I might have been able to apply the tour directly to the cruise company (LINK), but I joined the JTB's plan. JTB is one of the principal Japanese travel agents derived from the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation. I supposed that it would be easier and more reliable to join it than my private application. They booked not only the ship, but also our flights between Singapore and Japan. The ship passengers are supposed to apply for optional tours on board if they want, but JTB offered their original tour plans with Japanese speaking tour guides at every port of call in advance. Additionally they would publish the Japanese translation of the ship's bulletin every day. I'll show you some of them later, and actually, their Japanese versions were a bit disappointing to me.
We gathered at Haneda International Airport. We were 34 of us and a tour guide. My wife and I made friends with some of them during the cruising. I flew Singapore Airlines, whose CAs were all stylish and pretty. That's not the case in airlines in the USA. Its in-flight entertainment system was not kind to Japanese, but it was ok because I had to sleep all the way on flight. The plane left Japan at 22:50 hours and arrived in Singapore at 05:30 hours. I didn't have time for movies. The time difference between Japan and Singapore is only an hour. The picture shows the breakfast, which was so-so.
(Vocabulary)
port of call 寄港地
マラッカ海峡クルージング記： 羽田からシンガポールへ
ダイヤモンド・プリンセスに乗船するにあたり、直接予約する方法があったかもしれないが、旅行社を通す方が何かと楽だろうと考えＪＴＢを通じて予約した。航空券の予約もお任せできるし船内新聞が日本語に翻訳されるというのも助かる。そして寄港地でのツアーに日本語を話すガイドが付いてくれるのも有り難かった。
ツアーの参加者は羽田空港に集合した。３４名の参加者に添乗員が一人。このうち一部の人たちとは航海中にすっかり仲良くなった。利用した航空会社はシンガポール航空。ＣＡが皆スタイルが良くて美しいのに感激。アメリカの航空会社だとこうはいかない。(^_^;)いつものように記念に機内食をｕｐ。これは到着直前に出された朝食。味は平均レベル。映画などの機内エンターテインメントは物足りなかったが、時差のない地域への移動であり、夜中は寝ておかなければならないので映画がなくてもまあ、許せた。羽田を夜１０時５０分に出発し、シンガポールに翌朝５時３０分に到着。
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