For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Chris and I wanted to do something totally different. Instead of purchasing some jewelry or something for the house, we decided that taking a once-in-a-lifetime cruise to a completely different part of the world would be the best way to celebrate. So, we chose a 12-night cruise around Japan, and we found there to be quite a few differences from our usual Caribbean cruise.
The Logistics Require More Planning in Japan
Not only was this cruise around Japan totally different from anything we had ever done before, but it also required that we do all kinds of research and preparation to ensure its success. We had the really long flights to consider, and so we needed to make sure that we were ready for those. And, once we were in South Korea and Japan, we needed to make sure that we had purchased the right necessities, chosen the right luggage, packed the right items, downloaded the right apps to our phone etc. And, even after all of that prep and planning, we needed to stay flexible so that we could adjust to any surprises that might come up. Without all of the preparation that we had done, we would not have been able to pivot and change plans like we ended up having to do. For a typical Caribbean cruise, we already know exactly what we need to pack, how we want to pack it, how we should best get to the ship and what we should do while on the ship or off the ship at ports. The amount of prep and planning for this cruise was totally different.
The Purpose of the Cruise Feels Different
The main difference we found is that the purpose of the cruise was completely different. While this won’t be true for everyone, we have been on many cruises through the Caribbean (almost 30), and so we have seen almost every island that is a typical cruise stop. On our Caribbean cruises, often the ship is the destination and our main goal is to relax and enjoy the chill of the Caribbean. We might book an excursion where we are snorkeling, trying a new beach club or checking out the local wrestling scene, but generally our goal is to soak up some sun and partake perhaps in some tasty drinks. On our cruise around Japan, however, we had never been there before and knew that it would be unlikely that we would be back any time soon, so we wanted to see as much of the country as we could. We packed our days off the ship with trips to breweries, visits to historical sites, playing in arcades and trying lots of new foods. Did I come home relaxed like I typically would from a Caribbean cruise? No. Did I return with my eyes opened wide to a different culture and new experiences? Yes, definitely.
Port Days Are More Intense in Japan and Sea Days Are Less Intense
For this cruise, we sailed on the Celebrity Millennium, which is Celebrity’s oldest and one of their smallest ships. So, not only were we anxious to spend as much time off the ship experiencing new things as possible, but also the sea days weren’t as intense as you would find on a ship in the Caribbean. When a ship docked in a new port, we would plan our day so that we could maximize everything that we wanted to do off of the ship. Typically, on a Caribbean cruise, if we got off the ship at all, we would spend a couple of hours getting a drink, walking around or relaxing and then we would get right back on the ship to enjoy a quieter ship. On sea days for our Japan cruise, because the ship was smaller and older, the main goal was to relax, enjoy the occasional trivia and experience some of the unique offerings on board (like the Ceviche Making Class). We did not have any trouble finding a deck chair to relax in, and we did not have any difficulty finding a seat at trivia, which isn’t always the case on some of the bigger ships.
The Cruise Demographics Feel Different
Another difference from the Caribbean cruise was who we were cruising with. While we have, of course, cruised with people from other countries before, because of how geography works, we had a greatly increased number of cruisers from Australia on our ship. We met many really lovely people from “Down Under” and enjoyed chatting with them. There were not tons of children cruising with us, we figured, for a variety of reasons. It is a long and expensive flight to get to East Asia for anyone, even the Australian cruisers had a 10-hour flight. Plus, with it being a Celebrity cruise, generally there are fewer kiddos anyway. Also, there were very few Zenith, or top tier, cruisers. Of the 2000 passengers, there were 14 Zenith cruisers and fewer Elite plus cruisers than we had cruised with on our Celebrity Beyond cruise back in October. This leads me to assume that most Zenith cruisers are retired people living in Florida near the Caribbean cruise debarkation ports.
Safety and Cleanliness Stand Out in Japan
Over the last decade, safety and cleanliness of the ports in the Caribbean has become an increasingly bigger concern. Unfortunately, cruisers in the Caribbean have reported having their drinks spiked, and many cruisers have been pickpocketed or at least scammed out of money. This was not a concern in South Korea or Japan. We would do our best to make sure that everything was secure in our shoulder bags, but our main concern was that when on public transportation that our bags were out of the way of other commuters. We felt totally safe to be out and about at night, and did not feel concerned at all for our well-being and safety while using their taxis or eating and drinking in their restaurants or food stalls. This was a nice change of pace from our Caribbean cruises.
Weather Matters Much More on a Japan Cruise
We discovered first hand, unfortunately, that the weather in and around Japan matters much more on a Japan cruise than in the Caribbean. We love to cruise the Caribbean in the fall. Yes, it is hurricane season, but there are fewer children on the ships and the prices are usually lower. If we are out at sea and there is a storm nearby, the captain is usually able to go around it. It’s true that occasionally ports get skipped, but it’s not tragic because there is still so much that is offered on the ship. If a port is replaced with another port, then that’s no big deal either as your snorkeling experience at one port can be replaced with a snorkeling experience at another port. And, for us, since we cruise the Caribbean often, we will just experience whatever we missed the next time we are on that itinerary.
In the seas around Japan, typhoon season is May-October with the peak months being August and September. June and July are terribly hot and humid. Rain and fog are really common during this time as well. To combat the rain and heat, nearly everyone walks around with an umbrella. The fog, which is quite common can block your view of Mt. Fuji or make your wait to the top of the Tokyo Skytree a waste of time. Most importantly for us, the Typhoon that had popped up made it so that our captain did not feel like it would be safe for us to make our way to Osaka. As a precaution, he decided the ship would skip that port and spend 3 days anchored in a safe area close to land. He could not simply go around it or find a different island or port to stop at so anchoring in a safe area was the best option. This meant that not only would we miss our day traveling up to Kyoto where we had big plans to go to the Nintendo Museum, but also that those three days being anchored would mean that the shops and casino would have to stay closed.
Instead of spending those three days stuck on board, we decided to get off in Hiroshima, go on a four day land tour (get our visit in to the Nintendo Museum) and rejoin the ship in Shimizu, near Mt. Fuji. Part of our cruise contract states that the captain can change itinerary at any time and no money is to be given back to passengers as retribution. So, we were not only out about $2800 of missed cruise fare and use of the beverage and internet package we had purchased, but we also incurred an additional $1400 in lodging, transportation and food costs during our land cruise. Thankfully, we were in a position where we could afford this, so we decided that the land tour would be worth it since we might not be back to that side of the world again any time soon. The weather did, however, really impact our cruise and this might be something to think about when planning for a cruise around Japan.
The Cost Structure Is Different
Finally, the amount of money that we spent on our entire trip was entirely different from that of our typical Caribbean cruises. We decided to splurge on our plane tickets and fly in Delta Premium Select the way out there and in Delta One on the way back, but even if you are flying in coach the plane tickets to Japan are expensive. The cruise itself wasn’t a huge expense, especially since it was supposed to be 12-nights, but because we were seeing more off of the ship we spent more money on excursions. Whether it was a DIY excursion or one through the cruise line, each day on land was an increased expense over what we might spend during a day at port in the Caribbean. Expenses were generally more, even with the increased number of souvenirs that we brought home. This was a special trip for us, so we had been saving up and anticipated the increased expenses, but it is definitely something to consider with your planning.
Our trip to Japan was truly incredible and we are so glad that we did it. We do want to go back once our kids are only enough and can withstand the longer flights and fully appreciate everything. But, we are also looking forward to our next Caribbean cruise where we will be able to do so much less planning and simply enjoy the art of cruising.
Contact me today if you are wanting to learn more about a cruise around Japan. Or, I would be happy to help book you on your next Caribbean cruise with us.