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

[Pushka]

That's interesting about Carp in Japan. In Australia they are regarded as a total pest as they grow to huge proportions and are swamping our rivers and destroying the habitat for our native fish. Carp were introduced into Australia since European settlement. We never eat them as they are horrible to eat. Extremely bony.  If we catch one we cannot by law throw it back into the water but have to leave it on the bank. Government is also investigating how we can remove them entirely from our fresh water streams. 

[Pushka]

22 hours ago, hxhbk said:

< Our plan was to take the monorail from right outside the terminal building to the Sannomiya train station (10 mins), then take the JR Shinkansen to Kyoto station (50 minutes), then a metro from Kyoto station to Kyoto city hall (20 mins), to arrive at 10.30am, just as the festival procession would be passing.>

 

You did the right thing.

We took the complementary shuttle bus to Chinatown, and then walk for about 10 min to Sannomiya Station for our trip to Kyoto via Shinkansen.

Revers routing on the return in the afternoon.

I wish I had known about the monorail routing.

I was just researching the same plan and also Himeji castle last night using ChatGPT and they referenced the Port Liner. Then had to ask it what the Port Liner was. The Monorail. We will be doing this in Kobe to get to Himeji Castle. We have a half, overnight then full day in Kobe but we don't go to Osaka port at all so we are doing a land trip and staying in Kyoto. 

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, Pushka said:

I was just researching the same plan and also Himeji castle last night using ChatGPT and they referenced the Port Liner. Then had to ask it what the Port Liner was. The Monorail. We will be doing this in Kobe to get to Himeji Castle. We have a half, overnight then full day in Kobe but we don't go to Osaka port at all so we are doing a land trip and staying in Kyoto. 

 

We plan on visiting Himeji Castle from Kobe, using the Port Liner then the Special Rapid from the JR station. When do you cruise?

[Pushka]

22 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

We plan on visiting Himeji Castle from Kobe, using the Port Liner then the Special Rapid from the JR station. When do you cruise?

April 20. We arrive into Kobe at around 12 noon from memory so we will be quickly off the ship and onto the Monorail. Sounds like that evening is the night the drummers are onboard so likely we will try get back around 6.30pm. The Celebrity tours for Kobe (and also therefore Kyoto and Osaka) - there are only three offered for both days. So pretty much everyone will be DIY I also think people will overnight offshore in Osaka/Kyoto as it's the only chance they will get.   Thankyou for asking exactly what the Port Liner is, otherwise I would have assumed it was the cruise shuttle.  And thanks to @Lunastella for posting this in the first place. It will help us get ahead of the crowd by not using the free shuttle.  

Edited August 10 by Pushka

[monkey@cruise]

7 hours ago, Pushka said:

April 20. We arrive into Kobe at around 12 noon from memory so we will be quickly off the ship and onto the Monorail. Sounds like that evening is the night the drummers are onboard so likely we will try get back around 6.30pm. The Celebrity tours for Kobe (and also therefore Kyoto and Osaka) - there are only three offered for both days. So pretty much everyone will be DIY I also think people will overnight offshore in Osaka/Kyoto as it's the only chance they will get.   Thankyou for asking exactly what the Port Liner is, otherwise I would have assumed it was the cruise shuttle.  And thanks to @Lunastella for posting this in the first place. It will help us get ahead of the crowd by not using the free shuttle.  

Port Liner is a metro (above ground) running between Kobe Airport and Sannomiya Station. 
The JR Limited Express to Himeji Station runs every 15 min, 40 min travel time, fare ¥990.
From Himeji station, either walk 20 min or pay ¥100 bus fare to Himeji castle. 
Himeji castle opens from 9:00am to 5:00pm  (gate close at 4pm)

Not all JR express trains go to Himeji, here is the timetable.

 

 

 

 

[villauk]

1 hour ago, monkey@cruise said:

Port Liner is a metro (above ground) running between Kobe Airport and Sannomiya Station. 
The JR Limited Express to Himeji Station runs every 15 min, 40 min travel time, fare ¥990.
From Himeji station, either walk 20 min or pay ¥100 bus fare to Himeji castle. 
Himeji castle opens from 9:00am to 5:00pm  (gate close at 4pm)

Not all JR express trains go to Himeji, here is the timetable.

 

 

 

 

 

@monkey@cruise thanks for posting. We plan on taking the 12:22, so that would work out perfectly from your timetable above i.e. the train prior, 15 minutes before the first train time you posted. We would usually walk the 20 minutes to the castle, but we may take the bus if the heat and humidity is too great for us 🥵.

[little britain]

@lettrich any recommendations for a steak 🥩 dinner restaurants in Kobe please? 
 

 

[Lunastella]

16 hours ago, Travelexpert35 said:

Loving your review. We were on the Millenium in 2019 Transpacific to Japan from Vancouver just after she got renovated. We really enjoyed the layout of the ship and the extra elevators. Was on the Edge in 2020 and prefer the real balcony vs the Infinite. We’re looking forward to travelling back to Japan in the next couple of years. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

 

I am with you on that - I much prefer the proper balconys than the Infinite ones, that's why we choose a sunset balcony cabin on Beyond. 

[Lunastella]

15 hours ago, Miaminice said:

 We have done three cruises to Japan so far - and we are looking forward to another one in May 2025.

 

We think they did a great job renovation Millennium. Yes, she‘s still an M class ship, but she feels fresh and modern compared to some of her sisters. We have been on Infinity before our last trip on Millennium and it was like day and night.

 

Yes we were also pleasantly surprised by Millennium, much better than anticipated!

[Lunastella]

15 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

It's called takoyaki and Osaka is famous for it.  Am surprised you did not notice a lot of shops selling it.  My DW purchased some in the mall next to the ship there in Osaka and was disappointed that they had run out of the sauce that goes on it and did not like it.  She later bought some with the sauce and was happy.  I have never liked it so did not eat any. 

 

 

Yeah it wasn't my favourite to be honest...plus DS was giving me grief for eating octopus, so it was hard to enjoy!!

[Lunastella]

12 hours ago, Pushka said:

That's interesting about Carp in Japan. In Australia they are regarded as a total pest as they grow to huge proportions and are swamping our rivers and destroying the habitat for our native fish. Carp were introduced into Australia since European settlement. We never eat them as they are horrible to eat. Extremely bony.  If we catch one we cannot by law throw it back into the water but have to leave it on the bank. Government is also investigating how we can remove them entirely from our fresh water streams. 

 

Interesting, I don't think carp are an issue in Ireland. That said, I have never seen one on a menu! Will avoid.

[DaKahuna]

14 hours ago, Pushka said:

In Australia they are regarded as a total pest as they grow to huge proportions and are swamping our rivers and destroying the habitat for our native fish.

 

I remember reading this about one of the plans Australia was considering to address the carp problem. 

 

https://www.newsweek.com/invasive-carp-freshwater-washed-ocean-1776456#

 

Some people do eat them here in the US but it varies depending on geographical area and breed of carp.  I myself tried it only once.  Very bony but was tasty.  It was grilled over an open camp fire. 

 

[Aussiepam1327]

Great write up. We went on Millennium Nov 23 and loved coming back after exploring all day to a elegant calm ship. Our staff were amazing and an absolute highlight.

We were fortunate to have autumn weather (tshirts and thinner clothes were great for exploring but early morning and evenings we would need an extra layer) coming from Adelaide Australia,  I should be used to heat, but no I hate it so we were happy to be traveling Japan in Nov. 

Shore tours were definitely expensive but in a few places we selected them over running the risk of getting lost, traveling longer distances etc. We explored a few places ourselves and whilst using a few Japanese terms we got by with Google translate. We did organize a personalized tour which was a highlight. Touring with a local we learnt so much more about culture, lifestyle and at castles and shrines an insight into what we were seeing. He also helped to expand our palette by introducing us to more than just sushi. 

Probably the only negative I have for the cruise was not enough time to explore and only seeing the touristy places....but it gave us a taste and understanding of what Japan has to offer. Soooo next trip we might ditch the ship and head inland to see the quieter more traditional areas located past the big city ports.

It was a great way to sample Japan. 

If I could offer a word of advice for anyone thinking of taking a similar cruise to Japan.... research. Find what it is you want to see in Japan and work out the best places to see/do ...then you can plan a ship tour or do your own thing. If you don't you may end up seeing 7 shrines, 4 castles etc.. 

We decided to forego Kyoto as time just didn't allow for us to explore in depth instead we hired a guide that would take us on a bullet train to Himeji castle and back, show us Osaka and it's food scene etc....amazing experience. 

[lettrich]

5 hours ago, little britain said:

@lettrich any recommendations for a steak 🥩 dinner restaurants in Kobe please? 
 

 

We ate at Meriken Hatoba. Top rated on TripAdvisor 2023. Very small restaurant. Only room for 13. Made reservations a few months in advance. The shuttle provided by the ship drops you off right in front of Chinatown. Go in to Chinatown and it’s a few blocks in - the street it’s on is on the right. It was hard to find and we had to ask for directions. Two younger locals walked us to the restaurant. It was very excellent. 

[monkey@cruise]

6 hours ago, villauk said:

 

@monkey@cruise thanks for posting. We plan on taking the 12:22, so that would work out perfectly from your timetable above i.e. the train prior, 15 minutes before the first train time you posted. We would usually walk the 20 minutes to the castle, but we may take the bus if the heat and humidity is too great for us 🥵.

I will post a thread how to DIY from Kobe to Himeji Castle in details  under ASIA - Port of Call topic. Also volunteer guide service may available for Himeji castle, no exhibit inside the castle building; shoes must be removed and the wooden floor varnish seems slippery,  I wore non-slip socks because my bad ankle footing,

[villauk]

57 minutes ago, monkey@cruise said:

I will post a thread how to DIY from Kobe to Himeji Castle in details  under ASIA - Port of Call topic. Also volunteer guide service may available for Himeji castle, no exhibit inside the castle building; shoes must be removed and the wooden floor varnish seems slippery,  I wore non-slip socks because my bad ankle footing,

 

We’ve arranged a volunteer guide for Himeji. They are meeting us in front of the entrance gates 👍.

[txtechmk]

This was definitely one of our favorite cruises!!!  Thanks for sharing.

[Lunastella]

2 hours ago, Aussiepam1327 said:

Great write up. We went on Millennium Nov 23 and loved coming back after exploring all day to a elegant calm ship. Our staff were amazing and an absolute highlight.

We were fortunate to have autumn weather (tshirts and thinner clothes were great for exploring but early morning and evenings we would need an extra layer) coming from Adelaide Australia,  I should be used to heat, but no I hate it so we were happy to be traveling Japan in Nov. 

Shore tours were definitely expensive but in a few places we selected them over running the risk of getting lost, traveling longer distances etc. We explored a few places ourselves and whilst using a few Japanese terms we got by with Google translate. We did organize a personalized tour which was a highlight. Touring with a local we learnt so much more about culture, lifestyle and at castles and shrines an insight into what we were seeing. He also helped to expand our palette by introducing us to more than just sushi. 

Probably the only negative I have for the cruise was not enough time to explore and only seeing the touristy places....but it gave us a taste and understanding of what Japan has to offer. Soooo next trip we might ditch the ship and head inland to see the quieter more traditional areas located past the big city ports.

It was a great way to sample Japan. 

If I could offer a word of advice for anyone thinking of taking a similar cruise to Japan.... research. Find what it is you want to see in Japan and work out the best places to see/do ...then you can plan a ship tour or do your own thing. If you don't you may end up seeing 7 shrines, 4 castles etc.. 

We decided to forego Kyoto as time just didn't allow for us to explore in depth instead we hired a guide that would take us on a bullet train to Himeji castle and back, show us Osaka and it's food scene etc....amazing experience. 

 

I feel very much the same Aussiepam, this cruise was great as a sampler of Japan, but I would need another land-based trip to explore outside the cities.

[Lunastella]

Day 6: Hiroshima

 

As we were not arriving in Hiroshima until 1pm we had a semi-sea day. I had a lie-in until 7.30am (yippee), and then I went to the gym for a warm up run and a workout. DS came with me for the first time, but all the treadmills were in use so she made a u-turn back to the cabin. At least she tried!

 

Back to the cabin via Spa Café to pick up a coffee to go. DS and DM wanted to go to the Oceanview Café for breakfast, so not wanting to break up the team again (and also secretly desiring some proper pastries not ‘heathy’ muffins), I went too. Lol and behold, what did I find….Bircher muesli….how did I miss this before!

 

It was very good, better than the one in the hotel in Tokyo which was very sweet (the ship’s one seems unsweetened, or at least not as sweetened as the one in Tokyo). I added fruits and seeds, and I was good to go. Oceanview was actually pretty quiet today. I guess people are taking advantage of the semi-sea day. I also had a boiled egg and some pastries (not shown, as you know what an egg looks like).

 

Can’t believe I am back in Oceanview

 

 

I spent most of the morning in the solarium enjoying the scenic cruising. I had no idea there would be scenic cruising on this trip so this was a very welcome surprise. Lying on a comfy lounger and watching these views float activated peak holiday mode. At some point I went out on deck to take some photos. Oh, and I went in the pool and the hot tub for the first time!

 

Did not expect this!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SIDENOTE, the pool attendants were actually removing people’s stuff from the loungers (who were gone for ages), and asking teenagers in the hot tub how old they were. They didn’t ask me. I am mildly insulted.]

 

We decided to go to the MDR for lunch (it being a semi sea-day and all). I had salad, a panini, and chocolate mousse, just your everyday light lunch you know.

 

Panini…ok ok and fries

 

 

Chocolate mousse (very good!!!)

 

 

As we had to do immigration at this port, everyone had to be off the ship by 2.30pm. But I assumed we could leave the ship at any point up to 2.30, but as soon as the ship docked just after 1.00, they started announcing that all passengers had to depart from deck 3. They kept announcing it, which led to much frantic eating in an attempt to finish lunch and get off the ship ASAP. It was not a very relaxing lunch!

 

Also, I had assumed we would do immigration in the terminal on the way out, but again, I was wrong (again), we did it on our way back in later in the afternoon. The information sheet was really not very clear, or maybe its just me.

 

Anway, once off the ship we took a shuttle bus from the pier to the train/tram station which took about 10 mins. Note to future self, take a note of the name of the train/tram station, this omission would prove almost fatal later in the day. Once at the station we were directed to a tram which went all the way to the Peace Park/Atomic Bomb Dome. But it’s a long way, took maybe 45-50 minutes.

 

I had worked out a whole self-guided walking tour for us which involved the Shukkeien gardens, Hiroshima castle, Gokoku shrine, Hiroshima Museum of Art, Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Park, and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. We ended up doing the latter three. The heat and humidity finally got the better of DM. But in fairness, we did the most important ones. I won’t go into too much detail except to say that the exhibition rooms in the museum were really crowded and very loud, but as we moved through the exhibition, you could sense the mood change, and by the end, there was silence.

 

Atomic Bomb Dome

 

 

Peace Park & Memorial Museum

 

 

 

 

 

When we left the museum it started to rain, thank the rain gods, it brought much relief. To shelter, we went into a tourist shop called Rest House where I brought a t-shirt for my husband whose main benefit from all my travels is a very eclectic collection of t-shirts.

 

We headed back to the tram stop and that’s where the confusion started. We had assumed we would just jump on a tram on the opposite side back to the shuttle bus drop off point, maybe not! There were multiple trams….no problem, Google maps to the rescue, maybe not! Obviously in Google maps you need to enter the end point destination, but ,did we know the name of train/tram station where the shuttle bus left us off ??? No we did not. We tried ‘hiroshima port’ but that gave us all sorts of crazy routes. Maybe there is more than one port….is this the right port? I think we got too lassiez-faire in our ability to travel around Japan!

 

Think DS, think DS, what was the name of the station! No idea, me neither. However, brainwave, I remembered that I had copy and pasted all the information which another cruise critic member had kindly posted to the forum (@DaKuhna I think, thank you), which included information about each port. So I managed to find the Hiroshima file in my Dropbox, and found the elusive ‘Itsukaichi station’ listed as the pick up/drop off point for the shuttle buses. Great, lets go! We have a name! I Googled mapped Itsukaichi station, here we go, all will be clear!!! However, it was not clear. It was telling us to take a bus to Itsukaichi station, maybe I am losing my mind in this heat, but I was pretty sure we arrived by tram. This is very confusing.

 

Eventually we found a route which involved a tram. But we were not in the clear yet. We got on what we thought was the correct tram, but it terminated at Hiroshima train station. More Google mapping ensued, with DM getting increasingly …lets say stressed….that her daughters had no idea how to get back to the ship. We tried to maintain a cool, calm exterior, but we looking at each other with terror in our eyes. This has never happened to us before!

 

Anway, Google maps told us to take a train, so take a train we did. I didn’t recognise anywhere along the route, there were no other fellow cruisers on the train, only locals going home from work. I was getting increasingly anxious….maybe the shuttle bus went from Itsukaichi station back in April or May, but who knows if it’s the same place this time round!!! I was wondering how one could go about contacting Celebrity to ask them the location of the shuttle bus. DS was wondered if she could use her air tag to get the exact location of the ship….we were getting desperate, but we held out hope.

 

Even when we got off the train, we were not 100% convinced we were in the right place. To make matters worse when I tried to use my Suica card to leave the station, it wouldn’t work, cue the Japanese station master talking animatedly at me, I had no idea what he was saying…but eventually I figured out that I didn’t have enough money left on my card for the journey. DS and DM had already gone through so I was trying to call them back as they had all the cash! More confusion, but eventually we were able to pay in cash. Today, is not working out at all!

 

Then suddenly, we turned a corner, literally and figurately, and sighs of relief all around, no, it was not a shuttle bus, but it was a sign for the shuttle bus- we made it! Thank you CC, you saved us. Ok maybe I am being a bit dramatic, we probably could have taken a taxi….in retrospect, why didn’t we take a taxi….oh yes, that would be too easy.

 

Permanent record…the name of the train/tram stop!!!!

 

 

We had to wait a while for the shuttle, but after 10-15 minutes we were on the bus and almost home and dry….well apart from immigration, which didn’t take long at all, and then we were home and dry.

 

One for the economists

 

 

A quick turnaround was needed as DS wanted to go to the Sky Lounge to catch the sunset and have a cocktail before dinner after all that stress.

 

And catch the sunset we did, it was beautiful. The negronis were ok, not as good as the ones from the Martini bar or Celler Masters, tough life.

 

A sunset!!!

 

 

Me and the sunset!!!

 

 

Me responding to DS telling me to look more interesting!!!

 

 

Dinner tonight was to be in Tuscan Grille, our first speciality restaurant of the cruise. Very excited!

 

It was excellent, but we definitely ordered too much. DS and I got the antipasti board and the carpaccio of beef to share.

 

Carpaccio

 

 

Antipasti

 

 

Best bread!

 

 

Next, I had a half portion of the lobster rigatoni and the fillet steak, with broccoli and fries. The pasta dish was served at the same time as the steak, which was not ideal, I would have preferred to have the pasta first and then the steak. But in retrospect, this was a good idea as had I eaten all the pasta first, there was no-way I could have eaten any of the steak.

 

Lobster pasta

 

 

Steak

 

 

The steak was the beautiful,  so tender and flavoursome – it was up there with one of the best I have ever had, and I have eaten in some very good steak restaurants. However, I couldn’t finish it. DM and I should have ordered one to share, note to future self. That said, I still managed to eat my tiramisu!

 

Dessert

 

 

Our bottle of malbec made its way to Tuscan Grille without any problems. It did not last the whole meal, so another bottle of chianti was attained. But will it make its way back to MDR tomorrow???

 

 DS looking very happy to finally make it to TG

 

 

After dinner we collapsed…lucky it’s a sea day tomorrow!

 

 

[hcat]

Quite a travel adventure!  Well handled.

 

Ques. & a thought...  Does X list a port agent for your cruise in the "Celeb Today? "

We only take Carib trips but always carry the port agent info with us. Has come in handy..esp when our X excursion group of 10 was "abandoned"  at a beach club on St Maarten!  Port agent contacted X  which sorted things out.... eventually!

[Shiba_Lover]

On 8/10/2024 at 9:12 AM, patty1955 said:

I've heard that they have to plate the food if they have a carpet. Only hard surface floors can have a buffet.

We went one day to CC breakfast on Apex on our sailing in July and it was plated (served in the Tuscan MDR) and it was plated/served.   (Just picked a comment to reply to - so no specific reason on this one - just adding my comment) no idea if it was based on carpet or number of CC passengers

[hxhbk]

1 hour ago, Lunastella said:

Anway, once off the ship we took a shuttle bus from the pier to the train/tram station which took about 10 mins. Note to future self, take a note of the name of the train/tram station, this omission would prove almost fatal later in the day

We had a similar issue and our lesson learned is also make sure to note the Exit Number or in this case the Exit Name (North).

In our case we started with going to Miyajima.  We were directed by the station staff to take the tram from Itsukaichi Station to the end of the line which is the stop for the ferry to Miyajima.  The tram is on street level.

From Miyajima we took the high speed boat to the Hiroshima Peace Park, then took the JR back to Itsukaichi Station.  The JR platform at Itsukaicho is above ground.  As we were trying to find our way to the shuttle bus meeting point, we faced 2 options, turn left or turn right (South Exit or North Exit).  We look outside and recognized a landmark and took the right turn, walk downstairs and we saw the cruise staff assisting with the shuttle bus.

[Shiba_Lover]

31 minutes ago, hcat said:

Quite a travel adventure!  Well handled.

 

Ques. & a thought...  Does X list a port agent for your cruise in the "Celeb Today? "

We only take Carib trips but always carry the port agent info with us. Has come in handy..esp when our X excursion group of 10 was "abandoned"  at a beach club on St Maarten!  Port agent contacted X  which sorted things out.... eventually!

They do list the port agent in the celebrity today and it is on the app.  On the app - if you click the "its a port day" - it will show up there.

[hcat]

4 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

They do list the port agent in the celebrity today and it is on the app.  On the app - if you click the "its a port day" - it will show up there.

Thanks...

[villauk]

46 minutes ago, hxhbk said:

We had a similar issue and our lesson learned is also make sure to note the Exit Number or in this case the Exit Name (North).

In our case we started with going to Miyajima.  We were directed by the station staff to take the tram from Itsukaichi Station to the end of the line which is the stop for the ferry to Miyajima.  The tram is on street level.

From Miyajima we took the high speed boat to the Hiroshima Peace Park, then took the JR back to Itsukaichi Station.  The JR platform at Itsukaicho is above ground.  As we were trying to find our way to the shuttle bus meeting point, we faced 2 options, turn left or turn right (South Exit or North Exit).  We look outside and recognized a landmark and took the right turn, walk downstairs and we saw the cruise staff assisting with the shuttle bus.

 

Thank you for this as we intend to visit Miyajima 👍.