Reviews of Oceania excursions

[MEFIowa]

20 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

... Istanbul - when we were last there a very long time ago we did our own thing.  It never occured to us that we would need a guide....

I'm interested in the Byzantines. Went to the old walls. Miles out. Took the #38 bus. Followed Steves' route and it got me to everything on it. From the old walls, ruined synagogue, four Orthodox churches (I'm Orthodox), and a working synagogue (the oldest in Istanbul). And the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Amongst other things.

[johnannag]

Greetings!

 

To those that have taken Oceania excursions in Tokyo in the last year, what was the method of transportation between Yokohama port and Tokyo? We'd like to experience the train system with someone who knows what they're doing, rather than a tour bus in a busy city.

 

J&T

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, johnannag said:

Greetings!

 

To those that have taken Oceania excursions in Tokyo in the last year, what was the method of transportation between Yokohama port and Tokyo? We'd like to experience the train system with someone who knows what they're doing, rather than a tour bus in a busy city.

 

J&T

We did our own things in Tokyo and Japan and often used trains for transportation. It’s actually not that difficult to figure it out how to use them. So maybe someone gives you more exact answers but I’m pretty sure that O excursions use buses as a form of transportation between Yokohama and Tokyo. They most likely will include a panoramic bus tour throughout the city as well.

[johnannag]

Thanks for the response! Overall, did you have a good time in japan?

[osandomir]

3 minutes ago, johnannag said:

Thanks for the response! Overall, did you have a good time in japan?

We’ve been in Japan twice on the cruise and had an amazing time there. When we sailed from Tokyo we spent several days in the city prior to embarkation. It wasn’t difficult to plan and manage our stay there. We have another cruise in February next year that will start in Tokyo. This time we plan to fly into Osaka instead spend some time there using trains for day trips to surrounding cities. Even we went on the O excursion to Kyoto before we’d like to spend couple of days there again and then use Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Tokyo later.

 

My advice is if you are able to extend your stay in Tokyo just do it. You will not regret it because one day excursion will not be enough for such a big and interesting city. And then you’ll probably be able to use train to transfer to the port of Yokohama.

[johnannag]

Thanks so much!

[clarku]

We too had spent a few days in Tokyo prior to our Nautica April ‘23 sailing.  Our first full day there we had hired a guide through ToursByLocals and had a fantastic day, learned so much about temples, shrines, history, how to navigate their train system and trying all types of local foods.  Our next full day in Tokyo we confidently tackled on our own, using mostly the Yamanote loop line, to visit various sites around Tokyo. Absolutely loved Tokyo and can’t wait to go back.

[johnannag]

Excellent - thanks for the info! 

 

J&T

[pinotlover]

We stayed at the Tokyo Hilton pre cruise and traveled around the City effortlessly from the subway system in the basement of the hotel. Post cruise we took the Shinkansen from Yokohama-Kyoto, then Kyoto-Kanazawa, then Kanazawa-Tokyo Central. From there an easily marked combo subway-elevated monorail right to our concourse in Haneda.

 

Fwiw- elevators or moving stairs aren’t always available for all of the subway lines and the crowds can be substantial . I would doubt that Oceania would ever turn its demographics loose in a subway system in Japan. Expect tour buses to be the norm for ship sponsored tours.