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

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Californian said:

I have shore excursion OBC and wasn't able to precook an excursion using the OBC.  I had to use my credit card.  Did you experience the same thing?  Or were you somehow able to book your excursions using your OBC?

 

Thanks again for your help.

We had the same issue when trying to prebook excursions on our second leg, and our son and his family had issues using their excursion OBC as well on both legs. Not sure what the issue was, but it seems to be limited to booking the excursions on the Diamond on Japan itineraries as we haven’t run into this issue on our other bookings.

[Moustique]

We will be boarding the Diamond on August 14th for a B2B.  All of your posts are very informative. Thank you!
We will be having the Plus package for the 1st time. Would you by any chance have a list of the wine offered by the glass?  

 

 

[chubbypiggy]

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just checked and it’s $99 for 9 days or less. When you get up there talk with Manveer, a nice Indian lady. She said she might be able to give you a discount if you’re on a B2B.

Thank you for taking the time to check for me.  My 2 cruises are not B2B.  My 1st cruise is 7 days (only 2 of us), then get off ship for 5 days, then back on ship for 9 days (9 of us this time).  

[charlie murphy]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Look what we found when we went for lunch up in the buffet today after getting back from our excursion! 😁

 

 looks like you got there before everyone shaved off all the "toppings on the rice" and the "sushi bar" becomes basically a bar of stained Rice. that is what i usually found on the buffet!

[charlie murphy]

Ken looks like you got some good entertainment in the evenings . we were on the DP slightly before your cruise and for 14 days which was basically two short cruises with a Tokyo turn around. prior to our cruise they sent info on a New production show "SILK" . We did not see any production show on the two weeks other then Bravo and Born to run. it looked like parts of a set were set up on the sides of the stage but were not relevant to any show on board.  they were taken down by the second segment of the cruise. we got demetri and Anna show case dancers on each segment. I wondered what happened to the production show, it looks like it is now "I got the music show". 

[chubbypiggy]

6 minutes ago, charlie murphy said:

Ken looks like you got some good entertainment in the evenings . we were on the DP slightly before your cruise and for 14 days which was basically two short cruises with a Tokyo turn around. prior to our cruise they sent info on a New production show "SILK" . We did not see any production show on the two weeks other then Bravo and Born to run. it looked like parts of a set were set up on the sides of the stage but were not relevant to any show on board.  they were taken down by the second segment of the cruise. we got demetri and Anna show case dancers on each segment. I wondered what happened to the production show, it looks like it is now "I got the music show". 

Prior to our Majestic 27 days cruise in April from Sydney to Los Angeles, we also received Princess email telling us "SILK" will be a show on our cruise.  I watched the show every day, and SILK was never shown.

[charlie murphy]

ken be prepared for the same delay with respect to immigration on your return to Japan from JeJu. we got of the ship early as independent travelers and got through the lines "quickly" 45 minutes. just behind us by a 5 minutes later disembarkation,  a 2 to 3 hours wait was what a passenger on the ship reported to us at the bar that evening .  in Je Ju a tour is good. the port is FAAAAARRRR. from the ship. it seems to be a hustle in the port as no taxi will take you to the city center ( 20 minute ride) . they all want to be hired for a 4 (+) hour tour , on the meter. Not sure of the cost. 

there is a city bus . the info desk will down play it as too far and too long to walk but it is not too far and it is not as up hill as they tell you. the stop is by the elementary school.  the drop is right by olle market. to get back to the ship a Taxi will return you right to the port. 

[ringers0815]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As I mentioned earlier, our plan is to walk around the Nagasaki area near where the Diamond will be docked. We have been here before on a Crystal cruise and have already been to the Peace Park, so we wanted to do something different as most all of the ship excursions go to it.

 

There are two places we hope to visit. The Glover Garden at the bottom of this photo
 

  
and the Nakashima-gawa river bridges, which are pretty much in the center of the below map (after the description screen shot).
 

 

Glover Garden is an easy walk from the cruise terminal where the Diamond docked in March. It’s right in front of the terminal, just cross the street and go up the street with all the shops. There are usually lots of people going up that street to shop, see the Oura church and visit the garden so just follow the crowds.

[cr8tiv1]

I wanted to see Silk also.  The first production show had technical difficulties.  No one bothered to inform passengers that the second show had been cancelled.  (Lame "announcement" was made, but no one heard it).  No cancelled sign on marquis.  No signage near/by/in the theater.  Just a movie that had replace the show.  I stopped an officer who told me it was cancelled without knowing if it would be showed later (never).  I stopped and told many passengers who were also on their way to the theater.  

 

I've seem most of the oldER shows and was really looking forward to finally seeing a new production without having to be on a Royal Class ship.

[Californian]

On 7/19/2023 at 2:52 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Having fun sitting on the balcony watching the sunset! 😁

 

The first, second and fourth photos we’re taken with my iPhone and the third one was with my iPad. 
 

 

 

 

 

Did you get up early to see the ship sail under the Megami Ohashi Bridge?   I understand the people are waving from the bridge as you depart that port.  Should be something to see....

[mrsflashgc]

@charlie murphy We're on Diamond in August and going to Jeju.  Can you please elaborate on what you did in Jeju?  Did you walk or take a public bus from the ship? I'm guessing you had some won ($$) already if you took the bus?  Thanks!

[wallyj]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I wanted to see Silk also.  The first production show had technical difficulties.  No one bothered to inform passengers that the second show had been cancelled.  (Lame "announcement" was made, but no one heard it).  No cancelled sign on marquis.  No signage near/by/in the theater.  Just a movie that had replace the show.  I stopped an officer who told me it was cancelled without knowing if it would be showed later (never).  I stopped and told many passengers who were also on their way to the theater.  

 

I've seem most of the oldER shows and was really looking forward to finally seeing a new production without having to be on a Royal Class ship.

I am guessing ‘Silk’, is not a new production show, but an older one called ‘The Secret Silk’. I think I saw it on the Island Princess many, many years ago. 
 

@charlie murphy, was the part of the ‘sets’ on the side of the stage look like branches of a leafless tree? If so, then I am pretty sure they were for the show ‘The Secret Silk’.

 

It seems to me, Princess is bringing back some shows that are quite old, instead of developing new shows, yes Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar are relatively new, but ‘Do You Wanna Dance’ and ‘Bravo’ are pretty old. Maybe Princess feels with all the new to Princess passengers, they don’t know these shows are quite old.

 

It is my understating usually the biggest ‘cost’ of a production show is obtaining the ‘music rights’ . I think I remember going to one of the backstage tours and it was mentioned the ‘run’ of shows is on average 5-6 years? 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Nagasaki City, Japan!

 

These first pictures were taken from the promenade on the port side where were docked downtown.

 

 

 

These were taken from our balcony on the starboard side.

 

 

 

 
The weather is overcast today and very comfortable so far regarding the temperature. Hopefully the rain south of us stays away, at least while we’re on our walk. 😁
 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, Moustique said:

We will be boarding the Diamond on August 14th for a B2B.  All of your posts are very informative. Thank you!
We will be having the Plus package for the 1st time. Would you by any chance have a list of the wine offered by the glass?  

I checked the Medallion App and found the full list which is quite extensive. My best suggestion is to check out the your Medallion App for your cruise to get the full list. Not sure if it will be available pre-cruise though, but you can check. Here’s how you do it. Click on Order Food.Drinks.Retail.Service

  

 
Click on Beverages

 

 
Then go down to the wine section.

 

 
Hope this helps. If you have something specific you’d like me to search for, just let me know.

[Moustique]

3 hours ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

How many days from the cruise did you find out your bid was accepted?

 

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I checked the Medallion App and found the full list which is quite extensive. My best suggestion is to check out the your Medallion App for your cruise to get the full list. Not sure if it will be available pre-cruise though, but you can check. Here’s how you do it. Click on Order Food.Drinks.Retail.Service

  

 
Click on Beverages

 

 
Then go down to the wine section.

 

 
Hope this helps. If you have something specific you’d like me to search for, just let me know.

Thank you so much.  Not possible to see this option until we board.  Will do with what ever will be available.  We usually bring our own case of wine onboard.  But though that this might not be convenient in Japan!

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, charlie murphy said:

Ken looks like you got some good entertainment in the evenings . we were on the DP slightly before your cruise and for 14 days which was basically two short cruises with a Tokyo turn around. prior to our cruise they sent info on a New production show "SILK" . We did not see any production show on the two weeks other then Bravo and Born to run. it looked like parts of a set were set up on the sides of the stage but were not relevant to any show on board.  they were taken down by the second segment of the cruise. we got demetri and Anna show case dancers on each segment. I wondered what happened to the production show, it looks like it is now "I got the music show". 

No hint of SILK yet. But we did like the I Got the Music show, mostly because they sang a lot of songs we knew, and we really liked the Born to Run show with the Cadillac! 😁

 

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, charlie murphy said:

ken be prepared for the same delay with respect to immigration on your return to Japan from JeJu. we got of the ship early as independent travelers and got through the lines "quickly" 45 minutes. just behind us by a 5 minutes later disembarkation,  a 2 to 3 hours wait was what a passenger on the ship reported to us at the bar that evening .  in Je Ju a tour is good. the port is FAAAAARRRR. from the ship. it seems to be a hustle in the port as no taxi will take you to the city center ( 20 minute ride) . they all want to be hired for a 4 (+) hour tour , on the meter. Not sure of the cost. 

there is a city bus . the info desk will down play it as too far and too long to walk but it is not too far and it is not as up hill as they tell you. the stop is by the elementary school.  the drop is right by olle market. to get back to the ship a Taxi will return you right to the port. 

Thanks for the heads up about the delay arriving back to Japan in Kobe. Hopefully it will be cooler in Kobe than it was when we arrived from Busan last week in Osaka where we had to sit for two extra hours in the theater because it was too hot to stand in a long line outside. 🤞

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, Californian said:

Did you get up early to see the ship sail under the Megami Ohashi Bridge?   I understand the people are waving from the bridge as you depart that port.  Should be something to see....

Nope. We finally got to sleep in for the first time until 8 am! No jet lag, no excursions and no port talks today. Yay!! 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

After breakfast around 8:30 am, we chilled on the balcony until around 10:30 am when we headed ashore, which turned out to be a 3 1/2 hour walking adventure with a lot of steps a long the way! 😂

 

After clearing Customs, which was a breeze since we were the only ones there, we headed out to find the river of bridges we heard about during the port lecture, and then it was off to the Glover Botanical Gardens, or at least that was the general plan. 😂

 

Our first goal was to find the river of bridges and then head to the Glover Garden. At least the was the general plan. 😂

 

 

  
Not long after we turned left, we saw this river so we figured this must be the river of bridges. So we made a right turn and off we went.
 

 
If you’re looking to get a local train, this appears to be the stop.

 

 

 
Of course, I had to take a picture of this pretty flower we saw along the way.

 

 
Tgen we were able to cross the street and get closer to the river. Up until this point the railway was along the rivers edge.

 

 

Then the river magically disappeared telling us this wasn’t THE river of bridges. So we turned around and with a few minutes we saw a sign pointing to the Glover Sky and Glover Garden, and it was only 280 meters away! So off we went. Then we realized most of that was uphill! 😂

 

 
Along our way up the stairs, my DW saw a cicada. Initially, it was upside down. But she was able to flip it over, so it could live another day. 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 
Along the was we also saw this black snake wiggling along the side and eventually climbed up into the ivy. Obviously, not a lot of folks climb the stairs as is the case when it comes to climbing up the donkey path at Santorini. 😂

 

 
But when all said and done, the views were worth it. 😁

 

 

 
Unfortunately when we got to the top of the hill at Gate 3 of the Glover Gardens, which is at the red dot in the upper right hand corner of the photo, they did not accept credit cards. We were then directed to Gate 1 in the bottom left corner.

 

 
So down we went.

 

 

 

We finally arrived at Gate 1 and the charge to our CC was around $4.50 to include tax.

 

 

 

 

 
Of course, how could I resist taking pictures of the elusive Nagasaki pigeon eyeing all those Coy swimming around! 😂

 

 

and flying over them.

 

 

 

 
Then we toured a couple of homes on the premises.

 

 

 

 
Then it was time to head towards the Exit, and found this little guy hanging out along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We eventually found the real river of bridges, but we’re too tired by this time to care, so we headed back to the ship! 😂

 

 

 
But we did find entrance to Chinatown on the way back!

 

 

 

 

[robncruise]

On 7/18/2023 at 9:30 AM, Ombud said:

@Ken the cruiser or @vlin07 do they have all the elements to make sushi or upon in the buffet? ALT: is vegetarian sushi available onboard?

 

Just off Diamond Princess and Kai Sushi  also offers a "set menu" for $20.  You get a choice of two appetisers miso soup or edamame. And then a choice of 1 of each of nigiri sushi and sashimi options (2 pieces of each) and 2 choices from the maki roll section (about 8 small pieces of each roll) and matcha ice cream for dessert.  I enjoyed it as a change from the main dining room. Open for dinner every night and lunch on sea days. 

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re off! Next stop Jeju, South Korea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after dinner and watching the sail away from our balcony, we head to watch a variety show in the theater with Aiden Soon, a terrific harmonica player

 

 
followed by Jim Hodson who played a variety of instruments.

 

 
Afterwards we headed as usual to the Explorers Lounge to watch another very funny game show. 
 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 13 - July 22 - Jeju, South Korea

  

 

 
I have to say the internet service has been quite accessible since they switched to Starlink. 😁

 

 
Looks like we’re going to have rain most of the day in Jeju until around 3 pm. But it will be definitely cooler.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s our PCL excursion planned for tomorrow. I guess we’ll be bringing our rain coats. 😁

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Correction. The cost in US $$ to enter the Glover Garden today was about $4.50 per person including tax, rather than for both as my original post above may have suggested.