Miaminice

Hi and thank you! We did post while on the cruise. You can find it here: If you are looking for private tours in Vietnam, contact Rose! She is absolutely the best!!!

To Japan we usually Fly ANA. Of course, since we start all our flights from Germany, we otherwise often fly Lufthansa. Lufthansa is a reliable and safe airline. Their business class is pretty good. LH is not my favorite airline (for personal reasons) but as an airline they are good. But I also have to say that we don´t have too many expectations. We just want to get there 🙂

we have been to Kagoshima 3 times so far - incl. immigration process. I think it’s fair to say we know our way around there and how to do the things we like to do 😉 On our last visit the only problem we encountered was traffic. We happened to be there on the day of the Ohara Festival. Great experience.

Anyhow... I wouldn´t recommend limiting a visit of Kagoshima to a bus tour of the city. The nice thing about the Cute pass is that the ferry to Sakurajima and the loop bus on Sakurajima are included as well a the public bus which one can take to the Sengan-en Gardens.

in October it was available at the port terminal.

Btw… getting the CUTE card (sold at the port) is a good idea. Very inexpensive and includes the ferry etc. https://www.kagoshima-yokanavi.jp/en/feature/one-day-pass2

Yes!!! We also organized all our tours in Vietnam with Rose - she is absolutely fabulous!

We have been to Japan 3 times. Some cabs do, we found most cabs don’t. Check before you get on. In some places - like Tokyo / Yokohama - you can also use the uber app.

You can also do Shimizu easily on your own. With or without a guide. we have been there 3 times already. read more here: or here https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Celebrity-Millennium-Japan/celebrity-millennium-japan.html

We have been to Tokyo / Japan a couple of times and never bothered to buy a suica card or to install it on my phone. Paying for the tickets as we went was OK, easy and worked well.

Another vote for Silhouette. Much nicer ship!

Last experiences on Solstice and Millennium. Food was good… but tbh Blu is not only about the food for us. Blu’s more relaxed ambiance and way more personal service still tops the loud and rushed MDR by far. Plus, we love breakfast at Blu.

Given the distance it is doable... taking for granted that the ship gets to the port on time. Flying back from Japan we always grant ourselves another day which we use for some more sightseeing - Kamakura, Tokyo or Yokohama etc. The day also provides a comfortable buffer. Flying back from Hong Kong the last times we had a 11 pm flight. That was also fine with me. Otherwise I wouldn´t do it for such long haul flights. Within Europe, no problem. Long story short... 11am is doable. If you are up to possible stress due to delays in arrival or disembarkation is something you need to decide.

We did the trip in October on our third cruise to Japan. Bought the ticket at a machine (unreserved seats) and did the same on the way back. No problem. No need to reserve in advance.

Celebrity always use Osanbashi Cruise Terminal in Yokohama. Pretty easy to rech by public transport from Tokyo. JR train to Yokohama Station and then subway or taxi to the pier.