Detailed (& long) review of Celebrity Millennium 12 Night Best of Japan 14-26th July

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, Miaminice said:

As you know I post my reports on FB and here. I also look up many things as we go. So I really don’t want to rely on free WiFi spots - especially when all it takes to have all the comfort is $17 or less, That price makes it a no brainer for me 😁

 

 I understand.  I found that since I 'financed' my iPhone through my carrier they had it locked and will not unlock it until it's paid off.  I could not use an eSIM if I had wanted to use one. 
 I did get an eSIM for my DW's iPhone, she did not upgrade when I did, but she only used it to make WiFi calls to her sister and some friends in Japan. 

 

[Lunastella]

Day 10: Hakodate

 

Welcome to Hakodate!!

 

 

Today was a day we seriously considered treating as a sea day (by proxy), but it appears that after a single sea day I get antsy and I was ready to ‘do something’ in Hakodate. Plus, I have mobile coverage again so we can google a plan. We only arrived in Hakodate at 10.30am, so there was lots of time to hatch a plan for the day.

 

Morning view

 

 

But first, the gym for a workout, no running today, just a 45 class to start the 6 week ‘summer strong’ challenge. It’s still very foggy out there. Next, you know the routine, grabbed a coffee in Spa Café, back to cabin to rouse DS and DM, and get ready for the day. Breakfast was in Oceanview Café (again), and yes of course I got the same (again), I am a creature of habit. Maybe I added some pineapple today?? I also had TWO pain au chocolats….so good, I could not resist another one.  DS and DM are ranking the fried eggs very highly BTW, in case anyone is not interested in my bircher museli.

 

I think you would miss it if I didn’t post it at this stage

 

 

We had fun watching the pilot board during breakfast

 

 

Fuelled by coffee and Bicher muesli, we got down to planning. First off, the Morning Fish Market seems like an obvious first stop as its right beside the dock and it only opens in the morning (obviously). Then take a bus to Goryokaku Tower to view the fort, then visit the Hakodate Gallery of Art, then an udon noodle lunch, then…let’s see. It is so foggy today that it was not really worth doing one of the main attraction here which is a cable car up Mount Hakodate.

 

Photo shoot while waiting to dock

 

 

We were cleared by 10.15am and strolled through the terminal with our completed customs card. We have nothing to declare except ourselves. The market is literally a 3 minute walk from the ship. There is lots of fresh and dried fish and enormous asparagus. We didn’t buy anything -  you can’t take anything fresh back onto the ship and it really is too early for crab.

 

Big melons

 

 

Big asparagus

 

 

Crab!

 

 

We google mapped our way to Goryokaku Tower via a bus. In theory, it should have taken about 25 minutes, in theory it took longer as the bus stops are disguised.

 

Does this look like a bus stop to you?

 

 

DM and I on the bus

 

 

[SIDENOTE: In Japan you enter the bus by the central doors, tap your Suica, and exit by the front doors, and tap again].

 

The bus left us about a 5 mins walk from the tower, and in fairness it’s hard to miss a massive tower, just look up.

 

Observation tower

 

 

There was a small queue for tickets (1,000JPY), and then the elevator tooks us straight up 106 meters (I think). The main reason for the observation tower is to view the star-shaped Goryokaku fort, but it also gives you a good sense of the city. For those interested “Fort Goryokaku is a massive, star-shaped, Western-style citadel, which was built in the last years of the Edo Period (1603-1868) for the defence of Hakodate against the imperialist threat posed by the Western powers.”

 

Goryokaku fort

 

 

DM and I looking at Goryokaku fort

 

 

More fort

 

City view

 

 

 

Hakodate is one of the smallest cities we have been to so far, about 230,000 inhabitants.  We took some photos, descended, and got an ice-cream. I was tempted by the corn ice-cream but chickened out and got hazelnut. There was a great shop at the base of the tower, so I bought another t-shirt for my husband…he will have quite a collection. Hope he likes Japanese tee-shirts!

 

Ice-cream

 

 

Observation tower design

 

 

Today is a much cooler 25 degrees with a wind, which makes it much easier to walk around. But luckily we didn’t have to walk too far as the art gallery is just across the road from the fort. We decided to go to a gallery today as we have really let the ball drop on art on this trip (apart from Tokyo).

 

I tried to persuade them to go to the second museum but they were not having any of it!

 

 

Very cool entrance to the Hakodate Gallery of Art

 

 

In hindsight this was not the best gallery to get our art fix - there were only 2 rooms within the permanent exhibition and only one special exhibition, so within 15 minutes we had seen everything. The calligraphy was cool though.

 

Art

 

 

After our art(less) fix, we decided to head back to the port area for lunch, as there were loads of restaurants near the fish market. We ended up at Hakodate Dining Gaya, mainly because they had rice dishes, which we hadn’t encountered much of so far….lots of noodles, but not much rice.  Once seated, we were served some Japanese tea and an English menu, so no need for google this time! We shared salmon sashimi, I had a bowl of Ochazuke (rice in a soup) with crab, DM had fish and rice, and DS had tempura. The crab was tasty, but minuscule! We also had some beer.

 

Restaurant

 

 

DS and beers

 

 

Me and beers

 

 

Sashimi (lots of it!)

 

 

Prawn tempura

 

 

Ochazuke

 

 

After lunch, DS and DM wanted to head back to the ship, but I was keen to continue exploring. Then I had the bright idea of getting a Japanese massage! I always try to get at least one massage on holiday, and Hakodate seems as good a place as any to fill that need. Google led me to a complex beside the train station that housed a hotel, some shops, restaurants, and a tiny place offering massages. They only had 2 rooms separated off with a curtain, so this was definitely not a luxurious spa experience!  

 

Massage place

 

 

In this building

 

 

The massage, however, was excellent and great value (~€30 for 60 minutes), a quarter of the price of one in Dublin. A Japanese massage is more akin to a Thai massage -  I was given long trousers  and a top to wear, so the masseuse never touched my skin directly, and there was no oil involved. It was very thorough, lots of manipulating and slapping, sounds painful, but not really. At the end she said I should see a chiropractor….I have a weak lower back and my shoulders are too rounded….yikees! She is probably right. I had surgery on my back a few years ago, so it is still a little weak I guess.

 

After that, I walked down to the red warehouse district which was about a 15-20 minute walk from the ship. It’s an upmarket shopping mall in warehouses, with plenty of gift options, so I did indulge a little. Before I left, I grabbed an iced coffee and walked back to the ship quickly, as the weather looks very ominous.

 

 

The red warehouse area

 

 

 

 

Cat!

 

 

I made it back just before the heavens opened. I found DS in the solarium and gifted her a ‘surprise’ from the warehouse – matcha chocolate.  I joined her for a while to write and read. No evening gym session today as I want to enjoy the benefits of the massage.

 

Next you know the drill -  cabin, shower, dress, glass of Japanese wine, and head to the 7pm show. Tonight show ‘Four Seasons’ featured the two acrobatics; it was mostly just terrifying to watch. Heart in mouth kinda stuff. We watched the whole show for once! [SIDENOTE: We always sit at the back of the theatre on deck 5, so we don’t disturb anyone if we leave early].

 

Four Seasons

 

 

 

 

As usual we headed down to deck 4 MDR to grab our buzzer and commence our wait….but shock, no buzzer was required tonight, we were ushered straight in! Plus, we were seated in what I now like to call ‘our section’.

 

I had a mixed salad, roasted chicken with pasta (massive portion, I could not finish it for once), extra veg (of course), and a chocolate lava cake, that was actually more like a chocolate fondant (maybe they got the menus mixed up??). Tasty none the less. We also ordered another bottle of wine - a red from New Zealand.

 

Salad

 

 

Roasted chicken

 

 

 

Chocolate lava cake

 

 

Wine

 

 

No dancing tonight, so back to the cabin to try the Korean facemasks we bought in Busan.

 

Non sunset non deck outfit post number (I have no idea)

[janetmojo]

Thank you so much for everything you have posted so far (and also to those who have added to it!)  I'm taking copious notes for our trip next July 1 on Millie.  It's kind of overwhelming but sometimes reading it in Trip Report form instead of in a book helps a lot.  Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

[Lunastella]

3 hours ago, janetmojo said:

Thank you so much for everything you have posted so far (and also to those who have added to it!)  I'm taking copious notes for our trip next July 1 on Millie.  It's kind of overwhelming but sometimes reading it in Trip Report form instead of in a book helps a lot.  Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

No problem Janetmojo, glad you are finding it useful!

[Lunastella]

Day 11: Aomori  

 

Last port day! My plans for Aomori originally involved taking a train to the town of Asamushi Onsen, which is, you guessed it, famous for onsen, or Japanese baths. However, on finding out about the required nakedness, DS and DM have no refused point blank to go. I’m pretty sure I told them about the nakedness when I was planning this port…humm…. Anyway,  Asamushi was out (apparently), so we needed to recalibrate. Thankfully we had data coverage the previous evening, so Google was initiated again. Aomori is big on apples, so something apple related for sure. It also has a famous festival, so something festival related too, and finally, as our art trip yesterday was disappointing, something art related was also in the mix.

 

Up early to do a warm up run and day 2 of the Summer Strong challenge. Ah hour or so later, I sailed by Spa Café for coffee, then cabin, shower, and ready for the day. We went to Oceanview Café for breakfast (again), I had the same breakfast (again), and we were off the ship by 9.30am.

 

You can guess what it is

 

 

Our first stop was the Nebuta Museum Wa-Rasse (https://www.nebuta.jp/warasse/foreign/english.html) which is about a 20 minute walk from the dock along a promenade.

 

Interesting building along the promenade

 

 

Nebuta Museum Wa-Rasse - far away

 

 

Nebuta Museum Wa-Rasse – up close

 

 

 

The Nebuta festival takes place every August when 20 floats parade through the Aomori city. The museum displays a range of the Nebuta floats, which, as you can see below, are massive. Each float, which is made from wood and Japanese paper, can cost up to $50,000 to produce, and are lit up from within to display different Japanese legends. Many photos were taken. This festival seems like a much more joyous affair compared to the one Kyoto!

 

Floats

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right across the road from the festival museum is the A-Factory – a building dedicated to the apple! Fun fact, the majority of apples exported from Japan are produced in Aomori (apparently). The A Factory is a large warehouse type building where you can buy everything from apple brandy to apple sweets to apple candles, you get the picture. We didn’t want to carry anything around with us all day so we decided to come back later to buy said apple related products.

 

The A Factory

 

 

Apple related drinks

 

 

Next, some art was called for, and Aomori actually has a highly regarded contemporary art gallery called the Aomori Museum of Art (conveniently) https://www.aomori-museum.jp/en/  The bus station is next to the train station which is next to the A Factory, handy! We google mapped our onto a bus which took us to what looked like the outskirts of the city. It was a good opportunity to see some ‘regular’ Japanese houses and suburbs. However, we also got the sense that Aomori is more run-down than some of the other cities we have been too. Thus, we were quite surprised when we arrived at this amazing art gallery in the middle of nowhere!

 

 

Aomori Museum of Art

 

 

We bought tickets for the permanent exhibition only. [SIDENOTE: no senior citizen discount here, boo!].

 

The gallery is very white, EVERYTING is white, apart from the art of course.

 

We started with some massive backdrops painted by Marc Chagal for the ballet Aleko. The room with the backdrops was filled with wheelchairs, I have no idea why, there was no explanation. Were they part of the exhibition? Had they nowhere else to put them? Are we allowed to sit in them?? Questions, questions, the answers to which we will never know.

 

Marc Chagall scenes

 

 

 

DM was tempted….

 

 

 

Next, we progressed through a series of rooms with art by different Japanese artists including

Nara Yoshitomo, Kudo Tetsumi, and Kon Junzo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DS looking v cool.

 

 

And we finished with a giant dog. Sure why not!

 

Big dog

 

 

I had read that the café in the gallery is really good, but apparently other people got the same memo, so there was a long waiting list, we decided not to wait. Back to the city.

 

Just as we were approaching the bus stop, the bus fly by….whoops, we will get the next one, not a problem. There was a problem, the next one was not for another hour! Not a problem, we will get a different bus. There was a problem, the other bus stop was a 20 minute walk away and DM was not impressed with all the walking! But at least today was not too hot and there is a breeze. It is way cooler up here in the North of the country, maybe 24 degrees today compared to our 34 degrees in Kyoto. A welcome relief to be honest. While waiting for the bus, DS ran into Lawsons (like 7 Eleven but Japanese kind of). She bought back some weird crisps…very lemony. She likes to buy random food items.

 

Next up, apples! I googled ‘best apple pie in Aomori’ and it brought us to a Viennese café I kid you not. I did not expect to find an Austrian café in Japan, but there you go! There was a fancy bakery on the ground floor and a true Viennese café upstairs called Viennese Sweets Strauss. Ok, ok, bear with me, it’s not exactly Japanese, but we wanted to try apple strudel made with the famous Aomori apples - a good combination methinks. DM and I ordered the strudel and coffee and DS had a mango type cake and hot chocolate. The strudel was quite tasty, but not the best strudel ever. Plus, it was quite small, I will need more food than this for lunch! My appetite is growing.

 

Viennese Sweets Strauss

 

 

Cakes for lunch

 

 

After coffee and café, we wandered around the city trying to make out what each shop actually sells, it was often hard to work it out from the outside…. We ended up in a very fancy department store, but didn’t buy anything (I promise!). Then we walked back over to A Factory to buy some apple related gifts. However, I did buy myself an apple related t-shirt…I wanted something to remind of my trip to Japan (apart from the 10,000 photos and this review!) 

 

Finally, we walked another 20 mins back to the ship…DM was convinced she walked 20000 steps today, it was a lot less than that (I promise, she is not convinced).  DM and I headed straight to the Oceanview Café before it closed and managed to get a panini…just as they were closing off the stations, good timing!  It was my first time getting a panini - very tasty, why didn’t I discover these earlier in the trip! We spent the rest of the afternoon in our usual spot.

 

I wanted to make sure I had an appetite for formal night/elegant chic/what-ever-it-is-called night so I went to the gym for a 5km run about 5.30pm. All the waiters were talking about ‘lobster night’, so I needed to prepare myself! 

 

Sunset from balcony while getting ready

 

 

We decided to forgo the usual 7pm theatre gig (the tenors tonight), in favour of playing cards and having a cocktail in Celler Masters….its been a while since I had a cocktail, I forgot all about the Negonis. So a Negoni was had while attempting to teach DM how to play karma….I’m pretty sure we have done this several times before…..she now claims the game requires no skill (just because she is not very good at it, sore loser much!). Then she tried to teach us bridge (which she is good at), without any success….

 

First time playing cards on this trip

 

 

DM trying to remain patient

 

 

Then it was buzzer time….only a 20 min wait, not bad on formal /elegant chic night. However, horror of horrors, we were escorted to deck 5, not our usual deck 4! What is this madness! We have ‘anytime dining’ so I know we cannot complain, but we were building a good rapport with Richard and Harish. Ah well.

 

Elegant chic glam

 

 

 

 

The service was not good tonight, but who could blame them, it was super busy. Beef wellington was on the menu…yippee, and lobster, yippee, hang on though, there is a tiny, tiny dollar sign beside it….I checked bottom of the menu, and saw that there was a charge for the lobster…. I cant ever remember having to pay for it before…but then it has been 2 years since I have been on a Celebrity ship. Maybe I never noticed before. Of course I can afford to pay $16.99 plus taxi for some lobster, but on a point of principle I refused, so I ordered the beef. 

 

Always read the small print

 

 

For starter I had the chef special of tuna sashimi which was quite nice. The beef wellington was really good even if its not lobster. And to finish, I had crème brulee for the first time on this cruise. DS made the mistake of ordering the baked Alaska, will she ever learn!

 

Tuna sashimi

 

 

Beef Wellington

 

 

Mushroom risotto (to share) – not great so didn’t each much

 

 

Crème brulee

 

 

Overall, dinner was less fun than it should have been, as we really felt abandoned up there on deck 5, but you can’t win them all. Hopefully tomorrow night we will be back in our usual place for our last night! It is almost over….

 

We finished the night out on a very windy deck.

 

Windy deck

 

 

That’s better

 

 

 

[little britain]

You’re not kidding about the tiny and I mean teensy tiny $ sign next to the lobster!!! 🦞 Wow! Need to keep an eye out for that! 

[hxhbk]

51 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

The service was not good tonight, but who could blame them, it was super busy. Beef wellington was on the menu…yippee, and lobster, yippee, hang on though, there is a tiny, tiny dollar sign beside it….I checked bottom of the menu, and saw that there was a charge for the lobster…. I cant ever remember having to pay for it before…but then it has been 2 years since I have been on a Celebrity ship. Maybe I never noticed before. Of course I can afford to pay $16.99 plus taxi for some lobster, but on a point of principle I refused, so I ordered the beef. 

 

You notice that the fine print says $16.99 per additional lobster.

As I wanted two lobsters as my main course and my wife selected beef wellington, our waiter puts in the orders as follows to avoid the 2nd lobster surcharge:

- for myself: 2 main courses, a beef wellington and a lobster

- for my wife: 1 main course, a lobster.

Then we traded.

I would have never thought that hard to come up with this scheme and would pay the surcharge, but we had a terrific waiter and he did get extra gratuity at the end of the cruise.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Lunastella said:

.I checked bottom of the menu, and saw that there was a charge for the lobster…

 

 That charge is if you order a second lobster, there is no charge for the first one. 

 

 

[phoenixjewel]

11 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 That charge is if you order a second lobster, there is no charge for the first one. 

 

 

Correct.  Celebrity and Royal Caribbean both started charging for additional lobster tails in the MDR.  But the first one is included as the meal.

[Pushka]

39 minutes ago, phoenixjewel said:

Correct.  Celebrity and Royal Caribbean both started charging for additional lobster tails in the MDR.  But the first one is included as the meal.

Thats quite reasonable then as I'm sure many would order so many and others miss out for their first. I don't like lobster anyway so I've never eaten it on the ship but I do have a laugh at the queues in the buffet sometimes. Now. If that was chocolate I'd be queuing too. 

[hcat]

4 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Thats quite reasonable then as I'm sure many would order so many and others miss out for their first. I don't like lobster anyway so I've never eaten it on the ship but I do have a laugh at the queues in the buffet sometimes. Now. If that was chocolate I'd be queuing too. 

The lobsters served In Luminae on BEYOND were tiny..Our waiter automatically plated 2 of them per order.

These are not the same as New Eng lobster where you have to " bib up"

[Miaminice]

20 hours ago, janetmojo said:

Thank you so much for everything you have posted so far (and also to those who have added to it!)  I'm taking copious notes for our trip next July 1 on Millie.  It's kind of overwhelming but sometimes reading it in Trip Report form instead of in a book helps a lot.  Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

you might be interested in our trip reports then. I will give you the links from new to old. The two older ones are on our own website which, unfortunately, I don’t have the time to keep up to date anymore.

Japan on Millennium 10/2023

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2970853-celebrity-millennium-japan-10242023-liveish-report/

 

Japan Cherry Blossom on Westerdam 4/2019

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

 

Japan on Millennium 10/2017

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Celebrity-Millennium-Japan/celebrity-millennium-japan.html

 

 

[Lunastella]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 That charge is if you order a second lobster, there is no charge for the first one. 

 

 

 

 

Nooooooo, I could have had lobster afterall!!! next time! A reason for another cruise soon.

[Lunastella]

Day 12: Sea day (last day onboard!!!)

 

It’s the last full day of the holiday, but I’m not too sad, I think 12 days on a cruise is an optimum amount of time for me…now if I had my own cabin maybe things would be different….. only joking DS and DM, love you!

 

The weather is better today, warmer, not foggy and not windy. Up at 7am for a longer gym session. I did a 5km run and a strengths training workout; I had no coverage as we were out as sea, so I couldn’t follow my online ‘Summer Strong’ challenge. Instead, I just made up my own random workout. Back to the cabin via the Spa Café for coffee, and DS was still in bed, you would know today was the last day of the holiday! Lie ins!

 

Instead of going for a proper breakfast we just nabbed some loungers in the solarium and brought over some food from the Spa Café (hence no photo today, but you can guess what I had…). I wrote (this), read my book, did some crosswords, then at 11am we went up to the Sky Lounge as the performers were doing a Q&A session. It was interesting to learn about life behind the scenes. Life as a dancer/singer at sea seems like a good deal when you are young!

 

We had planned on going to the MDR for our last seaday lunch, but when we heard about the buffet ‘Extravaganza’ in Oceanview our heads were turned. They had lobster…for free…

 

Turns out everyone wants free lobster so the queues were halfway around the ship, so no lobster for me (again!). Instead, I had a panini and salad, and robbed some of DS’s fish and chips, plus some pear crumble, that was more crumble than pear, but that’s fine. We also shared a selection of mini cakes. Also, as it was our last day, we had a glass of rose wine.

 

 

Fantastic panini – wish I discovered these earlier

 

Mini cakes

 

 

Back to the solarium to do some more crosswords….think the bug has bitten. Mid-afternoon, I felt the pull of packing calling me, so I headed back to the cabin to start the unenviable task of packing…DS will unpack but she refuses to repack (can’t blame her). Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. Then back to the crosswords. I am getting marginally better.

 

At some point DS and I went down to Future Cruises to inquire (only inquire mind you!) about a Christmas New Zealand cruise, and a summer European cruise. But we didn’t book anything (promise!).

 

As it’s a seaday I needed to get some steps in so I went for an earlier than usual evening gym session (as DS wanted a final sunset cocktail). I just did a 20 minute run then it was back to the cabin to get ready for our last evening onboard. DS had retreated to the Cellar Masters to  enjoy some peace and quiet which DM and I were getting ready.

 

We picked DS up from Cellar Masters and headed back up to the Sunset Bar….we still missed the actual sunset, but enjoyed a Negroni while watching the wake and discussing our favourite parts of the trip. Mine was our chance discovery of the beautiful garden in Kyoto.

 

Evening view

 

 

Last Negroni

 

 

Then it was to the theatre for the final show – ‘On Broadway’. Many of the dancers had said earlier that morning that ‘On Broadway’ was their favourite show, so we were excited to see it, and it did not disappoint.

 

On Broadway

 

 

 

Then it was buzzer time for the final time (perhaps ever….as we will probably go back to late seating in the future). Tonight we were given a buzzer, but we hadn’t even made our way to our rendezvous point before it buzzed! It’s getting quicker and quicker!

 

We were seated at ‘our’ table, with ‘our’ waiters - Richard and Harish. Tonight I had beetroot and feta salad, jerk chicken (extra veg), and a chocolate cherry trifle, that was once again, really just chocolate mousse with some cherries in it. Tasty though. Richard suggested we try the special matcha dessert which was a very patriotic green, less tasty. Overall, MDR has served us well, but had we been on a newer ship we would have gone to more of the speciality restaurants.

 

Salad

 

 

Chicken & rice (& extra veg of course)

 

 

Trifle???

 

 

Very green

 

 

We said our farewells, and went back to the cabin to pack up the final bits. Bed early as we have an early morning!

 

I apologise for the lack of photos today, you know its getting near the end when I stop taking photos!

[Provence55always]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post I really appreciate all your effort. As they say “knowledge is king” and you have given us so much information. We lived in Australia for three years when 1st married many moons ago and visited New Zealand. You know the saying you can’t beat the West of Ireland for scenery but New Zealand did. 

57 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

At some point DS and I went down to Future Cruises to inquire (only inquire mind you!) about a Christmas New Zealand cruise, and a summer European cruise. But we didn’t book anything (promise!).

 

[YORKI1]

Lunastella,

 

Thank you for sharing your adventures.  
 

We did a New Zealand cruise last year with Holland America. If you consider New Zealand a bucket list destination I would recommend a land tour not a cruise. In my opinion there are just too many bits of New Zealand that are not accessible from a ship. If you just want the New Zealand cruise experience, go for it.

 

 

 

 

[prod3]

Thank you the detailed review. I have enjoyed following along as we are going on a similar itinerary in July 2025. One thing I was wondering is were there a lot of kids on board?

 

 

 

 

[Lunastella]

Day 13:  Disembarkment

 

Otherwise known as get off the ship day. Otherwise known as fly home day. Otherwise known as THE END.

 

We were awake super early this morning, and while I had not planned on going to the gym, I thought, why not? What else am I going to do a 5.30am in the morning! Gym clothes on, check;  up to deck 10, check; wander into gym, not check as the gym was closed! I guess I have never tried to go to the gym before on changeover day! No gym for me, so I went back to the cabin to annoy DS and DM by being up so early!

 

Yep, we are back in Yokohama

 

 

As a result of my early morning wanderings, it was a very early breakfast for us. Oceanview Café for one last time, and one last Bircher muesli.

 

Fairwell my friend, you served me well

 

 

But what’s this! I went rogue on the last day!

 

 

We were not in any hurry to get off the ship. Our flight was technically not until the next day (20 minutes past midnight), so I booked us a room in the Yokohama Intercontinental Hotel for ‘1 night’, however check-in wasn’t until 3pm so we had lots of time to spare (hoping for an early check-in, fingers crossed!). We were not sure whether it was worthwhile booking a hotel for just a couple of hours, but there is nothing worse than hanging around all day without a base when you have a long haul flight coming up. It would be good to have somewhere to relax, shower, etc. before the flight. At least, that was our justification!

 

So we lingered over breakfast, had even more coffee, perhaps even a few more pain au chocolat…you know…for the last time….

 

DS and I walked around the ship for the final time and took some photos.

 

The Pool

 

 

Where we spent most our time

 

 

By 8.30am we decided we better leave gracefully before they throw us off. However, getting off the ship was harder than expected, the queues for the elevators were insane. DS had the bright idea to taking the elevator up and staying on until we eventually came down, genius! Other people started following suit. However, getting out of the terminal was even harder, cattle mart vibes, certainly not as chilled as our embarkation process. Eventually, we made it through though.

 

Our plan was to walk to the Intercontinental Hotel, which google map told me was a 15 minute walk away. My friends, it turns out that the Intercontinental is not a 15 minute walk away, and certainly not a 15 minute walk in over 30+ degree heat hauling large suitcases. DM still has not forgotten me, and may never will. It would be a pleasant enough walk without suitcases and/or not in crazy humidity. For example, we passed a amusing amusement park, with (another) massive Ferris Wheel. By the time we reached the hotel, after several pit stops in the shade along the way, it had taken up over 40 minutes and we were praying for an early check-in as we really needed to shower (again!).

 

I look happy enough, but don’t be fooled

 

 

Trudging ever closer to the hotel…almost there

 

 

Cool sites not hitting it

 

 

Finally, we made it…just about. All hopes for an early check-in faded, there was no chance, the receptionist made that very clear. Boo. But, they would store our cases in the interim.

 

I booked the Intercontinental as it was the only ‘luxury’ hotel that was reasonably priced. As we were going to be spending less than 7 hours in the room I didn’t was to spend a ton. However, take note, the location is not great if you plan on taking public transport as the closest metro stop is a 15 min walk away (which is fine when the weather is less than 30 degrees, but  not today). Another plus, the shuttle bus to the airport stops at the hotel, except not after 6pm….so no use for us….

 

Right so, DS and DM, what do you fancy doing in Yokohama today???  DS was pushing for the Pot Noodle museum, DM and I were pushing in the other direction. I had found what looked like gorgeous gardens about 45 minutes away. But DS and DM vetoed that as it involved a) walking to a metro stop, b) transferring to a bus, c) being outside for an extended period of time. I think the walk from the ship had traumatised the, at least in the short-run!

 

So we sat in the lobby, thinking…how can we pass the time until our hotel check-in in a cool, but entertaining, place….think….think…..the cinema, air con bliss! Genius again DS, well done! DM seemed keen on the cinema idea and who was I to disagree after I was the one who traumatised them in the first place. The cinema is was to be. Next job, find a nearby cinema showing something we want to watch…in English….

 

We did it!! There was a cinema in a large shopping centre about a 15 minute walk away…is everywhere in Yokohama a 15 minute walk away??? The cinema appeared to be showing films in English with Japanese sub-titles, rather than being dubbed. So we suncreamed up (again), umbrellas in hand, and braved our way to the cinema, via a 7 Eleven for iced coffee and smoothies. We saw ‘Fly me to the Moon’. It was only halfway through the movie that DS whispered the irony of watching a Scarlett Johansson move in Japan! It was grand, not fantastic, but it did the job.

 

After the film, we went in search of what would be our last meal in Japan. The shopping centre had loads of different options. So hard to decide! DS and I had a gra for one last udon noodle, so udon it was, and tempura, and miso soup, and rice, and beer.

 

Final meal (sob!)

 

 

After that we ventured in the basement of the shopping centre to check out a proper Japanese grocery store (to buy some edible gifts). Finally, a trip to a Japanese shopping centre would not be complete without one last trip to Uniqlo. We had come full circle.

 

It was 3.00p by then, so we headed back to the hotel where we could finally check in. One of the good things about this hotel is the view. From our room on the 15^th floor, we had a amazing view of the port, and could still see Milly in the distance.

 

We had a lap, read (well DM and I did, as DS unfortunately realised she left her kindle under her pillow in the cabin…whoops). Having missed my gym session in the morning, I went to the hotel gym for a warm up run and a Summer Strong challenge workout. When I got back to the room, DS said that Milly was departing…..it was so strange to see the ship leave again with a whole new host of different passengers, have fun guys!

 

We watched as she made it under the bridge

 

Finally, we showered and got changed into our ‘plane clothes’ and left the hotel at about 8.30pm. This time I agreed we could get a taxi to the Yokohama station (instead of walking). There was a taxi stand right outside the hotel, and the taxi was only about 1500JPY. We followed the signs for the Haneda shuttle and bought 3 tickets from a machine (1950JPY for  3, good value!). The bus came almost immediately and we had it all to ourselves, it was like a private transfer!  However, the bus was only going to terminal 1 and 2, and we needed to be at terminal 3, so we got off a terminal 1, navigated our way to the bottom level, and took another bus to terminal 3…its never easy!

 

We flew over with BA on the flight over, but our flight back was with Japan Airlines. As we were super early for our 00.20am flight, there was no queue to drop off our bags. We had already checked-in for the Tokyo to London leg, but for some reason we could not check-in for the London to Dublin leg. We asked the staff at the check in desk to check us in for the final leg and they could also not check us in…no explanation given. At this stage we were worried that our bags wouldn’t make it all the way to Dublin but they assured us they would….So they could check-in our bags to Dublin, but not us, ok I am sure it will all work out in Heathrow, don’t worry, I told DS and DM…bye bags…see you in Dublin….perhaps….

 

One of the advantages of flying in premium economy with Japan Airlines is that you can use their lounge….perfect…as still had 3 hours until our flight and we will need to eat before the flight. DS did some research about the flight, and apparently, on night time flights JA do not serve the food until 2 hours before you land….that’s a very long time on a 14 hour flight!

 

So after making our way through security we walked (miles…ok I exaggerate) many meters to the lounge. The lounge reminded me of the one in the Tokyo Hilton. They had a selection of western style food and some Japanese food. I had 3 plates of salad! And bread. And wine. I obviously didn’t take any photos of the lounge or the food….it’s been a long day…

 

But apparently I took a photo of the controls in the toilet!

 

You get used to them after a while

 

Fully sated for our 14hr flight we headed down to the gate, hung around a bit longer, and finally boarded about midnight.

 

Initial impressions of JA are very good….the seats seem better than BA, better recline situation, plus they give you slippers and a shoe horn! Very impressed.

 

Once airborne, they offered us a drink and a small snack.

 

Drink and snack

 

I planned on sleeping for most of the flight if possible…so no movies for me (again) which is just as well as DS said the movie section was awful (BA was much better in that regard). I took an out of date sleeping tablet (it was all I had!), but it seemed to work as I slept for maybe 3-4 hours. Then I woke up and just kept my eyes closed for the next few hours, trying to fool my body at least.

 

Exactly, 2 hours before we were due to land, and at about 4.30am London time, they served dinner.  The food was pretty bad; I don’t know if the food itself was bad, or else, it was the time of night, but none of us could eat it (BA definitely had better food). That said, dessert was Hagen Das ice-cream, so at least we had something!

 

Dinner!

 

We landed at about 6.30am on Saturday morning (I think, no idea, what is happening, very dazed). We needed to make our way from terminal 5 to terminal 2…without a boarding pass. No worries I told DS, let’s just keep going until someone stops us. There was no problem in taking the shuttle from terminal 5 to 2, and no problem going through security at terminal 2, but then we hit a glitch at passport control…can I see your boarding pass??…um…no….we don’t have one…but they obviously seen this situation before so they asked to see our original booking (thankfully our phones were still alive!), then they put a sticker on our passports and told us to proceed. Phew…

 

At soon as we entered the main part of terminal 2 we found the Aer Lingu desk and were finally issued a sacred boarding….thank you….an issue though... “I can see that 2 bags are due to be loaded on to the flight to Dublin, not 3….no worries, I will add the other bag now”….we were not hopeful.

 

At this point we were hungry, having not eaten properly in who knows how long. So we headed to Pret and got fruit, pastries…..and most importantly….proper coffee (I know Pret coffee is not proper coffee, but it is still better than ship coffee).

 

No photos of any of this…as obviously….we are still trying to survive and get home at this point. DM is holding up surprising well.  We had about 2-3hr wait in Heathrow, so no rush.

 

The flight from London to Dublin was short and uneventful…although I felt sick, must be my body adjusting to strong coffee after its >2 week detox.

 

Needless to say, when we landed and retrieved our bags, we were one bag less than planned, although not mine thankfully!!! But more admin ensued.

 

A taxi ride home, a day and a half of jetlag fog, and I/we were back to our regular life - sleeping normally and back in work on Monday. I really thought the jetlag would hit us hard on our return, we were all fine a day later. A pleasant surprise.

 

I was happy to be reunited with Frankie my cat….and of course DH (who has yet to cruise, but I am hopeful, some day he will see the light!).

 

Spot the cat

 

 

Overall, it was a fantastic bucket list trip. Japan is a wonderful country, although we only touched the surface. A land based trip may be needed at some point. As for future cruises, let’s see…

 

Thanks to everyone for following along over the last 2 weeks. To those of you taking this cruise over the next months/years, have a fantastic time. Milly is great, and Japan is outstanding. It will be a trip of a lifetime.

 

 

Since returning, DM has being enjoying getting back to playing bridge 3-4 times a week, and reconnecting with her other children and grandchildren, as well as doing some day trips to the sea.

 

 

DS is back to work, but still re-creating the cruise sunsets with evening sips on the Dublin riviera.

 

 

And I am also back to work, although taking advantage of WFH until term starts from my summer house by the sea where I occasionally see cruise ships in the distance…..please wave if you are passing!

 

 

 

And finally some proper coffee (always).

[lettrich]

Thank you for a wonderful review. I enjoyed reading all that you did at the ports - you managed to see a lot of the sites. I agree - it was a great time. Japan is a beautiful country. 

[cinnamon]

Thank you, and thanks for the good wishes as I’m boarding in 5 weeks. Hopefully a bit cooler by then. 

[StopTheWorld]

Thank you SO much for your wonderful review! I love your writing style 😊 and appreciate how much effort you put in to it. I’ve taken away so many tips for our October Japan cruise on Millie. 

[Ciaranaman]

Excellent live review!  I thoroughly enjoyed all your posts/commentary - the good, the bad, and the ugly LOL!  No trip is perfect and it sounds like you did an amazing job recalibrating when things went sideways.  I'll be keeping my eyes open for your future cruises.  You really do need to do NZ - but make it both cruise and land 😉. So so much to see and do!
Thank you!

~Bernadette

[hcat]

Glad u made it home ok... Very ambitous schedule &  walks..I would have sadly lagged behind, as we go at a much slower pace.  Enjoyed the photos...

 

Hope your sister can somehow get her Kindle back.. maybe they can mail it??

 

look forward to your next review....

[LisaLeone]

Fabulous review! Was the missing bag reunited with either DM or DS?

[Pushka]

Thankyou. With your mum in tow you covered so much ground. Kudos to her too.