B2B Changeover Question

[donaldsc]

We have done lots of cruising including long cruises but as difficult as it may be to believe our 19 day Princess Japan cruise will be our true B2B cruise.  Our changeover port will be Yokohama and we want to get off the ship and do a tour in Yokohama.  How do they handle the changeover.  Do they have us get off the ship and let us reboard immediately or do they just put us in the showroom until they zero out the ship.  My basic question is that if the earlies disembarkation time is 06:30 how early can we arrange for the tour guide to meet us.

 

DON

[LHT28]

Do you have to change cabins?

 

On ships we have done B2B   we can just disembark & go off  on a tour  

we usually get a new  cruise card a day or so prior  to the end of segment 1

 I would ask on the Princess forum how they handle  B2B's

[bonsai3s]

Agree wit LHT28...you may get more answers on the Princess forum.

 

* Just wanted to say that our sail-in and sail-out of Yokohama was truly incredible and memorable. Hundreds of locals welcomed the ship...waving internationak flags...dancers and singers...Taiko drummers.

 

* The Yokohama cruise terminal, IMHO, is the most stunningly beautiful cruise terminal we've seen. 

 

* There are lots of information and english speaking staff inside the cruise terminal. The city of Yokohama typically provide a free shuttle to town and train station. Enjoy your b2b!

[Essiesmom]

I’m not sure what the formalities are in Japan, whether they require the ship to zero out.  But there is a thread over on the HAL board by Hank  @Hlitner and @cruisemom42 with multiple legs in Japan.  I think some of the legs turnaround in Japan.  It’s Enroute with Hank in Japan and the Westerdam.  EM

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

We have done lots of cruising including long cruises but as difficult as it may be to believe our 19 day Princess Japan cruise will be our true B2B cruise.  Our changeover port will be Yokohama and we want to get off the ship and do a tour in Yokohama.  How do they handle the changeover.  Do they have us get off the ship and let us reboard immediately or do they just put us in the showroom until they zero out the ship.  My basic question is that if the earlies disembarkation time is 06:30 how early can we arrange for the tour guide to meet us.

 

DON

Start of disembark may be delayed, but typically not by much.  You can just leave the ship whenever it opens and return later.  Your Medallion will already be programmed for the full length of your booking.  They must do a partial zero as they know who is supposed to be ending their voyage at a turnaround port.  

[cr8tiv1]

If the Diamond ports under the Bridge (not Daikoku), then you really won’t need a tour.  All within walking (long) distance: 

 

Yamashita Park

Cup of Noodle museum

Ramen Museum

Chinatown

Queens (shopping) Plaza and other shopping arcades.

a small zoo

 

plenty to fill the day.

[Hlitner]

11 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I’m not sure what the formalities are in Japan, whether they require the ship to zero out.  But there is a thread over on the HAL board by Hank  @Hlitner and @cruisemom42 with multiple legs in Japan.  I think some of the legs turnaround in Japan.  It’s Enroute with Hank in Japan and the Westerdam.  EM

I will try to explain how things are now working in Japan.  They do not have a zero out process similar to the USA.  Instead, they do a face to face every time you enter and leave Japan.  But if a cruise ship is simply moving between Japanese ports, there are no further immigration procedures until such time as the ship is leaving Japan (I.e. going to Korea, Taiwan, USA, etc).  So a turn around day in Yokohama, may or may not involve immigration procedures depending on the previous and following ports.

 

And finally, Passport checks can happen at any Japanese port,  so folks are required to carry Passports when going ashore.   If there is a routine Passport check it usually happens in a terminal as is a fast procedure.  But the face to face immigration procedures (when entering or leaving the country) can take 3+ hours to handle all the passengers.  But once you have had the face to face you are free to go ashore or return to the ship.
 

Hank

[donaldsc]

Many thanks to all of you.  This will be my 1st visit to Japan. 

 

We will not be changing cabins.  So since I will already been in country (my preceding port is Nagasaki and my following port is Shimizu) and we dock at 06:30 I should have no problems meeting my guide if I decide to use one around 8:00 to 8:30.

 

DON

[cr8tiv1]

37 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Many thanks to all of you.  This will be my 1st visit to Japan. 

 

We will not be changing cabins.  So since I will already been in country (my preceding port is Nagasaki and my following port is Shimizu) and we dock at 06:30 I should have no problems meeting my guide if I decide to use one around 8:00 to 8:30.

 

DON

 

Pay close attention to the time you arrive in port AND disembarkation begins on a normal day.  We arrived around 6:30 but calls for going ashore did not happen right away. We rarely left the ship before 10 AM..It was too crowded.

 

I am not sure how you can circumvent the disembarkation line for those leaving the ship compared to those who want to leave for the day.  

 

There was chaos inside the terminal.  Disembarked on deck 4 (yes, very strange).  Everyone filed into the terminal to pick up their bags...before going through immigration/customers.  No distinct lines.  There were porters to help you manage your luggage.  It was rather quick compared to some other ports. There was a line for those in a wheelchair.  I didn't see a line for in-transit passengers.

 

I guess you could try to leave when the first group is called (walk offs).