Tokyo, Japan

[floridatravelersforlife]

14 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Rest assured that the Japanese Government has announced that foreign cruise ships have already been approved to visit Japan as early as this month. We do not expect to see many of those ships in Japan until the cruising season starts in March.

You are also correct in that the huge influx of Western tourists these past 2 months has resulted in much higher COVID numbers in Japan. Although the Japanese wear masks religiously, and take extreme precautions, the foreign visitors are not so careful. Many refuse to wear masks, sanitize hands, and have their temperature taken.
Your biggest concern might be the precautions that some cruise lines will be taking for sailing in Japan. The Japanese government has already announced that any foreign cruise ship experiencing 10%+ infection rate on any cruise will be forced to leave Japan.

Many mass market cruises in other parts of the world are currently experiencing infection rates much higher than 10%.

Some of the cruise line companies planning to visit Japan in the Spring will require negative PCR tests before boarding, masks worn onboard and ashore, and mid-cruise COVID testing onboard, in an attempt to avoid exceeding 10% and being kicked out of Japan.

Having to move a Japan cruise to Taiwan or Korea would be a logistical, financial, and PR nightmare for the cruise companies.

Re PCR tests, we were required to take pre cruise PCR tests for a cruise this past August. Once we debarked my wife and I got Covid  and were stuck in Reykjavik for 6 days week.  We managed with a supply of flu medicines and Paxlovid.  Luckily we  had refundable airline tickets.  Mind you we had all our up to date vaccines and wore masks.  I think the crew infected us. 

[BruceMuzz]

2 hours ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Re PCR tests, we were required to take pre cruise PCR tests for a cruise this past August. Once we debarked my wife and I got Covid  and were stuck in Reykjavik for 6 days week.  We managed with a supply of flu medicines and Paxlovid.  Luckily we  had refundable airline tickets.  Mind you we had all our up to date vaccines and wore masks.  I think the crew infected us. 

Many cruise lines today are experiencing passengers contracting COVID and then hiding their symptoms with OTC Drugs while onboard. The unsuspecting Crew who clean their cabins and serve their food contract COVID from them and pass it to other crew. At the end of the cruise, the infected crew carry the illness to the next cruise and give it to the next group of passengers.

[DCGuy64]

On 12/24/2022 at 3:26 PM, floridatravelersforlife said:

I just don't want to get rerouted at the last minute, on an alternate route that goes to other Asian countries, in which I have no interest.  Right now we are booked on an October 23 sailing,  which we feel has enough lead time to have things sort out. 

You might want to reconsider this cruise, then, if you're so worried about that scenario. My wife and I have been looking forward to this cruise for several years now. We've already bought our round-trip airfare, so in case the cruise gets cancelled, we would probably end up doing a land-only vacation. For now, we're remaining upbeat about our cruise. Since we've been on 10 cruises together now, we're all too familiar with the possibility of changes and cancellations, but if we allowed uncertainty over these things to dissuade us, we'd never vacation at all. Uncertainty and risk are just a part of life, which we acknowledge and accept. Japan is more open now than it's been since early 2020, so that's one of the reasons I'm sanguine about our chances.

[Captain-John]

Hi all - strongly considering booking Celebrity Millenium for May 2024 and hope that many of these issues are ironed out by then and more certainty and experience to rely on.

 

I also await the publication of 2024 schedules from Princess and MSC to see if they are making a return to the region and sailing out of Tokyo/Yokohama, in the interests of competition and choice against X. I will be following eagerly any developments.

 

I can't book my airfare until May '23 (and have some flex in the ticket thereafter) so not going to pull the trigger on the cruise just yet - but it's the first itinerary that has 'grabbed' me for a while.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Per the media today, China is opening to foreigners, adding to the Covid contagion complexity.  We will stick with our Oct 23 Japan itinerary and see what happens.   We have plenty of lead time and travel options.   

[nonrev1]

We are on Azamara 3 April as a circle Japan trip.  🙏🏻🙏🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻that all stays good and the cruise will sail as plannned.