BruceMuzz

On 2/11/2021 at 4:08 AM, farmersfight said:

 

Thanks @chengkp75. Great information from someone who was there. Were you a licensed engineer onboard?

 

I'm really surprised that the deck and engine pay scale is so low, especially since they are union jobs. Sounds like that union needs to enter into a better CBA. I never heard of an overtime rate being less than the straight time rate. Hard to believe a union would agree to that.

 

Interesting what you said about the PoA sailing short of hotel staff almost all the time. This has got to affect customer service. Fingers crossed 🤞 that the customer service is still good (at least), as I am booked on her Oct 23-30, 2021.

The entire system for hiring hotel service staff for an American Flag ship just doesn’t work.

Total earning packages for good waiters, barmen, cooks, or cabin stewards on an American ship are substantially lower than on land. Good / talented performers will not even try to get the jobs.

Most applicants for American cruise ship jobs are inexperienced college kids who are tired of working at McDonalds - or couldn’t get a job at McDonalds.  

American flag ships cannot hire people with criminal records. A surprising number of Americans who apply to work on American flag cruise ships have criminal records.

Applicants for work on any cruise ship must pass a drug test. A surprising number of American applicants cannot pass the test.

Once we get past the criminal record and drug test hurdles, the cruise line must pay the FBI to investigate the applicant’s criminal record in all 50 states. Last time I did this, the cost was $1100 per applicant. A surprising number of American applicants who claim that they have no criminal background actually do, and are disqualified. 

Finally, the criminal background investigation can take as long as 11 months. The potential hire cannot work on the ship until the investigation is completed and the Merchant Mariner Card is issued.

So you finally find an applicant who is qualified, can pass a drug test, and has no criminal background. Then you tell him that he must go home and wait any number of months until his MMC card arrives. His reply? He immediately goes over to a land-based employer who will not only pay him more, but will let him start work tomorrow. 

At NCL America the problems were more complex. They couldn’t hire and vett service staff as fast as they were firing them. American Flag ships have a minimum manning requirement that is quite high. If the ship does not meet the minimum manning number, it cannot legally sail with passengers. The crew knows that and uses it to their advantage. On the Pride of Aloha, when a waiter was terminated for failing a random drug test or punching a passenger, he would just laugh and say, “I will be back tomorrow”. And he was correct. The company had no available replacements for him, and could not legally sail without him. The company was forced to ask him to come back the next day.

October-November is generally a great time to visit Japan. Not too hot and not too cold.

Ishigaki and Okinawa are Japan’s version of Hawaii.

Jeju Island is a legally required stop, and interesting.

If you plan to spend a few days in Japan before or after the cruise, think about staying in Tokyo.

If you purchase JR passes before arrival (very reasonable), you will be able to board a bullet train every morning at Tokyo Station, have breakfast on the train, arrive just about anywhere interesting in Japan by noon, have lunch locally, do some sight-seeing and shopping, back on the train in the afternoon, and arriving back in Tokyo for dinner. Almost like a cruise. No packing and unpacking. No luggage to carry. There are some very nice hotels near Tokyo Station that are not very pricey, making it very easy to walk back and forth to the station.

Some very good advice in this posting.

The Minato-Mirai Line instructions from Nihon-Odori in Yokohama are very good. You might add that one need not get off the train in Shibuya. If you remain onboard, the train continues to Shinjuku East - but under another name, “Toyoko Line”.

Tsukiji Fish Market did close. The new Toyosu Fish Market opened not far away. First it was open to the public, then too many tourists mis-behaved there and they were banned. Then the market re-opened to tourists. But then the COVID problems caused it to close again. It is scheduled to re-open to the public this year.

There are big changes in the Tokyo-area Cruise Terminals. The new Tokyo International Cruise Terminal is now open, just South of theTokyo Bay Bridge (Sunshine Bridge), and just North of Haneda Airport. It will accommodate any size ship.

There is quick and easy access to/from the terminal via subway, bus, and taxi. As the terminal is about halfway between Yokohama and Tokyo, it is an easy trip to either city.  

Japanese Government yesterday announced that when foreign flag cruise ships resume Japan cruises, they will be required to file daily illness reports before arriving in Japanese ports (very similar to the VSP reports required in the USA).

This is positive news, as they are at least admitting that foreign ships will be allowed into Japan in future.

On the negative side, the Tokyo Olympics are looking less and less likely to happen.

If you take a 10 day Alaska cruise from San Francisco, you spend 3+ days at sea on the way up and 3+ days at sea on the way back, leaving you - at best - a 3 day Alaska cruise. Those 6+ days at sea typically involve choppy seas, rain, wind, cold, and very little else. If that is your thing, definitely sail from San Francisco. 

If you take a 7 day Alaska cruise from Seattle, you will take the outside passage, meaning 2 sea days up and 2 sea days back, leaving you with - at best - a 3 day Alaska cruise. Those 4 sea days typically involve choppy seas, rain, wind, cold, and very little else. If that is your thing, definitely sail from Seattle.

If you take any length Alaska cruise from Vancouver, the Alaska part starts about 3 hours after leaving the pier and entering the inside passage. You get a real Alaska cruise  for the duration of your voyage, plus calm sailing, great views, lots of wildlife, and generally better weather.

It is currently looking less and less likely that foreigners will be allowed to visit Japan in 2021. Japan Times reports that 80% of Japanese citizens do not want the Tokyo Olympics to go ahead this summer.

There are several Japanese cruise ships sailing in Japan right now - with zero COVID problems. But all the passengers are Japanese residents.

The 3 Japanese cruise lines sailing around Japan with only Japanese passengers are doing quite well so far. Zero COVID cases.

The Tokyo Olympics are becoming less and less likely to happen this year.

Foreigners allowed to visit Japan this year seems to be less and less likely as well.

MSC announced yesterday that they have received permission from the Japanese Government to base one of their ships in Yokohama next year (2021). Not sure if Americans will be allowed into Japan to join the ship, however.

21 hours ago, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

Just a small note.

Not all cruise ships moor at Osanbashi Cruise Terminal. Generally those ships larger than Diamond Princess will use Daikoku Terminal, since they cannot pass under the bridge and reach Osanbashi. Diamond Princess will also be at Daikoku in the future.

Uhhh, not quite correct.

There is no low bridge to go under to get to Osanbashi Cruise Terminal in Yokohama.

Ships that go to the Daikoku cargo terminal do so because they either want to pay a lower docking fee, or because Osanbashi Terminal is already full.

The bridge you are talking about is probably the Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay, which prevents larger ships from calling at Tokyo’s Harumi Cruise Terminal, which is located right downtown in Tokyo.  (Harumi is located in the middle of the new Tokyo Olympics Village)

In September, the new Tokyo International Cruise Terminal opened just South of the Rainbow Bridge, allowing cruise ships of any size to dock much closer to Tokyo. This new Terminal is located about halfway between Haneda Airport and Tokyo City. When international cruising resumes in Japan, you will most likely see many of the ships calling at the new Tokyo Terminal.

Next time you want to visit a city like Bangkok, where large ships must park many miles away, forcing you to sit in a hot bus with a 60 of your sweaty new friends for hours, think about this.

Small ships can easily sail right up to cities like Bangkok, Shanghai, Tokyo, Quebec. Big ships cannot.

You can waste your expensive trip sitting on a bus half the time, or you can be out and about, enjoying much more of what you paid so much to see.

Jabrown40,

It may be helpful for you to understand that Japanese Hotels have a generally very high standard - not only for cleanliness, but also for quality and service. These standards are quite a bit higher than what you find in America.

There probably are a few poor hotels in Japan, but in over 30 years living and traveling here, I have never encountered one.

Both the hotels mentioned in your post are very nice. Both are close to Chinatown and the Osanbashi Cruise Terminal. You will be quite happy with either one.

Good news.

Yesterday 2 Japanese cruise lines announced plans to begin domestic Japanese voyages on 02 November.

These will be marketed primarily to Japanese nationals, and will not call at foreign ports.

My friends in Palermo report that the welding of the new section will be complete this week.

My ship sails in Alaska every summer - except this one. We previously had October sailings, but no longer. We had so many weather problems, cancelled port calls, cancelled tours, and guest complaints about closed shops, bad weather, lack of tours, no whales, no bears, etc, etc.

It is still too early to even make informed guesses for next year.

It appears that Carnival and Royal Caribbean are planning China-based cruises in 2021.

But that depends on which other Asian countries (if any) will allow cruise ships to enter. China has its own Cabotage Laws that require ships to visit foreign ports. It gets more complicated as China will not allow a foreign cruise ship to travel directly between China and Taiwan. To my best knowledge, there are no other Asian countries currently allowing cruise ships with passengers to make port calls. 

Here in Japan, we are now permitted to leave and re-enter, and foreigners with new working visas will be allowed to enter Japan starting in October. But no tourists are currently allowed to enter Japan, and there is no information as to when that might change.

The Japanese government is currently discussing regulations for Olympians entering Japan next summer, and it appears that they will relax the rules for that. It probably means that they will also relax tourism visa regulations to go along with the Summer Olympics.

With the Virus still out of control in countries like USA, India, and Brazil, it seems unlikely that those citizens will be able to visit most of Asia anytime soon. There are discussions going on now between China, Japan, and some SE Asian countries to permit tourism from countries that do have the COVID numbers under control: Europe and some Asian countries.  

Japan is now officially in the “Second Wave” of the virus.

Numbers of cases in Tokyo and Osaka spiked a bit - mainly due to clubs and bars open late at night.

The Japanese government cannot legally close them, so instead is paying them to close early every day.

As expected, the numbers are now dropping. Japan - at 135 million people - is showing fewer cases and deaths than most individual US states.

Everyone here is still wearing masks - not because we are forced to - but because it is still the right thing to do.

Foreign residents of Japan who left Japan before the pandemic are now being allowed to return.

Foreign residents of Japan who left Japan after the pandemic started will be allowed to return after Sept 01.

International flights are ramping up again. Foreign tourists (from some countries) may be allowed after 01 Sept. 

The new Tokyo cruise terminal opened last month, but with no ships calling (yet).

You didn’t tell us where your cruise is going - and returning.

From San Francisco, if you are cruising North, you will have at least 2 sea days that are typically windy, rainy, foggy, cold.

If you are cruising South, you will have at least 2 sea days that are typically windy, rainy, foggy, cold.

If you are returning to San Francisco at the end of the cruise, you will have the same 2 sea days again.

If you are cruising North from San Diego, you may encounter the same 2 or more days at sea.

If you are cruising South, the weather and views are typically much improved. If you are sailing West, the weather is usually far better than from San Francisco.

My home port is Tokyo.

The city and country have re-opened and are more or less back to normal.

Businesses, Restaurants, Bars are open and busy. 

Trains and subways are a bit less crowded than before.

Everyone is still wearing masks - not because we have been told to, but because it is the right thing to do.

Only a few European tourists are being allowed into Japan, so the summer attractions are not very crowded. It is a great bonus for those of us living here.

Japan cruising and local Asia cruising will re-start shortly.

On 5/14/2020 at 12:12 AM, KirkNC said:

Health department or who ever it is that does those inspections won’t allow it.  Too far from running water 🥺

You are talking about the CDC. They WILL allow BBQs on ships, but have instituted very strict health requirements before they will approve them. This includes hand washing stations and easily accessible bathrooms. Other cruise companies spent the time and money to meet those requirements - and are now offering BBQs on deck. HAL refused to spend the money to do it properly, so is not allowed to legally offer the BBQs.

On 6/12/2020 at 10:36 AM, bennybear said:

Haneda is closer to Yokohama and Tokyo, but depends on your airline.    We stayed in Shinjuku area and it is much closer to Yokohama,  it was over a two hour by car ride to Narita.    The Hilton there is very nice albeit pricey. 

Taking a car from Narita is a waste of time and money - unless you are unable to do it yourself.

Narita Express train departs frequently from the lower levels of Terminals 1 and 2.

Plenty of escalators, elevators, and trolleys to handle your luggage.

Each car has secure storage for all your suitcases.

Most of the cars are non-smoking.

Seating is comfortable and reserved.

Most of the trip is above ground, with great views of the countryside and city.

Electric power outlets at each seat.

All signage is in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and English.

They offer free internet.

Narita to Tokyo Station is 60 minutes; 3300 yen

Narita to Shinjuku Station is 71 minutes; 3300 yen

Narita to Yokohama station is 90 minutes; 3800 yen 

Same thing for Haneda.

Tokyo Monorail runs frequently from Haneda to Hamamatsucho station in Tokyo.

Fare is 480 yen; travel time is about 20 minutes.

Good seating; free internet; great elevated view of the city.

There are some good restaurants and luggage storage at Hamamatsucho station.

At Hamamatsucho station, you can easily catch a local subway, local JR train, or a taxi.

This port stop is included usually for 2 different reasons:

1. They have cheap fuel there, so the cruise line can fill up and save some money.

2. The ship must call at a foreign port while sailing around Japan.

I have worked on about a half dozen ships that called there.

A few passengers found it charming.

Most passengers complained that it was a terrible place and questioned why we took them there.

4 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

 

I'll bet New York took a big hit because so many people use public transportation like the subways.  Hopefully, there will be a quick covid test for cruising.  There are groups working on early detection tests, which would eliminate the problem of testing negative one day and then developing symptoms several days later.  An early detection test before boarding, along with the requirement of masks while waiting for results, would work well.

Tokyo has far more people and far more subways than New York. Yet Tokyo has very few Covid cases and even fewer deaths.

Your correlation does not stand up.

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

What other lines do this besides Azamara ?

 The would be magical

Windstar Motor Yachts

Windstar

Since CC is a cruise site, many posters asking questions about Tokyo airports are going on a mass market cruise. They are using Haneda airport for a couple of good reasons.

The real Tokyo cruise terminal (Harumi) is very small and conveniently right downtown. But the Rainbow Bridge that crosses Tokyo Bay is too low for large cruise ships to get under it and get access to Harumi Terminal. As a result, only the smaller luxury lines call at Harumi.

The big ships are forced to call at Osanbashi Terminal in Yokohama - about 50 miles South of Tokyo. Osanbashi is a great place to call, but getting into Tokyo and back can be challenging and potentially costly if you don't speak Japanese.

Narita Airport is larger, newer, and offers more variety than Haneda, but it is located about 60 miles North of central Tokyo.

On the other hand, Haneda is newly renovated, enlarged, and is located just a few miles South of central Tokyo - in the direction of Yokohama.

Getting from Narita to to Tokyo or to Osanbashi Terminal in Yokohama is not difficult, But it is more costly and takes more time.

Getting from Haneda to Tokyo or to Yokohama is very easy, fast, and inexpensive.

The Japanese are building a new cruise terminal just South of the Rainbow Bridge - and very close to Haneda Airport. This terminal is scheduled to open sometime this year, and can accommodate large cruise ships. This makes Haneda erven more desirable for people on mass market cruise ships.

Daikoku Terminal in Yokohama is unfortunately not a very nice place. It is a cargo pier that is used for cruise ships that cannot get a slot at Osanbashi Terminal. If you fly into Haneda Airport, it is a relatively short taxi ride to Daikoku. There are also a few shuttle buses available from Yokohama to Daikoku Pier.