Diamond Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
As the title suggests, the cruise was pretty good overall, but not perfect by any means and not as good as it could have been with better management.
This was our 6th cruise and having sailed with P & O and Celebrity, we had obviously experienced both ends of the spectrum of quality, with P & O clearly the worst of the cruise lines on just about every front and Celebrity so far ahead a telescope would be required to see them.
Before this cruise we tried to find out if we should have a drinks package, but despite a considerable effort, we could not find a definitive price list for on board drinks, so I wrote to both Princess and my own agent with a handful of questions. Oddly enough I received mixed replies and none of them accurate. For example, Princess sent me a list of prices which were so under priced as to suggest they were either from a different cruise line or decade and my agent categorically stated we would require a US electrical converter! So just to set the record straight let me list a few prices and facts here for anyone else trying to organise themselves before departure.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
Really very very good. A large (almost double the normal) sized cabin with a shower over the bath and a Japanese designed toilet that comes with an hilarious set of instructions offering heated seat, a range of bottom washing options - some of which brought tears to our eyes just thinking about them in operation and all packaged in a system that actually flushed and didnt get blocked up once in the two weeks we were travelling.
A word to the wise for those looking at Balconies on the Diamond Princess... Deck 9 and 10 do NOT give secluded privacy on the balcony as you are overlooked from above, so if you fancy a bit of nude activity, I suggest you look up first. Our cabin was on deck 8 and was covered! Also we were warned that deck 8 forward cabins would be above the Theater and had been known to be noisy during shows, so dont say you havent been warned :-)