chubbypiggy

13 minutes ago, 4bande said:

 Getting a taxi back from downtown Kagoshima should not be a problem.  There is a taxi area in Tenmonkan near Don Quijote.  

 

Immigration was a breeze in Seogwipo for us as many come back at different times.  Getting off took a little longer.Olle market is neat as there are many different foods to eat (walk first and then decide).  The non food vendor do sell the same things (at the same prices).

The Seogwipo shuttle that you took, was it a Princess round-trip shuttle?  How much?

19 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No, you didn’t miss anything. Cruise Mapper just included the previous 4-day Diamond itinerary in their description of the current 9-day itinerary.

So will your cruise include Jeju and Nagasaki?

3 minutes ago, 4bande said:

 

We did the inagural 2023 sailing back in March.  Of the stops you are doing, we ported in Kagoshima, Nagasaki and Seogwipo (Jeju).

 

For Nagasaki, the tram stop is less than a block from the port, you can purchase an all day pass at the port.  We to the tram to Peace Park, walked to the Mt Inasa sky tram and then back to town to visit Dejima and Chinatown.  

 

For Kagoshima, as previously replied, we took a taxi (4 in each) to the Ferry terminal to go to Sakurajima, came back via ferry and then walked to downtown, ate lunch and took taxi back.  Want so say it was about 3000 yen each way.  

 

For Seogwipo, we took the shuttle into town (as being first cruise ship there, taxis only wanted to be hired for the day - which others in our group did but we didn't since we had just been to Jeju in September 2022).  The shuttle took us to Olle Market, from there we walked down to Jeongbang and Sojeongbang waterfalls and just enjoyed the town scenery.  The rest of the group went to Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls/Teddy Bear Museum/Botanical Gardens and then to Olle Market.  There is nothing by the port.  

Thank you for your information.

For Nagasaki, we do plan to walk to the tram stop and take the tram to Hamamachi Shopping Arcade, then walk to Chinatown, and either walk or tram back to ship.

For Kagoshima, we want to do the HOHO Kagoshima City View bus (80 minutes loop).  But I can't information on the stop location of that bus, thus, don't know how/where to catch that bus.  Either we can take the RT Princess shuttle for $28pp or take the taxi. There will be 9 of us, so if we taxi, probably have to take 3 taxis.   Our worry is, will it be difficult for us to get 3 taxis from town back to ship.  I will continue to search if I can find information on the City View bus stop locations.

If we do go ashore in Seogwipo, we will just take the shuttle and go to the Olle Market.  I don't know if it is worth the hassle to get in long lines at Immigration to get back to the ship just for shopping at the Olle Market. 

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived at Akita, Japan! There’s a light rain, so it will be interesting how the weather will be on our excursion this morning to the Oga Peninsula. But whatever the weather has in store for us, we’re still going to have a great time! 😁

 

 

 

And as you might expect, the Internet bandwidth isn’t that great, but it’s still workable. 😁

 

 

Sorry if I missed something; I re-read every page of this thread, and am seeing 2 different itineraries for your July 5-19 cruise.  Have you visited Jeju (7/7) and Nagasaki (7/8)?  We will be visiting those ports, so I am interested/look forward to your posts on those ports.   

12 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Oops! My bad. The Japanese Bath is in the aft on deck 15 rather than forward. 😁

 

Yes, this first leg is 9 days. The next leg will be 8 days. With regards to making reservations, it would be better if you ask them yourself once you’re onboard, as the rules may change between now and then.

Thank you.

22 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s what we found out this morning about the Japanese Bath up on the Sun Deck Forward which should answer your initial questions.
 

  
Interesting note, they only mention the Cruise Pass option on their actual Sign In sheet (above picture) and not their advertisement posted on the desk at the entrance.

 

  
The two hot tubs in the Men’s area. There are four in the Women’s area.

 

 

The waterfall showers

 

 

 
and there is also a steam room.

Thank you for the information and the pictures.  

Your 1st cruise is 9 days, correct?  So only $99 for 9 days is really good price.  

From the Princess brochure, it shows the Japanese Bath is AFT of Sun deck; now has been moved to the Forward of Sun deck?

The sign says "last reservation at ...".  If you happen to pass by there again during your cruise, can you please ask if the guests must make advance reservation in order to use the hot tub and outdoor pool?  We are thinking of buying the "cruise pass" and will go every day.  But really prefer to go whenever we want (during their opening hours) and not have to make reservations every day. 

Again, thank you for your time!

Just now, LACruiser88 said:

@chubbypiggy  The sauna/steam (The Enclave) is no longer free.  It is $299 pp for the entire voyage.

Thank you.

On my recent April cruise, months before the cruise, I was able to view "Port Guides" on my Medallion app.  I have 2 cruises coming up in early Sept., and want to see the port guides for planning purpose. I went to the Port Guide section, saw all the ports listed, but when I clicked on the arrow next to the port I want to see the port guide, nothing happened.  I tried it on all the ports of my 2 cruises.

Anyone knows how long before the cruise starts that we will be able to see the Port Guides on the app?  Thank you.  

@Ken the cruiser

@Ken the cruiser  Thank you for posting the patters.  As I mentioned before, we will be on the Diamond this Sept. for a 7-day and 9-day cruises, your Patters will give us information on what to expect.

I know on the Royal class ships, the buffet area is called "World Fresh Market" (can enter and exit at many points and food/salad in different sections); and the Grand class ships, it is the "Horizon Court" (one entrance and one exit and food all line up).  From reading your Patter, it shows "World Fresh Market and Horizon Court".  So the buffet area is one entrance and one exit or can enter and exit at several points?  Thank you.

15 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

My sister isn't a sight see-er.  She's been to Japan a few times.  We went to eat and see the Cherry Blossoms.  If a store got in our path, we stopped.  Actually not so true, we went out of our way looking for Dollar Store type places.  The Yen Exchange is so good (and going to get better in the coming months).  

 

I wouldn't go this far to stay on the ship.  If the line is long, you can request a wheel chair.  I was surprised by how many times we had to do immigrations getting on and off the ship.  My sister "made" me walk about 5 miles at each port.  I am not a walker.  

 

Take a dry wash cloth (no paper towels).  Take a another one you can wet to cool you down.  Take water.  I hope you like sushi and sashimi (every stop).  We stopped at one market and someone suggested sweet potato tempura and ice cream.  Didn't do it, although it was after we had already eaten more than our share of sweet potato.

 

I didn't take any Princess excursions.  It didn't seem right to stop at an Osen and not be able to experience any of them.  We did visit two castles but never went inside.  

My first visit to Japan was back in 1982; Japan is one of my favorite countries. Since 1982, I visited Japan every 3-4 years. Except the cruise in 2018 (Golden Princess from Yokohama to Alaska), all other previous visits were either land tours or DIY.   But all prior trips, I kept going back to the same places (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc.).  Decided it is time to visit new places in Japan, so decided on the upcoming 2 cruises visiting Kyushu region and the Hokkaido region.

We love sea days, and don't mind to stay on the ship if we feel there is not much to see or it is a hassle go onshore/return to ship.  In April, we did the 27 days Sydney to L.A. on the Majestic Princess.  Due to weather, we skipped some ports.  We ended up spending 22 days at sea.  Just loved it.  

7 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Shuttle Buses:

 

Nagasaki - Docks near city.  Very helpful people in the terminal who will sell you a tram pass and give you directions.  Caught the tram, NOT the first bus stop, but several blocks down the way.  All day pass was just easier (paying for convenience).  Took tram to Peace Park and Atomic Museum.  We had to transfer lines once (I think).  Chinatown was near the port/on the tram line.  I don't do Chinatowns (I don't like Chinese food and am Asian....!). Did not visit the arcade (shopping malls).  The Peace Park was so so, but the escalator was amazing.  Had lunch at the museum and it took less than an hour to walk through the exhibits.  

 

Jeju - took the shuttle for $20 each round trip.  I understand it was cheaper for a party of two to take a taxi to the same drop off point.  Again, convenience.  We walked around the big people's market for several hours.  Ate tangerines.  Again, coming from Hawaii, I didn't need to see beaches, coastlines, water falls.  You can do some research about buses...I didn't want to risk missing the ship by taking a bus out of town.  Long, long line to go through immigrations to get back on the ship.  

 

There is suppose to be a nice tea garden a little out of town (taxi).  No, I did not partake in the $100 fish lunch.

 

 

Kogashima - shuttle was $28.  Our first stop.  I didn't know any better.  Shuttle was waiting for us and someone with a clip board took my name and cabin number.  Convenient, but not necessarily the most inexpensive way to get from the ship to town.  

 

Have you checked into https://www.gonomad.com/3162-japans-goodwill-guides-personal-tours-language-help

 

I found them too late.  They could not connect with any locals.  It does help to have someone who can speak the language.  My cousin's son took us around Yokohama. 

 

I still have more to come.

 

 

Thank you so much for your detailed information, very much appreciated!!  There is no rush; more information at your convenient is fine.

For Nagasaki, I do plan to buy an All Day pass.  If available, I always buy All Day pass for transportation that I need to use, even though I know most like I will only use it one time for round trip.  Don't want to bother having to buy single tickets each time.  I totally agree with you, paying for convenience is also my belief.

If there is a chance for a long, long line to go through immigration to get back to the ship, then I think we will just stay on the ship to relax.  From my researches, there really not much of high interest at the Jeju port.  We will just wait until we get to Busan for our Korean shopping and eating.

Thank you for confirming the Kagoshima shuttle.  Tomorrow I will start my planning of the Kagoshima port, then will decide if we should take the shuttle or get a guide.

2 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@chubbypiggy. I will get back to you.  Stay tuned.  May take me awhile and in segments, but I will do my best.

 

Thank you!!☺️ 

@cr8tiv1

12 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If you look in the upper left hand corner of this map you’ll see where the Keio Plaza Hotel is in Tokyo, which is about an hour away from the port.

 

 
Unfortunately, now that we’re in Tokyo, all the online maps are in Japanese. So you may have to search on “Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Google map” online to see what’s in the area (in English) near our hotel. 😂

Thank you.  We decided we will stay in Yokohama for the 1 night pre-cruise and the 5 nights between our 1st and 2nd cruise.

5 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

I will check tomorrow morning, just returned to our cabin from my daily workout in the Fitness Center.  Debbie is going to the 8:15 am Zumba class in the Vista Lounge.

Thank you.

@LACruiser88  Enjoying your Live Thread, thank you.

We will be on the Emerald next June for a 14-day cruise.  The last time we were on the Emerald was 10+ years ago, since then, we only did the Royal class ships.  We really enjoyed the free Sauna and Steam room by the Fitness center, and looking forward to using them again on next June's cruise.  This morning, I read on another thread, someone said " "We were on an Emerald Princess Panama Canal cruise recently and  free steam and sauna rooms in the men and women's spa area have been removed".  In your posts, you mentioned a few times you used the Fitness Center.  When you have the chance, the next time you go to the Fitness Center, please kindly check if the free Sauna and Steam rooms are still there?  TIA.

@Ken the cruiser  Nice to know about JAL premium economy; definitely will consider trying it next time.  I never tried AA domestic Premium Economy, but did try it on their international flight.  Last year we flew AA Premium Economy from Athens to LAX, and the seat was comfortable and food was good, so I booked it again for our upcoming Sept. flight non-stop from LAX to Haneda.  From reading reviews, EVA Air was rated the best for Premium Economy, so I booked for our upcoming Nov. trip to Taiwan, lets see if the reviews are correct.😆

Which area is your hotel in?  On our last Japan pre-cruise (in 2019), we stayed near Yokohama's Chinatown area;  very convenient and within 10 minutes walking distance to the port.  This time, we decided to try out the Minato Mirai area.  

On 4/12/2023 at 10:13 PM, mandapanda13 said:

 

My husband and I just returned from a 9 Night Japan Explorer Spring Flowers on the Diamond Princess and thought we would share some of our experience given the recent return to cruising in Japan.

Izumi – The Diamond Princess has an Izumi Japanese Bath, which is modeled after Japanese onsens. This is separate from the Lotus Spa and is not included in the spa pass. The cost per person was $25 for one 90-minute session, $75 for five 90-minute sessions, and $125 for one cruise pass. Passes could not be shared. My husband went to Izumi twice and really enjoyed it. Clothing was optional at all times.

 

 

We will be doing a 9 night cruise on Diamond in Sept., and very interested to do the Izumi.  For the $125/person cruise pass, is it unlimited for the entire cruise that you can go as many times as you want and stay as long as you want?   Thank you.

8 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived in Dallas

 

 

and have now boarded our flight to Tokyo. Yay!!

Have an enjoyable cruise!! 

37 minutes ago, Cajuntraveler said:

It is at the bottom of the first entry on this thread.

I am attaching a copy:

The responses from the reviews will be copied to a spreadsheet located at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iJDFCtotsFNUvSNFzZ3LXomW95WX7R0svO7JhGRBvpo/edit?usp=sharing. You will be able to filter the data to view it many different ways.

 

Hope this helps.

Thank you.

On 4/20/2023 at 2:49 PM, Cajuntraveler said:

I had the same problem and finally clicked on "Princess Cabin Compilation" at the bottom of the spreadsheet. (Spreadsheet link found on the first page of this forum) The spread sheet appeared and can be sorted using the various columns.  Good luck.

Couldn't find the spreadsheet link on the first page of the Princess forum.  

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Note to self. At some point while onboard stop by the revamped "Go Princess" Future Cruise Desk to see what "onboard" deals they are offering. 

 

Over the past few months I've been reading some threads where Princess has now contracted out the future cruise desk and are offering up to 50% off their website prices on some select itineraries. In the past, since we usually book through a TA, we would only visit them to buy FCDs, which can now be done using the App. As we pretty much have our itineraries booked through the summer of 2025, it will be interesting to see if any of our Princess ones would be worth cancelling through our TA and then rebooking onboard. 🤔

When I was on my Transpacific cruise in April on the Majestic, I saw a big sign outside the Future Cruise office advertising the 50% off deal.  Since I have several booked cruises (Sept. 2023 and some in 2024), I decided to check out if I can get a better deal with that promotion.  I was told by the representative there, that those 50% discount only really apply to cruises that depart within the next 2-3 months.  She checked the prices for my booked cruises, and none of them have lower prices than my booked prices.

19 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Can do. Just remind me once we're onboard. As far as your upcoming trip, sounds like fun! Hopefully, the temperature will be a little cooler when you're there in September, as it's going to be a little toasty while we're there starting next week! 

 

 

Thank you!

32 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We were actually on the Celebrity Eclipse. My Live From thread is in my expanded signature below. 

Oh, not on the same ship.  Maybe we were in ports together on one or more of those ports.☺️

Really looking forward to your posts on your upcoming cruise.  In Sept., we will be doing Diamond's 7-day Kyushu and Korea, then 5 days land DIY (will be staying in Intercontinental Yokohama Grand).  During those 5 days, plan is to spend 1st and 5th day in Yokohama and day 2-4 in Tokyo (will take train to Tokyo daily).  Then will embark Diamond again for a 9-day Circle Hokkaido.

After you get on board, I do have questions regarding information and pricing of the Japanese bath on the Sun deck. I asked questions in the past, and have received answers; but I would like to have the most updated information and pricing.   Mainly because I want to get some ideas if we want to do it, and if we do, how much gift cards I should bring with me.  There will be 9 of us.