We generally enjoyed this cruise and it appears that Princess has solved some of the problems and issues that were reported by previous reviewers. The 2015 itinerary for Yokohama departures has changed considerably and the ship will no longer visit Beppu and Jeju. Therefore I will not discuss these ports. We did find that a 2600 passenger ship was too large for our tastes. There were too many lines and the feeling of being crowded at different venues. There were often long waits for elevators and they seemed to have minds of their own as we noticed they would routinely skip floors as we waited for them to stop to pick us up. Also, having almost everything (the life boat drill, PA announcements, entertainment, etc) translated into Japanese was cumbersome and slowed the pace of events. There were about 800 Japanese on board and some of them got on the ship in Kobe. We also had a large group from Australia and a lesser number from the U.S. There were also quite a few Vietnamese who I believe were mostly also from the U.S. and some Chinese.

Yokohama and Embarkation

Before the cruise we visited our son who is stationed in Japan with the U.S. Navy and lives in Yokohama. We took the “limousine” bus from Narita to YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal). This could not be easier as the bus leaves about every 15 minutes, they load the bags for you and it is located just as you leave the customs area. There is a discount for passengers over 65 which is 2,000 yen. The regular fare was 3,600 yen. You just have to show your passport and pay in cash. We explored Yokohama and the nearby cities on our own. If you use public transportation, it is handy to buy a prepaid “IC” card, either “Suica” or “Pasmo”. This card is good for all subways, most trains, and buses in the metropolitan area of Tokyo/Yokhama. Its so much easier than buying tickets each time and you don’t need to carry coins. There is a 500 Yen deposit that you get back when you surrender the card as long as you have something left on the card. If you don’t have a balance, there is a 220 Yen handling fee. The card is even good on the great 100 yen tourist bus (http://www.yokohama-bus.jp/akaikutsu/en/index.html). We used this bus quite a bit to get to where we wanted to visit and then proceeded to walk around. We highly recommend the Sankei-en Gardens which is reachable by public bus. We also enjoyed China Town, Yamashita Park, the Red Brick Warehouse and the Seabass water taxi to tour the harbor. I was stationed in Japan 40 years ago and was surprised to find that meal prices in Japan are now quite reasonable. You can get a decent Japanese style lunch or dinner for under 1000 Yen and its easy to choose your meal from the models or pictures in the window. Also there is no tipping! There are also numerous sushi conveyor belt restaurants where the sushi is only 100 yen per plate. We found that we had to take more local currency than we were used to as many restaurants did not take credit cards. Unless you are eating at upscale or hotel restaurants expect to pay in cash. We took a taxi to the port for about 1000 yen from our Son’s apartment. Again no tipping expected, even when the driver handles your luggage. We arrived about 2 PM and the lines were short and we boarded quickly. Read more