Diamond Princess Review

Twenty Thumbs Up!

Review for Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess
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Rick O
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2014
Traveled with children

There were 10 people in our party. Ages 6,9,41,54,55,57,60,80 & 83. This was the first cruise for my two sisters and brother in law. My parents estimate that they have been on 25 cruises and my wife, 2 kids and I have been on 8. We had 3 balcony state rooms, 1 Ocean view and 1 interior. We sailed aboard the Diamond Princess on a 9 day Japan cruise embarking out of Yokohama. We have sailed on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Crystal, Celebrity, Disney and now Princess.

We chose this cruise because of the exotic ports of call and had wanted to give Princess a try. We are extremely happy we did! The ship had recently been in dry dock and it shows. Very fresh! Tastefully appointed public areas adorn the Diamond Princess without the overwhelming cruise ship glitz. Everything felt just right. Embarkation and debarkation were smooth and efficient. I've waited longer checking in and out of many a hotel. Over-all the ship's food was good. The buffet was pretty good. Selection adequate. Items were warm when supposed to be while fruits and veggies were always fresh. The food in The International Dining room (our main seating) was consistently good. A couple of nights it was very good. The restaurant service was brilliant! The Italian specialty restaurant was very good. Well worth the nominal charge They handled a party of 10 famously.The service level on the entire ship was high caliber. They weren't over bearing or obsequious. Not once did they make us wait and they were responsive when you asked. It just felt right. Ports of call were vey cool! Athough we prefer cruises that stay a little longer in a couple or few select cities. Even so Japan was an excellent selection! We enjoyed Japan, the people and the culture. We did almost all of our shore excursions on our own as we made last minute decisions and the tour desk was often closed. There seemed to be awaiting list for sold out excursions but it was not functional. Many ships start a waiting list and fill up another group for the tour company. We did not see any of that. Most the entertainment was adequate for a cruise ship and very little of it caught our attention. The kids club was less than we expected. Our 9 year old son found little to keep his interest. Fortunately he liked many of the other ships amenities. There were also few children on the cruise so I'm quite sure it reflects Princess's commitment for this particular sailing. Still, Our son had a great time. Our 6 year old daughter actually loved the kids club and spent many hours in the not so spacious kids play area. Even though there were few children, the kids club staff had their hands full, They did an admirable job. The entire cruise was better than expected in just about every area. We all were very pleased with the entire experience. We will definitely be back to cruise with Princess. Twenty thumbs up!

Cabin Review

We had side by side balcony state rooms with connecting balconies. The room was very clean and smelled fresh. Room attendant was extremely efficient,

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