Japan Cruise from Kaohsiung — 10 Honest Notes on Costa Serena

If You’re Expecting Pure Relaxation, Think Twice About Costa Serena Cruising

I recently took a cruise from Kaohsiung to Japan, with port calls in Okinawa and Miyako-jima. I had initially envisioned this as a ‘zero-planning, total-relaxation’ kind of getaway. However, the reality of the cruise experience turned out to be quite different from what I’d imagined.

This post isn’t a travel guide, nor is it meant to discourage you from cruising. Instead, it’s a breakdown of ten honest observations that only become apparent once you’re actually onboard. If you’re currently considering a cruise, take these as part of your mental preparation.

tip 1｜Boarding a cruise is not elegant — it’s a queue marathon

Because cruise ships carry an enormous number of passengers, everything involves waiting in line, even with staggered boarding times.

We were assigned the latest boarding slot and didn’t eat until nine at night. We had barely taken two bites when the emergency drill announcement came on, and suddenly everyone was packed into stairwells wearing oversized life jackets. My only thought was: did I come here to relax, or to suffer?

Queuing for meals is equally unavoidable. The buffet runs longer hours and accepts walk-ins, but the main dining room assigns specific seatings — if you miss your window, you’re locked out. Every mealtime, the door is already crowded before it opens.

tip 2｜The elevators exist, but so does luck

The ship has plenty of elevators, but far more passengers. You regularly see elderly travellers gripping the handrails and climbing floor by floor because the wait isn’t worth it.

The ship is also divided into forward and aft sections, and some decks don’t connect — so you often have to go up, walk a long corridor, then come back down. First-time cruisers get lost in the cabin zones constantly. A cruise is more physically demanding than people expect.

tip 3｜Shore excursions can’t be bought in advance — and they sell out fast

Shore excursions cannot be booked ahead of time. You have to queue at the onboard desk after boarding, and by the time we got there, nearly everything was sold out.

If you’re the type who needs a plan, research alternatives before you leave — private car hire or local tour bookings made in advance. Okinawa has decent public transit to major sights, but Miyakojima is genuinely difficult to get around without a group tour, a taxi, or a pre-arranged driver. No wonder the Miyakojima excursions disappear within hours.

tip 4｜The wifi plans are more complicated than you think

Internet at sea runs on satellite, so it’s expensive and divided into many tiers:
Social media package (covers FB, IG, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Telegram, Threema, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter, WeChat)
WhatsApp package, pay-per-minute plan, full access plan, and more.

I chose to skip wifi entirely to save money. I stayed offline while on the ship and only connected to Japan eSIM when we docked ashore.

tip 5｜Don’t skip seasickness meds — big ships still move

People say large ships are more stable, but if you’re prone to motion sickness, you’ll still feel it — a constant, low-level sway, 24 hours a day, that takes time to adapt to.

If you get seasick easily: pack motion sickness medication, avoid cabins at the very front or back, and aim for a mid-ship cabin on a lower deck.

tip 6｜Your room card is your passport and your wallet

Your passport gets collected at check-in, and everything onboard — the casino, duty-free shops, spa, ice cream — goes on your room card. It has your name, cabin number, and dining time printed on it. Settlement happens on the final day. The cashless setup makes it dangerously easy to lose track of spending.

tip 7｜No internet? There’s still plenty to do

The ship slips a daily activity sheet under your cabin door every morning.

There are theatre performances, language classes, dance nights, and bingo at set times, plus free-use facilities like ping pong (balls are $1, paddles free) and the swimming pool. The schedule is genuinely full. If you prefer unstructured time, bring a book and find a deck chair in the sun.

tip 8｜The drinks package makes sense for the right person

The ship provides basic water and tea bags. If you drink a lot or enjoy alcohol, the beverages package is worth the price. But everyone in your cabin has to purchase it together — one person can’t opt in alone. If you only want a drink occasionally, ordering individually is the smarter call.

tip 9｜Luggage handling is surprisingly smooth

Large bags are checked in at boarding — staff deliver them directly to your cabin door. The one catch: security screening can delay delivery by up to two hours after departure, so keep your essentials in your carry-on. On the last night, leave your bags outside the door and they’ll be collected; you pick them up at the terminal. The whole system means you never drag luggage through the ship.

tip 10｜The best way to bring a TV home from Japan

There are no airline luggage limits on a cruise. Fellow passengers actually boarded with televisions and rice cookers. If you’re doing a Japan shopping trip and dreading excess baggage fees, a cruise genuinely solves that problem.

So, is cruise travel worth it?

If you want to switch off, stop planning, and wake up in a different country — yes, some of the cruises deliver that. But if you love exploring cities freely, going deep on sights, or eating well, the ship may feel like a cage.

If the budget allows, upgrading to a balcony cabin, buying priority boarding, booking specialty restaurants, and getting a proper wifi plan makes the whole experience noticeably better. I don’t regret this trip — but it dismantled everything I thought I knew about cruising. That might be the point of travel: not every holiday is effortless, but each one teaches you something about yourself.

Read more: More Japan travel articles