Asuka2

On June 16, 2020, at 1.30 p.m. LT a fire broke out on the upper deck of the 'Asuka II', which has been stuck at Yokohama since April 1 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smoke was billowing from the upper deck in the fore section. Crew members and dozens of firefighters and Coastguard personnel needed three hours to extinguish it. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. It started in a storage area on the top deck. 153 crew members were on board for essential duty. No one was injured. Report with photo: https://news.yahoo.com/black-smoke-billowing-cruise-ship-063741233.html

The "Circle Japan Grand Cruise,” a luxurious one-month voyage operated by NYK Cruises Co. has been recognized with an Award of Excellence at the 2016 Cruise of the Year Awards* sponsored by the Japan Oceangoing Passenger Ship Association (JOPA). This cruise was a new offering on Asuka II from June 5 to July 8, 2016, and was highly evaluated for its high occupancy rate of 85 percent despite its 33-day length. The early summer voyage circled Japan and even included a northern stop at Petropavlovsk (PPLKY)-Kamchatsky in Russia and a southern visit to Keelung, Taiwan. A local production for local consumption policy, which resulted in good use of local food and collaborations with local chefs and restaurants at each port, was also praised. An attempt to make the cruise affordable to solo travelers was also successful with unaccompanied guests accounting for a quarter of all passengers. http://www.marinelink.com/news/honored-cruise-cruise419850

Asuka II, a cruise ship operated by wholly owned NYK Cruises Co. Ltd. , has been recognized as the 2015 Cruise Ship of the Year by the readers of the Japanese magazine Cruise. This is the 24th consecutive year that Asuka II or its predecessor Asuka has received this award. Since 1992, the readers of Cruise have voted annually for their favorite ship and shared their reasons, and this year the 628 participants once again selected Asuka II as the best Japanese-flagged ship and best overall ship. Asuka II’s cordial services and reliability led to the honor. Comments shared by voters included the following: “Although it is the biggest Japanese-flagged ship, Asuka II features a beautiful, well-proportioned hull," "the consideration, elegance, cleanliness, and pride exhibited by the crew of Asuka II are excellent," and "in between meals, the ship offers a variety of fine, light food offerings, such as hamburgers, udon noodles, and shaved ice.”