uktog

Safe travels home. Hope it’s negative for you. I’ve realised our tests are past their sell by so tonight’s results may not be reliable. I noticed the stateroom staff were masked up this morning but maybe that’s standard on turn around

It’s so hard to say. They were all so different in their own way. And some like Kanazawa got extra points because they had the best blossom, Niigata had the sweetest pier staff and was quieter. Hiroshima was busy but thought provoking Kobe/Kyoto was very hectic but three iconic sights. I just can’t pick

Azamara provided a shuttle bus to Ginza 6 shopping mall every 30 minutes which worked extremely well for those who wish to explore Tokyo independently. Port authorities also provided a shuttle to the nearby area, including one that toured a range of parks locally. I just love the quirkiness of little things that have fascinated me in Japan, including the very small fire snf police stations at Ginza and the range of unusual products for sale in shops Today we disembark for two days, independent travelling before going home It has been a really good cruise showing what Azamara does best destination immersion. Having been on quest only a month previously the inconsistency of standards between the two ships was remarkable. Something that the officers we spoke with were well aware off - Journey food wise was far better than Quest and although where a few trainees who needed further guidance, the general level of service was also much higher. The hotel director Ryzard is returning to Quest mid contract in May having been over to support the Japan programme and he himself has identified how far ahead journey was from quest. In conversation in relation to the food side of the operations he was quick to highlight how good the executive chef Dhani is and the significance difference his hands on the approach to overseeing the galley makes It’s a very positive experience for us, but until we see consistency, we still have a little bit nervous about the future. Yes we saw small cutbacks, some more annoying than others but most of all we now feel without new ships and space layouts that work for today’s passengers Azamara are going to face more and more challenges. That said they nail destination immersion something they should really focus on

No they should be. We’ve got tests with us and I’m going to do one on DH tonight

On Azamara journey at present there is a really bad cough going round - it’s not hayfever as people say because it’s a rasping rattling chest cough and unfortunately when you’re on tour you have people bringing up phlegm beside you and doing very little to take care of where they dispose of their tissues. Also, the concept of putting your hand to your mouth is not something that many of the older guests seem to want to do. Despite being extremely careful we now are coming down with it and I think we can pinpoint which shore excursion that happened on - even our guide spoke to the guest about her coughing fits. Many crew have the cough as well and I really think the ship should have been more open about the problems and perhaps to have made facemasks more readily available. For several guests the argument for not wearing one when they should be as they did not bring any with them If embarking tomorrow you might want to get some cough medicine before boarding

Captain Dario has taken over from Captain Kresimir on journey today and Darren Lynton has rejoined as the cruise Director replacing Steven Willet who has been excellent and deserves his holiday. Darren will be on until the 10th August.

Shimizu was an interesting little town again an opportunity to see a real Japanese fishing town. Many made attempts to try and see Mount Fuji on ships excursions, but it was clear from sailing in today that it was not going to be the iconic picture day. I know the Cruise before I did have the iconic picture day, but then they had a lot more bad weather elsewhere than we had and it’s the price to pay for the many good days we’ve had. We had identified that there was a simple little ferry that cruises around the port with a 40 minute cruise costing ¥1500 but we even abandoned that idea when the clouds rolled down Fuji almost as soon as we arrived, Instead, we took the shuttle which dropped you off at the main station and walked over the walkway to the fish market -again the helpful locals made sure we were pointing in the right direction and as always the station overpass was absolutely immaculate. I think it’s going to be a real culture shock when we get home and start seeing litter and graffiti. I can’t really explain how clean you have to experience it to it. Two weeks in and we’ve never seen one piece. The market had so many different little restaurants serving fresh fish and it was clear that local people stopped for a snack whenever they wished Some of the restaurants had terminals that you ordered your seat and the food was brought to you The stall holders were so welcoming though spoke little English so google translate was a must. We did get the opportunity to try the local delicacy Sakura prawns which are so small so sweet and so fresh you do not even cook them We had an afternoon on the ship and also enjoyed a quiet evening They experimented with the timings on the ship moving the ABBA night to 2015 in the Cabaret lounge but unfortunately most of us were not out of dinner until later so could not enjoy it. It was over by 9 o’clock it was not the disco but the band and again many had to leave the cabaret because the band were too loud so not a huge success in our view. The Assistant CD was doing her show in the living room at 9:30 but we were so tired we decided to have an early night and be ready to enjoy Tokyo again. Unfortunately more and more people are coughing on board. It is certainly not an allergic reaction. It’s a deep rattling mucus chesty cough and those who have it are showing no regard for others - very rarely even wearing a mask to give some protection to others. It’s obvious who has got it and I do feel a little bit more should be being done directing these people to distance themselves and protect others and one critical direction should be to avoid travelling on the shuttle bus or shore excursions. I don’t think Azamara has done enough to limit the spread of these chest infections onboard.We saw crew working in state rooms and also in food service area with the same hacking cough which really surprised us.

As well as the guidance of sites already given I would suggest a starting point for your knowledge enhancement might also be the Apple site which is known for straight facts and no spin

It’s not allergies coughs. They aren’t typically coughing fits. They are very different and for the last week we’ve beyond the areas affected.

Next to the funnel is shuffleboard or a walkway

Fortunately we didn’t have to cancel any but I wish the guests who had hacking coughs had

Cabanas would likely have issues up there - everything has to be secured on Deck 11 whenever there is any breeze or when sailing in open seas.

Lunchtime pool deck music used to be pleasant eg piano player from the Den or a guitarist. The use of the band from the living room only works if they play at half the volume they assaulted our ears with. Yesterday it averaged 130 db of music that wasn’t the more relaxing popular stuff for over an hour. Today there is no music, it’s a beautiful day and everyone is relaxing. I don’t hear anyone saying this needs music 🎶

Sadly no. Manoj seems to be the lead sommelier just now

This is the confusing picture that we currently have in journey in other words very much depends on the excursion what the cancellation deadline is. I believe it has been quite forcibly applied from what I’m hearing and also that guests who were unwell were not given a refund unless they visited the ship doctor before the excursion Sadly this meant a large number of excursions had guests who should not have been on the bus. There are no repeated statements that if you have a cough cold or unwell you should not join the tour. There is also no freely available masks eg at Guest Relations. This Cruise the amount of coughing and I mean really bad coughing that is now prevalent is the worst I’ve ever seen in over 40 Azamara cruises. We sat on a bus for 10 hours with a woman who should have been in her bed and who did not even have the courtesy to wear a face mask or cover her mouth when she was having coughing fits. The guide was very uncomfortable with this and offered her medicine sweets to try and stop her coughing

She’s the hostess in the Speciality restaurant if that’s who you’re thinking of

Kobe Day 2 This was a half day in port. Again shuttles were provided downtown but many people either stayed onboard or went a short stroll around the harbour area. And then there were those with no sense and decided to max out sightseeing and head on the Best of Osaka tour which left at 0745. Well you’re possibly only here once etc! We were on one of the four buses of early rising lunatics 😃 Our first stop was at Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka. This is a shrine part of which dates back nearly 2000 years and has 2 million worshippers every year particularly at the New Year time. Sailors and those associated with the sea including ship builders come here and companies make offerings for which flags are placed each month to offer their prayers to the gods for safe passage and prosperity in the coming period. The shrine is incredibly tranquil after the busyness of the previous day and we were very lucky to be on a bus with an excellent guide - she was a former school teacher and she told us that she would be checking our understanding of places to meet and times as she would her school class. It really worked very well. She was also a fount of fantastic knowledge. One hint that nearly caught people out later at the castle the guide did make it clear what tree we were to meet and on the way in that seemed obvious but on the way back there were an awful lot of similar looking trees. So suggest a quick pic of the immediate surroundings might calm nerves! After enjoying time at the shrine on our own in the peace after thr initial introduction to all the main parts we headed off to Osaka Castle This is of course we entered the parking lot as usual 15 to 20 minutes walking from the castle and encountered the crowds though not as bad as the previous day they were still extensive. The castle is a restoration of an original castle as always they managed to burn down the previous versions as we have frequently discovered throughout Japan The most significant artefacts are on two floors where you can’t take photos but what is great for pictures is the view from the top of the castle over the Osaka area but it is an 8 storey climb. The second type of cherry blossoms are coming to bloom and they made for some lovely photo opportunities We returned to the ship just before sailing traffic was really bad, but of course it was no problem. The ship would wait. The barbecue was in full swing when we got back very crowded and very noisy. The band was far too loud and unfortunately completely drowned out the beautiful brass band that had come to play to send us off. That was a very much a fail by Azamara. We had a leisurely afternoon the loyalty event which was very well attended and a pleasant evening. We really enjoyed the evening evening entertainment creweoke which featured members of the crew performing really well one lady in particular should be given a slot in the Den in my view.

There is no shade on deck 11

No

It has on Journey some were also 72 hours ahead - also a high number are non cancellable eg where lunch is included

Today on Journey was an example of what we hate about live music on Azamara. We find the current band to be fronted by a screamer and they play unrecognisable sounds - maybe known in their country but what we could call grunge. It was the deck BBQ. (Also virtually no loungers for our only afternoon sailing in warmer weather). The noise was unbearable spoiling lunch for us. The lunch food was good. What made the assault on our ears worse, it was sail away - a local brass band had come to send us off as is the custom in Japan - they were virtually ignored and drowned out. It was a bad result all round in our view.

Kobe Day 1 It’s hard with an overnight to know how much to try to do. Kyoto is a 90 minute drive (or 40 minute Shinkansen) from the port. We did the 10 hour tour to Arashiysma, the Golden Pavillion and Fushima Inari shrine (10000 tori gates though you only go through 1000). It goes by bus each way and was the only way we could find to see these three places. I wish Azamara had charged more, used the Shinkansen and allowed a little more time at each spot. The problem was in each spot we stopped nearly half the time was spent walking from parking lots to the actual site. It was a Sunday so super crowded though we were ok with that - some weren’t As is often our challenge we were on the bus with the less competent guide. Ours was incapable of giving clear instructions on where/when to meet - thank goodness our bus had a ships escort!! Anyway despite the guiding chaos we achieved our aim of seeing the three amazing sites The bamboo forest The Golden Pavilion The tori gates And shrines

I’m ok with the sun deck as it is. There are lounger chairs and sofas and is a nice/different ambiance to the pool deck which on Quest suffers grunge Muzak during what should have been a relaxing sail through beautiful scenery yesterday. Deck 11 was a great escape

Didn’t Azamara give guidance on this pre cruise?

Takimatsu We had a beautiful morning sailing the Inland Japan Sea under the key bridges (some before dawn) and passing islands arriving to a warm welcome at lunch time . Takimatsu is a lovely port as you can see from this balcony shot and many enjoyed visiting the bonsai gardens nearby. In planning our excursions I wanted us to enjoy a range of experiences so we went to a Noodle School followed by a visit to Kotohira temple. Ok it said strenuous we’ve been cracking strenuous but this was something else The noodle school is in Kagawaken about an hour from the port. Two highly energetic (and loud) ladies shout directions in Japanese. It was a bit chaotic because they interrupt the guides interpretation so no one really knew what they were doing but it was fun. A key part of the process was placing the dough in poly bags and stamping on it ! After we had to cook and eat our efforts! The little town was so lovely non touristy would have been a better trip if we had longer there. The temple was challenging. After 200 steps and reaching this pretty temple we gave up. These final 150 stairs up and up beat us. Those who made said it wasn’t that special but maybe we are all temples out. We’ve all given feedback - noodle school plus time in the town would be a far better experience. Indeed only 9/17 even got on the bus to go to the temple. We got back at 1835 (which messed up some dinner reservations) to a beautiful Sunset snapped from the gangway. We enjoyed our trip but feel it needs reworked before we would recommend it