We were interested in seeing more of beautiful Japan...and the thought of visiting Russia was very interesting...We found that the Russian tour was lovely, however perhaps a little bit more free time would have been appreciated. We had some great weather and it only rained in one of the ports but it was still fun. The actual cruise was very lovely and relaxing and the highlight of the cruise was seeing some dolphins swim by while we were on the open deck. The itinerary was really great and we loved the Japanese culture . We loved browsing through the morning markets.Japan is a beautiful country to visit. Its very clean and the locals seem to take pride in keeping their country beautiful and also they are very helpful when you approach them with a query. I will definitely recommend this cruise to my family and friends. Loved every bit of the experience.