MJC

Nice share, Melody!

Wishing everyone a Happy 4th!

No, we just bought individual tickets for each leg. We had to reserve seats and pay in advance because we had big luggage, which requires being in a specific car where there is space for it. Our last day in Kyoto we just left our bags with the hotel. Picked them up before our 4pm train to Yokohama. Had a nice dinner when we got there. Hotel breakfast then embarkation. No stress.

We spent time in Tokyo first, then shinkansen to Kyoto (or in your case Osaka), then shinkansen to Yokohama. We traveled at the end of the day so woke up in the new place for an early start sightseeing. Made for an easy embarkation day.

I didn't get to speak with anyone who did the capsule train. For us it would have been a nice break from all the temples and gardens and cities we'd been walking around, but moreso an activity unique to Busan. The views are supposed to be lovely. But perhaps DH would have been bored. IDK.

When you leave the tender go right (on this map) to South Beach and head to the area behind the Reef Runner bar. There is a grove of trees with chairs in the shade. That beach has some ok snorkeling, nearby restrooms, and that bar is not crazy busy. There can be noseeums so we bring bug wipes for our ankles. It's our go-to place on PC.

Two options we considered were the capsule train and Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. However by the time we got to Busan, we were tired and wanted something easy so we just took the shuttle bus to downtown. It let us off at BIFF Square. We walked around there and went to Yongdusan Park, then went back to the ship. Now I wish we had done the capsule train though. We tend to prefer history and culture sites, so Haedong Yonggungsa would have been my first choice, but there are lots of stairs. I had injured my leg last fall and didn't want to push it after all the walking we did in Tokyo pre-cruise. Also it can be crowded.

We sailed from there on the CB "oil spill cruise," where we sat in port for 5 days because the channel was closed, and just had a mad dash to Cozumel for the day. Then a crazy fast dash back on sea day before disembarkation. There was an option to disembark for home that Monday and receive a refund, so a lot of local folks left, plus some who didnt want to use up their vacation days. But we had flown down and so just stuck it out. The worst part was that the air quality was so bad from the refineries that DH couldn't be outside on our balcony or go to the pool without his asthma acting up. The second worst was being in port for days with only local alcohol served (no wine for me). The bright spot was that the winners of the Princess yearly Entertainment Awards were onboard. Awesome band. To be fair, we had it a lot better than the ships who couldn't get back, stuck in the bay, running out of food. People couldn't leave. Conserving fuel so passengers were sleeping on deck because it was so hot inside.

Love the color you chose, Melody. We have had cement fiberboard siding since 2002 (Hardie Plank), and it's been touched up a few times, but it holds the paint really well and adds a bit of extra R factor over vinyl. That is helpful in winter with the wind coming off the lake. Our reno is now more than 20yrs ago, so we are at the point of having some projects inside, and probably a new roof next spring. Our appliances, especially the refrigerator, are getting temperamental at times so that's on the list too. And the bedroom carpets are sad. Since my older brother and my sister's family are visiting for 9 days in late July, we will wait until after that to start on anything.

If you are not choosy there is a Lawson near the cruise terminal, they have a limited selection of wine, nothing fancy but some names you might be familiar with.

Our cruise in January stops in Nassau, and there will be 6 ships in port. We are considering staying onboard for the day. Last time we were there we got day passes for the Riu. We were not impressed with the beach, the surf was very rough for swimming, and the buffet lunch was middling. The pool was dominated by drinkers. We don't really shop on vacation or drink during the day, and DH doesn't eat seafood except for fish so much of the local cuisine that folks recommend is out. I'm sure everything will be very crowded. The one thing I've found that we might want do is the Model T history tour. Max 6 per car.

We have booked the Sky Princess for the August 2026 eclipse cruise which travels to Spain, and the Enchanted Princess for 2027 for the eclipse near Gibralter. Who else is going and what ship will you be on?

There are also security concerns by residents who don't like strangers coming in and out of their buildings, having keys and security codes. Our NY condo forbids short term rentals for these reasons. Early on some residents tried to circumvent the rules but we could always tell... taking big luggage up the fire stairs to avoid being seen etc.

Laurie, IDK about you, but for me the last few weeks before a cruise seem to fly by. I'm sure you're happy to ark things off your to-do list! We booked an MSC 8-day cruise from Brooklyn in early January, just to break up the winter and have some time away in the winter. It will be interesting to see how Mark likes it. We have had so much rain this spring that I'm very behind in my garden. This week we went from a low of 45 to 88 on Thursday. Now it's raining again and in the 60s. Since Monday is supposed to be lovely, I decided to clean house today instead and save Monday for relaxing on the patio.

We visited Hakodate in April. I went to the tower and fort on my own because DH was under the weather that day. Plenty of taxis available, when we got there the driver pointed out the corner where I could find a taxi to come back. I recommend a visit to the fort as well, head to the center, take the stairs to access the top of the walls, some nice views from up there. We were too early for sakura but you may have nice fall color. I used Google translate and a photo of the ship to get back, no problem. Princess provided port info and I just took a pic so I had I in my phone in Japanese. The tower has some interesting little historical displays in glass cases as well. In Aomori we wanted to visit the Sannai UNESCO site but it is closed on Mondays, so we went to the Nebuta Museum and did some shopping at the train station stores.

I live in NYC and fly out of our airports all the time. As with most airports, there are busy times and not so busy times... is he worried about you being in crowds, or delays, or accessibilty? Traffic? Are you talking domestic or international travel? We fly out of LaGuardia a lot for domestic travel. There has been much new construction and modernization there, including many moving walkways from the entrance to the gates, new security areas with updated scanning, better crowd control for quicker lines. I would avoid JFK if you are just flying domestic from PA. As an international airport it is much busier, has more terminals, longer walks to gates, and longer taxi lines, vs. LaGuardia. There are cruises that leave NYC from Brooklyn or Manhattan, but there are also some that leave from New Jersey which may be advertised as "NY area." Be sure to check before booking your flights. If I were cruising from NJ, I would fly to Newark Airport.

I have always done it this way, and it works just fine. I would never ever give them access to my account.

We love the aft Vista suites and have always booked starboard side, no noise from Club Fusion there. Can't comment on port side. We don't mind the wake noise, it's just background to us big city people. I think Sapphire P is my favorite Princess ship so far with Diamond P a close 2nd.

We had very little trouble adjusting to the time when we arrived in Japan. But we have had a much harder time getting back to normal hours since we got home (east coast). I thought I would need melatonin to adapt in Japan, but actually it's been more useful since we came home.

It's a 7-day: Philly - sea day - Bermuda w/ overnight - sea day - Charleston SC - sea day - Philly For us it's a quick train ride to Philly, we enjoy Bermuda, and we loved its sister the Gem, so it's on the possibles list for now, maybe next May. NCL is sailing the Breakaway from NYC this winter, which is a bit ginormous for us, but the prices are really good for early January.

Laurie, I realize it's a ways away from you, but FYI Norwegian Jewel will begin sailing from Philly next spring.

Laurie, I have to say I'm rooting for the green dress. I just love that one. My fave necklace for the blue dress is the first one. I think the curve of that piece nicely complements the drape of the ruffle and gives a flow to the whole outfit that is just perfect. I'm feeling a lot better, just still struggling to keep a normal sleep pattern. It's unusual for me and I find it very frustrating.

Melody, congratulations on your happy news! We got home very late on Saturday after an odyssey of travel from Yokohama, to Haneda airport, to Detroit, to LaGuardia, then home. Both of us weren't feeling well at the beginning of our second cruise -- I had picked up norovirus mid-trip and was a bit tired, and Mark came down with bronchitis after his asthma kicked up. All the flowers were beautiful but they took their toll in spring allergies! It was all worth it. The upshot was minor. Mark missed a formal night and a day of hiking in Kushiro (I went myself on a ship excursion). I was quarantined for 24 hours and given meds by medical, but then set free once my symptoms subsided. I was tired and didn't do much or eat much for a couple days, but then I was able to resume our activities. So, we slowed down a bit, had more sea days on the second leg so we could relax some, but still went ashore a couple more times before our cruise ended. I did Zumba and the dance classes. The salsa teacher was especially good. We went to a few of the shows, and went dancing whenever we could, and especially enjoyed the nights with Silent Disco. I used the thermal suite a couple times, and had a favorite hot tub to myself many evenings before dinner. We enjoyed wine on our balcony when in port. At night and at sea, it was pretty chilly out there, though by the end of the cruise it was warmer and we sat out there more often. I was on our balcony when we left Aomori, and there were dolphins playing in the wake. It turns out they are Pacific white-sided dolphins and are a protected species. I almost didn't believe my eyes, I had no idea we'd see dolphins on this trip. As for packing, I was pleased with myself. I wore everything more than once, some things a lot. I had the right layers for everywhere we went. I was not expecting that it would be so cold at port, such cold wind coming off the water. Then inland a bit it would be warmer, but not as much as you'd think. Sun or shade made a huge difference. In essence, it was like being back in Michigan in the spring! 🙂 We both had backpacks to stow things if we got too warm, very handy. By the end of the trip we were wearing t-shirts and getting sunburn on our foreheads. 🙂 I absolutely loved our time in Japan. Pre-cruise, we had three busy days in Tokyo and another three busy days in Kyoto that were just fabulous. We hired a guide, and he made getting around and planning the days so efficient. We also enjoyed his company so much. We walked our legs off. We were in Tokyo for the height of sakura season, and it was spectacular. In Kyoto the flowers weren't fully out yet except in scattered places, but we loved the city so much, there's just so much to see there. Between the two of us, we have a gazillion pictures, so it might take a while to post some. I don't have a lot of clothes pics of myself. I wish I could have taken pictures of the street fashion, it was so wildly varied that it's hard to describe. Being a holiday season, in some places families were dressed up for picnics and taking photos, and then you have your usual people going to work in a big city outfits. I tended to fall in that category (lots of black and navy lol). Here are a few photos from Amanohashidate. It is called one of the Three Views of Japan, it is said that all Japanese want to visit them one day. This is known as the Bridge to Heaven, because when it's misty it looks like it reaches into the sky. It is also said that if you bend over and look between your legs, you will see a dragon. It's true, it does look like that. We went to the lookout, you take a cable car to the top and there's a tiny little amusement park up there. We took pictures and had some ice cream. In town there is also a pretty shrine you can visit, and a lovely beach. The little white things on the tree are wishes or prayers for the coming year.

Enjoying a sea day 🥰

Jumping in bc we are on the Diamond now too and spotted this thread... Shibuya Sky also has a rooftop bar in lieu of doing the deck: https://tokyo-park.net/the-roof-shibuya-sky/ Probably need a reservation. We didn't get the chance to go there so no other info to offer (we did Tokyo Tower instead). Also recommend Asakusa but be prepared for crowds. Had really good conveyor belt sushi in the shopping arcade.