Diamond Princess Review

Diamond Princess - Asia

Review for Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess
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Dan B
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Sep 2005

The cruise took us from Seattle to Alaska to Pusan, Korea, Muroran, Japan, Nagasaki, and finally Osaka. We found the ship and the facilities onboard to be first class. Our mini-suite was just great. The ports visited and the tours in the ports were good, although all of the good tours were booked up weeks before we sailed! Princess needs to provide more tour buses when this happens. The ship sailed beautifully through the rough seas and high winds of the North Pacific. Overall, the food was OK- but charging for soft drinks and ice cream is a bit "chintzy". Our personal choice restaurant was the Vivaldi because the service was excellent. Our cabin service was outstanding. The productions in the Princess Theater were great. The lounge bands were very good.

Unfortunately, there were several problems which made the cruise disappointing. Essentially, too many people but not enough ship. The weather was too cool most of the time for the outside pool venues and other activities to be utilized by passengers thereby keeping everyone inside. There is simply not enough interior space to accommodate 2,500 passengers looking for something to do outside their cabins. Too many lounges were used for movies, lectures, paid seminars, jewelry sales and (ugh) art auctions. There were too many "in your face" sales and promotions going on. Other cruise lines, especially Celebrity, have special venues for these activities so lounges and public areas are available for passengers to relax in.

The overall service attitude was just indifferent. The Passenger services desk was only fair - with only one or two able to solve any problems. In the Horizon buffet restaurant, most of the wait staff stood around "chatting up" passengers and each other instead of giving service to those whom needed it.

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