Azamara's pre-cruise Tokyo package

[islandwoman]

We'll be boarding the Azamara Journey next April (I hope) for the Asia Intensive voyage.  We'll be arriving in Tokyo a few days early.  Would you recommend Azamara's 2-night pre-cruise "Stay Local in Tokyo" package?

I'd like to hear about all experiences, liked and not so much.  Also, if you've experienced any of Azamara's other pre or post cruise packages, your impressions would be welcome. 

[Leo_On_Geo]

16 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We'll be boarding the Azamara Journey next April (I hope) for the Asia Intensive voyage.  We'll be arriving in Tokyo a few days early.  Would you recommend Azamara's 2-night pre-cruise "Stay Local in Tokyo" package?

I'd like to hear about all experiences, liked and not so much.  Also, if you've experienced any of Azamara's other pre or post cruise packages, your impressions would be welcome. 

Hello,

looks like the price of the tour is about $2000 a person. That seems pretty reasonable for two night hotel stay in Tokyo, the transfers, plus all of the other stuff. On your own you can easily get Hakone On the bullet train, (it’s called the romance train?) And take the trail via small gauge railroad, incline,  Skyway, and finally the pirate ship. I’ve done it several times independently and everybody’s doing the same thing and it’s very easy just to follow along. Your trip will be very dependent on the weather, which is not a guarantee. You may not see mt  Fuji. 
Also the temple in Asakusa and the shopping street are very easily accessible to do on your own.. So it kind of depends on how adventurous you are.

I do not have any experience with Azamara land excursions. All of them are operated by local tour providers who do this thing day in and day out so they are often very good. I’m sure it would be slightly cheaper to do this on your own but it does involve a lot of planning and hassle, which you may not want.

lisa

[excitedofharpenden]

$2000 per person sounds an awful lot to me for two days in Tokyo. I'm sure you could do it much cheaper on your own by using TripAdvisor for recommendations, but of course Azamara will do the leg work. 

 

I'll caveat by saying I have no experience of the land programmes. I think they are over priced. I looked at a pre cruise hotel in Lisbon recently that was £259 a night.  I could book the same hotel myself for £130. 

 

Phil 

Edited June 1, 2021 by excitedofharpenden

[john1970]

I know there are some very good Japanese tour operators and travel agents in the UK. I would check to see if there is something similar in the US. It is convenient to do it all through Azamara but you are definitely paying a very large premium for the privilege.

[TeaBag]

In all the cruising we have done, we have never added on a pre/post cruise stay.  They are too expensive.  I'm sure they're great, though, for people who do not have the confidence to plan and do things on their own.  $2000/pp for 2 days in Tokyo seems very high.  I do see that hotels are very expensive there.

[ellbon]

I booked my own hotel and used a famous  company base in Canada.

[islandwoman]

12 hours ago, ellbon said:

I booked my own hotel and used a famous  company base in Canada.

Did you get no-penalty cancellation?

[ellbon]

53 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Did you get no-penalty cancellation?

I went in 2019 on Quest. 
I use an American INS company l

[JsMom2]

The stay local tour is more than a hotel stay.  If you want a package with tours, all transfers, some meals, and an English speaking tour guide, these are a good value.  You can download a day by day itinerary from the website.