Donald

Most travelers are generally very predictable. Airlines and Cruise Lines use very similar Yield Management Programs to maximize occupancy, revenues, and profits. These programs are surprisingly good at filling airplanes and ships. But very rarely, something unpredictable happens. Then the Airline finds itself with too many pax for a particular flight, and the Cruise Line finds itself with too many passengers for a particular cruise. Both groups operate in the same basic manner. They offer financial incentives for some pax to take a different flight or cruise. If they do not get enough takers, they sweeten the offer until the right numbers of people accept it.

You need to understand that Japan is a nation of taxis - and very nice taxis too. Many Japanese do not drive cars, preferring to take trains, taxis, and bicycles. You will find taxis nearly everywhere - even in the smallest cities. Next you need to understand that Rome2Rio website is your friend. Entering your starting point and ending point will instantly give you all transportation options with times and costs. An easy to find taxi from Shimizu Port to Shin-Shizuoka Station will cost you between 4,000 and 5,000 yen, and take about 10-15 minutes, depending on traffic.

You are actually on the Star Legend out of PIRAEUS in the fall. There are many piers in Piraeus Harbor, as it is the largest harbor complex in the Mediterranean. Downtown Athens is about 12 Kilometers from downtown Piraeus. The drive can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on traffic. One of the Athens subway lines goes to Piraeus Port.

Google is your friend.

Free onboard bottled water - its long overdue. Free onboard Diet Coke - its long overdue. Free onboard Adult Films on demand - its long overdue.

Maybe. But why stress over something like this? Why not just book a later flight?

McLipLids All the parts of a cow that you would never, ever consider eating go into what Americans usually call hot dogs.

When we see them on the pier, we shout” Run Forrest, Run !!!”

So far as I know, any cruise ship checking in passengers at Yokohama Terminal will allow them to go ashore after check-in. I do know that Japanese Immigration and Customs allow this. You would need to check with Celebrity to ensure that they allow it as well. Be aware that there will most likely be an all-aboard time that coincides with the passenger safety drill. When returning to the ship, you may be required to pass through Immigration and Customs again - or not.

All of these ships / itineraries are just “shopping trips” for the Chinese. It is the easiest way for them to get into Japan, buy Japanese goods and foods, and transport them back to China. You may be shocked at the quantity of stuff the Chinese will be transporting back to China on your cruise. Just re-boarding the ship in Japanese ports will be a new experience for you.

Easy answer. The Captain (overall in command and completely responsible), and the Hotel Manager (responsible for evacuating all crew and pax) wait until all crew and pax are accounted for and evacuated. Then they can leave the ship on one of the final boats or rafts. On the Costa Concordia, three officers received prison sentences. The Hotel Manager received the longest sentence. Only the Captain - or someone designated by him - can signal Abandon Ship. Under International Law, nobody can abandon ship until the Captain makes that command. On Concordia, everyone was waiting for the Captain to make the Command - but he was not onboard. The Hotel Manager was managing the evacuation, but could not send pax to the boats without the Masters Command. When pax tried to go to the boats, the Hotel Manager sent them back to their cabins to wait for the Abandon Ship Command that never came. Those pax died in their cabins.

I would never again eat American Fast (Junk) Food. Tried it a few times and got sick every time. It is just plain unhealthy.

The cruise industry changes very, very slowly. Many of the traditional things we did 50 years ago are still in place today. Cruise passengers are also incredibly predictable. You do not like changes very much. The cruise lines know that very well. Cruise companies could splendid big money and lots of time and effort to change the industry completely. But most of you would not be very happy with that. It is much easier and far more profitable to keep things more or less the way they are. Far more cruisers watch “The Love Boat” than the “Jetsons”.

There are no leftovers on a cruise ship. USPH Regulations require that any prepared food must be consumed or discarded within 4 hours. Since all protein food items must be frozen until they are prepared (USPH Regulation), it is not easy to make a quick menu change or handle a quick request. Mass market ships follow a corporate menu. All the protein items must be requisitioned a day or two in advance to receive them and thaw them out before preparation. Most big ship chefs are too busy to take time for one special request. On much smaller ships (Read higher standards, better quality, and more expensive) it is far easier for the Chef to run to the freezer, grab whatever is needed, thaw it out, and prepare it for you. This sort of thing happens all the time on the better cruise lines.

Shinko terminal is rarely used for cruise ships anymore. Harumi cruise terminal has been demolished and the pier is no longer used for cruise ships. Tokyo also has Hinode Cruise Terminal. But Oi and Hinode are used primarily for river and bay cruises.

There are several wonderful Onsen in the Shimizu area. Google is your friend. Note that if you have any tattoos, most Onsen will not allow you to use the facilities.

There are actually 4 different cruise piers used by international cruise ships calling at Tokyo / Yokohama. 1. Harumi Terminal. Located at the Olympic Village in downtown Tokyo. This is the most convenient pier, but can only handle ships small enough to fit under the Rainbow Bridge. 2. New Tokyo International Cruise Terminal. Located next to Haneda Airport, just North of Yokohama. This is the largest and newest Terminal in the Tokyo area. It handles cruise ships too large to fit under the Rainbow Bridge into Tokyo Bay. 3. Daikoku Cargo Pier. This is the least convenient cruise pier, located on an artificial island in Yokohama Bay. It is used by ships that are too large to fit under the Yokohama Bay Bridge, or when Osanbashi Terminal in Yokohama is full. 4. Osanbashi Terminal in Yokohama. The main downtown terminal in Yokohama. Why so many terminals? Japan is an island nation, with frequent ship visits.

Plugging a heating pad into a 110v outlet on a cruise ship will nearly guarantee a blackout for your cabin and the cabins around you. A 220v heating pad might work, but since it is a dangerous heat source, the cruise lines will not allow it. Hot water bottle is the way to go.

You may also be interested to know that the majority of the Asian crew on cruise ships is not very interested in most of the foods that Western Passengers eat. Meat, potatoes, bread, and dairy are not very appealing to us. The crew and Officer Messroom menus are far better in our opinion.

You may be interested to know that the better cruise lines budget more money to feed their crew than many of the mass market lines budget to feed you. The Crew Feeding Buget on my ship (sorry, secret) is far higher than the Passenger Feeding Budget on Carnival, NCL, HAL, and Princess ships. You will probably not be surprised to learn that the fares on my ship are far higher than those other lines as well.

Not washing your hands in a public toilet has EVERYTHING to do with COVID. The fact that you did not know that tells us how dangerous public toilets can be.

All of the Walmart-style cruise lines sell you water and snacks for your cabin.

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However, if you managed cruise ships like I have done for several decades, you would be quite surprised at the very high number of passengers who seem to think that convenience is worth quite a bit of money. This also explains why many Americans are quite happy to pay $32 per gallon for Starbucks coffee, which is not particularly good, definitely not a good value, but certainly convenient.

Many of today's mass market cruisers are always looking for bargains. The cruisers on the better lines tend to look for convenience. Most of these packages offered by cruise lines were never intended to be bargains. They were designed as a hybrid version of an all-inclusive cruise package. Instead of paying for everything up front, the packages allow you to pay up front for a limited number of items that you may want, without having to go through the nickel and diming that has become so popular with discount cruisers. These packages are convenience - nothing more. "Viable" to the discount cruisers means "can I drink my money's worth?" "Viable" to the serious cruisers means "will the package make my cruise more hassle-free?"

I never dress like I am going to clean the garage. I never wear baseball caps to cover the bald spot. I never try to eat or drink my money's worth. I never treat the service staff like servants. I always speak in complete English sentences. I never stand in a line. I never try to be the first to board the ship, nor the first off the ship. I do not walk around with food or drinks in my hands and mouth.