Diamond Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
921 reviews

Princess still doing a fine job

Review for Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess
User Avatar
Ray23
6-10 Cruises • Age 80s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2012
Cabin: Balcony

We decided to go a little further afield and do the 16 day Southeast Asia and China cruise, accompanied by the same couple with whom we have done all our previous trips. We booked the entire package directly with Princess, including an extra three days in Beijing and one night in Singapore. We didn't like the initial air routing which would have required us to pass through US customs and immigration twice, as well as one extra stop en route. Since Air Canada flies direct from Toronto to several China destinations, we asked Princess to arrange one of these for us. Our contact at Princess, Denise Hogan, was able to secure a routing which avoided transiting the US. In fact, she was super about staying in contact with us by phone and e-mail, ensuring that we were kept advised of any changes, helping us arrange payments, ensuring that we were aware of visa requirements, etc. It was great to have someone right at the cruise line that we could contact whenever a question or problem arose.

The hotel used in Beijing was the 5-star Marriott City Wall. The hotel was beautiful and for the most part, the service was at the level expected. However, there was one major problem: the elevators in the main tower were completely inadequate during times of peak traffic, such as when all the tour buses returned to the hotel at the end of the day. At the end of the first day, when I approached the elevator lobby, the line extended out of the lobby and for some distance down the hall. I noted the time and it took 17 minutes until I actually got into an elevator--and there were still a considerable number of people behind me in the line. There were also problems in the dining room for breakfast and it took three days for the hotel to figure out how to cope with several hundred people arriving and wanting to eat within a very short space of time.

We had the same English speaking tour guide for all three days and had a great time. The only thing that marred this period was the presence of two very lackadaisical couples who seemed completely unable to read watches and whose benchmark for being "on time" was to be no more than 15 minutes late. At every stop, the bus was kept waiting for these four people and on several occasions the tour guide had to go searching for them. The three lunches included in the tour package were: OK; less than OK; and superb. While there we booked a last minute evening package of an acrobatic stage show with dinner prior. The stage show was terrific, the dinner inedible, service even worse.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BB

We found A525 to be a convenient location: just down the hall from the laundromat, a quick walk up one flight of stairs to Horizon Court, and a quick walk downstairs to the facilities on deck 7, or down to deck 6 for the International restaurant (we normally don't use elevators unless we are going at least four floors up).

Other than the balcony, which is not all that much use on this route at this time of year, the cabin is pretty standard in terms of size and layout.

Having sailed on the Golden, the Grand and now the Diamond, I am amazed at how quiet the cabins are.

previous reviewnext review

Find a Diamond Princess Cruise from $138

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.