Diamond Princess Review 2/5 - 2/12

[elliair]

That's nice, elliair. When Applebees adds 5 pools, a spa and a casino maybe we'll try it sometime.

 

I wasn't talking about the pool and spa on the ship, I was talking about how many people Applebees serves a day and how people keep going back because their food tastes good. Not everyone gets into the pool and spa when cruising, but they certainly do eat some food. :rolleyes:

[Shelly97060]

Minerva - how old is your DD and did she use the kids club? If so did she enjoy it? I leave in three weeks and my kids are 13 and 9. Thanks for any kids club info.

[chefajax]

OH MY GOSH!!!!

Applebee's? Hometown Buffet? Give me a break!!!!! Princess does better then that. Throw in the fact that being on ship is far harder then your local joint and Princess is FAR above that. But I understand that those on the outside of my field would NEVER understand the reality of events and slam you. I understand that food is important to them and that gourmet food,they believe, can be found at an ALL-you-can-choke-down for under $10. That value for the dollar is by WEIGHT of the food. Hey, I understand, HATE it, but I understand.

I believe that the crew on Princess tries hard and I challenge anyone to work 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for even 2 months while away from your country. Ask that from the Food Manager from Hometown Buffet or from his Cooks (not Chefs) and you will see.

 

To those that GET it. Thanks for your kindness and class........Dennis

[Jim & Gerry]

Minerva -

 

Thanks for your great review. We will be on the Diamond April 2. :) We are hoping the weather will warm up a little more by then.

 

Thanks for the tips on snorkeling and the bed eggcrate foam.

[ILUVCRUIZN]

Thanks for all of the great info.... Your comments are very helpful...

[DL111255]

Hi Minerva, have always wanted a hot stone massage. Would you mind telling me the price? Thanks. We are on the Diamond April 23.

[Minerva]

Hi, Shelly -

 

 

Sorry to say that my DD refused to try the kid's club. She loves this sort of thing at home so I was really surprised that she wouldn't do it. They posted a list outside the door of how many kids in her age group were on the ship, by sex - there were 12 girls and 13 boys aged twelve. The room was very nice, the counselers were friendly, the pc gaming systems looked very fancy (there were about five of them) & there was a big movie screen. I passed by the room one day and there was a large group of kids - many DD's age - engrossed in some activity and looked like they were having a great time. The list of activities sounded fun, too. She was also annoyed that she coulldn't be with the older group, that starts at 13. Hopefully your kids will join & enjoy. What DD did love was the ceramics painting, they had this on several days and it costs about $20 - $35, depending on what you choose to paint.

 

Your 13 yr old would go to offlimits, the teen club - their room was even nicer, they had videogame tournaments, dances, casino night - DS went a few times & liked it OK, tho he preferred lying around in bed eating cheeseburgers & watching cartoons, apparently they have exceptional arty ones that we don't get at home, pretty embarassing to have to admit but that's our boy! They had 48 kids aged 13 - 17 on our sailing.

 

Anyway both rooms looked excellent, I'm sure YOUR kids will like them.

Have fun -

 

Minerva

[Minerva]

Shelly -

 

DD is 12, I somehow managed to blather on without mentioning that.

 

Hi, DL111255 - the stone massage is ridiculously expensive - $175. It is 75 minutes tho. It seems like it goes on forever, and it's wonderful. I rationalize it by only doing one a year so it's only $15 a month! Plus we brought our own soda on board, so I saved money there, right? The masseuse I had was very good, very nice, and didn't try to sell me anything after.

 

They did have a standard 50 min massage for $105. These prices are of course higher than what you get on land, I consider it an extreme treat but I know not everyone is looking to spend that much.

 

Enjoy,

 

Minerva

[sylkyone]

-painted cup (me) and bowl (DD) – ceramics at sea

 

 

Just wondering...do they charge extra for the ceramic pieces that you paint? or limit the amount of time or the amount of pieces you can paint?

 

becky:confused:

[Minerva]

Hi, Becky -

 

If you've ever been to a ceramics painting chain, like Color Me Mine, this is similar. You just pay for the unpainted pottery. They had cups, bowls, large plates, a fish-shaped dish, and tiles. The cheapest item was $18.00. They don't charge for anything else. If you like to do detailed work, you can spend several days painting one object and it won't cost you any more.

 

Hope that clears it up, if not let me know. Girls and craft-oriented ladies seemed to enjoy this activity a lot.

 

Minerva

[unboringuy]

I think the comment about budgets for the "mass" cruise lines hit the head right on the nail. My wife and I are in our 40s and we love to cruise. We have been on approximately 40 cruises, and our upcoming cruise on the CP will be our 12th on Princess. All of our cruises have been on the mass lines (Carnival, NCL, RCCL, Princess and Celebrity). While we budgetary contraints do not preclude us from trying the upscale or premium lines, we prefer the more casual atmosphere aboard the mass lines.

 

That being said, we have noticed that the quality of food has gone down since we first began cruising some 25 years ago. But then again, so have prices. First cruise ever was the Carnival Festivale, inside cabin, I believe $1,500 per person. Now, that buys you a mini-suite aboard a Grand-class ship!

 

We certainly love some of the touches aboard the Princess ships (particularly the Diamond and the Sapphire). The spa is fantastic! The variety of the theme restaurants is quite nice. The food and service can be as varied as night and day. But this is true with all of the mass lines.

 

We used to think that NCL had the best food and best service. But that was prior to them being sold a couple of times. Things change.

 

Case in point. Friends of ours just got back from the Celebrity Summit. They love Celebrity and always sail them. They loved the food and the service on the Celebrity last year. This cruise, they report that they were disappointed.

 

When you go to a 5 star restaurant on land, you expect and get top service and food quality. The same is true of cruiselines. If you want the best, you have to pay for the premium lines. If you are willing to settle for "ok", the mass lines will do.

 

For us, the food is not the most important thing. We love being on the water, enjoying our balcony, and relaxing. We enjoy the more casual atmosphere of Princess. And we know we can always find food onboard that we find acceptable, and in some cases outstanding.

 

It all depends on what you are looking for.

[skarletohara]

LOL! This food thread is cracking me up! This was my second time

on the Diamond in 4 months and yes, the food is not as upscale as, say,

on the Celebrity line, but you know what, it was pretty darned good.

 

As one who can't stand Applebee's, I beg to differ with the comparison of

Diamond Princess food and Applebee's.

 

Seriously though, I thought most all of the food was good. The only thing

I think that needs real improvement is the desserts at the Horizon Court.

Too much whipped cream-type things.

[TootyJane]

Lisa,

 

We asked our steward for the pillows and pads as soon as we saw him, and gave him $10.00. Someone else on this board said you can fax the request to Princess before the cruise, to 661-284-4770.

Minerva

 

Minerva, thanks. I've faxed in a request but will be sure to ask our room steward if we got them. :)

 

Lisa :)

[TootyJane]

....DS went a few times & liked it OK, tho he preferred lying around in bed eating cheeseburgers & watching cartoons, apparently they have exceptional arty ones that we don't get at home, pretty embarassing to have to admit but that's our boy!....

 

Oh Minerva, you have described our middle ds to a "T"!!! Glad there will be cartoons.

 

Lisa :)

[Shelly97060]

Minerva - thanks for the info on the kids club. Not sure if mine will participate or not, but I hope they will at least give it a try.

 

I think we will do the ceramic painting too. Good idea! - Thanks again - Shelly

[Speechless]

Hi Minnerva,

 

I was on the same sailing as you. Sounds like we had a different experience and slightly different interests, but overall agree that it was a great cruise.

 

I felt the food was great. The buffet was not fine dining, but still pretty good - way better than Mother Tuckers, or most local buffets.

The dinners at traditional were without a doubt fine dining. Not quite "haute cuisine" as you find on 5-star cruiselines like seabourne or radisson, but still comparable to most expensive fine dining establishments in my town. We found the dinners to be exceptional.

 

I guess we both agree that our biggest complaint - had to do with the cruise being 7 days and not longer.

[Guest Host Tink]

Hey Minerva!

 

Can you email me and tell me about the thing you and your hubby did that you couldn't tell us about on the boards? I'm intrigued.........

[Minerva]

Lisa - glad I'm not the only one with that type of ds!

 

Speechless - I think the whole food thing is pretty subjective, to me it's not that big a deal, I'm not the one who turned this into "a food thread"! I had a fantastic time on the Diamond, I'm glad you did too.

 

Carrie - If you go to the main board and search "Rasul", I think you will get the general idea, but if that doesn't do it for you, let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

Minerva