Diamond Princess July 8-17 around northern Japan

[meow!]

Wow! Thanks for the great post! So interesting about the taxis! Thanks for telling about this.

 

Thanks' date=' too, for the Moo market description:)[/quote']

 

I am enjoying this blog so much. Already, I have 4 binder pages of notes! Thank you Meow and also Libby. :D

 

Thank you both for your compliments!

[meow!]

... continued from above

 

CONCLUSION

 

On the whole, this had been a happy voyage, something we had planned for a long time. It will leave us fond memories for years to come. No voyage is perfect, they are all mixtures, with pluses and minuses. The important thing is to make the best of what is available.

 

It was the first time we had been to the out ports of Japan, though we had visited Tokyo twice before, this being the third time, at roughly ten years intervals. Hokkaido was cool and interesting, with courteous and helpful people. It was the first time we visited Yokohama, and we stayed an extra three days at the Associa Shin Hotel, very convenient sitting on top of a ten-storeyed emporium. We stayed another three days at the Ginza Tobu Courtyard Hotel, nicely located though the heat limited our activities. Nonetheless, these stays complemented our voyage, taking this overall seventeen days journey to a worthwhile conclusion.

 

Some of the reports previously posted by us:

 

Barcelona to Venice – Oceania Regatta April 2004

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=16812 (Part I)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=16814 (Part II)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=16815 (Part III)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=16817 (Part IV)

 

Mexican Riviera – Silversea Shadow December 2004

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112474 (Part I)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112477 (Part II)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112585 (Part III)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112815 (Part IV)

 

Panama Canal – Silversea Shadow December 2007

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=680435

 

British Isles – Celebrity Century May 2008

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=785601

 

Eastern Mediterranean – Oceania Nautica October 2008

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=869685

 

Caribbean – Silversea Spirit November 2010

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1317609

 

Iceland – Azamara Journey August 2011

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1482473

 

.

Edited August 10, 2015 by meow!

[By The Bay]

Thanks Kristal Blade for taking the time to provide your detailed answer to my request.

 

Thanks Meow! A very detailed report with lots of information for our up coming cruise.

[Kristal Blade]

It's a pleasure to pass on info to help out. I have had so much assistance from posters it is good to be able to give it back.

Enjoy Japan, it is an easy country to visit with everyone helpful, polite and you will be amazed to see no litter anywhere!

Libby

[CruzinNoony]

Thanks again!! Along with this itinerary (Hokkaido), we are doing Taiwan & Ryukyu Islands. Any information about these ports would also be useful. The ports of this itinerary are: Okinawa, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hualien. This is r/t Tokyo. :cool:

[Kristal Blade]

Sorry CruzinNoony,

I'm out! Did none of your other ports but I am sure someone either here or on the Asia thread in Ports of Call can help you out.

Enjoy, Libby

[Cruiserkenn]

Thanks Meow! And everyone, for this great thread!

 

Ir has been so interesting, so informative, and so fun, too!

 

Happy cruising!

 

Sayonara :)

[Murphey]

Meow, thanks for a very good report. Well thought out and informative. We too, like to sit by ourselves, but have never had a problem in the main dining room requesting a table for two. Is this not possible on the Diamond??

[meow!]

Meow, thanks for a very good report. Well thought out and informative. We too, like to sit by ourselves, but have never had a problem in the main dining room requesting a table for two. Is this not possible on the Diamond??

 

When we purchased our ticket, our travel agent assigned for us. In our previous cruises, e.g. Silversea, Oceania and Azamara, there was no table assignment as such. On Celebrity, we went to the buffet restaurant for dinner, where they could stir fry or cook anything in front of us to our order. So this time, without making any effort to change, we had already decided to forego the main dining rooms (there were more than one) anyway!

[shepp]

Meow, thanks for a very good report. Well thought out and informative. We too, like to sit by ourselves, but have never had a problem in the main dining room requesting a table for two. Is this not possible on the Diamond??

 

Having just gotten over jet lag from the 17-day Grand Japan and an additional week in Kyoto and Tokyo…

 

We had absolutely no problem getting a table for two in the Santa Fé dining room for late seating on both parts of the B2B. We'd requested it on our booking, and it was there when we boarded. It's dependent on supply and demand of course, but almost every night there were five or six empty two-tops around us. Kind of surprising, really. We had our own private little nook, and the service was great.

Edited August 14, 2015 by shepp

[miagirl]

Having just gotten over jet lag from the 17-day Grand Japan and an additional week in Kyoto and Tokyo…

 

Shepp, any chance you still have the patters and could upload them or email them? We on this trip next year and I'd LOVE a sneak peak.

 

thanks,

 

Nan

[emmak8]

Your review is wonderful. This cruise is on my bucket list. Thank you for posting.

[ROCruiser]

We also just came back from the 17-day Grand Japan cruise on Diamond Princess and a land tour afterwards. Loved it! Slowly posting pictures on my blog for those who are interested. Just click the link below.

 

We had the navigation map on most of the days because son didn't want us to watch the news while on vacation.

[avoncastlecruisers]

I did a B2B2B on the Diamond round Japan last year. It was fabulous!!!

Oz61, just book it! Every port is brilliant, if the itinerary includes Russia then book the princess trip, the short one, which was about £30 or dollars and worth every penny to set foot in Russia and see inside the shops and be entertained by the locals in a little folkloric show.

 

Don't bother with ships tours in Japanese ports. At every port there was a tourist info tent at the dockside with English speaking people who would tell you and often guide you to the local high spots.

 

Kai sushi on our trip was not well attended. Why eat sushi made from fish held in storage for weeks when you can eat gorgeous, fresh sushi in the ports?

 

Lots of Japanese were on board. When it is a formal night the ladies wear beautiful kimonos. We felt very dull in comparison.

 

I adored this cruise, as you can probably tell, and would do it again tomorrow!

 

Japan is one of my favourite cruise destinations and I would recommend it to everyone. If you have questions about Japanese ports I can maybe give you suggestions about what to do, so long as they are the ones we went to!

 

Hi we are doing two Japan cruises on Diamond in 2016 the first going to Okinawa and three ports in Taiwan. The second going to several ports in Hokkaido, one in Russia and the other Aomori. We are doing Japan touring before and in between cruises. Would really love some info on any pof the same ports of call you may have done and by the sound of it enjoyed very much. Thanks in advance Marsha from Ringwood, Uk

[laughing husky]

Just got off the Coral from an inside passage.......there was no weather, temperature, sea information, and no moving map......I suspect that this is a change throughout the fleet.....unfortunately:(......

Edited September 5, 2015 by laughing husky

[Scottonsea]

Thanks for such a comprehensive overview.

Regards scott

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[candymaker2]

My friends and me are going on 17 day Princess Japan tour in July 2016. If you have been there during that time of year how was the weather? Do you have recommendations on tour operators when in ports or better to hire taxi for private tour? The price the taxi charges is that per person or as many as can fit in to taxi? Also is anyone going on this that might want to team up for tours?

[Montrealais]

@meow!

 

 

«Since we did not savour sitting with strangers around a large table, put up a smile and engage in polite conversation for hours, we did not attend any of the prescribed dinners.»

 

 

As others have mentioned it is easy to get a table for two.

 

 

«The grills around the pool provided nice hamburgers, and pizza slices with a specialty flavour which changed from day to day. These specialty pizzas were quite nice and worth sampling. Other than that, the quality of the "included" food was not a high point of this voyage.»

 

 

Since you did not use the MDRs how could you judge the quality of the «included» food?

 

 

«Somehow, we felt that in general, not just for meals, so many things had extra charges on this ship, perhaps even more so than on Celebrity ships.»

 

 

That was a result of you choosing specialty restaurants instead of MDRs.