mandapanda13

There was only warning about needing to clear immigration and customs at Hiroshima (to leave Japan) and Nagasaki (to return from South Korea), but we ended up having to Japanese or Korean officials scan our passports at every port except one (I believe Kochi).

The shuttle from the bus stop in Yokohama to the ship on embarkation day, and from the ship to the bus stop in Yokohama on debarkation day, is complimentary. Exact times were not provided, but I saw it from my hotel window around 9:00am on embarkation day. You do not need to reserve a spot on the shuttle in advance. On debarkation day, you should be able to take the complimentary shuttle to the the bus stop on Yokohama and then walk the couple of blocks to the subway station. Yes, for the PASMO card, you insert cash to purchase the card and reload it. It works like a prepaid TAP card. Each person needs their own card. A 500 yen deposit (about $4) is required when purchasing a new PASMO card. You can return your PASMO card at the end of your trip to get your deposit back if you’d like, but we decided to keep our cards as souvenirs.

I found all of your comments on the roll calls and your Konnichiwa Japan thread to be so helpful! Thank you.

My husband and I just returned from a 9 Night Japan Explorer Spring Flowers on the Diamond Princess and thought we would share some of our experience given the recent return to cruising in Japan. PRE-CRUISE We arrived at Haneda Airport on the afternoon of Friday, March 31. Although not required to enter Japan, we completed the quarantine, immigration, and customs procedures through Visit Japan Web and saved screenshots from Visit Japan Web to our phones (one blue quarantine screen, one yellow immigration QR code, and one blue customs QR code) before we left home. This sped up the process at the airport, as there were separate lines for those who had the blue quarantine screen as well as those who had the customs QR code. We got through everything in about 30 minutes. We then went to the bus ticket sales counter in the airport to purchase tickets for the limousine bus (Keikyu Bus to Yamashita Park, Minato Mirai 21, Red Brick Warehouse). It cost ¥800 per person, which was about $12 for the two of us. The bus ride from Haneda Airport to Yokohama was approximately 40 minutes. We got off at the Yamashita Park stop, which was less than a block away from our hotel, the Hotel New Grand. The staff at the Hotel New Grand were bilingual and incredibly kind. At check in, they gave us our pocket wifi, which we had shipped directly to the hotel, without us asking and then walked us all the way to our room. We reserved a Bay View Corner Double room, which was spacious and had a queen-sized bed, plenty of seating, a large bathtub, an electric kettle with tea and coffee, and a beautiful view overlooking Yamashita park and the bay. The bed was a little too hard for my liking, but my husband thought it was perfect. The location of the hotel was great, as it was within a few blocks of a subway station and Chinatown and mere minutes (walking) from the shuttle to the ship. The hotel would have cost about $480 total, but we used credit card points, making our hotel stay free. On Saturday, April 1, we ate breakfast at the McDonalds down the street from our hotel. As we were still on California time and most cafes and restaurants don’t open until 9:00 or so, our breakfast options were very limited. We spent most of the day in Shibuya in Tokyo. We purchased PASMO cards (IC cards valid for subways, trains, buses and some vending machines) at the train station and took the subway directly to Shibuya. With the PASMO cards, we were able to just tap the card as we entered and exited the subway stations, without needing to calculate how much each trip would cost and purchase individual tickets for that exact amount, and could easily reload if we ran out of money. Note that the machine to purchase PASMO cards did not accept debit/credit cards. We found Google Maps to be quite accurate in giving detailed directions for navigating public transportation. It took about 50 minutes to get to Shibuya and cost about $16 roundtrip for the two of us. After we returned from Shibuya and rested in our hotel for a bit, we took a walk along the water, stopping at Yokohama World Porters for dinner and window shopping and wandering around Cosmoworld lit up at night. We spent about $35 on food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks from vending machines) this day. For Japan cruises, Princess currently requires all adults to have the COVID vaccination (original + at least one booster) and produce a COVID test result taken within two days before embarkation. This may be a self-administered antigen test result photo with a time and date stamp. The evening before our cruise, we both took an iHealth COVID rapid antigen self-administered test and then took a picture of the negative result next to our ID and piece of paper with the date and time. We uploaded this to the Princess app. CRUISE DAY 1 – EMBARKATION On Sunday, April 2, we spent the morning walking through and admiring the cherry blossoms in Yamashita Park and then exploring Chinatown. We checked out of our hotel at 10:30 and walked the four minutes from our hotel to the Yamashita-futo/Yamashita Pier bus stop, where we got on the complimentary Princess shuttle to the Daikoku Pier. There were several people with Diamond Princess signs directing us to the correct shuttle. We arrived to Daikoku Pier around 11:00. We were in the earliest check-in group of 12:00-12:30, but the terminal was already packed. When we arrived, they had someone check our vaccine cards and COVID test results and then handed us a piece of paper with a number. We then sat for about 15 minutes until they called our number, and then stood in line for about 40 minutes. Being in the “green lane” on the Princess app did not expedite the process at all. Once we got to the front of the line, they checked our passports, vaccine cards, and COVID test results. Medallions were given to passengers at this time, but we had ours shipped to us ahead of time. We got on the ship around 12:10 and rooms were ready around 1:00. We ate lunch in the buffet and then went to our room and completed the e-Muster. Our bags did not arrive to our room until 4:30, which was much later than our previous experiences on Carnival and Holland America. We originally booked an ocean view room. The cost difference between an ocean view and a balcony was about $600 per person, which was a little too high for a port-intensive cruise for us. We decided to bid $175 per person for a standard balcony (minimum bid was $170 per person) through the Princess Upgrade process. Our bid was accepted 16 days before departure. This increased the cost of our vacation protection, costing a total of $378 for the upgrade. We got a mid-aft standard balcony on the Baja deck. CRUISE DAY 2 – SHIMIZU (7:00am to 3:00pm) On Monday, April 3, we spent the day in Shimizu. We were required to carry our passports and Medallions in all ports and went through immigration in Shimizu, which took about 10 minutes. Princess did not offer a shuttle. We took an excursion with Princess, Nihondaira Outlook & Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, which was scheduled from 8:30 to 12:00. The tour guide was helpful, although not as knowledgeable and fluent in English as our guides on other excursions this cruise. Princess should have listed the excursion as strenuous rather than moderate activity, as there were a lot of steep stairs at Kunozan Toshogu Shrine. We are active and in our early thirties so this wasn’t a problem for us, but there were several people in our group with canes who were unable to navigate the stairs at the shrine or walk up the hill at the outlook. Both locations were beautiful and peaceful, and there were quite a few cherry blossom trees at both locations. It was a little cloudy, but we were able to get a peak of Mt. Fuji from the outlook and on the drive. The time at Kunozan Toshogu Shrine was a little too long (everyone seemed ready to go about 25 minutes before the scheduled time to leave) and the time at Nihondaira Outlook was a little too short (we only had about 25 minutes here). When we returned to the port, we walked about 8 minutes to S-Pulse Dream Plaza for lunch. We spent about $12 on food (lunch and drinks from vending machines) and $200 for the excursion this day. CRUISE DAY 3 – OSAKA (9:00am to 9:00pm) On Tuesday, April 4, we explored Osaka on our own. Japanese officials checked our passports again in Osaka, which only took a couple minutes. Princess did not offer a shuttle. The subway station was about a 10-minute walk from port. We took the subway to Osaka Castle. We spent a few hours walking around the Osaka castle grounds. The cherry and plum blossoms were the most gorgeous out of everywhere we went on this cruise. There was a very long line to go inside the castle, so we opted not to do that. We then took the subway from Osaka Castle to Dotonburi for an afternoon of window shopping, eating, and exploring the arcades before taking the subway back to port. We spent about $18 on food (lunch, snacks, drinks and ice cream from vending machines) and $12 on transportation this day. This was one of our favorite days. CRUISE DAY 4 – KOCHI (7:00am to 5:00pm) On Wednesday, April 5, we spent the day in Kochi. Princess offered a shuttle from the ship to Hariyamasbashi Bus Terminal for $25 per person, with the first shuttle departing around 8:00am. We opted to pay for the shuttle. On the walk to Kochi castle, we stopped by the Harimaya bridge and walked through a shopping area, but all the shops were closed because it was only 8:30am. We walked around the grounds of Kochi Castle, which was mostly empty because it was so early, and ate some snacks from 7-Eleven at the Kochi Castle Freedom Park while waiting for the shops and Hirome Market to open at 10:00am. After spending a few hours wandering the shops and a departure store, we went back to the ship for a late lunch. We spent about $4 on snacks and $50 on transportation this day. CRUISE DAY 5 – HIROSHIMA (9:00am to 6:00pm) On Thursday, April 6, the ship docked in Hiroshima, in an industrial area near Mizutorinohama Park. Princess offered a shuttle from the ship to Itsukaichi Station for $25 per person. We took an excursion with Princess, Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine, which was scheduled from 11:30 to 3:30. It rained this day, which dampened our experience in Miyajima a bit. Most of the Itsukushima Shrine was covered, so we able to enjoy walking through the shrine and see the “floating” torri gate. We were given some free time to walk around Miyajima, which had quite a few little shops and food vendors. We spent about $6 on food and $220 for the excursion this day. When we returned to the port, we had to go through a Japanese departure immigration inspection, since our next stop was in South Korea. It took about 45 minutes to get through immigration. CRUISE DAY 6 – SEA DAY AND SCENIC CRUISING OF KANMON STRAITS The day before our cruise departed, we received a notice of itinerary change, informing us “that to enhance the guest experience Diamond Princess will conduct scenic cruising of Kanmon Straits from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM.” We enjoyed sitting on our balcony looking the islands and little towns along the Kanmon Straits, although it was quite cold that early in the morning. CRUISE DAY 7 – SOUTH KOREA (7:00am to 5:00pm) On Saturday, April 8, we were scheduled to go to Jeju, South Korea. However, during our sea day we were advised that due to high winds and strong currents around the area of Jeju, our call to Jeju was cancelled and we would instead call to Busan, South Korea. We asked the Shore Excursions Desk where in Busan the ship would be docking and where the shuttle would drop us off, but they were unable to answer either question. Since my husband and I knew nothing about Busan and the Shore Excursions Desk was unable to answer our questions, we decided to use some onboard credit on a Princess excursion. Given the last-minute change, there were only three excursions available, which were all scheduled to begin between 8:00 and 8:30 – Gamcheon Cultural Village and Markets, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, and Korean Spa Experience and Market. We chose the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. Princess did offer a shuttle from the ship to Stanford Inn Busan, which is within walking distance of the Jagalchi Market and Gukje International Market, for $20 per person. We completed the K-ETA for entry to South Korea a couple of weeks before the cruise. We did not end up needing the K-ETA, as it is not currently required for visitors arriving by cruise ship. Our excursion was scheduled to begin at 8:00am, but the ship did not receive clearance from port officials until close to 8:15am. We were among the first to go through immigration and got on the excursion bus around 8:30am. Our excursion was very active, with stops at the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, APEC House near Haeundae Beach, and Gukje International Market. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and self-deprecating in the most light-hearted way. The tour was scheduled to end at 1:00, but she kindly extended it until 2:15 given the late start, some traffic, and the packed schedule. We could have spent hours walking through the Gukje International Market. We spent about $11 on food (coffee and lunch) and used $180 in onboard credit for the excursion this day. This unexpected port ended up being another one of our favorite days. CRUISE DAY 8 – NAGASAKI (7:00am to 4:00pm) On Sunday, April 9, we spent the day in Nagasaki. The ship did not receive clearance from port officials until around 7:45am. We had to go through immigration again and each stateroom received an assigned time to clear immigration. We were given the time of 8:30am, but they made an announcement at 8:00am that those passengers with assigned times between 8:00am and 8:30am could debark. We left the ship at 8:20am and we were through immigration and customs within 10 minutes. We scheduled a tour of Hashima Island (aka Gunkanjima or Battleship Island), a tiny abandoned island off Nagasaki, through Gunkanjima Concierge. Our tour included admission to the Gunkanjima Digital Museum and cruise and landing to Hashima Island. The museum is a three-minute walk from the ship, and staff at the museum spoke English and were very kind and all signage in the museum was written in Japanese and English. Narration during the cruise and landing was only in Japanese, but they provided a very detailed written guide providing all of the information that was being spoken. After the tour, which lasted about four hours, we walked to the Youme shopping mall and ate lunch. We spent about $8 on food (coffee, lunch, drinks from vending machine) and $88 for the tour this day. CRUISE DAY 9 – SEA DAY CRUISE DAY 10 – DEBARKATION AND FLY HOME On Tuesday, April 11, the ship arrived in Yokohama around 6:30am. Self-assist walk off began at 7:30am and the latest departure time was 9:30am. Since the estimated cost for a taxi from Daikoku Pier to Haneda Airport was $75 and taking public transportation would require a couple transfers, we decided to use the Princess transfer, $44 per person. Since our flight wasn’t until 4:30pm, we were given a debarkation time of 9:25am (the earlier debarkation time for a transfer to Haneda was 8:00am) and the bus left at 10:00am. It took about 15 minutes to get through immigration and customs. The bus ride from Daikoku Pier to Haneda Airport took about 30 minutes. Check-in and security at the airport were a breeze and we spent our time window shopping (the international terminal looks similar to a mall) and in the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge. A FEW MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Food – The food quality on the ship was good, but we were a little disappointed in the lack of variety. The Horizon Court is arranged more like a traditional buffet than a buffet with multiple stations/types of cuisines like our experience on Carnival Splendor, Carnival Miracle, and Holland America Zuiderdam. They did have some Japanese dishes both in main dining rooms and in the buffet. We did not try any specialty dining. Izumi – The Diamond Princess has an Izumi Japanese Bath, which is modeled after Japanese onsens. This is separate from the Lotus Spa and is not included in the spa pass. The cost per person was $25 for one 90-minute session, $75 for five 90-minute sessions, and $125 for one cruise pass. Passes could not be shared. My husband went to Izumi twice and really enjoyed it. Clothing was optional at all times. Internet – We did not purchase an Internet package or Plus/Premier package from Princess. We instead decided to order a pocket wifi, as having internet while in port was more important to us than having internet on the ship. We ordered it through Japan Wireless and it cost about $65 total for twelve days, allowing for up to 10 devices to be connected simultaneously. The pocket wifi is a small device, about the size of an iPhone, and we carried it in our backpack while in port. It worked flawlessly in every Japanese port and also worked from our stateroom while cruising from Yokohama to Shimizu, Shimizu to Osaka, and Osaka to Kochi. It surprisingly worked for 1-3 hours after leaving the port in Kochi, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, but we lost coverage when we got farther out to sea, which we completely expected. We did not have wifi coverage when in Busan, since the pocket wifi only covers Japan. We arranged for the pocket wifi to be shipped directly to our hotel, which was a free service, but there is also the option of picking it up at the airport. Japan Wireless provided a return-envelope (already addressed and prepaid) and directions for us to drop it off to any postbox in Japan. There was a postbox right by Japan Airlines check-in at Haneda Airport. I hope you all find this information helpful as you’re planning your cruise to Japan. It was our first time to Japan and truly exceeded our expectations in every way. Let me know if you have any questions!

Limited information regarding the complimentary shuttle was recently added to the “Important Notices” on the Itinerary webpage for my upcoming April 2nd cruise. See below. IMPORTANT PIER INFORMATION Please be advised that the Diamond Princess will berth at Daikoku Pier. Daikoku Pier is located at the Port of Yokohama at 13 Daikoku-futo, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, about 90 minutes from Narita Airport and 30 minutes from Haneda Airport. Private vehicles and taxis are permitted to enter the pier. Additionally, complimentary shuttle buses will be provided from Yamashita Pier to Daikoku Pier. Guests with a Princess Cruise Plus hotel package or Airport transfer will be taken directly from their hotel or the airport to the pier. Guests with independent transfer arrangements should be guided accordingly. We look forward to welcoming you aboard Diamond Princess.

Here’s our experience getting off the Zuiderdam today: We took proctored BinaxNow COVID tests using HAL’s premium internet package while at sea yesterday (I took mine at 11:15am, husband took his at 4:45pm, no issues). We checked into our flight using American Airlines’ app, which required us to complete the self-attestation and upload our COVID results. Our ship arrived to Vancouver around 7:00 this morning (Wed 6/8), cleared around 7:30. We self disembarked at 7:40, crew scanned our cruise card and customs reviewed our customs form, no one checked our passports or asked for ArriveCAN. No lines to get off the ship, through customs, or for taxis. We were in a taxi at 7:50 and at our gate at YVR by 8:30. No lines to check our bags, through security, or to check our passports. Our flight to LAX is at 1:40pm. There were two ships in port today - HAL Zuiderdam and Grand Princess. Zuiderdam had about 1100 guests (~50% capacity).

Late last night I received an email about the itinerary change. Arrival in Tracy Arm has been changed from 9:00am to 11:00am, arrival in Juneau has changed from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, and arrival in Ketchikan has been changed from 10:00am to 11:00am. The itinerary on the website has been corrected; the itinerary on the app does not show Tracy Arm at all. All of the excursions in Juneau before 3:00pm have been removed, leaving us with 19 options instead of 41. There is no shore excursion listed on the website or app for Tracy Arm. Since the itinerary list Tracy Arm as "Service Call Shore Excursion Guests Only," I called the shore excursion line this morning to see if there would be an 11:00 Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion to replace my cancelled 9:00 one. At this time, they do not have a Tracy Arm excursion available, but they suggested I keep checking the website in case one pops up. We can book excursions on the website up until 4 days before embarkation, so I'll keep checking. I'll likely book an excursion in Juneau as a backup now, as I'm concerned they will sell out before the cruise given the limited options. Hope this information helps others in a similar situation.

I understand changes in itinerary are always a possibility for cruises. However, I don’t think it is unreasonable for me or other cruisers to feel confused or frustrated when there are inconsistencies in itineraries being published by the cruise line on their website and app. Perhaps I should have phrased my question differently. Historically, is the app or what’s on the boarding pass more accurate? Does one tend to be updated before the other? Given the inconsistencies, I’m going to err on the side of caution and assume we will be arriving at the later time for Juneau and will therefore select a new excursion after 3:00.

I have my first cruise with Holland America in two weeks on board the Zuiderdam. Last week, the private company for my excursion in Ketchikan informed me that they received notice that my ship would be arriving in Ketchikan at 11:00am instead of 10:00am. This seemed odd since HAL didn't inform me of an itinerary change, but I checked the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska's schedule and confirmed our ship will be arriving at 11:00. Today I received notification that the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion has been removed from my sailing due to operational considerations. These two changes caused me to double check my itinerary and I realized that the itinerary on the Navigator app is different than what is on the website/in the documents with my boarding pass. So which itinerary is correct? Here's what is on the website/in the documents with my boarding pass: June 1 Vancouver Depart 4:30pm June 2 Inside Passage June 3 Tracy Arm Inlet Arrive 9:00am Depart 9:30am June 3 Juneau Arrive 1:00pm Depart 10:00pm June 4 Skagway Arrive 7:00am Depart 9:00pm June 5 Glacier Bay Arrive 7:00am Depart 4:00pm June 6 Ketchikan Arrive 10:00am Depart 6:00pm June 7 Inside Passage June 8 Vancouver Arrive 7:00am Here's what is on the Navigator app: June 1 Vancouver All Aboard 3:30pm June 2 Inside Passage June 3 NO TRACY ARM INLET June 3 Juneau Arrive 3:00pm All Aboard 9:30pm June 4 Skagway Arrive 7:00am All Aboard 8:30pm June 5 Glacier Bay June 6 Ketchikan Arrive 11:00am All Aboard 6:30pm June 7 Inside Passage June 8 Vancouver Arrive 7:00am I have highlighted what appear to be differences between the itineraries. My biggest concern is the 2-hour difference in arrival time to Juneau since many of the excursions through HAL start before 3:00pm. If we truly aren't arriving until 3:00pm, I want to avoid picking an earlier excursion to replace the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer that will just end up having to be rescheduled. Thanks for your help.

They post monthly schedules on their Facebook page. On April 27, they posted the schedule for May 2022. In May, opening times vary each day (either 8:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, or 1:00pm) and closing time is 8:00pm every day.