I have not finished writing about my ports and excursions yet but I am flying home today and reflecting on this wonderous experience.
Dress
I was so worried about dress and I did not have to be. You can dress just like you do most anywhere. People wore everything. I would suggest some modesty but do not stress about what to wear.
Money
Do bring a lot of yen and won. If you find that towards the end of your trip, you have too much, you can buy some nice gifts or you can use cash instead of cc for meals, etc. if push comes to shove, you can always exchange yen and won back to your home currency before leaving the country.
S Korea seems to be far less expensive than Japan.
Weather
It was very hot in Japan. I was not expecting such heat.
It was too early for fall. I think we would have seen fall colors from about late October on
Yesterday, the high in Seoul was only 61 F. I was not expecting it to be so cold. We were just beginning to see Fall colors. I expect there will be a lot more color beginning this week so it seems that Korea might have fall color sooner than Japan
Tattoos
Many crew members and guests had tattoos all over their body. Maybe they knew how to cover up when going ashore. Supposedly tattoos are prohibited in some places???
It was a very good trip but not without glitches and mistakes. Would like to do another similar trip using what I have learned from this one.
And as others have said , a cruise may not be the best way to see Japan and Korea.
And regarding my mobility issues. I can not remember which port we were coming back from but I experienced such pain in my right knee and leg, I almost screamed. The pain was so severe that I could not move the leg at all. I thought that I was going to drop to the ground.
I cannot remember how long it lasted.
This is the one and only time this happened. Persons have asked me if my knee has ever locked. I do not know if this is what was meant.
I would not want to experience this pain again