Between March 13th-November 9th, Princess Cruises will launch a total of 32 sailings aboard its Diamond Princess ship from Japan.
After 3 years of the international cruise ships ban, the government of Japan announced in mid-November 2022 that foreign-registered ships would be allowed to use Japanese ports beginning in spring 2023.
According to John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises, the reopening of Japan's ports to the international cruise industry was "an important and welcome development that not only greatly expands the vacation options available to guests, but also helps to significantly strengthen Japan's tourism economy."
Princess Cruises' 2023 journey is due to cover Okinawa-Hokkaido and "offer guests the opportunity to discover the culture, history, cuisine and natural wonders of Japan," the company revealed.
The Diamond Princess ship is expected to make in summer and fall 2023 a total of 57 voyages. The Japanese-built liner will sail from Yokohama/Kobe-Osaka, with a total of 38 destinations in 4 different countries on 43 itineraries.
This cruise season will also see the introduction of a Medallion system on Diamond Princess. The small device offers contactless check-in, keyless cabin entry, tracking of the location of companions, and food & beverage delivery, among other services.
Japan's industry associations consolidated the lessons of the COVID crisis to produce strong infection-fighting guidelines ahead of the restart of international cruises, which include a requirement that over 95% of passengers be vaccinated at least twice.