Long Awaited Cruise

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Blog 7_Japan_2023



March 27 Port of Call: Yokohama – Weather: partly cloudy – Temperature 16°C



Today we took our time packing and getting organized for our transfer from the hotel to Yokohama Cruise terminal by way of the limo service we had previously hired. After checking out we left our baggage with the Concierge and went for a light lunch before our 1:00 pm pickup which was exactly on time. Excellent service!



Upon our arrival at the cruise terminal at 1:45 pm we fully expected that we would have to wait for our scheduled embarkation time of 3:20 pm but to our surprise we were whisked through the waiting area on a Priority Pass. One of the many advantages our being 5 Star Mariners with Holland America.



The health inspection exercise went smoothly as we had made printouts of our COVID vaccination records and had taken pictures of our COVID rapid test. There was really no need for the VeriFLY exercise, which by the way was still pending for Brooke when we got to the terminal. As we approached the gangway our Passports were taken by the front office staff, and we were given receipts for them. Then it was on to our home for the next 28 days, the ms Westerdam.



The use of technology has really taken over and it is evident that you MUST carry a cell phone. The printed Daily Program is very limited now as they want you to use your HAL Navigator app. Even though the internal Wi-Fi has improved there is still a way to go – it really is not robust enough to handle 2000+ passengers and crew all trying to access it at once. Then there is the whole question of the Internet – it’s “wonky”.



Procedures have changed with the safety exercises – we didn’t need to do a life-boat drill 30 minutes before departure from port but instead we had to report to our muster station, have our key card scanned and then watch the safety program on our television. Once we had viewed the program the TV was unlocked, allowing us to view regular programs, movies and shipboard information.



Within 2 hours of boarding our luggage was in our room allowing us to unpack and stow our clothes in the closet and the bags under the bed. It also allowed us to prepare our first free bag of laundry another benefit HAL has for 5 Star Mariners.



For dinner on our first night, we opted to eat in the Lido as they were offering a special steak dinner. The evening was capped off with the BBC Earth presentation of “Planet II” in the World Stage.

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