cruiser man 60

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think to be honest with the OP, if you come here to the HAL blog and ask the question most folks will suggest HAL.  Go to the Princess blog and ask the question and most folks will say Princess :).  That is just the nature of CC.  I do think that, given the cost and time to get over to Asia, the main consideration when comparing the two ships (we have cruised on both) should be the itinerary.  Since there are multiple cruises and itineraries, one might want to spend some time looking at the details such as how much time the ships are in each port.

 

I would also suggest that anyone planning to cruise around Japan consider spending a few days or weeks in Japan (pre or post cruise) to enjoy some quality land time.  I further suggest they try to spend some time in both the Tokyo area and Kyoto.  One might also want to research the "Sakura" (cherry blossom time) and "Golden Week"  (a very heavily traveled week that is best avoided...especially on land).

 

We cruised in Japan, on the Westerdam, in 2023 and enjoyed the itinerary,  In fact, we enjoyed our trip enough that we are returning next Spring for another cruise around Japan (on Seabourn).  

 

Hank

We’re on Noordam next April for 2 weeks, spending 4 full days in Tokyo, is there anything in particular you recommend to do in Tokyo? We would like to experience the bullet train but unsure where to go to on a day trip that’s not too far .

If you’re on late dining it could be anytime from 20.30 to 21.45 , they had 21.45 on European cruise I was on recently, fortunately I was in yacht club. If it’s very busy you may not be able to change alllocated dining time as I heard a few people saying they were on wait list.

1 hour ago, bennybear said:

No, we did go up the tower at the fortress though and got a great view.   

Thanks, do you recall how far fortress was from port and cost of taxi, were they readily available etc?

12 hours ago, bennybear said:

Hakkodate has an amazing five sided fortress, we took a taxi there to view and enjoy the cherry blossoms.  There is also wonderful crab to try.   
 

Thanks, sounds good. Did you go to the Mount Hakodate and aerial gondola seems to be recommended?

Anyone recommend what do in Toyama, Akita or Hakodate, cruise line Doesn’t seem have anything particularly appealing and all are very expensive. Can you do these ports on your own easily?

thanks for any suggestions 

Anyone stayed in the ANA intercontinental in Akasaka , seems to have good reviews with a metro station very close?

6 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

MSC throws their weight around with ports, probably on the strength of their cargo business. They shoved Queen Mary 2 out of Brooklyn for some dates, forcing Cunard to reconfigure some itineraries. I thought Carnival had a hand in the building of the Brooklyn terminal. AFAIK, only Cunard and Princess have used it in the past. But MSC wanted some dates and they got them. 

Yes MSC group are huge and get priority in lots of ports around Europe, also expanding in far east where they have a large ship permanently based.

MSC which is privately owned is launching a new ship just about every year, not only huge ships like world Europa , world America etc but smaller all luxury suite ships like Explora . So there’s obviously a market for even more new ships. MSC also have one of the worlds biggest cargo fleets and own ports etc so probably helps.

We’ve never been to Alaska but hoping to go in next 2 years and tie it it in with Canada land tours. Can people advise best time of year to see wildlife both at sea eg Whales etc & on land bears etc.

We are from UK so lot of planning & costs so want to pick correct time of year for best experience.

thanks 

Hasn’t this question been asked dozens of times, same on Facebook!, yes you pay no matter where you drink it, even your bathroom!!!

1 hour ago, ski ww said:

I'm sorry for what HAL has put you through, not likely to give you fond memories of HAL. I'm sure you are not under the engines. 

Yes under the engines you would have to be in a submarine!

I didn’t know anyone was stopping there due to risks but maybe the cruise lines are now accepting the risks, not sure I’d be comfortable visiting the area as the war could expand without notice. I know several lines cancelled all their itineraries for the area

MSC who are privately owned are building a new cruise ship every year, we’ve just been on the World Europa c6000 passengers but it is a huge ship. They seem to fill every ship they launch with correct offerings and prices. The Yacht club is absolutely fantastic and probably the best premium offering amongst the standard lines and far superior to Haven on NCL.

They also have the largest cargo fleet worldwide and own many ports in Europe so obviously very successful.

I assume a lot of passengers and crew are not catholic and maybe requests made by Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Shinto etc wanting similar treatment 

Just never heard of one certainly not in Europe, in UK you are unlikely to see young people knitting and certainly not in a cruise.

What’s a knitting group ? I note we have one aboard when we sail, is this 00s of old Ladies knitting scarves😂

Anyone travelled before know what time you can get off on final day in Yokohama after docking at 7am ? Are there more immigration to go though or just collect luggage & go ?
we have a 12.30 flight from haneda so hopefully leaving by 9/9.30

What’s a knitting group ? I note we have 9ne aboard when we sail, is this 00s of old Ladies knitting scarves?

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Alaska cruises are so port intensive, that for most passengers it is 'early to bed, early to rise'.

Isn’t that on every HAL cruise with the older clientele? Whereas MSC who we regularly cruise with a lot of the entertainment doesn’t start until 10pm going on until 2am

Can you just book a transfer from port to save queuing for taxis as port is only 30/40 minutes drive I thought?

1 minute ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Skip on over to the Westerdam roll call for the 53 day Majestic Japan beginning Sept 1, 2024. All kinds of tours and information for you! (We are on this cruise)

Thanks 🙏 

1 hour ago, thehowlingroad said:

 

Narita is about 90 mins from Yokohama, so that's a very expensive cab ride. Your cruise line will likely offer transfers, but you should take a look at their pricing and timetables.

 

We took the Limousine Bus from Yokohama City Air Terminal, which is their bus station, next to the train station, and about a $20USD cab ride from Osanbashi. We pre-booked tickets, and were glad we did because our bus ended up being so full that two people had to sit the fold-down jump seats in the aisle.

Thanks, I’ll probably save myself the stress & hassle and either get an evening flight or just stay overnight at airport hotel 

7 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Again -- which airport?  Haneda is about 45 minutes away.  Our experience is that Narita is farther, and slower to reach; we flew out of Narita in 2018 and left from our hotel in Tokyo.

 

We were on B2B cruises last month and disembarked on Sunday, April 21st.  Our ship was the only one at the Osanbashi terminal.  For us the line in the cruise terminal to get through customs and immigration was the "choke point."  There were multiple lines and we were not in any hurry but it seems to me that it took about 30 minutes to reach the head of the line.  We also quickly found our luggage, but some folks spent more time doing so.  We are to the point in our lives both financially and due to the fact my husband has a bad knee that we aren't interested in the shuttle transfers so we took a cab to Haneda.  The line for taxis was about 25 minutes long.  The drive time was about 35 minutes.

It’s narita, can you pre book transfer ?

We always tip at the end to those who have provided good service, this tipping for every drink delivered in bar is not normal practice throughout world except USA . Most nationalities would not consider it