Best of Japan - Millennium 5/2 - 5/15

[DaKahuna]

After a leisurely breakfast in Luminae this morning, my DW decided no breakfast for her today, we made final preparation for going ashore on our booked shore excursion - Osaka Castle and Dotonbouri District. 

 

We actually left the theater early, had an orderly boarding of the bus with everyone finally on the bus 5 minutes early so we got off to a good start.  

 

Our first stop was Osaka castle and there was virtually no traffic so we arrived there ahead of schedule giving us an additional 10 minutes. 

 

Here is a map of the castle. 

 

 

 The current castle is the third build, the original having been destroyed by a war and a fire.  This current version was built in 1931.  

 

Here are some of the pictures I took ..  First the grounds around the castle 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inner walls are made of some very huge stones that were brought it from other parts of Japan.  It’s a mystery how these stones were transported and place given their huge size and lack of machinery at the time of construction. 

 

 

 

 

 

Some flowers that I thought were very colorful 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Those flowers were in front of this museum, which was constructed in 1931 the same time the latest castle was rebuilt. 

 

 

 

 

 

A signal gun that was used to sound the stroke of noon according to the sign. 

 

 

 

From the 8th floor of the tower you have some great views of Osaka.  Unfortunately, we did not have clear weather today but still there were some nice views in all four directions (the floor is square shaped with views all around. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

Our next stop was Dotonburi, an area known for its food, primarily crab, takoyaki, and beef.  There are many small restaurants here and in the evenings it is a popular place with the young crowd.  

 

 Here are some of the pictures I took while there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had our lunch here — 

 

 

Our lunch — deluxe sushi and tempura set — it was delicious 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bet this place is amazing at night with all the signs glowing.  Maybe someone else on the cruise too some pictures at night and will share them. 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

Some additional information we received in our room concerning tomorrow in Hiroshima.

 

 

 

 

  We have a ships excursion booked to Miyajima to view the floating Tori gate.  

 

 The ship is scheduled to arrive at 1 PM and our excursions meets a 2 PM in the Theater. 

 

Edited May 6 by DaKahuna

[DaKahuna]

I stopped by Cafe al Bacio on my way back from the Helipad sail away.  

 

They have a new Japanese tea offering that we’ve never seen before. 

 

I also spied more of the Lemon Tarts and chocolate tarts, plus Tiramisu — I ordered a Aspen and two pieces of Tiramisu (one of my DW and one for me) and took my order to go.  We enjoyed it on our balcony while the ship backed away from the dock.

 

 

 I prefer the lemon tarts without the little caps, as I mentioned before, but they are easily removed and disposed of. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pushka]

31 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Some additional information we received in our room concerning tomorrow in Hiroshima.

 

 

 

 

  We have a ships excursion booked to Miyajima to view the floating Tori gate.  

 

 The ship is scheduled to arrive at 1 PM and our excursions meets a 2 PM in the Theater. 

 

Your info about Hiroshima is really helpful.
 

I wonder if the cruise line dislikes it when the local port provides the bus and giving people options other then their excursions. And no charge for the shuttle. 

[DaKahuna]

Tonight my DW and I were not interested in anything on the menu’s and she mentioned wanting pizza so we went to the Oceanview Cafe for dinner. 
 

she had a slice of vegetable pizza and a small salad that came in a glass.

 

 

i had two slices of Pepperoni pizza and then had some Indian food - rice, roti, and beef korma.

 

 

 

for dessert I made the trip to the ice cream bar

for a scoop of coffee and a scoop of butter pecan.

 

 

we walked around and seating was available everywhere.  There were plenty of selections and tonight the daily favorites featured a stir fly with a wide selection of meats, vegetables, and noodles. 
 

Edited May 6 by DaKahuna

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thank you for sharing! The pictures are gorgeous!!

 

If I may ask, what are the prices like for excursions from the ship? I'd like to visit Japan some day, but as someone who doesn't eat fish or most seafood (cooked or raw - and definitely no seaweed), is gluten-free, and doesn't eat melon, a cruise where I've got food I can eat on board seems the safest (and least hunger-inducing) for me. I'm looking at possibly next summer - I have no issues with an inside cabin - but am curious about the pricing on excursions. Just ballpark figures are fine.

 

thanks!

[Ketut]

Thank you so much for the immigration information it is so useful.  Regarding the Hiroshima info am I right in thinking I can leave the ship at 2 pm and not return until 8 pm and still pass through immigration?

Edited May 6 by Ketut
Missed info

[Reisdawg]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thank you for sharing! The pictures are gorgeous!!

 

If I may ask, what are the prices like for excursions from the ship? I'd like to visit Japan some day, but as someone who doesn't eat fish or most seafood (cooked or raw - and definitely no seaweed), is gluten-free, and doesn't eat melon, a cruise where I've got food I can eat on board seems the safest (and least hunger-inducing) for me. I'm looking at possibly next summer - I have no issues with an inside cabin - but am curious about the pricing on excursions. Just ballpark figures are fine.

 

thanks!

The excursions range based upon several factors especially if they include food. The Osaka excursion just mentioned lists at $124.30 per person but by watching for sales, I was able to get the excursion at $87 per person.  Most ports have an under $100 option but the longer excursions are around $150 to $200 if you want local food.
 

We do have an excursion for every port simply to hit the highlights quickly but many people say the locations do have excellent transportation if you want to explore on your own.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 hours ago, Reisdawg said:

The excursions range based upon several factors especially if they include food. The Osaka excursion just mentioned lists at $124.30 per person but by watching for sales, I was able to get the excursion at $87 per person.  Most ports have an under $100 option but the longer excursions are around $150 to $200 if you want local food.
 

We do have an excursion for every port simply to hit the highlights quickly but many people say the locations do have excellent transportation if you want to explore on your own.

Thank you!

[debfed65]

14 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

today, we made final preparation for going ashore on our booked shore excursion - Osaka Castle and Dotonbouri District. 

What were you thoughts on this tour?  We have booked the same on for our Best of Japan in October.

 

Was it too long?  Did you have ample time in Dotonbouri District or was the majority of the tour spent at the Castle?  Was it enjoyable? How much time was actually spent on the bus travelling as the tour is only 4.5 hours long? 

 

Did you get any feedback from your fellow cruisers on any other tour they took that day?

 

Appreciate any & all information that you can provide 🙂

 

Thanks...Debbie & Ron 

Edited May 6 by debfed65
add question

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

but am curious about the pricing on excursions. Just ballpark figures are fine.

 

 The ships excursions range from $80 pp to over $300 pp depending on the type and duration of the tour.  I purchased ours fairly early and then watched for various sales to occur and ended up getting all but one of ours at 40% off, the other I got at 20% off.  

 

 For example @Reisdawg mentioned that they were able to book the Osaka Castle and Dotonbouri tour for $85.00 per person.  We were able to book it at just under $70 per person (40% off) 

 

 Our 10 hour three site tour which included lunch was $300, or $150 for each of us,  This was the longest and the most expensive tour we booked. 

 

 A number of people on our roll call commented about the price of the shore excursions but a number of people also opted to get private tours.  So your best bet if you are worried about the price of shore excursions is to price out what a well known tour company would charge and let that be your high end.  

 

 The five excursions I booked using OBC came in at under $1000.  

 

Edited May 6 by DaKahuna

[DaKahuna]

4 minutes ago, debfed65 said:

Was it too long?  Did you have ample time in Dotonbouri District or was the majority of the tour spent at the Castle?  Was it enjoyable? How much time was actually spent on the bus travelling as the tour is only 4.5 hours long? 

 

 We did feel a little rushed at Osaka Castle but there was adequate time to wait for the elevator to the 5th floor, walk up to the 8th floor, walk all the way around the 8th floor taking pictures, and then walking back down to floors 4 and 3, where pictures are not allowed but a lot of historical artifacts are on display. All in all, we had about an hour and a half at the Castle. 

 

 In Dotonbouri we had a little over an hour and a half, but not quite two hours.  This was more than enough time, given the crowds, to get a feel for what it was like and to have lunch in a restaurant.  To really do Dotonbouri you need to spend hours and hours there as you can see from the map I posted, it is really a big area.  We only walked from one end to the other of the main Dotonbouri street and did not feel like fighting the crowds to go down some of the others.  

 

 I felt the tour was well worth the price we paid for it.  And in October you are not going to have to deal with the crowds remaining from the last day of Golden Week.  

 

[debfed65]

7 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We did feel a little rushed at Osaka Castle but there was adequate time to wait for the elevator to the 5th floor, walk up to the 8th floor, walk all the way around the 8th floor taking pictures, and then walking back down to floors 4 and 3, where pictures are not allowed but a lot of historical artifacts are on display. All in all, we had about an hour and a half at the Castle. 

 

 In Dotonbouri we had a little over an hour and a half, but not quite two hours.  This was more than enough time, given the crowds, to get a feel for what it was like and to have lunch in a restaurant.  To really do Dotonbouri you need to spend hours and hours there as you can see from the map I posted, it is really a big area.  We only walked from one end to the other of the main Dotonbouri street and did not feel like fighting the crowds to go down some of the others.  

 

 I felt the tour was well worth the price we paid for it.  And in October you are not going to have to deal with the crowds remaining from the last day of Golden Week.  

 

Thank you for all these additional details! 
 

How long was the drive to the castle, and how long was the drive from Dotonbouri back to the ship? 

[DaKahuna]

17 minutes ago, debfed65 said:

How long was the drive to the castle, and how long was the drive from Dotonbouri back to the ship? 

 

 It took us about 30 minutes from the ship to Osaka Castle, from Osaka Castle to Dotonbouri, and Dotonbouri to the ship.  I was not really paying that much attention. 

 

 But roughly an hour and a half of driving, hour and a half at each site. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

 Well we can add one more thing to the items that Celebrity has taken away from Sky Suite guest, not sure if it applies to other suites as well.  No more free shoe shines.  I looked for the shoe shine bag that is usually in the room and this morning I talked with our “Retreat Host” who said that service was no longer offered.  

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

There were plenty of selections and tonight the daily favorites featured a stir fly with a wide selection of meats, vegetables, and noodles. 

Nice to know we’ve moved beyond the limited dinner buffet offerings of a year ago. 

[DaKahuna]

It is hard to believe we are already at the half way point of the cruise.  It certainly has gone by quickly.  So many things I have thought about doing, so many things I have not done.  

 

 We had stopped by the casino last night and were told they expected to open at 8 pm.  We went to the lounge for a cocktail and waited until 8 pm and went to the casino.  We were  then told that it was not going to be until about 9:45 pm before they opened, the ship needed to reach international waters.  We decided not to wait around so we went to the Rendezvous Lounge and listened to Magnifica until they finished their set and then decided to call it a night. 

 

 This morning after breakfast in Luminae we put in our bag of laundry and bag of dry cleaning.  Had to ask for a second laundry bag since only one was provided in the room.  

 Went and relaxed in the lounge while our room was being serviced.  Just came back to find more paperwork from our Retreat Concierge’s. 

 

The Officer’s soirée invitation — this is usually when the Retreat is the most crowded. 

Not sure if we are going to attend or not.  Most of these our attendance is all about how we feel at the moment. 

 

 

Look like Future Cruises will be in the retreat tomorrow.  Have not decided whether to book another cruise or not.  Time is running short.  

 

 

Some helpful immigration information regarding Busan. 

 

 

 As I posted earlier, we have been invited to attend the Retreat Hosted Sail in to Hiroshima on the helipad.  I may go for a short while but have to leave to be in the Theater by 2 PM to meet for our shore excursion to Miyajima. 

 

 

[scorfman]

Trip day 5, cruise day 4

Up early again today and arriving in Osaka. At 8 we went back to Tuscan Grill for the “Ultimate Platter” and a couple Mimosas before departing for the day. Excellent service again, and we were entertained by the bunker ship arriving and dropping anchor. The crew said they always bunker here.

For this day we opted to return to Kyoto on the Celebrity tour “Kyoto Fushini Inari Taisha and Temples”. This tour includes lunch, but more on that later. Unlike yesterday’s trip to Kyoto this one did not make a rest stop on the way to or from. The bus also didn’t have usb ports like yesterday’s did, but we didn’t need them in any case.

 

Our first stop was at Funishi Inari Tanisha. The bus parked in the bus lot and it was about a 10 minute walk to the temple. Crowded but manageable, and we passed many interesting stores selling all manner of things. After we arrived we looked around a bit and then headed up the paths through the many many Tori gates along with hundreds of our fellow adventurers. We did venture off the path a bit to get some strategic photos that hid the crowds some, helped by kind strangers we swapped spots with. we then made our way back down and got a couple goshuin. They were offering only pre-drawn ones at this temple. We also purchased a small Tori gate as a souvenir. As we started back to the bus a small parade went through. We couldn’t see too well but we could hear the drums and chants, which was cool. On the way, my wife picked up some Inarisushi. Growing up her family was great friends and neighbors to an immigrant Japanese family and remembered eating these a lot. I could see the good memories flow as we enjoyed it once back on the bus. It took quite a bit longer to return to the bus because we had to wait a while at both train crossings along the way. We stopped at Inari Station but the office said they don’t have an eki stamp surprisingly. Some others, that arrived back at the bus late, said they got stuck on the wrong side of the parade. Not a big deal as everyone was back within 10 minutes or so. The bus was really hot as they are not allowed to idle so we just loitered outside while we waited. If you go someday, and this is good advice generally, take note of where you park and how to get back. It can be a bit confusing with the crowds and stalls.

Next we drove to Ryoanji Temple. What a contrast! We really enjoyed the relative tranquility here and the gardens were beautiful. The walk from parking was short. Wonderful shaded forest and bamboo paths filled the area. We got a hand drawn goshuin and also found an Eki stamp at the entrance.

Time for lunch now. What we didn’t expect, and maybe should have, is that they took us to the same place as the tour dinner last night. We talked to several others and it was clear that every Kyoto tour with a meal went to the same place, so be forewarned. I think we will mention this in our survey. At any rate the food there is very good for what it is so just know what the deal is and be prepared for it.

Lastly we visited Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Again the bus was parked perhaps 15 minutes away. Also this walk was all uphill. There were some that fell behind but there was no mercy from the guide. I think a few probably were left behind. The temple itself was very interesting. We found the goshuin place and we were surprised that they hand drew it right there in front of us. Typically they give you a number and tell you to come back later, especially with it being so busy. After that we decided to walk up to a pagoda on a nearby hill. We made a wrong turn and went quite a ways in the wrong direction all while in danger of monkey attack. We got things straight and made it to where we wanted, and from there we walked back down another route back to the entrance. We browsed our way back to parking, grabbed a cold drink from a vending machine, and took our seats for the uneventful drive back to the ship.

Back at the port we climbed up Mount Tenpō, which is touted as the shortest mountain In Japan and well suited to the end of a long day. I’ve mentioned geocaching before and discovering little known things like this is why we love it so much when we travel.

After the arduous 15 foot climb we went over the the nearby shopping area and browsed. The Ferris wheel is impressive! We had planned to eat there but decided we were pretty exhausted and didn’t want a sit-down dinner, so we opted for the buffet. Being Cinco de Mayo they had a Mexican selection as well as the traditional offerings. We may have had a nightcap but I don’t recall.

 

The tour was fine and I’m glad we took it. Just be sure you keep up with the guide on the way from the bus and be mindful of the time for return. And remember that we are here in Golden Week so the crowds are probably(?) much more chaotic than normal.

[scorfman]

By the way, sorry for the crazy font sizing. I’m writing on my phone in Notes and the copy paste is sub-optimal. 😄 

[scorfman]

Forgot monkey danger pic!

 

I like seeing the different experiences and posting styles here. I know I’m a day behind and will try and catch up during the sea day tomorrow. We’re just docking in Hiroshima so tyyl!

[DaKahuna]

I am sure there are going to be a lot of unhappy guest and a lot of complaints about disembarking here in Hiroshima.  We just walked dec 4 from the aft elevator to the theater and the whole starboard side was packed with guest waiting to disembark.  These are obviously guest without shore excursions. 
 

We are in the theater and it is very full.  Our assembly time us 2 pm and we are group 17.  It is 1357 and they just called groups 9 and 10.  Things are going slow.  
 

[Pushka]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

I am sure there are going to be a lot of unhappy guest and a lot of complaints about disembarking here in Hiroshima.  We just walked dec 4 from the aft elevator to the theater and the whole starboard side was packed with guest waiting to disembark.  These are obviously guest without shore excursions. 
 

We are in the theater and it is very full.  Our assembly time us 2 pm and we are group 17.  It is 1357 and they just called groups 9 and 10.  Things are going slow.  
 

I didn't think it was the getting off the ship in Hiroshima that was going to be the delay but rather the exit interview processing on return. You'd think by now this process would be well sorted. 

[abbydancer2003]

Hi.

 

We're on the Best of Japan cruise in March 2026, so I figured I should follow this.  I just read it all, and a few comments before I toodle off to bed, since we just got home from our 41 days on the Solstice.  

 

The last day or two the lemon tarts had the meringue.  I didn't care, since I was way over snacks there by then.  

 

I noticed on your picture of the Polaris dinner, that it appears United is still putting everything on the tray at once.  I wonder if I can request the entree be served after the appetizers, so it doesn't get cold.  What a concept - eating the appetizers before the main.

 

We're in one of the two aft Aqua Sky suites.  Not sure which side.  On the Summit last year the big complaint from DH was lack of storage.  We were in a regular sky suite. Apparently, Kelly Hoppin doesn't believe in storage space.

 

It's very clear to me now, that we're doing this cruise, and I know nothing about the ports, what we should do etc.  Lots of homework before this one ....

[DaKahuna]

4 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

I noticed on your picture of the Polaris dinner, that it appears United is still putting everything on the tray at once.  I wonder if I can request the entree be served after the appetizers, so it doesn't get cold.  What a concept - eating the appetizers before the main.

 

 Of course you can ask but not sure it would do much good.  When my meals are plated like this I tend to eat a little of each as I go.  Otherwise, eat fast so the entree does not get cold 🙂 

 

5 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

We're in one of the two aft Aqua Sky suites.  Not sure which side.  On the Summit last year the big complaint from DH was lack of storage.  We were in a regular sky suite. Apparently, Kelly Hoppin doesn't believe in storage space.

 

 That issue has not gone away.  Basically the only difference between this and the Sky Suite we were in last year, #6100, is this one is wider Inside and balcony, has separate shower and tub, and has the two round foot stools.  Of course there is also no blockage of the view straight down from the balcony or no shade from an overhang. 

5 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

It's very clear to me now, that we're doing this cruise, and I know nothing about the ports, what we should do etc.  Lots of homework before this one ....

 

 Hopefully the pictures of the information put out by the Retreat Host has been helpful.  There is a lot to do in each of the ports and it is very easy to overload yourselves by trying to do too much.  I was glad we took a break between our first and second excursion and I am glad tomorrow is that sea day with not much planned .. Future Cruise Presentation in the Retreat Lounge, Officer Soirée in the Retreat Lounge, Captains Club Senior Officer Party/Music and Mixology, Sake Tasting, Evening Chic .. etc., etc.,