Celebrity Millennium Japan - 10/24/2023 - Live(ish) Report

[Retirement2016]

Enjoying reading your trip through Japan.  We hope to visit in 2025.

[cinnamon]

2 hours ago, VioletView said:

I went to Japan this past spring (was supposed to be on this cruise but had to switch it up)  and we used Go With Guide for local guides.  We basically booked the time period we wanted and then customized the tour with the guide in advance - we just let them know what our priorities were and that we didn't want to feel rushed and that sometimes I had knee issues that limited my walking  - and they planned around those parameters.  So I think if you manage your expectations and theirs (like, a four hour tour with you and your group might see 3 sites, even if they can do a four hour tour with other people and see 5 sites) it will work out great.  

Thank you, very helpful. I’ll check them out. 

[micruiser2002]

7 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

You read and saw. Did you eat bonito  and tuna in Kochi?  I did, bonito is firm texture makes it a favorite for grilling and searing; served with Ponzu Sauce (similar to a vinaigrette). Tuna is slightly softer texture;  served with soy sauce. 

Yes my whole family had it at the market and all said it was tuna.  

[micruiser2002]

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Skipjack tuna is more commonly known as bonito.  Even says so in your article.

Which was my point that is is tuna.

[micruiser2002]

7 hours ago, monkey@cruise said:

You read and saw. Did you eat bonito  and tuna in Kochi?  I did, bonito is firm texture makes it a favorite for grilling and searing; served with Ponzu Sauce (similar to a vinaigrette). Tuna is slightly softer texture;  served with soy sauce. 

In Japan Bonito is slipjack tuna.

[cruisemom42]

I'm loving your posts. I was in Japan on HAL's Westerdam in the Spring of this year for cherry blossom season, one of the first ships back after Covid. Unfortunately the weather was unseasonably rainy for a good part of the 28-day voyage. However, in Shimizu the weather gods smiled on us and gave us a beautiful view of Fuji-san (shown below in a photo taken from the bow of the ship on Easter Sunday):

 

 

We went to many of the same ports and did many of the same things as you. 

 

I've done Japan now in cherry-blossom season (late March to mid-April), in late May/early June and in August -- the latter two were land trips. I'd love to go in the fall to see the changing seasons and the fall leaves. Can you comment on the status of the "leaf change" that you've seen? Is it ongoing now, is it over, or is it yet to come?  

 

 

[micruiser2002]

9 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I'm loving your posts. I was in Japan on HAL's Westerdam in the Spring of this year for cherry blossom season, one of the first ships back after Covid. Unfortunately the weather was unseasonably rainy for a good part of the 28-day voyage. However, in Shimizu the weather gods smiled on us and gave us a beautiful view of Fuji-san (shown below in a photo taken from the bow of the ship on Easter Sunday):

 

 

We went to many of the same ports and did many of the same things as you. 

 

I've done Japan now in cherry-blossom season (late March to mid-April), in late May/early June and in August -- the latter two were land trips. I'd love to go in the fall to see the changing seasons and the fall leaves. Can you comment on the status of the "leaf change" that you've seen? Is it ongoing now, is it over, or is it yet to come?  

 

 

I am also on this sailing and unfortunately so far there is not a lot of color changes.  Japan had longer warm weather this year and it is just getting started.  It is still very beautiful. Here are some photos from Kyoto.

Edited October 31, 2023 by micruiser2002

[Miaminice]

53 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I'm loving your posts. I was in Japan on HAL's Westerdam in the Spring of this year for cherry blossom season, one of the first ships back after Covid

Thank you!! 
We have also done a Cherry Blossom cruise on HAL Westerdam. 
After our first Japan cruise on Millennium we chose HAL in 2019 for the better itinerary - and way better price.

 

While we didn’t become fans of HAL, the cruise certainly deepened our affection for Japan. And soon after we booked another one on Celebrity… which was then cancelled and lifted & shifted twice to the one we are on now.

 

so if some of you like to get a glimpse of Japan during spring time, here’s where we wrote about that cruise:

 

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

 

 

[patty1955]

2 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

Thank you!! 
We have also done a Cherry Blossom cruise on HAL Westerdam. 
After our first Japan cruise on Millennium we chose HAL in 2019 for the better itinerary - and way better price.

 

While we didn’t become fans of HAL, the cruise certainly deepened our affection for Japan. And soon after we booked another one on Celebrity… which was then cancelled and lifted & shifted twice to the one we are on now.

 

so if some of you like to get a glimpse of Japan during spring time, here’s where we wrote about that cruise:

 

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

 

 

 

What month were you there in the Spring?

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/28/2023 at 9:24 AM, NMTraveller said:

@Miaminice I notice that some of the menus are in English.  Do a fair amount of the hotel employees speak English?  Will I be able to navigate without speaking Japanese in the tourist areas?

 

I am asking about the hotel stays before and after as I realize that the tours will be in English.

 

Since 2014 things in Tokyo are pretty common to be in English and Japanese.    I know we were able to buy train tickets in English and most street signs were in both English and Japanese

 

 

A good app to get is Google Translate -   You can take a picture of almost anything including  signs and it will translate real time.  
 

Example

 

 

 

I used it often in Amsterdam when shopping for groceries.    Great for translating ingredients and instructions. 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 7 – At Sea

While we were sailing towards Okinawa I had the chance to take a few pictures of the ship.

As mentioned before, we really like the modernization of the old design. Despite her age, Millennium feels fresh and modern.

 

We have done a cruise on Infinity in June. That time we were pleasantly surprised to find her in excellent shape, but especially after 4 cruises on the modern and stylish E class, Infinity‘s old colors and design felt outdated and old fashioned.

 

Millennium, however, doesn‘t feel outdated in any way - so good job 👍 

 

There’s really not much to say about our lazy day at sea. Maybe that I joined the galley tour and that we very much enjoyed a matinee show of the cellist Wendy Law. So I will just present you with some images of the “new“ Millennium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Miaminice

[Miaminice]

21 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

What month were you there in the Spring?

 

April 2019

[Miaminice]

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Miaminice said:

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From looking at your pictures it does not seem that the ship is that crowded?  I always see empty seats.  Is this an M class feature or just the time of the pictures?

[floralscent]

19 hours ago, zeberdee said:

Excellent trip report, thank you for sharing the information and your lovely photos.

We are doing this trip next October and have never been to Japan before. 

You will not be disappointed! We are on this sailing as well and it is our first time in Japan. What an AMAZING experience. We have traveled to many places and Japan is by far our most favorite. Honestly I can’t stop saying ‘wow’ out loud. 
 

zeberdee, you will not be disappointed! 

[floralscent]

11 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

From looking at your pictures it does not seem that the ship is that crowded?  I always see empty seats.  Is this an M class feature or just the time of the pictures?

I am on this sailing as well and will say most areas of the ship are clear of people, aside from the buffet and coffee shop. At night the dining room is caked and Tuscan and Petite have both been full n the nights we’ve visited. Bars and lounges are pretty empty, including the martini bar in the evenings. Not sure where the people are because I ‘think’ we have a full ship. We are loving the open people-less spaces as we’ve never been on a sailing with open spaces like this. 
 

I can’t say if this is an M class feature or not as this is our first M class.  We are seasoned S class and have been on the Edge once. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by floralscent

[Miaminice]

2 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

From looking at your pictures it does not seem that the ship is that crowded?  I always see empty seats.  Is this an M class feature or just the time of the pictures?

This was before the buffet opened.

The ship is full. But yes, the bars are not very frequented.

Floralscent, that’s not typically to M class. Our last cruise to Asia on Millennium had party all night.

 

Now there’s a large Asian percentage of passengers on board.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Miaminice

[floralscent]

39 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

Floralscent, that’s not typically to M class. Our last cruise to Asia on Millennium had party all night.

 

Now there’s a large Asian percentage of passengers on board.

Hmmm…Interesting for sure. Thank you for all of your reporting on past Japan cruises, Miaminice. Your vlogs and comments helped us plan this current trip. Much appreciated!

[countess5]

Thank you for the pics of the ship. Glad to hear she is in such great shape. As shared we will be sailing next May in Japan. Looking forward to reading the blog on the cherry blossom cruise to get more information. 

 

Cheers! 

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 8 – Okinawa

This was our first time in Okinawa, so we were looking forward to the visit. We had arranged a tour with a private guide to see some of the highlights. Our guide, Masumi, waited for us at the gate and after friendly hellos we started off to a new adventure in a comfortable van.

 

 

 

On the way to our first stop, Masumi explained some of the history of Okinawa from the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom with close ties to China, to the transition to Japan and the later and current influence of the US.

 

Our first stop was the World Heritage Site Shikinaen Royal Garden. The gardens and the Udon Palace in its center were used to entertain the guests of the Ryukyu royal family. It’s a Kayu style garden, so different from traditional Japanese gardens. Walking around the pond, visitors can enjoy different landscapes. Just like in Tokyo‘s Yoyogi Park, we felt like time stood still in this beautifully landscaped garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was Ryukyu Mura cultural theme park - a recreated village from the times of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It featured a traditional residence and various workshops. At noon we were able to watch an interesting dance and drumming performance in a small theater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A short drive took us to the scenic west coast of Okinawa island where we stopped at the rock formation of Cape Manzamo. A part of the rock formation slightly resembles an elephant with its trunk in the ocean.

 

 

 

 

Stunned by the beautiful colors of the ocean we had lunch at the visitor center. Of course we had to try Okinawa Doughnuts and a Okinawa Milk Zenzai dessert - which is shaved ice on top of a mochi and sweet red bean soup.

 

 

After lunch we drove to the Naha Kokusai Dori Shopping Street where Masumi took us to a fish market through some arcades before we had time do do some browsing on Naha’s Miracle Mile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An hour before all aboard time we returned to the ship. A fabulous day on Okinawa and a glimpse into a different part of Japan. Thank you, Masumi san. 
 

[monkey@cruise]

15 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

In Japan Bonito is slipjack tuna.

When I had bonito and tuna lunch with Kochi SGG group. I did ask if bonito is a tuna, one of them who is more proficiency in English, saying "Yes" and "No" because it belonging to the same family as tuna and mackerel. Though in Japan is skipjack tuna, but cannot market as tuna. Other Asian countries related to mackerel, because tuna a subgrouping of the mackerel family. Sometimes the term "bonito" is used interchangeably to mean both.
When fresh bonito fish is cut, meat color appears dull, but when exposed to air, it turns a vivid red, and then turns black again after a period of freshness. So the lighter meat color is better.
 

[monkey@cruise]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I'm loving your posts. I was in Japan on HAL's Westerdam in the Spring of this year for cherry blossom season, one of the first ships back after Covid. Unfortunately the weather was unseasonably rainy for a good part of the 28-day voyage. However, in Shimizu the weather gods smiled on us and gave us a beautiful view of Fuji-san (shown below in a photo taken from the bow of the ship on Easter Sunday):

 

 

We went to many of the same ports and did many of the same things as you. 

 

I've done Japan now in cherry-blossom season (late March to mid-April), in late May/early June and in August -- the latter two were land trips. I'd love to go in the fall to see the changing seasons and the fall leaves. Can you comment on the status of the "leaf change" that you've seen? Is it ongoing now, is it over, or is it yet to come?  

 

 

 

JMC Release of 2023 Autumn Foliage Forecast (2nd forecast)

https://n-kishou.com/corp/news-contents/autumn/index.html?lang=en

 

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, monkey@cruise said:

 

JMC Release of 2023 Autumn Foliage Forecast (2nd forecast)

https://n-kishou.com/corp/news-contents/autumn/index.html?lang=en

 

Thanks; quite later than I was expecting!

[Crown Vic]

Great post. Most enjoyable reading.
Would be interested in the overall cost of all the tours you took. Bottom line. Will help us plan. Muchas gracias…

[Miaminice]

1 hour ago, Crown Vic said:

Great post. Most enjoyable reading.
Would be interested in the overall cost of all the tours you took. Bottom line. Will help us plan. Muchas gracias…

The cost for the guide in Okinawa was roughly $70 pp and the van JPY 6500.