cobalt206

Hank, What didn’t you like about your time on Westerdam? I think we would like to do our own land tours prior to embarking on the cruise. Appreciate your input!

That looks great Ken but we spend winters in Palm Desert and we like to arrive the first part of November. Thank you for the suggestion.

Cr8tiv1, The Neptune Suites are very nice and large, I think you might be comparing the Signature Suites on HAL vs Mini Suites on Princess. We have the aft balcony booked next month and it is huge and wraps about 25’ along the starboard side plus another 20’ or so aft. They also include many benefits. The Grand Suite on the Diamond looks similar to the Pinnancle or Penthouse Suites on HAL, I’ve only toured. It would be fun to stay in the Grand Suite but I’m not sure it’s worth the premium considering the five extra days on HAL for the same cost. Thanks for the advice on the tour guides. This will be our first time to Japan so we want to prepare accordingly. Woodinville, Yes we spent most our adult lives in Kirkland but now reside on Whidbey Island. We looked at the cruise from Seattle but prefer not having so many sea days. I don’t mind a direct flight to the orient, it’s only 11 hours. Glad you liked the Westerdam. We are on the Rotterdam next month and I’m a little nervous about the size 2700 pax which is also the size of the Diamond Princess. We prefer 2000 or under when possible.

We are traveling in October 2025. I think the temperatures will be mild, perhaps cool up north.

We will be going in early October. I think the temperatures will be pretty mild this time of year. Thanks for your opinions.

We are trying to make a decision for a cruise in 2025 to Japan. We have sailed HAL a fair amount and are happy with the overall experience. We are booked next month to visit Norway on the Rotterdam in an aft Neptune suite which we’ve experienced before on other HAL ships and loved the suite and location. We’ve only sailed with Princess once many years ago and had a great trip. I found a decent deal on Princess Diamond for their Grand Suite B750 for a 10 day itinerary from Yokohama with ports Toba, Kobe, Kochi, Beppu, Busan, Nagasaki and Shimizu. The suite looks incredible and probably compares close to a Pinnacle Suite on HAL. For about the same price, I can book a 15 day voyage on HAL’s Westerdam in a Neptune Suite. Ports include Omaezaki, Kobe, Kochi, Fukuoka, Sokcho, Kanazawa, Sakata, Otaru, Aomori, Hakodate and Miyako. So this would provide 4 more ports compared to the Princess itinerary. We are trying to determine which experience would be best for us. Better cabin on Princess vs a longer cruise on HAL. I’m sure we’d love both and being our first time to Japan, we want to make the most of this trip. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

We are trying to make a decision for a cruise in 2025 to Japan. We have sailed HAL a fair amount and are happy with the overall experience. We are booked next month to visit Norway on the Rotterdam in an aft Neptune suite which we’ve experienced before on other HAL ships and loved the suite and location. I found a decent deal on Princess Diamond for their Grand Suite B750 for a 10 day itinerary from Yokohama with ports Toba, Kobe, Kochi, Beppu, Busan, Nagasaki and Shimizu. The suite looks incredible and probably compares close to a Pinnacle Suite on HAL. For about the same price, I can book a 15 day voyage on HAL’s Westerdam in a Neptune Suite. Ports include Omaezaki, Kobe, Kochi, Fukuoka, Sokcho, Kanazawa, Sakata, Otaru, Aomori, Hakodate and Miyako. So this would provide 4 more ports compared to the Princess itinerary. We are trying to determine which experience would be best for us. Better cabin on Princess vs a longer cruise on HAL. I’m sure we’d love both and being our first time to Japan, we want to make the most of this trip. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

We had a wonderful experience here. We took a cab to 3 Islands Beach Club in Ksamil Beach and it exceeded our expectations. The beach was clean, water very clear and also very scenic.The restaurant there was very good and very reasonable. I think many cruise passengers end up hating Sarande because they never venture out to see places like Ksamil Beach. We were very glad we found this place and wouldn’t hesitate to return.