Best of Japan - Millennium 5/2 - 5/15

[Altamar]

Safe travels, looking forward to your posts, and thanks for doing this. Have a great cruise.

[DaKahuna]

Greetings from the InterContinental Yokohama Grand Hotel. 

 

We arrived at Dulles for our departure around 0945 on Sunday.  Due to having to use her passport which scans as her maiden name and not her married name, her KTN was not associated with her ticket so no TSA Pre.  This only added 10 minutes or so time as the airport was not busy at all.  

 

After clearning TSA we caught the train to C-Gates and proceeded directly to the Polaris Lounge.  This is our first time flying Polaris Business on an International flight, our other Polaris Business have been to/from Hawaii which does not give you lounge access.  

 

 We had a little over an hour in the lounge and took advantage of the buffet and I gave me recipe for a rum old fashioned to the bartender.  He said this was the first time he had ever made an old fashion with rum.  He did make one change - instead of sugar water, he used maple syrup.  He put very little in and the drink did not turn out overly sweet as I had initially feared.  

 

 

 

 We had the smoothest boarding I have encounter on a United flight in years.  Very few needing additional time, no children under two — under a dozen Global Services and 1K.  We were quickly in our seats and having a welcome sparkling wine.   

 

 Then things came to an abrupt halt.  Our 1235 departure was delayed 3 times and we ended up taking off around 1330.  Once airborne it turned out to be a long but comfortable flight.  

 

 After dinner service, I had the beef with barbecue sauce, with a a glass of champagne to go with the shirmp appetizer, and a glass of Pinot noir to go with the beef.  

 

 

For dessert, I had everbody’s favorite ice cream Sunday - with chocolate, nuts, and Bailey’s.  It was delicious. 

 

 

I watched two movies starting before, during and after dinner and then layed the seat back  and had a nice 5-hour nap.

 

They served half of a grilled cheese sandwich and soup, I passed on the soup but liked the grilled cheese.  

 

 About an hour and a half before arrival they served breakfast, sorry no photo’s.  It was okay — I had the egg dish with a sausage and potato’s. Nothing to write home about.  I have to say, I have joined the ranks of those who think the food is okay but believe it should be better in First Class/Business Class, especially on long intercontinental flights. 

[DaKahuna]

20 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

We are looking at doing a similar cruise in 2026 around the same time.  I have a couple of questions.

 

1.  How is the Intercontinental hotel?  We are huge fans of the hotels we have stayed in so far.

 

 It is comfortable.  We have a harbor view room so will be able to get up early and watch Millennium enter port and dock

 

20 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

2.  What is the weather like this time of year?

 

 It was a little windy and around 72 degrees under cloudy skies.  When we took a walk to get some light food to bring back to the room it was breezy and felt like it was in the mid to upper 60’s.  

20 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

3.  Is the Millie still understaffed?  It was back in December/January ...

 

 Will have to wait until after we board and have been on the ship for a couple of days before I can answer that question.  I will try and remember. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

 We arrived in Tokyo at Haneda airport about 4:43 pm.  I think the walk from the gate to baggage claim took longer than it did to get our bags, clear immigration and customs and get to the bus ticket counter.  

 

 We only had to show the Visit Japan QR code one time but had to show our passports multiple times for customs and immigration.  I think we were through in under 40 minutes from the time we got off the plane until we were in line to purchase bus tickets.  There was only one other flight in there with us from what I could tell.   BTW, our flight was only slightly over half full in Polaris, lots of open seats, which I guess is how we got upgraded, and even six or more empty seats in Premium Economy.  Never checked how full the Economy seating was but pretty sure from a glance at the seat map it was not very full. 

 

We had about a 50 minute wait for the bus, and then about a 50 minute bus ride.  Both were uneventful.   

 

 We got checked into the hotel, received our bags from the bell service, and then walked to a train station nearby, in the Queens and picked up some light fare for dinner.  

 

 Here’s a little nighttime view of the harbor from our hotel, on the 20th floor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

17 hours ago, scorfman said:

Wife and I are on this cruise as well. Would it be ok to diary in this thread as well? We're arriving a bit later and leaving home after a few days in Tokyo post cruise.

 

 Absolutely.  I welcome anyone on this cruise to add their comments, observations, etc. to this.  It’s good to see the same thing from a different pair of eyes.  Also others are going to have different excursions from the ones we are taking and the more pictures the better. 

 

 

We are going both pre and post cruise stays in Yokohama.  It’s a lot more convenient for some of the personal things we want to take care of on this trip. 

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, ewalke22 said:

We're also flying from Washington (Dulles) on a 12:25pm flight (All Nippon Airways) so any details about your flight would also be appreciated.

 

 I wish we had flown ANA instead of United.  The food on ANA has always been better than United’s.  Lesson remembered for our next trip. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

I think any post about Japan would be remiss without the following, taken during our approach to Haneda this afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

[soccermommy]

We were on Millennium in October doing the Best of Southern Japan, and it was, hands down, the best and most memorable cruise we have taken on Celebrity. We were in Concierge, and we found the food much improved with the new menus. I don’t remember any particular problems with staffing or service, in fact, the service was stellar.
I am excited to follow your posts, because it will bring back great memories of our time in Japan. We’d go back to Japan again, all we have to do is survive the trip from Boston.

[hcat]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We arrived in Tokyo at Haneda airport about 4:43 pm.  I think the walk from the gate to baggage claim took longer than it did to get our bags, clear immigration and customs and get to the bus ticket counter.  

 

 We only had to show the Visit Japan QR code one time but had to show our passports multiple times for customs and immigration.  I think we were through in under 40 minutes from the time we got off the plane until we were in line to purchase bus tickets.  There was only one other flight in there with us from what I could tell.   BTW, our flight was only slightly over half full in Polaris, lots of open seats, which I guess is how we got upgraded, and even six or more empty seats in Premium Economy.  Never checked how full the Economy seating was but pretty sure from a glance at the seat map it was not very full. 

 

We had about a 50 minute wait for the bus, and then about a 50 minute bus ride.  Both were uneventful.   

 

 We got checked into the hotel, received our bags from the bell service, and then walked to a train station nearby, in the Queens and picked up some light fare for dinner.  

 

 Here’s a little nighttime view of the harbor from our hotel, on the 20th floor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

glad you arrived ok.. great photos..off to a good start.

Looking forward to this  review!

thanks for sharing....

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[txtechmk]

This is one of our favorite cruises.  We did this last October.  I would definitely go to Japan again.

 

Yes, that walk at the airport is LONG!!

 

Enjoy your cruise.  I'll be following along.

[cachouonacruise]

Thank-you for posting this review! Japan is still only a distant dream for me, but who knows, what could happen! 
 

I will definitely read all with interest! 

[DaKahuna]

Good morning.  It’s not jet lag,  or at least I do not think it is but I stayed up until 11 PM last night but still woke up after five hours of sleep.  It always takes me a day or two to adjust to a new bed.  

 

Anyway, today’s plan is to do a lot of shopping and eating mainly in and around Yokohama train station.   But in the mean time we are just taking it easy in the room, waiting for the hotel breakfast buffet to open. 

 

 We’d like to thank everyone who is following along on this journey with us.  We have been looking forward to it ever since we booked the cruise a year ago.  We hope to we can make it interesting for you and share with you our experiences. 

 

 

Edited April 29 by DaKahuna

[peanut head]

Thank you for taking us along!  Have a wonderful journey.

[DaKahuna]

We went down to the hotel’s Ocean Terrace buffet for breakfast.  A very wide selection of food was available, including typical Japanese breakfast items as well as American and European fare (thankfully no beans though that I saw). It was good but I am not sure it was worth the price. 

 

 

This morning was cold, 65 F, and raining but it is starting to warm up a couple of degrees and it is cloudy and over cast.  

 

 This is where Millennium will be docking Thursday morning. 

 

 

 

 Yokohama Bay bridge.  We crossed over it last evening on the way from the airport.  Millennium will be sailing under her when we pull out Thursday. 

 

 

Our plan for this morning is to walk to Minatomirai station and take the train to Yokohama station.  It’s a six minute ride and cost 200 Yen per person.   Have Suica app, will travel!

 

 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

Golden week.  Will you be seeing any of the festivities?

[jbcallender]

Did Alaska on Milie last August.  Love that ship and crew,  Say Hi! to Umesa in Luminae!

[mahdnc]

Have a nice cruise!

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, jbcallender said:

Did Alaska on Milie last August.  Love that ship and crew,  Say Hi! to Umesa in Luminae!

 Will do. 

 

[DaKahuna]

As you can see, the skies have cleared up a little

 

 

Some random photo’s from our trip to Yokohama station. 

the Golden Arches are everywhere.

 

 

 A police box - very prevalent.  Always look for the flashing red light 

 

 

I asked my wife if this was a sign for an Alien Crossing. She said it was a caution to parents to keep an eye on their kids to prevent kidnapping.  Strange …

 

 

Husbands — if your wife wants to go here, you can feel your wallet getting lighter the closer you get.  Ladies - a great place to go on your own.  

 

 

Smoking in public and in buildings is frowned upon.  The Japanese solution -  out side smoking areas …. 

 

 

 When is the last time you saw a Shakey’s Pizza —
 Also the ABC Mart here is very different than the ABC Store in Hawaii.

 

 

Lunch - My DW says this place has a large YouTube following -  we waited 30 minutes to get a seat about 20 people still lined up waiting when we got in.  Very popular it seems. 

 

 

We both had the vegetable and shrimp tempura.  I thought it was good tasting but did not see what the big deal was about it.  I have had better tempura. 

 

 

If you live pastries, you’ll love this place.  Grab a basket and some tongs at the entrance and pick out as many as you like.  

 

 

I went with a pecan bun .. 

 

 

In addition to the pastries she bought for herself, my DW bought a pizza for me — How cute is this?  I’ll have it later. 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

 We took a nice nap after our busy morning.  Fortunately we had planned for this and had purchased bento’s for this evening’s meal in the room.  

 

Outside:

 

 

Inside:  For a prepared meal you normally cannot go wrong with a nice bento box

 

.

 

 

So after waking up from our afternoon nap, we made a pot of hot water for some green tea and had our bento’s.  We are now relaxing and watching YouTube videos while planning for our visit to Yokosuka tomorrow.  

 

I am going to go to the Navy base, where I was stationed on three occasions, just to look around while my DW is going to be meeting with her sister for lunch and shopping.   It’s going to be interesting to see how much the base has changed in 34 years. 

[scorfman]

And we’re off! Early start this morning for a 6am hop from Baltimore to Atlanta. We had enough time to stop in the club for a nice celebratory Mimosa before heading to the gate. Should be arriving at Haneda a bit before 1pm.

[MustBCruzn]

6 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

I am going to go to the Navy base, where I was stationed on three occasions, just to look around while my DW is going to be meeting with her sister for lunch and shopping.   It’s going to be interesting to see how much the base has changed in 34 years. 

 

Your pictures are wonderful and have me in full reminisce mode. I can't wait to hear how your visit to the base was (and see pictures). I was stationed at the Naval Hospital, Yokosuka in the late '70s, and have such fond memories of my time there.

[soccermommy]

I wish we had had more time in Yokohama, we spent only 1 night at the Hyatt Regency. We did visit Chinatown, only a couple of blocks from the hotel, and had a great dinner there. There is quite a large Chinese population in Yokohama, and Chinese food is very popular. Who knew?
We got a great rate at the Hyatt, and we really liked the hotel. We were so close to the terminal we just walked a few blocks. Even with our not small suitcases, it only took about 10 minutes, but the weather was good. If I ever get back to Japan, and I really, really want to return, I think we’d spend a few days in Yokohama.

Your pictures are great!

[DaKahuna]

5 minutes ago, MustBCruzn said:

 

Your pictures are wonderful and have me in full reminisce mode. I can't wait to hear how your visit to the base was (and see pictures). I was stationed at the Naval Hospital, Yokosuka in the late '70s, and have such fond memories of my time there.

 

 I had not planned to post pictures of the base since it’s not really a place cruise tourist may be interested, but since you asked now I will. I was on the USS Oklahoma City 70 - 73, Navy Communications Station 73 - 78, and USS Midway 81 - 84.  That all seems so long ago.

 

2 minutes ago, soccermommy said:

I wish we had had more time in Yokohama

 

Funny you should mention that.  My wife and I were saying the same thing.  I believe I posted somewhere about how we thought when we first planned this tip that a couple of days before and after the cruise should be more than enough time.  It’s not. 

 

 We are looking at coming back, possibly as soon as next year, for a two week vacation. With one week being a trip from Hokkaido to Kyushu via train, stopping at major cities along the way and then a week in the Tokyo/Yokohama area.