Live from the Majestic Japan Cruise on Westerdam Sept 1 - Oct 24, 2024

[Seasick Sailor]

I walked along the promenade and went to the mall. Finally found a genuine jade bracelet.  (How does one know to trust a shop that promises real jade??)

 

Took a zillion pictures of Mount Fuji. I was worried I wouldn't get to see it!

 

Tonight in MDR is a delicious miso soup, and awaiting our prime rib.

 

A great, kinda damp day,  but wouldn't trade it for anything!!

 

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

6 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

I walked along the promenade and went to the mall. Finally found a genuine jade bracelet.  (How does one know to trust a shop that promises real jade??)

 

Took a zillion pictures of Mount Fuji. I was worried I wouldn't get to see it!

 

Tonight in MDR is a delicious miso soup, and awaiting our prime rib.

 

A great, kinda damp day,  but wouldn't trade it for anything!!

 

 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

❤️Joy Beautiful photos !! Great photography! Glad you got yourself a jade bracelet!! I have one also from when we were over there! Such a beautiful country. 
Thankyou!

Denise 😌

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Thank you WriterOnDeck. I’ve made the detour to your site.

[Nicstids]

16 hours ago, richwmn said:

Today in Shimizu

 

We arrived around 7:30 and the wind and currents made it difficult to position the ship at the berth. We required more than one attempt to get the ship properly positioned. Once the ship was in place and the paperwork done, we were allowed to leave the ship. However, it was raining when we first arrived, so we delayed leaving the ship until about 9:30, when it was just misting.

 

Once off the ship we spent a couple of minutes negotiating with the taxi stand to use a cab for an hour to see the area and two shrines. They ended up with a quote of 7,700 yen, which works out to about $55. We agreed and off we went. After a bit of a scenic ride we arrived at the first shrine.

 

 

 

We had noticed quite a bit of traffic headed back toward the pier so we agreed to just return to the ship to stay under the hour we had agreed to. However, our driver wanted to make sure we saw the second shrine, so we went there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting the second shrine, we returned to the ship. It was a very nice ride thru a scenic waterfront area. Our driver was very good, the cab was clean and decorated. A nice time for a reasonable price.

 

 

We are probably going to do Shimizu ourselves next year on the Noordam. Do you recall the names of the shrines you visited? Thanks 😊 

[richwmn]

09/23/2024 At Sea, Destination Kobe/Osaka, Japan

 

It is Monday morning on Westerdam and NFL football is on the TV. At 2:00 am we had the Eagles vs the Saints, currently we have the Ravens at the Cowboys, and at 9:20 we will have the Chiefs at the Falcons. The Falcons game will be completed by the time we reach Osaka at 3:30pm.

 

We are currently headed Northwest at 13 knots. The current temperature is 75°F / 24°C under overcast skies. The humidity is at 67%, and the winds are at 17 mph. I checked earlier and the high temperature in Osaka is expected to be 81°F. Looks to be a nice day today.

 

 

For sail away yesterday we had another group of school kids do a couple of dances for us. A large group of people gathered on the promenade deck to watch a nice series of contemporary dances. The kids seemed to be having a lot of fun. There was a large group of spectators watching us leave.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mchell810]

@richwmn, @WriterOnDeck and anyone else onboard:

 

When paying for meals, cabs, purchases, etc are you using Yen or credit cards?  Do you feel you really need to have Yen for the larger costs?  Thanks for any information.

[WriterOnDeck]

Just now, mchell810 said:

@richwmn, @WriterOnDeck and anyone else onboard:

 

When paying for meals, cabs, purchases, etc are you using Yen or credit cards?  Do you feel you really need to have Yen for the larger costs?  Thanks for any information.

I've paid for very little on shore, but did pay for a taxi in Yokohama with cash yen. I am fortunate to have a good supply that I bought off others on the world cruise earlier this year after we left Japan. Otherwise I would have bought some from my bank before leaving home.

[mchell810]

2 minutes ago, WriterOnDeck said:

I've paid for very little on shore, but did pay for a taxi in Yokohama with cash yen. I am fortunate to have a good supply that I bought off others on the world cruise earlier this year after we left Japan. Otherwise I would have bought some from my bank before leaving home.

 

Thanks; one more question if you don't mind:  Would the cab have accepted a credit card (if you know).  I, too, prefer to get local cash from my bank if I need it and ofc try to minimize the need. 😉

[Cruise NH]

5 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

@richwmn, @WriterOnDeck and anyone else onboard:

 

When paying for meals, cabs, purchases, etc are you using Yen or credit cards?  Do you feel you really need to have Yen for the larger costs?  Thanks for any information.

 

I'm not currently on board but have been to Japan.  I found it to be very much a cash society, which is different then what we found in Australia for example.  I'll be interested what others say, I was there a few years ago but yeah, we needed yen!

[Seasick Sailor]

The front desk has yen. I bought $300 worth. I checked the exchange rate and it was dead on.

 

If I buy a small amount of something I pay in yen. Also my pedi cab driver 600 yen ($4.16)

[WriterOnDeck]

17 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

Thanks; one more question if you don't mind:  Would the cab have accepted a credit card (if you know).  I, too, prefer to get local cash from my bank if I need it and ofc try to minimize the need. 😉

Sorry, I didn’t ask. 

[sunviking90]

Taxis will take credit cards. When we were in Japan we found most places took credit cards, and used yen for smaller mom and pop type eating places, etc. We also used transit a lot and put Suica cards on our phones which can be reloaded with your credit card. You can use the Suica to pay at many businesses too. We were prepared with 50,000 yen, but actually were trying to “use it up” after 1 week land and another week cruising.

And no tipping.

Edited Monday at 12:36 AM by sunviking90

[richwmn]

28 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

@richwmn, @WriterOnDeck and anyone else onboard:

 

When paying for meals, cabs, purchases, etc are you using Yen or credit cards?  Do you feel you really need to have Yen for the larger costs?  Thanks for any information.

 

22 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

Thanks; one more question if you don't mind:  Would the cab have accepted a credit card (if you know).  I, too, prefer to get local cash from my bank if I need it and ofc try to minimize the need. 😉

We have used a mixture of card and cash. The taxi we used yesterday did take cards and I used it. Small purchases have been in cash so far, but I believe I used the card one other time.

[Seasick Sailor]

 

Holy Smoke! This really is a legendary Voyage!

 

We got bar soap!! 

 

 

[richwmn]

Osaka, Japanese

We arrived on schedule in Osaka. After finishing trivia and a small dinner, we took a walk into the area near the port. Here are some pictures of the port from the ship, and then from our after dinner walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 01:06 PM by richwmn

[POA1]

It's entirely possible that you already covered this in your live from thread, but I am going to take the lazy way out and just ask.

 

For the new Pinnacle Grill lunch menu that you posted: What's the price?

 

Thank you in advance.

[loveapug]

On 9/21/2024 at 10:54 PM, richwmn said:

Today in Shimizu

 

We arrived around 7:30 and the wind and currents made it difficult to position the ship at the berth. We required more than one attempt to get the ship properly positioned. Once the ship was in place and the paperwork done, we were allowed to leave the ship. However, it was raining when we first arrived, so we delayed leaving the ship until about 9:30, when it was just misting.

 

Once off the ship we spent a couple of minutes negotiating with the taxi stand to use a cab for an hour to see the area and two shrines. They ended up with a quote of 7,700 yen, which works out to about $55. We agreed and off we went. After a bit of a scenic ride we arrived at the first shrine.

 

 

 

We had noticed quite a bit of traffic headed back toward the pier so we agreed to just return to the ship to stay under the hour we had agreed to. However, our driver wanted to make sure we saw the second shrine, so we went there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting the second shrine, we returned to the ship. It was a very nice ride thru a scenic waterfront area. Our driver was very good, the cab was clean and decorated. A nice time for a reasonable price.

 

 

Thank you for these photos. Do you recall the name of the second shrine? It looks like one I'd like to visit.

[wdw1972]

7 hours ago, POA1 said:

It's entirely possible that you already covered this in your live from thread, but I am going to take the lazy way out and just ask.

 

For the new Pinnacle Grill lunch menu that you posted: What's the price?

 

Thank you in advance.

I'm curious as well. The Navigator app currently shows the new menus for lunch and dinner, with lunch at $19 and dinner at $46. This is for a Zuiderdam cruise in November - it'll be interesting to see if that's really accurate. Knowing HAL, I'm not holding my breath!

 

Sue/WDW1972

[WriterOnDeck]

19 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Holy Smoke! This really is a legendary Voyage!

 

We got bar soap!! 

 

 

It's always available. You just need to ask.

[richwmn]

09/24/2024 Kobe/Osaka, Japan overnight-1900

 

Today is our second day in Osaka. The skies are overcast with a prediction of rain later in the day. The temperature is 73°F /23°C, with a humidity of 75% and winds of about 13 mph. Right now it is a pretty day around the ship.

 

I already posted pictures from last night, we are going to walk a little further a bit later today, then prepare for a 7:00pm departure. Night time departures, with the lights of the city shining brightly, are very nice.

 

I keep running into Guests and Crew who were previously on either the ‘23 World Cruise or the ‘24 Grand Australia cruise with me. It seems that once you are on a Grand, you become almost addicted to them and don’t want anything shorter. They are great cruises.

 

As to the question about the shrines I showed pictures of, the first was in a small town about 20 minutes form the port. I don’t remember the name and can’t find it, but the location is 35.10761111N 138.56755556"E (35°06'27.4"N 138°34'03.2"E). The second one is the Minawa Inari Jinja Shrine and is a short distance from the port. The coordinates for the second shrine are: 35.004333N, 138.490275E (35°00'15.6"N 138°29'25.0"E).

 

Here are today’s activites and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

8 hours ago, POA1 said:

It's entirely possible that you already covered this in your live from thread, but I am going to take the lazy way out and just ask.

 

For the new Pinnacle Grill lunch menu that you posted: What's the price?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

34 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

I'm curious as well. The Navigator app currently shows the new menus for lunch and dinner, with lunch at $19 and dinner at $46. This is for a Zuiderdam cruise in November - it'll be interesting to see if that's really accurate. Knowing HAL, I'm not holding my breath!

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

I walked by the Pinnacle Grill yesterday and asked. I was told that the lunch price was still $19 plus the 18% Gratuity add on. That doesn't include, of course, any upcharged items on the menu.

 

[Seasick Sailor]

17 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

It's always available. You just need to ask.

 

Lol Jo... It was a joke!

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Lol Jo... It was a joke!

🌺🌺🌺🌺

Hey sis! LOL I know you too well and knew it was a joke too!! Hope you enjoyed Osaka! Give Allen a hug!

🌺🌺🌺🌺

Denise😌

[Seasick Sailor]

20 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

🌺🌺🌺🌺

Hey sis! LOL I know you too well and knew it was a joke too!! Hope you enjoyed Osaka! Give Allen a hug!

🌺🌺🌺🌺

Denise😌

 

Denise!! Our day in Osaka was grand! I will post pictures next. Love you sister! 💞❣️❤️💗

[Seasick Sailor]

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

 

Amazing day!

 

This is the largest aquarium in Japan.  (It claims "in the world" but pretty sure Atlanta still holds that honor)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 05:06 AM by Seasick Sailor
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