Japan 20 day cruise starting March 28th 2024

[ETph2200]

Hello,

 

Looking for other people who may have some information on day trips at some of the ports we land on. I have looked around on Viator and some others and can't seem to find much. I also am unsure as to whether this is companies that come to the ports, or if there is a shuttle bus to take you into a town.

[Essiesmom]

You might ask on the ports of call board here for Japan.  There are also Roll Calls for both legs of your cruise, one for the 10 days from March 28.  The other is for the 20 days starting April 7, and will cover the last ten days of your cruise.  roll Valls are where you can connect with other CC members who will be sailing with you.  They will be full of plans for independent excursions.  To find these roll calls, go back to the main boards page, scroll down to Roll Calls, click on Princess, then Diamond Princess, and scroll down looking for a thread with the dates for your cruise’s.  The one for the 28th is near the top, the one for April 7 is further down.  EM

Edited November 21, 2023 by Essiesmom

[mtnesterz]

We returned from Japan on the Diamond Princess a couple weeks ago.

I see you originally posted on the Princess board so assuming this is the case for you.

There are shuttles to take you to town at the ports.  The lines are long and for the ports that come to mind, town is much too far to walk. In US dollars, the shuttle was $30pp. I don't remember the name of the company. We did excursions so no experience riding those shuttles.

[thehowlingroad]

Hello! I'm the author of the March 28th-April 7th roll call board. We've had some discussions on the roll call, and a resource site is up and running, if you want to come and say hello! That is definitely the place to ask more specific questions about day tours and to get to know your fellow cruisers.

 

The situation with the Japanese ports is that outside of the major cities, the tour companies have struggled with finding English-speaking guides/drivers. The ships book many of them for the ship-sponsored tours, which can cause a shortage of third-party tours. Another thing to be aware of is that many of the third-party guides use public transportation rather than a private vehicle. We've hired guides in Shimizu and for Kyoto for our family; in one, the tour company is helping us to book a chartered taxi for the whole length of the tour, and in the other, the guide will be taking us on public transit.

[mtnesterz]

41 minutes ago, thehowlingroad said:

The situation with the Japanese ports is that outside of the major cities, the tour companies have struggled with finding English-speaking guides/drivers. The ships book many of them for the ship-sponsored tours, which can cause a shortage of third-party tours. 

I'd give a lot of creedence to this poster. I did not want to run long in my earlier post.  Our on-ship booked excursions had tour guides who did not speak English well enough to be understood by most. One woman who sat near us was able to understand the accent and relate what was said to others around us.

On our Roll Call, several got together for private shore excursions and now, back home, we wish we had done these. So to the OP, if you have not done so already, do join your Roll Call.