Live from the Diamond, July 10-27, 17-day B2B around Japan and Korea

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

I love all your photos of the deer and even the elusive Nara pigeon was very colorful! I was surprised to see how friendly the deer appeared to be in your photos.

Don’t let them fool you. Some can be quite “nippy” if you feed some of the others in the group and not them. Our granddaughter got nipped a few times, and I got a good nudge one time when I gave one of the waivers to a nearby deer. 😂

[KLM3164]

On 7/24/2023 at 5:37 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

There is also a Legoland!

😂

[KLM3164]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We then used the time to walk around the ship to take some pictures of the Osaka skyline at night.

The night time photos of the Ferris wheel are beautiful. The one reminds me of a peacock.

[KLM3164]

18 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

Oh, a Moscato at dinner? I never heard that before. It's very sweet, it's a dessert wine usualy for after dinner.

I only like sweet wines so if I have wine at dinner it will most likely be a Moscato. Several people I know drink Moscato at dinner so it’s not only for after dinner. 

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

I only like sweet wines so if I have wine at dinner it will most likely be a Moscato. Several people I know drink Moscato at dinner so it’s not only for after dinner. 

Interesting side note. Moscato is not listed on either the white wine or sparkling wine lists on the App. So if you like Moscato for dinner, just ignore that it’s not listed and just order it.

[austromyrtus]

18 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Interesting side note. Moscato is not listed on either the white wine or sparkling wine lists on the App. So if you like Moscato for dinner, just ignore that it’s not listed and just order it.

if you like sweet wine, i suggest trying the japanese plum wine if it is available. it was served in the bars when we were on the diamond princess in 2019. 

[Kellyansapansa]

3 hours ago, austromyrtus said:

if you like sweet wine, i suggest trying the japanese plum wine if it is available. it was served in the bars when we were on the diamond princess in 2019. 

Yes! Umeshu is delicious. 😊

[Ken the cruiser]

Our final evening on the ship! After our last tasty dinner in the Santa Fe RCDR, we headed off to watch our favorite production show, Born To Be Wild, and as usual they rocked the house!

 

  

 
Then we headed over to the Explorers Lounge to watch one of our favorite game shows where the entire Entertainment cast tries to portray various movies! 
 

 

The Bodyguard  

 

 
Baywatch

 

 
My Little Mermaid

 

 
Ghost and Ghost Busters

 

 

The Matrix

 

 
Jurassic Park

 

 

 
Titanic

 

The awesome Entertainment Cast!!

 

 
Then it was back to the cabin to finish packing and put the luggage out.

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[LACruiser88]

Safe travels home!  Thank you for taking the time to "Live" blog!

[Teechur]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Don’t let them fool you. Some can be quite “nippy” if you feed some of the others in the group and not them. Our granddaughter got nipped a few times, and I got a good nudge one time when I gave one of the waivers to a nearby deer. 😂

I was head-butted a few times by the deer. "Feed me!!!"🦌 LOL!

[have2vacation]

Thank you so much for bringing cruise critic on your cruise. We learned a lot and are so excited to take our first Japan cruise in April. 
 

On another note, does anyone have suggestions for a hotel that’s in the lower price range. We only need 2 nights before cruise but don’t want to pay for a room that we will hardly use. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Yokohama, Japan! Our final excursion on this cruise will be a 4-hour debark tour of the Tokyo area on our way to the airport, which I’m sure will include a temple and shrine or two.

 

 

 

 
Thank goodness it’s only going to be 95 degrees in Tokyo! 😂

 

[adventurenerd]

Thank you for your wonderful live reports. 

We enjoyed them!!

Arigatou!!!

 

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you so much for all the reviews, Patter, menu, answering questions, and the nice pictures!!

Have a safe and smooth flight!! 

[Mittagong traveller]

Yes thank you Ken I have enjoyed your posts as well. Thank you for taking the time to share!

 Beth

[Mah Jongg]

Thank you Ken, I have enjoyed reliving this cruise. Have a safe trip home.

[Steiner2010]

@Ken the cruiser  Thank you for your excellent posts.  Just for my own clarification, Which pier did you disembark from Diamond Princess in Yokohama:  Osanbashi or Daikoku?  Have a safe trip home.

[Justpackingmybags]

Thank you for sharing. I’m now searching daily to see when Princess release their 2025 itineraries! So far Cunard, HAL & NCL are available for April 2025 but I’d like to see what Princess can offer!

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, Steiner2010 said:

@Ken the cruiser  Thank you for your excellent posts.  Just for my own clarification, Which pier did you disembark from Diamond Princess in Yokohama:  Osanbashi or Daikoku?  Have a safe trip home.

Osanbashi 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at terminal 3 at the Haneda airport, checked our bags and have gone through security. We are now relaxing at the gate waiting to board our flight in a few hours. For those interested it took about 90 minutes to check our bags and get through the really long security line.
 

Just a suggestion but if you check into your flight online within 24 hours prior to the flight, it will make checking your bags much quicker since you’ll be able to use the self service kiosk to print your luggage tags when you arrive at the airport. Well, that applies to at least AA flights. 

[Leish]

Thank you for all your interesting and informative posts. It is greatly appreciated 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

We also had a great time on our airport transfer excursion where we got to see the Senso-ji Temple, Meiji Shrine, and a drive through downtown Tokyo. Here are “a few” of the photos I took along the way. 😁
 

The tour had only about 20 guests. 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 
Tokyo Tower

 

 
Meiji Shrine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Senso-ji Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then last but not least to end another awesome cruise, here is a photo of the very elusive Tokyo pigeon I was able to take a photo of before getting back on the bus! 😂

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

For those interested our next B2B cruise will be in October which will consist of a 5-day PCL land tour from Toronto to Quebec, followed by a 12-day cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess, and ending with a 5-day Caribbean cruise. 

When I start the Live From thread for that “much cooler” cruise, I’ll post the link here. 😁

[LizikinsLivesToCruise]

Thank you very much @Ken the cruiser for this live report. Two of my sisters were on the Diamond Princess in April and in June, but they did not provide live reports 😊. Like you, they are retired. A Japan cruise is definitely in my future. Safe trip home! Looking forward to your next cruise so I can tag along again.

[villauk]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those interested our next B2B cruise will be in October which will consist of a 5-day PCL land tour from Toronto to Quebec, followed by a 12-day cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess, and ending with a 5-day Caribbean cruise. 

When I start the Live From thread for that “much cooler” cruise, I’ll post the link here. 😁

 

@Ken the cruiser Thank you for your excellent review. We’re so looking forward to our Japan cruise next year.
 

On a side note, we did the exact same cruise on Caribbean Princess that you’re taking in October but in reverse before Covid. We love that east coast, especially all the wonderful ports on the itinerary. Enjoy, and look forward to your next ‘Live From’ 👍!