Last-Minute Cruise to Japan

Jen had spotted an interesting Japan cruise earlier in the summer, but it was fully booked. By chance, just two weeks before the cruise was set to depart, one cabin became available at a really good price. Without overthinking it, we booked it and were suddenly on our way to Japan!

Muroran

Our first stop was Muroran, a port city where cruise ships typically dock for passengers planning to visit Sapporo. Unfortunately, due to storms, the ship was delayed by two hours. We paid for a shuttle to the train station, but when we finally arrived, there was an hour+ long lineup to buy train tickets, so, we decided to abandon that plan and stay in Muroran.

Muroran is mainly a port town with very few attractions. There are several small local restaurants, but they only take cash. Determined to try out one of these restaurants, we embarked on what turned out to be a full-day journey, struggling to find an ATM that would work with our foreign bank cards.  We even called our bank, only to be told our card was not locked and should be working fine. After an evening of research, it wasn’t until the next day (and some help from Google Translate) that we realized that we had been inserting our card incorrectly 🤦.

We still had a good time in Muroran, walking around and shopping. The highlight of the day was a credit-card accepting, budget-friendly sushi restaurant (Uobei) where sushi was delivered by train! You order on an iPad, and the sushi arrives on a little train to your table. While it was considered a "cheap" sushi place by Japanese standards, it was a delight for us Canadians. We only paid ¥2090 (~20cad) to have a fun experience and have a full and happy belly.

Hakodate

In Hakodate, we took a free shuttle bus downtown to begin our exploration. Our first stop was a market along the waterfront, where Jen bought some famous Hakodate Cheese Tarts, and Dom tried a whipped cream fruit sandwich. The surprising part of the sandwich was how crisp and flavourful the fruits were. I guess it’s to be expected in Japan, where a single cantaloupe can easily cost $30!

After the market, we made our way up a hill at the edge of town, which offered a fantastic view of Hakodate. We then returned to the centre to try out a local ramen shop, then wandered through town a bit more before returning to the boat.

Akita

In Akita, we took a special tourist train from the port to the center of town. Here, we visited a local market and then spent most of our time at Senshu Park. The park has several walking paths and the remnants of an old Japanese fortress where went up a tower to see a view of the surrounding area.

We also had the strangest lunch experience here: on social media, you can find many people raving about the 7-Eleven egg sandwich, so we had to try it. We stopped by a 7-Eleven, picked up an egg sandwich, a curry croquette, and paired them with some expensive sake from the local market. The sandwich was nice, the eggs were well-blended and very creamy, but we didn’t quite understand the hype. The curry croquette, on the other hand, greatly exceeded our expectations (so fluffy and delicious), as did the sake!

Sometimes the highlights of a trip are not the planned activities but the surprises we stumbled upon along the way. To return to the ship, we decided to walk 45 minutes to an alternate train station (visiting Daiso and Seria along the way) and came across a group of locals gathered around a massive wooden float. Soon after, we saw young kids start pulling a rope to drag the float down the street, while playing drums at the back of the float. It was such a charming and unexpected moment that made our day even more special.

Shimizu (Mount Fuji)

Shimizu is the typical cruise stop for being able to visit Mount Fuji, but you don’t have to wait until reaching Shimizu to catch a glimpse of the mountain. If you wake up early and head to the front of the boat, you might get lucky!  We’d heard that Mount Fuji is shy and is usually hidden by clouds, but fortunately, we had a beautiful and clear day as we approached the port.

Dom went Flowriding and paused between rides to admiring Mount Fuji looming larger into view.

When we arrived in Shimizu, it was a local holiday, so most shops were closed. Luckily, the local fish market was open. Shimizu is famous for its tuna, so we treated ourselves to some super fresh tuna sashimi. After a quick stroll around town, we returned to the ship.  By then, Mount Fuji had vanished behind a curtain of clouds.

Another unexpected moment was seeing so many Japanese people gathered at the port to both greet and bid farewell to the cruisers. A large crowd had amassed at the port and there was music and celebrations in the nearby park.  Several locals stood at the fence waving and greeting passengers in English as they disembarked the ship.  As the ship was preparing to depart, the locals were again gathered, cheering and waving the flashlight of their phones as we prepared to leave.  Dom had a lot of fun exchanging light patterns with a few people in the crowd. As the ship departed, they continued to wave their flashlights and we were also treated to fireworks!

Tokyo

Our final port was Tokyo. Normally, we would have stayed much longer to explore Japan, but since we’re planning to return this summer with Dom’s nephew, we only spent a few days in Tokyo. 

The Tokyo cruise port is far from the train station, so we took a free shuttle to the nearest Yokohama train station and then hopped on a train into Tokyo. Since it was still too early to check-in, we stopped at Shibuya Scramble Crossing, famous for being one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world, where people cross in all directions at once.

Next, we visited Akihabara Electric Town to scope out Anime figurines for Dom’s nephew.  While there, we spent at least 15 minutes watching locals playing all sorts of skill-based arcade games. Our favourite was a dancing game, similar to Dance Dance Revolution, but instead of just four arrows, the entire mat was interactive, allowing players to move all around it and really dance.

We stayed at a cute hostel in Asakusa, where we visited the temple, wandered the cute streets, shopped, and tasted some local treats.

As always, we had some amazing food experiences. We enjoyed sushi, a Wagyu hamburger, and fresh fruit mochi, just to name a few of the highlights.

Biking Mallorca

After our cruise, we decided to take a real vacation and bike in Mallorca with Jen’s parents and their friends. Before planning this trip, we didn't know that Mallorca is a known cyclist paradise, thanks to for its vast array of terrain, scenery, and cyclist-friendly drivers. We were in awe of how many cyclists we saw here, beginners and experts alike. During one of our stops, a tourist asked us if there was some kind or race or event going on, because they were also surprised to see so many cyclists on the roads. 

Since many of the popular routes looked challenging for our group, we decided to rent e-bikes. This allowed everyone to feel comfortable with the level of the rides since we could each adjust our own bike assistance levels. David and Lloyd, being bike aficionados, took the opportunity to try out the Cadillac of e-bikes, the "Trek Domane+." Jen and Dom opted for a slightly cheaper option but still very nice rides, with the Niner RLT E9 RDO (quite a mouthful).  We rented from Rent March in Port de Pollença and we were really happy with their service.

Ride #1: Cap Formentor (42km, 870m)

We arrived at our Airbnb in Port de Pollença on Sunday and picked up our bikes at 9am on Monday. After a few adjustments, we were off on our first ride to the popular tourist destination: Cap de Formentor, a lighthouse on one of the island's peninsulas. The ride consists of several steep climbs and winding roads but offers great views of the Mediterranean and the island's rugged cliffs. The e-bikes made the ride even more enjoyable because, instead of staring at the asphalt and huffing and puffing, the e-bikes allowed us to keep our heads up, appreciate the scenery, and check out the pelotons and hardcore cyclists along the route.

At the end of the route, you are rewarded with a view from the (rather ordinary) lighthouse. We intended to eat at the lighthouse, but there were SO many bikes and cars that we decided to shorten our lighthouse visit and double back to an alternate spot on the side of the road.  We enjoyed our sandwiches with a view of a beautiful bay. 

Ride #2: Alcudia and Ermitage de la Victoria (27km, 270m)

Unfortunately, Jen’s dad got sick on day 2, so we adjusted the itinerary in the hopes that he would be able to rejoin us later for the Lluc Monastery ride. We decided to do a shorter ride along the coast to the lovely walled city of Alcúdia, where we lucked out as it was market day. We stopped for a quick glimpse of some local offerings, then continued along the Ermita de la Victòria peninsula and up to a smaller monastery, where we relaxed for a bit before heading home.

Ride #3: Lluc Monastery (63km, 855m)

This ride, like the first day, was both great and busy. Shortly after departing Port de Pollença, we started climbing along the main road to Lluc Monastery. It was gently at first, but gradually became steeper over the next 30 km, where our e-bikes proved very handy.  For most of the climb, we shared the road with cars, but traffic was light and we were very impressed at how aware, patient, and considerate the drivers were with cyclists. This route had many bikers and even though we were on e-bikes, many of the non-bike pelotons and elite cyclists passed us going uphill with ease.  Halfway, we stopped at the Lluc Monastery for a quick lunch and short visit.  

After lunch, we began our return trip home with a thrilling 20 minutes stretch of continuous downhill riding along winding, low-traffic roads. After that, we chose smaller, quieter back roads for the rest of the way, which had almost no cars and made for a beautiful scenic and peaceful ride through remote farmhouses and open fields.

Ride #4: Port de Pollença to Sineu (47km, 290m)

Today, we moved from our apartment in Port de Pollença to another one closer to the center of the island, in Sineu. Sharon and Colleen took a taxi with all our baggage, while we biked there to meet them. Although we made a real effort to find the best route, it turns out Google isn't always reliable when it comes to bike-friendly navigation. On multiple occasions, it tried to send us down paths that weren’t rideable: dirt trails, staircases, even fields. About halfway through, we gave up on the route and decided to stick to the main road instead.

Ride #5: Inca Grocery Shopping (29km, 210m)

Since there were no major grocery stores in Sineu, and both David and Lloyd were under the weather, Jen and Dom decided to ride to a nearby town, Inca, to get some food supplies for the week. Sineu is away from the mountains, so this was an easier ride going through lovely backcountry roads. 

Ride #6: Puig de Bonany / Petra (27km, 250m)

The week was tough since we each took turns with bad flus and colds, but since this was our last bike rental day, we all decided to take a short ride to Puig de Bonany. It was a lovely flat ride with a good steep hill at the end. The ride was lovely, and the view at the top of the hill was beautiful. We sat there, had some snacks, and came back. Close to Sineu, we were greeted with a nice view of the town with the church, which we had not really seen yet as we had never come into town from that direction.

Town Exploration

We did a lot of biking, but we also explored the towns we stayed in. Our first place was in Port de Pollença, a small and touristy coastal town with a lot of bike shops. It's quite lovely, and you can enjoy nice walks along the water at night with all the shops and restaurants lit up.

Sineu was smaller and less touristy, however, we had a nice and relaxing time there.

We like working on cruise ships - Oasis of the Seas

We never thought we’d be cruising so frequently, but with the advent of low-orbit internet satellites, we can now work on a cruise almost as efficiently as we do at home. It’s not always perfect, and we’ve had some close calls, but overall the internet works fairly well. This cruise was with Jen's parents and their friends Lloyd and Colleen.

We began our journey in Miami, where we boarded the Oasis of the Seas. It's a huge ship and until recently, it was the largest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It’s hard to put into words just how massive and impressive it is, so take a look at the photo and try to imagine it for yourself.

Although we were working, we had the chance to visit four Spanish cities we hadn’t explored before. In each one, we enjoyed leisurely walks and took in the sights.
 
Our first stop was Cádiz. After a nice walk around town, we stumbled upon a market with a stall serving Jerez sherry: a fortified wine from the nearby town of Jerez.

Next, we stopped in Málaga. We hiked up to the towns castle and viewpoint, enjoying beautiful views along the way.

Our third stop was Alicante, where we visited the castle perched atop a hill. We initially considered taking the elevator, but with an hour-long wait, we opted to hike up instead. To our surprise, we reached the castle entrance in just 25 minutes and made it all the way to the top 20 minutes later.


In Valencia, we originally planned to stay on the ship and relax. However, Jen’s mom had different plans, and we ended up going into town. We're glad we did! We passed the remarkable Science and Art buildings (definitely on our list for the next visit) and enjoyed our walk through the town, stopping at the market to savor some local fruits.

Our final stop was Barcelona, where we didn't linger long. We headed straight to the airport for our next adventure: biking in Mallorca.

Working Remotely from the Anthem of the Seas

During one of our previous cruises, we received some onboard credits that had to be used by the end of 2023. After searching for options within our price range and coming up empty, we were ready to let the credit go. Then, just two weeks before this trip, we stumbled upon a transatlantic crossing with cheap flights to and from the cruise. So, on October 13, we set off on a $290 CAD red-eye direct flight to London, ready for our next adventure aboard Anthem of the Seas.

Each ship has its own unique offerings, and Anthem was no exception. During our time on board, we tackled an escape room and even tested our archery skills. One of our favorite experiences, was when the cruise staff acquired local delicacies and served them at the Windjammer. For example, after our visit to Lisbon, we got to enjoy some pastel de nata. At the Canary ports, we sampled local cheeses and cured meats. Following our stop in Halifax, we were treated to Timbits, poutine, and Montreal smoked meat. On these port days, the staff also set up small stands along the promenade offering local drinks. This is not usual, but was a welcome addition on the Athem

When working on the ship, we’d love to work from everywhere. However, the lack of power outlets and the noise level in most common areas mean we usually end up working in our room: Jen on the bed, and Dom taking over the couch (or the bathroom for some meetings). We do try to get a bit of work done outside of our room, but once our batteries run low, we have to head back.

The primary goal of this trip was to work on the ship, rather than explore new cities or have new experiences. That being said, we still went ashore at each port and took some time to walk around and take in the sights.

We arrived in Southampton a day early, and during our time there, we mostly walked around the old city.

Next, we stopped in Vigo, Spain. Here, we wandered around town and went up to Monte O Castro, the highest point in the city, to visit the remnants of the old castle and take in the view of the city.

We then arrived in Lisbon and set out on a quest to rediscover our favorite Pastel de Nata spots. Surprisingly, they didn’t impress us as much as they had on our first trip. They were still good, but we remembered indulging in so many of them back then. This time, after just a couple, we had already hit our sugar limit. However, Dom did rediscovered Pão de Deus at A Padaria Portuguesa, a delicious Portuguese coconut bun.

We did two stops were on the Canary Islands. Our first stop was at Arrecife on Lanzarote, a charming small town with an old and relatively small castle. As usual, we explored the town on foot and made our way to Islota de Fermina, where we discovered a beautiful white resort and an interpretation center. The center provided us with valuable insights into the local history, enhancing our visit to this picturesque part of Lanzarote.

We made two stops in the Canary Islands. Our first was in Arrecife, on Lanzarote, a charming smlatown with an old and relatively small castle. As usual, we explored on foot and made our way to Islote de Fermina, where we discovered a beautiful white resort and an interpretation center. The center offered valuable insights into the local history, enhancing our visit.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife was our second stop in the Canaries. Surprise, we walked around town. 😄

Our last stop before reaching New Jersey was supposed to be Bermuda for two days. However, with Hurricane Tammy also heading that way, the captain made a small change to our itinerary, and we ended up in Halifax, Canada instead. We were a bit disappointed since we had just been in Halifax four weeks earlier, but we definitely preferred calm seas and a return to Canada over rough waters and a windy, rainy Bermuda.

We are already looking forward to the prospect of working remotely from a cruise ship again in the future.

Orlando Shopping and Spaceships

When our Arctic cruise arrived in New Jersey, we quickly caught a flight to Orlando where Jen's parents had rented a timeshare for two weeks, and they had an extra room for us.  Our only plan was to relax, shop, and enjoy the sun.

We decided to drive to Cape Canaveral for a day, to explore the Kennedy Space Center.  We had read some positive reviews about it, but we had no real idea what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised with the place and the fact that they so many real spaceships for us to contemplate.

We started our visit with a quick history tour of U.S. space missions in the Rocket Garden. We were impressed by how small the astronaut capsules were, and couldn't believe that these tiny modules had actually been strapped onto real missiles.

Next we took a bus to see the Saturn V rocket, the 3-stage rocket that was designed to send astronauts to the moon. OMG, it is huge! In this section of the park, we learned about all of the early Apollo missions and the moon landings.

From there, we visited the Shuttle Pavilion, where we saw the actual Atlantis Shuttle. Once again, it was a lot bigger than we were expecting. We took a tour and learned interesting facts about the shuttle programs. The most notable was that the thermal protection blankets covering the shuttle’s belly, were actually hand-sewn by a team of highly skilled women.

Lastly, we explored a few more exhibits and tried some of the rides, but they paled in comparison to the first pavilions we visited. 

It was a long day since we arrived right at opening (9 AM) and stayed all the way until closing (5 PM), but we had a fantastic time and learned a lot.

Our Unexpected Artic Cruise

Before our sabbatical ended, Jen’s mom found a last-minute deal on an affordable Artic cruise. So, before going back to work full-time, we decided to squeeze in one last adventure. We boarded the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas in Amsterdam and set off on a 17-night journey that ended in New Jersey.

Along the way, we visited the following ports:

The Jewel of the Seas is smaller than what we’re accustomed to. It belongs to the Radiance class and is approximately 55% of the size of the Quantum class ships we’ve sailed on before. Because of its size, it lacks some of the facilities we’ve enjoyed on past cruises: no indoor sports court, FlowRider, or iFly, to name a few.

But that didn’t stop us from making the most of it. We played basketball, tried our hand at mini golf, and kept active in the gym. To be fair, most of our time was spent relaxing between ports, participating in trivia, and eating. Jen even managed to squeeze in some part-time work.


One of the things we realized on this cruise is that the ships are so high that you always have a great view of any port you arrive at.  It's like the ship is a floating observation deck. Here are a few views we enjoyed along the way, including a sunset as we exited Amsterdam, some of the villages we visited, and the port of Newark.

The Maritimes

After leaving Greenland, we made our way to the last three ports in Eastern Canada. Surprisingly, we had never visited this part of our country before, so it was a pleasant addition to our trip.

St-Johns, Newfoundland

Our first stop was St. John’s, Newfoundland, where we were greeted by a beautiful view of the city. We took a quick stroll and visited the colourful houses on Gower Street. While there are colourful houses throughout the city, we found that Gower Street offered the best continuous view of them.

We then decided to walk ~2.5 kilometers to Signal Hill, a viewpoint overlooking the city. On Signal Hill, we visited the historical site and learned that it was here, in1901, that the first successful transatlantic wireless communication was conducted.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Our second maritime port was Halifax, Nova Scotia's capital. We arrived on a sunny Sunday and set out to explore the boardwalk, which was filled with shops, activities, and people. We visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, where we learned about the Titanic tragedy and the Halifax Explosion. We didn't know that in 1917, a French cargo ship loaded with wartime explosives collided with a Norwegian vessel in Halifax Harbour, triggering a massive explosion.  It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and levelled a significant part of Halifax. We finished our day walking around the Citadel and watching a live band perform at Halifax's Public Gardens.

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Finally, we visited Sydney, Nova Scotia's second-largest town (but much smaller than Halifax). The primary attraction in this area is the Cabot Trail. Unfortunately, during our visit, the weather was overcast and drizzly, so, we just took a brief stroll around the town before returning to the ship.

Qaqortoq

On our second day in Greenland, we arrived in Qaqortoq (pronounced "Kakotok"), a city of 3,000 people in south Greenland. We woke up to a beautiful view of all the colorful houses on the cliffs and some icebergs. 

Since it’s a small port, we had a few minutes tender from the boat to the town. After a quick walk around the port, we decided to exit the town and walk around the lake. It was an easy and enjoyable hike surrounded by tundra scenery. We did not do the entire lake, we just walked around 3.5 km before turning back. 

After our hike, we decided to split up: Dom climbed to a viewpoint overlooking the city, while Jen ventured closer to one of the icebergs to get a great photo. A few hours later, we reunited back on the boat to enjoy some drinks and share our adventures.

Cruising Prins Christian Sund

We only had one stop in Greenland. However, to get there, the ship passed through the "Prins Christian Sund." This is a narrow strait that separates the mainland from the Cape Farewell Archipelago. It does not have any historical significance, but it is known for its landscapes, cliffs, and glaciers. It was nice, indeed.

We entered the strait around 2 PM in a lot of fog, but soon the fog lifted, and we could see the beautiful scenery. We encountered some drizzle later along the coast, but it was short-lived, and we continued to enjoy the views. We exited the main sound around 7 PM, but it took a few more hours before we made it back to the open sea.


Isalfjordur

From Akureyri, our ship made its way to Isafjordur on the northwest coast of Iceland. There, we woke up to a magnificent scene: a little town surrounded by mountains.

From the boat, we enjoyed the picturesque view of the mountains and 'Thor's Seat,' a depression in the mountain where you could imagine Thor sitting.

Though the day was overcast and drizzly, we spent our time walking around town and exploring a scenic trail to the north, which offered a nice view of the town and its stunning surroundings.