scorfman

Trip Day 2 Cruise Day 1 Up early today to watch the ship come in and, well, if you came from the West you know the drill. We decided since the weather was gorgeous today we would venture out and explore some more. We walked from the Hyatt down to Osanbashi to check out the port. From there we went back to the bus stop and caught the number 26 bus to Momijizaka and walked to Iseyama Kotaijingu shrine. The Suica we had on our iPhones worked great! We wanted to get a goshuincho and found a nice one here for ¥2000 which also included the shrine’s goshuin and a bookmark. We’re all set to collect them as we see the country. We then walked down to the Sakuragicho station area. It was a bit early and most stores were closed, but I got a nice coffee and we looked for the stations’s eki stamp. I think we didn’t get the real station stamp, but we did get one from the visitor info booth. From there we hopped on the route 26 bus back to Osanbashi to collect our bags and check out of the hotel. We thought about walking to catch the cruise but we decided on a cab which cost $3.25. We were there at 11:15 and dropped out bags and were given a boarding group 10 ticket. We had a seat with maybe 50-70 people ahead of us but in just a few minutes we were going through security and checking in. Then a short walk and we were on! We dropped our carry on bags in the room and set off for some champagne and a look around. at 12:30 we went to enjoy the Concierge lunch. Standard faire but enjoyable. We also wanted to get the eki stamp(s) for the pier and snag a geocache so we left the ship to do that. Success on both. We re-boarded and went to have a tea for the wife and a Peroni for me. Then back to the room to unpack and settle in. Ditto on the annoyance of the constant announcements to do the muster stuff, but I get it. We went to the 5:30 dinner where we were pleasantly surprised to have our assigned table for 2 right at the back and against the windows at the rear of the ship. We enjoyed seeing the pilot be dropped off and the mooring lines released as our backdrop. The meal however wasn’t quite as nice. Suffice to say we sat at 5:30 and left at 7:40 carrying my dessert back to the room. The staff was very nice but claimed 1st night chaos in the kitchen. Disappointing but at least the French Onion Soup I love was really nice. We were mostly burnt out by that time so a short walk through the ship shops ended back in the room to settle in for the night.

Thar she blows! Taken from the Hyatt 19th floor. Unfortunately the view of Osanbashi Pier is obstructed from this hotel, but it’s within walking distance so that’s great. So good to have the rain subside over night!

Street Dim Sum for the win.

We arrived at Haneda about 12:30, a good hour ahead of schedule. We were in Delta premium economy and it was quite nice. Still a very long flight but comfortable. We were through immigration and customs in about 50 minutes. We headed to a bus ticket kiosk and grabbed a Keiku Limo Bus to Osanbashi Pier for $10 for both of us that left at 1340. It was a 2 block walk in the rain to the Hyatt Yokohama with bags. They really treated us well as we entered. They took our bags from us and took us up to the club lounge, gave us a cold hand towel and a glass of cold peach tea, and checked us in and briefed us as we sat in comfort. A+. We then went up to our room and our bags quickly followed. We paid about $200 for the room but spent 9000 Hyatt points to upgrade to an amazing room with a view of the harbor. It’s still pouring rain but we’re off to do some exploring, even if it’s just a Lawsons or 7-11, or some food in China Town 😀

And we’re off! Early start this morning for a 6am hop from Baltimore to Atlanta. We had enough time to stop in the club for a nice celebratory Mimosa before heading to the gate. Should be arriving at Haneda a bit before 1pm.

Wife and I are on this cruise as well. Would it be ok to diary in this thread as well? We're arriving a bit later and leaving home after a few days in Tokyo post cruise.

Konichiwa! The Hiroshima port currently lists Itsukaichi dock for this cruise, as it does for every docking of the Millennium. Here is a link to the current 2024 port schedule. Look for the date and ship and plug that row into google translate. Here's the output: 33 Celebrity Millennium 2024/7/19 Fri 13:00 2024/7/19 Fri 22:00 Itsukaichi-11m, -12m quay My TOTAL GUESS is that there is a shuttle bus between the ship and Itsukaichi Station. I'm on this itinerary leaving next week. I'll try and report back.

I’ve not heard a peep since the cancel email. Very very disappointing. I paid nearly as much in airfare to get home as the cost of the cruise so nothing from insurance. 13 hours in coach versus 7 days at sea and I feel awful. Such an experience…

We got the email of cancel just as we were leaving London for Southampton. Now booked in a new hotel and 5k for flight back to the states tomorrow. Not a peep from Cunard except the email.