PaulMCO

You can' if there were complete OFAC Treasury sanctions on the country. Right now they are only sanctioning the Generals and members of the Junta. We missed Myanmar on our first area sailing (Capetown to Singapore) and made it on the second Hong Kong to Athens). The first one O cancelled after final payment and substituted Chenai and Sri Lanka stops. O provided zero credits for the changes. At this point it is only the state of political safety that would be the concern. If Oceania offers an overland, it is preferred in case there is a cancellation, change due to tides, or other force majeure issues.

You did not mention which airport (or I missed it). Haneda has day rooms/hotels at the terminal. Very nice hotel. You can get a full room or a mini room with a sofa and shower and access to the hotel lounge. https://www.royalparkhotels.co.jp/the/tokyohaneda/ Tours -- have you looked at tours by locals or Viator. If you are departing from Narita a local tour could be an issue as you need to allow at least 2 hours to get from Tokyo to Narita or 2.5 hours from Yokohama to Narita. Haneda departures are so much more convenient.

Great -- looks like my Veronica will be on our next cruise... small enough to fit in our Honda.

He does not (at least not now). He is very clear on his site why he does not carry every brand. Considering the fact that he is competing against TAs and Cruise lines that market the Allianz brand at a likely lower price -- why should he promote them?? Go to insuremytrip.com and Allianz is missing too.

When I purchase insurance (and generally do), I follow my trusted advisor Steve from the tripinsurancestore.com and his recommended providers. Buying direct is easy, but going through an agent costs no more and they have your back when things go wrong (and trust me they do) The only benefit to a cruise line policy can be the price -- since they are fixed for all guests no matter what your age. So for those of 75+, a cruise line policy will likely be cheaper. For Crystal it is just another revenue stream that all cruise lines have. Allianz and AIG seem to be the big players in selling to cruiselines and TA's.

More importantly - Allianz does not cover you if the cruise line goes bankrupt. Buying any insurance from a cruise line will not insure you from bankruptcy. Why is that important -- You can ask the thousands of passengers of OC cruisers that had Allianz policies purchase through OC and many that were even purchased directly. OMG -- love this quote "to provide additional peace of mind to our valued guests,” said Crystal President Jack Anderson."

Here is a Hida beef description.. https://www.hida.jp/english/localspeciality/food/4000195.html

They always tell you what the cruise only fare is. It is on the bottom of the page of fare which lists the biz air credit. If you do a dummy booking on the site you can find out the hotel credit too if applicable. Also note the fine print --- not available for higher than PH cabins. If you do not want the "free" 2/3 day land pre/post cruise land program -- there is a credit for that too.

Maybe yes and maybe no. Amex processed my claim within 10 days. They were good about claims in excess of 500 days. Chase took two months to deny it and another two months to deny it again on appeal. Only took me 10 minutes to cancel the Chase card and switch it to another bank.

The credit has been going up and when it does of course the cruise fare follows. Our Japan March 2024 purchased in Feb 2022 was $4500 and is now $6400. The current cheap refundable tickets are around $6,500. As we get closer to the 210 day window, will certainly look at what is available but I think anything found will likely have an upcharge. One interesting point is that Oceania has not changed their policy to charging $75 for inquiries on deviation or instituted a 210 day (they have 270 days) prior date. They have increase the deviation fee to $199 pp. Maybe they do not generate a similar deviation call volume almost all fares are economy and if you do not like the fare it is easy to take an air credit and find something similarly priced.

Always looking for things off ship to do for dinner and Kobe is a good place. Was the owner/chef -- Hisashi-san??

no no no... that number constantly changes.... Call your travel advisor eith your TA or Regent who booked the cruise. It is not shown on the Regent Invoice, but is shown on my TA invoice.

Will they tell you what air they are offering you at the210 day point or do yo have to wait until they ticket you at around 60 days???

Unfortunately you cannot wait until 'summer" The initiative expires 1 June 2023. $8,000 LOL -- the most you can expect is $2,225 as a priority claimant. Unless you have a claim that had an embarkation from Miami, you will not receive more. Those MIA (literally) cruises had extra insurance of a TBD amount, as part of a posted bond that ABC will administer at the end of the process.

Someone posted the pre-cruise itinerary on another site. Thought it would interest those doing a future Japan cruise.

The second posting on the Regent main forum is a sticky (always there).

So now that you are "retiring", What are you free time plans. Can we expect to see you on a Regent or Oceania cruise??

Just wanted to post the new $75 fee for deviation proposals. Since this is a sticky it won't get lost and people can debate this in the separate thread... IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING CUSTOM AIR DATE OF ISSUANCE: MARCH 27, 2023 Dear Valued Guest and Travel Advisor, We pride ourselves on delivering the best possible service, and as we continue to work through challenges with air services due to the combination of strong demand for air travel, reduced airline capacity and major airline schedule changes, we have decided to revise our Custom Air policy to help reduce long call hold times to our Custom Air Department. Currently, there is a $175 per person fee to customize flights through Regent’s Custom Air Department. Beginning today, March 27, 2023, to speak directly to our Air Concierges a $75 non-refundable Custom Air call service fee will be applied to reservations which, if the Custom Air flight option presented is accepted within three days, will become part of the existing $175 per person air customization fee. If guests choose not to accept the Custom Air flight option presented within 3 days, the option will be automatically canceled, and the $75 fee will not be refunded. To accept the presented Custom Air flight options, guests can simply reply to the Custom Air email. It is not required to call Regent to confirm any Custom Air flight options. After the Custom Air flight option expires, to search for additional flight options an additional $75 non-refundable fee will be added to the reservation. Platinum, Titanium, Diamond, and Commodore guests will continue to receive a complimentary one-time Custom Air deviation. Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee. What should I do before calling the Custom Air Department? While our teams are committed to delivering An Unrivaled Experience from time of booking all the way through to your cruise and beyond, there are some considerations that will help us provide the best possible service. Before calling our Custom Air Department, we recommend the following steps to allow you to finalize your air arrangements in one call. · Check availability online – this will show you flight options from your departure city. If the lowest business class fare does not show available, it is not likely available within our contracts. · Note any options that are your preferred schedule and routing - including the pricing of each of those flights. · Now that you have the price to purchase air independently, you can make an educated decision to use Regent air or book on your own, utilizing our air credit. · If you have a preferred carrier or route where Regent requires a price differential, you will also be able to decide between purchasing independent air and taking the air credit or accepting the differential to book the air with Regent. Regent does not profit on air differentials. · It helps to be flexible - can you travel an extra day or two prior or stay a day or two later? Thank you for your patience and understanding as we provide a new solution to processing Custom Air requests efficiently, while delivering the best service possible. Your Regent Custom Air Department

Yes they were cheap then. I traveled their during the shutdown and had to get a special visa at the DC embassy. We booked in March of 2022. The allowance was $4500 and is now $6400. Current search for next year (Feb) is $6200 to 11,000 (with most at 9K) You do not, as it is constantly changing and they may have only a few seats on a particular airline and route. I have seen some great and terrible routings -- like 1 stop to Capetown on Qatar (in a Q suite) to multi stops (2) to the EU. You could also be put on Icelandic in Saga class which is really not a "true" biz class. There is a deviation "sticky" that people should consult.

Will do so. I generally prefer a Tours by Locals guide for many of my private tours. The reviews on the guide are generally very accurate. My likely scenario -- Day 1 -- arrive evening Day 2 - 1/2 day morning tour (outer Fish market, Asakusa, Imperial Palace Gardens) - remainder of day relax. Day 3 - Bullet train to Hakone. 9 hours (lake tour, Ropeway, Cedars) or we stay in Tokyo (go the the Ginza and Meiji Shinto shrine). Day 4 -- do the Regent morning tour with transfer to Ship in Yokohama.. Yokohama is a nice city to spend a day, walked around in China Town. Experienced my first Earthquake there waking us up in the evening with the hotel moving side to side . Then three days later a small Tsunami (65 mile winds).

Thank you @Portolanfor your great daily log. Been to the Tokyo area many times on business and definitely appreciated your review of the tours etc and we have just booked our excursions for our 18 March 2024 cruise. We are doing the normal "free" pre-cruise Vibrant Tokyo and may opt for doing private tours (on 2 of the three days) and just use the Hilton as a base for the three nights or just opted out and take the credit. Again many thanks...

100 percent correct on the point especially on Biz air. Our included air is $4500 RT to Japan for March 2024. Can you purchase any biztickets to Japan during the main spring tourist season for $4500 ? The current air credit for new bookings is now $6400, with the associated increase in the cruise price. Cheapest DIY air so far has been $6000 with most at 8k. Someone has to pay for that delta -- won't be me. Of course with all of the schedule changes the Air department is very busy with this aspect.

Works well -- using it at home now 🙂 Just a caution -- whatever happens it will occur slowing as everyone is making a big to do about Starlink. Musk always over promises and under delivers. He is putting into orbit his new laser linked satellites which make internet at sea possible -- as you need a ground station to talk with. We have it at home and our area is over capacity and no new customers being allowed through 2023. RCL seems to be the quickest -- including SS. Carnival seems to be the slowest with only two lines having it. Seabourn not yet (shucks) Windstar has it as do some of the specialty expedition lines. NCL just starting... With all of the cruise switching to Star Link, maybe EMC's classic satellites will be less overloaded, which has been one issue.

That is because I had to learn to be to get much of my money from these insurance companies who cannot read their own policy language 🙂 Travelguard in particular who initially stated that claims had to wait for a final ABC payout,,,,,

I meant to say pick you own flights, which is the point of deviation, as the OP wants a non stop. It is the same on Regent which I recently did. Another point -- is Oceania deviation date is 270 days out. Regent recently changed theirs to 210 days out. I might expect to see a change to O's policy soon??