Pics and Asia reviews on Diamond Princess please??

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I have been searching and not coming up with much but would love any links to pictures of Diamond Princess and any reviews of any Asia cruises.

We are looking at the Asia cruises for 2011, we have not been with Princess yet but would love to try her out.:) Any info would be good. Thanks.

[Bohemian]

We were on the Diamond from Beijing to Bangkok in November '08 and it was one of the best and most interesting cruises we've ever done. The ship and its crew were fantastic and the ports were packed with things to see and do.

 

Here's Hong Kong at night. The blurry thing on the water is the Diamond Princess.

 

Here's the Diamond Princess at Nha Trang

[holidayhelen]

We also did this cruise in Nov 09 - I did write a review but think I put the date of sailing as 2008 - oooopppppsss. It was a wonderful experience - lots of nice places. It seems that princess have now stopped going to Nagasaki and do an overnight in Hong Kong instead. Like the photo above we watched the Diamond sail accross the harbour during the light show - we were down on the red sail boat on the water - looking up at the ship.

 

We stayed 3 days in Beijing precruise - very busy days with a lot of tours - early starts and long days but worth it to see everything - great wall, t. square, forbidden city, summer palace etc. We joined the ship on a very very foggy day - we were stuck in Beijing city for some 4 - 5 hours - everyone arrived late and the ship sailed a few hours late. We sailed in fog for a couple of days - Shanghai was a foggy, rainy day - but after that the ship sailed towards the better weather. We still had a bit of rain now and again. We had some wonderful ports but the down side was the size of the ship made the docking only happen in cargo docks and these were usually a long way from the towns - usually about an hour - Princess supplied the buses into town - but it took time from your day. The arrival in these ports is not very picturesk either.

 

The ship was wonderful - we had no complaints - we only have an inside cabin. The food was good - althought we have had better on princess - but it is a massive ship and they are catering for a large no of people.

 

Embarkcation and disembarkation were very good. We enjoyed the casino - and a few of entertainment nights - we enjoy a good drink and quite enjoyed listening to the piano at the piano bar. There was a wonderful island night party on the top deck that was very popular and the balloon drop evening was popular too. There was a vareity of ages and nationalities on board which made it interesting. We enjoyed the pub lunch on sea days. I am glad we did it but it wouldn't be on my list to do again. We enjoyed Vietnam and Hong Kong - we stayed 3 nights in Bangkok post cruise and enjoyed that too.

[holidayhelen]

some photo links - if I have done it right!!!

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125221&id=738980196&l=070219cd45

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125225&id=738980196&l=d040edf5ca

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125416&id=738980196&l=afd9cfcfca

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126811&id=738980196&l=446cf6f042

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125412&id=738980196&l=108803a427

[janina]

We just got off the Diamond doing Asia in Nov 2009. We are elite on Princess and this was one of the best cruises. Just make sure you allow enough time Pre-cruise and Post-cruise to see Bangkok and Beijing. Also we had plane problems on the way to Bangkok, and it was a good thing we booked extra days, since we were a day late arriving. Tong tours is definately who I would recommend in Bangkok. She is sweet, super knowledgeble and a wonderful guide. But you must book her very early. Our cruise was sold out, and had a very diverse crowd. We are in our late 40's, and loved it. The overnight in Hong Kong was terrific. We enjoyed all the ports. Book it you'll love it.:)

[blondietoo]

Hi there,

we did the Asia cruise Bangkok to Beijing in Nov 2008. We added on a pre-cruise package Thailand and Cambodia which was fabulous. The cruise was great. we did not like Hong Kong much or Vietnam....the highlight of Vietnam was the tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We went to the Bird Market in HK by taxi....enjoyed that and went up the peak under our own steam too.We really enjoyed Okinawa...a lovely small island , lots of history and very clean.We added on some extra days in Bejiing so we could see The Great Wall(booked through the hotel) , The Summer Palace (got a cab ourselves), The Olympic Site(did ourselves) and Tianamen Square and Forbidden City(tour through Princess). Our friends went to see the Terracotta warriors in Xian but felt it was a long way and much $ for what they saw. Best shopping is at the markets where you haggle like mad...good naturedly of course...we paid 1/3rd to 1/2 of the price they quoted. The silk market and the jade market are well worth visiting in Bejiing. Just get the hotel staff to write where you want to go and where you want to return to in Chinese and show the cab driver....the hotel staff will also tell you how much it should cost.This particular itineray is a great way to see Asia. The Diamond is the smallest of the Princess ships we have been on and we loved it. We did Anytime dining for the 1st time and really liked it....sometimes sat with other people or on our own if we were too tired to socialise with anyone but oursleves. We will be on The Emerald on May 30th and will do Anytime dining then too.Oh yes i forgot you will need some warm clothes for Bejiing in November.. Hope this helps a bit.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Wonderful, thanks very much.:)

[rugbypopsie]

Hi Bangkok to Sydney is a fab itinerary too. Diamond is my personal favourite...lovely. ship..

[JacquiKay]

just returned from Sydney to Beijing on Diamond, back to back cruises. not fully awake yet. highly recommend this cruise.