Bocabeach

4 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

You may find other cruise passengers taking the metro to Shinjuku or Sibuya.
You can store your luggage at the hotel if early arrival. Nearby: Tokyo station is a mini underground city and your lunch ground. Visit Imperial Garden if open to public.

That’s what we are planning to do: leave our luggage at the Imperial hotel, explore the area and have lunch nearby. We will hang around Ginza, Roppongi, Omotesando and the new fish market, and avoid Shinjuku and Shibuya. We are so looking forward to our trip, which we had booked and rebooked many times since 2020 as Celebrity kept cancelling and Japan itself had many entry restriction due to Covid, Thank you once again for all your advice. 

7 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

The street level elevator access to Nihon-Odori Station locates between Citadnines Harbour Front Yokohama hotel lobby entrance and Yokohama Port Post Office bldg. on Honmachi Dori.

Avoid transferring at busy hub station like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Shinagawa. Shibuya is a valley, the Minatomirai Line platform is on B5F, where metro Ginza Line at 3F. Naka-Megura station had 2 levels only, easier to navigate. From Hibiya station take EXIT A13 (stairs only), 1000 feet walk to Imperial Hotel.

If you don't have IC card and don't know the metro fare cost:
Tickets are sold at ticket vending machines found at every Tokyo Metro station. Tickets are available in denominations of 180 yen, 210 yen, 260 yen, 300 yen, and 330 yen.  Purchase a 180 yen ticket to get through the gate first. You can pay the extra fare at a fare adjustment machine located near the fare gates at your destination station. When you place your ticket into the machine, it will display the fare difference you owe. After inserting the difference, take your ticket and pass through the fare gate.
 

We are so appreciative of your detailed instructions. We haven’t done this before, and when we studied the Yokohama train/subway map, it looked dauntingly complicated. We can’t check in the Imperial hotel until 2 pm and plan to disembark at 9 am so we have a lot of time to get there. Again many thanks for guiding us. 

9 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

Very easy:
In Nihon-Odori station, board the Minatomirai Line heading to Wakoshi (和光市駅) or Shibuya or Kawagoeshi on platform 2. The line will change to Tokyu Toyoko Line after Yokohama station. Naka-Megura station is one stop before Shibuya station. From Nihon-odri to Hibiya fare is 750 yen, travel time 55 min. Travel time will be shorter  if you catch the limited express ones. 

https://www.mm21railway.co.jp/global/english/station/nihonodori/stationmap.html
You need to buy an Interline Ticket:
https://www.mm21railway.co.jp/global/english/howto/
Select "Ticket for other companies' railway lines"
Select the line to transfer to from Yokohama (Tokyu Toyoko Line) 

 

Thank you so much for your quick reply and detailed explanation clarifying all my concerns.  

10 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

There is an easier and faster way to go from Nihon-Odori Station in Yokohama to Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

Stay on the Minatomirai line until Shibuya Station. If you study the Minatomirai schedule, plan to take the Express. The cost is the same. Nihon-Odori to Shibuya Station takes 29 minutes on the Express. There, it is a very short walk to the Ginza Line. Take the Ginza Line to Ginza Station. From Ginza Station, Imperial Hotel is a 10 minute walk or a 5 minute Taxi ride.

Thank you very much for your quick reply and excellent suggestion.

We will spend a week in Tokyo at the Imperial Hotel after we disembark from Celebrity Millennium, and since we only have carryons, we have decided to take a train/subway. 

My research resulted with 2 options: either 1) from the cruise terminal, walk to the Nihon-Odori Station (we will stay at Hyatt Regency 2 days prior), get on the blue Minatomirai Line to the Yokohama station, then when I get to the Naka-Megura station (by staying on) transfer to the Hibiya Line and get off at the Hibiya station. 

or 2) from the cruise terminal, take a bus to the Yokohama station, get on the red Toyoko line to the Naka-Megura station, then transfer to the Hibiya Line and get off at the Hibiya station. 

I studied the Yokohama subway map and wonder how can we be sure that the blue Minatomirai/red Toyoko line doesn’t go to Shibuya or other place. Could anyone who had gone through prior experience or a local let me know. Many thanks in advance.

13 hours ago, Karen450 said:

Of course all of this collective angst would be eliminated if Celebrity clearly and consistently communicated its procedures.  I also foresee lines at guest services by visa holders who are charged $25+ each by Celebrity for visa processing on the ship.  

Agree
 

Hopefully they will collect our passports a couple days in advance, and have the Egyptian immigration officials coming onboard and stamp them prior to our ship docking in Alexandria, with the fees added to our accounts. This is the best case scenario. 

1 hour ago, Karen450 said:

I simply took a photo of my passport page, and emailed it to myself using a photo size of less than the size required by the Egyptian authorities.  When you send the email it will ask you what size do you want to send the photo. I then opened my email on my laptop computer and saved the photo onto my desktop.  I then attached this photo to my application.  Not fancy but it was accepted.  Make sure the passport number and bottom code are clearly legible.  Hope this helps! 

Thank you for your advice. I think one of the issues could be because I used an iPhone/iPad to apply, not a laptop, which I don’t have. I wonder how many iPhone/IPad users have successfully gotten their visas. Those who successfully received their visas used their laptops, including you. 
 

I read the (mostly negative, of course) reviews on Trust Pilot. A lot of users attached their passports, the system accepted them, got confirmed and paid for their applications, and learned the next day that their passports were rejected, and they had to reattach them. Some lost as much as $100, which means they failed 4 times for a single entry visa. 
 

i tried again yesterday, using all the tips I have learned along the way. I successful attached my passport but I’m concerned about going to the next step, which is confirm and pay. It’s now in draft form I. still have time to do so - my cruise is not until October 16, and there are 2 cruises before mine, on September 26 and October 6, with identical itineraries. So I’ll wait to see how Celebrity will handle the visas then. 
 

Once again, thank you for your time. 

On 7/16/2023 at 10:59 PM, cruisemom42 said:

Egypt has an arrangement with cruise ships. What they have is basically a "visa of convenience" -- these are granted more or less "en masse" for arriving passengers on cruise ships. The ship obtains the visas on your behalf. There will likely be a small charge on your shipboard account for this convenience.

 

This is always a very confusing issue because shoreside personnel have no idea of these individual circumstances. But I've traveled to Egypt on three different cruise lines and it has been handled exactly the same way on all three (except that some ships charge passengers back more than others....🙄).

 

Whether you obtain the online visa or not, you won't be able to get off the ship until the ship is cleared. Getting the visa in advance seems to just confuse them and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't go ahead and obtain another one for you onboard ship anyway.

 

 

Do you remember how this was handled?  Did the cruise lines collect the passports 2-3 days prior to arriving in Egypt and have them stamped? Or this was done when the ships arrived in Egypt? I have a private excursion and wonder when I can get off the ship. I’m so concerned about making people wait if it were the latter. I have been trying to get an evisa but so far haven’t been able to attach our passports. So frustrating!

BEFORE YOU CRUISE | Abbott's BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test with Navica and E-Med Test Full Demo

https://youtu.be/HyjniJGZmLQ

I will also face this issue when I return to the US after my May 2023 Hawaii to Vancouver cruise. Hopefully the US will no longer require a negative Covid test by then. Anyway, I did a lot of research on this and think the above info will be useful to you. There are a lot of presentations on YouTube other than this that will show how to properly take these tests. They need to be proctored means someone else has to be present to verify the test validity for the result to be accepted. Since we plan to leave Vancouver on the day of arrival, this is the only way to get the Covid test, unless the cruise line offers to do so on the ship. Meanwhile practice to do them at home with the free at home Covid tests as these tests are expensive (but better than running around finding a test site, especially in a foreign country). They cost $69.99 for 2 kits, $99.99 for 3 kits (through Optum website or $150 for 6 kits through emed ) delivered in 2-3 days. If buy over the counter, the box has to have RX in front to have proctor to witness the test. Good luck! 

21 hours ago, CCJack said:

I agree.  No matter how hard FBC helps you, they don't own and fly planes.   The airlines allow very little margin for error in their scheduling, there are weather delays and of course, unruly passengers that can now delay a flight.   Way too many things to go wrong in my opinion.  

Thank you for all your advice. I could see ourselves all anxious and stressed out dealing with FBC trying to put us on another flight so that we wouldn’t miss our departure. It wouldn’t be a good way to start our cruise. 

We are planning to use Flights by Celebrity and arrive very early in the morning of the cruise departure. Did anyone have a bad experience doing so? Under Flights by Celebrity’s FAQs, this is mentioned 

“Protection

When you use Flights by Celebrity℠ to book your air travel, we’ve got your back. You enjoy 24/7 travel service, so you have the peace of mind knowing there’s someone looking out for you. Our Flights by Celebrity℠ Specialists are on hand monitoring your flights, so if there are any delays or cancellations that jeopardize your travel plans, they’ll work quickly with the airline to get you on the next available flight to get you to your ship. So, take comfort in booking your complete vacation with us all at once, and let us take care of everything”. 

I would appreciate any advice. 

Many thanks to BlueHerons for keeping us informed. We are currently sailing in Europe aboard Celebrity Reflection (we left since August 11), and have been monitoring Dorian’s path as we live in a barrier island in Boca. Several CC members will be flying out either Orlando or Fort Lauderdale this weekend to catch flights for Amsterdam for their September 6 sailing. We get our info from Tropical Tidbits. 

4 hours ago, sippican said:

 

We are still onboard the beautiful Millennium, returning to the US  on April 15th. I will be happy to answer your questions in detail when I get back home. Please e-mail me at making waves travel at g mail dot com

 

Meanwhile -I istromgly recommend that you do not use your Beijing time to squeeze in the long trip to Xian. China Highlights was awesome pre-cruise, will be happy to share the details. 

Enjoy your great cruise! I should have looked up the sea scanner website to find out where beautiful Millie is. We are currently on the Edge - our first time - (btb HOS) and it really is a marvelous ship. It’s wonderful to know that Millie is still great. Thanks for your great advice on not to squeeze Xi’an during the 3-day Beijing excursion.

 I’ll contact u when u return to the US, around the time our cruise ends (on 4/14) at our home port, FLL, as we live in Boca, 1/2 hour away. 

On 9/1/2018 at 10:25 AM, sippican said:

Mr Click - Thank you for your thorough reply, I have been following numerous reports from Asia cruisers since we booked some time ago. I do remember reading about your challenging trip. Thankfully, that experience seems to be an exception, rather than the norm.

Based on the recommendations from others, we have booked Les Suites Orient Bund in Shanghai. We are using China Highlights for a pre-cruise excursion to Xian and a three-day Bejing tour. (So far they have been extraordinarily responsive and flexible.) Post-cruise, we are visiting Tokyo Disney, and will use the designated bus from the Yokohama station, directly to the resort.

I have found it a bit perplexing to book private tours in Japan, not only are they very expensive, but most require a significant deposit up front and non-refundable, full payment in advance. One place where ship's excursions seem more attractive.

Sippican,

Hope you had a great cruise. We booked last year a March 2020 cruise from Shanghai to Yokohama aboard Millie. Since we have already been to Shanghai in 2017 and did all the excursions there, we are thinking of doing a pre-cruise to Xi’an, like you did.  Did you arrive in Shanghai first and take the China Highlights excursion to Xi’an or did you fly directly to Xi’an? How many days did you spend in Xi’an? How did you like Les Suites Orient Bund in Shanghai? Did you use private airport and port transfers in Shanghai or did you use taxis? We are also thinking of using China Highlights for our 2 nights, 3 days in Beijing. I read in old roll calls that someone did an excursion to Xi’an on the 2nd day in Beijing of the 3 days excursion in Beijing while managing to see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Do you think this is advisable? 

We are in the midst of planning and have not yet booked any flights until we have sorted out our itinerary, hopefully soon, as the March 2020 flights will open by the end of this month. 

Thank you very much in advance for sharing your experience. My email is kimdally2002 at yahoo dot com. I don’t like to sidetrack the original topic and would like to send you a message, but there’s no way to do so on CC. 

Please read above post # 46 where I wrote specific instructions on how to get a complimentary transfer between terminals for RCCL ships. Ours was seamless and the wait was reasonable, within 15 mins. Make sure to fill in the departure requests form, drop off in the box by the guest services desk (not to the concierge or the room attendant), disembark the ship by 9 am and let the dispatcher (located by the Suites sign) know of your presence. She will do her utmost to get you on the right bus. 

From our experience on 4/7/19

For RCL ships only, to transfer between terminals at port Everglades and/or port Miami,

 1) fill in the Departure Requests Form that is sent to your cabin on the 2nd day. Select option 4. Do this immediately. Drop it off in the box by the Guest Services desk (don’t hand in to your cabin attendant or to concierge). This is important. This information will be entered into the RCL system. 

2) on the disembarkation day, as soon as you exit Customs (by 9 am), turn right where all the buses park, look for a RCL agent with a list of the transferring passengers at the dispatcher booth (by the Suites sign). Your name should be on the list. 

3) Around 9:30 am, the dispatcher notified that the transfer bus arrived and dropped us off at 9:40 am at terminal 25 where the Edge ship is docked.

Thank you all for taking the time to direct me where and how. 

Thanks for posting the map showing the new quay and distance to downtown. We’ll take the local bus. 

Valuable advice! Many thanks 

We will be taking a cruise aboard Celebrity Reflection on August  25, 2019 and need advice on how to go downtown on each of these three ports. We took this same cruise 15 years ago and remembered that we could walk from the ports in Stockholm and Copenhagen, and took a paid ship’s shuttle from the Helsinki port. Ships often change ports. Wonder we can still do the same. Thanks

Thank you to all who posted comments and advice. They’re very helpful. 

I think doing what Teerick advised above is best: contact Guest Services onboard. Since Celebrity and RCCL are under the same corporate family, I’m sure that they will help us out. 

TeeRick, thank you for telling me your experience. We will be in a suite on Harmony and will ask our suite concierge to contact Guest Services. 

On 1/27/2019 at 6:30 AM, Cruise a holic said:

we were on the edge new years then the harmony the following week.  have done this a couple of times before with other celebrity ships.  one year we found a great porter who walked us through a garage to the RC terminal to the Allure   Since we travel heavy, was really a long walk and I do not recommend it.  Another year, Celebrity arranged to have us go on their airport bus, without charge, we went to drop all passengers off, then the driver dropped us off at the RC terminal. Since we were got off the ship early, a good way to spend time.  Great bus driver.  In both cases we gave a generous tip.  this year, we opted for a cab.  actually the worst.  For some reason the taxi line was extremely long   When we got a cab, the not nice driver took us to the wrong spot and we had to drag our luggage to the proper spot.  not easy woth three large suitcases and two carry ons.  

That’s why I’m concerned about getting into a cab as the fare is not much compared to the fare to the airport or further away. They could drop me at the wrong port, requiring me to walk. We will be lucky getting on the direct crew shuttle bus and don’t mind using the ship’s airport bus. 

Thank you all for taking your precious time to answer my question. I did a bit more research and this is what I found. There is indeed a crew shuttle that will take passengers between terminals as 4Suzyq mentioned above (a courtesy to passengers). I will need to contact a concierge at HOTS when we’re about to disembark. While I’m on HOTS, I’ll enquire exactly when the crew shuttle leaves. Many had used it very smoothly but one couple passenger from HOTS (terminal 18) missed it and were directed to a different shuttle (must be one that passengers paid for airport transfers) that dropped passengers off at each terminal at the FLL airport before looping back and dropping them off at Freedom (terminal 29). It’s not the end of the world but it could have been a 5-minute ride instead of an hour. I’ll report back how I’ll transfer between terminals.