Diamond Princess Review 12/16-12/23 (LONG!)

[lovebug33]

Embarkation: We got there around 11:00 and got into boarding group 3. They started boarding around 12:00 and we were on the ship by 12:30, 12:45. I thought it ran smoothly.

 

Stateroom: We had an inside cabin on Baja deck. It was great! I was worried about there not being enough room, but we were able to store everything in all the drawers and on all the shelves. I am glad that we brought our own hangers, though, because there weren’t enough. However, if we had asked our room steward, we would have gotten more right away. The only annoying thing is that there was a round table that just didn’t fit into the room. On the last day, somebody told us they stuck theirs in the closet. Just a tip for all of you!

 

Sea Days: My DH and I are now known by all of the social staff. My DH was really worried about being bored on the ship. Well, there is no way that could happen. Our favorite activity was line dancing with Amanda! There is nothing like trying to line dance while the ship rocks back and forth! We did trivia, dancing, real live wooden horseracing, the Champagne waterfall, Country Western night, Sock Hop night, and anything else they could throw at us. We actually even won cash and some nice prizes at trivia and horseracing, which is unusual for us. The social staff is a real gem on this ship and made us feel very welcome.

 

Shore Excursions: We did all of our excursions through the ship. In Puerto Vallarta, we did the Sierra Madre Nature Expedition. This was the most fun we had in any port. We got onto what they called a yellow limousine, which was a huge, open-air truck and mostly bounced through the forest all day. It was a lot of fun.

In Mazatlan, we had signed up for Deer Island Kayaking, but we got on the boat to go there and the seas were too rough, so it was canceled. We were really disappointed because this was the one we were really looking forward to. However, Princess put us on a lunch, shopping, and show excursion. While it wasn't the excitement we were looking for, we enjoyed it and it did save us about 100 dollars!

In Cabo San Lucas, we went on the Baja ATV adventure. It was a lot of fun. We went out into this desert preserve and rode the ATV's. We were covered in a fine layer of dust when we were done, though. We went shopping afterward and really enjoyed the shops here better than in Mazatlan.

 

Entertainment: The entertainment was superb. There was an illusionist who reminded me of a Las Vegas show. The stage shows were great, too. I am amazed by the talent of all the performers. We weren’t really into the comedians because what they think is funny isn’t to us.

 

Food: We loved the food on the ship. Since we are from Vegas and buffets are a staple of life, we only ate breakfast in the buffet. Now, I only eat cereal for breakfast, but DH tried everything and liked just about all of it. We ate pizza every day we were on the ship for lunch. It was the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. The only problem is that they can’t make enough of it, so a couple of times we had to wait in line to get pizza. The dinner food was outstanding. I am going to qualify this by saying that DH and I’s idea of a big night out is Olive Garden, so it wasn’t too hard to please us. My DH is picky and never had a hard time finding something he liked on the regular menu. There were a few things we tried that we didn’t like (not because they weren’t good, we just didn’t like it), and our waiters made sure we got something we liked. I loved having an appetizer, then a soup, then a salad, then an entrée, and then a dessert. It was great!

 

Anytime Dining: We are ambivalent about whether we liked this or not. We were on a full ship with lots of big parties, so it was hard to get a table for two (and there was no option to share with somebody else). All reservations were gone by the beginning of the week, so we had the option of eating at 9:00 p.m. every night, or try our luck at 5:30 p.m. when the restaurants opened. The maitre d’ at the Pacific Moon tried really hard to get us a seat every time. The other two restaurants (the Santa Fe and the Savoy) wouldn’t even try to get us a table. The Vivaldi didn’t open until 8:15 and didn’t take reservations. I hear it was a mad house there every night. We found a great waiter named Marco and he made sure that my DH and two other couples always got a table at 5:30 with him. However, I think next time I am going to do early seating because it just seems like less hassle then trying to get a seat every night. My DH wants to try anytime dining again, so I guess that will just have to be decided when we book our next trip!

 

Service: The service on this trip was outstanding. We joked that we felt like we were at Epcot Center with all the different nationalities on board! We had the best room steward ever. His name was Lauro. One day, we didn’t get up until 9:00 in the morning because we were tired. He was really concerned that something had happened to us! There is nothing like being treated like royalty for an entire week. Two things happened that were a pain, but Princess made sure they fixed them right away. First, they charged us for two ATV trips. We tried talking to the person at the shore excursion desk but there was a language barrier and we couldn’t get our point across. The person found us another person to talk to and they worked on the problem until they got it figure out. Then, our excursion in Mazatlan got canceled. Princes had another excursion ready for us and went out of our way to make sure that we go to do something while in port. I can’t say anything bad about any of the service that we received.

 

 

Weather: The weather was awful for our trip. It was cold and windy the whole time, so we never went into the pool. There's nothing you can do about that, though!

 

 

Kids: There were lots of kids on the ship. However, there were only a few who were annoying. There were some parents who just don't seem to notice that their little tykes are annoying the rest of us!

 

 

Disembarkation: Well, of course we were angry that they kicked us off the boat. We tried to stay but they wouldn’t let us! It went smoothly until it was our time to get off and the lights went out! So, disembarkation got delayed by about 15 minutes while they got the electricity back on. The whole process to me is annoying because you have to sit and wait, but that is not their fault. We were off the ship by 10:15 a.m., which isn't bad considering the delay!

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Great review, sounds like you and DH had an amazing trip and made the best of all the ship has to offer.

We love the Diamond but prefer the blue warm waters of the caribbean but did enjoy this itin in 2004.

We love anytime dining but can imagine during certain times it gets hectic:D :D

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Great review, sounds like you and DH had an amazing trip and made the best of all the ship has to offer.

We love the Diamond but prefer the blue warm waters of the caribbean but did enjoy this itin in 2004.

We love anytime dining but can imagine during certain times it gets hectic:D :D

[AZPam]

We will be on the Diamond in March, so it was great to read such a good review! Thanks! Just wondering if you saw the "youth security" patrol out to help handle all the kids? If so, in your opinion, do you think they helped the situation with so many kids on board or do you think it was just parents that didn't care what their kids were doing?

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review,

as far as the hangers I always ask for as many as we need, and the round table if you ask they will remove it from the cabin. :)

[Lynda90]

So nice to read a positive review. Sounds like you had a great time. I will be on this cruise a week from Saturday and I was hoping for some nice weather. Doesn't sound too promising but I will still hope. :p

[lovebug33]

There was youth security all over the boat. The problem wasn't unattended kids, it was the little ones that cried and threw tantrums while their parents made them go to the shows and stand in line for pictures and be out until all hours of the night that were annoying.

[jhannah]

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Diamond in two weeks, and are really looking forward to it.

[jkrav]

great ship, great fun...its awesome

[MercedMike]

Anytime Dining: We are ambivalent about whether we liked this or not. We were on a full ship with lots of big parties, so it was hard to get a table for two (and there was no option to share with somebody else). All reservations were gone by the beginning of the week, so we had the option of eating at 9:00 p.m. every night, or try our luck at 5:30 p.m. when the restaurants opened. The maitre d’ at the Pacific Moon tried really hard to get us a seat every time. The other two restaurants (the Santa Fe and the Savoy) wouldn’t even try to get us a table. The Vivaldi didn’t open until 8:15 and didn’t take reservations.

 

This is interesting to me, because it is so contrary to our experience on Grand twice, and on Sapphire which is Diamond's identical twin. First of all, we always had the option of a table for two, or sharing with others, and we told them either was fine and usually waltzed right in to a table. Second, we were told all the reservations between 7 and 8 were gone, but we never had a problem getting in at that hour by just walking up-- once or twice had to get a beeper and wait 10 minutes or so. And the Vivaldi doesn't open until 8:15?? How strange. Does it stay open extra late, then? All in all, it seems I am hearing this complaint about the Diamond but not about the other anytime ships. Seems as if something is rotten on the Diamond?

 

Princess, are you listening? (We know you monitor this board ...);)

[dc-farer]

This is interesting to me, because it is so contrary to our experience on Grand twice, and on Sapphire which is Diamond's identical twin. First of all, we always had the option of a table for two, or sharing with others, and we told them either was fine and usually waltzed right in to a table. Second, we were told all the reservations between 7 and 8 were gone, but we never had a problem getting in at that hour by just walking up-- once or twice had to get a beeper and wait 10 minutes or so. And the Vivaldi doesn't open until 8:15?? How strange. Does it stay open extra late, then? All in all, it seems I am hearing this complaint about the Diamond but not about the other anytime ships. Seems as if something is rotten on the Diamond?

 

Princess, are you listening? (We know you monitor this board ...);)

 

The Vivaldi has "traditional dining" for the early seating, but is open for anytime dining after they finish serving the 6 PM folks. One can walk up and get seated right away at the anytime dining venues (and at the Vivaldi after 8:15)...so I don't think the Diamond is any different than other Princess ships.