Trip Index
- Days 1-2 in Tokyo: Planning, JAL business class, Hyatt Regency, Meiji Shrine, Tokyu Food Hall, Don Quixote
- Days 3-4 in Tokyo: Asakusa, Tokyo National Museum, Imperial Palace, Robot Restaurant, conveyor belt sushi/ramen/blowfish
- Day 5 in Tokyo: Mt. Fuji Shibazakura Festival, Standing Sushi Bar
- Days 1-2 of Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise: Embarkation, day at sea
- Days 3-4 of Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise: Hakodate, day at sea
- Days 5-6 of Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise: Bridge tour, Petropavlovsk (Siberia)
- Days 7-13 of Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise: crossing the Bering Sea, two May 4ths, Qsine
- Days 14-15 of Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise: Victoria, disembarkation, Miku; Ruby Princess 1-night cruise Vancouver to Seattle
***
Celebrity Millennium sailed one more day at sea before reaching the city of Petropavlovsk in Siberia (Russia). Kaleb and I had the opportunity to visit the ship's bridge on a complimentary tour set up by the concierge on board exclusively for concierge class guests.
There were 10-12 of us waiting for the tour; the concierge collected us and explained that she was inviting guests in small groups to visit the bridge over the course of several sea days, and that she was also organizing a complimentary galley tour, happening later on the long Bering Sea portion of the cruise.
A member of security staff checked our ID's, then led us through the door to the bridge, which was unmarked. One of the bridge staff gave an explanation of the goings-on, another demonstrated a piece of navigation equipment, then they fielded questions from guests.
After the tour, Kaleb and I went to the Oceanview Cafe buffet for tea time. I do think it's more fun when afternoon tea is served more formally, like on our Princess cruise to Alaska.
Tonight's dinner:
The next day, Celebrity Millennium arrived in Petropavlovsk. Disembarkation was organized in groups. It took longer than estimated for Russian officials to clear the ship as they had to check and stamp all of the passports that had been collected by Celebrity after we had cleared Japanese immigration onboard.
When our group number was called, Kaleb and I entered the line to pick up our passports and exit the ship. As the queue moved, we ended up bumping into my aunt's friend Judy, who had been comparing people passing through with a photo that my aunt texted her, looking for us. My dad had recently discovered through text conversations with my aunt that Judy was coincidentally on the same cruise and that we should meet up. Judy suggested getting together during afternoon trivia on sea days...great! We parted ways and Kaleb and I disembarked the ship. Thankfully, Russian visas were not needed for this particular port (as opposed to others like St. Petersburg). It may be because the city is pretty isolated with no roads leaving the peninsula.
We spent the afternoon walking around town. I had considered going on a shore excursion to explore the Kamchatka peninsula, but they were quite pricey, not surprising when there aren't many ships in port. Someone on the Cruise Critic roll call had contacted a tour company found on Tripadvisor to organize a reasonably priced excursion to a sled dog camp, so that could be an option in the future. Today happened to be a national holiday, so there were many locals out and about in the parks and along the rocky beach.
360 degree photo of Petropavlovsk shore, taken with the Ricoh Theta:
360 degree photo of Petropavlovsk park, taken with the Ricoh Theta:
We looked through souvenir shops, but didn't see anything unique to buy. When we returned to Celebrity Millennium, Russian officials inspected our passports and allowed us through. Once on board, our passports were collected for exit formalities. Complimentary shots of Russian vodka were offered.
Today's hors d'oeuvres were already in our cabin. We decided to grab some afternoon tea at Oceanview Cafe, same as yesterday.
After having eaten so much the past few days, we decided to have a light dinner back at the buffet. I seemed to find my favorites over at the gluten free section.
Just outside the Oceanview Cafe, a large framed navigational map was on display with the ship's itinerary plotted.
We had a beautiful view of Koryaksky and (possibly) Vilyuchik volcanoes at sailaway.
Tomorrow begins our 7-day-straight journey across the Bering Sea and the International Date Line, passing by the Aleutian Islands before making landfall in Canada - stay tuned!
(Missed reading about our last port, Hakodate? Click here! What about earlier entries of our trip? Click on the Trip Index links at the top of this page. Feel free to click here to sign up for updates straight into your inbox...opt out anytime!)
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
 |
| snowy Kuril Islands on the way to Russia |
|
|
|
|
 |  |
 |
| our group number for tomorrow's disembarkation |
There were 10-12 of us waiting for the tour; the concierge collected us and explained that she was inviting guests in small groups to visit the bridge over the course of several sea days, and that she was also organizing a complimentary galley tour, happening later on the long Bering Sea portion of the cruise.
A member of security staff checked our ID's, then led us through the door to the bridge, which was unmarked. One of the bridge staff gave an explanation of the goings-on, another demonstrated a piece of navigation equipment, then they fielded questions from guests.
|
|
 |  |
 |
|
After the tour, Kaleb and I went to the Oceanview Cafe buffet for tea time. I do think it's more fun when afternoon tea is served more formally, like on our Princess cruise to Alaska.
 |  |
 |  |
Tonight's dinner:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The next day, Celebrity Millennium arrived in Petropavlovsk. Disembarkation was organized in groups. It took longer than estimated for Russian officials to clear the ship as they had to check and stamp all of the passports that had been collected by Celebrity after we had cleared Japanese immigration onboard.
|
|
|
|
 |  |
|
|
When our group number was called, Kaleb and I entered the line to pick up our passports and exit the ship. As the queue moved, we ended up bumping into my aunt's friend Judy, who had been comparing people passing through with a photo that my aunt texted her, looking for us. My dad had recently discovered through text conversations with my aunt that Judy was coincidentally on the same cruise and that we should meet up. Judy suggested getting together during afternoon trivia on sea days...great! We parted ways and Kaleb and I disembarked the ship. Thankfully, Russian visas were not needed for this particular port (as opposed to others like St. Petersburg). It may be because the city is pretty isolated with no roads leaving the peninsula.
We spent the afternoon walking around town. I had considered going on a shore excursion to explore the Kamchatka peninsula, but they were quite pricey, not surprising when there aren't many ships in port. Someone on the Cruise Critic roll call had contacted a tour company found on Tripadvisor to organize a reasonably priced excursion to a sled dog camp, so that could be an option in the future. Today happened to be a national holiday, so there were many locals out and about in the parks and along the rocky beach.
 |  |
|
|
|  |
|
|
360 degree photo of Petropavlovsk shore, taken with the Ricoh Theta:
Petropavlovsk shore - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
|
|
360 degree photo of Petropavlovsk park, taken with the Ricoh Theta:
Petropavlovsk park - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
|
|
|
|
We looked through souvenir shops, but didn't see anything unique to buy. When we returned to Celebrity Millennium, Russian officials inspected our passports and allowed us through. Once on board, our passports were collected for exit formalities. Complimentary shots of Russian vodka were offered.
Today's hors d'oeuvres were already in our cabin. We decided to grab some afternoon tea at Oceanview Cafe, same as yesterday.
 |  |
After having eaten so much the past few days, we decided to have a light dinner back at the buffet. I seemed to find my favorites over at the gluten free section.
 |  |
Just outside the Oceanview Cafe, a large framed navigational map was on display with the ship's itinerary plotted.
We had a beautiful view of Koryaksky and (possibly) Vilyuchik volcanoes at sailaway.
 |  |
Tomorrow begins our 7-day-straight journey across the Bering Sea and the International Date Line, passing by the Aleutian Islands before making landfall in Canada - stay tuned!
(Missed reading about our last port, Hakodate? Click here! What about earlier entries of our trip? Click on the Trip Index links at the top of this page. Feel free to click here to sign up for updates straight into your inbox...opt out anytime!)
***
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
No comments:
Post a Comment