Celebrity Millennium Japan - 10/24/2023 - Live(ish) Report

[little britain]

@Miaminice

A fabulous review! 
I’m in early planning stages for 2025 trip.

 

Can you please share some prices - how much was the taxi to the Nihondaira Ropeway and the cable car to the shrine ?

The train fare 🚄 to Kyoto ⛩️? 

Do you have to pay to enter shrines, or the Tokyo palace gardens? 

thanks 🙏 

[poppymum]

What wonderful trip and updates. Really loving reading it thank you 😊 

I wonder if the ship has any Japanese feel events to it? Food? Dance class? Origami? 

Your day in Osaka by train is my aim for my trip next year. Thank you

[Tipsy252]

Following as we will be embarking Millie on 17 Nov 2023. Loving your photos and commentary as we also have a great love and respect for the country and people of Japan.

[petsmart]

Nice pictures.  We should have been on this cruise if not for the overbooked situation.  Looking forward to more pictures to come.

[MandL]

Thank you for the live posts! We sail Millie in March.  Greatly appreciate this.

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Thank you.  I recently upgraded my 13 ProMax for the 15 ProMax and was intending to use that for my camera as well. 

 

Have you been having any  problems with IOS17.    On both my 14 and 15 ProMax most of my AudioBooks won't play.   I downloaded a couple AudioBook Readers and they work perfect.   On my 14 I downgraded it back to IOS16 and they play perfect.    Also often my volume on ringers go up or down for no reason and the only way to get back to normal have to make a hard boot.

[NMTraveller]

@Miaminice I notice that some of the menus are in English.  Do a fair amount of the hotel employees speak English?  Will I be able to navigate without speaking Japanese in the tourist areas?

 

I am asking about the hotel stays before and after as I realize that the tours will be in English.

Edited October 28, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Miaminice]

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

@Miaminice I notice that some of the menus are in English.  Do a fair amount of the hotel employees speak English?  Will I be able to navigate without speaking Japanese in the tourist areas?

 

I am asking about the hotel stays before and after as I realize that the tours will be in English.

Hotel staff speak English - no problem there.

At other places people will go out of there way to help you, even if they don’t speak English.

 

BTW: at a subway station we witnessed someone yelling at staff because they didn’t know which ticket to buy and where to go. We felt ashamed…

I said to Birgit: we are in Japan! It’s not that they don’t speak our language, we don’t speak theirs!

[Ken the cruiser]

Wow! What great pictures! They caused a bunch of memories to come rushing back from our Japan circumnavigation cruise on the Diamond Princess this past July! Have a great cruise!! 😁

[DaKahuna]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Have you been having any  problems with IOS17.    On both my 14 and 15 ProMax most of my AudioBooks won't play.   I downloaded a couple AudioBook Readers and they work perfect.   On my 14 I downgraded it back to IOS16 and they play perfect.    Also often my volume on ringers go up or down for no reason and the only way to get back to normal have to make a hard boot.

 

No, I have not been having any issues at all but I also do not do AudioBooks. 

 

Jim, IOS 17.1 just released.  Have you tried that to see if it fixed your audio book issue? 

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by DaKahuna

[sunlover33]

Wonderful to follow your trip. It brings back so many happy memories of our trip on 2017 to Japan.  Wonderful country and absolutely lovely people who go out of their way to genuinely welcome you. We will be on the Millie again in 4 weeks when she reaches Singapore, but until then enjoying your trip and fabulous photos. Thank you for sharing. 

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 6 – Kochi

We remembered Kochi as a charming but also not very big destination from our last trip. That suited us well because we didn’t have to get up early. We left around ten, when the first rush was over and took the complimentary shuttle into town. 
 

 

From the bus terminal it was just a short walk through Kochi‘s shopping arcade to the vibrant little vermilion Harimaya Bridge in the heart of the city of Kochi. It is a popular photo spot for lovers because it is the setting of a legendary love story between a monk and a local woman. 

 

 

 

 

Back on the arcade street we heard the music of a marching band accompanying a Halloween parade of little kids in costumes. Policemen, princesses, monsters, kids dressed as Starbucks cups… an overload of cuteness.

 

 

Marching on ourselves we reached Kochi Castle - an imposing stronghold guarding Kochi from the top of Otakayama hill. Steep steps through the park lead to the castle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birgit and I smiled about the people who thought they were hard to manage because we knew that the stairs in the castle itself rather be called ladders than stairs.

Nevertheless, once you managed to climb them, you are rewarded with panoramic views on Kochi.

 

 

 

 

Our timing was perfect, because when we walked down from the castle again it was just about the right time to satisfy the appetite we worked up at the nearby Hirome Market. Birgit had some of the famous local bonito charred in a blazing rice straw fire.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back we walked through a Eco Learning Fair with nice stalls and many activities for kids. A Power Ranger show on the center stage captivated kids and parents alike.

 

 

 

 

 

We continued and entered the local Daimaru department store. Next to the entrance we found the weird side of Japan. They sold Lovots, a self learning robot serving as a pet. OK ???

 

 

 

 

A shuttle bus took us back to the ship and Al Bacio. This time the beautiful weather held for the farewell show on the pier when we sailed away from Kochi. 

 

 

At 9pm we watched one more show - the performance of cellist Wendy Law in the theater. We are usually not big fans of the shows, but her performance was fabulous.

 

[poppymum]

Thankyou! What a great day in Kochi, this was my plan.  ... shuttle bus if there is one ryc and now I know there is! I bet the tuna was fabulous. Enjoy! 

[Louhut1]

We love the Millie. We were on it just before it was revolutionized and then on it after on an Alaskan cruise.  It was amazing the change and felt we were on a new ship.  We were in Aqua then too.  Love Aqua. 

[monkey@cruise]

1 hour ago, poppymum said:

Thankyou! What a great day in Kochi, this was my plan.  ... shuttle bus if there is one ryc and now I know there is! I bet the tuna was fabulous. Enjoy! 

Seared Bonito is mackerel , not tuna. The fish is tastiest during the early summer and late fall. It is served with ponzu , a citrus-based sauce (Yuzu).

[poppymum]

7 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

Seared Bonito is mackerel , not tuna. The fish is tastiest during the early summer and late fall. It is served with ponzu , a citrus-based sauce 

Thanks! Never knew that....Will be looking up more about it ...I could see the sauce in the photo and wondered what that was too. Many thanks 

[zeberdee]

Excellent trip report, thank you for sharing the information and your lovely photos.

We are doing this trip next October and have never been to Japan before. 

[micruiser2002]

11 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

Seared Bonito is mackerel , not tuna. The fish is tastiest during the early summer and late fall. It is served with ponzu , a citrus-based sauce (Yuzu).

From everything we have read and saw when in Kochi it is tuna.  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5606.html

[hcat]

loved all the latest photos.. very artistic   But..esp  enjoyed ones showing people and all the kids doing their thing...makes it special!

Edited October 30, 2023 by hcat

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, micruiser2002 said:

From everything we have read and saw when in Kochi it is tuna.  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5606.html

My understanding is that in Japan 'Bonito' can cover both Bonito and Skipjack Tuna, as they are used in a similar fashion from a culinary perspective.

 

But although part of the same larger family they are different fish and a Bonito is not in the same 'tribe' as the Tuna. 

 

@Miaminice Thanks for the wonderful photos and details of your excursions.

 

We are currently booked on Millie for 2025 so your reviews are very much on point.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Mark_T

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

From everything we have read and saw when in Kochi it is tuna.  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5606.html

 

Skipjack tuna is more commonly known as bonito.  Even says so in your article. 

 

 

[monkey@cruise]

4 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

From everything we have read and saw when in Kochi it is tuna.  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5606.html

Bonito is a fish related to mackerel, skipjack tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes. In Japan, is not marketed as Tuna.

[monkey@cruise]

8 hours ago, poppymum said:

Thanks! Never knew that....Will be looking up more about it ...I could see the sauce in the photo and wondered what that was too. Many thanks 

If fish is dried, fermented and smoked. Then tissue-paper thin shavings to make Bonito flakes, or katsuobushi.

Kochi castle - you must remove your shoes to visit the castle keep. Be careful if wearing slippery socks. My guide told me that accident did happened. To access the keep, the correct position is climb up and down like a ladder, prevent back injuries from slips or falls.

[monkey@cruise]

4 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

From everything we have read and saw when in Kochi it is tuna.  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5606.html

You read and saw. Did you eat bonito  and tuna in Kochi?  I did, bonito is firm texture makes it a favorite for grilling and searing; served with Ponzu Sauce (similar to a vinaigrette). Tuna is slightly softer texture;  served with soy sauce. 

[VioletView]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:12 AM, cinnamon said:

Eek!

Thanks for the heads up. I guess we’ll try to work on our fitness for the next 11 months. 😉

I went to Japan this past spring (was supposed to be on this cruise but had to switch it up)  and we used Go With Guide for local guides.  We basically booked the time period we wanted and then customized the tour with the guide in advance - we just let them know what our priorities were and that we didn't want to feel rushed and that sometimes I had knee issues that limited my walking  - and they planned around those parameters.  So I think if you manage your expectations and theirs (like, a four hour tour with you and your group might see 3 sites, even if they can do a four hour tour with other people and see 5 sites) it will work out great.