Just Back From Diamond-4/24 Cruise

[shelleybelly]

Just got in at Midnight. Hopefully, tomorrow I will lay it all out for you. Had a fantastic cruise, weather perfect. Food was EXCELLENT, AND NO SEWAGE SMELL AT ALL!!!! I will get my thoughts together and do my review.

[roohound]

Looking forward to it!

 

Glad you had a great time!

[srphnx]

Shellybelly,

 

Glad you are back we have been for a week, seems like ages. We go again in three weeks was the open pool on 14 still kind of amonia smelling when busy?

 

Did you leave me any prime rib in Sterlings?

 

One open Princess booking

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[dahego]

HI ALL.....MY WIFE AND I WERE ON THE 4/24 SAILING AS WELL.....HAD A GREAT TIME. NO ODOR PROBLEMS AT ALL. FOOD WAS FINE BUT SERVICE COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER....ANY TIME DINING WAS OK IF YOU MAKE YOUR REZZOS AS SOON AS YOU BOARD. FELT THE SERVICE IN THE ALTERNATIVE DINING ROOMS WAS A WEE BIT DISORGANIZED. LOBSTER FANTASTIC...YUMMMM. STERLING WAS OUR FAVORITE...WONDERFUL PRIME RIB AND STEAKS...DON'T MISS THE ONION RINGS. WE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME IN THE ART AUCTIONS.....SAW SOME BEAUTIFUL PIECES....BOUGHT ONE...A BEHRENS. THE ART AUCTIONEER WAS OVERBEARING AND RUDE TO SOME OF THE PASSINGERS...CHRIS IS HIS NAME AND HE SHOULD BE SELLING USED CARS. WE HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL OTHER SAILINGS WITH PRINCESS AND FOUND THE ART FOLKS FANTASTIC. WE MET SOME OTHER CRUISE CRITIC PEOPLE ON THE SHIP..THEY WERE ALL WONDERFUL AND HELPED MAKE OUR TRIP A GREAT ONE. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE....JUST EMAIL...dahego@aol.com. OH, BY THE WAY IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO CRUISE WITH CAROL AND HANK, ALICIA AND CHUCK AND YVONNE AND HER HUBBY YOU WILL BE QUITE FORTUNATE...GREAT PEOPLE ALL.

 

DAVID

 

PS: BEING ELITE MEMBERS WAS FANTASTIC....REALLY ADDED A LOT TO THE EXPERIENCE

[catdancers]

David,

 

Have to agree with you about the Diamond art auctioneer. We always enjoy the auctions and spend way too much time and money there! However, on the 4/3 Diamond cruise, the auctioneer berated and condescended to various bidders who did not choose to increase their bid. He constantly said things like, "That's too bad...for the price of a beer, you're going to let this art go...what a shame." Made us uncomfortable. Never had this happen on other ships.

[Northender]

I hope that you noted this on your comment cards at the end of the cruise to Princess.

It is one of the ways they have feedback and if more than one person registers a complaint about the auctioneer, they should take a look at him on the next outing.

 

David: I am not trying to be rude, but please do not type in CAPS, it means you are shouting at us.

 

 

 

Grand Princess 4/4/04

 

[dahego]

Sorry about the caps.....Chris Georges ( the art guy ) was on a previous cruise as well and was rude....even told a passinger that he "thought he could not afford the piece of art" that the passinger had requested to be brought to the easel. On this cruise he was just as bad. We had called Princess Cruises Fine Arts the first time around with him and expressed our feelings to them about Chris. They knew us from previous sailings where we had purchased 12 pieces of art. This time my wife wrote a letter to the Captain praising him on the Diamond Princess and his wonderful crew with one notable exception...Chris Georges. The next day we received a personal hand written letter from the Captain and call from the head purser wanting to know more about the problems in the art auction. They were very open to what we said and took copious notes and said that this kind of attitude is not acceptable on their ship and would address Chris accordingly. Other than that we loved the ship and look forward to another cruise with Princess...this was our 17th with them and 34th overall. Thanks for giving me a chance to "vent".........David

[Northender]

Good for you. I hope it makes a difference. I also hope they don't just move him from ship to ship. Give him a second chance and keep an eye on him. If he doesn't make the grade, well move him on to the unemployment line. Our auctioneer was very nice and professional.

Now Dave, do you think you could get them to sign a contract with either Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks to make the coffee.......

 

 

 

Grand Princess 4/4/04

 

[catdancers]

Yes, I mentioned the rude auctioneer on my comment card. My DH thought maybe the auctioneer was getting desperate because 1.5 hours (which included a break though) passed without a single sale! Let's hope he tones it down in the future.

[H20 Lover]

First off, let me wipe up the tears. Major Cruise Blues and such kind words from you David. David, I wrote to all you guys on our Roll Call board, but let me just say here, Brian & I really thought you and Helaine were so sweet and such classy cool people we had the pleasure of meeting. I'm always so nervous at little Cruise Critic meetings and you both (as well as the others) were so warm and friendly. OK, I'm done being mushy.

 

Thanks to you two & Alicia, we experienced our first art auction. We didn't know any better on the auctioneer, but now that you mention it, I thought it was kinda tacky how he would rip on people, I mean come on, if you like it and that's what you wanna pay, step off! Good to know all of them aren't like that.

Boy that champagne was flowing!

 

We were tradional late seating and apparently since the International Dining Room was full, they had us saved for a permanent table for 4 in The Sterling. Oh my gosh, what awesome treatment we had all week from Jorge & Manny at Table 239. Beforehand, we were so torn on keeping our Traditional or trying the PC Dining but, in the end, we had the best of both our worlds, a regular waiter and we could have any of the restaurants, but we mostly stuck to the Traditional menu. We felt kinda special.

 

Service was fantastic all the way around for us. We knew the Buffet wasn't going to be the best in the world and were aware of the wierd way of getting food, but it satisfied us anytime we wanted it.

 

Dining Room food was just beyond perfect! We got into appetizer frenzies & by the time the main entree came we were all stuffed, but we forced down the wonderful food. I still can't figure out how they can feed so many people at one time, I have trouble feeding 4.

 

Our Room Steward, Paul was always so pleasant and would always remember little things about us, like are you headed off to the gym? Always w/ a smile and kept our room in perfect condition. He noticed how I kept putting the bed pillows on our loungers, so he went and got us those striped pads... it's those little things that just make my day.

 

Ship is just incredibly beautiful. We had no complaints, but we forced ourselves to think of one and that was being asked if we wanted a cocktail by the pool too much. How's that for a complaint? That was remedied by keeping a glass of ice tea 1/2 full next to me at all times and then when I wanted a drink, just grab the next server walking by, which was all the time. Hee hee.

 

Any questions?

 

<h3><font color=orange>Yvonne

 

<h6>

<font color=darkblue>

Norwegian Skyward "Our Honeymoon" 10/88 ~ S. Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas 3/98 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas 3/15/02 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Princess Cruise Star Princess 5/03/03 ~ Mexican Riviera

Princess Cruise Diamond Princess 4/24/04 ~ Mexican Riviera

 

Next Cruise ~ Hopefully The Aloha State

[amoore]

Sigh...back on solid ground. Honeymoon is over.

 

I missed the art auctions, and now I'm glad. By the way, Yvonne, I agree about being asked if you need a cocktail too often! Not that it upset us at ALL, but just for fun we counted, and we were asked EIGHT times by eight different people if we wanted a cocktail...and that was during a ten minute period when we sat down near the pool to eat a slice of pizza. Everything was great, though, wasn't it? I gained four pounds. I guess I should have been in the gym with you guys!

 

We had Personal Choice dining, and the first thing we did when we got onboard was make reservations for every night of the cruise. I think I'd like to try traditional next time, as I wasn't too impressed with the service in the Personal Choice dining rooms, and I'd always heard how amazing the waiters are in the traditional dining rooms. I guess you sacrifice that kind of personalized service when you have a different waiter every night.

 

We were on the Caribe deck, midship, and we LOVED our balcony! It was 1/2 covered and 1/2 open, but it was almost twice as big as the balconies above us. The cabin itself was so comfortable, not at all what I pictured. I thought it would be a tiny, dark space, and that I'd be claustrophobic, but it was GREAT! We were glad we brought our own pillows, but it wouldn't have ruined the trip if we didn't.

 

I was surprised to find that I had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the motion of the ship. I didn't ever feel really sick, just very off-balance and disoriented. It was better when I was outside and could look at the water, and after a few days I began to really enjoy the feel of the ship moving in the water. I'm still feeling it now, in fact. Anyone else having the same problem?

 

The ONLY thing I can truly complain about is that we booked massages and were really looking forward to them. The spa is beautiful, but it's unfortunately located directly underneath the basketball courts. There was some kind of game going on while I was having my massage, and it sounded like they were playing against the wall of my treatment room. It was SO loud and jarring! The massage itself was very good, though, and I could tell the massage therapist felt really bad about the noise.

 

All in all, our first cruise was totally enjoyable, and we put down a deposit for another one while we were onboard.

 

Abbie & Stephen

Upcoming:

Diamond Princess 4/24/04

OUR HONEYMOON!!!

 

[H20 Lover]

Abbie ONLY 4 POUNDS? Wow did you eat? The thing that was hard for us was eating so late, cuz we're used to eating really early being that we're so old now, so finishing up at 10 wiped us out. So by always doing the stairs and hitting the gym, I think it at least mentally made us feel better.

 

Massages: we tried that on RCI one time and I hated it. The lady wouldn't stop talking and she barely touched me and then she tried to sell me stuff. I did the massage on Las Caletas PV and that was the most wonderful experience, 30 minutes of a quiet relaxing massage for $25! Awwwwwww. I cannot believe that they have the BBall court there, have they not figured that out yet? I'm sorry that that experience wasn't good for you.

 

Hey didn't you have a Mini Suite? My parents had a regular balcony (which to the rest of you we looked down and there were Abbie & Stephen). When I saw you guys, I was like wow they got the Mini Suite. Very nice you guys, way to go in style.

 

Oh and yes, I'm still swaying to and fro. Brian woke up every morning saying he felt kinda drunk, so he had that same sensation as "not quite right."

 

zzzzzzzzzzz, I'm so tired.

 

<h3><font color=orange>Yvonne

 

<h6>

<font color=darkblue>

Norwegian Skyward "Our Honeymoon" 10/88 ~ S. Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas 3/98 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas 3/15/02 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Princess Cruise Star Princess 5/03/03 ~ Mexican Riviera

Princess Cruise Diamond Princess 4/24/04 ~ Mexican Riviera

 

Next Cruise ~ Hopefully The Aloha State

[srphnx]

We gained about 8 on the 17th but most is gone already. We also did massages on shore, much better and cheaper.

 

One open Princess booking

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[dahego]

Hi Northender...sorry no Dunkin or Starbucks but I'm working on Krispy Kreme....hope that will be ok. JPierce....I'd love to talk to you about the art auctions. Which artists are your favorites. My wife is addicted to Pino...for me Simbari and Behrens. If you would like email us at "dahego@aol.com". God, getting back to reality is a bummer. Work and prices on menus....yuck.

 

David

[dahego]

Yvonne....thanks for the "mushy" comments. We love it and are most flattered. You and your hubby were a joy. Don't forget to keep in touch with us at "dahego@aol.com"

 

David

[Northender]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dahego:

Hi Northender...sorry no Dunkin or Starbucks but I'm working on Krispy Kreme....hope that will be ok. JPierce....I'd love to talk to you about the art auctions. Which artists are your favorites. My wife is addicted to Pino...for me Simbari and Behrens. If you would like email us at "dahego@aol.com". God, getting back to reality is a bummer. Work and prices on menus....yuck.

 

David<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Hi, we find the auctions entertaining (at least on the Grand) and enjoy watching folks bid for their favorites. I, too like Pina but at this point in life are downsizing as much as possible. Believe it or not, my Mother-In-Law was very good. Sold some paintings locally and we have some of hers that we use. I lke the smaller type paintings which were not too abundant on the Grand this past trip. We are looking forward to a Princess Cruise next March (early to middle). Have not picked out anything yet, but would like to do the 7 day Southern that goes to Ven. amd Aruba.

 

Also, thinking of doing a cruise out of San Juan one week and then going to St. Martin (we have timeshare) the following. Don't know yet how that would work financially, but perhaps 2006.

Have never had Krispy Kreme Coffee. But anything would be better than what we had. Will bring my own next time.

 

March 2005 Princess - Where oh Where

 

Grand Princess 4/4/04

[ThomasH3]

 

Ditto to what Yvonne wrote. We really enjoyed the cruise. Did anyone happen to see the Juggler in the Explorer Lounge, Damn (Dan) Bennett? He was really funny and a great juggler.

 

Time to start planning another cruise.

 

Happy sailing to all...... Tom and Joyce

[amoore]

Yvonne,

 

We didn't have a mini-suite, but I think most of the cabins near us were mini-suites. We just had a regular cabin with a great balcony!

 

I thought about doing the massage thing at Las Caletas, but we were booked for massages on the ship the very next day, and I felt like maybe that would be a little TOO indulgent. We loved Las Caletas, by the way. Kayaking was great (except for the captive sea lion--but I'm working on that) and those swings in the bar...ah, heaven.

 

Still swaying...wonder how long this will last. Stephen doesn't feel it at all. Oh, well. As long as I still feel like I'm on the ship, I might as well make some margaritas!

 

Abbie & Stephen

Upcoming:

Diamond Princess 4/24/04

OUR HONEYMOON!!!

 

[dahego]

Hi Tom and Joyce....I agree "Damn Dan" was a riot.....he was like a Robin Williams that juggles. We also thought that Sarge was hysterical....good material and had quite some musical talent.

 

David

[H20 Lover]

Abbie, you have our full support on the little sea lion on the leash, so let us know what we can do. I told my mom about it and she was just as infuriated as me. I hate that kinda stuff.

 

You crack me up on the margarita thing.

 

Oh and on your pictures, the website must be down now or something, so I'll try later.

 

Hey Shelleybelley, where's your review?? Just kiddin, take your time. I just needed to do it right away otherwise I'll forget.

 

<h3><font color=orange>Yvonne

 

<h6>

<font color=darkblue>

Norwegian Skyward "Our Honeymoon" 10/88 ~ S. Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas 3/98 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas 3/15/02 ~ W. Caribbean Circle

Princess Cruise Star Princess 5/03/03 ~ Mexican Riviera

Princess Cruise Diamond Princess 4/24/04 ~ Mexican Riviera

 

Next Cruise ~ Hopefully The Aloha State

[avalana]

What's the deal with the sea lion? It doesn't sound good that's for sure. I'm booked to go on the Sapphire to Mexico in Nov. and I won't take the Las Caletas tour if they are being mean to animals. We went there on our last Mexican cruise and I loved it but maybe not this time....

[metla]

OK here's my review:

 

Ship: BEAUTIFUL! Easy to get around, nice lounges. Plenty of NO SMOKING areas. Rooms much smaller than what I'm used to. Showers - SMALL. Liked skywalkers disco and club fusion.

 

Entertainment: The cruise staff made the entertainment most enjoyable. They were very interactive with all of the events and got the crowd into it.

 

Service and Staff: EXCELLENT! There was not a time when a person from the ship (from the captain all the way down to the little guy scrubbing the deck early in the morning) made eye contact with me and did not speak. A pleasant good morning or how are you sir. Everyone was most courteous and very nice.

 

Food: Average. We've been on Carnival, RCCL and now Princess. Of them all, I have to give the nod to Carnival for the best overall food. Although, Thursday night was EXCELLENT, the best night of the cruise. Sterlings had steak and prime rib that was second to none, but overall---Average.

 

PC Dining: C+. I think the 4 theme restaurants are a bad idea. Anytime dining should be just that. If you did not make reservations, you were out of luck! Everyone that I've spoke to that experienced this on the Grand or Golden said it worked fine, but those ships did not have the themed restaurants, it was the same menu in different dining rooms. I think it is a great idea, but I don't think we will do it again. Also, I don't think the level of service in the PC venues is up to par with traditional dining experience. I applaud Princess for giving it a try, it's a great idea, but it just needs some refinement in my opinion.

 

Ports: Mexico, what more can I say. You've seen one port city you've seen them all. We had a great time on this itinerary, but for me, I think the Caribbean is MUCH nicer. Glad we did this one, but don't feel the need to go back.

 

Overall the cruise was great. Fun people, fun staff. I would recommend this to a friend.

 

Tropicale

Celebration (3)

Holiday (4)

Ectasy

Destiny

Voyager of The Seas

Paradise

Pride

Conquest

Diamond Princess

 

Till the Diamond Princess

[dahego]

Hi Metla....glad you are home safe and sound..the flights to Pensacola were, ummmm how shall I say, lousy. How did you do in Mazatlan with the fishing...we blanked out with the exception of a couple of small bonita. We were supposed to have a 34 ft. Luhrs twin screw...but upon arrival they had none...just a old slow tub....but the weather was great and we had fun never the less. I hope you got a sail or two....

 

David

[amoore]

Avalana,

 

We were kayaking at Las Caletas, and we saw a cute sea lion in the water near a boat. We paddled out way past the boat, and when we turned around, the sea lion was IN the boat. We thought maybe the boat had fish or something, and that the sea lion was just really used to people. When we paddled over to the boat, the sea lion was in the water again, and we noticed she would swim in a straight line away from the boat, then surface and breathe out hard, like she was frustrated. Then she would go back under the water, and we would see the same thing over and over again. She never made any headway away from the boat--she always surfaced in the same spot. Then, to our absolute horror, we saw that she was TETHERED to the boat with a rope.

 

I asked the guys on the boat about her, and they weren't too happy with me for asking questions. They said that they bring her out for the divers. When I asked where she usually lives, all they said was, "Nuevo Vallarta". I am pretty sure they worked for Vallarta Adventures.

 

I am going to investigate the laws (if there are any) governing the captivity of wildlife in Puerta Vallarta, and take it from there. I'll keep you posted, if you like.

 

If all other efforts fail, I will start a letter-writing campaign to the cruise companies, asking them to remove Las Caletas from their sponsored excursions until they free the poor sea lion.

 

Abbie & Stephen

Upcoming:

Diamond Princess 4/24/04

OUR HONEYMOON!!!

 

[metla]

David,

Fishing was not that good to say the least. The weather was beautiful, but that's all I can say. We trolled the entire day without even a strike. We saw a sailfish jumping and some dolphins, but we caught ZILCH! NADA! NOTHING! The other boats in the fleet came back with 2 Dorados and they said they caught 2 marlins. But that's the risk of fishing, sometimes you win and other times you don't. Glad that you at least had some action and something tugging on your line.

 

Tropicale

Celebration (3)

Holiday (4)

Ectasy

Destiny

Voyager of The Seas

Paradise

Pride

Conquest

Diamond Princess

 

Till the Diamond Princess