LIVE from the Diamond Princess - 35 days Singapore to Vancouver

[ccrain]

Would it be possible to obtain copies of some of the patters and maps related to the ports of China, Japan and Russia. We're on the Diamond in Sept when she sails in the opposite direction as your trip only we'll only be onboard from Whittier to Beijing (Tianjin).

 

Thanks

 

It'll be a 6MB pdf file of patters and port maps, and a two page walking map of Vladivostok at about 1M.

[beg3yrs]

Thank you for continuing your "live" thread through out the cruise. DP is on my list of top 3 cruise ships. She didn't have muts when I cruised on her 3 1/2 years ago. Did adding MUTS interfere with the design of the forward adults only pool with the swim against the current machine. I really like this area on Grand class ships.

 

Didn't change them at all. Just increased the noise level around Neptune's Reef.

[Iowa Traveler]

For this cruise, was port or starboard preferred or did it make a difference?

Does the Diamond have an International Cafe? I couldn't see it on the deck plans.

[san diego sue]

I felt that Port side was better(we were on Port). However in the two Japanese ports, there was entertainment on Starboard side as we left the port.

Most of the scenery was on Port side.:D

[Pia1913]

For this cruise, was port or starboard preferred or did it make a difference?

Does the Diamond have an International Cafe? I couldn't see it on the deck plans.

 

 

We were on Starboard; note what Gloria said above. No, the Diamond does not have the IC.

[IECalCruiser]

I felt that Port side was better(we were on Port). However in the two Japanese ports, there was entertainment on Starboard side as we left the port.

Most of the scenery was on Port side.:D

We were on Starboard; note what Gloria said above. No, the Diamond does not have the IC.

If we did the cruise in reverse order (Vancouver to Singapore/Bangkok), would the Starboard side be better?

[san diego sue]

Don't know. We did Singapore to Vancouver.:D

[Pia1913]

If we did the cruise in reverse order (Vancouver to Singapore/Bangkok), would the Starboard side be better?

 

The ship still docks in the same place no matter which way you're going.

[IECalCruiser]

The ship still docks in the same place no matter which way you're going.

Pia, I realize that the ship will dock in the same place and that views while in port will be the same. I guess I should have been more specific in asking if scenery would be on the other side of the ship sailing into or out of ports or at sea on a reverse route? I will need to ask on the fall cruise if there is a live from. Thanks anyway.

[Iowa Traveler]

Thanks Pia & Gloria.

I learn so much about cruising from reading your adventures. I can't wait until the next chapter (AKA "Live")!!

[Pia1913]

Thanks Pia & Gloria.

I learn so much about cruising from reading your adventures. I can't wait until the next chapter (AKA "Live")!!

 

Not long to wait. ;) Next LIVE will be from the Caribbean Princess; boarding on the 19th.

[FritzG]

Not long to wait. ;) Next LIVE will be from the Caribbean Princess; boarding on the 19th.

 

We'll be waiting for your live report even more this time since we'll be going to a couple of the same ports on our Emerald TA in the fall.

[gottagocit]

If we did the cruise in reverse order (Vancouver to Singapore/Bangkok), would the Starboard side be better?

 

When I booked us on the western bound version of this route I wanted a northern facing balcony just in case we are able to see the northern lights at night off our balcony. Many say it's not likely but it is possible especially in Sept-Oct. :)

[kruisey]

There.. was one downer on this cruise.

Although taking precausions ,handwashing ,Flu injections.Many of us caught a very very bad pulmonary tract infection while on board.I only got over this a week ago.It hung around for a good three weeks with me anyway.

I was confined to cabin by medical.Caught mine 19 days into this cruise of 35 days.

I know you will all say thats one of the chances one takes when cruise.

How can one protect oneself with persons coughing all around one?Many would not go to medical because of the costs and didnot wont confining to cabin........

[Pia1913]

There.. was one downer on this cruise.

Although taking precausions ,handwashing ,Flu injections.Many of us caught a very very bad pulmonary tract infection while on board.I only got over this a week ago.It hung around for a good three weeks with me anyway.

I was confined to cabin by medical.Caught mine 19 days into this cruise of 35 days.

I know you will all say thats one of the chances one takes when cruise.

How can one protect oneself with persons coughing all around one?Many would not go to medical because of the costs and didnot wont confining to cabin........

 

Sorry you got sick, Heather. Our group of 10 didn't fare well either, though 3 of us escaped entirely. Two of us were Mike and myself. Hooray! :D I think because I travel so much my body has gotten immune to it. I sure hope so.

[san diego sue]

Well, I didn't escape at all. I got it too.In Beijing new group came on, and within three days, the whole ship was coughing again. I was lucky, didn't cough, and really not bad. Never got bronchial like most folks. Sorry Heather that you were so sick.And you did the right thing, stayed in your cabin. I was annoyed that sick people went to the shows and coughed, sneezed, had runny noses and exposed the well ones.My husband and I changed our seats in the theater several times because of this. However, it couldn't be avoided. I was amazed at the lack of hygiene (people using their hands rather than tissues).Japan has the right idea, takes your temperature before letting you enter their country.

[generichandle]

I got it between Hubbard and Juneau, bronchial, and was really bad 2 days. I went to the med on Jeneau day and got antibiotics. Spent 2.5 days in bed, not even wanting to eat, and by the time I got up my Doc assured me the antibiotics made me non-contagious.

 

I washed my hands every time before eating, as well as using the anti-bacterial at the entrances. Precautions out the wahzoo just can't protect you if you interect with 3000 people.

 

Funny aside: Seemed everytime after I got up, when I entered the buffet, I met the same person, who finally acknowledged me last day. He was ship's staff, I think I saw stripes/bars. I think his name was Boris. Anyone know who was watching me?

 

Doug

[generichandle]

BTW;

 

I got most of the foods I wanted to try on the trip, escargot, osse bucco, and others, all really good. But I missed the goat cheese souffle. Was sick when they finally offered it.

 

Which leads me to another disappointment. I started in TD. My waiter seemed very aloof. He took no interest when I told him of my list of things to try, and seemed positively taken aback when I suggested he help me out in any way. Finally my discomfort got bad enough that I transferred to AD. The waiters I had there were all excellent, and when I asked for vegetables rather than a rice dish offered with my main choice, one particular waiter went out of his way to bring me a wonder array of hot veggies with huge sea scallops, shrimp and more that was awesome. He got an instant fiver for that.

 

The osse bucco was excellent, btw, highly recommended. Got it in Vivaldi, apparently a specialty.

 

With all my little problems, the trip was awesome, and I would not hesitate to go on Diamond again.

 

Doug

[caribill]

I started in TD. My waiter seemed very aloof. He took no interest when I told him of my list of things to try, and seemed positively taken aback when I suggested he help me out in any way. Finally my discomfort got bad enough that I transferred to AD.

 

If you would rather stay in TD the next time something like this happens, speak to the Natre d' about being assigned to a table that has a different waitstaff.

[spree]

I had read mixed things about this port. Nothing to do, kind of dumpy, grey. Well, they were partially right. We liked it. The best thing was the map of the walking tour with pathways marked and in full English. It was great.

 

With no tour we got up and had coffee in the atrium and waited for the crowd to thin out. Then we leisurely strolled out through security and into the terminal, which is actually next to the railway terminal. A bridge connects across the tracks for a short walk to the standard statue of Lenin and the main street that goes by the terminal.

 

The first thing I noticed was the stunningly beautiful and tall women walking around the area, and handing out literature. The next thing was all the fur. Lots and lots of fur being worn. As a huge cruise ship, we were the subject of much curiosity of both the locals and the people arriving on a train that pulled in while we were wandering around.

 

The weather was overcast and drizzly to start out. Then the drizzle stopped and we shed our umbrellas, but the overcast remained for much of the day. We did the various walking paths around the city highlighted by the submarine museum, the war memorial and the beautiful little Russian Orthodox chapel or church next to the war memorial. We did not go into the submarine museum. We’ve been in the Midway in San Diego and according to Hutch, this is much, much smaller passageways and spaces. The walking map has 30+ highlights around the city. We did not make it to Eagle’s Nest as it was about 3km away.

 

The architecture is definitely European, the population as well. But they seemed extremely curious about all of us, but welcoming. The girls handing out literature spoke almost flawless English, and very knowledgeable. One police officer at least had a sense of humor. He was out directing traffic and his buddy was in the car, so he motioned for his buddy to get out of the car. With a big smile I indicated his buddy was napping by laying my head against my shoulder. He smiled back and said ‘dah’, ‘dah’.

 

On the way back to the ship we shopped around the terminal. We did not exchange for Rubles so we had to shop in dollars, and pay a premium, but we got the required souvenirs. It was a Sunday so all of the banks were closed.

 

We enjoyed Vladivostok. The tour map made all the difference in the world. Without it, we would have been at a loss for things to see and do, but with it, it made the port enjoyable.

 

Lunch on the ship was great, and very tasty. They had a meat pie that was really good. The early evening movie was Real Steel, another knock off of Rocky, but this time with Rock’em Sock’em Robots. It had its moments, but was mainly formula. I liked the kid the best. Dinner was junk food. Popcorn, ice cream, cookies and milk. Judy had grilled hotdogs – she loves the hotdogs grilled to give them a little more flavor.

 

Sailaway was great. Hundreds of people turned out to see us off. Similar to Nagasaki, but with no brass band, the Captain gave them all extra ship’s whistles and they responded with a loud roar and cheers.

 

After dinner it was time for some serious dancing. Explorer’s with Nightwatch, then Fusion, then back to Explorer’s. After about 3 hours my ankles and Judy’s knees gave out. Time for Ibuprofen and bed.

 

All in all, a really good day.

 

The time zone mystery. So when I turned on my smart phone, it indicated a local time 2 hours behind ship’s time. Yet we had advanced time twice to get ready for Vladivostok! Now we lose two hours to get ready for Sapporo. Hmmm. What gives?

Enjoyed reading your adventure. Where did you get the walking tour map?

Thank you

[Bowie MeMe]

There.. was one downer on this cruise.

Although taking precausions ,handwashing ,Flu injections.Many of us caught a very very bad pulmonary tract infection while on board.I only got over this a week ago.It hung around for a good three weeks with me anyway.

I was confined to cabin by medical.Caught mine 19 days into this cruise of 35 days.

I know you will all say thats one of the chances one takes when cruise.

How can one protect oneself with persons coughing all around one?Many would not go to medical because of the costs and didnot wont confining to cabin........

 

I had the very same thing at HOME. Took 2 courses of antibiotic and 1 of steroids which finally did the trick to get rid of the cough. I even gave it to DH and still didn't get rid of it for 6 weeks. Sometimes stubborn. I went to 3 Dr's also and still nothing helped. Better to be sick at home than at sea!

 

My question is for next Oct. on the Diamond Princess. Can you think of anything that would help with the pollution of the Asian cities and what medications would take for breathing ailments?. I usually carry RX antibiotics, a RX cough drops (and maybe cough syrup) regular allergy RX. Advice would be appreciated.

[Pia1913]

I had the very same thing at HOME. Took 2 courses of antibiotic and 1 of steroids which finally did the trick to get rid of the cough. I even gave it to DH and still didn't get rid of it for 6 weeks. Sometimes stubborn. I went to 3 Dr's also and still nothing helped. Better to be sick at home than at sea!

 

My question is for next Oct. on the Diamond Princess. Can you think of anything that would help with the pollution of the Asian cities and what medications would take for breathing ailments?. I usually carry RX antibiotics, a RX cough drops (and maybe cough syrup) regular allergy RX. Advice would be appreciated.

 

We too carry a complete "hospital and pharmacy" and we very fortunately carried it all home intact. I just think we got lucky with all the sickies on board; even 7 out of 10 friends. We've been to all these Asian cities before; can't blame it on them.

[san diego sue]

Asthma spray (Albuteral) helped me.

Some people wore face masks. Polution high in Shanghai and Beijing(we didn't go into Beijing (went to wall instead), but I was told by fellow passenger)

[ccrain]

Enjoyed reading your adventure. Where did you get the walking tour map?

Thank you

 

It was handed out as we went out the gate. I have scanned it into PDF, two pages about 500k each.

[ccrain]

I had the very same thing at HOME. Took 2 courses of antibiotic and 1 of steroids which finally did the trick to get rid of the cough. I even gave it to DH and still didn't get rid of it for 6 weeks. Sometimes stubborn. I went to 3 Dr's also and still nothing helped. Better to be sick at home than at sea!

 

My question is for next Oct. on the Diamond Princess. Can you think of anything that would help with the pollution of the Asian cities and what medications would take for breathing ailments?. I usually carry RX antibiotics, a RX cough drops (and maybe cough syrup) regular allergy RX. Advice would be appreciated.

 

The Rx antibiotics we carried came in real handy. Niquil gel caps, or equivalent, also helped as they clear the sinuses at night and help in sleeping.

 

We also took some Ambien to help in sleeping during the night. A good night's sleep was very important, but difficult with all the time changes.

 

Other than that, we did our usual 20# of various alphabet soup of vitamins, minerals, oils, herbs and spices.

 

One of the things that I have learned to do while traveling is to conciously breathe in through the nose, not the mouth. The human nose does a wonderful job of filtering all by itself. Everytime someone was hacking up a lung on a bus or on the plane, or in line somewhere, we just kept breathing through the nose.