Japan cruise: possible to leave ship in one port (Himeji), stay in hotel overnight and re-board in another (Osaka)?

[junglejane]

We're booked on a 12 day Japan cruise, RT from Tokyo: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-round-trip-tokyo-osaka-sapporo-busan-and-mt-fuji?itineraryCode=SPIRIT12TOKSAPHKDAKIKZWPUSBE9HMJOSASMZTOK. When we originally booked this cruise it was on the Sun, but later the ship was changed to the Spirit. Also, when we originally booked the schedule called for the ship to arrive in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 AM on Nov. 1 and stay overnight, leaving at 5 pm on Nov. 2. Later the itinerary was changed so that the ship now arrives in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 PM, cutting 12 (daytime) hours off of our stop in Osaka. This was pointed out by someone on our Roll Call who noted that it's odd because the distance between the preceding port of Himeji and Osaka is only about 55 miles but the ship takes 24 hours to get there. This caused me to wonder if it is permissible/feasible to leave the ship in Himeji and stay in a hotel on 10/31, so we call spend more time in Kyoto, and then re-board the ship on Nov. 2 in Osaka? 

 

[cruiseny4life]

Hmm...just be a pier runner, "miss" the ship, give your fellow passengers some entertainment, and rejoin the ship at the next dock. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

4 hours ago, junglejane said:

We're booked on a 12 day Japan cruise, RT from Tokyo: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-round-trip-tokyo-osaka-sapporo-busan-and-mt-fuji?itineraryCode=SPIRIT12TOKSAPHKDAKIKZWPUSBE9HMJOSASMZTOK. When we originally booked this cruise it was on the Sun, but later the ship was changed to the Spirit. Also, when we originally booked the schedule called for the ship to arrive in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 AM on Nov. 1 and stay overnight, leaving at 5 pm on Nov. 2. Later the itinerary was changed so that the ship now arrives in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 PM, cutting 12 (daytime) hours off of our stop in Osaka. This was pointed out by someone on our Roll Call who noted that it's odd because the distance between the preceding port of Himeji and Osaka is only about 55 miles but the ship takes 24 hours to get there. This caused me to wonder if it is permissible/feasible to leave the ship in Himeji and stay in a hotel on 10/31, so we call spend more time in Kyoto, and then re-board the ship on Nov. 2 in Osaka? 

 

 

If you plan on doing this, I'd encourage you to get writing in advance from NCL, don't just wing it.

 

Japan, while very welcoming to westerners, has pretty detailed regulations for visitors you wouldn't want to run afoul of... especially since you're visiting South Korea by ship before returning to Japan on this trip (this would likely flag you in the system if you went missing in Japan). There's also a general culture of following the rules that Americans tend to find perplexing, so striking out on your own would be frowned upon at best, and illegal at worse. 

[yakcruiser]

5 hours ago, junglejane said:

We're booked on a 12 day Japan cruise, RT from Tokyo: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-round-trip-tokyo-osaka-sapporo-busan-and-mt-fuji?itineraryCode=SPIRIT12TOKSAPHKDAKIKZWPUSBE9HMJOSASMZTOK. When we originally booked this cruise it was on the Sun, but later the ship was changed to the Spirit. Also, when we originally booked the schedule called for the ship to arrive in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 AM on Nov. 1 and stay overnight, leaving at 5 pm on Nov. 2. Later the itinerary was changed so that the ship now arrives in Osaka/Kyoto at 7:00 PM, cutting 12 (daytime) hours off of our stop in Osaka. This was pointed out by someone on our Roll Call who noted that it's odd because the distance between the preceding port of Himeji and Osaka is only about 55 miles but the ship takes 24 hours to get there. This caused me to wonder if it is permissible/feasible to leave the ship in Himeji and stay in a hotel on 10/31, so we call spend more time in Kyoto, and then re-board the ship on Nov. 2 in Osaka? 

 

I cancelled this cruise because of the late arrival into Osaka and switched to a cruise in May that stopped in Kobe for two full days. You might be able to do what you're suggesting as you will be in the same country and already cleared Immigration, but you would have to receive approval from a senior officer which you might not be able to do until you're onboard the ship. And there might be Japanese laws that forbid this.

Edited November 13, 2023 by yakcruiser

[chengkp75]

Depending on whether the port just before Himeji or just after Osaka are in Japan, this could run afoul of Japan's cabotage laws (similar to US PVSA), that don't allow foreign flag ships to transport passengers between Japanese ports.  While you may think that the cruise is a "round trip", your getting off in one Japanese port and reboarding in another Japanese port (whether done intentionally, or as a "missed the ship", could result in your not being allowed to reboard for the trip back to Tokyo, and then possible immigrations problems with getting to Tokyo for your flight home.

[n4w]

the question sounds similar to this one:

 

 

[skittl1321]

14 minutes ago, n4w said:

the question sounds similar to this one:

 

 

 

Different countries would have different laws though, unless NCL has a standard no reboarding allowed rule.

[chengkp75]

32 minutes ago, skittl1321 said:

 

Different countries would have different laws though, unless NCL has a standard no reboarding allowed rule.

The cabotage laws in both Japan and the EU are similar.

[rickays]

Why  not stay for a few days after the cruise - bullet train runs Tokyo to Osaka many times a day and only takes 2.5 hours.  Osaka airport has many flights back to Tokyo or maybe direct to USA.  This is what I am doing after our cruise (on different line).  Even found flight to Australia cheaper out of Osaka than Tokyo.  The Japanese are a very friendly nation and willing to help tourists.  If you have questions while you are there ask a younger person as they most likely have learnt English while in school and love to chat to English speaking people.

[junglejane]

(1) Our TA contacted NCL about our question and was told absolutely no, you can't leave in Himeji and re-board in Osaka.

(2) We only figured out about the Kyoto issue (shortened time in port) after booking our independent airfare. We are arriving 6 days early and leaving on disembarkation day.  At this point we're looking at turning this whole trip into a land trip because we're also disappointed that they dropped Hiroshima from the schedule. We're weighing various pros and cons to a "land only" trip or a combination.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

[14ersco]

3 hours ago, junglejane said:

(1) Our TA contacted NCL about our question and was told absolutely no, you can't leave in Himeji and re-board in Osaka.

(2) We only figured out about the Kyoto issue (shortened time in port) after booking our independent airfare. We are arriving 6 days early and leaving on disembarkation day.  At this point we're looking at turning this whole trip into a land trip because we're also disappointed that they dropped Hiroshima from the schedule. We're weighing various pros and cons to a "land only" trip or a combination.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

We just did what you are considering, had a cruise around Japan cancelled due to the pandemic and then we booked a land tour this past summer.  For our land tour we used Inside Japan Tours https://www.insidejapantours.com/us/

to arrange our land trip around Japan; Tokyo, Kyoto, Koya-san, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Tokyo.  Inside Japan Tours does offer guided tours, but we used a variation of one of their Self-Guided Adventures.  They booked lodging and most transportation, plus a few city tour guides.  We just had to use their detailed personalized guidebook to get from point to point and with English most everywhere it was fairly straightforward.  Our best decision ever, no rushing back to a ship, so we could linger over the long days and into the night.

Edited November 15, 2023 by 14ersco

[Travelling2Some]

My husband and I went back and forth with cruise v. land tour (DIY in our case) and decided it would be much better to just get a rail pass and spend as many days as we want in Kyoto (with side trips to Nara, Himeji and Osaka), Tokyo (with side trips to Hakone and Niko), Takayama and Kanazawa.  There is just way too much to see to be constrained by a ship's schedule for me.  Have a great trip!