A review of the Diamond over Christmas

A quick review for all - about our recent Diamond adventure.

I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

First, the trip to LA via N.J. on an American Airlines packed flight: Great crew – they handled the 37 screaming babies and stroller menagerie superbly. I give them an A.

Luggage crew in LA: One hour wait before the luggage began rolling off the carousel. Shame on you. D-

We used a car service in LA. Since my name on the sign at luggage terminal was spelled correctly, you get n A. He did say in his native language (what ever that was) “Relax, the luggage takes a long time”. He was right.

He got us to the pier very quickly using his horn and driving on the shoulder. Welcome to LA.

Baggage services at pier meet us at limo: Emptied all 700 lbs of luggage. Threw Judy on the cart too. I grabbed her and a carry on bag and we preceded to check in. Oh yes baggage service at pier. A+

It’s about 2pm> We had read the horror stories about check in. I’ll be brief and to the point. We were in our room in less then a half an hour. That’s ok by me. Check in gets a B. Why? Because even though it only took half an hour there was nobody in front of me at the check in counter. The elite line had 30 people on it and they are allowed to cut in front of everyone. I like RCCL check in better. Our bags arrived at the room before I could pour a drink. Once again A+ to the baggage crew.

We decorated our room for the holidays with lights, garland, and our stockings were hund on the deck doors with care. Alas, the 20 ft. Santa was taken at LAX. Apparently you can’t bring anything RED into a BLUE state. And, yes you can put lights on the balcony – not a problem. We came in second place in the door decorating competition. Cruzfool smoked us.

We met a great couple from the cc boards. She said she worked for a space agency out of Houston, but never said the name of the company. I’m still trying to figure it out. He is an electrical engineer. And he didn’t tell me this but I know he wrote the book on the power of persuasion. I’ll explain later. They met up with friends from another cruise. He is the director of fine arts for the state of Texas. So here’s the scenero for the dinner table. A rocket scientist, nuclear physicist, fine arts director, an insurance executive who does massage therapy part time and a trumpet player. Your can only imagine the topic of conversation. I smell a new TV reality show.

Before I get to day trips I must address dinner. I read it over and over again and I refused to believe it but….Anytime Dining is a bunch of male cow poop. Be aware - if you are going to do anytime dining – you must have lots of patience in making the reservations. That’s what I said - Anytime Dining means calling EVERY DAY for reservations. Unless of course, you travel with the author of the power of persuasion, Mr. Cruzfool. I’ll call him Jeff. He was able to procure reservations for the whole week the first day. I know it wasn’t easy. He calmly spoke on the phone to the concierge - no luck. Then the Maitre’d and still no luck. Then Capt. Warner showed up at my room and he said consider it done, sir. I said - Excellent. Please use this word in any response to anyone on the ship. It works wonders. We ate at all the restaurants and all were pretty good.

In Puerto Vallarta we did the hideaway at Las Caletas. Very nice day and I highly recommend it. All drinks and food are included and a beautiful beach. The boat ride to the beach is a ton of fun and the best entertainment we saw all week. A must day trip. All the day trips look great. Our friends did the whale watching and the pictures they took are stunning. Do anything at this port - just don’t go into town. That was disappointing.

In Mazatlan we did “Mazatlan Fank”s private tour. It was great. Very informative, great local food, beautiful sites to see and because it was a private tour – it was small and personable. We highly recommend this tour to anyone. I give it an A+.

In Cabo it’s a short day – so we took a water taxi to the beach then around the bend to los arcos. Then back to town for more shopping. Once you get past the thousands of children begging, it’s a nice town. 4 of us had lunch and drinks for $40 right on the pier overlooking the all the boats. A very nice day.

Overall this cruise is great. Food, staff, ship etc. give them all an A.

However – and I know it’s a holiday cruise and people have children and for some god-forsaken reason bring them along - for ME to police. There were over 700 kids and 95% of them were great but Princess needs to have a curfew for monsters that like to run in the halls, yell and knock on doors at 3 am – yes, that’s right 3 am. Oh – they also like to shut the fire doors. And if you didn’t know it - when the fire doors shut, an alarm goes off, a very loud alarm. It scared some passengers and I don’t blame them. Most of the time the running and screaming of the little demons ended when they saw a very po’ed 240 lb man ask them if they would be able to swim in the dark after a 130 ft drop to the ocean from the Baja deck. Why do I have to police the halls? How about and Adult only floor and a curfew for young kids. It’s the only bad thing I have a comment on.

benmon,

Thanks for the great review!! You had me chuckling the whole time, you really have a talent!

I originally had this cruise booked and cancelled it and ended up on the Star a week before Christmas. I also had a bad experience with tons of kids last year on the Golden over Thanksgiving. Something needs to be done about this issue. I seriously think kids should either be with their parents or in the kids program. By doing this, I seriously think most of the problems would disappear. I am not sure if a adult only floor would help.

Perhaps eliminating the 3rd and 4th passenger room rate would resolve some of the problems

Perhaps eliminating the 3rd and 4th passenger room rate would resolve some of the problems

Largin - the problem I had on the Golden last year was that the parents' rooms were on the other side of the ship of the kids rooms. I think with cruise prices low - parents find it just as easy to book a room for their kids.

We also had this cruise booked but cancelled when we couldn't get any replies if PV was going to be open on Christmas Day when docked. Luckily, we will be going spring break instead!

Re the kid issue, it all boils down to the parents. If they are going to let their little monsters have run of the ship and not care who they bother, I strongly feel the rest of the passengers shouldn't have a problem saying something to the little brats. I think we need to march them to the pursers desk and make a formal complaint and request that the parents be present/contacted. Maybe if these parents were inconvenienced a little they might take control. Maybe not, but it's worth a try! I LOVE the idea of asking if they can swim after a 130 ft drop! Put a little fear of God into them and maybe they will think twice.

In case you think I am a child hater or something, that's really not the case. I have 2 kids of my own who I have brought along most cruises with us. They have a set standard of rules they must obey such as curfews, checking in, eating dinner with the family and such. They also know if I should see them or have reports of them being inconsiderate of other passengers, running the halls or playing elevator tag, their life will end and they will spend the rest of the vacation glued to my side. They know we expect a lot out of them and they have never let us down.

I didn't want to dwell on the kid problem apperently its a problem on other ships as well. I wish i took a picture of the kids i confronted. i caught them with there hand on the fire door and the response was... some kids are running up and down the hall knocking on doors. you read what I said. It never happened again on our floor.

Just gotta respond to this one. Entertaining review. As my grandkids would say, you rock, Benmon!

Benmon loved your review.

We will be on the Diamond next Sat. and I'm trying to figure out the "anytime" dining reservations you wrote about.

How did you accomplish making them all the first day? Is the policy that you have to make them daily unless the Captain comes and visits your room? ;)

Were you in a suite, elite, or a VIP to accomplish your mission the first day?

We always have anytime dining and when leaving the dining room the first night have managed to get a standing reservation at a certain table for the rest of the cruise. I realize with 4 different diningrooms to try this method will not be possible for the Diamond. I've read here on CC all of the remarks about the Diamond since the first cruise and it appears that the policy has changed from making all the reservations the first day to not being able to make any reservations and every where inbetween.

Really would appreciate your expert advice.

Thanks for the great review !!! We'll be on the Diamond just 3 short weeks from tomorrow, and we can't wait. We also have Mazatlan Frank booked, and I can't wait to see what he has planned since his reviews are unanimously fantastic. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share a few more hints re: how to accomplish this miracle of reservations for the entire week?? We have liked real anytime dining on the Grand, but it hasn't sounded as if we should risk just showing up at the DR here. I'm a little worried that rushing each day to get a reservation will feel a little like.....mmmm... work. Also, how was the weather, and how cool was it on the first and last sea days?? Thanks for your input-----

Some kids can be very mature, while others can be ..................:mad: (you get the picture)

What surprises me, is that most kids don't even use the "kids program"

They just run around all day.

I've actually talked to a few very adult, mature kids.(kids who have been on 10 cruises) ... They said that the Kids club is too "cheesy" for most kids. As long as there are mature kids...they're fine.

If there are kids that run around, and scream through the hallways..press every button in the elevator (that happened on my last coral cruise)..cannon-ball, and run around the pool yelling.......

An "adults-only" floor is sounding pretty nice now!

(well, at least princess is making "adults-only" pools on some ships:) )

oh..and great review too!!

Happy new Year!!

If i'm correct you can make reseverations for up 2 days in advance. This was a very packed cruise with large familys on board. We needed a table for 7. I did not make any plans for dinner i thought you go to a resturant and sit down when a table became available. you know anytime your hungry you go eat. not so on the Diamond..... You are hungry at 6 or 8:20. so make reseverations for those times. The people we met are elite plus members and were able to make plans for the whole week. good luck its a great ship and a wonderful crew. you should have a great time.

feel free to e-mail me with any other questions

benmon@earthlink.net

I have the ultimate tip for this cruise ship. And will share with all tomorrow on part 2 of adventures with ben at sea. but first cynbar your are right. my first Princess cruise was on the grand and when your hungry you go eat. I may have waited at the most 10 min. I'm not going to complain, the food court is open 24-7 you will never go hungry on this ship.

Heres a hint on the tip of the week. I really did have a few minutes with the captain. He said dont tell anyone on this cruise what i'm telling you. so i didn't. I'll tell my cc friends tomorow.

Entertaining review. Thanks for your comments.

This review put a wonderful smile on my face...great for those New Year's Eve photos :) ! We sail on the Diamond in February and I am anxiously awaiting the tip that will appear tomorrow :) !

Our kid has traveled on all our five cruises we've taken since she was born (and one in-utereo) and she's either at the kids' room or with us (the only exception I can think of was during our Alaskan cruise while cruising through Tracy Strait. Hubby got her up in the early morn, into a coat, dragged her upstairs to see the glaciers. After taking a few minutes to get myself together and changing into jeans, I got to the Horizon and spotted her sitting there by herself with hot chocolate and pancakes. Hubby was just out the glass doors, taking photos but still keeping an eye on her). She actually prefers to be at the fun zone and hang out with the kids

I haven't seen kids wondering the halls -- but then we usually up on deck or in the dining room. I agree that kids under a certain age need to be participating in the kids' program or with a parent. Parents should realize that even if there's not a problem with kidnapping, children can still get into trouble. And ultimately, any problem they cause should be the parents' responsibilty.

Thanks for the reveiw, we were on the diamond 11/27 and loved it, we never had a problem with kids and never had a problem taking our kids who are either in camp or with us and we would not accept them running around so that has never been as issue.

Love the anytime dining and we had ressies for the whole week for 2 tables, one for 8 and one for 4. I think tipping can arrange this and leave you a hassle free vacation and probably well worth it.

Ditto, very few little ones Diamond 12-11, I am hesitant to try a holiday because on the above mentioned experiences.

Regarding reservations, it doesn't bother me but we are early eaters and have never had a problem getting in at the time requested. Happy sailings:)

A few bad kids will not deter me from another holiday cruise. I travel every holiday and have not experienced this before.

Not only am I in the entertainment business, I am also in public education. My vacation schedule with school limits me to travel periods.

I know it’s the parents to blame when kids are unruly.

I must reiterate there were over 700 kids on this cruise and I had a bad experience with only 7. I just wish it wasn’t 3am. When children have rules and curfews to follow they can be quite entertaining. I travel with group’s children to different overnight competitions and they know the rules and follow them. Or that’s there last trip with the group. I have never had to discipline a child on one of my trips.

I have the ultimate tip for this cruise ship. And will share with all tomorrow on part 2 of adventures with ben at sea.

Sorry I worked last night till 4am. The band thing. I'll give you the tip here and write pt 2 tomorrow.

We were invited to the bridge for a private tour. Just spectacular. I’ve been on other bridge tours but this one is magnificent.

The Captain and first Officer have wonderful senses of humor. We joked for over an hour. Anyway the Captain told me if anyone wrote him a personal letter requesting to visit the bridge…. In most cases he will try to accommodate that request. He also said please don’t tell anyone on this cruise, so I didn’t. I’m telling all my cc friends here.

Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the tip ben mon! We promise not to tell anyone who was on your cruise! Your review is making me more excited about our Diamond cruise in a few weeks.

Great review Ben. I'm still thinking about what to write..and I had tons more sleep on NYE than you! For those reading Ben's review, I'm compelled to ditto everthing he said, especially the pain in the a.. to make anytime dining reservations and the kiddos.

I made reservations for us for the first 2 days as soon as we got on board...you dial DINE on your phone. Mr. Cruzfool called to change them to add more people....leading to the multiple layer conversations. Ben takes slight artistic license, as Capt. Warner was not involved :) Ultimately, they opened up the whole week the next day due, I surmise to the large number of large parties wishing to dine together. I think I've figured out the way it works. There are 4 anytime dining rooms, Sterling, Vivaldi, Santa Fe & Pacific Moon. Each offers "2 tiers" of time slots that range from 5:30-6:30 and 8-9. approx, every 10 mins the times are staggered within those time ranges and each restaurant is off 5 mins or so---again, which I surmise is for the ultimate convenience of the waitstaff and the kitchen. Having to make reservations completely negates the anytime dining IMHO. This is not anytime dining like NCL's Freestyle dining. I doubt that you could have shown up at 7, or 715 or even 8 p.m. and been seated at any of these restaurants without a reservation, especially with a group like ours of 7. Luckily, I'd read enough about this on the cc boards and was able to make our reservations for the whole week without too much of a problem.

More thorough review on the whole cruise to follow.

Cruzfool

Hi Benmom,

Great review. Husband would love to go on a bridge tour. Did you write to the captain in advance of the cruise (if so, do you have an address?) or did you drop off a letter when you arrived on the ship?

Thanks for your help.

Patty