Trip Report--Diamond Princess Grand Japan July 17~Aug 3, 2015

We had a fabulous 17-day cruise on the Diamond in July which was one of the best cruises that we have done. I have gotten so much valuable information from everyone on the CC board before this cruise. Here is a trip report to repay you all.

I called it a trip report instead of a review because this also covers our pre and post cruise days on this trip which may or may not relate to the ship. I will try to answer any question you may have as much as I can. This is a work in progress with the first leg of our cruise (Hokkaido) done. I will continue with the rest of the report whenever I can.

Thank you all again for your help!

Thanks for posting this! :)

Great! I'll have a look a bit later.

We were on the Diamond last year for three Japan cruises. Loved them!

Cheers.

Thanks for posting this! :)

You are most welcome!

Great! I'll have a look a bit later.

We were on the Diamond last year for three Japan cruises. Loved them!

Cheers.

Yeah, I would love to go back any time! I heard that it's pretty hard to book a balcony now and the prices went up a lot.

I am really enjoying your review. Thanks for sharing.

I am really enjoying your review. Thanks for sharing.

I am glad. My pleasure. :)

Thank you for the great trip report. This is the cruise I am hoping to treat myself to celebrate my retirement next year.

Love the food pictures ! Can't wait to have ramen for breakfast :)

Thank you for your blog. I am enjoying reading it and seeing photos of the ship since we will be on the DIAMOND in April and was interested that you swiped your cruise card for the laundry machines to get tokens.

Does the machines also take quarters? On OCEAN last month, we used quarters and was wondering. Is it 8 tokens for the washer and also 8 tokens for the dryer?

paiagirl

Thank you for your blog. I am enjoying reading it and seeing photos of the ship since we will be on the DIAMOND in April and was interested that you swiped your cruise card for the laundry machines to get tokens.

 

Does the machines also take quarters? On OCEAN last month, we used quarters and was wondering. Is it 8 tokens for the washer and also 8 tokens for the dryer?

 

paiagirl

It would be one token each machine. Cost of a token is likely $3.

Thank you for the great trip report. This is the cruise I am hoping to treat myself to celebrate my retirement next year.

Love the food pictures ! Can't wait to have ramen for breakfast :)

You are welcome. You will have a great time on this cruise! Happy retirement! :)

BTW, they serve ramen at lunch and dinner. At breakfast they have miso soup and other kinds of Japanese fare.

Thank you for your blog. I am enjoying reading it and seeing photos of the ship since we will be on the DIAMOND in April and was interested that you swiped your cruise card for the laundry machines to get tokens.

 

Does the machines also take quarters? On OCEAN last month, we used quarters and was wondering. Is it 8 tokens for the washer and also 8 tokens for the dryer?

 

paiagirl

My pleasure! Thank you for reading.

I don't recall any mentioning of using quarters for the machines. When we swiped the cruise card on the 'vending' machine, it gives several options that you want, like detergent $1.50 (1 small box), washer $3.00 (1 token), dryer $3.00 (1 token). You just need to select the ones you need and they charge your shipboard account for whatever. Then you use the tokens for the washer or dryer. We had one token each for the washer and the dryer. Not sure if the quarters will work.

Have fun on your cruise!

My pleasure! Thank you for reading.

I don't recall any mentioning of using quarters for the machines. When we swiped the cruise card on the 'vending' machine, it gives several options that you want, like detergent $1.50 (1 small box), washer $3.00 (1 token), dryer $3.00 (1 token). You just need to select the ones you need and they charge your shipboard account for whatever. Then you use the tokens for the washer or dryer. We had one token each for the washer and the dryer. Not sure if the quarters will work.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

Thank you ROCruiser and also to caribill.

ROCruiser am anxious to read of the rest of your cruise which makes me feel that I am already on the ship and seeing the food photos makes me think that I will gain more on the DIAMOND than on the OCEAN.

Thank you ROCruiser and also to caribill.

 

ROCruiser am anxious to read of the rest of your cruise which makes me feel that I am already on the ship and seeing the food photos makes me think that I will gain more on the DIAMOND than on the OCEAN.

I have two more ports to report on this cruise. Hopefully I will finish those by this weekend. Then I will continue with our land tour part of the trip. BTW, we had an amazing day back to Aomori the second time around. More to come! Thanks for reading!

What a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting about your Japan cruise--definitely on the bucket list! Look forward to reading more!!

What a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure. Thanks for reading!:)

Thanks for posting about your Japan cruise--definitely on the bucket list! Look forward to reading more!!

You will enjoy the Japan cruise, we had so much fun! :)

Thank you ROCruiser.

We were supposed to be on this cruise this year but had to postpone it till next year.

I will read your blog carefully and post any questions I may have.

Thanks for posting your cruise review! I love how in depth it is. I've been to Japan many times and a cruise is now def on my list. I have your webpage book marked, lots of other good reading on there!

ROCruiser,

Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is most enjoyable. I did try to read the patter about smoking, but even with my glasses was not able to:( Guess i need stronger ones.

Do you remember what it said? Is smoking more prevalent since you are in Asia? I have a friend who has Asthma and cannot be around smoke, but really wants to do this cruise.

Thanks

Thank you ROCruiser.

We were supposed to be on this cruise this year but had to postpone it till next year.

I will read your blog carefully and post any questions I may have.

Sorry that we did not get to meet. I am sure you will have a great time on this cruise next year. Please feel free to send your questions this way. I will try to answer the best I can. We did not go to all the places we wanted at each port, but it's OK, we had a great time!

Have fun reading! :)

Thanks for posting your cruise review! I love how in depth it is. I've been to Japan many times and a cruise is now def on my list. I have your webpage book marked, lots of other good reading on there!

Wow! Thanks! Really made my day. Oh yes, take the Japan cruise, you will enjoy it immensely. I started the blog about three years ago, to let my family (scattered all over different parts of the world) see how our 'one and only first class flights' went and now it turned into a travel blog of sort. Thanks for reading!

ROCruiser,

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is most enjoyable. I did try to read the patter about smoking, but even with my glasses was not able to:( Guess i need stronger ones.

Do you remember what it said? Is smoking more prevalent since you are in Asia? I have a friend who has Asthma and cannot be around smoke, but really wants to do this cruise.

 

Thanks

Hi, cheeseclan. I am not a smoker so I did not even pay attention to their rules on smoking. What I could figured out from the Patter is basically this:

"For the enjoyment of the public lounges and facilities, indoor areas onboard Diamond Princess are non-smoking. Smoking is only permitted in designated sections of the sports bar and nightclub. For those passengers who would like to enjoy a cigar or pipe, the Churchill's cigar lounge is located on Deck 6 forward. Smoking cigars or pipes outside of this lounge is not permitted. Outdoor smoking areas are clearly marked and are located on Deck 7 Starboardside. Aft of the last outside door only, on Deck 15 Portside Forward - designated tables by the Tradewinds Bar and on Deck 14 Portside Aft by the elevated section above the Terrace Pool. The Casino and Casino Bar are non-smoking areas onboard with the exception of designated slot machines where guests are permitted to smoke only while playing at those machines. All table games are non-smoking. The Casino will also have one or more non-smoking nights, depending on length of voyage. Smoking is not permitted in staterooms and balconies. Violations to this non-smoking policy will result in a $250 fine for each occurence which will be charged to the passenger's stateroom account. The use of electronic cigarettes is only allowed within the confines of the passenger's stateroom (excluding the balcony area) and within designated smoking areas."

I suppose people were following these rules onboard because I did not notice problems of cigarette smoke while on the ship. ;)

Thanks for reading!