First time to Beijing and we were very impressed. Very good value with pre-cruise Princess hotel and tour package of 3 days. Two more ports in China, and then Busan and Vladivostok. Went on Princess tour in Busan to the old Silla capital and was very interesting. Vladivostok was interesting, just walked around on our own, saw the famous railway station - end of the Trans Siberian Railway, and after that 8 days across the Bering Sea to Alaska.

The embarkation went very smoothly and in general staff was very friendly and accommodating. The dining room staff was excellent as well as cruise director and staff. Food was ok. We had mostly all meals in the dining room because the Horizon court was very crowded and it was difficult to find a free table. This could be more so because the weather was too cold for anyone to sit and eat on the open decks. We normally prefer the smaller ships, but the Diamond Princess was definitely a much friendlier ship than say, Crown Princess, and if choosing a big ship, would cruise on her again.

For anyone contemplating taking this cruise, please note it is very cold across the ocean, especially in May, and most activities were indoors. Very few people choose to watch "movie under the stars" or any other outside activity. This of course made it a bit crowded inside. The Internet cafe on the Diamond Princess is very pleasant and plenty of computers and relaxing atmosphere. The Internet connection until Alaska was fine, but I felt sorry for those passengers joining in Alaska and who bought an Internet package, because from Whittier to Vancouver there were very few times when Internet was accessible. The Inside Passage ports were very interesting and the highlight of the trip down was the Glacier Bay cruising. We saw quite a lot of sea life and the last evening cruising down the BC coast was very enjoyable, as well as the cruising into beautiful Vancouver harbour. Disembarkation was handled very well. All in all, a good experience, especially if one likes bigger ships and formal dinners.