Oceania Riviera in Japan – Discovering a Premium Experience: Part Six (Nagasaki & Busan)

My cruise on Oceania Riviera continued with to my mind, the best ports, still to come. Generally, most visitors to Japan either come for the skiing up north or visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Having been to Kyoto and Osaka previously and now having visited Tokyo, exploring more of the country was of great interest to me; not only for me personally, but so I can better assist my clients wanting to visit Japan.

We arrived in Nagasaki, Japan to hours of downpouring rain, causing everything to be soaked. That eliminated for me from going to the Nagasaki Peace Park. With all the rain I was confident the Atomic Bomb Museum, most of which is dedicated to genealogy for Japanese, would be packed with tourists from Oceania tours and otherwise, so I thought I’d save my time thinking more about the two atomic bombs’ impact until Hiroshima.

A walk along the water (well, also in the water with all the rain) was enough for me. So, it was back on the ship to check out Waves Grill for lunch and then a bit of work. I mean it was raining, but finally, it was a bit warmer.

Waves Grill is your classic casual grill and the perfect place for my Hamburger Test. Once again, the theory seemed to prove itself.

My burger arrived with a bun plus another top bun; as if getting out was more important than getting it right. While the burger was cooked well and tasted good, a sickly slice of tomato and a very small bit of onion with essentially no lettuce was pretty uninspiring. The steak fries were welcome, but weren’t hot.

There was also a Japanese Beef Barbeque offering that was pretty good.

One curious thing is that on Oceania getting an alcoholic beverage is not easily obtained before 3:00 pm; especially if the weather is cold or rainy (like on this trip). Other than Waves (the pool bar that opens at 10:00 a.m….if the weather is good) no bar is open until 3:00 p.m. So, for example, if you want a mimosa, other than sitting in a restaurant, you are out of luck…unless you might try room service or sit in an open restaurant even if you don’t want to dine, but I haven’t been that desperate for a drink.

In other words, I have found that utilizing the Premium Beverage Package is frustrating; resulting in it actually not being a good value unless you spend every afternoon and evening drinking at a rather rapid pace! With the included wines to be nothing more than OK at dinner (and why would I want to compromise on that?) and drinks not really being available until 3:00 p.m., unless you want a beer or cocktail in your suite or in a lounge not being an option, the $80+ cost per day doesn’t make sense for most.

Late in the afternoon, we were required to have a face-to-face meeting with the Japanese Immigration and Customs authority to officially leave Japan before we headed to Busan, Korea.  Once you went through the process, you were not allowed to leave the ship again. Rather draconian, but immigration has been tight the entire time on this cruise. Our passports are checked and compared to our keycard at every port; sometimes both getting off and returning to the ship.

I prepared myself to moderate my expectations for my dinner at Red Ginger. As I have been eating some pretty amazing Japanese cuisine for over a week now, the bar was high. And, of course, the cuisine has to be made for those a bit less adventurous than myself from the aspects of texture, flavor, and spice. Not a criticism, but an observation; noting most of the guests on Oceania Riviera won’t eat off the ship.

My meal started with a good selection of sake by the bottle (extra cost…again 15% discount, but a 20% gratuity) and a decent and well-presented mixed selection, though it did seem like most of the offerings were pre-cooked and the sushi was very basic.

The Tom Kah Gai soup was OK, but again made for the masses and not what you would normally be served in even an American Thai restaurant. I did find it interesting that the classic Miso-Glazed Black Cod was substituted with the Sea Bass. It was, however, quite good.

Unfortunately, the Malaysian Beef Penaeng was inedible and was pretty much missing the beef. (Talk about stirring the pot! Lol) Oh well.

The next morning was Busan, Korea, and I had no idea what to expect…other than rain. What a pleasant surprise and I hope to return one day with a decent guide and more time. (I wasn’t able to curate a guide, so I took what I could.)

Curiously, Oceania Riviera was departing early at 4:00 p.m., so it really cut short our time and my options.

I hired a guide, again seeing what it was like using Viator in Asia. A few weeks after I booked my private tour I received an email stating that I could not book a private tour for one, so I would have to book a group tour, but they are limited to no more than seven people. Huh? OK, but what if I had a second person? No availability. Keeping in mind that pre-booking an Oceania tour was not an option…and after my first experience, I wasn’t going to explore that further plus the other Viator options to pre-book were not cruise-friendly. I decided to go with it.

Unfortunately, while there was one nice couple from the ship, the other couple (complete with an obnoxious man from Seattle who only wanted to talk about golf and how he somehow knew somebody who was somehow related to anything we were seeing, or expressing his “knowledge” of Tahoe’s golf scene. Ugh.) was staying at a hotel twenty minutes away from the ship. Time Suck No. 1!

Eventually, the guide from Busan Tourism Center (I do not endorse them!) started guiding. Whew. Busan has some amazing modern architecture and while I am not usually a fan of modern skyscrapers, Busan’s are just different and are sufficiently spread out that you can appreciate them.

Our first stop was the Haedong Yonggung Temple, which was quite interesting and has some beautiful buddhas, statues, and buildings. And having made it before the Oceania tour groups and other tourists made it that much more enjoyable.

And then Time Suck No. 2. Driving about 25 minutes to a viewpoint to see the city. Then a visit to where the 2005 APEC meeting was held. I guess this could be interesting to some, so I won’t call it Time Suck No. 3, but it also involved walking about twenty minutes along a pathway for no particular reason other than the building is isolated. That I will call Time Suck No. 3.

We then walked over to the most popular beach in Busan while the guide walked to get the van and then we went to the Busan Cinema Center where the Busan International Film Festival is held. Why? I don’t have a clue! Time Suck No. 4.

By then it was time for lunch, but the restaurant was closed. Oh, but there is another branch of the same restaurant across town…twenty minutes away. Time Suck No. 5.

Finally, Korean Barbeque! It was fun and delicious.

As we left the restaurant there were vendors selling street food. Oh, but there really was no time for this because we had to get moving. Huh?

Well, when I saw what looked like blood sausage in a spicy red sauce, I took matters into my own hand and started ordering.  While I saw the two women were going to rip me off by loading me up with double portions, I could have focused on creating an issue (I need to be “right”) or I could say experiencing the food was more important (I need the experience).  You know I went with the experience.

The elderly man from the ship on our tour was quite hesitant to try any of it, saying it really depended on how you were raised. I said, “I wasn’t raised to eat unidentified food from a street vendor, but I do know that if she was serving sickening food, nobody would buy from her and she’d not be there.” And with that, he tried some (not the sausage!) and said it was good and glad he tried it. Ah, how I love travel!

We then went to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery which was extremely well done and thought-provoking. When we were about to start the walk through the park and the Wall of Remembrance, the skies opened up. But, honestly, I think the rain made the experience a bit more focused and touching.

And with, an early drop-off at the ship and the guide advising the two non-cruise ship guests that he would continue to tour to see the things we didn’t have time to see…after Five Time Sucks! Not good. 

It is also a great reminder that if you really like to immerse yourself, and wandering off on your own is not an option (for whatever reason) spend the extra on a private tour if you can.

That evening I had a later dinner at the Grand Dining Room. Unfortunately, it was inedible. I won’t share but two indicative photos of what was supposed to be a Tomato & Feta Salad and a Souffle. They speak for themselves.

Fortunately, the ports that are of great interest to me are coming up and I have hired curated private guides for Hiroshima and Kyoto that I have been communicating with for weeks. 

Next up: The journey through Japan continues!