DaKahuna

@Jim_Iain I saw my first roaving photographer today. He was on the Helipad for our sail away from Osaka. This was open to Elite guest and above. Tomorrow is the Retreat guest Helipad for our arrival in Hiroshima.

Tonight my DW and I were not interested in anything on the menu’s and she mentioned wanting pizza so we went to the Oceanview Cafe for dinner. she had a slice of vegetable pizza and a small salad that came in a glass. i had two slices of Pepperoni pizza and then had some Indian food - rice, roti, and beef korma. for dessert I made the trip to the ice cream bar for a scoop of coffee and a scoop of butter pecan. we walked around and seating was available everywhere. There were plenty of selections and tonight the daily favorites featured a stir fly with a wide selection of meats, vegetables, and noodles.

I stopped by Cafe al Bacio on my way back from the Helipad sail away. They have a new Japanese tea offering that we’ve never seen before. I also spied more of the Lemon Tarts and chocolate tarts, plus Tiramisu — I ordered a Aspen and two pieces of Tiramisu (one of my DW and one for me) and took my order to go. We enjoyed it on our balcony while the ship backed away from the dock. I prefer the lemon tarts without the little caps, as I mentioned before, but they are easily removed and disposed of.

Some additional information we received in our room concerning tomorrow in Hiroshima. We have a ships excursion booked to Miyajima to view the floating Tori gate. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 1 PM and our excursions meets a 2 PM in the Theater.

Our next stop was Dotonburi, an area known for its food, primarily crab, takoyaki, and beef. There are many small restaurants here and in the evenings it is a popular place with the young crowd. Here are some of the pictures I took while there. We had our lunch here — Our lunch — deluxe sushi and tempura set — it was delicious I bet this place is amazing at night with all the signs glowing. Maybe someone else on the cruise too some pictures at night and will share them.

After a leisurely breakfast in Luminae this morning, my DW decided no breakfast for her today, we made final preparation for going ashore on our booked shore excursion - Osaka Castle and Dotonbouri District. We actually left the theater early, had an orderly boarding of the bus with everyone finally on the bus 5 minutes early so we got off to a good start. Our first stop was Osaka castle and there was virtually no traffic so we arrived there ahead of schedule giving us an additional 10 minutes. Here is a map of the castle. The current castle is the third build, the original having been destroyed by a war and a fire. This current version was built in 1931. Here are some of the pictures I took .. First the grounds around the castle The inner walls are made of some very huge stones that were brought it from other parts of Japan. It’s a mystery how these stones were transported and place given their huge size and lack of machinery at the time of construction. Some flowers that I thought were very colorful Those flowers were in front of this museum, which was constructed in 1931 the same time the latest castle was rebuilt. A signal gun that was used to sound the stroke of noon according to the sign. From the 8th floor of the tower you have some great views of Osaka. Unfortunately, we did not have clear weather today but still there were some nice views in all four directions (the floor is square shaped with views all around.

As was mentioned earlier, you still have to do math for the 20% surcharge.

That same menu is in the Retreat Lounge on Millennium right now. My understanding that it is new and is going to be fleet wide in a few more weeks/month. Don’t tell anyone but I have been drinking Ron Zacapa 23 in the lounge and have not been charged a surcharge yet. Fingers crossed that continues.

Celebrity is not doing well with the casino on this cruise. There are only four seas days on a 13-day cruise. We are in port most of the time and the casino is closed. I am going to see if I cannot get half of our remaining OBC out on the next sea day and then the rest on the one following that. That would leave me one final sea day for any ‘left overs.’

Thank you. I hope the video’s I posted of last nights Taiko Drum performance in the theater work for everyone. It was really a joy to experience those drums again. Just returned from today’s excursion and going to try and get some pictures posted before heading to the Helipad for sail away.

There was a green screen set up just out side of Luminae at the photo shop area on Millennium. They were breaking it down when we went to the theater for the Taiko Drum performance around 0845. Otherwise, have not seen a lot of photographers or sets up so far this cruise.

Greetings from Japan - That view certainly is spectacular. Already enjoying your adventures and you have not even set sail yet.

More Taiko Drums IMG_1564.mov IMG_1566.mov IMG_1580.mov IMG_1587.mov IMG_1597.mov IMG_1614.mov IMG_1579.mov IMG_1586.mov IMG_1594.mov IMG_1608.mov IMG_1615.mov

we arrive in Hiroshima at 1:00 pm. As soon as we are cleared passengers can start leaving the ship but all passengers must be off the ship by 2:30 pm. We have a shore excursion scheduled for 2 pm so we will clear immigration when we return from our tour. the ship is scheduled to depart at 10 pm. Grits are ground hominy and are a staple in the southern US. It’s similar to farina but oh so much more delicious.

Got an invitation and a very information letter this evening. We’ve been invited to the Helipad for tomorrow’s sail away from Osaka. And a very comprehensive and detailed letter explaining the immigration process that we will be undergoing in Hiroshima.

Thank you. We embarked in Yokohama and will disembark there at the end of the cruise. Our flight was non-stop Washington Dulles to Haneda and was about 13 and a half hours flight time. Going home will be a little faster as I believe the winds are more favorable going west to east.

We decided we wanted to see the Takio performance in the main theater this evening so after dinner we proceeded to the Retreat lounge. My wife had a small glass of hot sake and I had a spicy margarita in honor of cinco de mayo. We then proceeded to the theater about 15 minutes before the performance started. I took a lot of short video segments and a few pictures of the group. They were fantastic for having only been together for 1 year. Let’s hope some of the video’s will upload. IMG_1601.mov IMG_1620.mov I’ll post more video’s later —

This afternoon was totally uneventful, I took a nice nap and when I woke up it was time to get ready for dinner. The amuse-busche tonight was what we affectionately called “baby food” - a split pea purée with some crab meat — it’s my least favorite one of all. For her appetizer, she went with her favorite dish - French Onion Soup And I started with the Caesar salad For her main course she chose the grilled guinea hen and I ordered the Roasted Lamb Loin — I experienced a first. When my food was delivered, I took a bite of the lamb and with was cold — I had the waiter take it back and they brought me a second plate which was much better. Everyone was very apologetic about the temperature of the dish being wrong. Our sommelier paired the lamb with a very nice wine. I have had the 2018 version of this wine before and enjoyed this one as well.

We are not flying out until Saturday the 18th but the deciding factor for us was that we can catch the bus to HND right at the hotel. I looked at the Sheraton and booking for our dates with points did not appear to be available. Wife had decided that getting from the Westin to Yokohama station is not an issue so it looks like we are going to stay in the Westin. Our plan is to go from the ship to the hotel, see if early check in is available and if not, no big deal, we’ll leave our bags with the bell service and then head to China Town for the day.

But you gain lunch in Luminae on embarkation day, which in our opinion is a better meal. Yes, you get your one bag of laundry each as part of your Elite benefit. Free laundry only comes with the top level suites. Yes, there is no change for room service in a suite. I believe there is still a charge if you order after midnight or before 6 am but not 100% sure as we have never done that.

@mahdnc Thanks for taking us along on your wonderful journey. It brought back so many great memories. Wishing you a safe and uneventful trip home.

We are onboard Millennium now and it is exactly as @cruisestitch says. Additionally, you can fill your bottle from the faucet in your bathroom.

Jim, we’ve seen the lights set up but have not noticed any photographers but will keep a closer eye out. Last night was our first evening chic night and no photographer in Luminae while we were in there.

Summer and early fall are typhoon season. We are having beautiful weather on our cruise. We had rain pre-cruise but it has been wonderful since then. Just avoid Golden Week — the locations have all been so crowded. Fortunately today is the last day and people will be headed back home.

You do not have to go ashore ! As mentioned earlier, Japan law requires ships to visit a non-Japanese port. This is pretty much like the law in the US that requires a distant port visit for ships sailing between US ports.