uspearls

As other said, confirming there is no horizontal obstructed view from that cabin. One slight correction to the OP - the lifeboats will be to your right, rather than down. I had my parents in a deluxe balcony a couple of cabins down on the Enchanted (virtually identical) and there is just a white shade cover over the protruding outdoor eating area on Deck 7 (which is a very quiet area as there aren't many people out there, particularly later at night). This small area of "obstructed" view balconies and deluxe balconies is a great value - grab it!

I stand corrected! I did not mean to opine on the attractiveness or viability of San Diego as a homeport (or port of call). I'm just not overly optimistic that Princess will homeport a ship here for any length of time. I'd be thrilled if I'm wrong!

Some of the airport lots offer shuttle service right to the dock, as the airport is 2 minutes away. I've used Aladdin for years for both airport and cruise.

Howdy neighbor! Glad you posted and hope an "insider" can shed some light. On the one hand, I'm not overly optimistic. Locating the Diamond in San Diego was never more than an opportunistic stopgap, and with Holland America firmly entrenched I could see adding more capacity from a sister brand as cannibalizing sales given the limited Mexican Riviera/Pacific coastal routes (San Diego hasn't even been able to support lower price point Carnival for years). On the other hand, the Port of San Diego offered this statement AFTER the cancellation of the early part of the Diamond's schedule: “Princess Cruises has been an important part of the Port of San Diego’s growing cruise business and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. " Intriguing or just wishful thinking?!

Exactly our experience in PR723! Such a shame after looking forward to being in that cabin for so long. There should be a warning on the deck plan.

These are great cabins - in fact, expand your search to E411 - E425 (categories DW and BW). No noise, great location. On both sides the restaurants close pretty early and nobody was out there (in the Caribbean!) The pricing is usually significantly below the unobstructed balcony or deluxe balcony and the only "obstruction" is white shade canopies below you. Had E410 for my parents in January (the photos on cruisedeckplans.com are mine :)). I have E424 booked for next month. Can't even see the lifeboats as you're in the concave section looking sideways at other balconies.

As the OP said, yes and unlimited - but just the small bottles. You have to pay for the large bottles. Also, I learned just to ask for sparkling water rather than a brand. Each bar and dining room seems to be randomly stocked with Perrier or San Pelligrino but rarely both together!

That's an idea. The forward 4 cabins on each side though are all ADA, and there's only 4 regular balconies behind those (plus a storage closet each side, so 5 balcony sized rooms approximately). So, unless you qualify for the ADA cabin, not sure it will make much difference. But if it looks like there's a bunch of balconies open on your cruise, there's not a lot of risk if you don't mind moving if it doesn't work out.

We were in PR723 (furthest aft balcony) a few weeks ago and for the first time asked to move after one night due to the vibration. It was awful, we both hardly slept (and my wife can sleep through almost anything!). For reference, we had departed Copenhagen and were sailing to Frederica, Denmark overnight - a relatively short distance through smooth coastal waters at far less than full speed. So, I figured if it was that bad under those conditions, I didn't like the thought of staying there through a few sea days at higher speed through the North Sea! I also looked on cc for everything I could find on vibration in that section before I purposefully selected that cabin in the "remodel" section on Deck 7! I was disappointed to leave honestly as the location was everything I imagined - so convenient. And the large, covered balcony with the remains of the public promenade deck was great, as was the more modern cabin build (less wood, flat screen across from the bed as on Royal Class and my wife's beloved adjustable shower!).

Only if they give him the latitude and budget he had at Crystal or Celebrity! 🙂

Just to add some clarity, "La Patisserie" was nothing more than some branding around the Good Spirits bar on Deck 5. Now, that branding has disappeared but the espresso machine at the bar remains and many people (including me) treat that bar as the poor substitute for an International Cafe since it's in the middle of the Piazza and opens at 6am. The small food case (which I accused of being sad :)) is in fact on wheels. It is brought out sometime around 6:30am after the second staff person arrives and at some point a small selection of muffins/pastries appear. During the day, some sandwiches are added. I would not recommend relying on it for your daily ritual ! A far better option is Amuleto, which is just the pastries/dessert area at the very front of the Horizon Court buffet on deck 14. That is essentially open at around 5am (as there are plenty of staff setting up for breakfast) with a full pastry selection. They also have an espresso machine but that isn't staffed until around 6am I think. I personally did not head to Amuleto when I staggered out of bed as my focus was coffee and I valued the comfy chairs around Good Spirits over the food.

This is gold, thanks! And I never knew about the URL once onboard and connected to WiFi....

Same for us! We're using a baggage storage service (Bounce, but there are a lot of them). We chose a location in the center of the area we want to tour (Brooklyn rather than Manhattan).

Yes, you can add Princess Plus for $50 pp/day (or Premier for $75). The upgrade price is a fixed amount for the casino offers, unrelated to the public price of your preferred upgrade class (and unaffected by price fluctuations).

Just off the Island a couple of weeks ago. The "special coffees" (i.e. espresso machines) are located at Good Spirits on Deck 5, the Casino Bar on Deck 6 and in Horizon Court at the front by the pastries. The "Patisserie" branding is gone - there is a small, sad mobile case with various offerings through the day. Coffee service begins at 6am with one overworked (but wonderful) staff member on Deck 5 who is joined by a second at 6:30am and they close about 10:30pm. Specialty coffees also available in Horizon Court from 6am. An International Cafe it is not and I provided some detailed constructive feedback in the post cruise survey about the lack of staffing and hours for a "cafe" of any type and the importance of brand consistency. I disagree with you. With better staffing and training to actually use the espresso machines properly (and let's face it, upgrading the flavorless coffee beans), the Island can provide a perfectly pleasant early morning and late night cafe experience.