nonrev1

So glad all went well. They must still be doing something with the site. All my future cruises disappeared again. Don’t care about next year but while onboard I am trying to book excursions for a cruise within 90 days. Lower prices plus 10% off.

Most had the same issue on our cruise. They will do everything at the terminal. When you board the ship you can go to the excursion desk Don’t worry about printing bag tags as they are just paper. They give you real bag tags at bag drop. It is truly difficult for the staff as they are working triple hard to make up for the sins of the mothership. Our Azamara onboard experience has been fantastic. There are some things they are struggling with….Tours- some people had incorrect tickets, we had canceled excursions weeks before our cruise but never got credit and they showed up as still booked and some couples were split into two different tours. As I said before they are working triple hard on board to fix everything. We wanted to book excursions on our next cruise to save 10% and use a large OBC we have. They do not have it in their system. But, since it is a future cruise they are working on it and will try to see if we can get the 10% letter since we are unable to book now. New bookings- they are missing some information but have most of it. I took a snapshot of my loyalty points before they took the system down. When I sign in I have completely different points on whatever device I use to sign in. Onboard they do have my correct loyalty points. We did book a new cruise…..believe me, if the experience was not here we would not have booked another one. You will have a great cruise. Where are you going since Israel is out?

Kobe Day 2- we had every intention of being ambitious today but, the weather got the best of us. This cruise is very intense as it is advertised so having a windy and rainy day, gave us a good opportunity for a little downtime. We were hoping to go to the cup o noodles museum where you have an opportunity to make Ramen noodles or you can design your own cup o noodle container and make your own cup o noodles with whatever ingredients you want. By taxi it is 45 minutes from the ship again… We lost our mojo today. So, we took the complimentary ship shuttle from the port. From there we took a hop on/hop off loop bus and stayed on the bus for the entire loop. ( the shuttle and loop bus are at the same bus stop). I bought the tickets in advance and they are ¥700 a piece. ( roughly 5 USD) . I would not recommend buying them in advance, but I thought it would make it easier. They had trouble reading our QR code, and since everything in Japan is very punctual, after a certain amount of time the driver said just get on the bus - it doesn’t matter. At least that’s what I think they said in Japanese. Lol. You can buy the tickets on the bus. It is easier. There is a sign…. Just point to it and pay. It really was kind of funny because for a while, we were the only ones on the bus and they had a very well dressed woman giving a presentation between stops. The only problem was it was in Japanese, and we do not speak a word of Japanese. So every time she stopped speaking I would turn to her smile and nod my head. I felt much better when one of the stops was at a train station and about 10 other people got on. We walked a little bit through Chinatown when we got off the bus. ( Chinatown is where the shuttle drop off is) We arrived back on the ship in time for a great Dim Sum lunch. The sail aways have been great but something about this one was better. Today we had a high school drum band. What set this group apart from the others was that it was primarily girls. We were standing in the rain watching them with awe. Seriously, rain and wind but we just stood watching and could not take our eyes off of them. They were amazing!

Everyone has a right to comment but it is a shame when inaccurate information is given about a tour by someone who was not on that particular tour. This horse was beaten to death so I am moving on to Kobe. What a fabulous day. I booked a tour for 6 of us through All Star Osaka. Our guide was excellent and it was a great day. Our guide (Aki) met us at the ship and we used public transportation for our tour. (We spent the day in Kyoto). The tour started on the monorail, express train and then regular train. Aki gave us each a SUICA card for the day. Our first stop was Fushimi Inari Taisha. This is known as one of the most iconic sights of Tokyo. Unlike Drebay, we were not here during the peak of Cherry Blossoms, but we were also there with thousands of our closest friends. I have never seen so many people taking selfies. We spent quite a bit of time here and then we hoped in taxis and went to Gion ( the Geisha district). It was nice as we walked through the area before it got too crowded. Next stop was lunch. We went to a small restaurant and the food was very good. Part of our group likes sushi and part does not so this restaurant gave everyone options. After lunch we hopped into taxis and went to Kingakuji…..the golden Pavillion. Beautiful! The weather was cooperating and the reflection off the water surrounding the Pavillion looked like a reflection in a mirror. Of course we had to have ice cream while we were there. The ice cream is served with gold flakes. ( real or not?). The green tea ice cream was some of the best I have had while in Japan. Next stop by taxi was the Bamboo Forrest. I have never seen so much bamboo that tall. From there, we walked to the train station and took a regular train to connect with the Bullet Train. What an experience on the regular train. Kids were getting out of school and all trying to get on the train. I was surprised how many people could fit on one train car. When the doors opened at the last stop everyone just poured out of the train. We connected to the bullet train and made our way back to the ship. The tour was wonderful because we had flexibility to design our schedule. Loved taking trains and taxis. Everything was included in the price so there was no guessing how much money we needed for transportation or lunch. Taking the bullet train back to the ship was great since it shortened the returned a bit. We did everything without feeling rushed in 8.5 hours. If you want a great tour option in Kyoto I would highly recommend this tour company.

It might be better if you don’t comment on a tour that you were not on. The lunch was a combination. We had sashimi, another type of raw fish, three types of cooked fish, a typical soup, and also we had shrimp tempura and vegetable tempura, along with a typical egg pudding cup and other fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. I think we have had enough comment on a tour that you were not on. Let’s move on. Thank you.

If you did not want to cross the bridge you did not have to. We had a few people that were not the best walkers but they made it across easily. Celebrated with ice cream. When you crossed the bridge, there is a guided tour. An easy, slow walk on flat surfaces. We walked back across the bridge and had lunch near the bridge. One gentleman from another bus chose not to walk and he went directly to the hotel and waited there. I have a spreadsheet too. If you want it one day, I will definitely share. I am attaching a picture of the steps. The most difficult thing I found was the first step heading down the bridge. They are very short steps up and down. ( They are wide ….so no worries there) the hump of the bridge has no steps. So, after you come over the hump on the way down, you have to watch where the step begins. The wood blends in. Notice the picture on the right you can’t see the steps going down. No one tripped or fell when we were there….just watch where the first step down begins.

I may be crazy but I think we had a shuttle in Kitakyushu. We walked to the station but I think there was also a bus to town. Could be wrong.

Maybe you are double booked? Lol.

Takamatsu - no shuttle today. we had organized in advance Goodwill guides. We had one guide take us to. Shikokumuro Village and a second guide take us to Ritsurin Garden. The goodwill guide organizer was so glad to see us. Had us pose in front of the ship with a sign, and he will post it on the Good Will service site. If you are not a good walker, I would not recommend going to the village. There is a lot of uphill and downhill walking on very uneven surfaces. They also have a rope bridge. It was a lot of fun. We were there along with a group of high school students and they loved watching us trying to maneuver our way across the rope bridge. Honestly, they looked more scared than we did. We loved the village, and again, if you do not have walking issues it is a great place to go. When we left there, our guide went with us to the gardens and passed us off to the next good will guide. She was a wonderful woman that took us through the garden and explained many of the plants, where they came from and why they were positioned the way they were. A wonderful day and beautiful weather. We came back to the ship in time to watch high school students do calligraphy while dancing. Very hard to explain but it was a lot of fun to watch and the high school girls stayed on the ship for the white night party. What a fun night. Great food, great music and a really fun atmosphere. It got a little chilly after the sun went down but everyone got blankets if they wanted them or pool towels. Some went back to their rooms and got bathrobes. On another note, there have been a lot of fun extras on this cruise, that I was not expecting. Almost every day before we leave port, they have something onboard for us. Whether it is sake tasting, a Q&A with Geishas that are still working, being able to try ion and take pictures in kimonos, dancers, drummers, watching high school, girls do calligraphy while dancing and having a Japanese port advisor set up at a desk on deck 4 ….and this is not including everything the towns are doing for us at sail away. We have had a Japan cruise booked and canceled 3 times. So, now that it is here we are doing everything we possibly can. This is an experience of a lifetime and if the weather is bad….who cares! We can always take a vacation from our vacation when we go home.

If you’re talking about the trip to the bridge yesterday, … We were not on a bus for two hours. We took a bullet train to the bridge and we were only on a bus for about 15 minutes. On the way back we did take a bus, and it was just under an hour to the Peace Park. So, we were never on a bus for two hours straight I am not sure where you’re getting that misinformation. . Also, the bridge was not difficult to walk. it is listed as strenuous, but most people I spoke to would have categorized it as medium difficulty.

We chose that tour because it did not spend most of the day at the Peace Park/ Memorial. We had previously been to the park and museum in Nagasaki and spent many hours there so we were looking for an opportunity to visit the one in Hiroshima and yet not spend too much of the day. I know some people that chose the floating Tori gate tour and enjoyed it. Personally, we knew we were going to already see many Tori gates, so to see one floating did not interest us as much as seeing something completely unique to what we had already experienced.

Hiroshima - today we chose a ships tour as we wanted to get out to the Kintai- Kyo Bridge. The trip included transportation on the Shinkansen Bullet Train, a visit to the bridge, a walking tour, lunch and a walking tour through the Peace Memorial Park. The tour ticked off the boxes of what we wanted to do but we wish that we had taken the Bullet Train in both directions. It was a 14 minute ride out and almost an hour back by bus. We could have easily spent more time in the park or maybe added another stop on the tour. ( we had a little too much time at the bridge). Our guide was very good and provided a lot of local information and answered everyone’s questions. It was a well organized ships tour.

There was a question asked before regarding ship shuttles…..so far we have had one in every port.

I had tried my desktop before I left…. Yes, it is a different number. It is far fewer points than we actually have. Before the transition, I took a screen shot of my points. Yesterday onboard I asked what they showed for me and my screenshot and what they have match up.

For our day in Kitakyushu we took the train to Kokura. I had arranged a walking tour through a company called Trip Insight and it turned out to be just the two of us. Our guide was so nervous as this was her first English tour since Covid began. She had no one to,practice with to keep up her language skills. It was a fantastic tour and her English was excellent. ( she had done a summer program at Harvard). we walked about 2 miles and went through the Gintengai Shopping street, Tokiwabashi bridge, Kokura Castle Gardens, Yasukata Shrine, Kokura Castle and the Tanga Local Market. As a bonus she took us to the top of RiverWalk to show us the amazing views of the city and the Castle. We took the train back to Kitakyushu which was very easy and then a short walk once we were off the train. Our guide was excellent and she provided great information on everything we saw.

Yes….as posted…Japan due to Covid restrictions. But, must apply to S Korea, too. Our event was held onboard while in S Korea.

yes, we boarded the ship on April 3 and it showed on the website that we owed lots of money for the cruise. But..,.we were paid in full 4 months prior. All was fine boarding the ship. As others have said.,…just ignore it.

I love it! Is it a credit? If so, will you share?

Not sure if this helps you but they recently switched brands of tea on the Quest. They are now offering Pickwick. It is from the Netherlands.

This is pretty funny…..when I sign in to my account on my iPhone it shows I have a certain number of loyalty points. When I sign in on my iPad it is a very different number. Almost doubled. Do you think I can request to keep that number? Lol.

I was going to start a new thread, but since I want to discuss the Azamazing evening that we had on the Japan trip, I thought I would put it here. Again, this is only my opinion. due to Covid restrictions, we were told that we would have a destination celebration versus an off the ship event. While the event was lovely, it does not come anywhere close to events off the ship we have experienced since the beginning of the Azamazing evenings. Our last cruise in Europe did not have one either and unfortunately, that event was a huge miss and half of the audience walked out. Back in the day when this first started we had to make reservations and if we were not going to attend we had to cancel in advance or we were threatened with a $200 charge per person because that was the estimated value of the event. This was nothing that we were “given”. When these events started, there was a very large price increase, which also included some other things. I feel, if we are unable to have an Azamazing evening - I understand it… But we should receive some form of an onboard credit. The onboard experiences are nowhere near the quality or value of the true Azamazing evenings. If you are new to Azamara and never experienced one, it was a beautiful evening. But, the new cruisers also don’t know the history of the fare increase Azamara imposed to include this event. Our evening featured some beautiful singers, musicians and dancers. They passed trays of typical sweets before the performance. We received a bar of Korean decorative soap in our staterooms. Again just my opinion.

Pusan, South Korea There was some back and forth whether we needed an E-TA to enter South Korea by ship. So, some of us felt we were better safe than sorry. The answer is you do not need one. So, for those of you traveling on this itinerary next year…..unless things change - there is no need. Today I booked a group of us with Tours By Locals. We were a group of 12 and we had a mini bus that would carry 15. Frank was our guide and he did a great job keeping our group together and making changes on the fly. We had a full day and we still took 2 things off our original itinerary! He was prepared to tour with us for 9 hours but we were exhausted after almost 8 hours. We started off by visiting the UN Memorial Cemetery. It was very moving and it definitely made us take some time to reflect. They also had beautiful Cherry Blossom trees. A different much fuller variety than Japan. Next we were off to Haedong Yonggungsa temple. Wow….absolutely beautiful. Lots of stairs…..but, well worth it. We worked up an appetite so we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. The food kept on coming and the employees were happy to come over and show us the correct way to eat! Next stop was Gamcheon culture village. Lots of walking but you could also find a seat and have some excellent ice cream. The village has brightly colored houses and the views are beautiful. Our last stop was the Jacalchi fish market. Row after row after row of every fish and shell fish imaginable. I would highly recommend both the guide Frank and Tours by Locals. Off to have an adult beverage ( or two) and more later.

Sakaiminato - today we had the privilege of touring with a Good Will Guide. What a wonderful experience. She had a taxi waiting to take us to Matsue. It is a 45 minute drive from the port to Matsue. We first started off visiting the castle as today they were having a castle festival and she knew it would get very crowded. It is quite a climb on narrow stairs but very doable and you can take breaks if needed. The guide explained each level of the castle and then we began the awkward descent. The steps are narrow and slippery……much easier to side step down. After the Castle we made our way to the Shinto Shrine. We learned about the traditional prayers and walked around the gardens. After working up an appetite, we went to a traditional noodle restaurant. Best Soba noodles. ( Yakumoan Noodle Restaurant). We wandered through the Historical Museum, peeked into some Samurai houses and then boarded the Horikawa Moat boat. What fun. We were on the boat with two families with young children that wanted to learn some English words. We all had lots of laughs when everyone had to duck down when they lowered the boat canopy to go under the bridges. Our guide had a taxi waiting for us at the end of the moat boat adventure. It was an excellent day and if you have the opportunity to tour with a Good Will Guide, I woild highly recommend it. She provided great information and showed off her city well.

Almost forgot….the Kanazawa tourism board offers on select Saturdays free performances. We were fortunate enough to have our guide find one of the performances offered today and have front row seats for us. It was a Geisha show with 3 different types of dances. They also had two different geishas singing and one playing a musical instrument. The Visit Kanazawa website is an excellent source of information.

Today was Kanazawa. Weather started off not so good but became beautiful in the afternoon. We were not going to let the weather stop us, though. Through the visitors tourism office I arranged a guide for a 6 hour tour. We met at the train station which was very convenient since the ship offered a shuttle from the port to the train station. We had a full day planned and hopped on local buses several times through the tour. We went through the Samurai District, Kanazawa Castle, kenroku-en garden and the geisha district. Also had lunch in a small local restaurant. Our guide Sachi was excellent and everything was timed and planned perfectly. The gardens were beautiful and a definite must see. There is a tourist loop bus that you can take but having a guide explain everything makes a big difference. Everything here is done a certain way for a certain reason. The explanations are fascinating. We did make one additional stop during our tour. We saw a Catholic Church which is very uncommon here, so we asked the guide if she would be able to take us inside. The church had beautiful wood detail and one section has traditional wooden pews, the other side has Tatami. Two Nuns were getting everything ready for their Easter service. Another great and exhausting day.