Diamond Princess - Thoughts?

[bdjam]

I heard - second hand - that compared the the HAL cruises, Diamond Princess didn't do so well - just wondering if anyone had any thoughts about the cruise?

[JonV]

I thought it was awesome. The only perform that didn't impress me was Kristine W for Halloween. I didn't want it to end.

[Darrell6t]

The food on Diamond Princess is not as good or as varied as on HAL ships. The social staff was not as involved with this cruise as they usually are with RSVP on the HAL ships, as least from a passenger's viewpoint. The ship needs some more intimate spaces for a quiet drink with conversation. BUT....the cruise was still great.

[bdjam]

So far the responses are better than what I heard...thanks!

[kalypso333]

Keep this in perspective as it was my first cruise ever:

 

I had a fantastic time. The ship was great, the entertainment was great, the parties were great, the cabin was great - the ports and the food were very average.

 

It was so good, I booked Alaska for September.

[dtvkidd]

It was a great cruise. i heard that a person died on the ship. Did anyone else hear about it and what may have happen?

[RMS Olympic]

The cruise was actually better than I expected in that this was a first time gay charter for Princess.

The ship was in good repair, clean and ready for everyone to board on time.

The crew was great and really seemed to get more into the spirit of things as time went by.

The comment I continually heard was "we like the boys" they dont complain.Other crew members said they never worked so hard, and never had such a good time...they dreaded the return of the straight cruisers.

I never experienced any attitude from the crew......in fact many gay crew members showed me photos of thier significant others.

As for the ship.....in one word it is big!

For a straight cruise I would like this ship for the number of public rooms which provided countless numbers of choices. For a gay cruise...fewer public rooms of greater size would be more my taste.

The size of the ship really worked well for spreading out the number of passengers. The stern pool area was nice and quiet for those that wanted piece and quiet. The mid ship pool always had music playing..very diversified and the DJ's kept it going. The straight cruises should have good music like that.

Food......thats tough for everyone has different tastes.

The dining room was as good as Holland America in my book. The night of the Alaskan crab legs...my table companions ordered three servings.....no hesitation by the waiter. I liked the fact that there was shrimp cocktail and cheese cake available every night which kept this cruiser happy.

The liddo restaurant was not as good as Holland America in my opinion. But then the only cruise line that is better than HA is Radisson/Regent in my book.

Pizza by the pool was great...hamburgers left something to be desired.

I thought bar service was great......just as good as Holland America.

Entertainment was great...a nice mix especially the comics.

Parties were numerous, although I went to sleep earlier than most and hit the gym in the morning. The gym.......way too small for that size ship.....but it probably is adequate for the normal Princess passenger capacity.

So for me, I thought this trip was great...I spoke numerous times with the RSVP management team which were working very hard behind the scenes with the crew to iron out any bugs that are probably routine for a first time charter like this. Holland America had its own share of growing pains when they first took on a gay charter. For those that were there you may remember they were way understaffed for bar service...they have learned and now have it down right. I was told that Princess learned alot and I expect it to only improve things on the Feb cruise....I cant wait. I undersatnd the out door movie screen is fun on the Caribbean Princess.....maybe they will show Now Voyager..........wouldn't that be a riot.

in the end, to compare this Princess cruise to Holland America is tough, basically because of the size of this ship and its complexity. With so many choices and the number of things going on, the RSVP staff had their hands full. The only big thing that the Westerdam had was the stern pool deck that was great for parties...the Diamond had 4 pool areas that split things up.

Additional point...the bears on board......what a nice bunch of guys,,,,,and no attitude. In fact the lack of attitude overall was great......and the diversity of the passengers, age, looks, backgounds was outstanding.

Did I have a great time...yes. Will I stick with RSVP....yes. Am I ready for the Caribbean Princess...bring her on baby.....I am ready. Bye Bye Atlantis.

One last note for past Princess passengers: My past history on this line was noted by the crew and acknowledged in many little ways only adding to the great service I received from the RSVP staff.......and I'm no looker mind.

To Princess......nice job, to RSVP.......thank you for a great time and will see you in Feb and again in the summer........oh, and for those who question the extra cost for a gay charter....to me it was well worth it. Except for my occasional Regent seven seas cruise, I will stick with a gay charter...RSVP.

If anyone has any specific questions......just ask and I will try to answer them To my fellow passengers......THANK YOU.

Tom AKA Bertha

[Joe and Ivan]

One last note for past Princess passengers: My past history on this line was noted by the crew and acknowledged in many little ways only adding to the great service I received from the RSVP staff.

 

 

Tom,

 

As an Elite or Platinum Member on Princess, would Princess still give you free access to the Internet, or did it change for RSVP? Also, will this cruise count as a Captain's Circle cruise?

 

Thanks, Ivan

[RMS Olympic]

I did not even think to get on a computer while on vacation...I was escaping from that. I can tell you I got my trousers cleaned free as a Platinum member.

I called Princess after doing the on line registration to have them load my Capatins Circle number into the booking. Earlier I was told by the Princess reservations dept that the cruise was a charter and would not go into my cruise history....as the charter was not loaded into the computer at Princess. Well after registering using the the documents from Princess that came in the mail, I called Princess back and asked them to load my Circle number based on the data I received from Princess. They did this with no problem since they now could cross reference. So make sure you do the same. There were a number of elite passengers on board that did not do the same and were not happy.....most passengers had their cabin/ account cards around their necks and my Platinum stood out from all the blue cards......and the crew took notice as well.

So to answer your question...if registered as an elite or platinum, the usual Princess perks still apply...in fact on the day of disembarkation, there was a lounge reserved for Platinum and Elite to wait in...with refreshments and someone at the entrance to allow those in based on their key cards.

[Joe and Ivan]

Well after registering using the the documents from Princess that came in the mail, I called Princess back and asked them to load my Circle number based on the data I received from Princess. They did this with no problem since they now could cross reference. So make sure you do the same.

 

Tom,

 

That's very good information and advice. Thanks for sharing it!

 

Ivan

[NYC95]

I thought the cruise was pretty good. The cabins, in my opinion,were the best I've been in,including Holland America. My only complaint would be the shower. In a word ,it sucked. It was too small and my elbow kept hitting the safety rail they put in for their senior citizen passengers. I think that is a good idea but OUCH!!!

 

I'm thinking about taking the Mediterranean cruise in 2007. Is that the cruise

you referred to , Capt. Tom?

[Nobbi]

Unfortunately, I never got to see Tom!!!! I met Daxx at one of the dinners.

 

It was my first cruise. I loved all of it except for the food! It was tasteless. I spoke to many other cruisers and they concurred. They said other lines were much better including Carnival.

 

The crew was great! They put up with some of our fellow cruisers who were over the top. Of course, Princess made lots of money off us: the alcohol quota which was higher than their "normal" cruises was reached on Monday night! :D

 

I got a Captains circle number and my cruise has counted toward it. (My travel companion did not get one. But I do have another Princess cruise booked.)

 

Although the shower was small, the water pressure and shower head were great.

[RMS Olympic]

Sorry I did not get to meet you both....

I was up at the Tradewins bar by the pool but with so many people....who was who.

I did look for a guy with a beard.....since Nobbi has a photo on his posts...but did not see him

NYC95....I did not get to buy you the beverage......

If you make the Med cruise (yes the Westerdam on Aug 2007).....I will honor my commitment.

As for shower.......yes...too small. Considering some of the big giys on board...that shower curtain must have made love to them when they turned around. There was a time the showers were of good size and considering how Americans are substantial shall we say...the shower units should be larger.

As to the cabin...I really liked the way the closet was situated which allowed the entrance way to be shiffted against the one wall. Lighting was good and the refig was appreciated for cold drinks.

Funny, one late afternoon I came back to my cabin and just had the munchies for something small......what did I find but a plate of chocolate cover strawberries........I devoured them and the plate they were on.....sigh.

Was the ship perfect, no, was the food perfect.....no, was anything perfect,.....no...did I have a perfect time.....yes. Caribbean Princess and RSVP here I come.

In the meantime I am on a weight loss program so that the shower will seem huge by February..LOL

As for meeting CC passengers......either name tags or maybe I will get a T-shirt with RMS Olympic on it for the next cruise.

Now if there was a way to insure some romance....no not that kind...but the under the stars kind, candle lit dinner type that would be nice.

Ciao for now

Tom AKA Bertha

[NYC95]

I too, was at the Tradewinds at the appropriate time but I couldn't tell who was who. Next time we should wear nametags,as suggested.

 

If I decide to go on the Meditteranean cruise,Capt.Tom, I take you up an that

drink.

[dendren]

I thought the Diamond Princess was fabulous this trip, with a only few flaws. Most notably, as mentioned above, was the non-dining room food. I try to avoid being too harsh, but I thought the buffet was awful. I've heard this from quite a few people actually. Also, really missed the all night pizza on the previous RSVP cruises on HAL and Carnival. At 2 in the morning after drinking and dancing a slice of pizza sounds fab, not a full buffet. I know a few people have mentioned this to RSVP so will be interesting to see what kind of changes Princess makes on the Caribbean cruise next Feb.

 

Otherwise, the staff well exceeded my expectations considering this was Princesses first gay cruise. They were more comfortable and fun than Holland America was until their 3rd or 4th RSVP cruise.

 

RSVP really amped up the entertainment this cruise also, a very welcome change after years of one or two-hit wonders from the early 90s (no more Crystal Waters please). My only other suggestion, put Amy & Freddy in the biggest space you can find. The first couple of nights that they performed it was fine, but once word spread about how wonderful they are... by the 3rd performance it was packed. The last night... no place at all to watch them... I think Amy & Freddy would be a wonderful for the "big room" entertainment in the main theater on the final cruise night personally.

 

It was a great cruise... I can't wait to see what they come up with for the Feb cruise :)

[kalypso333]

FYI - In one of the two Amy & Freddy shows I saw, Amy mentioned they had signed as a headliner for RSVP in the future.

[kalypso333]

FYI - In one of the two Amy & Freddy shows I saw, Amy mentioned they had signed as a headliner for RSVP in the future.

[RMS Olympic]

Even if the Caribbean Princess is the Diamond with an extra deck.......as for the food......it was good enough for me...if I need fab food I will sail on regent. Since I am killing myself to lose weight before this next cruise in Feb.....I won't want to gain it all back in one week on the cruise...LOL.

Now maybe if a stick to bear meat in my diet...its leaner isn't it ? LOL

This time I am bringing name tags for a Cruise Critic gathering.

I will plan on going to the CubbyHole bar gathering in Ft lauderdale to hopefully meet some people before boarding.

I want to find dinner companions for the steakhouse...which I did not make on the Diamond. The Singles dinning in the Savoy wasnt bad on the Diamond...met a few really nice guys and had great conversation. Its amazing the different non stereo types you get to meet.

On the Feb cruise I am also going to see if I can find a room mate for the August trip in the mediterranean....as I am doing a share on that cruise.

As for the comments concerning Amy.......she is fantastic!!!!!!

Can Feb get here a little faster.......I am soooooo ready!

To all happy holidays as they rush closer.

Tom

[JonV]

I dind't think the food was that good. I've had better on Carnival and I lost 7lbs on this cruise mostly due to the hours of dancing (T-dances and late night dances with all my favorite dj's). I can't stop raving about how they made this huge ship seem intimate with lots of small rooms.

 

I saw Amy & Freddy by accident as I was in earlier to see the wonderful Holly Penfield and sexy Nick. Towards the end of their show, the lounge was filling up so I decided to stay and see Amy and Freddy. She was awesome and this was the night Esera Tuaolo got up and sang. Later she sang the boob song and came up to me, gave me the LOOK and screamed "Touch IT"!!!

 

Such better entertainment that on a non-gay cruise.

[NYC95]

I thought the food was good,not five star but edible. The ship itself was good when it came to the passeger vs. space ratio. I never felt crowded.

 

I loved the cabins. I was in an inside and I have to say it was the best that I've ever been in,except for the shower. That sucked.

 

I made my down payment for the Meditteranean cruise for next,August. So I guess we will be having that drink,Capt Tom.

 

I'll be arriving in,Rome, three days prior to disembarkation so I can do the tourist bit. I'm really looking forward to seeing St.Peter's Bascillica and the Trevi fountain plus whatever else I can squeeze in in three days.

[RMS Olympic]

The gay travel agency I am using (they were on the Mexico cruise) has told me they will be doing a group 3 night pre cruise stay in Rome as well. As soon as they get the details I will be booking my flight. I had hoped to fly USAIR non stop out of Philly, but their return from Rome is @ 11:30 in the morning. There is no way to make it from the pier to the airport in that amount of time. So I will probably take Continental out of Newark..non stop. Their return departs Rome at 2 in the afternoon which is doable. So we will be in Rome at the same time. I have been in Rome once on an RSVP cruise.....and toured the ancient part...Now its time to see St Peters and see if the doors fall off when I enter. We recovering Catholics have that effect on churches ya know. LOL

The little time I spent in Rome convinced me I would need to go back...and so I am. I admit I would like to dine at night out in town and see what the locals eat....and look at the eye candy... mama mia thats a spicey meata ball.

I have a thing for anything Italian...sigh..cars, clothes, and you know......

[Darrell6t]

Has anyone received the RSVP DVD of the Diamond Princess cruise yet? It has been 2 months, but the holidays were there too.

[RMS Olympic]

But I have been playing my DVD from the RSVP Feb 2005 Caribbean cruise over and over again in preparation for the upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise.

I watched my DVD's from the last 2 Atlantis cruises...but they do not compare to the RSVP DVD that just seems to be more professionally done and more enjoyable to watch.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the Caribbean Princess next month...and hopefully some that will be on the Med cruise in August.

Where does all my income go.....(1) House, (2) 401K, (3) RSVP.

That leaves nothing left to help fund my husband hunting darn it.......LOL

[Darrell6t]

As it turns out, the DVD arrived in the mail this afternnon. It is nice, but as usual, too short. There is also an interesting program about the QM2, which we are signed up for. We can hardly wait for May to get here.

[NYC95]

Capt Tom, are you referring to,Dan Howell Travel?