Diamond Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 9th cruise on Princess (our second time on the Diamond Princess). I had read that there had been some renovation on the ship recently but it was not done in its entirety. Being loyal and well familiarised with Princess we return for their approachable and excellent system of service, appealing itineraries and the now Captains Circle benefits we receive (plus more). So I'll cover the exceptional and the disappointing factors of this 8 night cruise to Melbourne and Tasmania.
HOUSEKEEPING - The housekeeping was off this trip. We hardly saw our steward - literary twice the entire cruise. We'd page him and he'd never show up. We needed to request our luggage to be actually delivered two hours after we set sail which the steward went to the staff stairwell and dragged out the luggage which had been sitting there unattended for two hours. He also delivered our laundry late and never delivered ordered fruit to our room. There was some small pieces of rubbish left around the room from the previous cruise and the carpeting was lifting in certain spots of the room. Very under par... But besides those comments our mini suite was well kept and presented.
TV SYSTEM - The television system has been updated to an "inflight" style coverage of television, movies and other programmes. In theory it was great, however the system has a few glitches e.g. TV switches on and off on its own, drop out coverage or lack of on some channels, limited local news headlines or updates. It takes some time getting used to but had potential.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
We are always satisfied with the layout of the Mini-Suite + balcony and that is why we book similar rooms every cruise we do. We often get midship since I get sea-sick with even the slightest of movement. The layout was comfortable and accommodating. The bathroom was appropriately sized. The housekeeping has a few discrepancies. The bathroom had a strange toilet seat (Japanese seat) attached which also had a peculiar smell. The shower head was positioned on a slightly uncomfortable angle but the water temperature and pressure were good. The lotus spa soaps etc were awful smelling and we didn't use them once (brought our own soap). Beds were fine, I'm used to sleeping against the wall due to the position of the bed in the room (took one night's sleep to get used to it).
Port Reviews
Port Arthur
Port Arthur was very poorly organised on behalf of both Princess and the excursions team, as well as the local guides and management. It was a shambles when we arrived dockside for our tour even before then when tendering... The tour itself was rated as the best tour to take in Port Arthur if you didn't want to see the convict/settlers quarters. Our guide was extremely unknowledgeable and lost, wondering around aimlessly and straying from our group; when asked questions she could not answer and jovially admitted to making up the answers. The driver was no better. This aspect of the tour was disappointing and I learnt absolutely nothing from them.
The sites we saw though was amazing - the wine tasting, lavender farm and tessellating pavements was fantastic! Thoroughly enjoyed that. The dog line up was a waste of time and most of the sites were closed or unexplainable, and the tour guide preferred to walk us through some nearby flea market - kind of ridiculous! The lavender farm was a standout - the best part of the tour! New facilities, divine little morning tea put on with freshly made lavender infused treats like lavender scones, lavender jam, lavender relish, tea and coffee. The 5 minute explanation and video by the team there on lavender farming, milling and its purpose was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. The grounds are picturesque and pristine. I would definitely return to the grounds again if ever in Tasmania. Unfortunately the disorganisation of the port and the unprofessionalism of the guide let the tour down.