MandL

Couldn’t agree more. Just returned after 30 days of this wonderful country. We did the journey on our own as you did to Kamakura. Might not have if it wasn’t for your wonderful outline and photos. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. Thanks again!

Agreed. And our fall back Pinot Noir is the Celebrity Elegance. We just returned from the Millennium (in Luminae). Not a lot of choices, but the Sommelier tried his best. We finally purchased a bottle of good wine towards the end of the cruise that couldn’t be purchased by the glass. That’s how they hold back the best wines.

I always take a screenshot for my back up.

Only use the ship for dry cleaning and if laundry is necessary, only items you aren’t concerned with. All others, do it yourself! Hand wash, wrap in towel to remove as much moisture as possible, and hang dry. I always ask for extra towels day and evening service, so no problem doing this. Good luck.

We were in a suite and invited to the Chef’s Table on the Millennium in March. It was a great experience. The Galley tour alone is better than the typical Galley Tour. As for the wine, the Sommelier will try to upsell you the $60 per person (plus gratuity). Not worth it. The wine is not free flowing. You are better off with using your Premium wine package and upgrade if you choose. Dinner was fabulous, along with photograph and cookbook. A one time experience.

if you are talking about the MK taxi service booking in advance, yes it is very expensive in advance, and mentions rules about luggage size and limits. We did not pre-book our taxi from Haneda to Conrad, nor Conrad to Port. We just did walk ups and for luggage to be specific we had a lot (each had a travel pro large roll on, and a travel pro carry on, along with a personal item DH had backpack and I had a zippered carry all. It was only 7250 yen and no problem with luggage. 7500 yen to port (but remember our port was a tad further, so probably less if you are staying in Yokohama). I am in total agreement on needing a reservation for party of four. Our hotel provided us with information on a limousine service for that, but didn’t need it.

Important Alert - Update The tsunami warning has been lifted and the port is now open. Celebrity Millennium will arrive by 1:30 ... https://evb.gg/n#ka666i4ok4o Celebrity was very good at keeping us updated. The guide - not so much.

First email from Celebrity: Dear Guest, Celebrity Millennium had to depart the port for safe waters due to a tsunami warning. The initial forecasted wave has already passed. We are now waiting on local authorities for further information on when we can return to port, and we anticipate the warning will be lifted very soon. Please listen for emergency information and alerts. If you're on a Celebrity shore excursion, please remain with your group. Please do not return to the port yet, as we are waiting to learn when it will reopen. Your safety is our priority. We are monitoring this situation as closely as possible and will be in contact with you every hour with updates or details. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises

Dear Guest, The tsunami warning has been lifted and local authorities have advised that the port of Okinawa is now open. As we make our way back, below is important information. The aftershocks of the earthquake were not strong enough to cause tsunami waves. As a result, Celebrity Millennium will arrive to its original terminal by 1:30 PM, and we will extend our stay until 10:00 PM. Guests who are ashore may return to the ship at their leisure. If you are on a Celebrity Cruises shore excursion, you may continue enjoying it or return to the ship. Please let your guide know how you would like to proceed. Guests onboard may begin debarking the ship shortly after 1:30 PM to explore everything Okinawa has to offer. In an abundance of caution, guests booked on independent tours, please refrain from any tours with ocean activities, like snorkeling, swimming, or sailing. Your safety is our priority. Thank you so much for your attention and cooperation during this time. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises Here is the second email from Celebrity. Sorry about that! I posted out of order 🤓

We are now headed back to the ship from the excursion. We did get phone notification that the warning is over. I have an earthquake app on my phone because we lived in California. So I get updates on all of what’s going on.

We were out on an excursion when our phones started going off with the warnings. Then got a text from Celebrity to refer to their email. This is the email: Dear Guest, The tsunami warning has been lifted and local authorities have advised that the port of Okinawa is now open. As we make our way back, below is important information. The aftershocks of the earthquake were not strong enough to cause tsunami waves. As a result, Celebrity Millennium will arrive to its original terminal by 1:30 PM, and we will extend our stay until 10:00 PM. Guests who are ashore may return to the ship at their leisure. If you are on a Celebrity Cruises shore excursion, you may continue enjoying it or return to the ship. Please let your guide know how you would like to proceed. Guests onboard may begin debarking the ship shortly after 1:30 PM to explore everything Okinawa has to offer. In an abundance of caution, guests booked on independent tours, please refrain from any tours with ocean activities, like snorkeling, swimming, or sailing. Your safety is our priority. Thank you so much for your attention and cooperation during this time. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises

Are these delivered to your room the night before or do you pick them up in the Retreat Lounge the day of? These are great for information. Dotonburi is on my list of places to visit. We have a ship's tour scheduled for Osaka Castle. —————— They are delivered to your stateroom the night before.

We receive these from our Retreat Concierges each day we are in port. The Osaka might be very helpful for those of you asking about getting around.

While we do enjoy a Sunset veranda for cruises in such places as New Zealand, and Caribbean, our opinion so far with the port stops for Shimizu, Osaka overnight and Kochi are definitely Starboard. Osaka we docked right beside the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. It was beautiful at night all lit up. Another thing we forgot to mention, was the ship excursions. We are over here for a month, so while on the ship we opted to do ship excursions out of ease. So far they have been great! They are not the typical cattle car we have experienced in the past. The tour guides have been super. The only negative is the efficiency on and off the ship. I think that is due to ship size and space on deck two where we’ve been disembarking. It’s a tight space.

We are on the Millennium now. If you have the option choose a Starboard cabin. So far, Starboard has had the best views when docked. Taxis are plentiful from Haneda, hotels, snd even if you get into a jam and need one around town in Tokyo. They were way less expensive than pre-booking online in advance through travel sites. Our T Mobile works great here. We have the Go55 plan because we travel so much. Don’t need to add on anything. As soon as we’re in port, we turn off WiFi and turn our service back on with Data roaming.