Celebrity Millennium Japan - 10/24/2023 - Live(ish) Report

[debfed65]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:26 PM, Miaminice said:

@debfed65 @ClarP

 

Hi, those are Koichi’s details. Let him know I sent you and he’ll surely take good care of you! 
 

I looked up Koichi on Tours by Locals and he does not show any availability for the day we are in port 😞   Should I still try emailing him directly? 

 

Do you mind if I ask how much he would have charged to do a tour like the one you did? I have never booked anything with Tours by Locals before.  Was it just for you & your wife, or were there others in your group? 

 

Thanks...Debbie & Ron

[Miaminice]

9 hours ago, debfed65 said:

I looked up Koichi on Tours by Locals and he does not show any availability for the day we are in port 😞   Should I still try emailing him directly? 

 

Do you mind if I ask how much he would have charged to do a tour like the one you did? I have never booked anything with Tours by Locals before.  Was it just for you & your wife, or were there others in your group? 

 

Thanks...Debbie & Ron

we only booked him with Tours by Locals the first time. After that we contacted him directly. We are also connected on Facebook. So yes, you can contact him directly… no problem.  The last tour was USD 199 for a group of 6 plus JPY 7000 (apx USD 50) per person for train tickets and entrance fees.

I usually look up the guides and the post on the Roll Call of the cruise to find people interested in joining us. The maximum group size we do is 6 people. Still a good size to have the private experience but a good number to share the cost.

[MenezesAu]

On 10/26/2023 at 10:12 AM, Miaminice said:

2023 - Japan - Celebrity Millennium - Day 2 - Tokyo/Yokohama

A good night‘s rest must be followed by a good and tasty breakfast - I am pretty sure that’s an old Japanese proverb. If not, we followed it anyway. The buffet at the hotel made it easy. It offered a nice choice of Asian and western delights and Birgit thoroughly enjoyed the healthy Asian part.

 

 

Following breakfast we decided to take the train to Yoyogi Park. The park is for Tokyo what Central Park would be for New York or Hyde Park for London. And hidden within the area of Yoyogi Park and forest lies the Meji-Jingu shine of Emperor Meiji and his wife Shoken. Once you enter the Park through the huge Torii gates, everything seems to decelerate. It becomes quiet - the sound of silence only enhanced by the song of the birds - and the air is filled with the earthy sent of the 120,000 trees donated by the people of Japan.

 

 

 

 

Following the wide gravel road through the forest, mindful not to take the middle part which is reserved for the Emperor, we reached the impressive shrine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking around the two “husband and wife” trees, bound together for eternity, strolling by the wooden tablets with wishes written on them and bowing before the shrine for a wish ourselves, we knew why we love Japan so much. The pleasant cocktail of crazy and mind boggling metropolises mixed with the pure tranquility and serenity of Japanese gardens and shrines enhanced by a very generous shot of friendliness and respect from and for the Japanese people just goes down so very well.

Due to some Meiji festivities, donations were displayed around the area. Chrysanthemum flowers, representing the Imperial family, Bonsai trees… all very nice to look at.

 

 

 

 

When it was time to start the next part of our journey, we returned to the hotel - not without a stop at another Uniqlo store -picked up our luggage and took the JR train to Yokohama.

When we reached Yokohama station about 35 minutes later, we took a taxi from the station which I called and paid by using the Uber App.
Driving up to the cruise terminal, it was nice to see the big blue hull of our home for the next two weeks on Yokohama’s pretty Osanbashi port. 
Embarkation on Millennium took less time than it took to look at the watch. We presented our boarding passes on the App and basically walked right through. No desk, no wait… we were really impressed. 
Once on board, the positive surprise continued. We hadn’t been on a refurbished M class before. They have given this elderly M class lady a very nice touch up and it felt as if we were on a new modern ship. Although we thought Infinity was in good shape a few months ago, Infinity’s old and Millennium’s modernized design now felt like night and day. Same goes for our stateroom 1106 (A1 Aqua Class). The new colors and design really met our taste. We also enjoyed the changes made to the Ocean View Café and the Sunset Bar. Millennium is still no S or E class, but bravo!
While Birgit unpacked her luggage I sipped on a Latte from Al Bacio on our balcony before we headed to the sailaway meeting at the Sunset Bar to meet some fellow cruisers with whom we‘ll be doing tours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When darkness set in, the skyline of Yokohama began to shine and presented a beautiful background for the start of our cruise.

 

 

We had dinner at Blu and a tea for a nightcap at Al Bacio before going to bed early… those of you who know us know that we are actually pretty boring people 😉

 

 

[MenezesAu]

3 minutes ago, MenezesAu said:

Oops sorry meant to comment on your Fantastic Post about the Japan trip on the Millenium. Very informative and a great read. We are on the Japan cruise 14 July 2024 and cant wait. Thanks so very much for the insight. Rgds Michael (Aus)