Diamond Princess - Japan - language question

[mek]

I want to go to Japan next year and I'm looking at the Diamond,( and also X. )  Is the entertainment in English or Japanese?  I will be cruising by myself, (the first time - my husband doesn't want to go), and I want to make sure I will have things to do where  English is spoken.  It's my understanding that non Asians are in the minority on these cruises, which is not a problem as long as I will find things to do where I understand what is going on.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I did an eight-day Circle Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess in 2016. Language was not a problem. People who speak English are seated together in the dining room. This was an excellent cruise that I highly recommend.

 

Chuck

[mek]

18 minutes ago, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

I did an eight-day Circle Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess in 2016. Language was not a problem. People who speak English are seated together in the dining room. This was an excellent cruise that I highly recommend.

 

Chuck

I assumed that would be the case at dinner, but are shows in english?  I've been on European cruises where most of the entertainment was musical/dancing so language is not a barrier.  From what I've read about Princess in Japan is the ship is very much into Asian culture, which is part of the appeal, but being by myself I will probably be much more involved in the shipboard activities than I am when I cruise with my husband.  Will things like trivia be in english?

I was also wondering about sushi.  Is it authentic or the terrible stuff they call sushi on cruises here?

[SiliconCruiser]

We were on the Diamond for an Asia cruise (Singapore to someplace near Beijing) a couple of years ago and all of the entertainment was in English.  The comedians didn't always get much attendance; some weren't very good, and there was the language barrier.  You would think that it may language have been may have been an issue with the Asian demographic , but I happen to catch a glimpse at several pages of the passenger roster and it looked like many of those Asian names were actually traveling on U.S. passports, and their nationality was listed as such.

 

[lorri111]

We did a Japan cruise on Diamond last year and never had a language problem, important stuff is done in both languages and I seem to remember the entertainment being in English (not that it matters much with most of the shows being mostly song and dance). Tables are seated according to language as far as I could tell.

[heddyjan]

We were in Japan on the Diamond earlier this year for the cherry blossom cruise.

The emergency drills etc., are conducted in both English and Japanese. There is a Japanese flavour to the entertainment and of course the food. Japanese foods are also available in the dining room and the horizon court if you want to give them a try but there is plenty of western food and entertainment.

There was both an English and a Japanese cruise director. 

There was a good mix of passengers from the world over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mek]

4 hours ago, heddyjan said:

We were in Japan on the Diamond earlier this year for the cherry blossom cruise.

The emergency drills etc., are conducted in both English and Japanese. There is a Japanese flavour to the entertainment and of course the food. Japanese foods are also available in the dining room and the horizon court if you want to give them a try but there is plenty of western food and entertainment.

There was both an English and a Japanese cruise director. 

There was a good mix of passengers from the world over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which date were you there for the cherry blossoms?  I have considered that, but figure its a crap shoot with when they bloom and it's possible to book a spring cruise thinking I will see them and then Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.

[riffatsea]

Hi,

Mid April is when I was in Japan on land for cherry blossoms but that also depends on where in Japan you are going . I have read that the end of March is when they bloom in Tokyo and by the 2nd week of April they may already be gone.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I did the eight-day Circle Japan cruise that departed on July 17, 2016. I don't recall language being a problem during this cruise, but I kept the Princess Patters from this cruise and reviewed the daily activities. The main entertainment was in English, but some of the shows featured acts where language was not an issue (such as juggling or music). According to the Patters, there were plenty of daily activities in English (trivia, etc.). I don't eat sushi, but there is a separate sushi restaurant on this ship (Kai Sushi). Considering the large number of Japanese passengers, I am guessing that the sushi is better than on a typical Princess ship. As mentioned above, Japanese food was available in the buffet. For formal nights, some of the Japanese women wore beautiful kimonos. The cruise definitely had a Japanese flavor, but  language was never an issue.

 

After the cruise, I booked a two-day package in Tokyo through Princess Cruises and had a wonderful time. 

 

Chuck

[heddyjan]

1 hour ago, mek said:

Which date were you there for the cherry blossoms?  I have considered that, but figure its a crap shoot with when they bloom and it's possible to book a spring cruise thinking I will see them and then Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.

I was there in April this year and the cherry blossom was everywhere. Of course you can’t predict exactly where and when, that’s why the cruise is called “Spring Flowers Cruise” and not “Cherry Blossom Cruise”. However Japan is wonderful in any event. 🇯🇵 🇯🇵

[mek]

2 hours ago, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

I did the eight-day Circle Japan cruise that departed on July 17, 2016. I don't recall language being a problem during this cruise, but I kept the Princess Patters from this cruise and reviewed the daily activities. The main entertainment was in English, but some of the shows featured acts where language was not an issue (such as juggling or music). According to the Patters, there were plenty of daily activities in English (trivia, etc.). I don't eat sushi, but there is a separate sushi restaurant on this ship (Kai Sushi). Considering the large number of Japanese passengers, I am guessing that the sushi is better than on a typical Princess ship. As mentioned above, Japanese food was available in the buffet. For formal nights, some of the Japanese women wore beautiful kimonos. The cruise definitely had a Japanese flavor, but  language was never an issue.

 

After the cruise, I booked a two-day package in Tokyo through Princess Cruises and had a wonderful time. 

 

Chuck

Is the two day extension escorted or just  hotel package?  I will be traveling alone and although I have traveled for business extensively over the past 40 years, I don't think I want to start running around Tokyo by myself.

 

I was thinking of picking up some kind of tour post cruise, but I want it to be escorted.

 

Also, good to hear they have a sushi restaurant.  I'm not sure why Princess has to serve that stuff they call sushi on N American cruises.  It looks great, but the taste isn't there.

Edited September 28, 2019 by mek

[mek]

3 hours ago, seacruise9 said:

The cruise definitely had a Japanese flavor, but  language was never an issue.

 

 

This is the primary reason I would book Princess over X, although X has one itinerary that ends in Hong Kong that looks good.  I have gone on several destination cruises,(Hawaii and Alaska) with both Princess and X and Princess does a MUCH better job of incorporating the destination into activities on the ship, although X did a nice job on our TA last year in the Irish ports.

[seacruise9]

21 hours ago, mek said:

Is the two day extension escorted or just  hotel package?  I will be traveling alone and although I have traveled for business extensively over the past 40 years, I don't think I want to start running around Tokyo by myself.

 

I was thinking of picking up some kind of tour post cruise, but I want it to be escorted.

 

Also, good to hear they have a sushi restaurant.  I'm not sure why Princess has to serve that stuff they call sushi on N American cruises.  It looks great, but the taste isn't there.

 

Hi,

 

This was a two-day hotel package that included a transfer from the ship in Yokohama to the hotel in Tokyo and then a transfer from the hotel to the airport. There was a Princess representative at the hotel. The concierge at the hotel booked a full-day city tour for us. The city tour (which included lunch at a nice restaurant) was on a bus with an English-speaking guide. This was very similar to a shore excursion offered by the cruise line.

 

Chuck 

Edited September 29, 2019 by seacruise9

[mek]

3 hours ago, seacruise9 said:

 

Hi,

 

This was a two-day hotel package that included a transfer from the ship in Yokohama to the hotel in Tokyo and then a transfer from the hotel to the airport. There was a Princess representative at the hotel. The concierge at the hotel booked a full-day city tour for us. The city tour (which included lunch at a nice restaurant) was on a bus with an English-speaking guide. This was very similar to a shore excursion offered by the cruise line.

 

Chuck 

Well that would work.  Thanks