Wansbrough's Cruise Blog

Our conversation with the Costa Hostess seems to have paid dividends as Nicole was treated like royalty last night. We were getting visits from what seemed like every manager on the ship. Two plates of food for every course and even a special chocolate dessert. These were the same people we spoke with earlier in the cruise who were unenthusiastic and nonchalant when we expressed our dissatisfaction about Nicole’s vegan options compared to previous Costa cruises. I find it really poor that it took a proper complaint to motivate these people to do their job properly.

 

Today was another strange port time with an arrival at 3:00 and departure at 11:00. Yesterday evening we received notification by means of a letter in the cabin that we would require a number for disembarking which we would need to collect from one of the bars between 9:00 and 11:00 so being as we had a 3:30 rendezvous with our tour guide today, I thought I would get there early to try and get the lowest number possible.

Well, I arrived at 8:40 only to find there was already a lengthy queue of people waiting to get their numbers. I eventually ended up with number 73, but as it happens, the number would have made no difference whatsoever because we were called to leave the ship within 10 minutes of clearance being given, but nobody checked our ticket, so we could have got off at any point regardless of what number we had.

While we were waiting for clearance, we were treated to a display of some very enthusiastic and talented Japanese Taiko drummers.

We could also make out the cable cars going up to the Herb Gardens.

In the end, we were 10 minutes earlier than planned getting off the ship and our guide, Leo, was ready and waiting for us at the rendezvous point at the entrance to the Port Liner monorail with some pre-loaded IC cards which are good for most of Japan’s public transport. It’s a bit like the Oyster card in London, and you just use it to tap yourself in and out of the gates at the stations.

We were soon on our way to the city centre, where we got off and walked a few streets to get to Ikuta Shrine, which is one of Kobe’s oldest Shinto shrines, founded over 1,800 years ago.

Leo was very chatty and was constantly feeding us snippets of information along the route.

From there, we visited Nankin-machi (Kobe’s Chinatown). This is a vibrant district in Kobe filled with colourful streets, lots of delicious-looking street food, and shops, offering a lively taste of Chinese culture in Japan and being a Saturday night was very busy.

Part of our tour involved a bite to eat at a vegan cafe, and Nicole enjoyed another instalment of Japanese vegan food. From there, it was back on the subway for one stop to get to the Herb Garden cable car lower station.

There is a scenic garden at the top of the mountains of Kobe, offering panoramic city and sea views, and at this time of year, there is a Christmas market. It was dark by the time we left the restaurant, so my photos are not very clear, but I can tell you it was an amazing view looking down on Kobe all illuminated up.

The queues were long in both directions, but it was worth the wait and we were so pleased we made the effort. On the way back, Leo helped us purchase our own IC Cards so that we could use them in Nagasaki and also when we come back to Japan next year. We also collected two more EKI stamps en route. Time seemed to pass really quickly this afternoon and evening and by the time we had navigated the subway and monorail, it was coming up to 9:00 pm. Leo came back to the cruise terminal with us, where we said our goodbyes and made our way back on board the ship.

We had another memorable and fascinating day in Japan, and have just one more to go in this country before we head to Busan and then ultimately Hong Kong and the end of the cruise. We have a sea day tomorrow to recharge our batteries and then we plan to tackle Nagasaki on our own.

Fitbit Steps – 14,760

There was an announcement over the PA yesterday afternoon informing us that due to port traffic, we would be arriving in Tokyo 1 hour later than scheduled. To offset this change to our visit times, our departure would be an hour later, too, but also extended by 30 minutes.

With a pre-cruise visit planned for next year, we just got off the ship and went to the information hub run by volunteers.

They gave us a couple of options, both of which involved using public transport, so we decided to go to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. This trip involved using the Yurikamome Line from Tokyo International Cruise Terminal Station and seven stations down the line to Shimbashi Station, where we caught another train to Harajuku on the Yamanote Line.

Sounds simple enough, and it’s easy once you are on the train, but navigating the stations is the complicated bit. We managed it so it can’t be that difficult to do, and it was a good taster for next year.

Meiji Jingu Shrine is within a large park called Yoyogi Park and is very close to the station. It was very busy with lots of tourists making their way to and from the shrine itself, which is almost in the middle.

Having found the shrine and taken some photos of the area, and also getting our first 2 EKI stamps, we decided to make our way back for some lunch at a vegan restaurant close by to Harajuku Station. Just as we were leaving, we spotted a wedding procession at the shrine, which motivated just about every item capable of taking a photo into action; it was like a paparazzi experience.

On the way back, we spotted another EKI stamp opportunity at Meiji Jingu Inner Garden so we furnished ourselves with a third stamp.

After a walk around the garden, we got back on track and enjoyed lunch at a vegan restaurant called Vegan Bistro Jangara. Another excellent, tasty meal and again, not at all expensive.

 

The first train journey back was extremely busy, with standing room only most of the way; we were all packed in like sardines and getting on and off was a real task. I almost forgot, we also gained two more stamps at the stations on the return journey, so we now have 5 in the book. Not bad for a day’s work, and we are now more aware of what and where to look.

Travelling across Tokyo took about an hour in each direction and we decided that we had achieved our objective today, so we arrived back on the ship at 2:45, giving ourselves plenty of wiggle room.

The rest of the afternoon was quite a leisurely one, so I decided to write up the day’s first venture into Tokyo while Nicole went to the gym. The ship was fairly quiet, so we made the most of it. Tomorrow we have again been told to collect a number for getting off the ship, but we will take no notice and just mingle in with the ship’s tours as they leave. This is what a couple of our table mates did last time with great success, so fingers crossed it works for us tomorrow.

Fitbit Steps – 14,878

Another sea day before we get to Tokyo, I was previously under the impression we were docking at Yokohama but have recently discovered we are much further in and will be using Tokyo International Cruise Terminal. This has changed our plans entirely, so I have researched things to do and I think we will just get off and walk. As we are coming back next year and intend to spend 3 nights in Tokyo pre-cruise, there isn’t any urgency to see anything of major interest.

 

Nicole went to the gym this morning and, on her way back, decided to collect a bottle of water from one of the bars. After 7 days into the cruise, she was told that she had used up her quota. As she doesn’t drink alcohol and the price is worked out on a daily rate, we are struggling to make sense of this. If one person in the cabin has the My Drinks package, then anyone else sharing the cabin has to have it too. She can seemingly go and have as many spirits as she likes, but no more bottled water. Tap water is not even available in the dining room, and if you want water with your meal, you have to buy it or bring your own along which is what our tablemates have been doing. There are water dispensers in the buffet and a couple of areas around that deck, but there are stickers on them asking you not to fill water bottles directly from the machine, so it’s a case of filling a cup then pouring it into a bottle. We were not totally sure who to have a word with, so our first port of call was the English English-speaking hostess who is only available for an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the early evening. 3 hours a day on a sea day, nice job if you can get it.

So, having spoken with Hannah, the Costa Hostess, there is no movement on the bottled water situation, but we can apparently get a glass of water at any bar. We also expressed our extreme disappointment with Nicole’s vegan options, especially in the MDR, given the excellent service we received from our last 3 Costa cruises. Lots of notes taken, and whether anything comes of it remains to be seen.

A very quiet day today with lots of reading and browsing, only interrupted by meals and a few laps of the upper decks to get some exercise and steps in.

Tonight was a completely different scenario in the MDR; we had two tiers of management loitering and eventually confronting Nicole about her vegan options. Quite why it has taken for us to complain for Costa to take any action is very disappointing. The two management staff were people we actually spoke with at the beginning of the cruise, and didn’t want to know. All of a sudden, things have changed.

Tomorrow Tokyo beckons…

Fitbit Steps – 11,137

With another planned day ahead of us, we had a quick breakfast in the buffet, which by the time we got there was pretty deserted due to all the Costa excursions leaving soon after we arrived. We had given ourselves a buffer window of an hour and had arranged a pick up for 9:00, which worked really well.

We had booked a private tour through GoWithGuide labelled as Kagoshima Highlights, which was slightly modified to remove items that were of little interest. Our guide, Eiji, was ready and waiting for us by the information desk in the cruise terminal and after introductions, we were on the move to visit Sengan-en, a historic Japanese garden and former residence of the Shimazu clan.

The drive took around 40 minutes, and we easily beat all the ship’s tours so it was relatively empty when we arrived. It was a really nice place to visit with its beautiful gardens and house, complete with a spectacular view of Sakurajima. The house dates back to the 1700s and, with the gardens, is now a UNESCO Heritage site.

Once we had finished our tour, it was back in the car for a quick photo stop at Shiroyama park observatory, which provided a great panorama of Kagoshima town and Sakurajima.

It was then back to Kagoshima for a spot of lunch, which today was in a little vegan cafe called Café Indigo that is operated by a lady who runs it single-handedly. It’s a set meal which starts with soup, then followed by a platter of vegan Japanese bites. It was really tasty, and Nicole was chuffed to bits with it; she even had a Soy Masala Chai tea for the first time, and our guide, who has a keen interest in food, accepted our invitation to join us, seemed to be impressed with the offerings.

My chopstick management is coming along really well. I have never been a fan of using them, but when there is no other option, it’s a case of do or die.

 

From there, it was a 10-minute walk to the ferry, where we enjoyed the 15-minute ride to Sakurajima. On arrival, we took a nice walk along part of the Nagisa Lava Trail and experienced some more great panoramas of Kagoshima and the volcano.

On the return leg, Nicole took the opportunity to indulge in a foot bath in Sakurajima Yogan Nagisa Park.

 

Before taking the ferry back, we took a look around the visitor’s centre which was a short walk from the ferry terminal.

Eiji then brought us back to the ship, where we thanked him for the day and said our goodbyes.

We also discovered that Eiji has his own website, and you can book directly and not use the likes of GoWithGuide or Viator.

We can thoroughly recommend him, so here is the direct link to his website

Down South | English-speaking private tour guide in Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Amami Oshima.

Fitbit Steps – 17,558

 

There was no hurry to get up this morning so we had a bit of a lie in. We braved the buffet for breakfast and easily found a table in the faithful spot we had only remembered about yesterday. Nicole had her best breakfast of the cruise, too, so I think going forward, this will be our preference. The only downside is having to stand in line to get your food, but given the alternative, it’s worth the hassle.

After breakfast, we went out on the open decks and did a few circuits for a bit of light exercise. It was cold, but there was a strong but very warm breeze. There weren’t many people braving it either, so it was easier to cover the ground.

 

While I have a spare moment, I will tell you about something we spotted a while back that we thought might be an interesting and fun thing to do while in Japan. What I am talking about are known as Eki Stamps, which are free, collectable ink stamps found at train stations across Japan, with designs that reflect the local area. Although originally set up for just railway stations, nowadays there are other places you can find them such as temples and museums. All you do is stamp your own book with the specially designed stamp so a bit like what happens with your passport. I even came prepared with a book that I found on Amazon.

We could have done this in Naha, but we completely forgot about doing it. There is an app to go with it, and it tells you where the locations are and if we had our brains in gear, we could have gathered our first 3 yesterday. And as we are visiting Japan next year too, it sort of sounded like it would also be a good way of exploring too.

Lunch was taken in the buffet which today and the selection was very mediocre, and while I ate okay, Nicole didn’t get any protein.

It just so happens we spotted the head chef wandering around so she went down and confronted him about the lack of protein and was told to just ask your waiter, we have plenty of tofu onboard, so just ask. If you can give us 24 hours’ notice and it will definitely happen. There isn’t a great deal to report today as things have been pretty low-key key so I will just sign off with my daily step count and a photo from our balcony tonight. I think we are in for a bouncy night.

Fitbit Steps – 13,201

Another port day today with some unusual timings, arrival at 2:30 pm and departure at 12:00 pm. So, to fill our morning, we just did a bit of milling around, and Nicole went to the gym for a while. For lunch and because of the fact we were getting off mid-afternoon we decided to use the buffet, which we knew would be heaving. It wasn’t until we got there that we remembered there was an upstairs section at one end that a lot of people either don’t know about or are too lazy to use. We found seats straight away, and it was just a case of joining the rabble to get the food. Nicole struck gold and managed to get some Chickpeas and a welcome source of protein, along with some other nice salad items. For a change, something went well.

Getting off the ship became a bit of an ordeal; we had missed the third piece of paper left on the bed that instructed passengers to pick up a numbered ticket for disembarking, so we had to collect one from guest services. We were given number 85 and so ended up being one of the last to leave the ship. Everything was being bottlenecked due to Japanese immigration checks on our first visit; we were told things would get simpler at the rest of the Japanese ports. I’m guessing this explains the unusual timings, as this was essentially a service stop.

 

Finding something historic and of interest left us pretty much with just the one option, and that was Shuri Castle, so we needed to get off the ship fairly swiftly to make it work. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and our number 85 was never called out. We just merged into all remaining numbers, and we didn’t leave the ship until 4:30. Immigration then took a further hour, and by the time we made it outside, the local taxis were few and far between due to it being shift change time. There were volunteers giving out information at the terminal and they suggested our best option would be to just walk into town, so that is what we did.

As we were out at our meal time, we used the Happy Cow app and found a vegan restaurant called LaLa Zorba, where we ordered several dishes for sharing. Absolutely delicious, and Nicole was a very happy lady.

 

To walk it all off, we pretty much walked the length of Kokusai Street, which is a popular tourist destination for its shopping, dining, and lively atmosphere. It was certainly lively and a great place for people watching.

We ended the evening walking back to the ship, which took 30 minutes.

Fitbit Steps – 16,842

Today was our first port of call for this cruise, and somewhere we had pre-booked a private tour. The company I booked with came as a recommendation on Cruise Critic, so I was confident it would work out okay and pre-arrival communication via WhatsApp was excellent. Our guide and driver was a young lady called Jennifer Yang, who was a freelance guide for Just Taiwan Tour, and our itinerary was as follows:

Pick up from Keelung port arrival hall at 09:00am

Transfer to Taipei city, Photo shoot atthe  Taiwan Presidential Building

Visiting. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall / Liberty Square

Visiting Lungshan Temple

Lunch at famous Yongkang Street / try Taiwan-style vegan cuisine

Photo shoot at Taipei 101

Return to Keelung port, drop off at 15:00pm

I will group my photos together at each of the places we visited to simplify viewing and add a brief explanation.

 

Transfer to the city took about 40 minutes, and we made a quick photo stop at the Taiwan Presidential Building. Being a Sunday morning, the roads were really quiet, and we were able to cross the city quickly without much hassle and were also finding parking spaces easy to find as well.

From there, we made our way to The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which is a landmark dedicated to the former leader. The walls are all decorated with white marble

We timed it perfectly to watch the Changing of the Guards ceremony and then climbed the 89 steps to see the bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek just inside the memorial hall at the top.

It was then back down to the ground floor for a quick look at one or two of the exhibits in the museum and to take a look at his library room. I loved the fact that many of the depictions of Chiang Kai-shek showed him with a big smile on his face. Much better than the usual stoney-faced ones you see just about everywhere else.

After a brief stop to photograph Liberty Square, we were on the move again and this time to visit Lungshan Temple, which is a well-known temple originally built in the 1700s and honours both Buddhist & Taoist deities. A lot of the detailing was absolutely stunning, and I hope the photos are able to show this.

Once we were done at the temple, it was time for lunch, and Jennifer had done her research and found three places that were practically vegan and whose menus were typical Taiwanese dishes. I can’t remember the names of what we ate, but I can tell you it was really tasty.

 

We wandered a bit around the local market to see and smell what was on offer.

 

Our final stop was the Taipei 101 for a photo stop and a quick look around the huge shopping mall at its base. We are not shoppers, and the mall could have been anywhere in the world. The queues to go up the tower were over an hour long, and the estimated total experience time was 2 hours, which we didn’t have time for, so maybe something to do if we ever come back.

We had a fabulous day, and Jennifer was the perfect guide, nothing was too much trouble, and because there were just the 2 of us, we could move swiftly around and see the must-see things. She was continually taking photos of us and then shared them over WhatsApp at intervals throughout the day. There were over 100, so we have some great memories of the day.

Fitbit Steps – 14,592

We didn’t actually retire to the cabin until gone 1:30 this morning, so it was an even longer day than I previously reported. After we had eaten dinner, we went back to the cabin, and Nicole unpacked. We then set about having a look around the ship to re-familiarise ourselves and also to see what changes we could spot. We ended up in the atrium and rounded the day off with a few drinks. Speaking to the Maître D during dinner, we asked about where to go for breakfast if you have special dietary requirements. His response wasn’t what we were expecting in as much as he said there were no special provisions for a vegan breakfast and suggested we should visit the buffet. On our last 3 Costa cruises, there has been a special vegan breakfast MDR menu, but on this one, it doesn’t exist; in fact, there doesn’t seem to be one for anyone.

So, we decided to get up around 7:00 and visit the buffet before it got busy and see what was available. We both had a quick coffee en route, which was very welcome after not much sleep. It turns out that there is very little in the way of things that Nicole can eat in the buffet; this was a major disappointment. So, irrespective of what we were told the previous evening, we decided to investigate the MDR for ourselves. We managed to find the area for people with special dietary requirements, and after about 20 minutes, managed to get a spinach crepe for Nicole along with some fruit and bread rolls. Not ideal, but better than nothing. We were sitting next to a lady who was gluten and lactose intolerant and she was getting a similar story. They told her that the food she could eat was in a container coming from Europe, and it hadn’t arrived, and they didn’t even offer to try and make her anything either. I think that is absolutely disgusting treatment; she left having eaten nothing.

Even the breakfast for me is going to be buffet style this cruise because the plated breakfast menu in the MDR is no more and the centre area is a self-service zone with pretty much the same options as the buffet. So, not only have they gone back 15 years with the muster drill, but they appear to have done a similar thing with the breakfast facilities. Cutting waste is what Costa describes it as. 😂

At this point, the signs are that it’s going to be a long cruise, so we might need to seize opportunities ashore to eat well; only time will tell.

We explored the ship some more before returning to our cabin to sit on the balcony. It was very blustery today, but the skies were clear, so out of the wind it was quite nice.

For lunch, we avoided the buffet and MDR., Nicole had vegan sushi, and I decided to have a pizza, and we took them back to the cabin to eat. Apart from the evening meal in the MDR, this might end up being the only way we can eat together at lunchtime. Btw, both pizza and sushi were delicious 👍🏻

Tonight was our first proper outing to the dining room, and we had opted for the first sitting, which was at 6:30. Having never had table companions on Costa other than people within our travel group,  it was great to find ourselves on a rectangular table of 8 and all English speaking too. We all got in famously, and all bodes well for the rest of the cruise as there was lots of lively chatting going on. We rounded the evening off in the Lunar Bar, which was really busy as it was between the two dining sittings.

Tomorrow is our first port of call.

Fitbit Steps  – 8,833

Today was a bit of an oddity inasmuch as we had to check out the hotel and then embark on Costa Serena. The ship wasn’t due until 3:30, and we had been given an embarkation slot of 7:00 pm. Part one was easy, we checked out and left our cases at the hotel,l ready for collection at 6:30. What to do to fill our time? Well, to start with, after breakfast we did a similar walk to yesterday and then set off to the Hong Kong Museum of History to see what is described as a Large museum showcasing the history & culture of Hong Kong from prehistoric to modern times

“The Hong Kong Museum of History is a highlight for history lovers. The museum was established in 1975 and attracts a large number of visitors every year. It is considered one of the best museums in the city. Expect to explore the 6,000 years of Hong Kong history through various entertaining dioramas and displays.”

 

When we got there, we found that it had been completely changed and is now something more akin with the People’s Republic of China’s version of events and nothing at all like the online description I spotted. The emphasis is now more about the new ruling country and its plans for the region. We didn’t stay long and came away really disappointed. I actually felt really uncomfortable inside.

So, what to do with our time now? Well, to start with, a spot of lunch at one of the bars along the harbour side promenade, which we dragged out for as long as possible while doing a spot of people watching. With 4 hours still to kill, we took a slow stroll along the promenade and were able to watch Costa Serena come into the Kai Tak cruise terminal. At least that went to plan.

It was a long day and very tiring, so with just 2 hours to finally kill, we went back to the hotel for a coffee and then waited the last hour out in their lobby. At 6:00 pm, we ordered an Uber and were picked up within 1 minute!!! The drive to the terminal took 30 minutes, and on arrival,l we were directed to the boarding hall and given the number 34. The numbers being called at that point (6:35) were 13.

We eventually got called at 7:40 to join the snake queue for registration. By 7:55, we were on our way to the hand luggage x-ray machine and finally at 8:05, we were onboard. Chaos then ensued because of the late embarkation; the dining was open seating, but not in the restaurant that was listed on the leaflets in the cabin. Nobody seemed to know what was going on.

Then after we had eaten, it was muster time, and that was diabolical. For some unknown reason, they seemed to have gone back to the old medieval physical method with life jackets on and standing in rows on the prom deck, but with absolutely no policing. In 19 years of cruising, it was the worst muster I have ever partaken in. People were just wandering off and not being stopped, and we were practically on our own at the end. Words escape me. We had some first-time cruisers with us, and what must they have thought? Anyway, we were late leaving Hong Kong, and Nicole had pretty much finished unpacking by the time we were moving. It’s been a long day, and this wasn’t what was needed. I am lost for words tonight.

I need to get a drink!!!

Fitbit Steps – 22,040

I was awake at 3:00 this morning and just couldn’t drop off again. Hopefully, I can fall into sync over the coming days as it’s a pain in the proverbial at the moment. As a result, I have also struggled with fatigue all day and it sort of made an impact on what we eventually did.

As I was awake, I did happen to notice Seaborne Quest pass gracefully by this morning on her way to the Ocean Terminal, which is close to where the Star Ferry’s come and go from.

 

Before we went anywhere else, we took a stroll along the harbour side as we had noticed it wasn’t busy first thing. We were able to actually walk in a straight line and at a reasonable speed, which is not at all possible in the evening when it’s busy. Job done and box ticked.

It was always our plan to take the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island and take the tram up and revisit Victoria Peak. We did the Peak last time, but were driven up as we were on a tight schedule. We achieved our objective today, and the timings worked really well with regard to queues. We had more time at our disposal, which allowed us to explore, and we managed to find some different photo angles that were different to the previous visit.

It was nice to not have to rush, and it was nowhere near as busy as last time. There were two ships in today as well, along with Seaborne Quest; Norwegian Spirit was berthed at the Kai Tak Terminal, and both of which had tours visiting the Peak, and luckily, we caught them going in as we were going out. With the exception of the ferry, we have walked everywhere today, which is always a great way to explore because you see so much more. On our route back to the ferry, we passed through Hong Kong Park and discovered a really interesting aviary full of all sorts of amazing birds. This kept us occupied for well over an hour, and worth a visit if you are ever in the vicinity.

After taking the ferry back, we visited the vegan cafe that we found on the first day, which is only a couple of blocks away from the hotel and had another really tasty lunch. The rest of the afternoon, we spent belt shopping for Nicole. We must have passed hundreds of shops, but not a belt in sight. Ladies obviously don’t use them in Hong Kong.

We were both totally exhausted this evening, so we have planned for just a couple of drinks out along the harbour side in one of the bars. Tomorrow we embark on Costa Serena.

Fitbit Steps – 25,311