Diamond Princess Archives – All Things Cruise

Cruise follies, foibles, TMI, TLI and unexpected discoveries

September 14, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

ABOARD THE DIAMOND PRINCESS CRUISING OFF JAPAN – All in all it was a great cruise on the Diamond Princess, stopping in ports we had never heard of in northern Japan and even in Russia, thanks to some obscure law or regulation that nobody can quite get their head around. But no cruise is complete without its follies and unexpected discoveries. Here are a few: THAT GUY – You don’t want to be him. This cruise, like …

Kids have a different take on cultural exchanges aboard cruises

September 13, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

AT SEA ABOARD THE DIAMOND PRINCESS OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN — Jessica Maraesca at age eight is already a bonafide cruise expert. But she has one big advantage—her dad Fabrizio Maresca is the Captain of the Diamond Princess, commanding a crew of 1,050 and celebrating his 15th anniversary with Princess Cruise Line. In fact, Jessica wouldn’t be here if not for Princess—her mom and dad met working on board. Her mom, Caroline Andrews, was a dancer. …

In Hakodate, Hokkaido: navigating on our own is not that difficult

September 12, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

HAKODATA, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN — The giggling Japanese teens, dressed in school uniforms of white sailor shirts and navy skirts, were anxious to practice their English. They greeted us as we got off a shuttle from the Diamond Princess in the town of Hakodate, handing us rice cookies and asking in halting English where we would like to go. “What do you like to do for fun?” we asked them. Finally, they understood. “Lucky Pierrot!” they declared. It …

A visit to a Japanese hot springs – Onseng – resort in Hokkaido

September 11, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

OTARU, HOKKAIDO, Japan — Good news! I’m going to live at least seven years longer. That’s because I’ve visited a Japanese Onseng—a hot springs resort. They are ubiquitous in Japan—there are thousands of them. We’ve been aboard the Diamond Princess and when a visit to an Onseng in Hokkaido was offered as a shore excursion, I jumped at the opportunity. Our guide, Kiyoe Narita, who is from Sapporo, explains “for Japanese, Onseng is one of the most …

Japanese hot tubs and other amenities on the Diamond Princess

September 10, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

AT SEA ABOARD THE DIAMOND PRINCESS BETWEEN JAPAN AND RUSSIA — I’m sitting in a Jacuzzi looking out at the ocean. No, I’m not at a beachfront resort. I’m at sea in northern Japan at the Izumi Japanese Bath aboard the Diamond Princess. Onsen, as Japanese baths are known, are of course a big part of the culture here —there are thousands of them in the mountains where Japanese go for some R&R, soaking naked in thermal …

On a cruise – options for dining vary on taste and budget

September 9, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

AT SEA ABOARD THE DIAMOND PRINCESS BETWEEN JAPAN AND RUSSIA — Sushi or Steak? Like other cruise lines, Princess offers specialty restaurants on board for which you pay an extra fee. “The dining room is like cafeteria food; if you want better food, you have to go to the specialty restaurants,” offered on veteran Princess cruiser. I wouldn’t go that far but it is true that like on other cruise lines, the specialty restaurants offer an enhanced …

Shore excursions: Cranes, marshes, pluses and minuses

September 8, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

KUSHIRO, Hokkaido, Japan — Cranes, so Japanese legend says, live for a thousand years; turtles for 10,000. That’s why if you went to a Japanese wedding, you might see symbols of cranes and turtles—wishing the couple a long and happy marriage. We’re in Kushiro, Japan, on the island of Hokkaido, and are visiting the Japanese Crane Reserve on a shore excursion from the Diamond Princess, which is spending the morning here. Red-crested cranes, we learn, nearly had …

Returning to Tokyo after 60 years revives old childhood memories

September 6, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

TOYKO – August, the hot month. Seventy years ago this month the world’s worst war ended, 66 years ago I was born and 60 years ago my father, a U.S. Air Force officer, moved his growing family to Japan for four years. So when we had the opportunity to visit Tokyo this month, I naturally thought of my childhood and wondered if we could try to find some of my old haunts. In 1955, my family sailed …

At the Tokyo Fish Market: mixing culture and tradition in unique culinary ways

September 5, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

TOKYO (DAY TWO OF TWO) — The men look at the huge slab of fresh tuna as if they are about to perform surgery. And they are. The three-plus foot knife comes down precisely and in one cut, the tuna is cut. “Japanese food is our national treasure,” says Masanobu Inaba, the Chef de Cuisine at Kazahana, the Conrad Tokyo’s well-known Japanese restaurant. It is eight in the morning and we are at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish …

A long flight to Japan – jet lag cured with spa treatment at Conrad Tokyo

September 4, 2015 by Eileen Ogintz

TOKYO (DAY ONE OF TWO) — Who knew a spa treatment could help cure jet lag? I’ve just flown from Denver to Tokyo, with a stopover in Seattle, and by the time I arrive at the Conrad Tokyo I don’t even know what day it is – in fact it is as if I’ve been awake for two days as Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of home in Connecticut. The 290 room Conrad Tokyo is not far …