BruceMuzz

There are several shuttles between the park and Daikoku Pier. The cruise lines usually hire their own dedicated buses for their own pax. Yokohama also has regular city buses that carry the pier employees from the city to the island and back. Bus 107 and 109 run often from Yokohama Station to the Daikoku Pier

Baked Alaska came our way in 1867, after the USA bought Alaska from Russia. The dish was originally from France and called "Omelette Norwegge" A Chef at Delmonicos in NYC ripped off the recipe and changed the name. Over the past 150 years countless people on cruise ships have been seriously burned when their hair and clothing caught fire from the passing parade in the dining room. Today's fire and safety regulations on most cruise lines prohibit flaming parades of any kind.

Not the cruise industry normal - but the Mass Market cruise industry normal. The Mass Market travel business model - basically copied from Walmart - is shooting for the lowest common denominator on prices, costs, service, and quality. This allows those who could never before afford to cruise, to go on one. Unfortunately, this idea also enables those raised by wolves to cruise with you. "Responsible Service of Alcohol" policies, mandated for all cruise lines by the US Court System, force policies like "one shot of booze at a time" to prevent mis-behaving passengers from damaging the shjp, themselves, and you. The RCCL ship you just sailed on generates about 4 tons of food waste every single day. That food gets dumped into the sea. Why so much waste? Inconsiderate passengers order more food than they can eat - because it is "free". As soon as they have to pay for it, the orders get much smaller - and the food waste drops significantly. If you want to avoid sailing on "Walmart of the Seas", with 5,000 Walmartians and the accompanying draconian rules needed to control their behaviour, you need only sail on a cruise line that caters to responsible adults.

Do you like peanut butter? Many Americans do. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects and controls the purity of peanut butter sold in America. They have determined that producing pure peanut butter, free of foreign substances and objects, is "economically inconvenient". So the standards for American Peanut Butter allow for "food defects". When the FDA inspects Peanut Butter, they count the number of insect parts in a standard 100 Gram serving. If they find 30 insect parts or less in that serving, it is perfectly OK to eat. If they find 31 insect parts or more, the peanut butter is unfit for human consumption and must be discarded. Your tax dollars at work.......................

Many Japan ports have Immigration checks (not Customs) when ships arrive and again when they depart. These checks are usually very quick and efficient.

I have lived outside the USA for the past 40 years. Every year I receive a Jury Duty summons. And every year I reply that I will be happy to serve if they send me an air ticket - preferably Business or First Class. I never get a reply - nor an air ticket

Japanese people are far more serious about vitamins and health supplements than Americans are. Japanese Customs Officers will not be surprised to see large quantities of vitamins in your bags. It really is not a problem.

You might want to contact your Government Representatives. The US Government has authorized cruise ships to dump food waste into the oceans for more than one century.

Many cruisers have eyes that are larger than their stomachs. They take huge portions of food and then eat only half. On a 2,000 passenger ship, that left-over food amounts to about 2 tons per day. The ship dumps it all into the ocean. Is this really a good idea? There are currently over 320 cruise ships in the world - many larger than 2,000 passengers - and producing much more than 2 tons of left-over food every day. They are ALL dumping ALL that left-over food into the ocean every day of the year. Since most food served on cruise ships is included in the fare, and passengers can have as many portions or meals as they like, doesn't it make sense to have smaller portions, producing less waste, creating less pollution in the oceans, and lower cost for cruise ships to operate? On most cruise ships, you are still able to order as many desserts or steaks or anything else you would like to eat. Nobody starves on a cruise ship. The food savings from smaller portions could also translate into your cruise fares staying lower for longer periods of time, as less food needs to be purchased, stored, prepared, and then thrown away.

No, you do not.

Narita Express Train will carry you from the lowest level of your Terminal at Narita Airport to Yokohama Station in about 95 minutes. The fare is around US$ 25 per person at the current exchange rate. The train is designed to carry travelers and their bags, with luggage racks at each end of every car. There is free WIFI onboard. From Yokohama Station, you can take a taxi directly to Daikoku Pier, or you could take a taxi to Yamashita Park in Yokohama, where you could board a shuttlebus to Daikoku Pier. There are many other options, but most would require some Japanese Language skill.

Based on floridatraveler's info above, if those flights are on time and your flight is on time, and you complete your pre-arrival paperwork properly, you should be standing outside the Arrivals Hall by 5:15 to 5:30.

Your bags are always x-rayed at the airport before they put them on the airplane, and are often x-rayed upon arrival in Japan.

But the vast majority of people are constantly handing their mobile telephones to friends to talk, listen, read, and watch something on the phone. Everyone handles it, presses it against their faces, and passes it to the next one. A perfect germ storm.

The odds of becoming infected by using these toiletries are actually quite small. There is another issue that should concern you much more. How often do you sanitize your mobile telephone? For most people the truthful answer would be "Never". My colleagues at the VSP (Vessel Sanitation Program) tell me that your mobile telephone is the #1 Vector for spreading viruses to yourself, your friends, and your family.

If you can tell us how many other airplanes are arriving around the same time, and how many passengers will be on those planes, I can give you a very good educated guess as to how much time you should allow.

So she enjoys eating a cow's nose, gums, eyelids, and ears?

When you arrive at Haneda Airport, as you exit the baggage claim and enter the Arrivals Hall, you will see several manned counters where you can purchase Limousine Bus tickets. The staff there speak very good English. Tell them where you want to go, and they will take care of the rest.

Haneda Airport to Shinjuku area hotel by taxi will cost you about 120 Canadian Dollars during the day, and about 150 Canadian Dollars after 11pm. Travel time is 30 minutes. Limousine bus from Haneda to Shinjuku station runs every 20 minutes and costs about 12 Canadian Dollars per person. Travel time is 40 minutes. Tokyo Monorail from Haneda to Hamamatsucho is about 5 Canadian Dollars per person. Then transfer to JR Yamanote Train or O-Edo Subway to Shinjuku; about 2 Canadian Dollars per person. Travel time is 45 minutes.

As with most things in life, there is a 50% chance you will see Fuji - san.

Sailing East requires your ship to change the clock every other day or so. You will either lose an hour of sleep every other night (if they change the clock at night) or an hour during the day (if they change the clock in the afternoon). This does not seem like much of a problem - but after only a few days, many pax get grumpy and weird about dining times and other activities. Sailing West also requires your ship to change the clock every other day or so. But it is the reverse, giving you an extra hour of sleep at night or an extra hour in the middle of the day. Most cruise passengers find this procedure far more comfortable.

We have Uber in Japan. Until recently they were only allowed to deliver food. Now they are allowed to carry passengers, but they cost substantially more than regular taxis.

USPH Regulations require all ship-based food operations to freeze all protein items (Red Meats, White Meats, Poultry, Fish, Shellfish) for a minimum of 7 days at -20 Celsius or colder before cooking. Your local restaurant does not do that. USPH requires any prepared foods to be served or discarded within 4 hours of preparation. There are no left-overs on ships. Your local restaurant does not do that. USPH Requires back-flow preventers on all fresh water taps. Your local restaurant does not even know what a back-flow preventer is. USPH requires all foods cooked in advance for service must be processed in a blast chiller, lowering the internal temperature below 41 degrees f within 6 hours, this must be logged and the logs kept for 6 months. Your local restaurant does not even know what a blast chiller is and cannot afford one anyway. USPH requires all shellfish to carry approved certification paperwork from an approved provider. The paperwork must be on file for a minimum 6 months. Your local restaurant does not do that. It is too expensive. USPH does not allow ships to store fish, meat, and dairy in the same refrigerator or freezer. Each type of food must have it's own dedicated refrigerator or freezer. Your local restaurant cannot afford that. USPH requires a warning posted on all menus and in the restaurant that eating undercooked or raw food may be dangerous to your health. Your local restaurant does not do that. USPH required a posted Time Control plan for all prepared foods. Colored stickers must be placed on all containers of prepared foods, designating the time they were prepared and the deadline (4 hours) when they must be discarded. Your local restaurant does not do that. USPH requires a potable water testing device that analyzes all potable water every hour to ensure purity. Your local restaurant does not do that. There are dozens of additional requirements that your local restaurant does not follow - but if we look at only the ones listed above (that your local restaurant does not do) it would fail an inspection by USPH and be closed down.

Generally they do not.

Limousine Bus Seats can be booked at the desk in the arrivals hall as you exit the Baggage Claim. There is plenty of space under the bus. That is where the driver will place your suitcases. The easiest way for 4 people with many bags to get from Shinjuku to Osanbashi Terminal in Yokohama would be a large taxi or van, but it might be a bit pricey. Another convenient way is to use Narita Express Train from Shinjuku Station to Yokohama Station. This might require a short taxi ride from Keio Plaza to Shinjuku Station and another short taxi ride from Yokohama Station to Osanbashi Terminal.