Rosee Posted April 30, 2014 #1 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hi fellow cruisers, I would be interested to hear how many other Aussie cruisers would like to see Princess bring back their previous Cherry Blossom cruise from Sydney to Japan and return during Feb-March. With Sun and Diamond Princess being based in Japan for a large chunk of the year, it means a long flight home if one takes a one way cruise from Sydney to see Japan. Cruising back to Sydney is a much better option! Also, I would love to hear of any past experiences on this Cherry Blossom cruise......maybe they might also help to encourage the Princess 'Powers-that-be' to re-introduce that cruise itinerary. Look forward to hearing any views on this idea , Rosee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazshirl2 Posted April 30, 2014 #2 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Yes- we would. Have never visited Japan and disinclined to do a cruise based in Japan given the heavy orientation towards the local market. We would find a cruise to Japan primarily catering for the western market more appealing. Barry :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted April 30, 2014 #3 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Sounds like a wonderful cruise. We'd be very tempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarateMan Posted May 1, 2014 #4 Share Posted May 1, 2014 If they do it on a ship like the Golden Princess I would be all for it. I have tried many Princess ships and was just on the Golden for 31 nights around South America. It is definitely one ship I can sail on for a long voyage. I have also been on the Sun and Dawn Princess and would not choose them for a long voyage at all. I would only do them for short voyages. Speaking of Golden Princess coming here I hope that Princess are inventive with the cruises it is scheduled to do and that they go out of their way to plan something spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie FF Posted May 1, 2014 #5 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Count me in:D Aussie Frequent Floaters Edited May 1, 2014 by Aussie FF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkmw Posted May 1, 2014 #6 Share Posted May 1, 2014 i heard a whisper they may bring it back but wont be in march-april so it could be september.....if its true i'm not sure but we may find out when the new itinerary comes out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongaree Posted May 1, 2014 #7 Share Posted May 1, 2014 We did this cruise and it visited Vietnam and so it ticked a few boxes for us. It was a great itinerary . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Kruzer Posted May 1, 2014 #8 Share Posted May 1, 2014 We did this cruise and it visited Vietnam and so it ticked a few boxes for us. It was a great itinerary . ..but did you actually see any "Blossom" ?:D I heard they were still going to do the cruise but rename it as people complained that they did not see any blossoms.:rolleyes: We have done SE Asia but have not been further north than Hong Kong and the Phillipines. Would love to do a cruise up to Japan, in their summer, and it would be even better if it went up through the WW II islands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted May 1, 2014 #9 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) i heard a whisper they may bring it back but wont be in march-april so it could be september.....if its true i'm not sure but we may find out when the new itinerary comes out Wouldn't be cherry blossom time then though :( Edited May 1, 2014 by OzKiwiJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_cruiser Posted May 1, 2014 #10 Share Posted May 1, 2014 With Sun and Diamond Princess being based in Japan for a large chunk of the year, it means a long flight home if one takes a one way cruise from Sydney to see Japan. From 2015 Sun Princess wont be in Japan, see: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2026636 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted May 1, 2014 #11 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I liked the itinerary but the price (when I looked a couple of years ago) had me jumping at alternate cruise itineraries, which I had then booked. Too many places, not enough time or money.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awesome girl Posted May 1, 2014 #12 Share Posted May 1, 2014 We did the Cherry Blossom cruise in2010 on Sun Princess, it was the best cruise we have ever done wasn't too long for us either. We were fortunate to see lots of blossom. We would definitely do it again if it was available.:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosee Posted May 1, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I was not overly concerned about seeing the 'cherry blossoms', when I posted this question, although no doubt they are very beautiful and characteristic of Japan. I only referred to the Sydney-Japan return cruise by its former name, "Cherry Blossom" for reasons of familiarity with the itinerary. Japan in Autumn would be, I imagine, just as scenic with colourful maple trees et al. It is the itinerary as well as the scenery that I look for in a cruise. Do hope you are correct Kiwi Kruzer with that rumour! Any others who may have done this cruise previously, have any comments to add, either good or not so good ? Rosee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted May 1, 2014 #14 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Yes, they are beautiful and such a Japanese icon. I was initially very disappointed some years ago when I tagged along on one of hubby's business trips to Japan, which we extended into a short holiday. We travelled in May, just a bit too late for the blossom in Tokyo. We would miss them :(. However we did a day trip to Nikko and as part of that trip we went up a steep mountain for lunch. Due to the altitude, spring had not advanced as much as it had at sea level, and there were cherry blossoms everywhere. I was so thrilled, it just added that extra bit of magic to our trip. :D Edited May 1, 2014 by OzKiwiJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisel Posted May 2, 2014 #15 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Hi fellow cruisers, I would be interested to hear how many other Aussie cruisers would like to see Princess bring back their previous Cherry Blossom cruise from Sydney to Japan and return during Feb-March. With Sun and Diamond Princess being based in Japan for a large chunk of the year, it means a long flight home if one takes a one way cruise from Sydney to see Japan. Cruising back to Sydney is a much better option! Also, I would love to hear of any past experiences on this Cherry Blossom cruise......maybe they might also help to encourage the Princess 'Powers-that-be' to re-introduce that cruise itinerary. Look forward to hearing any views on this idea , Rosee I would love for this itinerary to come back too. We were booked on the Cherry Blossom on the Sun Princess in 2011 but unfortunately the tsunami hit Japan then and our ship was redirected to a couple of ports in China. They were great ports and I got to see The Forbidden City etc, but had been looking forward to seeing Japan. I have seen other cruises advertised around Japan but as someone else pointed out, you have to fly there and back and that would add to the cost. Hopefully Princess will bring back the Cherry Blossom Cruise soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongaree Posted May 2, 2014 #16 Share Posted May 2, 2014 When we did this cruise we went to Brunei, Vietnam, Sabah, Three ports in China, and of course Japan, Korea, Guam, New Guinea and sailed around Iwo Jima. I think there were some other ports. It was the best itinerary we have ever sailed in 26 cruises. Cheers, Janet Ps We didn't,t see any blossoms but it was just called the cherry blossom cruise to identify the itinerary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted May 2, 2014 #17 Share Posted May 2, 2014 When we did this cruise we went to Brunei, Vietnam, Sabah, Three ports in China, and of course Japan, Korea, Guam, New Guinea and sailed around Iwo Jima. I think there were some other ports. It was the best itinerary we have ever sailed in 26 cruises. Cheers, Janet Ps We didn't,t see any blossoms but it was just called the cherry blossom cruise to identify the itinerary. Sounds like a fantastic cruise blossoms or not.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzBuzzen Posted May 13, 2014 #18 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I just received a new brochure from Princess quoting 42 night China, Japan round trip from Sydney on Sun Princess 29 April 2015. Ask an you will receive, apparently , cheers Buzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosee Posted May 13, 2014 Author #19 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Yes that's great news ! Let's hope it proves popular with a lot of cruisers to keep it going for a good few years at least. We'll be there, if not next year, then 2016 for sure ! Only problem this year is, by mid to end of May, when the ship reaches Japan, the cherry blossoms will be long gone. Now there is always the autumn colours to see, much later in the year. Not sure what the sea conditions would be by then though. Nevertheless, the ports and the itinerary itself, speak heaps for themselves, with or without the colours. They are only the 'icing on the cake' ! Well done Princess ! Rosee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted May 13, 2014 #20 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Do a day trip to Nikko that includes lunch up the nearby mountain and, like me, you may be lucky enough to see the cherry blossoms. Edited May 13, 2014 by OzKiwiJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happysnapper Posted May 14, 2014 #21 Share Posted May 14, 2014 DH & I did this cruise some years ago, just as the GFC hit. Originally targeting the US hence the WW11 areas in the Pacific which were visited. The Yanks dipped out, probably because of the GFC and The Dawn ended up being full of Australians... many were veterans from the Korean war returning for the 1st time since the war. Fantastic cruise with great ports, including those mentioned in previous posts. The unforgettable ones were the site of the atomic bomb drop and an erupting volcano in PNG. It took the crew 2 days to clean the ash off the white ship. Its a bucket list cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grum2014 Posted May 17, 2014 #22 Share Posted May 17, 2014 yep theyhave this cruise listed but calledjust China & Japan. the same ports as the old cherry blossom cruise not sure what months from memory it was early in 2015???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobi Cruiser Posted May 19, 2014 #23 Share Posted May 19, 2014 When spoken by the Japanese the 'Cherry Blossom' comes out slightly different to how it is written. We did this cruise with P&O on Pacific Sun departing Sydney on March 8th and getting back on April 19th. The cruise was basically the same as what Sun Princess will do in April 2015 with a couple of port changes. Ours was 42 nights Sydney-Airlie Beach-Darwin-Brunei-Sabah-Hong Kong-Busan-Hiroshima-Osaka-Yokohama-Iwo Jima (scenic cruising)-Saipan-Guam-Chuuk-Rabaul-Brisbane-Sydney. Great cruise on a good ship with great crew and passengers. This was before P&O started to go down the scrape, chisel and gouge road. It was the recommencement of cruise itinerary that had been overlooked for a lot of years, probably back to the Fairstar era. They even gave every passenger high quality cruise map as a gift and a letter of thanks for participating in this new experience for P&O. There was some worries we may miss the blossoming because we may arrive too early in their spring and when they do come is out is variable due to weather conditions, all was OK though and it was quite spectacular in Osaka. We paid nearly $7K each for an outside cabin then so the price is still pretty reasonable on a better ship and an immensely better cruise line. Do it and you won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog & Sea Hag Posted June 21, 2014 #24 Share Posted June 21, 2014 We did the cherry blossom cruise a few years back on the Sun Princess ex Sydney and the tsunami prevented us from getting to japan. It still turned out to be one of my favorites with additional stops in China instead. I am certainly for bringing this cruise back and would book tomorrow if it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkmw Posted June 22, 2014 #25 Share Posted June 22, 2014 We did the cherry blossom cruise a few years back on the Sun Princess ex Sydney and the tsunami prevented us from getting to japan. It still turned out to be one of my favorites with additional stops in China instead.I am certainly for bringing this cruise back and would book tomorrow if it was. its been on the website for quite awhile and it goes from Brisbane 27th april 2015 doing a 42 night cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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