Osaka, the kitchen of Japan, beckons food lovers and history buffs alike with its down-to-earth charm and bustling street life. Known historically as a merchant city, Osaka offers a temperate climate that nurtures both its colorful festivals and vibrant nightlife. This city stands apart from its polished counterpart Tokyo by offering a genuine glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary Japanese people, through its thriving local eateries and lively markets. Unique to Osaka is its obsession with comedy, home to the nation's soul of humor, making it a place where laughter and warmth permeate the street corners.
Days 5-6
Tokyo
Tokyo, a city that masterfully blends the ultramodern with the traditional, offers a vibrant urban tapestry that is a treasure trove for explorers and cultural enthusiasts alike. Known for its dynamic climate with distinct seasonal changes, Tokyo provides a unique backdrop for the cherry blossoms of spring and the fiery leaves of autumn. This city goes beyond the neon lights and skyscrapers; its a place where ancient temples stand in the shadows of towering buildings, offering a true slice of Japanese life. Fun fact: Tokyo's Sumida River hosts one of the oldest and most spectacular fireworks festivals in Japan.
Osaka, the kitchen of Japan, beckons food lovers and history buffs alike with its down-to-earth charm and bustling street life. Known historically as a merchant city, Osaka offers a temperate climate that nurtures both its colorful festivals and vibrant nightlife. This city stands apart from its polished counterpart Tokyo by offering a genuine glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary Japanese people, through its thriving local eateries and lively markets. Unique to Osaka is its obsession with comedy, home to the nation's soul of humor, making it a place where laughter and warmth permeate the street corners.
Tokyo, a city that masterfully blends the ultramodern with the traditional, offers a vibrant urban tapestry that is a treasure trove for explorers and cultural enthusiasts alike. Known for its dynamic climate with distinct seasonal changes, Tokyo provides a unique backdrop for the cherry blossoms of spring and the fiery leaves of autumn. This city goes beyond the neon lights and skyscrapers; its a place where ancient temples stand in the shadows of towering buildings, offering a true slice of Japanese life. Fun fact: Tokyo's Sumida River hosts one of the oldest and most spectacular fireworks festivals in Japan.
A fantastic short break away, the staff and service was excellent. Food was lovely!! Really surprised me how nice it all was.
Only downside was the boat and rooms etc were looking a little bit tired. Needs a revamp. Other than that it was great! My husband is Coeliac and everyone was helpful and he didn’t have any bad experiences!
Our cruise was from Shanghai, China to Japan.
It was a big cruise ship with many passengers.
Everything was good, the only issue I had was that we had to get to entertainment events early to get a good seat.
The food was great on all levels, fine Dinning and the main Buffet.
The restaurant, Windjammer, had a great variety of food on offer.
A great trip.
I enjoyed the cruise but I was disappointed that we only had a few hours in Port to visit the area in Japan.
This has made me want to go back to Japan for a longer stay.
A very pleasant and enjoyable trip.
We embarked in San Diego on this 16 nt cruise. Highly recommend sunset balcony to make the most of Panama Canal. Great ports in Columbia and Costa Rica. An older ship in RCL fleet but staff were excellent, plenty to do and never too crowded (other than when transmitting Panama Canal itself). Solarium is a great space on this ship and food was to a high quality. The ship is. It a superliner but absolutely perfect for this amazing itinerary.
Er we’re travelling on Vision of the Seas from Baltimore. Ship is an older and smaller one in the fleet but despite this, cabin was spacious and a real plus was the cleanliness of the ship.
Limited facilities so no flow rider or ice rink, not even small crazy golf. Shuffle board (at an angle) was as exciting as it got, with badminton being played in centrum as no sports courts.
We were planning on a relaxing break and so lack of sports weren’t too much of a concern, however evening entertainment was a real let down. Shows of poor standard, no musical production, special guest stars were a let down. All of the above was not helped by such an old clientele who typically were on early dinner sitting and in bed by 9:30!
Quality of food was typically good and service in restaurant was excellent, but bar waiter service was very slow and could take up to half an hour from ordering a drink to receiving it.
I have no issue in sailing on an older ship but sadly this was more of a retirement home at sea - many guests simply stayed on ship to be looked after for months at a time. This is a great facility for some, but needs to be marketed as such. Not up to RCLs usual fun packed high quality offering.
11 night cruise tokyo to singapore with 5 stops; nagasaki, South Korea, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh and Na Treng. Within a few months of booking they had dropped Na Treng for unconvincing reasons. Then a weather event (not their fault of course) meant we couldn't board the ship until 2 days later than planned so our cruise was now 9 days. Despite having already dropped a port stop, they announced that they would be dropping two further ports to make up time so no stopping at nagasaki and S Korea. Then the day before we were due to stop at Ho Chi Minh, a tannoy announcement that we would instead be stopping at Da Nang. We couldn't research what to do there given the extortionate cost of Internet access. There was a stampede to book trips meaning 2+ hour queues.
So we lost 2 days of a cruise, 2 days of a drinks package, 5 stops became 2 of which only one was as advertised, the 2 extra nights we stayed in tokyo cost us dearly as we had to book a hotel room at short notice and to oay for food that would otherwise have been included on the ship, and the trips we had booked with external companies doe ports we didn't stop at were lost at considerable cost.
The Royal Caribbean customer service response? Just disgraceful. They refunded part of the hotel cost leaving us significantly out of pocket. The lost trips? Sorry but no refund. The extra food? Nothing. The loss of 2 days of the cruise and the drinks package, they offered an on board credit. I had no reason for a credit as I had nothing I needed to spend on board so wanted a cash refund. Nope, not budging. I have been with RC on several occasions and have now cancelled my crown and anchor membership and will never sail with them again. The measure of a reputable company is how they respond when things go wrong not when things go well and RC showed their true colours. Avoid at all cost
Lovely family cruise. Very busy as it was the summer holidays. Hot tubs full of kids which was off putting but great to see them enjoying themselves. Food great
We have sailed with RC for over 20 years and was very disappointed to find they had really cut back on their services they provide. No only 1 turn down per day had to ask for double towels rather than be provided, no tissues, stateroom not hoovered daily and balcony not cleaned. Even in the coffee shop always a big que. Entertainment very basic.
I think they need to up their game as there is a lot of other companies visiting the same cruise destinations, providing a better service for the same price.
