chicagopaul Posted September 21, 2019 Author #326 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Today was wonderful in Tokyo and I have some fun stories for you all. Finishing one drink at the martini bar and then I’ll try to do some updates tonight and I’ll have plenty of time to do updates on the plane tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnyette Posted September 21, 2019 #327 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Looking forward to your take on the other guests at the veuve dinner. Fabulous review as always. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 21, 2019 Author #328 Share Posted September 21, 2019 As the cruise has drawn to a close I find myself in the position I hate the most, the last day of the cruise. There is always a somber, almost slightly depressed feeling that fills the ship on this day, especially on such long cruises. For some the upcoming dread of going back to real life is what causes sadness. The thought of going to work or having to cook your own meals. For others it might mean not traveling again for a while and that is what increases their sadness. For me, it’s none of the above. For me, the sadness is simply leaving a place that I’ve become so comfortable in the last couple of weeks. A place that felt like home. It’s not the meals or the drinks (though that is pretty damn great) but it’s the people. I know I say this every cruise but it is amazing how spending 7, 12, or in this case 15 nights with people can make you feel like you’ve known them your whole life. This cruise we have made some amazing new friends and built on existing friendships making them stronger. Tonight I go to bed sad it is the last day, but feeling incredibly content about the amazing last 15 nights on this ship. I am so blessed to have someone like Edward to share this with and go home with. I’m amazed at the friends I have at home that I can’t wait to see to share these experiences. And I’m honored that you all find my blogging and stories interesting that I cannot wait to properly recap not only the last couple days but the entire trip in the days to come. Thanks for following along but don’t go anywhere yet. I have lots more to upload including reviews of the last couple dinners, Tokyo, funny stories, and a full recap on what I think celebrity did stellar and a few areas that could use improvements. I should have plenty of time on my flight and long layover at LAX to update you. 21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecatmama Posted September 21, 2019 #329 Share Posted September 21, 2019 18 hours ago, chicagopaul said: Hi All. This could very possible be the rules on the S Class. However, on the M Class the sunset bar is connected to ocean view cafe. As a matter of fact the out door seating for the ocean view is at the sunset bar so that’s why we are able to here. On the S Class ships the sunset bar is one deck up and separate. So I assume that’s the reasoning for the difference. We’ve seen a good handful of people eating at the sunset bar here. Thanks, Paul! Good to know as my sister and I are doing B2B next month on the Constellation! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyclayt Posted September 21, 2019 #330 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Thank you so much for this fun review. We will be doing this cruise next year (either on Millennium or Eclipse, haven't decided yet) and you have definitely made the anticipation way more fun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Norwaylady Posted September 21, 2019 #331 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Thank you for a great live tread! It’s been a pleasure to follow you on this journey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cl.klink Posted September 22, 2019 #332 Share Posted September 22, 2019 12 hours ago, chicagopaul said: As the cruise has drawn to a close I find myself in the position I hate the most, the last day of the cruise. There is always a somber, almost slightly depressed feeling that fills the ship on this day, especially on such long cruises. For some the upcoming dread of going back to real life is what causes sadness. The thought of going to work or having to cook your own meals. For others it might mean not traveling again for a while and that is what increases their sadness. For me, it’s none of the above. For me, the sadness is simply leaving a place that I’ve become so comfortable in the last couple of weeks. A place that felt like home. It’s not the meals or the drinks (though that is pretty damn great) but it’s the people. I know I say this every cruise but it is amazing how spending 7, 12, or in this case 15 nights with people can make you feel like you’ve known them your whole life. This cruise we have made some amazing new friends and built on existing friendships making them stronger. Tonight I go to bed sad it is the last day, but feeling incredibly content about the amazing last 15 nights on this ship. I am so blessed to have someone like Edward to share this with and go home with. I’m amazed at the friends I have at home that I can’t wait to see to share these experiences. And I’m honored that you all find my blogging and stories interesting that I cannot wait to properly recap not only the last couple days but the entire trip in the days to come. Thanks for following along but don’t go anywhere yet. I have lots more to upload including reviews of the last couple dinners, Tokyo, funny stories, and a full recap on what I think celebrity did stellar and a few areas that could use improvements. I should have plenty of time on my flight and long layover at LAX to update you. I *so* relate to this. You are right to be grateful for the things that bless you, and that perspective wins in the end. But post-cruise depression is a thing. On a few occasions I found that staying a day or more after disembarkation either at the city the cruise ended in, or another stop before going home, or a day or two back at home, before returning to work, helped. I would love to find a more effective cure, though. I guess you'll just have to cruise again (and report here). -Joel - Joel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyhooked Posted September 22, 2019 #333 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Best part of cruise for us also is making friends. Excellent review 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey22 Posted September 22, 2019 #334 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Thanks for making the time each day to take the rest of us along on your cruise. I have really enjoyed reading your review. I have always been one of those people who don't like to many sea days in a row but now that it's over it seems as though it went by to quickly. I hope you both had a wonderful time and wish you a safe journey home. Jane 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #335 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Thank you for all the kind words. We finished our tour and we are currently sitting at Narita airport. Check in and security was a breeze. We did have priority on both but the regular lines for American and standard security looked empty around 2:30pm. We have a long long travel day ahead as we are connecting in LAX with a 5hr layover. Oh joy! I’m looking at the non stop stop flight to ORD boarding in a few minutes wishing we were on that instead but like I said at the beginning of this cruise report, all of travel is simply part of an experience that will give me another story to tell. Debarkation today was a breeze with celebrity and japan customs. The tour was well organized as well. All of this info along with the last day in Tokyo plus our last couple of dinners and full review will be posted soon as I’ll work on them on the plane. Here is my goal in formatting for all of you. Ill continue the blog in the way I’ve been writing to conclude the last couple of days such as Tokyo and the last couple of dinners we’ve had. When I recap I will do an extensive recap on each part of the cruise such as dining, bars, ports, room, etc but will do so in separate posts that I will link to this blog. That way you can click on “Dining in Blu” and see my full thoughts plus all menu photos and food photos. Easier for all of you and that way I’m also not bogging down cruise critic with too many photos and taking up precious memory for photos I already posted. I hope this will be a good way to recap for all of you and a great way for me to catalogue my trip as well. Thanks again for following along! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruise47 Posted September 22, 2019 #336 Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) This was an outstanding thread. Thanks you for taking the time to posting all the information. Just Outstanding! Edited September 22, 2019 by cruise47 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinLow Posted September 22, 2019 #337 Share Posted September 22, 2019 As I am doing the same cruise next year, I truly appreciate your time and effort in sharing all the information that you have given us. It has been a fantastic read for me. Thank you so much and I look forward to your next posts and whole wrap-up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h20cruzer Posted September 22, 2019 #338 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Paul, did Celebrity have any other ways to get to the airport besides the train. Wondering if Celebrity offered a bus that picked you right up at the ship. The first time I did this Celebrity did offer a shuttle from the airport to the ship. Wondering if the safe hold true in the reverse? So enjoyed your live review. Brings back a lot of memories for me:):):):) Safe travel to you and Edward. Norma 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor D Posted September 22, 2019 #339 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Hi guys, Just want to say how much i enjoyed your review. Just to give you an idea of where people live that get up and jump on line to read what and where you are today on your cruise. My wife and i live in a tiny farming and grape growing region in Eastern Washington State with about 3000 other people. We have been on many cruises but love Celebrity, last year did the Rome to Greece and back to Rome. Same cruise you did before us and it was so helpful reading your review before we went. Hope some day we end up on the same cruise would love to meet you and PS. Try some good Washington wines we make a lot of great ones. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #340 Share Posted September 22, 2019 3 hours ago, h20cruzer said: Paul, did Celebrity have any other ways to get to the airport besides the train. Wondering if Celebrity offered a bus that picked you right up at the ship. The first time I did this Celebrity did offer a shuttle from the airport to the ship. Wondering if the safe hold true in the reverse? So enjoyed your live review. Brings back a lot of memories for me:):):):) Safe travel to you and Edward. Norma Hey Norma! Thanks for your kind comments throughout the blog! Celebrity did offer an "explore Tokyo on your own" bus trip but it was treated as a specific time drop off and pick up I believe. It was not treated as a shuttle leaving on the hour, etc. which is something I would have loved for them to do. What they did offer was a shuttle to the train station, but you still needed to take the train into Tokyo. From the station they sent you to you could choose to take the standard train (blue I believe) or connect to another station and hop on the bullet train. I really wish they did a shuttle to that station so people could just take the bullet train in. It would be much easier and when you ride the bullet you can choose unreserved or reserved seats for an extra fee if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #341 Share Posted September 22, 2019 OK so we've landed in LAX. We had a very quick flight. Passport control at NRT was a breeze as was security. Our flight pushed back on time but we had a little back up on the runway. While we were a bit late wheels up we had excellent tail winds and arrived early. Customs and baggage in LAX was a breeze. Recheck of the bags was just a simple drop off and now we are waiting at our gate very early.....almost 4 hours early. We might try to hop on an earlier flight but I need (well don't need but definitely want) my aisle seat and preferable extra leg room if not sitting in domestic first and it doesn't seem like that's an option on this flight. So lets back track a couple days and get back to the review I started to finish up on the plane. Follow up on dinner & Tokyo Cheers from the sky everyone. Before I go into anything to do with debarkation, NRT airport, etc. lets start with the few dinners I skipped! The night of Hakodate we would quite exhausted. We had a full day tour which I described earlier that had us coming back to the ship at 5pm. So with this being said we came back on board, relaxed for a short while then showered, changed, and got ready for our usual martini bar. This evening was just like any others at the bar with our usual martini, our usual group of friends (filled with the same wonderful evening pleasantries of kisses on the cheeks and asking how the day was for everyone). For dinner we ate in Blu with our usual group minus Nina who I believe was in Tuscan that night. We had a nice comfy table and Owenn this evening for dinner. The menu itself didn’t look like anything too special, but it did have short ribs which have yet to fail me on this ship. I started with the wild mushroom arancini which proved quite good and not dry. I then had the crawfish bisque which was good but quite salty, which is a big change for Blu! It did have good flavor, however, despite the salt. Others in the group tried either the bisque or the french onion soup from the MDR. A couple at our table said the other night the French Onion wasn’t too good, but this time around it was on point. I then had the short ribs and so did some others at the table including Edward. My short ribs came out perfect and hot. Edward however said his were a bit cold (but didn’t tell me this until after he ate them or else I would’ve told him to send them back). Another person at the table said his were very fatty. I guess I was the lucky one that night! One person ordered the halibut which was quite good and as a shareable side we also ordered the “daily vegetable” which was Mac N Cheese. This too was salty, a bit too much, but was quite tasty none the less. For dessert I ordered the blueberry apple turnover which was actually quite good. The puff pastry in the photo looks a bit dense but it was actually flakier than it seems. The beggars purse is another picture you’ll see posted below. A couple at our table ordered that. I don’t remember their exact thoughts on it but I don’t think it was anything negative. After dinner that night we headed to the martini bar and then to the casino as it was finally opening back up. In case I didn’t mention before the Casino was closed all day when we were in Otaru and then all the way up to 10:30pm or so when we were in Hakodate. From what I understand the laws governing casino play in Japanese waters are much more strict than off the coast of the states. I believe I heard it is roughly 30 miles or so versus in the states it is…12 miles off the coast? Anyway, we were hanging out at the Martini bar waiting for the casino to open when Bagus at the martini bar offered us a drink. We told him, no, we were waiting for the casino bar to open since we had to see Amitava (our usual after dinner routine). Bagus made a phone call to the Casino bar (which was only steps away, we could’ve easily walked to check) to see if it was open and sure enough he was just about to open. Bagus even told him to save two seats at the bar for us for the long 15 second walk over, haha. Small things like this are the random quirky stories you seem to remember at random points in your life and they make you smile. We went to the casino bar and met up with friends. Some gambled, some just sat and drank. This was a long night. We knew this would be the last big night at the casino bar as the following sea day the bar would close early as we would be getting close to Yokohama as the night progressed. We sat and drank at the bar chatting with Bradley who is from Edmonton but lives in Thailand, he loves to gamble. He’s a quirky guy. Remember back in the beginning of my blog there was a drunk guy at the bar complaining about Americans? Well, that is him! It turns out he’s a terrific guy. A truly good hearted guy. One night he was up $800 in blackjack so the next day he bought 2 bottles of Dom and invited people to drink with him. He loves to gamble and when he’s up he shares it with everyone. This night he was at the bar along with our friends Rodney, Brad, Andrew and Nigil and we just drank a lot. We told stories, jokes, and Amitava our bartender served us different liquors to try. Bradley convinced me to have a jager bomb and if you follow me on Instagram you would have seen this video. What is a jager bomb if you don’t know? It is a shot of jager dropped into a glass of red bull. I haven’t had one since college but he convinced me! It wasn’t as bad as I remember thankfully and it was fun. Amitava had to run around the ship to find the right sized shot glass to fit the glass and he was able to manage. We all stayed up drinking until after 2am in the morning. For some reason our group thought pizza would still be open so we wandered up to the ocean view in search of pizza but alas no pizza to be found, despite Andrew’s loud shouts for pizza while wandering the cafe. I’m sure the security team was having a fun night watching us on camera. At least we gave them some good entertainment. It was all in good fun and we were all of course respectful, at least to others. The next day proved to be a rough morning. We ended up having to skip breakfast, but it made for a fun night of great memories with new friends. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #342 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Dinner pics from the night before the last sea day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie.1008 Posted September 22, 2019 #343 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Paul, I so enjoy following your blogs. You have a wonderful style and a smashing sense of humor. I hope you don`t get the cruise blues when you get home. The only way I can shake the cruise blues is to book another one. We will look forward to meeting you in April on our Honolulu to Vancouver Eclipse cruise. We will stay at the Hyatt Regency the night before our cruise. See you in April, Heather 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #344 Share Posted September 22, 2019 The following day was our last sea day of the cruise and the day before we arrived in Yokohama (port to get to Tokyo). We woke up with a bit of a hangover but we were still functional. We skipped breakfast in Blu and instead settled for a bagel from the buffet and of course a drink with Reddy at the sunset bar. Our friends from the night before actually made it out, surprisingly, and were up and starting their day though Andrew was struggling a bit. I think he drank the most out of all of us. The last sea day was beautiful. Sunny and temperatures in the 60s and 70s depending on time of day. It was one of those days that you just wish could go on, not just because of the beautiful weather, but also because you knew the cruise was drawing to an end. We had a couple drinks with Reddy at the Sunset bar and chatted with friends. We made a point to tip Reddy on this day and thank him for everything since we figured we likely would not see him the next day. If you happen to find yourself on the Millennium in the near future be sure to look out for him and tell him we said hello. He took great care of us, was always chatting and friendly, even on the bitter cold days. After drinks with Reddy we decided to eat lunch Mast Grill. We both had a burger, hot dog and fries. The burger tasted OK, but not as good as some I’ve had in the past. The meat, while not dry, seemed a bit…artificial in taste? Nothing to do with the cooking in my opinion and solely to do with the quality of the meat. The hotdog was tasty and of good quality and the fries were cooked well. Service was quick, prompt, and very friendly. We ate outside, gazed around a bit and then walked around the ship to take in the sun. We then decided to go back to the room and pack. We didn’t get too much sleep, or at least good sleep from being up so late and drinking, that we needed a bit of rest. I sat not he balcony and updated my blog, checked some social media, and look onto the ocean. I remember sitting on the balcony and listening to the waves gentle crash against the ship…or is it the other way around, the ship crashing against the waves? I was looking on my phone and listening to the sound when the sound slowly started to fade away. I looked up and noticed that the waves had subsided and the ocean, or at this point I assume the sea (given our proximity to Tokyo, so maybe it is the Sea of Japan?) was like glad. All you could hear was some slight movement of water gently against the ship. It was absolutely beautiful, quiet, and serene. I then came in from the balcony and took a quick nap and then started to pack. Since we had an overnight in Tokyo I figured we would get back late from the city and the last thing I wanted to do the last night was pack. Edward wasn’t much help in the packing phase, he never is. He says he will take care of it and then does it wrong. I swear it is just a tactic to make me do it. It reminds me of an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray is gloating about pretending not how to do thing so Debra does them for him. Anywho, I started packing and eventually Edward helped toward the end. We made sure to leave enough stuff out for the last two nights and had a quick plan of attack for the last items so we could easily pack the remainder the following night after getting back from Tokyo. The last sea day was also evening chic. I wore my tux again and Edward a gray blazer with a deep pink tie and pocket square. We did not see as many tuxes or gowns on the last formal night but we did see a few and most people did make an effort to dress up more than usual. We started the evening by finishing off the little bit of Casino credit we had from the slots and then made our way to the martini bar of course. We sat at the bar and waited for our regular people to show up and in doing so started chatting with another nice couple who were on their first Celebrity cruise, but have cruised Royal 37 times. They decided to give Celebrity a try since this itinerary and price were very appealing to them. It seemed like they had a great cruise, liked Celebrity a lot, but since they’ve had so many cruises on Royal they want to stay with them for the loyalty program. As someone who chases points myself for anything possible, especially Captain’s Club, I completely understand their point of view. Our friends arrived and we switched seats to the other end of the bar to chat and banter as usual. Then around 8:30 we made our way to Blu with our group for dinner. The menu consisted of Lobster that evening along with a few other items including sautéed veal scaloppini and New York pepper steak. I wanted the veal but Owenn our waiter did not recommend it and instead said to get the pepper steak so that’s what I did as well as Edward. Others at the table ordered the lobster and the chicken paillard which looked very good actually. I started my meal with the crab cake, followed by the escargot, and pepper steak. We also had a couple pasta shells on the table to share family style. The pasta was angus beef stuffed pasta shells. The beef was cooked very well, however, the sauce again like a few nights ago was overly sweet and I just cannot understand why. It would have been such a lovely dish with a more simple sauce. For dessert Edward had the baked Alaska. He ate all of it so I guess it means it was good? I had the creme brûlée which was pretty cold when it came out but tased very good and had a proper caramelized crust. After dinner the waiters did their normal mention about the survey for Blu. In case we wanted to mention any names they actually gave us a print out of all the names in the restaurant. I actually really liked that since it will help with my review here. You’ll see it posted below so you know who is in the restaurant if you’re on an upcoming cruise on the Millennium. Recognize any favorites? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #345 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #346 Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) OK Lets talk Tokyo! The night before Tokyo we didn’t drink much and called it an early night with one last drink at Casino bar and watched Nina gamble for a little bit before the casino closed just after 11pm. We then said goodbyes to a few people we knew we wouldn’t see again as they were disembarking in Tokyo on the first day. The following morning we had plans to meet our friends in Blu for breakfast at 8:15am and then get off the ship together. We planned to do our own thing but we were going to the same place, Tokyo Station, so figured it would be a good idea to travel together and navigate the train system together. So after breakfast we made our way off the ship and to the shuttle bus parked out front that would take us to the train station. Now there are two stations nearby. One is Nishon-Odori station which is walking distance from the ship. The other station is Sakuragicho Station. Sakuragicho station is where you want to go if you want to go to transfer to Shin Yokohama station where you can catch the bullet train into Tokyo We wanted to try that as it would be our first time on the bullet train. The shuttle dropped us off at Sakuragicho station and we asked a woman out front who was directing people which line we wanted. We then went inside and used the electronic pay machines to get our first ticket of the day which would allow us to get to Shin Yokohama. There was another person we asked for help and they gladly told us which ticket / how much to pay to get access. This was pretty simple. I believe the cost was 170yen if my memory serves correctly. When we got to Shin Yokohama station we were a bit confused as to where to find the bullet train. Our friend Rodney asked a worker and used his google translate app to correctly ask the question. The man directed us to where we had to buy tickets. We all went and bought tickets thinking it was that simple, but it was not. Since we were already in the station we had to also insert the ticket we used to get there and pay a difference for the bullet train. We missed that part but we were taught how to do it by a friendly worker there. In Tokyo when you ride the train you select how far you want to go. Payment is based on how far you ride. You keep you ticket and you need that ticket in order to exit the station. If you ride too far for instance the gate will stop you on the way out and you’ll need to pay the difference. If you’re staying in Tokyo for a while the best way to avoid this confusion is to get an IC card which lets you load money onto it and you simply tap it to enter and exit and it charges accordingly. One other item of note is understand how complex the train systems are in Tokyo. I don’t want to say complicated because that is not true. They’re very complicated to us because we are unfamiliar with their complexity. Why are they complex? They’re all privately owned. Not government owned. What this has done is created many lines that run to various parts of the city and compete with each other. I guess this explains why everything was so clean and doesn’t smell like the death of the public transportation in Chicago or NYC. In any event, what this also means is that buying a ticket or a day pass for one line will not work on another line so you need to be careful if you decide to go to one station and buy an all day ticket to ride that line and then decide to switch to a line with a different company later. Again if you’re going to be here for a while the IC card is the best option because it works like a tap credit card and is accepted by all the lines including buses. OK, so we finally get on the bullet train and find ourselves at Tokyo station rather quickly. Our friends go their own way and we go ours. What did we do? Well, our plan was to start off with a drink. In every new major city we visit we like to go to one of the absolute best hotel bars the city has to offer. We order the exact same drink and see how they make it, what questions they ask us, how its served, and of course the cost. It is interesting to see how this compares and varies from city to city. The drink we order is a Ketel One Martini. Some bartenders ask us if we want vermouth, others don’t and just pour it. Some ask us if we want it shaken or stirred, etc. Some give us small bites on the side, others don’t. I always enjoy comparing the total experience from the time we enter the hotel. The Ritz Carlton was a 53 minute walk away from Tokyo Station according to Google. But that was fine with us. It was a very nice day and we figured it would be a great way for us to naturally explore Tokyo and see what we stumbled upon. Ironically we walked by several places and areas that were on our debarkation tour earlier today. The hotel we chose in Tokyo was the Ritz Carlton Tokyo. The Bar (that is the name - The Bar) is located off their main lobby area on the 45th floor so it provided some amazing views (see photos below). We entered the ground floor lobby and asked for directions to the 45th floor bar. We were escorted to the elevator. Upon exiting the elevator I could see the bar area. We were greeted by a western maitre’d and we said we just wanted to grab a drink. We escorted us and asked us if we’d like a table near the window or at the bar. We chose to sit at the bar as this is what we always do. We enjoy watching the bartender make the drink. As soon as we were seated menus were given to us and a woman appeared out of nowhere with water glasses placed on small leather coasters and small bar snacks. We browsed the drink list for fun but we knew what we were going to order. They had a very extensive whiskey list including multiple whiskey flight options. The bar is centered against a large bank for floor to ceiling windows and features 10 or so chairs by the bar. Behind the bar holds an extensive whiskey collection and standing behind the bar is a very sharp dressed young Japanese man who speaks perfect English. We place our order for two Ketel One Martinis with a twist. He did not ask if we wanted vermouth. He did ask if we wanted it shaken or stirred. We said shaken. He started by removing the bottle of Ketel One from the freezer and two ice old martini glasses. He set aside a shaker and pulled out two very large ice cubse. He then proceeded to use a small ice pick to break the ice into smaller, perfectly square cubes to fit into the shaker. I believe there were 3 cubes in total. He then reached for vermouth, which generally is not my favorite, but in these cases when we travel and order this drink for the first time at a new place we let them do their thing. He carefully measured the vermouth and the vodka. Gently closed the shaker and shook hard, but not too hard. I could tell he was counting exactly how many times he was shaking it. He had a very precise system. Two leather coasters were placed in front of us and he poured the martinis perfectly and then placed them on the coasters. I was nervous with the vermouth, but the vermouth he used was excellent, see the photo below. It looks like it sells for around $30 a bottle or so. Most standard bars use a very cheap $10 vermouth which I detest. I comment on the vermouth and he poured a small sample for each us to try separately from the martini. It was quite lovely and actually something that could easily be sipped on its own. The bartender continued to work behind the bar while we just people watched. We saw a group of middle eastern gentleman, around our age, sitting a few tables away enjoying what looked like multiple whiskey flights. Good, I’m glad I’m not the only one drinking! Just next to the bar area was a piano and microphone with a man and woman setting up to start playing. Beyond them was a large lobby area with couches, chairs, and tables. Most of which were full with very sharp dressed people of all nationalities, but many Japanese, who sat there drinking tea, wine, and beer. Again, I’m glad I’m not the only one drinking at Noon! We enjoyed the people watching, paid our bill and left to continue exploring. What was the cost? The cost was not cheap, but it does not rank as the most expensive we’ve had since we’ve started doing this. The cost at the Ritz Carlton Tokyo, after taking into account the exchange rate came out to $58.25 for two martinis which included tax and a 16% service charge by the hotel. So subtracting the service charge this comes out to $24.50 after tax per martini. Since tipping is frowned upon, especially at high end establishments in Japan, the total cost on the bill was just that the total cost. After this we decided to head out and find a place for lunch while exploring the city on foot. Edited September 22, 2019 by chicagopaul Missing info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagopaul Posted September 22, 2019 Author #347 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Bullet Train View from Ritz Carlton The Bar Bar Snacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyD3 Posted September 22, 2019 #348 Share Posted September 22, 2019 5 hours ago, h20cruzer said: Paul, did Celebrity have any other ways to get to the airport besides the train. Wondering if Celebrity offered a bus that picked you right up at the ship. The first time I did this Celebrity did offer a shuttle from the airport to the ship. Wondering if the safe hold true in the reverse? So enjoyed your live review. Brings back a lot of memories for me:):):):) Safe travel to you and Edward. Norma My kids were on this same cruise. They took a Celebrity transfer bus from the ship to the Tokyo airport. Took about an hour. Arrived at 9:30 AM. Cost something like $80 per person. Bought onboard with OBC !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jim_Iain Posted September 23, 2019 #349 Share Posted September 23, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, TommyD3 said: My kids were on this same cruise. They took a Celebrity transfer bus from the ship to the Tokyo airport. Took about an hour. Arrived at 9:30 AM. Cost something like $80 per person. Bought onboard with OBC !!! Wow... that sound expensive. We took the Airport Limousine Bus from Yokohama Rail Station to Narita and the Regular price is 3,700 yen or $34.00 and offered a Senior Rate (over 65) of 2,200 yen or $20.42. I think the taxi fare to the Rail Station was about $10.00. The taki takes about 10 minutes and drops you at the "City Air Terminal" in the train station about 100 feet from the curb. It was very convenient and a very comfortable service. We were departing on the first night in Tokyo so bus service from Celebrity wasn't available. By the way - you tell the taxi to drop you at Y-CAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal) is is inside the train station. Edited September 23, 2019 by Jim_Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshikitty Posted September 24, 2019 #350 Share Posted September 24, 2019 Hello Paul, just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blogs and I‘ll be missing the daily updates in the coming weeks. Thank you so much for taking the time and efforts and looking forward to the next one. Greetings from Germany 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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