Review - Diamond Princess Singapore to Yokohama Japan 11-25 Apr 16

[Noodles84]

We missed the cherry blossoms. I understand that they were pretty much gone in Osaka by the first week of April and even earlier further south.

 

Concerning demographics - I would say the over half the passengers were Australians and New Zealanders, there were many Asians (Chinese and Japanese mostly), a fair number of Canadians, a similar number of British, a handful from the United States, and a small number from India and south east Asia. Everyone had a good time and we all got along very well.

 

We saw only a very few children on the cruise - maybe a dozen or so.

 

If you decide to take the cruise we hope you have as good a time as we did!

Hi, could you tell me if US $ was also accepted on board and in Japan?

thanks, Nicole

[lpops]

Hi, could you tell me if US $ was also accepted on board and in Japan?

thanks, Nicole

 

Sorry it took me a while to write a response. I was on trips to Okinawa and Washington State this past month.

 

The on-board currency during the cruise was the US $ but most all transactions on the ship were done using the cashless system (using your room key card and the credit card or cash deposit set up during the check-in process). We have lived in the Republic of (South) Korea for many years and have taken many trips to Japan. It has been our experience that the US $ is not widely accepted in Japan. Getting local currency both on and off the ship should not be too difficult. Others may have had a different experience than us.

Edited June 29, 2016 by lpops
Correct spelling error

[Noodles84]

Sorry it took me a while to write a response. I was on trips to Okinawa and Washington State this past month.

 

The on-board currency during the cruise was the US $ but most all transactions on the ship were done using the cashless system (using your room key card and the credit card or cash deposit set up during the check-in process). We have lived in the Republic of (South) Korea for many years and have taken many trips to Japan. It has been our experience that the US $ is not widely accepted in Japan. Getting local currency both on and off the ship should not be too difficult. Others may have had a different experience than us.

 

Hi, I knew it was basically cashless until you settled your account, but we want to pay it in cash, so I was wondering If $US was used as well as $AUS. Thank you for your reply, and we'll change money for Japan. It sounds like you have travelled to some interesting places. Nicole

[CincyAL]

We just spent 28 days (June 2016) on the Diamond Princess. Many of the English speaking passengers frequently said this is not their Princess from earlier cruises but a modified Japanese version. Hope this provides help to those that are already booked or considering booking.

 

Some comments attached---Cruise Comments.docx

[Noodles84]

We just spent 28 days (June 2016) on the Diamond Princess. Many of the English speaking passengers frequently said this is not their Princess from earlier cruises but a modified Japanese version. Hope this provides help to those that are already booked or considering booking.

 

Hi, I'm looking forward to this as an opportunity to get involved in another culture, and this seems a great introduction to Japan and other interesting ports. Thank you for posting your review. I found it very informative. Nicole

[lpops]

We just spent 28 days (June 2016) on the Diamond Princess. Many of the English speaking passengers frequently said this is not their Princess from earlier cruises but a modified Japanese version. Hope this provides help to those that are already booked or considering booking.

 

Some comments attached---[ATTACH]390026[/ATTACH][ATTACH]390026[/ATTACH]

 

Thank you for your very well written review about the Diamond Princess during the summer Japan cruise season. We had many questions concerning the how and where of things in Japan which you addressed in your comments. I am sure that it will be most helpful to those who are considering a cruise on the Diamond Princess in and around Japan.

[Paulchili]

Thank you for all the valuable info as we will be on the Diamond for a B2B in Aug/Sept this year.

Can you comment on availability (or lack thereof) of Internet while in Japanese waters? I have read before that Internet is not available during those times.

TIA

[caribill]

Thank you for all the valuable info as we will be on the Diamond for a B2B in Aug/Sept this year.

Can you comment on availability (or lack thereof) of Internet while in Japanese waters? I have read before that Internet is not available during those times.

TIA

 

I have not been there for several years, but when I was, Japanese law prevented Princess from allowing Internet while in Japanese waters.

 

At night the ship would go outside of Japanese waters and turn the Internet back on, but this was not always announced. The ship needs it for communication back to the home office.

 

A news article from the past:

http://www.travelweekly.com/Asia-Travel/In-Japanese-waters

Edited July 30, 2016 by caribill

[Paulchili]

Thank you. I am afraid that this may still be the case.

I wonder what cause does the Japanese government have to do this?

What about access in the port - like in the terminal?

[lpops]

I have not been there for several years, but when I was, Japanese law prevented Princess from allowing Internet while in Japanese waters.

 

At night the ship would go outside of Japanese waters and turn the Internet back on, but this was not always announced. The ship needs it for communication back to the home office.

 

A news article from the past:

http://www.travelweekly.com/Asia-Travel/In-Japanese-waters

 

I have been living and working in South Korea for over 30 years and work in the telecommunications industry. I make several trips to Japan every year for business. I am not an expert in satellite communications but one thing that I am sure of is that Korea and even more so Japan keep a very tight hold on the satellite frequency spectrum within their countries. Obtaining permission for satellite landing (setting up and operating a ground station) is a lengthy and often expensive proposition in both countries. It is very logical from my understanding that there are some restriction on earth station (in this case ship station) operation within close proximity to Japan.

 

On the bright side I can say that during our April cruise while in Japanese waters and while docked in Kagoshima and Osaka our internet worked very well. We were very pleasantly surprised when not only were we able to browse the internet but our commercial Wi-Fi based telephone worked every time we wanted to call our children. We made several lengthy calls from the ship to our family in North America over the internet at basically no cost. Maybe Princess has worked out the issues associated with operating within Japan to our benefit. This seems more likely since the Diamond Princess sails almost exclusively in Japan for six months out of the year.

 

On a side note, the individuals who were on the Diamond Princess that assisted us with setting up our Wi-Fi connection on our personal equipment are top notch. They are Friendly and Helpful, though obviously over worked.

 

We wish you a great voyage and vacation.

[Paulchili]

I have been living and working in South Korea for over 30 years and work in the telecommunications industry. I make several trips to Japan every year for business. I am not an expert in satellite communications but one thing that I am sure of is that Korea and even more so Japan keep a very tight hold on the satellite frequency spectrum within their countries. Obtaining permission for satellite landing (setting up and operating a ground station) is a lengthy and often expensive proposition in both countries. It is very logical from my understanding that there are some restriction on earth station (in this case ship station) operation within close proximity to Japan.

 

On the bright side I can say that during our April cruise while in Japanese waters and while docked in Kagoshima and Osaka our internet worked very well. We were very pleasantly surprised when not only were we able to browse the internet but our commercial Wi-Fi based telephone worked every time we wanted to call our children. We made several lengthy calls from the ship to our family in North America over the internet at basically no cost. Maybe Princess has worked out the issues associated with operating within Japan to our benefit. This seems more likely since the Diamond Princess sails almost exclusively in Japan for six months out of the year.

 

On a side note, the individuals who were on the Diamond Princess that assisted us with setting up our Wi-Fi connection on our personal equipment are top notch. They are Friendly and Helpful, though obviously over worked.

 

We wish you a great voyage and vacation.

 

Thank you. That gives me some hope.

I am not "attached" to internet all the time but being away for almost a month, I need to be able to monitor my communications from time to time. For example, last time I was away I had some issues at my house that needed attention before I got back and I was able to take care of them because I had internet access.

[shipshape241]

Thank you for your review, well written and informative. We're on the April 2017 cruise leaving Singapore on the 6th.