Help .. I can't find the airport/port recommendations

[KLLund]

I am very excited... I just booked us on Sapphire from Osaka Japan on October 14 returning to Bejiing on October 26th. I got a terrific price on the cruise but the flight add on was huge so I decided to see what I could do on my own. The problem is both cities seem to have two airports and I cannot seem to find out which would be better to get to the port. I think I may plan to spend a night just to be sure that I am covered on meeting the ship, but I would still appreciate any input on the logistics of this.

 

thanks

 

kathy

[spongerob]

Don't forget about the International Date Line when booking flights and hotel rooms. Or visas. Or open-jaw flights...are you sure you want to do all this on your own?

[Coral]

In Osaka - you will want to fly into KIX (kansai) airport. It is about a hour from Osaka.

 

FYI - I flew there last month. I left Lincoln, NE at 6 am in the morning on Saturday and arrived in Osaka Sunday evening (flight got in at 5:20 pm). So, definitely consider the change in dates and times when making the flight reservations.

 

I definitely would fly in the day or two (or three) before just because of jet lag so that you are not too tired when you get on the ship. Maybe see some sites around Osaka (Kyoto and Nara are excellent - both about an hour away from Osaka). The main problem we had with jetlag was that we kept waking up at 3:30 in the morning while in Osaka. I spoke with others on our flight home and they said the same thing :)

 

Enjoy your trip!

[Coral]

I just looked at the cruise prices for that cruise and they are very good! For the gateway I was looking at - air was not unreasonable.

 

Good luck on your planning! Looks like a great cruise. After just coming home from Japan - I would definitely go again.

[JGR01]

Totally agree with Coral ... KIX is your best option for air travel. And a couple of days lead time will certainly improve your onboard experience as the flight and time change are very tuff on the body (especially in economy).

 

The other thought (open jaw can become horribly expensive) would be to book the flight in and out of KIX with a purchase of a one-way flight from Bejiing to KIX separately.

 

American Airlines currently services KIX from DFW so that might be a decent option.

 

There may be many other airline and land options to get to Osaka .. flying into Narita and taking the train (high speed Shinkansen train) from Toyko to Osaka may be about a 2-3 hour trip that is very exciting also. Again leave several days to do this type of trip .. all you will want to do is sleep when you get to Japan! [i did ORD-NRT then a 4 hour flight to HKG with NRT 3 hour layover and slept soundly on the NRT-HKG flight .. got to the hotel in Hong Kong about 11pm and slept the whole night totally].

 

If you use Princess air, I am going to bet that you will have several layovers on your flights and no control of airline or hotels. They will get you there but planning your own details here I think is a better option.

 

Contact several hotels by e-mail or fax asking details of how to get from the airport to the hotel and then the hotel to the pier . many Japan hotels will be able to arrange car/van service for you that is very simple. In China, you may opt for a Princess hotel and pier to hotel transfer after the cruise, then booking your own hotel to airport transfers yourself. My China experience is several years ago when tourism in China was not as evolved as it currently is.

[Coral]

In Osaka - we did what they call Limo/Bus from the airport. We did not need reservations and it seemed to leave quite frequently (we waited about 10 minutes) to many hotels in Osaka (and other towns).

 

The limo/bus cost approx $11 pp (1300 yen) and turned out to be a very comfortable and clean Coach Bus (no limo involved). We also did this back to the airport in Osaka and was pleased both times.

[KLLund]

Wow this board is awesome !!!

 

So as I understand it, If I leave Portland Oregon on October 12th at 9AM I will end up in Osaka on October 13th at 4PM (approx) and the ship sails at Midnight on the 14th? Is that right ???

 

I already decided to do the Princess post cruise package in Bejiing and have booked that. I am told that a flight back to Portland on October 28th will work fine.

 

If this is all correct, the airfare is about $ 500 cheaper than what Princess is offering.

 

Thank you for all your help .. oh and BTW we sailed on the Sapphire last Nov to the Mex Riviera and loved it .. we were in A317 and this cruise we are in A402....

 

Kathy

[KLLund]

Oh yes .. one other question ... What is Open Jaw ???

 

Kathy

[Coral]

Oh yes .. one other question ... What is Open Jaw ???

 

Kathy

 

Open Jaw is when you fly to one location (Osaka) and come home via flight from another location (Bejing). Sometimes flights that don't go to and come back from the same location cost a lot more.

 

I know flying home from Osaka - we left at 5 pm on Friday evening and we got back to Lincoln at 9 pm on Friday.

 

Congrats on the cruise! Sounds fabulous!

[Stevesan]

You have received some excellent advise in this thread. Allow me to make a suggestion that you use a Japanese travel agency to book your flights and land transfers/hotels.

 

My wife visits family in Osaka every three years and receives outstanding service from a Japanese travel service. She provides them with her proposed schedule a few months before departure. They find the best routes and prices for her, including rail passes and other land arrangements.

The best results occur if you can visit the office. I found a listing for Portland at:

 

http://www.travelagentsearch.org/Travel_Agents-Portland-Oregon.html

[Coral]

You have received some excellent advise in this thread. Allow me to make a suggestion that you use a Japanese travel agency to book your flights and land transfers/hotels.

 

Stevesan - I have often read that if you are going to a foreign place - the best thing you can do is go to a travel agency that is owned/ran by people of that nationality. They apparently can get rates that traditional agencies can not get. Using your example - if you want to go to Japan, go to a Japanese travel agency. My coworker just went to Vietnam and he saved $500 pp using his Vietnamese local contacts (who have bigger contacts in larger cities) in booking his plane ticket compared to traditional internet flight prices.

 

While I have not done this - I have read this many times and heard this from my friends who travel to more exotic locations than I do that this is the best thing to do. I will make sure I do this next time.