We wanted a cruise that involved no more than 10 hours flying from Australia, and Japan fitted the bill. We chose Princess Line because of a referral from other members of the family. Found embarkation / disembarkation went smoothly and well organised. Loved the ship's public areas, food and entertainment. The cabin was fine although the shower was a bit small and we kept banging our arms on rails & walls. Excellent room and restaurant service mainly due to the people looking after us although we did find it difficult to get a table during peak times in the buffet (Horizons) restaurant. Were disappointed in several of the tours; felt they were expensive, repetitive (seafood markets, shrines and shopping centers) and missed seeing the hinterland or other regional attractions. Thus valuable "tour time" was often wasted in places of little interest. In retrospect, we would have seen and experienced more of Japan if we had not done back to back cruises but incorporated a coach tour for half of the time. Felt that the tourist information tents at each port were very useful, but it would have been nice to get the information on the boat before each port so you could plan ahead.