villauk

I’ve been waiting for the reviews as the first Japan cruise of the season has just finished. We are sailing on the one following yours, OP.

Have you just been on the Best of Japan itinerary? If so, would you mind giving your comments on the ship, ports, itinerary etc. We’re taking Millie next year and would welcome any comments/thoughts. TIA.

Oh, that is a shame. Is it mashed potatoes with everything, like some on the main X board have been saying? What has the entertainment been like? Did they have any local/traditional acts on the ship? Just trying to get a feel of what to expect. TIA.

@BruceMuzz do you have any local information on the Citadines Harbour Front hotel? We’re just trying to navigate our way through accommodation and this appears to be in a good location for the port and public transport. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. TIA.

Thank you. How are you finding the ship?

Thanks for the information. When do you sail? I believe the first X cruise to Japan starts tomorrow. I do hope that someone does a ‘live from’ or even post-cruise review 👍.

Ours has the same itinerary on X. We won’t have the luxury of having extra time to visit Kyoto pre-cruise, only Tokyo, therefore we plan on spending the first day in Kyoto and the second in Osaka. Does anyone have any ideas to what not to miss in either place? We want to maximise our time as best as we possibly can.

And I was on the same Princess cruise (fyi, I have never sailed P&O or Cunard) and thought how many were in long dresses than I’ve ever seen on a cruise. So, it’s all about perspective: I’m sure if I’d sailed P&O previously, my comments would be more in line with yours.

Thank you. I’ll drop them an email 👍.

For Kyoto, do we actually dock in Osaka?

So the port shuttle drops off at Hiroden-Itsukaichi station (is this a free service from the ship?) and from there we can catch the train to Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi, disembark and ferry across to Miyajima? Sounds great.

🤣😂🤣 I can’t stand mushy peas either 😂. I’m obviously not your typical British traveller. Hi Ed, Hope you and Jacquie are well. We’re looking forward to our Japan trip next year on Millie; perhaps not the mashed potato so much 🤣. Still travelling as our group of 7. The boys are now in their 20s 😲! Our eldest is at Oxford completing his doctorate and the youngest is in his last year of his Masters - how time flies. We were back in Norway last month; it’s still one of our favourite places to visit.

Thanks, I will look into the private transfer option 👍. You have been a great help with all your tour suggestions - thank you.

As a side note, would you say an 11.45am flight from HND post cruise is feasible? If so, what would you recommend as the best form of transport to ensure we make the flight (7 in our group).

Oh no, mashed potato makes me physically sick 🙈! I’ll definitely be ordering a plate of steamed vegetables instead. We haven’t cruised with X since before COVID, so we are expecting a few changes when we sail to Japan next year on Millie. We’re not great foodies - suspect we won’t go hungry 🤞🏻. We kept staying on a recent Princess cruise that X has the edge over them regarding food. After reading all the recent posts, it appears that may not be the case.

Really like the look of Sengan-en to visit 👍.

Thank you. I’m going to investigate the best places now to visit on the HOHO route. Are there any specific experiences whilst in Japan that we shouldn’t miss? That includes any tours/shows etc. that we could pre-book. Many thanks.

Thank you for all this wonderful information. I’m putting together a document so all the others in our party can see these great ideas for visits. We haven’t got the same deals over here as the North American pax have been receiving on their ship tours with Celebrity i.e. up to 45% off, so we know most of their tours will probably be booked and we do prefer independent tours to be honest. Therefore, your suggestions are ideal for us travelling in a group. I have one question regarding the guides for the Peace Park: do they meet you and travel on the tram with you or do you meet them there? Sorry, I was just a little confused on the meeting point. I’m going to message them from the link you provided and book the personal 4 hour guide for up to 10 persons (we already have 7 in our party anyway), just hoping they have a guide available for our date 🤞🏻. Thanks again and any other suggestions you have at our other ports would be gratefully received.

Brilliant! Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for the very useful information. We used the public transport system in HK, so we’ll always give it a go if it’s easy enough 👍. Can we purchase the one-day pass at the cruise terminal?

Is the Peace Park easy to access independently on public transport or would you recommend a guide? Any other recommendations for our other ports would be gratefully received. TIA.

Thanks for the hotel information; I’ll check it out. I would be very grateful if you could post any details of tours etc. after your cruise that you think will help us. Have a wonderful time in Japan.

We, party of 7, are sailing on Millennium next August and have just started investigating port ideas. Are there any must-see visits in the following ports that anyone would recommend, and are any of them easy to do independently or is a guide required? We usually mix between local guides/tour operators and DIY - our party includes adult children (20s) if that makes any difference and we have no mobility issues. Any information or ideas would be greatly received. Additionally, any hotels that one would recommend in Yokohama for a few days pre-cruise? TIA Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan Day 3 | Kobe, Japan Day 4 | Kyoto (Osaka), Japan Day 5 | Kyoto (Osaka), Japan Day 6 | Hiroshima, Japan Day 7 | At Sea Day 8 | Nagasaki, Japan Day 9 | Jeju Island, South Korea Day 10 | Kagoshima, Japan Day 12 | Mt Fuji (Shimizu)

Yes, we sailed on that same cruise and we’re amazed at the amount in long dresses; I did make a comment on another thread that I presumed many were usually P&O/Cunard cruisers as I’d never encountered so many in tuxedos and long dresses since our early days of cruising (and even then there were less long frocks). We don’t sail that often from Southampton, so that probably does factor in to us not usually seeing so many. Don’t get me wrong, we dress for dinner each evening, but more cocktail/smart casual wear than long prom.

…and we thought how many there were 😀. P&O has never been on our radar as we do prefer a more international mix.