Still Cruising Around Japan and Asia

October 26 through November 2, 2017

I met my roommate on a previous cruise and when her friend was unable to make it, she invited me to join her on this cruise around Asia. We shared a balcony cabin, a real luxury for me because I usually book an internal cabin and pay the single supplement fee. I was very excited because the first port was to be Kagoshima on October 28 and my cousins and I had planned to meet at the Kagoshima train station and have lunch together. They live in Miyakonojo, about a two hour train ride from Kagoshima. I had printed out maps and researched ways to get to the train station from the pier. I considered the bus, tram, and train. All were convenient and I was confident I could manage to get to the train station and we had decided to meet at the post office across the street from the station.

The only glitch was the weather. My cousins had been following the news and they were in the middle of Typhoon #22 or Typhoon Saola as the weather stations reported it. They found the Princess Cruise website and knew before I did that the ship would not be able to dock in Kagoshima as the port was closed. We were all disappointed but plan to meet in Okinawa in three years so we are looking forward to that pleasurable event. I kind of knew intuitively that I might not get to Kagoshima so like many Japanese travelers do, sent my smaller carry on luggage with gifts by delivery service to their home. The cost was nominal, about 17 U.S. dollars, and kudos to the delivery service who delivered the suitcase to their home in the pouring rain! The cruise line credited our accounts $50 for the missed port.

On Halloween, pumpkins created by staff members were on display in the atrium.

Chan May, Vietnam, was to have been our second stop on November 1. I really wanted to walk the grounds where my brother had walked 52 years ago. He served two tours in Vietnam and suffered from PTSD, a condition not even defined then. He died at age 35 of meningitis. Separation and the divorce of my parents precluded me from getting to know him and I always feel sad when I think of him. Continued bad weather brought an announcement from the captain informing us that the pilot refused to come on board and that the port was effectively closed. He announced that we would receive $100 for this missed port.

By this time, many passengers were grumbling about not seeing anything yet and a group held a meeting. The leader of the group went to the purser’s desk to complain and summoned the entire group to join him. This is when staff members felt uneasy enough to call the captain and he started by voicing his dismay over the group’s behavior on the loudspeaker and informing us that the group members had been identified and risked being taken off the ship in Hong Kong. Rumors swirled and gave us some respite from the monotony of the ocean views and rocky journey.

Most passengers knew that the captain was our hero, keeping 2600 passengers safe by using his experience to guide the ship around the typhoon, reducing speed in choppy waters and communicating with different ports and the Princess Cruise main office. On November 2, he informed us that we would be given credits of one-half the fare paid on this cruise to use on another cruise before December 2018.

-October 26 through November 2, 2017
-I met my roommate on a previous cruise and when her friend was unable to make it, she invited me to join her on this cruise around Asia.  We shared a balcony cabin, a real luxury for me because I usually book an internal cabin and pay the single supplement fee.  I was very excited because the first port was to be Kagoshima on October 28 and my cousins and I had planned to meet at the Kagoshima train station and have lunch together.  They live in Miyakonojo, about a two hour train ride from Kagoshima.  I had printed out maps and researched ways to get to the train station from the pier.  I considered the bus, tram, and train.  All were convenient and I was confident I could manage to get to the train station and we had decided to meet at the post office across the street from the station.
-The only glitch was the weather.  My cousins had been following the news and they were in the middle of Typhoon #22 or Typhoon Saola as the weather stations reported it.  They found the Princess Cruise website and knew before I did that the ship would not be able to dock in Kagoshima as the port was closed.  We were all disappointed but plan to meet in Okinawa in three years so we are looking forward to that pleasurable event.  I kind of knew intuitively that I might not get to Kagoshima so like many Japanese travelers do, sent my smaller carry on luggage with gifts by delivery service to their home.  The cost was nominal, about 17 U.S. dollars, and kudos to the delivery service who delivered the suitcase to their home in the pouring rain!  The cruise line credited our accounts $50 for the missed port.
-On Halloween, pumpkins created by staff members were on display in the atrium.
-Chan May, Vietnam, was to have been our second stop on November 1.  I really wanted to walk the grounds where my brother had walked 52 years ago.  He served two tours in Vietnam and suffered from PTSD, a condition not even defined then.  He died at age 35 of meningitis.  Separation and the divorce of my parents precluded me from getting to know him and I always feel sad when I think of him.  Continued bad weather brought an announcement from the captain informing us that the pilot refused to come on board and that the port was effectively closed.  He announced that we would receive $100 for this missed port.
-By this time, many passengers were grumbling about not seeing anything yet and a group held a meeting.  The leader of the group went to the purser’s desk to complain and summoned the entire group to join him.  This is when staff members felt uneasy enough to call the captain and he started by voicing his dismay over the group’s behavior on the loudspeaker and informing us that the group members had been identified and risked being taken off the ship in Hong Kong.  Rumors swirled and gave us some respite from the monotony of the ocean views and rocky journey.
-Most passengers knew that the captain was our hero, keeping 2600 passengers safe by using his experience to guide the ship around the typhoon, reducing speed in choppy waters and communicating with different ports and the Princess Cruise main office.  On November 2, he informed us that we would be given credits of one-half the fare paid on this cruise to use on another cruise before December 2018.