Who has done 12-day Diamond Princess?

[CruisinKiki]

Considering this for early in 2009 -- would love to hear reports from anyone recently done this itinerary/ship. There seem to be varying reports on the Diamond Princess over on the Princess board. Would love some honest opinions before spending the money and booking the long flights. Thanks much!

[Janan]

I haven't yet but I will be around the same time you're thinking of going :) ;My wife and I are going to Austrailia/New Zealand January 5, 2009:D . From the reviews I have seen Most have been great, I look at the present year rather than the last time it went to My destination. Also please keep in mind that the people who write reviews A) either had a fantastic time :) or B) had a Lousy time or at least an incident or 2 that colors their perspective as far as the cruise goes (Embarkation was a disaster, lost luggage, a rude purser etc.) :eek: Either way I hope you get some answers here and decide on your cruise....it would even be nicer if you decided to go on my cruise....and if you do come join the roll call ....we'll have the ship to ourselves:D

 

Andy

[SheilaNC]

You might get the information you are seeking by posting your questions on the Princess forum. Good luck.

[Johanna7]

We were on the Princess Sapphire in Jan. 2005 and it is only 12 days, not the 14 days that both HAL and Celebrity have. We are taking the Celebrity Mercury in February this year.

 

There are many things we would like to have done that we didn't on the Sapphire which is a sister ship, same layout as the Diamond and it is a huge ship but it had many dining rooms which were quite crowded. We opted for the fixed dinner time.

 

We found a great deal on Celebrity but this was after the final payment when they obviously put the unsold cabins on sale and this is what attracted us. It is about the same price as a 2 week cruise in the Caribbean when you include the air from Toronto.

 

A smaller ship would be nicer. Our huge Sapphire did get a lot of local attention in the ports but I didn't like the 'flow' of the ship and they had a few mechanical problems which were finally fixed in Melbourne.

 

It is a great area of the world. Also, we like to travel in the winter to escape our cold weather and we have done most of the Caribbean many times.