CHICAGOPAUL LIVE!!!!! 15 Night Bering Sea & Japan TRANSPACIFIC CRUISE - LIVE BLOG

[Briggs99]

YAY! We love reading your blogs.  I’m quite interested in the weather from Canada to Japan.   Keep us informed on those Glorious sea days.

[nikel]

6 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

 

We are doing Hawaii to Vancouver in the spring on the Eclipse. 

 

 

Are you on the one April 20th.  I have been following all your blogs forever.....will be so happy if we can finally get to meet.....

So looking forward to reading all about this one as it is also on our bucket list.  We were supposed to do it this November, but had to cancel.   

Edited September 6, 2019 by nikel
forgot info

[chicagopaul]

Cheers Everyone! Well we arrived in Vancouver. We are off to dinner at Carderos and when I return I’ll review our flight, immigration, and dinner. But first here is a beautiful sunset photo Edward took. 

 

[TinyG]

Following along as we will take Mille in 2021 back to Canada from Tokyo! Wonderful review! Please show us the new cabins!!

[h20cruzer]

So now we know who got the window seat.

[chicagopaul]

We just returned from dinner at Carderos and had a wonderful meal but before I get into that let’s talk about the flight. 

 

Our flight departed on time and we arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule. The flight itself was smooth albeit we did have two small children behind us practicing their soccer skills on our seats. I kept my composure however since I figured strangling a child mid flight might cause me to miss embarkation tomorrow and also may land me on a do not fly list. Again I reminded myself that in a few weeks I will wish I was back on that plane being kicked by a belligerent toddler on my way to Vancouver. 

 

Upon landing I saw a British Airways A380 taxing in front of us. Nice view, but also knew we’d be fighting them for positions in customs. Most of them beat us to customs but YVR did a great job of knowing this, bringing on extra border officers, etc so what looked like a long like wasn’t. After a quick pass through immigration we headed off to get our bags and guess what...all 3 bags were the first off. We then head to the taxi line and again....didn’t have to wait! 

 

$32CAD to the Hyatt Regency from the airport. No traffic. We arrived in our hotel room around 8:30. We arrived at our gate around 7:25. Not bad timing. 

 

The weather here is perfect. Upper 60s or around 20 Celsius. We dropped off our bags, put on some fresh cologne, and headed out to Carderos. 

 

We walked led by the port and spotted a Princess ship still docked. Check out the photo below. 

 

[chicagopaul]

Air Canada. I forgot to mention I was pleasantly surprised again by the prompt, efficient and friendly service on the flight. This marks our third Air Canada flight in a few months and all 3 were very consistent with what should be expected in a 4 hour economy flight. 

 

Tonights dinner was exactly what we wanted. We were able to get a table outside and had great friendly service. We started with a tuna appetizer, followed by soup (Edward had the barley soup and I had the Manhattan Clam Chowder) and we both had the halibut for an entree. The halibut had a wonderful mustard wine / butter sauce that I loved. For wine we both started with a glass of Chardonnay and had a nice Chablis with the halibut. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we chatted with our waitress and closed the bill. Total bill was $189CAD plus tip. Chardonnay was $14.50/glass (Kendall Jackson) and the Chablis was $19 so if we subtracted those 4 glasses from the bill the food was pretty reasonable and made even more reasonable by the exchange rate. 

 

We walked back back to the hotel on perfectly quiet streets. Just like last time I’m amazed at how comfortable and pleasant it is to walk around here. Sure the weather plays a part in that but so does the overall cleanliness, politeness of people and the overall diversity I see everywhere. It’s simply comfortable. I’d describe it as a nice fall day, sitting on your living room sofa with the windows open while wearing a light merino cashmere blend sweater and reading a book where the smell of the pages jump off and mix with the autumn air. Simply comfortable. Ok is that going too far? I swear I only had two glasses of wine tonight. 

 

We are back in our hotel room now. It is comfy and clean. Just like last time there are more outlets and USB charging ports than you’d know what to do with. My nightstand has a total of 4 charging ports! 2 outlets and 2 USBs. When Hyatt remodeled this hotel they definitely listened when it came to the average traveler with multiple devices. 

 

As always thank you so much for following along. Tomorrow morning we plan to grab coffee, walk over and take some photos of the ship and then walk over with our luggage. With this being said if any of you have experience WALKING to the port with your luggage please do chime in and let us know where we should enter to drop off our luggage! 

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by chicagopaul

[Xrayal]

13 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

Return Flights

 

We are flying home September 22nd from Tokyo. We booked American Airlines on their 787 (dreamliner) in Premium Economy to LAX and then switch planes to an A321 to ORD. On our NRT to LAX flight we were able to snag the bulkhead seats in Premium Economy.

 

This was not booked through Celebrity. We used Google Flights to search and ended up booking through the Japanese version of the AA website.

 

Cost: $1289 per person.

Hi Paul

 

I don't know if you've flown AA Premium Economy before but we did to and from Miami (from LHR) in November last year for our Reflection cruise (we were on the same cruise as you).  We were really impressed and also had the bulkhead seats.  My main complaint is that the drinks service is shared with economy, so same selection and plastic.cuos rather than glassware.  The food was excellent though, I ordered the Asian Vegetarian as a special and it was excellent.

 

You lose a small amount of seat width in the bulkhead because the IFE screen is in your armrest and you have to have this docked for takeoff and landing.  The leg rest is far better in the bulkhead.  We flew on the 777 and the bulkhead has no window but I think on the 787 you'll get a window.

 

You paid in line with what we paid for a similar journey.

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review and photos.  Have a great time!

[stinsowm]

HI Paul and Edward!!  I am following along as usual and love your writing skills Paul as you make us all feel like we are right there with you.  I am sailing out of Vancouver in just over 2 weeks on the Eclipse to Hawaii and curious about walking to the port from the hotel as well.   Bon Voyage and do hope to sail with you guys some day!!

 

Walter

[bluwes]

Great to see you back Paul. Looking forward to reading the review. 

We may struggle to follow on Live as we board the Edge out of Rome on Monday sailing the Amalfi coast and the Greek Islands. Have a great trip, and yes, we intend to !

[lola2013]

15 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

 

We are doing Hawaii to Vancouver in the spring on the Eclipse. 

 

Lucky, lucky, lucky...my friends and I did Hawaii to Vancouver on Solstice a couple of years ago in a SV...the sunsets heading east across the Pacific were amazing.

[awhfy]

16 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

 

We are doing Hawaii to Vancouver in the spring on the Eclipse. 

We did that cruise on Solstice. Last 3 days were cold enough that we didn’t go out on deck without jacket, hat & gloves (tad rough too). The Martini Bar was packed at all hours. Brett Nixon & his Amanda were the naturalists on board (fabulous lectures, 1/2 Hawaii & 1/2 Alaska)

 

we've opted for Vancouver-Hawaii in (16 days) September & a week in Oahu after for our 50th wedding anniversary. Melody & Les

[silkismom]

We did the same cruise in Sept 17, wonderful!! Unless you've been to Tokyo before, I would have recommended spending a few days there. I'll dig out my scrapbook and add things we did in Otaru & Hakodate later, both great cities.  Enjoy, I'd do the trip again. 

[h20cruzer]

Such a nice review to wake up to this Friday morning!!!!  It's gridlock with taxi's and cars trying to pick up and drop off passengers not to mention the buses. You have to go down a flight, someone will certainly direct you. Sometimes it's better to enter through the Pan Pacific and take their elevator down.

Have a great trip.

Norma

[chicagopaul]

10 minutes ago, h20cruzer said:

Such a nice review to wake up to this Friday morning!!!!  It's gridlock with taxi's and cars trying to pick up and drop off passengers not to mention the buses. You have to go down a flight, someone will certainly direct you. Sometimes it's better to enter through the Pan Pacific and take their elevator down.

Have a great trip.

Norma

 

Thank you Norma! Entering through Pan Pacific might make sense. We are up and about early. Going to grab some coffee and then we will walk over there and ask around about the best way. Just trying to avoid to waiting forever for an elevator but if that’s my biggest concern the day is good. 

[maggie.1008]

Hi Paul, I made a mistake on my Hawaii cruise date. We will be cruising with you on April 20, 2020 HNL to YVR. We have several friends joining us. For the first time in years we won`t be in  AQ or suite. Steerage balcony on deck 7 for us. We are doing 4 cruses in the coming year, starting with Oceania this November. My DH and I were both in the Airline business and are getting tired of long flights across the pond. We are now spending more money to go F/C  on flights than on our cruise. No using airline passes for us as the flights are all full and we don`t want to get bumped and miss our cruise. 

I will be following your blog with a glass a wine. 

If you can would you let me know if you receive a flyer about buying drink tickets. I read here on CC that others have had them about the 3rd day of the cruise. We have booked one cruise that does not come with the drink package and these drink coupons would be a nice addition to out Elite Plus benefits. 

 

Cheers, Heather

[kpark895]

Looking forward to the rest of this great live review!  Thanks, Paul!  Hope you and Edward have a wonderful time.

[Lovesealife]

I was so excited to come home and see this yesterday. After a long day I was like yes! We get to go on a journey with Paul and Edward! I am looking forward to following along! Thank you for sharing so we can live vicariously through you!

[Zigster]

Looking forward to following along on your amazing journey.  Seems as though you got a great price on your Aqua cabin. I'm very excited to see your photos and hear everything about your adventure.

Wishing you and Edward safe travels and a Happy Sailing!

Patty

[PRH]

We’re on this same cruise next September followed by the best of Japan cruise.  Looking forward to hearing your impressions.

[chicagopaul]

So it’s a few minutes after 10. We got up, grabbed some coffee and walked around the port to view the ships. Millennium is there of course plus a silver seas ship and Radiance of the Seas. The weather is perfect in the mid 60s right now. We were going to walk to the port but with our large luggage we are going to be lazy and take a cab. Well worth the $10/15. 

 

We have our luggage tags on and ready to go! I’ll let you know how check in goes. Fingers crossed it is quick but if not, like I said before, it is all part of the journey! 

 

Also so thank you for all the kind comments above and names of staff on the ship. I’m going to save all the names on my phone keep an eye out for everyone. 

 

 

[chicagopaul]

This morning in front of the ship 

 

Radiance of the seas. 

[TeaBag]

Bon Voyage.  What a beautiful day to sail.  The third ship is the Silver Muse.  It was not on the schedule.  Maybe it's lost?😀  We told our friends there would only be the two ships.  I hope embarkation goes well for you all.

[Luckynana]

Hello Chicagopaul!  I am loving your blog, as usual, and will happily be following you along on your new adventure.  Have a great time!😊