Live from the Diamond, July 10-27, 17-day B2B around Japan and Korea

[ChristopherTracy]

Amazing report - thanks so much!

 

I am considering this cruise with my teenage daughter as an alternative to a land trip and because it goes to South Korea (of course). Could you let me know if there is a lot of japanese and South Korean food on board or if it is all of the usual. Knowing there are so few Japanese travellers on the ship makes me worry that the food will be geared towards western (US) tastes which would be a real disappointment for us.

[cr8tiv1]

A Japanese breakfast is offered.  A few pseudo Japanese dishes are available on the dinner menu.  No Korean dishes that I was aware of.  If you truly are looking for authentic Japanese fare, it would be best to have lunch off the ship.  Plenty of sushi, sashimi, and tempura off the ship.  Kai is the Diamond's onboard sushi bar.  It is open on sea days for lunch and in the evenings.  I never saw many people inside.  The menu offerings were expensive (compared to off ship).

[mtnesterz]

On 7/9/2023 at 1:20 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

We landed at Haneda Airport at 2:15 pm...on the transfer bus by 3:15 pm. Using the Visit Japan Web registration process to create the Immigration and Customs Declaration QR codes...The bus ride to the hotel took about 45 minutes.

Thank you so much for posting this. We are on the Diamond in Japan later this year.

Regarding TV, does the ship have NHK World? Doesn't matter English or Japanese. Will be during the Grand Sumo tournament, which NHK covers.  TIA!

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, ChristopherTracy said:

Amazing report - thanks so much!

 

I am considering this cruise with my teenage daughter as an alternative to a land trip and because it goes to South Korea (of course). Could you let me know if there is a lot of japanese and South Korean food on board or if it is all of the usual. Knowing there are so few Japanese travellers on the ship makes me worry that the food will be geared towards western (US) tastes which would be a real disappointment for us.

No worries. There is plenty of Japanese items on the MDR evening menu. This is what they are serving tonight. For example, notice what the Princess Favorites are every night on this cruise.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Thank you so much for posting this. We are on the Diamond in Japan later this year.

Regarding TV, does the ship have NHK World? Doesn't matter English or Japanese. Will be during the Grand Sumo tournament, which NHK covers.  TIA!

Yes

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at Akita, Japan! There’s a light rain, so it will be interesting how the weather will be on our excursion this morning to the Oga Peninsula. But whatever the weather has in store for us, we’re still going to have a great time! 😁

 

 

 

And as you might expect, the Internet bandwidth isn’t that great, but it’s still workable. 😁

 

 

[chubbypiggy]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived at Akita, Japan! There’s a light rain, so it will be interesting how the weather will be on our excursion this morning to the Oga Peninsula. But whatever the weather has in store for us, we’re still going to have a great time! 😁

 

 

 

And as you might expect, the Internet bandwidth isn’t that great, but it’s still workable. 😁

 

 

Sorry if I missed something; I re-read every page of this thread, and am seeing 2 different itineraries for your July 5-19 cruise.  Have you visited Jeju (7/7) and Nagasaki (7/8)?  We will be visiting those ports, so I am interested/look forward to your posts on those ports.   

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s a fun fact we learned yesterday at Guest Services. We wound up having to book our cruise with different booking numbers, as there were no M1 Reserve Collection mini-suites available on their advertised 17-day combined itinerary on the website. So the question we had was does our account balance roll over to the second leg’s booking on transition day, or is the account closed out?
 

Well, it depends. If you have any remaining refundable OBC from the first leg, it will carry over to the next leg. However, any leftover nonrefundable OBC will be lost. If there is an outstanding account balance at the end of the first leg, it will be charged to your credit card rather than being carried over to the next leg’s account. So if you were hoping to use any OBC posted to the second leg’s booking to offset any extra expenses on the first leg, forget it. OTOH if we had been able to book the advertised 17-day itinerary under one booking, then all would have been good as the shipboard account would cover the entire 17-day span.

 

We had always booked a combined itinerary under one booking number in the past, like our recent 21-day Med cruise last summer, which was actually three 7-day cruises. So we just assumed it was the same if booked as a separate B2B with separate booking numbers. Nope. 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Sorry if I missed something; I re-read every page of this thread, and am seeing 2 different itineraries for your July 5-19 cruise.  Have you visited Jeju (7/7) and Nagasaki (7/8)?  We will be visiting those ports, so I am interested/look forward to your posts on those ports.   

No, you didn’t miss anything. Cruise Mapper just included the previous 4-day Diamond itinerary in their description of the current 9-day itinerary.

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a fun fact we learned yesterday at Guest Services. We wound up having to book our cruise with different booking numbers, as there were no M1 Reserve Collection mini-suites available on their advertised 17-day combined itinerary on the website. So the question we had was does our account balance roll over to the second leg’s booking on transition day, or is the account closed out?
 

Well, it depends. If you have any remaining refundable OBC from the first leg, it will carry over to the next leg. However, any leftover nonrefundable OBC will be lost. If there is an outstanding account balance at the end of the first leg, it will be charged to your credit card rather than being carried over to the next leg’s account. So if you were hoping to use any OBC posted to the second leg’s booking to offset any extra expenses on the first leg, forget it. OTOH if we had been able to book the advertised 17-day itinerary under one booking, then all would have been good as the shipboard account would cover the entire 17-day span.

 

We had always booked a combined itinerary under one booking number in the past, like our recent 21-day Med cruise last summer, which was actually three 7-day cruises. So we just assumed it was the same if booked as a separate B2B with separate booking numbers. Nope. 

 

 

Important information, thank you.  Also, be sure to close your Casino account by the last night the casino will be open and take all of your "winnings".  It will NOT roll over. I thought it was most interesting that there were many days the casino was NOT open due to not being far enough out into International Waters.  

[chubbypiggy]

19 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No, you didn’t miss anything. Cruise Mapper just included the previous 4-day Diamond itinerary in their description of the current 9-day itinerary.

So will your cruise include Jeju and Nagasaki?

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

So will your cruise include Jeju and Nagasaki?

Actually those will be the first 2 ports we visit on the second leg. See post #1 for the complete B2B itinerary. 

[Kellyansapansa]

On 7/11/2023 at 11:08 AM, Californian said:

What are the hours when bathing suits are required and what hours when it’s nude?

We last cruised on Diamond in 2017 so things could have changed. But it used to be that clothing was optional at all times for the indoor sections, ie - there were no defined hours for nude or clothed bathing. And the two sides of Izumi contain different bathing experiences - each day would alternate so men and women could experience both sides. The outdoor pool required bathing suits and was open to all genders. 😊

Edited July 12, 2023 by Kellyansapansa

[Ken the cruiser]

Today’s Akita excursion took us first to the Namahage Museum where we learned all about these mythical demon-like beings, best explained by the below general description I found in Wikipedia. Then it was on to the observatory on top of Mount Kanpuzan.

 

 

A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in Akita Station.

The Namahage (生剥げ, なまはげ)^[1] are demonlike beings portrayed by men wearing hefty oni (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (mino) during a New Year's ritual, in local northern Japanese folklore of the Oga Peninsulaarea of Akita Prefecture.

General description

 

Namahage costumes

The frightfully dressed men impersonating the oni-demons wearing masks, dressed in long straw coats or mino, locally called kede or kende.^[2] They are armed with deba knives(albeit wooden fakes^[3] or made of papier-mâché) and toting a teoke (手桶, "hand pail" made of wood),^[4] march in pairs or threes going door-to-door making rounds of people's homes, admonishing children who may be guilty of laziness or bad behavior,^[4] yelling phrases like "Are there any crybabies around?" (泣く子はいねがぁ, Nakuko wa inee gā?)^[5] or "Are naughty kids around?" (悪い子はいねえか, Waruiko wa inee ka?) in the pronunciation and accent of the local dialect.

 

But first, as we were getting ready, I noticed this huge solar panel farm from our balcony. Later on our tour guide explained when Japan had that nuclear accident a few years back, they made the decision to switch to wind and solar power, and that was quite obvious based on all of the wind turbines and multiple solar panel farms we saw today riding around the local countryside today.

 

 
Our excursion consisted of 2 buses, both fully loaded with 40 passengers each.

 

 
As far as the forecast, it pretty much rained the whole time until right before we got back to the pier. 

 

 

Our first stop was at the Namahage Museum, which included watching a video, walking through the museum, and a live performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
They also had a small nature area. But the rain kept us from being able to explore it.

 

 

 
Then it was off to the observatory, which was totally engulfed by clouds, as we approached the top of the mountain. Here’s a description of what we were hoping to see.

 
Mount Kanpuzan Rotating Observatory is located 355 metres above sea level at the top of Mount Kanpuzan, a unique volcano covered with green fields. The iconic observatory offers an unimpeded 360° panoramic view stretching as far as the paddy fields on the reclaimed land of Lake Hachirogata in the east, Nyudozaki Lighthouse and the Sea of Japan in the west, snow-capped Mount Chokai in the south and the World Heritage Site of Shirakami Sanchi in the north. The observatory rotates a full circuit in 13 minutes. Visitors can enjoy the spectacular view while sampling local specialties at the on-site restaurant.

 
Here’s the last photo I took from the bus before we headed up into the clouds.

 

  

Then here are a couple photos from the observatory.

 

 

 
All along our drive today, besides seeing wind turbines and solar panel farms, we saw a lot of beautiful scenery as well as a bunch of rice paddy fields! 
 

 
Then finally as we approached the pier our wonderful tour guide told us about another observatory that was only about a 10 minute walk from the pier that rises to over 300 feet. Just something to consider if you want some place to meander to in Akita close to where the ship is docked. 

 

 
All in all if today had been a pretty day, this would have been an awesome excursion. But even with the rain, we still had a good time and would definitely recommend it to others (if it’s a pretty day). 😁

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

An we’re off again. Next stop is Sakaiminato, Japan day after tomorrow!

 

m

 
This evening after another tasty dinner in the Santa Fe DR we went to the early show to listen to pianist Kim Purling.

 

Then afterwards we went to the Explorers Lounge to participate in the We Play, You Say Game Show.

 

   

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 4 - July 13 - Sea Day

  

 

 

 

[SimplyMarvie]

Ken, 

 

Was there a gift shop in the Namahage museum? Spouse wants a mask to scare visitors away from our house, so possibly for the first time ever I am hoping there is not. 🙂

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

Ken, 

 

Was there a gift shop in the Namahage museum? Spouse wants a mask to scare visitors away from our house, so possibly for the first time ever I am hoping there is not. 🙂

You bet, with quite the assortment of masks and full costumes to choose from to make the proper impression! 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re cruising through the Sea of Japan heading towards Sakaiminato/Matsue. Our plan today is to go to a port talk and learn about Japanese culture this morning, and then chilling in the afternoon after walking laps around the promenade to burn off some of the calories we’ve been consuming! 😁

 

 
And even though the internet speeds are pretty slow this morning, I can still post photos and text. 😁

 

 

It’s around 10 degrees cooler on the western side of Japan, mostly due I’m hearing to the winds coming off the “continent”. In this Windy picture forecasting rain/thunder, we are heading towards the white dot. 
 

 
Just after I posted this, I saw some dolphins off in the distance. The photo really doesn’t show much, but at least I now know there’s something out there to look for, as there hasn’t been a lot of birds flying around! 😂

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[austromyrtus]

hi ken, i am particularly interested in matsue. we went to sakaiminato on the dp in 2019 but there were no excursions which included matsue & i was unable to find a way to reach there by public transport within the time frame. so interested in any matsue-related info on your trip as we may include it in a future cruise. on another topic, has there been any mention of covid so far on your voyage? thanks for your updates. 

[Ken the cruiser]

46 minutes ago, austromyrtus said:

hi ken, i am particularly interested in matsue. we went to sakaiminato on the dp in 2019 but there were no excursions which included matsue & i was unable to find a way to reach there by public transport within the time frame. so interested in any matsue-related info on your trip as we may include it in a future cruise. on another topic, has there been any mention of covid so far on your voyage? thanks for your updates. 

I haven’t heard any mention of the “C” word yet. As far as Matsue goes, here’s a description of one of the tours while we are in port.  On our tour, which I’ll mention later on, we’ll drive through Matsue. 
 

 

[cr8tiv1]

Are you also watching out for "fireworks" from North Korea?

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Are you also watching out for "fireworks" from North Korea?

I just came out on the balcony and her what sounded like a jet flying overhead, but didn’t see anything. Maybe they were doing a “test”. 😂

[EDVM96]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Maybe they were doing a “test”. 😂

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/north-korea-launches-ballistic-missile-after-alleged-us-spy-flight.html

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Had a fun day today on the ship. This morning after watching the port talk about Busan, Korea, then learning about Japanese culture, we had another tasty lunch in the Santa Fe RCDR. Then after walking 4 laps around the promenade, we went up to Deck 15 to watch our granddaughter compete in a Mario Cart tournament on the Big Screen. Afterwards we played Phase 10 with our son and his family and had a great time! 
 

This evening after having dinner, we’re heading to the theater to watch an Elvis impersonator, Che Orton, do his thing.

 

 
Then afterwards they’re doing something different tonight in the Explorers Lounge, which should be a lot of fun as Diane Kichijitsu, who gave the lecture on Japanese Culture this morning, has quite the fun-loving and uplifting personality!