Departure time from Yokohama

So after spending time getting through check in we were soon unpacking and sitting out on the balcony in our room. The cruise allows a bottle of wine per passenger to be brought onboard without any charge so we quickly got the champagne into the fridge while unpacking.

As we left the port we had a local brass band and hundreds of locals out waving us off. The music was excellent from the brass band, if only they were onboard.

The boat itself is fairly large but not massive, the bars have a fairly good menu (incl craft beer!) And there are plenty of pools etc but it's certainly aimed at charging for extras and catering to the American market. We had expected a more Japanese clientele but I think instead they have targeted Americans and Australians to fill the boat as there are lots of fairly obnoxious groups around who boast about having done 30+ cruises. The service is not as good as the South America cruise we did in 2010 and the entertainment seems to be done on a very small scale. The band were the only highlight from the first nights show.

In any case we have spent plenty of time relaxing and as I write this I am sipping a glass of champagne and sitting back relaxing so compared to working it's no contestRead more