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

[Lunastella]

Day 8: Busan, South Korea

 

The city slogan for Busan is ‘Busan is Good’. I really feel they are underselling themselves, as Busan, it turns out, is great!

 

Busan

 

 

Our expectations were not sky high for Busan and maybe that’s why we liked it so much. For places like Kyoto and Osaka we were really excited to visit them, so the pressure was on for them to deliver, but Busan, we had no real expectations, hence we were extremely enthusiastic about it by the end of the day.

 

A city of skyscrapers & bridges

 

 

In advance, we were not quite sure what to do in Busan, so when in doubt, why not go to a Michelin star restaurant for lunch!!!! And that is what we did. I simply googled ‘Michelin star restaurant Busan’ and (almost) randomly choose one - Palate.

 

Palate

 

 

Securing a reservation was not straightforward. Reservations only opened up on a certain day and the reservation page was only in Korean, but eventually DS managed to find an English version. On appointed day, I managed to book lunch for 1pm on our ‘Busan day’ – I had to pay a deposit of about €60.

 

Cool, that’s Busan sorted. One of the reasons I choose Palate (it was not completely random) was that the photos on the restaurant website showed a minimalist restaurant overlooking the port. Thus I assumed it was close to the cruise terminal. Yeah, I was wrong about that. Don’t make assumptions! On further investigation, I discovered it was 1.5hrs away from the cruise terminal on public transport! Doh! Turns out Busan is a very large city (second largest in South Korea and the largest port), and it is basically made up of hills, islands, and bridges, so everywhere is basically beside the sea. An easy mistake to make really!

 

Crossing one of the many bridges

 

 

Given we had to travel halfway across the city for lunch, I felt we should actually see some of the city so I found a hop-on hop-off (HOHO) bus which would leave us near the restaurant –  two birds one stone, and all that. The HOHO bus has 3 different routes, and stop 9 of 12 was in the vincinty of Palate. Even better, the free shuttle bus from the ship would leave us at Busan station which is where the HOHO buses start. Perfect! Our plan was to get the shuttle bus, enjoy the sights and sounds of Busan from the bus, hop off for lunch, hop back on after lunch to see the rest of the city, and get the shuttle bus back to the ship. AND readers, it actually worked out that way!

 

But I am getting ahead of myself again. First network data, South Korea is obviously not in Japan so my Airlo Japanese package was not going to work, so I bought a separate one for South Korea.  There were very few options available, so I had go with Unlimited data which was about $32, expensive given I only needed it for less than one day. For comparison, the cheapest option for Japan is about $6 for 30 days.

 

[SIDNEOTE: South Korea has one of the world’s fastest internet connections (apparently), and wifi is available almost everywhere (even the HOHO bus), so we probably didn’t need to buy the data package].

 

Okay, back to the day itself, I woke about 6.30am and went to the gym -  a short warm up on the treadmill followed by a 30min weights session, nothing to intensive today. Then I picked up a coffee in the Spa Café, back to cabin, showered, sun creamed, and got ready for the day. 

 

We went to the Spa Café for breakfast as we didn’t want to eat too much given our planned Michelin lunch. But horror of horrors, there was no Greek yoghurt!! Only that water lumpy semi-frozen stuff which disguises itself as yoghurt. So I had to pivot and had bran flakes with strawberries and a banana muffin. And more coffee, always, more coffee.

 

Bran flakes and berries

 

 

We had to go through Korean immigrations in the terminal, but we were through in 5-10 mins maybe. Then we boarded what was the blingiest coach ever - so flashy, I should have taken a photo. It was about a 15-20 min trip to Busan station, mainly due to traffic. We arrived at 9.30am, which meant we missed the 9.30am green line HOHO, but no matter, we had a wander around and were back at the station for the 10.20am bus. The tickets were about €40 for the three of us. Some of the buses are open top and some are not. We were on an open top one, but DM and I choose to say on the lower AC’ed deck, while DS went on top, so I charged her with taking the photos.

 

Lower deck, very busy, but emptied out along the way

 

 

There was no real commentary on the bus, just some random music, some commentary in Korean, and the odd few words in English which we couldn’t hear, so we really had no idea what we were looking at! But that didn’t matter so much, it was just cool to see the city.

 

It’s really unlike anywhere I have been before, as I said, its very hilly, there are loads of amazing bridges and skyscrapers everywhere. I come from a city which has maybe 2 tall buildings in total, zero skyscrapers, so I am always very impressed by them. Obviously there were skyscrapers in Tokyo and the other cities we visited, but you can see them much better in Busan as its so hilly.

 

A few sights from the bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was using my phone to track the stops on the bus to make sure we got out at the right stop. It was a very comprehensive tour, I mean, I have no idea what we saw, but we saw a lot and we were on the bus for well over an hour before we got to our assigned stop.

 

We went over this incredible high and twisty bridge, DS took a video despite being terrified (she does not like heights, so I am very proud that she managed to take a video).

 

The HOHO crossing the bridge

 

 

 

 

The city also has a beach, a cable car, and it’s a popular holiday destination in South Korea I believe. I just loved the mix of buildings, bridges, industrial port, beaches - structural engineers must do a great business here.

 

Beach

 

 

Cable car

 

 

South Korea is like Ireland in one respect only – they have both been among the fastest growing economies in the world in recent years, and you can really tell that here (less so in Ireland!). DS has been to South Korea before for work, but it’s my first time, and obviously in a day,  I have no real sense of it, but I like it so far. Might try to bag a seminar invite.

 

[SIDENOTE: I am writing this in the solarium, and while I know I cannot expect library like conditions, I am increasingly noticing passengers having video calls on speaker phone. We all speak extra loud when we Facetime or Zoom, especially when there are multiple people on the call, but is the solarium really the right place to do this? I don’t really need to know what your brother-in-law on the other side of the world is having for dinner. Ok, rant over, I apologise to anyone I may annoy in advance].

 

Back to Busan. It took us about 1.5hrs to reach stop 9. It wasn’t a particularly popular stop as no-one else got off there. Just us so!

 

[Other SIDENOTE: Google maps worked for plotting out public transport in South Korea, but not the walking routes. So I downloaded another app called NAVER, and used that to map our walk from the bus stop to Palate – 12 minutes, not bad.]

 

There was a pretty walkway with awesome views all along the way. It was sunny and windy, and I broke my UV umbrella as a result. Photo stop.  

 

DM & views

 

 

 

 

We were way too early for our 1pm reservation, but conveniently there was a very cool cafe called ‘Sorry not Sorry’ right opposite the restaurant, so we went in there for…no not coffee, but a beer for DS and me and a non-alcoholic mohito for DM. Lovely views. This is definitely not a touristy part of Busan, its remote(ish), and I’d say it’s a recently gentrified area. We felt very cool.

 

DS & DM enjoying ‘Sorry not Sorry’

 

 

Drinks 

 

 

And then to Palate for what would be a fantastic meal. Palate (www.palatebusan.com/) was been open for about 5 years and only got the Michelin star in March of this year. We were talking to the chef all the way through the meal as he introduced each wine and dish personally. JaeHoon Kim is originally from Busan, but trained in Sydney before returning to open up this restaurant right before Covid hit, bad timing. He said he was going to close the restaurant if he didn’t win the star this year, so luckily for us, he did!

 

Star!

 

The start

 

The chef

 

 

The restaurant has French influenced cuisine with local Korean ingredients. It’s on the second floor of a building with brilliant views, and has very minimalist furnishings as is the norm in star restaurants these days.

 

View

 

 

Me & View

 

 

Better

 

DS and DM & View

 

 

There is a set lunch of 5 courses for 600,000KRW, about €44 each, so it’s very good value. There is an additional medium or small wine pairing. DS and I did the small pairing, DM went large! Only joking, she had water. The small pairing was about 60,000 KRW and you basically get 4 small servings of wine, but we felt it was enough…especially for lunchtime.

 

In brief, we had snacks, asparagus, bread, buckwheat (noodles), iberico presa (pork), sourdough ice-cream, and petit four and coffee. Everything was excellent, including the wine which consisted of champagne, an Italian white, a French white, and a French red.

 

Menu

 

 

I am not a food writer or a Michelin inspector, so I don’t have the language to describe just how good the meal was. The portions were just right, the food was not too heavy and not too light. The presentation and flavours were beautiful. One of the best Michelin meals in a long time. Not that I go that often BTW!

 

Dom Perignon

 

 

DS enjoying DP

 

 

Snacks

 

 

Italian wine

 

 

Asparagus

 

 

French white

 

 

Buckwheat noodles

 

 

French red

 

 

Iberico presa

 

 

Sourdough ice-cream

 

 

Petit four

 

 

 

Fully sated, we walked back to the bus stop with the aim of getting the 3.10pm bus back to Busan station. Conveniently there was a department store near the stop, so DS insisted we ‘just have a look’ at the Korean beauty products. I succumbed! I even googled ‘best Korean beauty products’ and found a Vogue article listing the top 10 products. I actually managed to find three of them! I may have purchased them all, I may not, that’s all I will say…we quickly departed the department store.

 

The haul!

 

The bus came almost right on time and we enjoyed some more Busan sights before returning to the station at 4pm. We had to wait about 15 mins for the shuttle bus. Lots of other passengers obviously went shopping for Korean beauty products too judging by the bags!

 

More Busan sites

 

 

We were back onboard and I was in my usual solarium spot by 5pm after a brief cooldown in the cabin. I think I did a crossword… I only started doing them this year, I am so bad, very humbling for a prof to be bad at crosswords!  DM is an expert.

 

Solarium very hot again today

 

 

The views for sail-away were going to be epic in the port, so DS and I headed to the Sunset bar for sail-away accompanied by a Campari spritz for me and a daiquiri for DS. 

 

Sunset cocktails

 

 

Sail-away views

 

 

 

Once departed it started to get foggy which just made the sunset even more beautiful.

 

Sunset

 

 

I had incorrectly assumed that we would not be having dinner tonight, given our lunchtime indulgences. But I was wrong, and we all were like ‘yeah sure, I could eat again’. So we did our usual evening routine of getting ready, 7pm show in the theatre, leave early etc etc, you know the drill at this stage.

 

The show tonight was a musical with the singers and dancers, but the name of it escaped me - there was a good king and queen and an evil king and queen, I think. I assume there was a happy ending but I missed it. I didn’t even take a photo!

 

As if on repeat, we ordered a glass of white wine in the Rendezvous Lounge, but were buzzed before it came, the buzzing is definitely getting shorter! Quick dash to the bar to retrieve drinks, before going into the MDR.

 

We got another window table! Our luck is in. Plus, there was a green moon, either that, or the windows are dirty.

 

I kept it light with a Greek salad, flounder, extra veg (not making that mistake again), and what was supposed to be a chocolate fondant (ok ok not so light), but it wasn’t any kind of fondant I have ever had before, it was more like a mousse with gelatine. But it was ok. We also tried some crepe suzette (ok again, not so light), and they were tasty. Decaf coffee and we were done.

 

Salad

 

 

Fish

 

 

Extra veg (of course)

 

 

Not a chocolate fondant fondant

 

 

I was keen to at least try some dancing (after all that food) as we have not yet danced at all on this cruise. So I managed to persuade DS to head up to the Sky Lounge for the Latin Party….but we quickly left as no-one was dancing. Ah well, we tried!

 

Took a non sunset non deck outfit post instead.

[StopTheWorld]

For info re e-sims, I use truphone.com when travelling. For Japan on its own you can get 5GB for £16 (lasts 30 days). But, you can buy a regional plan which covers a list of countries in Asia/ Pacific and the cost for this is cheaper at £13 for 5GB! 

 

[hcat]

Wow... looks like the least known port turned out to be  a winner!  No tranportation snafus,  city bus tour,  upscale meal and shopping!  Are you scoring it a 10+ ?

 

love your cruise wardrobe..esp being nicely dressed in daytime ports!

[mnpurple]

What a wonderful trip and review! My husband and I have begun traveling more and this looks like a great way to begin in Asia. I guess it will have to wait after our next big trip which is transatlantic to Spain and then land over to Portugal. There are so many wonderful places, it is hard to decide!

 

Please tell me more about sour dough ice cream, that sounds intriguing! Did it taste yeasty?

 

I also love how you and your sister are traveling with your Mom. I'll admit I'm envious as my Mom passed when I was young. My kids to enjoy traveling with me, so I appreciate that time as they get older and have lives of their own.

Edited August 13 by mnpurple

[Provence55always]

What a great day you had. Busan looks amazing. We have a tour booked there and it does include lunch but not Michelin…..that was a super find and everything worked so well for you including the HOHO bus👌

[Provence55always]

13 hours ago, Pushka said:

We are on the same cruise. 😁

Yes. Looking forward to meeting you😊

[Lunastella]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Wow... looks like the least known port turned out to be  a winner!  No tranportation snafus,  city bus tour,  upscale meal and shopping!  Are you scoring it a 10+ ?

 

love your cruise wardrobe..esp being nicely dressed in daytime ports!

Thanks HCAT. I decided to make an effort with my port wardrobe today given the michelin lunch!

 

I would score Busan 10/10, mainly because expectations were low!

[Lunastella]

4 hours ago, mnpurple said:

What a wonderful trip and review! My husband and I have begun traveling more and this looks like a great way to begin in Asia. I guess it will have to wait after our next big trip which is transatlantic to Spain and then land over to Portugal. There are so many wonderful places, it is hard to decide!

 

Please tell me more about sour dough ice cream, that sounds intriguing! Did it taste yeasty?

 

I also love how you and your sister are traveling with your Mom. I'll admit I'm envious as my Mom passed when I was young. My kids to enjoy traveling with me, so I appreciate that time as they get older and have lives of their own.

 

The sourdough ice-cream was delicious! Not too yeasty. But I like anything sourdough related.

There is a bakery near by that makes sourdough pastries and I am addicted!

 

We are lucky that mom still can and wants to travel with us. I asked her a few days ago whether she would do another 'big' trip and she said yes without hesitation!

[Lunastella]

3 hours ago, Provence55always said:

What a great day you had. Busan looks amazing. We have a tour booked there and it does include lunch but not Michelin…..that was a super find and everything worked so well for you including the HOHO bus👌

 

I don't normally do HOHO buses but here it worked out pretty well. Overall, the day ran like clockwork!

[Pushka]

How interesting about Busan. I wasn't really excitied about it, but now I am. 
 

We have a celebrity tour booked but maybe I am rethinking that. We like the HoHo buses as well. 
 

Was telling my husband we were going to Busan in South Korea. (I do all the planning😂). 
 

He was in South Korea for the 1988 Olympic Games and Busan (known as Pusan) was where they held Yachting events.  For the kids he bought back the most amazing toys.  Shopping is good there. 

Edited August 13 by Pushka

[monkey@cruise]

On 8/12/2024 at 5:45 PM, Provence55always said:

That would be great….no decision yet re lunch maybe you will have some recommendations after your return.

You overnight in Kobe, any plan having a Kobe wagyu beef lunch?  Any tour in Kochi? Seared bonito is the soul food in Kochi, plus Yuzu Ice Cream.
Last time had an oyster Okonomiyaki lunch in Miyajima, this time will try the oyster set meal. Near the Miyajima ferry terminal, is a bread shop (BIGSET) sells oyster curry bread and wagyu beef curry bread.

[Miaminice]

Another info re eSIMS - which I just posted on the RollCall of our next Japan cruise:

 

Recommendation for staying connected

 

Looking at maps and public transport, looking for restaurants, posting on Facebook, using the uber App (where possible) etc. - there are many reasons to stay connected. Most of you have a modern phone, so an eSIM is the easiest way to go. No need to buy and change physical SIM cards - you just (virtually) install an eSIM and activate it once you are there.

We usually pick between two companies - Ubigi or Airalo. Both are good, both have a similar price, both have good tutorial videos how to install the eSIM.

However, on our previous three Japan cruises I had the feeling that Ubigi had the better connectivity in Japan.

FYI it will work whenever you have a cellular signal. I have been surprised that it still worked fairly long and well after we left port in Japan. Most of the time better than the ship´s wifi 🙂

Since I am active in some forums and we have a travel blog on FB I post many photos. But the 10 GB plan was always enough - even too much, but I like to be on the safe side 🙂 
 

https://cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/japan-data-plans/japan-10gb-30-days/?wmc-currency=USD

 

 

Edited August 14 by Miaminice

[Miaminice]

RE Busan:

I`m glad the OP had such a nice day in Busan - although they didn´t really see anything typical of Busan 🙂 So for those of you interested in other options, Busan really has a lot to offer.

#1 Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The beautiful temple is right by the ocean - east of the cruise port.
Taxis from the cruise port can take you there, uber works as well. Taxis are not very expensive, so I would choose the faster and more comfortable version over public transport.
Make sure to write down the name of the temple or show the driver on your phone (in Korean) , as the drivers might not be able to speak English.

 

 

 

 

#2 Jagalchi (Fish) Market
Take a taxi back to Busan and the Jagalchi Market. The Jagalchi Market is one of the largest fish markets in Asia. They show and sell creatures I didn´t even know existed. The upper floor of the huge market building is filled by restaurants where you can eat what you just saw or bought below. Even though I don´t eat any kind of fish or seafood, we had lunch there with friends a couple of times and it is an unforgettable and memorable experience - it can´t get more authentic than that.

 

 

 

 

and it can´t get any more fresh than that 🙂

 

If that´s a bit too adventurous for you, don´t worry. There are also plenty of great Korean BBQ restaurants in the area. 😉

 

 

#3 Gukje Market, Daegaksa Temple, Busan Tower & Park
From the Jagalchi Market area you might want to stroll through the Gukje Market galleria.

Hundreds of vendors sell all kinds of stuff - from clothes to kitchen utensils and plumbing supplies. 
Make your way to the pretty Daegaksa Temple with a small reclining Buddha in front of it.
From there it´s not far to the Busan Tower and Park area.
 

 

 

 

#4
If you still haven´t seen enough, take the stairs down from the park and go to the Lotte Department Store. It´s just a short walk. Why department store you ask?
Pssssst, it´s a secret 🙂 The tall building features a free observatory deck from which you have a nice view over Busan and all the way to the cruise port.

 

 

 

 

Last but not least... don´t miss sailing away from Busan under the bridge

 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

 Very nice pics & trip tips, as usual..

 

I think the lunch choice made by OP was perfect for her family...but others may be inspired to try something else.  Good to have options

Edited August 14 by hcat

[debfed65]

2 hours ago, Miaminice said:

#1 Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The beautiful temple is right by the ocean - east of the cruise port.
Taxis from the cruise port can take you there, uber works as well. Taxis are not very expensive, so I would choose the faster and more comfortable version over public transport.

Good Morning - Do you recall the approximate cost of a taxi? Can I use ApplePay or is local currency better? Or USD? 

[Lunastella]

14 hours ago, Pushka said:

How interesting about Busan. I wasn't really excitied about it, but now I am. 
 

We have a celebrity tour booked but maybe I am rethinking that. We like the HoHo buses as well. 
 

Was telling my husband we were going to Busan in South Korea. (I do all the planning😂). 
 

He was in South Korea for the 1988 Olympic Games and Busan (known as Pusan) was where they held Yachting events.  For the kids he bought back the most amazing toys.  Shopping is good there. 

 

When I tell people that we also went to South Korea on this trip they are very surprised!

 

The HOHO bus was good for our purposes (ie to get from A to B via the restaurant), but I am not sure I would recommend it as a good HOHO experience due to the lack of commentary. 

 

But it is certainly possible to do Busan on your own. 

[Lunastella]

3 hours ago, Miaminice said:

RE Busan:

I`m glad the OP had such a nice day in Busan - although they didn´t really see anything typical of Busan 🙂 So for those of you interested in other options, Busan really has a lot to offer.

#1 Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The beautiful temple is right by the ocean - east of the cruise port.
Taxis from the cruise port can take you there, uber works as well. Taxis are not very expensive, so I would choose the faster and more comfortable version over public transport.
Make sure to write down the name of the temple or show the driver on your phone (in Korean) , as the drivers might not be able to speak English.

 

 

 

 

#2 Jagalchi (Fish) Market
Take a taxi back to Busan and the Jagalchi Market. The Jagalchi Market is one of the largest fish markets in Asia. They show and sell creatures I didn´t even know existed. The upper floor of the huge market building is filled by restaurants where you can eat what you just saw or bought below. Even though I don´t eat any kind of fish or seafood, we had lunch there with friends a couple of times and it is an unforgettable and memorable experience - it can´t get more authentic than that.

 

 

 

 

and it can´t get any more fresh than that 🙂

 

 

IMG_2762.MOV 66.77 MB · 1 download

If that´s a bit too adventurous for you, don´t worry. There are also plenty of great Korean BBQ restaurants in the area. 😉

 

 

#3 Gukje Market, Daegaksa Temple, Busan Tower & Park
From the Jagalchi Market area you might want to stroll through the Gukje Market galleria.

Hundreds of vendors sell all kinds of stuff - from clothes to kitchen utensils and plumbing supplies. 
Make your way to the pretty Daegaksa Temple with a small reclining Buddha in front of it.
From there it´s not far to the Busan Tower and Park area.
 

 

 

 

#4
If you still haven´t seen enough, take the stairs down from the park and go to the Lotte Department Store. It´s just a short walk. Why department store you ask?
Pssssst, it´s a secret 🙂 The tall building features a free observatory deck from which you have a nice view over Busan and all the way to the cruise port.

 

 

 

 

Last but not least... don´t miss sailing away from Busan under the bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even more reason to go back to Busan. Thanks Miaminice!

 

[Lunastella]

Day 9: Sea day

 

Today we are travelling back to Japan and its mega foggy. The fog horn has been sounding for most of the night (according to DS, I slept through it!). As we were going back to Japan we have to do immigration on the ship today, which is much better than doing it in Hakodate tomorrow. Other than that, I didn’t have many plans. I am getting the sense that the second half of this cruise will be much less intensive than the first. There were less seadays in the first half and more big hitters like Mt Fuji and Kyoto, while now there are more seadays and some ports that in all honestly, we may even skip….let’s see. Now it feels more like a holiday than  go go go all the time. So today, there will be more writing, more reading, more crosswording, and maybe even more American Sweethearts (I have one episode left).

 

Our location today

 

 

But first, workout. I got up at 7am, and went to the gym. DS accompanied me this morning and stayed! I would love to say I did a 5km run, but it was more like 4.3km! Then I did a weights workout for 30-40 mins or so. It is actually a nice temperature in here today (probably due to the fog).

 

A foggy run

 

 

This was followed by the usual - grab a coffee in Spa Café, back to cabin, shower, get ready, and eat…again. Oceanview Café (again), I am getting more and more partial to that Bircher muesli and fruit.  Plus, today the wait staff were going from table to table with coffee and pastries, dream breakfast!! I had a pain au chocolat which was hot from the oven and delicious, much self-control was required to limit it to one. But I did it!

 

I am not sure how many more photos of Bircher muesli you need to see!

 

 

After breakfast we picked up our passports and immigration form and headed down to the MDR where our fingerprints and photo were taken. All very quick and efficient. Now to bag a chair in the solarium…..looks busy….but I snagged one. Today is the coolest day of far on the cruise, which is a welcome relief after all that heat.

 

I did as planned, which was a lot of nothingness. I didn’t even watch American Sweethearts! By 1pm I was hungry (again…how???). We decided to go to Oceanview Café  even though it was a seaday, keeping it casual today. This was not a good decision. It was crazy busy, I never been here for lunch on a sea day before and I don’t think I will attempt it again. There were no seats anywhere inside, so we ended up outside in the sunset bar area – I had some salad with lots of seeds, beans, lettuce, blue cheese, beetroot hummus and bread. It was very tasty, but not very comfortable as we didn’t even have a proper table, hence no picture (shock!).

 

Lunch table

 

 

Dessert was a very tasty apple strudel type thing, I am back on the apples again, and some coffee, not even decaf! Back to the solarium for more relaxing in the fog, tried to persuade DS to get into the pool, unsuccessfully. Grabbed a coffee and a cookie at some stage.

 

I decided to try the Evening Stretch class in the gym at 5pm. This was my first (and only) class of the cruise. It was a lovely small class, pretty stretchy (and relaxing). Then I finished off with a 5km treadmill run (not relaxing) to build an appetite for dinner.

 

You the drill by now - cabin, shower, ready for the evening show at 7pm. Before going to the show we opened the Japanese wine we bought in Tokyo. It was surprisingly good, although I don’t know why I am surprised as I know nothing about Japanese wine and in general Japan does everything very well. 

 

The show tonight is an Asian classically trained turned rock violist called Ketai. He was great at getting the crowd going, lots of audience participation and really fun.

 

Ketai

 

 

 

We left at about 7.40pm to get the buzzer. Every time I go to the MDR reservation desk I am so impressed by Michela who mans the desk. How does she remember my name every time when there are so many guests onboard. It’s a real skill. We rendezvoused in the Rendezvous Lounge, and at this stage I am actually getting into the game shows despite myself. Today it was’ finish that song’.

 

Forty minutes later we were still waiting to be buzzed, which is very unusual, so I went back to the desk just to check that we didn’t miss the buzzer buzzing. We were seated straight away, so not sure what happened there. We had the same table and the same waiters, score!

 

We retrieved our chianti….still a drop left I think. I had a spinach and artichoke dip, followed by chicken kiev (very old school), extra veg (of course), and a blueberry pavlova, which, like many of the desserts, should be referred to the trade descriptions act. That said, it was very tasty.

 

Dip

 

 

Chicken Kiev

 

 

Double carrots tonight!

 

 

Pavlova

 

 

Regarding the desserts, it is my opinion that the ‘classic, always on’ desserts, are what they say they are. Chocolate cake is actually chocolate cake, crème brulee is indeed crème brulee, and apple pie is also apple pie, however with most of the other desserts it’s a guessing game about what you will actually get!

 

Tonight there was a full moon party in the Sky Lounge, and as we finished dinner quite late it was just beginning, so I managed to persuade DS to head up for some dancing….at last!  You have to dance at least once on a cruise. We danced, although there is no photographic evidence of this so you will just have to believe us.

 

[Provence55always]

8 hours ago, Miaminice said:

RE Busan

We have an 8 hour tour booked with ToursbyLocals for 8 persons it takes in all of what you have recommended and is very reasonable priced. So great to read all your information. Thank you.

[Miaminice]

6 hours ago, debfed65 said:

Good Morning - Do you recall the approximate cost of a taxi? Can I use ApplePay or is local currency better? Or USD? 

hi, I don’t recall the cost but my uber app says the price for a regular taxi is the equivalent of around US$ 23 for the 30 minute ride to the temple. 
 

We paid by card only and never exchanged cash. That time I didn’t ask for ApplePay. But the street food stalls in Jeju also accepted ApplePay in October. However, it’s good to have a physical card as well for taxis.

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, Miaminice said:

Another info re eSIMS

 

 I found that I really did not need an eSIM and the only place I was without coverage was in Busan.  The Free Japan WiFi app worked wonderfully for me when I was off the ship.  It's just an iPhone app that shows you locations of free WiFi service throughout Japan.  

 

 I supplemented it with my cell phone's carrier $10 a day roaming.  However, I did not use my iPhone a whole lot when off he ship except to take pictures and the occasional Signal message to our children. 

 

[debfed65]

2 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

hi, I don’t recall the cost but my uber app says the price for a regular taxi is the equivalent of around US$ 23 for the 30 minute ride to the temple. 
 

We paid by card only and never exchanged cash. That time I didn’t ask for ApplePay. But the street food stalls in Jeju also accepted ApplePay in October. However, it’s good to have a physical card as well for taxis.

Thank you for this great information! 

[Miaminice]

12 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I found that I really did not need an eSIM and the only place I was without coverage was in Busan.  The Free Japan WiFi app worked wonderfully for me when I was off the ship.  It's just an iPhone app that shows you locations of free WiFi service throughout Japan.  

 

 I supplemented it with my cell phone's carrier $10 a day roaming.  However, I did not use my iPhone a whole lot when off he ship except to take pictures and the occasional Signal message to our children. 

 

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 😁

Edited August 14 by Miaminice

[hxhbk]

11 hours ago, debfed65 said:

Good Morning - Do you recall the approximate cost of a taxi? Can I use ApplePay or is local currency better? Or USD? 

In our cruise last month, there was many taxis waiting at the pier with various offers.  There is one or two individuals that speak English and they handle the negotiation.  Make sure to negotiate as it is the norm there and I don't think you will offend anyone.  The 2 of us ended up paying $250 for a ~5 hour trip which included Haedong Yonggungsa temple, Gamcheon Cultural Village, Songdo Cable Car/Skywalk, and Gukje Market. I may be forgetting one other stop.  The car is new and air conditioned, and we communicated with the driver via Google translate along the way.

[debfed65]

31 minutes ago, hxhbk said:

In our cruise last month, there was many taxis waiting at the pier with various offers.  There is one or two individuals that speak English and they handle the negotiation.  Make sure to negotiate as it is the norm there and I don't think you will offend anyone.  The 2 of us ended up paying $250 for a ~5 hour trip which included Haedong Yonggungsa temple, Gamcheon Cultural Village, Songdo Cable Car/Skywalk, and Gukje Market. I may be forgetting one other stop.  The car is new and air conditioned, and we communicated with the driver via Google translate along the way.

Thank you for this information!