Saturday 12/10/2024
We had an easy drive from Busselton to Perth, Western Australia, parked our car, checked our baggage in and headed to the Aspire Lounge for a few hours of drinks and nibbles. Our flight went as scheduled. We had about 4 hours layover in transit. We boarded the plane at the scheduled departure time, but then had to sit on the tarmac for an hour and a half while engineers checked some damage the skywark had done to the plane when it was being moved away from the door. We were given the all clear and had to wait for a window of opportunity to open up to take our turn on the runway to depart. 
We landed in Singapore, had a few hour layover walking around the airport then boarded our second flight which again was a terrific flight with Singapore Airlines.
Sunday 13/10/2024
Smooth flight and arrival into Haneda Airport, very quickly through customs and baggage pick-up. We found a currency exchange and changed some $ into the local YEN. Found the train station and took a 11 minute journey, where we headed to Shinagawa Station and walked 700metres up the hill to the at Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa at Minato City, Tokyo at around 8.30am for our 2 night stay. We were too early to check in as check in was at 2pm so we left our bags with the bell hop station Lady to manage until our return. And, although we had done some research on getting to the Snoopy Museum, she also gave us some further excellent directions, some of which were in Japanese writing in case we got lost and needed to show the locals. Back down the hill we walked to Shinagawa Station and purchased a ticket each using local currency to Shibuya Station, here we changed trains and train companies so bought other tickets to Minami-Machida Grandberry Park Station. The trip should have taken all up 40 minutes but Ian had a light bulb moment and thought we were going in the wrong direction so we quickly exited the train, but then realised we were on the correct train and going to right direction. Better to be safe than sorry we both thought. So we boarded the next train about 10 minutes later. Once we navigated around the large shopping area we found the Snoopy Museum. Ian's eyes lit up with joy, he was bouncing with delight all around surrounded by Peanuts characters.
After navigating back to the hotel on the train we found a local food hall to enjoy dinner. The upside to this is, credit card should be accepted. The downside/reality is all the instructions on the automated ordering screen (think McDonalds), are in Japanese so you really need a Japanese local with good English skills to help you, which Ian luckily found. As it refused to accept our credit card, and cash payment was only accepted in Japanese YEN, we had luckily changed earlier some earlier. It didn't make us feel positive about whether our credit card would be accepted in other shops in Japan or any of the following countries we were to visit. Not to worry, it was accepted in other places so the food hall was just a glitch.
Conversion : AUD$1 = US $0.65
Hai - Yes
Ee oh - No
Ah ree ga toh - Thanks
Kah nee chee waa - Hello
Monday 14/10/2024
We walked through the lovely and well presented Japanese gardens for our breakfast at the neighbouring hotel, all part of the same chain. Halloween is quite big here in Japan. Met up with Ken & Grace at the hotel for breakfast. 
Afterwards we decided that we would take the train to "Shibuya Scramble" intersection. This is a road intersection just outside of the Shibuya train station where over 330,000 people cross each day, with upwards of 1,000 per crossing. They even have signs in the rail station walkways about possible collisions with other busy pedestrians. As we exited the train station we got a fabulous view of all the action as the cars stop and the people walk in any direction. We even saw Japan carts, something that has made it to our bucket list for our next visit. We walked out of the station, readied our bodies to the scrambled mass. We passed a fully enclosed room, with windows on each side wall for smokers to use and be off the streets. After crossing the intersection we went upstairs to get another view of the intersection whilst we enjoyed a Starbucks coffee. We wandered around the shops and even found Ikea, Ian & I just had to go in for a lookie see. Further down the street we took an escalator and found a very nice fresh food supermarket. Arriving back at Shinagawa Station the interesting thing about Japanese Stations is that most of the shops are within the station, so you need a train ticket to access them. Before we left the station we bought some fresh healthy dinner to eat back in the room. Ken & Grace came to our room, next door, for a catchup and drink around 8.00pm. It was about 8.30 each of us in a different area of the room felt movement and looked at each other in puzzlement. Deborah was sitting on the bed and felt it vibrating, the picture on the wall bouncing around, Ian was standing and looking out of the window on our 11th floor and saw the vertical building moving around us. Grace & Ken were watching the movement closely. A few minutes later a message came on the PA system saying we had experienced an earthquake, but not to be concerned as the building was quake proof.
Conversion: AUD$1=100Yen
Tuesday 15/10/2024
Day 1. Getting to the ship for many was an interesting experience, some others we talked to at our hotel just thought the address was Yokohama Port, and there is an International Cruise Terminal at Yokohama. However our ship is too tall to go under the Yokohama Bay bridge that leads to Yokohama. Ian tried to educate them and gave them the correct Port address, at Daikoku, as stated by Royal Caribbean on an email prior to leaving Australia. Another couple Tony(an X Mayor) & his wife Mary from Toowoomba, Queensland from our Hotel joined us on the quest to find the cruise terminal. We headed down the hill by foot and bags rolling down the hill to the Shinagawa Station. The tricky thing about Tokyo and Japan is that there are several rail companies and you can get from A to B in various ways, we just chose one direct line without changing station and train companies. So, we bought a direct ticket through to Kannai Station and took the ride. Getting off at Kannai we found a Taxi, one per couple and showed them the port address written in Japanese. Taxis here only accepted 3 passengers seated in the rear of the vehicle. 3,500 YEN /$35 AU. We made it to the ship for boarding processes, zigzagging through the queues to board the Quantum Of The Seas in Tokyo at Yokohama Port. Walked directly to our stateroom floor 7, room 272. We walked around the ship, sail away time was 7pm, with dinner at 7.30. The sail away leaving Tokyo we had views of Mt Fuji in the distance as the sun was setting, what a glorious sight. We were invited as part of our loyalty membership to the Solarium, Deck 14, front of the ship to partake in canapes and drinks as a sail away. We enjoyed this event and Deborah enjoyed trying out some comfy chairs around the ship.
We made it to the Theatre to see Sequins & Feathers, the on-board dancers and singers for the late show. The show was outstanding, beautiful costumes, great voices.
And welcome to our cabin person, Clever. He's also a big soccer fan, so we all got on fabulous since he also likes Manchester City.
Wednesday 16/10/2024
Day 2. Today is a sea day with a Formal night.
We started the day in the Crown Lounge for breakfast. It is a nice quiet small area to relax away from the thousands of other passengers dining in the Windjammer Cafe. We familiarised ourselves with where everything was on the ship and generally had a relaxed day.
Captains drinks were held in the Promenade introducing his staff, with drinks for everyone. Captain Arid Hansen was also our Captain in 2023 on-board the Quantum when we cruised Brisbane to New Zealand and back. He sails a good course. At the drinks we caught up with Mary and Tony from our Tokyo hotel, and had a photo opportunity. Thanks to Mary for this photo.
Thursday 17/10/2024
Day 3. We arrived at the Port of Osaka, Tempozan Wharf at 8.30 am and sail away was 7.30pm
We docked right next to a gigantic ferris wheel. We decided to take a walk around the local area. We walked down to the Glion Museum, along the way we passed several posters showing what to do during a Tsunami. Once we reached the museum we realised it was a classic car museum and wasn't open until 11am. We decided not to venture in this time. We headed off to our next stop, Minato Sumiyoshi Shrine, dating back to 1843 (March 18th, in the 13th year of Emperor Tenpo). Still, Asian countries certainly know how to build a good temple or shrine. Stop no 2 on our self guided walking tour was Chikko Koyasan Shakain a small Buddhist Temple.
Stop no 3 on the way back to the ship we popped into the Osaka Culturarium. Once we entered we were approached by a gentleman named Masashi Taki. He was very informative providing details on the design of Kimonos, how they are worn for single Ladies and others. We also had a sample of Matcha Tea. We bought 2 very nice ice creams from him. Next to the tables where we ate our ice cream were several book cases with Manga books for people to read whilst sitting at the table by the store and cafe. They are not to be taken from the area. In the same area was some high end individually made glass wear by Japanese artisans. The orange vase we liked in the collection was around $200. 
On our walk back to the ship we climbed a mountain, Mt Tempozan - Japan's lowest mountain, rather like a small hill. Walking around the mountain we discovered a free ferry which commutes across the river we were anchored in. It takes tourist and locals and is returns every 20 to 30 minutes. Universal Studios can be reached by using this ferry. And did we say, it's free. A little shopping next door, some items and material pieces, and back to the ship.
Friday 18/10/2024
Day 4, today is a sea day. We had a relaxing day and attended a very informative talk on the next port, Jeju, by Patrick O'Brien. Patrick and his wife, Maureen, are Irish but have lived in Singapore for the last 25 years and done many talks on destinations for cruise lines. They both know their stuff.
Tonight we forsake the Main Dining Room dinner for a dinner in the Solarium Bistro at 6.15. The food was excellent, but the experience was underwhelming.
Saturday 19/10/2024
Day 5. Jeju - South Korea
Seogwipo Port
Most ATM's don't accept foreign cards, only special Global ATMs, found at Subway stations, and many Family Mart convenience stores. Majority of places accept Credit Cards, which we did, however we exchanged some money into the local Won.
After reviewing our options we decided on a self guided walking tour, but we needed the ship shuttle into the main town of Seogwipo.
A US$20 ride. From the gangway there is a 2.9 kilometre walk to the terminal. Luckily there are multiple travellators to get you there and back. We were all dropped at Olle Market in downtown Seogwipo, which is a traditional daily market. It was slightly chaotic, as initially no one could find the market. The provided map had very few street names listed, although there were street signs, if only we knew which road on the map it was. Finally we located the one harried guide that spoke English and found the market entrance a few streets away. As usual fresh markets are a cacophony of sound, sights and smells. Luckily this one cooked quite a bit a food, so many aromas were pleasant. 
Leaving the market we headed to try and find one of the suggested waterfalls, Jeongbang. Again, no good street names on the map, so a local Manchester City supporter was hijacked for information. Ok, not all young South Koreans speak/understand English, but we managed to find a large map on a street sign, photographed it and walked onwards. The road took us down the Lee Jung-seop street, named after Korea's premier artist of modern Korean art, and long time resident of Seogwipo. Deborah was happy, as they had an Art Market going on as we walked through. They had cats in some shop windows, for display purposes of course.
A walk of about one and half to 2 kilometres and we found the falls. We're not sure why, but entry was free on the day we visited. Bonus. The falls are 23 metres high, 8 metres wide and 5 metres deep. They are, interestingly, the only sea falls in Asia. They are also named Jeongbanghapok, because they look like white silk hung from the heavens. There's also 150 steps down to the falls, and 150 back up. Did we mention it was humid?
We had pre booked the Starwater show at 7pm at Two70, which is a triple storey lounge area cafe and bar which is at the stern of the ship. Obviously with 270 degree views out the 3 storey high windows. The show was outstanding, with all the fabulous dancers and singers onboard.
Conversion:$1 = 800KRW US$1 = 1349KRW
Sunday 20/10/2024
Day 6. We had another relaxing day. It was a sea day today. We went to an enrichment talk on Taipei and Taiwan. We had a ride in the bumper car dodgem cars and it was fun. Today we had an adventure to the sports deck and played air hockey which Deborah was the champion. Ian & Deborah battled, laughed and enjoyed a few games of table tennis. Ian was the champion here. Tonight before dinner we listened to a Caribbean band called "Heat Waves" before heading off into dinner.
Monday 21/10/2024
Day 7. Taipei - Taiwan, Port Keelung the gateway to Taipei. Today we had pre-booked into a private tour with another couple on the Cruise Critic site were Darren & Fiona Butler from Ireland, and Toby h Rita from Texas. (9263). Darren had organised it through the tour company Yolo, our driver's name was Bubble. We started out for the first stop today as the drizzle started to clear was Lungshan Temple, known as Dragon Mountain Temple. The main hall is dedicated to Guanyin Buddha, during WW2 the main hall was totally destroyed, however the statue of Guanyin Buddha remained intact. There were hundreds of worshippers there when we visited, all bringing samples of fruit, vegetables and flowers. After they finished worshippers they took the offerings away with them. Bubble, our guide/driver, showed how questions are asked and answers are given by the temple. A pair of small crescent shaped blocks are dropped on the ground, similar to tossing 2 coins for heads/tails. If the pair are odd then the answer is 'yes'. You can keep tossing the items until you get the answer you want...not really kosher. But, when you get the answer you want then you choose a long stick from a barrel. The number on the long stick relates to a drawer in a large cabinet. You open the drawer and take out the paper inside, which tells you the future of your question/answer. Clear?
We started retracing our steps until we reached the well known Li Yuen West and East Market streets. This is where Deborah found Nirvana in a material shop, the only one we have seen on the whole cruise. The boxes of Toblerone were also pretty cheap (roughly aud$2), but we didn't buy any as this would add to our weight, and I don't mean the weight of the suitcase. For comparison, for our chocoholic relative, the last photo of a Toblerone at the grab n go shop in Singapore, was $3.90 or around aud$4.00.
The tricky part was when we returned on the Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. Our bus driver over from the ship on the 20R, who didn't speak excellent English, had mentioned we needed to catch a 20A bus to return to the Cruise Terminal, however none of the bus stands indicated 20A as an option. After wandering around for a few minutes, looking at various signs we turned around to see a Hong Kong Tourist Information Office. They were very helpful and gave us instruction on how to get to the bus stand and even when the next bus was due to arrive. 10 minutes later we tapped our credit card yet again and boarded the bus which although the bus over took only 10-15 minutes, the bus back was an all stop service and took 1 hour and 20 minutes to return us safely to the Ship. It was a very easy and convenient way to get around Hong Kong as long as you know which bus to get on and where your stop will be. All in all we had a lovely day exploring a small part of Hong Kong on our own, and a lovely sunset to sail away.
Conversion: $1 = 5HK
Nee ho - Hello
Hi - Yes
Em hi - No
Em go - thankyou
Thursday 24/10/2024
Day 10. A sea day. We had a relaxing day on board the ship. Deborah & Grace met up to have a crafting experience. They made origami Kimonos and wire ribbons and caught up on each others adventures so far. Tonight's entertainment in the Theatre was called Sonic Odyssey featuring the Earth Harp created by William Close, of which there are only 2 in the World. It takes up to 2 and half hours to get it set up and tuned. Each performance requires new strings and after each performance the strings are dismantled/destroyed. The maestro wears 2 sets of cotton gloves with powder in between so when he pulls on the strings it creates some resistance to generate each note. The violinist was outstanding in this performance. Coupled with band, singers and dancers on-board the ship. Such a talented group. What a fabulous experience. We encourage you to google it, https://www.williamearthharp.com/.
Friday 25/10/2024
Day 11. A sea day in lieu of the original plan to dock at Nha Trang - Vietnam. We had a tour booked with another 6 people but 4 days prior to sailing we were advised by RCI that we would not be stopping here due to logistical issues.
This morning we were invited to a back stage tour of the Theatre for a behind the scenes look. We were taken through by the Production Director, lighting and sound Managers sound engineer, and the Dance Coordinator. The Theatre seats up to 2,400 people. The seating and stage height covers deck 4 & 5 but in addition there is space above in decks 6 & 7, and below in decks 2 & 3. The Stage/Theatre is positioned at the front of the ship. If there is a production show on of an evening and the seas are slightly rough the Production Director talks directly with the Captain and, depending upon the severity of the weather, he may need to deploy the stabilisers and change the ships direction slightly whilst the show is on. The show will only be cancelled if it reaches 3 degree of movement, additionally other increments may cause dancers to wear flat shoes or remove lifting sequences of the dancers. We were shown through the sound then lighting booths also. It was very fascinating.
Tonight we had bumper cars on the daily activity schedule, so guess where we are heading before dinner, that's right for a ride or two on the bumper cars.
The act tonight at the Theatre is an Acrobatic dance duo is "Gold Art" http://goldartduo.com/, combining comedy and circus routines. Wow these two were outstanding and oh those pecs, he owned it. Google these guys, you will see what we mean about the acts they perform.
And during tonight's dinner Deborah got to dance with Nendi our waiter, while Sudiksa our assistant waiter sang along.
Saturday 26/10/2024
Day 12. HCMC aka Saigon - Vietnam. From 7am we dock at Vung Tau container port, and all aboard is 5.30pm. An extra hour here again due to not going into Nha Trang port. The view from our balcony looks very rural with small fishing vessels, but scan further and you see the other ships on the river. Still, it looks pretty at night as we finally sail away.
We pre filled our Vietnam entry visas in case we chose to go off the ship to step onto land. And our decision was to stay onboard and enjoy the ship with maybe less than 350 guests. Bliss, with basically no-one in the pool, spa, or at the cafe.
We had our usual breakfast at the Crown Lounge, then went off ship to browse the few stalls setup on the quay. It's a 90 minute drive into Saigon or 30-40 minutes to the local town at around US$120 round trip, so a day on ship was relaxing. Later in the evening we were informed that at least one of the ship tour buses had blown a tyre after losing a wheel nut. So, not sailing away at 6pm as anticipated.
We took time to fill in our Singapore E=Arrival Form, as this needs to be done online up to 3 days before entering Singapore and whilst we have some internet access from our 2 days of free access.
Tonight we change clocks forward 1 hour, so we'll be back to our normal Perth time zone.
Sunday 27/10/2024
Day 13. Sea day. Breakfast in our Crown Lounge. Being a Diamond loyalty level provides us with a few perks onboard, the Crown Lounge being one, where nice nibbles/canapes are available most mornings and afternoons with good coffee available all day. Plus we get a specialist coffee each once per day, and 4 alcoholic drinks each per day.
Afterwards we caught the last information session on the ports of call, obviously this one is Singapore. We also caught up with Tony and Mary our friends from Toowoomba, Queensland at a bar called Vintages for a chat and cocktail. The first cocktail that both of them had ever had. Table tennis was then in order, a few games evenly matched made for an entertaining early evening to wear off the earlier cocktail. Well it was fair to say, Ian is the table tennis champion today in our gaming session. Dinner, for the last time on this cruise, was our usual main dining room only this time we managed to get Grace and Ken in on a table adjoining our dinner table in the main dining room, level 3. A shared bottle of wine went down well.
An afternoon talent show showcasing some of the crew members. Very entertaining, and Royal Caribbean holds this 'Crew Got Talent' show across the ships, and gets the winners from each ship to compete at a final show for a nice prize.
Monday 28/10/2024
Day 14 We sail into Singapore, our destination for this cruise. We were to exit the ship at 8.45am and catch a ship organised bus transfer to the airport. All of US$29pp. However due to delays in the cruise terminal, what, in Singapore, yes, we don't get out to the transfer bus until 10.20am and arrive at Changi terminal 3, around 25 minutes later.
Sing-Perth flight SQ 215(64KTWL) 18.50pm Changi terminal 3 to arrive in Perth T1 23.55pm
Jewel near T1 arrival hall level one was amazing to look at and relax beside by. And there was Minion mayhem for Deborah.
Conversion: $1 AUD = $0.83 Singapore
It was a pleasant flight back to Perth, Western Australia, then a bus took us to the long term parking bay to collect our car. From here we drove to Victoria Park where we were prepared with pillows and blankets to kip in the car until John Hughes Jeep workshop opened in the morning.
Tuesday 29/10/2024
We left our Jeep with John Hughes at Victoria Park, Perth, to fix our bonnet and departed in a loan car, an MG3 and drove home. Fits in the double garage with the push bikes and plenty of room left over for now. We will collect our Jeep once we have been advised it is ready for collection.
What an amazing experience!
Until next time, stay safe and live a little.
This featured blog entry was written by iandeborah from the blog Triple C.
Read comments or Subscribe
