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

[Steiner2010]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Osanbashi 

Thanks

[chubbypiggy]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those interested our next B2B cruise will be in October which will consist of a 5-day PCL land tour from Toronto to Quebec, followed by a 12-day cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess, and ending with a 5-day Caribbean cruise. 

When I start the Live From thread for that “much cooler” cruise, I’ll post the link here. 😁

Looking forward to your next "Live...".  We will be doing the Ft. Lauderdale to Quebec next June (14 days) on the Emerald Princess with 7 ports.  We are having second thought on that cruise.  Mainly because we are afraid the weather might be really hot. Also because the cruise ends on July 3, and flying back to U.S. just a day before Independence Day might be a big negative.   

[silkismom]

I'm so glad you finally saw the elusive Tokyo pigeon, I was afraid it was on vacation.

[DLSHS_Mom]

Ken,

 

Many thanks for your live from.  We will be visiting a few ports in Japan next March, so I appreciate your details.  I do have one question.  For the tour of Tokyo with airport drop off what was the earliest flight time they were allowing?  We are trying to decide between two flight times back to the US.

 

Many thanks from your fellow traveler on the Panama Canal cruise 😀

 

 

[Californian]

Ken,

 

If you did a "live from" on the Panama Canal, I would love to read it.  This is my first read on your "Live From" posts and loved following along on your journey.  If possible, would you make a list of your "Live From" posts and a link to each of those trips, please?  

 

Thanks for all the work you did in taking us along on your journey.  Safe travels home.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, DLSHS_Mom said:

Ken,

 

Many thanks for your live from.  We will be visiting a few ports in Japan next March, so I appreciate your details.  I do have one question.  For the tour of Tokyo with airport drop off what was the earliest flight time they were allowing?  We are trying to decide between two flight times back to the US.

 

Many thanks from your fellow traveler on the Panama Canal cruise 😀

 

 

Thanks! I checked with the DW and she said your flight has to leave after 5 pm, whether you fly out of Nareta or Haneda. 

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, Californian said:

Ken,

 

If you did a "live from" on the Panama Canal, I would love to read it.  This is my first read on your "Live From" posts and loved following along on your journey.  If possible, would you make a list of your "Live From" posts and a link to each of those trips, please?  

 

Thanks for all the work you did in taking us along on your journey.  Safe travels home.

It took a little searching, but here you go. 
 

For me doing Live From threads has been an evolving art. On the PC Live From thread, I added way too many photos from the Outer Space lecture series while on that cruise. But it was just so fascinating to listen to the speaker as well as look at all of his cool pictures, I couldn’t help myself! 😂

Edited July 28, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Kellyansapansa]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us, it has been a lovely read. 🙏

[wirral1985]

Hi @Ken the cruiser thanks for your updates. I’m on a Japanese B2B in September. I have booked the airport debark tour but the PCL transition cruise isn’t showing on the personaliser - was this something you were only able to book when on board?

[Travelexpert35]

Thanks so much Ken for your live posts. Really enjoyed following along. We also did the same tour enroute to the airport. Loved it and would highly recommend doing this. Will look for your Oct trip. 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, wirral1985 said:

Hi @Ken the cruiser thanks for your updates. I’m on a Japanese B2B in September. I have booked the airport debark tour but the PCL transition cruise isn’t showing on the personaliser - was this something you were only able to book when on board?

Yes, you could only book the transition excursion while onboard at the excursion desk. Luckily, on our transition day, there were enough to have one. On our debarkation day, the transition excursion for the B2B guests was canceled due to a lack of getting enough folks to sign up.

[wirral1985]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yes, you could only book the transition excursion while onboard at the excursion desk. Luckily, on our transition day, there were enough to have one. On our debarkation day, the transition excursion for the B2B guests was canceled due to a lack of getting enough folks to sign up.

Ah right ok. Do you know when the transition excursion went on sale? You did well to be able to do it, I hope I’m as lucky!

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, wirral1985 said:

Ah right ok. Do you know when the transition excursion went on sale? You did well to be able to do it, I hope I’m as lucky!

Basically we went down to the excursion desk around the second day to express our interest in going on a transition day excursion and asked if there was going to be one, and to let us know when it would be available.

[wirral1985]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Basically we went down to the excursion desk around the second day to express our interest in going on a transition day excursion and asked if there was going to be one, and to let us know when it would be available.

Great thanks 👍🏼

[RalphN]

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

[chefestelle]

On 7/11/2023 at 2:45 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

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.

 

This menu is amazing! So many choices

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, chefestelle said:

This menu is amazing! So many choices

We never had any complaints with the menus we were given in the Reserved Collection Dining Room, whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. 😀

[Ken the cruiser]

For those interested, I just started a new Live From thread which will cover our upcoming 22-day Land and Sea cruise on the Caribbean Princess from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

For those who have been pondering the thought of going on a cruise totally focused on wildlife, we're getting ready to head out on our Dec 8-18 Galapagos Islands cruise which I'll be posting some of our experiences to in the below Live From thread. If you have never been there before, the wildlife is truly amazing!

 

[janetmojo]

Hi Ken, I wanted to thank you for your wonderful "Live" report.  We are looking at a summer 2025 (July) cruise Best of Japan on Celebrity.  We are taking school aged family members so the timing isn't negotiable.  Usually we book aft sunset type cabins but I understand with the heat and since those cabins are kind of blocked in on Celebrity (no corners) do you think we would be better off booking a regular side style balcony for better breeze?   For reference we live in Central FL so we are familiar with heat but I do prefer not to be in it on the ship...Thanks so much!  Hope the Galapagos are great!

[Ken the cruiser]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:14 AM, janetmojo said:

Hi Ken, I wanted to thank you for your wonderful "Live" report.  We are looking at a summer 2025 (July) cruise Best of Japan on Celebrity.  We are taking school aged family members so the timing isn't negotiable.  Usually we book aft sunset type cabins but I understand with the heat and since those cabins are kind of blocked in on Celebrity (no corners) do you think we would be better off booking a regular side style balcony for better breeze?   For reference we live in Central FL so we are familiar with heat but I do prefer not to be in it on the ship...Thanks so much!  Hope the Galapagos are great!

Sorry for not getting back with you yesterday as we were on another intense Galapagos excursion on the Celebrity Flora. 
 

Yes, that makes sense to book a balcony on either the port or starboard side rather than the aft. We were booked in a mini-suite on the port side on the Diamond and were quite comfortable, even without a covered balcony like most of the M and S class Celebrity ships have. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[janetmojo]

57 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry for not getting back with you yesterday as we were on another intense Galapagos excursion on the Celebrity Flora. 
 

Yes, that makes sense to book a balcony on either the port or starboard side rather than the aft. We were booked in a mini-suite on the port side on the Diamond and were quite comfortable, even without a covered balcony like most of the M and S class Celebrity ships have. 

Thank you I know you are traveling!  I hope it is awesome as that is on my list too! 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, janetmojo said:

Thank you I know you are traveling!  I hope it is awesome as that is on my list too! 

If you start on page 4 at post 93 on my below thread, I think you will find the ensuing pages and photos might be an additional motivator as to what you might be in for, especially if you book your Galapagos cruise on the Flora.
 

My only recommendation is to book the Sky Suite with Veranda as soon as they come out, usually 2+ years in advance, to get the best rate. It is truly a once in a lifetime awesome cruise and ship!! 😁

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2977333-live-from-the-flora-10-night-ecuador-and-galapagos-adventure-dec-8-18/page/4/

Edited December 18, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[villauk]

On 12/16/2023 at 3:14 PM, janetmojo said:

Hi Ken, I wanted to thank you for your wonderful "Live" report.  We are looking at a summer 2025 (July) cruise Best of Japan on Celebrity.  We are taking school aged family members so the timing isn't negotiable.  Usually we book aft sunset type cabins but I understand with the heat and since those cabins are kind of blocked in on Celebrity (no corners) do you think we would be better off booking a regular side style balcony for better breeze?   For reference we live in Central FL so we are familiar with heat but I do prefer not to be in it on the ship...Thanks so much!  Hope the Galapagos are great!

 

We are also having to go to Japan during the heat of the summer months (August). We have booked an SV as we know there is part-shade in those larger balconies. The distance between most of the port stops doesn’t appear to be great, so unsure how much of a breeze there will be e.g. we leave one port at 5am and arrive at the next on the same morning at 8am. I think it will be more a case of limiting the amount of time out in the sun sightseeing. We are actually travelling in 2024, so will let you know how it goes - I’m hoping for a year that is unusually cooler than average🥵.