Three Yamato-themed leisure cruises took place over the course of a week: March 29-31, March 31-April 2, and April 2-4. Staff and cast members participated in onboard events with fans. The attractions were listed as film screenings, meetings and autograph sessions with singers and voice actors, a live vocal contest (with each contestant receiving a record of their performance), a stamp rally, and more.
A free “passport” and other handouts were provided to every guest
Description by O.G. superfan Toshihiro Watanabe:
This was the only major event for Final Yamato, but it appears there were no special invitations or preferential treatments. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the ship was painted as it was during the 1980 Adventure Roman cruise, or whether the name Yamato was painted on both sides as shown in the flyer.
There were also differences between the information published on the two flyers that were released. The first promised screenings of all three Yamato movies, but the second said the screenings would include Final Yamato and one other film.
Stills from a TV commercial; see it here
The cast listed on the first flyer included Isao Sasaki, Tomoko Kuwae (singer), Kei Tomiyama (Kodai), Yoko Asagami (Yuki), and many other voice actors. The second flyer said the “captains” would be Sasaki, Nishizaki, and Leiji Matsumoto with several voice actors (subject to change).
The maiden voyage was a 3-day, 2-night trip from March 29-31. The second voyage began just four hours after the return, running from March 31-April 2. If you didn’t leave immediately after the maiden voyage, you’d have the advantage of being able to see off the second departure. Those who boarded on the third voyage could see off the guests of the second voyage.
New Utopia was an actual luxury liner, whereas the ship used in 1980 was a refitted ferry
Little has been said about these cruises in the years since, but someone who was actually on board posted the following on Facebook under the name Hidemi Ishihara:
Back then, I was dead set on attending any Yamato event. That’s how obsessed I was during my junior high and high school years. For the previous Be Forever event, I did join the train trip, but I missed out on the Yamato cruise departing from Kawasaki to Miyazaki for two nights. The last chance came in 1983. Nippon Express Yotsuya planned a Yamato tour departing from Harumi Pier to the Izu area. It cost tens of thousands of yen so I had to beg my parents.
We departed Harumi Pier around 3pm. I shared a room with a friend from the old days, or rather, the same friend from the Be Forever days. It was a two-day itinerary aboard Kawasaki Kisen’s New Utopia, which they made to resemble Yamato. The guests on my tour were Leiji Matsumoto, Kei Tomiyama (Kodai), Kenichi Ogata (Analyzer), and Goro Naya (Okita).
Right after departure, there were welcome drinks in the hall where the organizer explained the itinerary. During the evening free time, we gathered in the lounge to watch TV. Some participants were already puking from seasickness. Dinner at 7 PM. Then came the long-awaited welcome show. The band was lame. They played mostly songs unrelated to Yamato. Then it was time for the guest talk show. Next, guest voice actors and some participants got to try voice acting. This and the next anime song experience involved recording your voice live onto a vinyl record as a souvenir.
I joined the anime song session. “Please do Kodai and Yamato!” We can’t play that. “Pendant of Stars, please.” Can’t play it. “Hey! What can you even play…any Space Battleship Yamato songs?” Seriously, tears. I couldn’t accept this. It was a Yamato event! There was even a boy singing Doraemon songs. The boy who sang Hattori-kun got backing vocals from Kenichi Ogata. Finally, after his greeting, Kei Tomiyama himself sang with a bright red scarf. Seriously? (LOL). After closing, fans lined up at the restaurant where Mr. Naya and Mr. Ogata were drinking. It turned into an autograph session.
I don’t remember the morning of Day 2, but we passed either Oshima or Niijima. The afternoon featured back-to-back screenings of Farewell and Be Forever. After dinner, the farewell party and finally the screening of Final Yamato; it was the legendary “long version” with the erotic scene between Kodai and Yuki.
But…a major problem had been going on since departure. Power outages throughout the ship. They happened every hour or two. With high-power stuff like movies and shows, the circuit breakers kept tripping. They happened relentlessly even during the movie’s climax, so the ship was filled with screams, curses, and seasick vomit before bed.
I got seasick and disembarked the next morning. Thank youuuu. I watched the movie again the next day at Marunouchi Toei theater.