Current Diamond Princess-Alaska Information

[Mike A]

We are sailing on the Diamond Alaska Southbound on 9/9. There has been very little info on the boards regarding the Diamond this summer. I was wondering if anyone could answer the following questions:

Who is the Current Cruise Director?

Do they allow you to check in for the Cruise at the Hotel Captain Cook if you are staying overnight? I know on the Northbound you can check in at the Pan Pacific in Vancover.

What time does the bus leave the Hotel Captain Cook?

Are there tables for two in the Traditional (International) dining room? I read on one post where some one said they were not available. Princess on the otherhand says they are.

I thank all in advance for their assistance :)

[pooflady]

We're on the Diamond southbound in late August and I agree, there's been very little posting done about the Diamond. I take this as a good sign, there's nothing happening that anyone's really annoyed about.

[skarletohara]

We are sailing on the Diamond Alaska Southbound on 9/9. There has been very little info on the boards regarding the Diamond this summer. I was wondering if anyone could answer the following questions:

Who is the Current Cruise Director?

Do they allow you to check in for the Cruise at the Hotel Captain Cook if you are staying overnight? I know on the Northbound you can check in at the Pan Pacific in Vancover.

 

A. YOU CANNOT CHECK IN AT THE CAPTAIN COOK HOTEL UNLESS YOU'VE

PAID FOR THE CAPTAIN COOK HOTEL AS PART OF THE PRINCESS PACKAGE.

 

What time does the bus leave the Hotel Captain Cook?

 

A. ON JUNE 24TH, IT LEFT AT 11 A.M. BUT LUGGAGE NEEDED TO BE OUT

BY 8 A.M.

 

Are there tables for two in the Traditional (International) dining room? I read on one post where some one said they were not available. Princess on the otherhand says they are.

 

A. WE HAD ANYTIME DINING SO CANNOT ANSWER THIS ONE ABOUT

TRADITIONAL, ALTHOUGH I'VE HEARD THERE ARE A COUPLE OF TABLES

FOR TWO.

I thank all in advance for their assistance :)

 

We were on the s/b Sapphire which is identical to the Diamond itinerary/ship.

We also stayed at the Captain Cook but purchased the hotel on our own,

therefore necessitating our check-in at the Egan Convention Center which

is a 5 minute walk. If you do check in at Egan, make sure you go early

enough so that you can get an earlier boarding time. The busses start leaving

at 1 p.m. and go until 2:30 p.m. We checked in around 10:30 and they

only had 2:30 available. I asked what time we needed to get there to get

on the 1 p.m. bus and they stated about 9 a.m.

 

I also might add, if you purchased the Cap. Cook hotel on your own, you can

still check your luggage there at the hotel. We just tipped the bellman a few

dollars and asked him if our luggage could be loaded there as it was all going

to the same place anyway, and he happily obliged. That way we only had

to tote our little rolling totes up the street to the Convention center.

It runs very smoothly there.

[jkfreeman33]

Thanks for the replies, we are also on the Diamond 9/9 sailing. However, we have a 5 night land package first where we start in Anchorage and end up in Denali. From Denali, we take the train all day and get to the ship about 6PM on 9/9.

I was on the Golden a couple of years ago to the Caribbean and I think it is very similar to the Diamond (if not identical) and it is a beautiful ship.

I also noticed that there weren't very many posting about the ship.

[sshelijet]

We just got off the Diamond (southbound) on Saturday.

 

The cruise director was Dan Gibbons; his assistant was Wendy. We aren't into the social stuff so much, so only saw them in the Princess Theatre introducing acts. They seemed pretty good from what we saw.

 

We had breakfasts & lunches in the Int'l Dining Room and did not see any tables for two. There were some tables for four, but mostly we were seated at tables for 8.

 

We did anytime dining for dinner and had a table for 2 each night.

 

The ship is absolutely magnificent, the food delicious and the service first-rate. Look for Katarina (Romanian waitress) in the Wheelhouse Bar. She's super and very knowledgeable. She remembers you and is sure to come and check on you right away each time you visit. She was also only too happy to bring my husband his non-alcoholic drinks (we did tip extra so that may be why!)

 

We didn't know if cruising would be right for us. We've discovered that it most certainly is and paid the on-board deposit for another trip!! I can't think of a more positive indicator than that of what we thought.

[Mike A]

I thank everyone who replied to my post. Our stay was at the Hotel Captain Cook was arranged by Princess, therefore I am happy to see we can check in for the cruise at the Hotel Captain Cook. I see that Dan Giibons is still the CD I have heard he is very good. Hopefully we will get our table for 2. This is our 25th weddidng anniversary and my wife and I would rather be alone than with a group for this occasion. Thank you again !!!

[scrufgrove]

Hi there,

 

JJ Ullrich will be your CD as I am now on HOLIDAYS !!!!

 

Enjoy your cruise with JJ

 

Dan

[ARRTrain]

I'm not sure what you mean by Check-in for the cruise at the Cook. You still have to do the check-in stuff in Whittier at the cruise terminal. I'm sure they meant check-in for your bus trip to Whittier. If you go to the Egan you have to check-in for the bus. If Princess booked your stay at the Cook, you can catch the bus from the Cook. The busses start leaving from the Cook around 8am, you get some kind of city tour or maybe a native center tour. The busses can't get to Whittier before the 11:30 am or 12:30pm tunnel, I don't remember which.

[Mike A]

I'm not sure what you mean by Check-in for the cruise at the Cook. You still have to do the check-in stuff in Whittier at the cruise terminal. I'm sure they meant check-in for your bus trip to Whittier. If you go to the Egan you have to check-in for the bus. If Princess booked your stay at the Cook, you can catch the bus from the Cook. The busses start leaving from the Cook around 8am, you get some kind of city tour or maybe a native center tour. The busses can't get to Whittier before the 11:30 am or 12:30pm tunnel, I don't remember which.

Thanks ARRTrain. I had read in another thread that you can check in for the Alaska northbound if you stay at the Pan Pacific (booked by Princess) in Vancover. I booked a pre-cruise one night stay at the Hotel Captain Cook through Princess. Therefore I was asking if you could check in for the cruise at the Hotel. If not no big deal.

[Mike A]

Hi there,

 

JJ Ullrich will be your CD as I am now on HOLIDAYS !!!!

 

Enjoy your cruise with JJ

 

Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for taking the time while on your Holiday to respond. Enjoy your Holiday and I'm sure we will have a great cruise with JJ.

Mike A