to great. The ship is in good condition, and except for a couple of notable misses (first night in P7) food was excellent. Even though the ship was full, it didn’t seem crowded. george and I agree we would definitely go back to Japan and South Korea but probably would prefer to do it on one of Silversea’s expedition ships. We are more into hiking and nature, and definitely not into long bus rides, and there were too many of those. Part of the problem is that when you chose an excursion on the website, it often doesn’t really tell you how much time on the bus there is going to be. They need to fix that. They also need to fix the wifi issue. Some of us still are working, and not being able to even download an email is a problem. I did think the destination team did a great job on getting excursions out on time,much better than any previous cruise. They definitely seemed more organized.

No toilets on buses, but the public toilets are everywhere and very clean. But as someone else mentioned, there is usually no way to dry your hands. I just shake mine dry. no idea. Would love to know what they did with them.

April 11, 2023–Tokyo, Japan and disembarkation When we woke up at 6:30 am, the ship was still moving. We arrived in port after 7, and I was thinking no way are they going to be able to start disembarkation at 8 or even 8:30. Sure enough, we were out of our room at 8, sitting eating breakfast when the announcement came overhead that they were running late. At 8:30, they were just starting to offload luggage. But they were pretty efficient and Dru started calling groups soon after. We were to get off at 9:00 and actually disembarked at 9:30. Regent wanted $89 pp to transfer on a bus to Haneda airport. We grabbed a taxi and got a private transfer for about $30. Once at Haneda, I had a plan. We would see if AA would let us check in and check our bags. They were totally ok with it, and there was no line at all. Then we left our carryons at the left luggage counter (yes, they still have suck a thing in Japan), and grabbed a taxi to the Shinjuku gardens. Then taxi ride cost about $60, but it was quite a ways. We found a little hole in the wall sushi place. Literally a sushi counter with a dozen stools and 2 tables. There was an old guy there, probably in his 80s, making sushi. We did the point and guess method of ordering and ended up with wonderful sushi and miso soup for a great price. This fellow has apparently been making sushi there for almost 50 years. We spent the afternoon walking around the gardens. It was bright a sunny, a perfect day. There were lots of Japanese families picnicking in the park. The cherry blossoms were still in full bloom. There weren’t as many azeleas as we had seen in the other gardens we have visited on this trip, but they were beginning to bloom. There was a huge rose garden with perfect rose bushes in excellent health and covered with buds. It will be spectacular in a week. We got all our steps, plus, then grabbed a taxi back to the airport. The driver was really FAST. We arrived with extra time, which was a good thing because the line to go though security seemed to stretch forever and there is no separate line for business class. It rivaled the customs and immigration line to enter the country. It took almost an hour to get through. Once through, we spent our remaining yen on presents for the grand babies then went to the JAL first class lounge. We could enter because George is exec platinum on AA. One of the best lounge experiences ever. It was quiet and clean. They had great sushi made to order. So we ate more sushi. And it is beautifully decorated. Highly recommend. AA flights home uneventful. Global entry is now just facial recognition. You don’t have to scan your passport anymore. But then we had to wait forever for the luggage. There is always something. I will post again in a few days with final thoughts when I get caught up.