BruceMuzz

NCL Star and NCL Dawn both have a Suite that sleeps 8 people in 10,000 square feet. That is a Suite.

Many cruise ships have a huge collection of electric fans that are needed and used in dry docks when the A/C is off. If you contact the cruise line before you sail, it is highly likely that they will be happy to lend you one of those fans during your cruise. On my ship, we do it every week.

The included gratuities would be part of NCF if the cruise lines had their way. But that sort of thing creates a negative atmosphere between the agencies and the cruise lines; something the cruise lines are desperately trying to avoid.

The tax laws vary by country of course. But in countries like Philippines and Indonesia, crew are often legally required to send part or all of their earnings home through their agency, where typically a bit of monkey business with exchange rates happens, and then the government takes a piece as well.

Much depends on your budget, the time of day you want to go, and how many suitcases you are carrying. 6 Aussies with a lot of cases will fill 2 Japanese Taxis. The taxi fare is about US$200 per taxi from Osanbashi Terminal to Asakusa. Travel time is about 90 minutes. You could utilize Takkyubin Services from the Cruise Terminal. You would give your suitcases to the Takkyubin people in the Terminal, pay around US$10 per bag, and they would deliver the cases to your hotel the next day. You could take your smaller carry-on bags with you on the train. Two streets away from Osanbashi is Nihon-Odori subway station. The Minato-Mirai Line train will take you from that station to Shibuya Station for about US$4 per person. The regular train takes about 40 minutes; the Express is 29 minutes. At Shibuya, you transfer to the Ginza Line. You ride it all the way to the end of the line, which is Asakusa. Travel time is about 35 minutes. Fare is about US$2 per person. Your hotel is near Asakusa Station.

When cruise ship service staff from most countries get cash tips, they pay income tax only on their incredibly small official salaries. If the "Tips" are included in their salaries, they are taxed on all of it. Almost every cruise ship employee on earth belongs to a maritime labor union. That union negotiated all the terms of the crewmember's contract, including air tickets, uniforms, medical care, housing and food, salary, tips, length of contract, overtime, salary currency, etc. Changing even one of those details requires a re-negotiation of the entire labor agreement with the cruise line. The time and money required for the re-negotiation is something most cruise lines do not want to go through. Although it is possible, nobody really wants to do it. Travel agents receive a percentage of the cruise fare for booking a cruise for you. The more items included in the total fare, the more money the cruise line has to pay the Travel agent. Cruise lines will go to any lengths to avoid increasing the amount of money they need to pay the travel agents. Adding the "gratuities" to your fare would nearly force the cruise lines to give a higher percentage of your fare payment to the travel agent, cutting into the cruise lines' bottom line.

It is difficult to understand where you are going. Is it Asakusa in the North part of Tokyo - or Akasaka in Central Tokyo ?

On many mass market cruise lines, a "suite" is similar to the "formal denims" and "formal baseball caps" worn by passengers.

There are hundreds of cruise ships on this planet that do not have glass on their railings.

Note that for Shinkansen trips from Yokohama, although a few Shinkansen go through Yokohama Station, many do not. Instead you need to go to Shin-Yokohama Station to catch them.

If you don't want to wait for the limousine bus, you can take the Narita Express Train instead. It runs more often than the bus, is more comfortable. and will get you to Shinjuku Station in 75 minutes. Shinjuku Hilton is less that 5 minutes walk or taxi from Shinjuku Station. 3300 yen per person. Free WIFI.

Knowing how to properly spell the name of the city you visit is always important.

Very generally speaking, the weather should be far nicer in the Autumn. You could get lucky or unlucky at either time, but the odds are better for Autumn.

Can one be a cruise foodie, never having tried lobster?

Although things are slowly improving in Japan, handicapped access is still not great in the country. The rare exception is train and subway stations. All now have ramps and elevators.

You generally do not go through Customs in any country until you reach the final port. In Japan, there is often an Immigration inspection in many ports. Why not tell your private tour operator the time of your ship's arrival and have him work out the details?

If you are lucky enough to carry US Dollars, Japan is currently a bargain. The dollar is trading at 148 yen today. Most soft drinks at Japanese "Kombini" (convenience stores) and vending machines cost between 100 and 135 yen. That puts your diet coke - or salt-litchi drink at between 0.60 and 0.90.

Yes Len, you are the only one.

Are there any travel agents that provide advice beyond just booking travel? Only the really good ones.

One of my recent favorites is not Greek - but Japanese. It is not printed - but verbal. The word "karaoke" is Japanese. "Kara" in Japanese means "empty". "Oke" is the Japanese abbreviated word for "orchestra". Karaoke = empty orchestra. It is correctly pronounced "kahrah okay". But the linguistically challenged pronounce it "carry okee" To the Japanese ear, this mis-pronunciation sounds incredibly dumb and very funny.

After I disembark an airplane - in just about any international airport - I order local currency from the first ATM I encounter, which usually happens in the first 5 minutes I am there.

Playing it conservatively, anything over 100 MPH will keep you off your balcony.

How are you feeling about the cuts the Mass Market Cruisers are making to "recover" covid loss of income? This is a question that many of my former colleagues on Mass Market ships are asking. These many cuts are not only reducing overall earnings for the Hotel Staff, but resulting in many tours cancelled due to lack of interest.

Yes, there is a taxi stand located just outside the main entrance doors to the Terminal.

Blame Canada