Miaminice

4 hours ago, loveladyc said:

Other than Yokyo- Kamakura was the best of all the things we did.

yes, Kamakura sure is special. On this trip it was like the icing on the cake!

On 4/26/2024 at 4:55 PM, peanut head said:

Just out of curiosity, if both my husband and myself, are listed as shareholders, can we each apply for a credit, or is it 1 per household?

1 per stateroom

27 minutes ago, hammo said:

Thanks for the wonderful posts , and all the photos . We are doing this cruise cruise in August 2025 , but also SO  interested in your Singapore to Hongkong which we are on in January this year on Solstice . Please do the same as you have previously posted , its just a wonderful insight and an inspiration to us who have followd your travels  . 

Hi and thank you!
We did post while on the cruise. You can find it here:

If you are looking for private tours in Vietnam, contact Rose! She is absolutely the best!!! 

48 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

Off topic slightly, but I’m sure I read in one of your previous reviews that you flew with Lufthansa on the same flights that we intend to take. How did you find the experience? We’re flying business if that makes any difference. Thanks for any feedback you may provide 👍. Our flight is also around the 11.45am slot on disembarkation day🤞🏻.

To Japan we usually Fly ANA. Of course, since we start all our flights from Germany, we otherwise often fly Lufthansa. Lufthansa is a reliable and safe airline. Their business class is pretty good. LH is not my favorite airline (for personal reasons) but as an airline they are good.

But I also have to say that we don´t have too many expectations. We just want to get there 🙂
 

13 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

If the ship must clear immigration, do expect loosing > 2 hours port time except suite passengers

we have been to Kagoshima 3 times so far - incl. immigration process. I think it’s fair to say we know our way around there and how to do the things we like to do 😉

On our last visit the only problem we encountered was traffic. We happened to be there on the day of the Ohara Festival. Great experience.

13 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

Many Japan passes are moving to digital to reduce cost and manage. Osaka Amazing Pass and Kobe Loop-bus pass moved to digital version. Anyone who like to see Kagoshima city from a bus, just take the city view bus (not a HOHO), a 80 min circle run and cost 230 yen. 

Anyhow... I wouldn´t recommend limiting a visit of Kagoshima to a bus tour of the city.
The nice thing about the Cute pass is that the ferry to Sakurajima and the loop bus on Sakurajima are included as well a the public bus which one can take to the Sengan-en Gardens.
 

2 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

I was in Kagoshima in early March.

 

Paper Cute (1,200 Yen) is only available at tourist information desks in city center.

in October it was available at the port terminal.

Btw… getting the CUTE card (sold at the port) is a good idea.

Very inexpensive and includes the ferry etc.

https://www.kagoshima-yokanavi.jp/en/feature/one-day-pass2

We have been to Japan 3 times. Some cabs do, we found most cabs don’t. Check before you get on. In some places - like Tokyo / Yokohama - you can also use the uber app.

We have been to Tokyo / Japan a couple of times and never bothered to buy a suica card or to install it on my phone. Paying for the tickets as we went was OK, easy and worked well.

Another vote for Silhouette. Much nicer ship!

Last experiences on Solstice and Millennium. Food was good… but tbh Blu is not only about the food for us. Blu’s more relaxed ambiance and way more personal service still tops the loud and rushed MDR by far. Plus, we love breakfast at Blu.

6 hours ago, macaroni said:

Miaminice,

how early of a flight out of Haneda do you think we could make….hoping 11am?

Thanks!

Given the distance it is doable... taking for granted that the ship gets to the port on time.

Flying back from Japan we always grant ourselves another day which we use for some more sightseeing - Kamakura, Tokyo or Yokohama etc.

The day also provides a comfortable buffer.

Flying back from Hong Kong the last times we had a 11 pm flight. That was also fine with me. Otherwise I wouldn´t do it for such long haul flights.
Within Europe, no problem.

Long story short... 11am is doable. If you are up to possible stress due to delays in arrival or disembarkation is something you need to decide.
 

We did the trip in October on our third cruise to Japan. Bought the ticket at a machine (unreserved seats) and did the same on the way back. No problem. No need to reserve in advance.

On 4/6/2024 at 6:48 AM, CrispenFairchild said:

Is it hard to find the pier where Millennium is docked?  My cruise begins 5/27/24

Celebrity always use Osanbashi Cruise Terminal in Yokohama.
Pretty easy to rech by public transport from Tokyo.

JR train to Yokohama Station and then subway or taxi to the pier.

3 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

Everyone on a ship is a tourist. It's not the lanyard that gives you away. 😉

Being one and looking like one are two different things 😉

To me wearing a lanyard and looking like a marked sheep as part of a flock definitely belongs to the looking like one category 😉

Never did and never will! First I am on vacation and not on a convention, second - How could I look more touristy? 😁😉

3 hours ago, Letsgetreal said:

Hello Fellow cruisers... does anyone have any information as to how culturally immersed the actual Ship is on Japan cruises? I have heard amazing things about the Diamond Princess who have Japanese food and activities to really immerse into the Japanese culture on board - It was sold out and I am looking at the B2B in August 2024 on the millenium instead but I can't find anything about how international and cultural the on board food and activities are and if they are a reflection of the area it is cruising in ie Japan! 

It is such a special location that I would expect the ship to be more tailored to the destination in terms of its food and activities...anyone know anything on this front on the millenium please?

 

I am taking mum elderly parents 

 

Many Thanks

 

We have done one cruise to Japan on HAL and two on Celebrity Millennium. Cruisestitch link our latest review above. 
 

Besides the occasional dish on the buffet - like Ramen - and maybe a cultural show activities and food on board are like anywhere else and not really tailored to Japan.

Diamond Princess is a little different because she also has Japanese passengers on board. We considered Diamond Princess for a next cruise but ended up booking Millennium for a fourth cruise to Japan. Mainly because of the more attractive itinerary.

@Carlea1961 Yes, some companies do that.

Regardless, we just did the tour and we planned all our Vietnam tours with Rose, a young lady from Hanoi. Best tours ever - and we have done 30+ cruises worldwide,

We enjoyed Vietnam so much that we booked a Mekong River cruise for September this year including Anchor Wat at the end.

Here’s our report including contact info 

2 hours ago, CrispenFairchild said:

I am on the May 27 r/t Tokyo.  Anybody else on that one?.

Most EVERY tour is sold out, so it looks like I will be hiring independents!

I am traveling solo.

Any suggestions?  I have been looking on line, but so far have not found any day tour companies that will come to the ship and take me on a tour of Kyoto.

I know they must exist.  I am hoping somebody here has some info.

look at #31 for links with lots of info

9 hours ago, omahabob said:

I have zero interest in a spa, and the perks of old are fading away.

So do we. We never cared much about the thermal suite. And we couldn´t care less about a tote bag or things like that. We always asked for the canapes NOT to be delivered. Enough food as it is...

However, we love Aqua for Blu!!! We just don´t like the loud and hectic MDR and very much enjoy the more personal service of Blu.

So whenever we are not sailing on E class - very we also enjoy the smaller MDRs - we book AQ just for BLU. Given the price is not too crazy.

Metropolitan Marunouchi near Tokyo Station or the Park Hyatt known from the movie "Lost in translation".

We like to stay at the Gracery in Shinjuku.

Maybe this helps: 
https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2970853-celebrity-millennium-japan-10242023-liveish-report/page/2/

This was our third Japan cruise. This time we did Kyoto on day one by Shinkansen and Osaka on day 2.

Cruise # 4 is already booked 🙂

We like to stay at The Kowloon Hotel. Good hotel at a great location for reasonable rates. 

Cheapest way from the airport is the Airport Express train. However, taxis are not too expensive either. You can use the uber app for a small extra fee. 

For example a taxi from the port to the airport is just HK$ 280 - roughly US$ 35.
And the distance from the city to airport is shorter than that.

 

@wblotner66

We have stayed at the Metropolitan Marunouchi in Tokyo once and it was nice.

On other occasions we stayed at the Gracery Shinjuku and like it for its fabulous location and good quality for a reasonable price. 

We have also stayed at APA hotels (one in Shinjuku) and they offer very low rates. However, the rooms are miniscule. A ship´s stateroom is huge compared to them 🙂

If you are interested in the report of our latest cruise to Japan, you can find it here:
https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2970853-celebrity-millennium-japan-10242023-liveish-report/