Diamond Princess Drydock

[Desert Cruisers]

Does anyone know when the Diamond Princess was last in drydock and what was done?  Or, is a drydock in its future in 2023? We were on this ship 2017-2018 in Australia/New Zealand and it was showing its age.  Thinking about booking Japan for summer 2023 on the Diamond but have been on too many shabby Princess ships - worn carpet, stained sofas, dining room chairs without any padding, old mattresses, etc. It seems that the older ships just don't get the same level of attention as the newer ships.  

[mtnesterz]

Found info on two.

2019 Jan 19 - Feb 2 (Singapore)

Movies Under The Stars (outdoor theater updated with 7.1 surround sound)

pool deck (new dynamic LED lighting)

Casino (new carpeting, TVs, light fixtures)

Lotus Spa and Fitness (upgraded treatment rooms and beauty salon, latest Precor fitness equipment)

upgraded the digital audio systems (Explorers Lounge, Club Fusion, Princess Theater)

new furnishings (Horizon Court buffet)

All public restrooms and all Suite WCs received Japanese bidets

 

January of '22 was scheduled. About a week. Can't find info on this one.

[toofewcruises]

The Diamond has not been in service since pre-covid. She's on her way from Singapore to San Diego. Her first sailing is on 9/1

[pamps2801]

56 minutes ago, toofewcruises said:

The Diamond has not been in service since pre-covid. She's on her way from Singapore to San Diego. Her first sailing is on 9/1

Diamond Princess is presently cruising the Mediterranean. It's been in service for a while now.

[beg3yrs]

20 minutes ago, pamps2801 said:

Diamond Princess is presently cruising the Mediterranean. It's been in service for a while now.

Marinetraffic.com has her in the Red Sea heading for Singapore.

[pamps2801]

3 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Marinetraffic.com has her in the Red Sea heading for Singapore.

Cruise Mapper has it in the Arabian Sea cruising at 12.7 kn as of one hour ago 

Edited July 3, 2022 by pamps2801

[BirdTravels]

20 minutes ago, pamps2801 said:

Cruise Mapper has it in the Arabian Sea cruising at 12.7 kn as of one hour ago 

... heading to Singapore

[candydane]

The Princess.con Diamond Princess web cam has it at sea, heading to Singapore.

[dobiemom]

22 hours ago, pamps2801 said:

Diamond Princess is presently cruising the Mediterranean. It's been in service for a while now.

She doesn’t have paying passengers. She’s on her way to Singapore (to pick up crew?).  Her first sailing from San Diego is Sept 1 will have passengers. 

[sunsetme]

Let's hope she doesn't have barnacles and other issues.

[rheathslc]

On 7/2/2022 at 5:32 PM, Desert Cruisers said:

Does anyone know when the Diamond Princess was last in drydock and what was done?  Or, is a drydock in its future in 2023? We were on this ship 2017-2018 in Australia/New Zealand and it was showing its age.  Thinking about booking Japan for summer 2023 on the Diamond but have been on too many shabby Princess ships - worn carpet, stained sofas, dining room chairs without any padding, old mattresses, etc. It seems that the older ships just don't get the same level of attention as the newer ships.  

I'm booked on her first two cruises back in service in September. 58 Days! I'll report back on the condition of the ship for you. 🙂 
I also saw info about the planned dry-dock for Jan 2022 that @mtnesterz referenced but couldn't find any details. Not sure if it happened. The ship was reported as being in Limassol, Cyprus for quite a while and they DO have dry-dock facilities there.

[SimplyMarvie]

20 hours ago, rheathslc said:

I'm booked on her first two cruises back in service in September. 58 Days! I'll report back on the condition of the ship for you. 🙂 
I also saw info about the planned dry-dock for Jan 2022 that @mtnesterz referenced but couldn't find any details. Not sure if it happened. The ship was reported as being in Limassol, Cyprus for quite a while and they DO have dry-dock facilities there.

 

Please do report back, I'm very interested to hear what you think! We've booked the Diamond for Japan next year (hopefully!) and the only thing about the plan that is giving me pause would be the ship... the reviews make it sound like it's a big step down from the Enchanted and the Majestic. Interested to see if that's true...

[toofewcruises]

On 7/3/2022 at 5:14 PM, pamps2801 said:

Diamond Princess is presently cruising the Mediterranean. It's been in service for a while now.

With passengers?  I don't think so!

[toofewcruises]

48 minutes ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

Please do report back, I'm very interested to hear what you think! We've booked the Diamond for Japan next year (hopefully!) and the only thing about the plan that is giving me pause would be the ship... the reviews make it sound like it's a big step down from the Enchanted and the Majestic. Interested to see if that's true...

It is not a step down.  Yes, it is a smaller ship, yes, it does not have as many eating venues, but she still is a lovely ship.  It's just different.  One thing she does have that other ships do not is the Izumi Baths.  Google it.  I can't wait to try it on my two September cruises.  She also has a real Promenade deck with deck chairs.  

[rheathslc]

2 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

Please do report back, I'm very interested to hear what you think! We've booked the Diamond for Japan next year (hopefully!) and the only thing about the plan that is giving me pause would be the ship... the reviews make it sound like it's a big step down from the Enchanted and the Majestic. Interested to see if that's true...

I think it depends on what features you like on a ship. I prefer the Crown/Grand class ships and even the smaller Sun class. The Diamond has Izumi which I'm super excited to try and a full sit-down Sushi restaurant (vs. just a bar with sushi on the newer ships). It has the full, deep adults only Lotus pool toward the front of the ship whereas the "Retreat Pool" on the newer ships is shallower from what I've read (except for Majestic which has the covered adults only Hollywood Pool. The Diamond and similar ships have an additional deep, nice sized adults only pool aft. The first few Royal class ships did NOT have as many pools and even the wakeview pool they added back to the newer Royal class ships is super tiny. Not at all like the nice deep wakeview pool on the Grand/Crown ships. Plus the tiered aft decks create such a nice sheltered space on the older ships. And as @toofewcruises mentioned there is also the full promenade deck. That might not be important to everyone but it's certainly one of my favorite features.

The pictures I've seen of the Diamond from late 2019 and early 2020 after the last refurbishment and before the shut down look like they've done a good job of updating the décor in some of the staterooms and common areas.

I will say that the Enclave on the Royal class ships is FAR superior to the Thermal Suite on the older ships. The hydrotherapy pool is amazing! And the rest of the features, while similar, are nicer for 1. being newer and in better repair, and 2. having much more space. I think 12 tile beds vs. 5, and four experience showers with a range of temps vs. only 2 in the older ships. But that's just another reason the Diamond is such a great option. Izumi adds a hydrotherapy pool and some additional unique hot tubs, saunas and showers.

[Cruisin Camper]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:14 PM, rheathslc said:

I'm booked on her first two cruises back in service in September. 58 Days! I'll report back on the condition of the ship for you. 🙂 
I also saw info about the planned dry-dock for Jan 2022 that @mtnesterz referenced but couldn't find any details. Not sure if it happened. The ship was reported as being in Limassol, Cyprus for quite a while and they DO have dry-dock facilities there.

I did see a few videos on YouTube regarding the 8 day dry dock.  Mentioned the hull inspection, but did not watch all the way through.  I may go back and see if there was information to share here.

[Momma Rene]

I am booked in 2023.  Hoping that ship is a bit updated.  I will miss the coffee place that is mid ship on other ships.

[JoRoy218]

Funny you should bring that up! We’re on the Diamond in Sept. and we too enjoy the International Cafe daily.  I asked that question this morning and someone kindly answered. There is a “Lobby Bar” on deck 5 that supposedly serves specialty coffees. Yay ☕️ 

[rj59]

It was developed for the Japanese market, thus the sushi and hot baths and bidets and lack of a pub or or Italian/pizza restaurant, as on other ships. I'll be on the Sept 1 sailings, and hope to find a good deal on the 7-night Mexico ones in 2023, since they visit Loreto and La Paz. I also prefer having a complete promenade, after being on the Majestic and Discovery several times, with their lackluster walking tracks. After being with 3400 passengers on Discovery last month, I also am hoping for a less crowded ship, or at least one where I can spend a lot of time outside and avoid getting covid again. The other big plus of Diamond is that it's sailing out of San Diego--it's the only port where I can to and from the airport. The only drawback is its history and thinking what life must have been like for a month in  quarantine in Feb 2020 and for the 9 people who died. 

[msmoger]

5 minutes ago, rj59 said:

It was developed for the Japanese market, thus the sushi and hot baths and bidets and lack of a pub or or Italian/pizza restaurant, as on other ships.  

 

Actually it was renovated for the Japanese market several years ago.  These modifications were not part of the original build.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I will also be on her in September, she has not had any paying passengers since covid and unfortunately she carries the haunting start of problems in the cruise industry with covid.

I will say that I last sailed on her in September 2019 a few months prior to the covid outbreak and sadly she was in dire need of TLC, All the staterooms still had the original furniture including the sofas from when she was first built in 2004. We sailed in in October 2017 and September 2019 and both times we were in the Owner's Suite and by the September 2019 she was just really looking bad in a lot of furniture. To say she was looking shabby was an understatement especially in the Owner's Suite. There were some things you could tell they were trying to improve on like the Explorers lounge but one example of area needing fixing was in the Sante Fe Dining Room, this is the Dining Room they used for Club Class Dining. There is an area that is a step up on the right hand side of the Dining Room, This was where they sat the Club Class Dining and there were so many holes in the carpet plus there were huge holes under the carpet. It was as if the floor boards had sunk 3 to 4 inches. The crew would have to keep asking people to be carefull where they stepped or you could trip. It was like that both in 2017 and 2019 but appeared even worse in 2019. The crew all agreed she was the forgotten ship of the Princess Fleet. But I have to admit we still loved her. Part of it was the crew. What was lacking on the ship the crew made up for.

[Dunk]

The Diamond had a full, out of the water dry dock in Marseille 6 months ago. The hull looks pristine. A crew member posted several videos on YouTube you can easily find if you search “Diamond Princess Drydock 2022”. The also did deck, pool and balcony work. Inside the only thing he filmed was adding the dreaded automatic light sensors in the cabins that light things up when you get up in the middle of the night. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Dunk

[kiwimum]

The Diamond is currently off the coast of California heading for San Pedro.  

[rheathslc]

4 hours ago, JoRoy218 said:

Funny you should bring that up! We’re on the Diamond in Sept. and we too enjoy the International Cafe daily.  I asked that question this morning and someone kindly answered. There is a “Lobby Bar” on deck 5 that supposedly serves specialty coffees. Yay ☕️ 

We're on the Sept 1st and Sept 6th sailings back to back and will provide as much info on condition of the ship and amenities as we can. Are you on either of those or the later September ones?

[JoRoy218]

4 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

We're on the Sept 1st and Sept 6th sailings back to back and will provide as much info on condition of the ship and amenities as we can. Are you on either of those or the later September ones?

Yes! We’re on the Sept. 1 cruise, shortest cruise we’ve ever done.

Wanted to continue on for the Sept. 6 as well but pet sitting issues

limiting us.  Oh well…trying to use up “pandemic credits” before end of year.  Another planned in Dec.