Vibrant Tokyo - Precruise Review

[rkaratsu]

We recently did the “Vibrant Tokyo” three day precruise and while it is still fresh in my mind, I will do a quick review. (I know there are others on CC who were also on this precruise so hopefully they will chime in with their opinions as well.)

 

I guess the TLDR; review would be if it is a free tour from Regent then it is worth it. However if you are considering paying $1.8K (think this is the list price), I’d suggest you save some $$$ (and more than likely have a better experience) by doing the pre-tour on your own. Details to follow…

 

So here are details: At least for my particular precruise, there were probably 300+ people on it. The hotel (Hilton Tokyo) was filled to capacity and just getting to your tour bus could be a bit of an adventure. (Waiting for the elevator could take 10-15 minutes in the morning. I guess if you were on a lower floor you could take the stairs but really wasn’t an option on the 25th floor!) The included  precruise buffet (which I thought was really good) could also get super busy at certain times.

 

As far as the actual tours, calling them “tours” was a bit of a stretch. For example, on tour day #1, you got a ride to the Tokyo National Museum, got dropped off and then told to be back at the bus by a certain time (which wasn’t nearly enough to see a pretty interesting museum.) After this you got a ride to Ginza shopping district, dropped off and told to be back at the bus at a certain time (or could make your own way back to hotel.). The tours for days 2 & 3 were similar in that you got a ride to other attractions in Tokyo and then a ride back to the hotel. On the last day you were taken to the ship (rather than back to the hotel) to board around 1:30pm.

 

Offhand, I would say that the actual monetary tour was around $850 p/p. Basically, you got picked up from the airport, transported to the hotel, 3 kinda tours and then taken to the ship. IMO, the only real value was the hotel. Although the Hilton Tokyo was a bit outside of the main area of Shinjuku, you could easily walk there in less than ten minutes. (The Hilton also had a shuttle that wasn’t really advertised but it ran (like clockwork) every 20 minutes to and from Shinjuku station between 8am and 10pm.  Super convenient if you didn’t want to walk.) If you took a taxi from Haneda airport, this was around $55USD. A taxi to the ship from the Hilton was about the same. Being generous, I would say the value of each tour was no more than $75USD so when you add everything up, this is where I got the $850 p/p amount.

 

We flew in a couple of days before the precruise to see a bit more of Tokyo. TBH, I was not prepared for just how big and fast-paced Tokyo is. (I live in SoCal so am used to living in a big city but Tokyo is a BIG city!) Also getting around by the subway was harder than expected (finally decided to just take taxis. They are not cheap but certainly plentiful and efficient.) Also by having a couple of extra days in Tokyo, got to see more of Shinjuku and Shibuya (neither are covered on the precruise itinerary) as well as having time to go to the Sky Tree and the (recommended) teamLab Planets art installation. 
 

I guess that’s it. This is kinda rambling so if you have any questions, feel free to ask…

[Techno123]

How are you finding your master suite? Have you played that piano yet 😁

 

Question for you re things to do in Tokyo if I may. We arrive in a little over 2 weeks, the day before embarkation so will have (probably) from noon on the Friday to stay awake and explore a little of what Tokyo has to offer. Is there anything you would say is a must see? Also, what have you done re cash - have you procured some Japanese yen or are credit cards fairly well accepted?
 

Hope you are having an amazing time

 

 

[tubeamps]

Thanks for the recap. We will be arriving for the 3 day pre cruise Tokyo visit like you.

 

Are there any areas within walking distance of the Hilton for eating?

[Avidtravler]

Hi Rkaratsu,

Would appreciate your recommendations of restaurants you visited for dinner near the Hilton. Also did you have dinner at any Hilton restaurant. Many thanks for all your input.

[labonnevie]

36 minutes ago, Avidtravler said:

Hi Rkaratsu,

Would appreciate your recommendations of restaurants you visited for dinner near the Hilton. Also did you have dinner at any Hilton restaurant. Many thanks for all your input.

In April, both the Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the Hilton were very good. Not inexpensive,but very good.
There are numerous smaller restaurants in the area, many beneath the tall office buildings. However, they can sometimes be difficult to find as we did not have Japanese cell service and couldn’t use Google maps underground. 

[forgap]

We are doing this as a free pre-cruise next April and you confirmed my instincts about this.  I told my husband that the advantage is the hotel stay and the transfer to the ship.   We are doing  a 10 day land tour prior to the pre cruise which includes 4 days in Tokyo.   The itinerary is interesting so I viewed the Regent pre cruise as an opportunity to do our own thing.  

[Avidtravler]

Many thanks Labonnevie for your comments about the chinese and japanese restaurants at the Hilton.Just wondering if any posters have found a nearby restaurant not to be missed when at the Hilton.

We will be taking this trip on the Explorer later next year. I have found that there seems to be half days free when taking Regent's four day pre cruise "Vibrant Tokyo". Has anyone found a local tour Guide or tour operator that would provide a  roughly four hour tour of the places Regent misses on its tour. Really surprised that there are no meals provided, other than Breakfast, on Vibrant Tokyo. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. 

[taxare]

I had posted a few months ago a thread about the Vibrant Tokyo tour and our significant disappointment. I agree with rkaratsu that the hotel and transportation made it worthwhile (it was no extra charge for us). I'm not sure if we are allowed to give specific recommendations. We used a young lady through "tours by locals" that was excellent. She did not have a car, so she took us by subway everywhere and that was an experience in itself. Even though we are experienced travelers I don't think we could have navigated the subway. I don't know if we are allowed to give specific names on these boards (her name starts with K). The pricing was reasonable and her English was perfect as she studied in the US. If you are at the Tokyo Hilton and tired, we were very surprised that we had a good and reasonably priced meal in an Indian restaurant (YES INDIAN!) in the basement of the Hilton (there is a small shopping arcade there). On our private tour, our guide took us to a small local restaurant that does a great lunchtime business. No English spoken and picture menus. It wasn't a great meal but it was a GREAT experience!!! Outside of our Vibrant Tokyo tour we loved our Regent Japan cruise and highly recommend it!

[Avidtravler]

Hi taxare,

I am sure you can give us the name of your tour guide. It would be most helpful. I checked out the website and there are a few young ladies whose name starts with K.

[rkaratsu]

There are some very good suggestions here. I agree that the Indian restaurant in the basement of the Hilton is good. There is also a convenience store in the basement. DO NOT sleep on the food at places like these! (And do not confuse 7/11 stores in the US with the 7/11s in Japan!) My wife and I are addicted to the egg salad sandwiches! High quality stuff. Also the rice balls and unusual flavor of potato chips! And best of all, incredibly inexpensive.

 

We ate at the Japanese restaurant in the Hilton. Had the A5 wagyu. Now *this* wasn’t inexpensive but if you want to splurge, I would recommend.

 

If you walk out of the Hilton, turn left on the Main Street and at the first big office building there are a number of Japanese diner places. (If you turn right out of the Hilton, you will run into a Japanese Denny’s!)

 

Another fun thing to do is go to a Japanese department store. All have food courts (usually in the basement.) The Isetan store in Shinjuku (10 minute walk from Hilton) had *the* best food section I have ever visited (and yes, looking at you Harrod’s…😀 I would highly recommend visiting there just to see all of the food.)

 

But what I think is best would be to take the free Hilton shuttle to the Shinjuku station and just wander around there. One highlight was going to the Kurasushi conveyor belt restaurant. TBH, the sushi isn’t amazing but the whole experience is! (Just be prepared to wait. I would go early, make a reservation at the kiosk and then come back when it says it is your time. Two hours seemed like a normal wait time and you will probably have to ask for help with the kiosk since it is all in Japanese but it will be worth it!)

 

(And techno123, I figured out how to put the piano into player piano mode so it is playing itself as I type! As far as what to do to stay awake once you arrive, I would just wander around Shinjuku. It probably took me three days before I felt comfortable with my bearings (and I think I have a good sense of direction) but I found Tokyo really different in its scope and size!)

[taxare]

Kaori Yogi-Tours By Locals-

We found her to be a delightful young woman who was very flexible in what we wanted to see.

As I mentioned taking the subway with her was a terrific experience and no Tokyo traffic (you will need

Yen for the subway tickets)

A couple of blocks from the Hilton is the metropolitan government building with a free observatory at the top. She dropped us off there at the end of the tour and it was worthwhile going up.

[RachelG]

Hotels in Tokyo are expensive, so I think the value of this “tour” is the hotel and transportation. 

[rkaratsu]

4 hours ago, taxare said:

Kaori Yogi-Tours By Locals-

We found her to be a delightful young woman who was very flexible in what we wanted to see.

As I mentioned taking the subway with her was a terrific experience and no Tokyo traffic (you will need

Yen for the subway tickets)

A couple of blocks from the Hilton is the metropolitan government building with a free observatory at the top. She dropped us off there at the end of the tour and it was worthwhile going up.

I absolutely think this is a terrific idea. I can speak a little Japanese but I was surprised at how challenging doing what I thought would be relatively simple things in other places (I.e. figuring out subway, ordering in a local restaurant, asking for directions outside of the hotel) were a challenge in Tokyo. If you have a local take you to a restaurant or a yokocho (the small food and drinking alleys; maybe the prototypical Japanese dining adventure), this could be a memorable experience.

 

Finally, if you do the Metro Building observation floor, I’m not sure it would be necessary to go to the Sky Tree or Shibuya Sky. (Free is always better than not free and the lines are actually shorter, at least on the day we went.)

[indigosea]

Just did the Vibrant Tokyo post cruise around Japan and agree that the value is the Hilton and transport from ship and to airport. The convenience store in basement egg salad sandwiches are great for picnics in beautiful nearby park. Which has a nice shrine to visit. Also did Denny’s for dinner which was very inexpensive and just fine. The Hilton restaurants are pricy and service very slow in their Grill. But food is good. After disembarking Explorer we found the first day tour exhausting. Visited geodesic view dome in Olympic village then forced march around big park followed by long walks to have bad Japanese lunch with another long walk to Shrine.  As much as I love touring in huge cities expecting crowds and traffic this day left most of us feeling exhausted so we had to miss 2 nd day tour to museum and shopping area. 
Decided to do our own thing on day 3 as well!  Negotiating Japanese transportation is challenging but fun as people are ready to help and will actually accompany you to the right spot!

[Gilly]

I will add that the department stores in Shinjuku have several floors of restaurants, usually right up at the top.  These are "proper" restaurants, not food court arrangements and offer a variety of cuisine (not just Japanese).  Easy and pleasant to walk around them and choose which you fancy.

Also, many Japanese restaurants have plastic models of the menu items which can be useful!

 

We stay at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku when we're in Tokyo and I love to drop in the convenience stores in the area, usually when returning to the hotel in the evening.  Whilst there we usually buy a convenience store umbrella by the way...handy because it rains a lot in Japan and those (clear plastic) umbrellas are really very good.

[mj_holiday]

Thank you Rkaratsu For the information on the Pre-cruise tour.  I have been hearing this and came up with the following plan.

We would maybe take one or two half day tours, but we want to get to the bullet train for a ride.  After hearing comments about difficulty with subways, I may need to rethink that and get a private tour for one of the days, and see if we can include learning how to take the bullet train.  We are again in Tokyo for two days before heading to Alaska and that might be the time to do the bullet train.

[Gilly]

@mj_holiday please don't be put off using the subway system, which is clean, safe and very efficient.  Most signs are now in English too and station staff and fellow passengers are incredibly helpful (in our experience).  Travelling on the subway is an experience and can be fun, especially at rush hour 😉.  The Yamanote (circle) line (from Shinjuku) is a useful means of getting to many of the places you might wish to visit and if you miss your stop, simply stay on board and you'll soon be back where you started!  But that's unlikely to happen, for the signage and live real-time displays will ensure you always know where you are and the name of the next stop.

 

I hesitated to add (another) link to my blog but I wrote one specifically about taking the subway train which may be of interest here  Though it was written some years ago, it's still pretty accurate excpt for the Suica cards which have been discontinued.  

 

As for the Shinkansen bullet train, you'll find a visit to the ticket office in Shinjuku station really useful, for there you'll be able to reserve your seats and get good advice about your trip.  Once again, the staff there are incredibly helpful, you can sit and ask whatever questions you may have and leave with confidence.  Read about one of our experiences here if you're interested.  Maybe you'll find a service operated by one of these...😎

Edited October 24, 2023 by Gilly

[Gilly]

@mj_holiday my apologies, I may have been incorrect about the discontinuation of Suica cards.  If they are still in use, having one of these in your pocket would be really useful!

[mj_holiday]

Gilly, thank you so much for your helpful information. 

[Techno123]

@rkaratsu which cruise terminal did you depart from? We are staying near Shinagawa and the Tokyo port seems to be fairly close - if it is that one we may get a taxi rather than wait for a bus but if it is Yokohama May get the bus 😁

 

[rkaratsu]

1 hour ago, Techno123 said:

@rkaratsu which cruise terminal did you depart from? We are staying near Shinagawa and the Tokyo port seems to be fairly close - if it is that one we may get a taxi rather than wait for a bus but if it is Yokohama May get the bus 😁

 

Hi Techno.  We sailed from the International Cruise Port near Odaiba. (Looks super convenient to Shinagawa!)

[Techno123]

1 minute ago, rkaratsu said:

Hi Techno.  We sailed from the International Cruise Port near Odaiba. (Looks super convenient to Shinagawa!)

That would be ideal 😁

[Pies4u]

We just did the “Vibrant Tokyo” pre-cruise package & agree with rkaratsu. The Hilton was simply overcrowded, 800+ rooms, and over 300 on the package made it chaotic at best and farcical rapt worst. It is a stop over hotel for flight crew and they had at least business conferences going on too - breakfast was certainly not a “luxury” experience.

 

As for the trips, well too little time at the impressive National Museum and a waste of time looking at expensive shops in Ginza really didn’t help. The final morning, prior to joining the ship, was fine. The Meiji shrine, pleasant gardens and the Fuji TV observatory tower is a decent as to pass 3 hours or so tbh.

 

I wouldn’t bother with the pre-cruise deal again if hotels are going to be questionable and the volume of guests too high. When it is included as part of the cruise it would seem odd to refuse but I’d prefer to be located in a better quality hotel and just have a couple of half day trips to places worth spending some quality time in! Alternatively, provide credit for the package and allow folks to organise their own time.

 

Overall, not too impressed - and it slightly detracts from the high end product that Regent are trying to market. We had a totally different experience in Hong Kong in 2018, top class hotel, superb organisation and a dedicated bus for each day. Only c 35 per bus & only 3 in total. Very pleasant experience compared to the current “Hilton fiasco”.

 

 

[Avidtravler]

Hoping that Regent will take note of all the unflattering comments about the pre cruise hotel and tours prior to our trip in 2024.  I would love for all of you that have expressed your displeasure to make positive practical suggestions on how Regent could improve the pre cruise Vibrant Tokyo tour. Would two hotel locations help? Would better tour operators help? Would the inclusion of a dinner or lunch help?  I will bet that someone like Mike Moore would appreciate your input.

[Dwtlion]

Interested if anyone has comments/review on Regent's other pre/post cruise tour "Tokyo and Hakone"

that is also offered on Japan cruises. Would welcome your comments.