My wife and I took the Diamond Princess (northbound) in July 2008 for our first cruise. Here is what we thought and some hints on how to have the best time. First off we arrived at the Four Seasons in Vancouver the night before. This was a great hotel very close to most tourist attractions (walking distance). This is one of the main hotels Princess uses so if you book through Princess and have them book the hotel you will most likely be staying here.

Our embarking was very easy. Left from the hotel and only took about a half hour before we were on the boat. We booked an outside obstructed view as it was the same price as an inside room and we lucked out because our room was not obstructed by much. The ship was very nice. The restaurants are tricky to figure out. Here is how they work. There is a buffet that is pretty much always open on the top floor. There is 1 restaurant that is open for lunch called the International Dining Room- this is the fancier option as opposed to the buffet for lunch. Then there are 4 restaurants open for dinner free of charge (Santa Fe, Pacific Moon..)- these 4 are your fancier option to the dinner buffet. The 4 restaurants have the exact same menu between restaurants but does vary from night to night. ( example- all 4 restaurants serve the exact same menu on Monday night, they all 4 will have a different menu on Tuesday but all 4 restaurants will use the same menu) This surprised us as we figured that there would be different menus between the 4 restaurants. They also have a pizza and hamburger booth open until 6pm (very good).

We enjoyed the buffet on the top floor because the view was the best indoor view on the ship during the week (rained most of the week). We also went to one of the formal nights and I only brought a shirt and tie and there were others in the dining area with the same attire so do not feel like you are not allowed in if you don't rent the tux or wear the jacket. Read more