2023_Blog 31_Japan April 20 Port of Call: Otaru, Japan – Weather: Overcast with a chance of rain. - 54°F/12°C - Wind: 1.9 mph. After our one-day visit to Busan, South Korea, we are back in Japan and have to have a face-to-face inspection once again by the Japanese Immigration Officers. Early, 6:00 am, yesterday morning we lined up to draw numbered tickets which corresponded to the time slots allocated for the inspection. I have to give high marks to the crew for their organizational skills in channeling 1,900 guest and crew through the process in just over 5 hours. Now if they could only direct that level of efficiency to their shore excursions. Crew safety exercises have been conducted throughout the cruise and today was no exception. Junior officers had to launch one of the rescue
... read more