Diamond Princess Review
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My wife and I had the good fortune to cruise on the January 23, 2016 Diamond Princess cruise to New Zealand. The cruise ports and "attractions" were Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Akoroa, Dunedin, Doubtful Sound, and Milford Sound. Our pre cruise stay was at the Holiday Inn, Old Sydney/the Rocks. The hotel was perfect as it was a block for the Overseas Terminal and the HOHO was right across the street.
We had an inside cabin, Aloha 322. The inside cabin was smaller than RCL and HAL, but totally functional and large enough for two. The room steward, Ricardo, was excellent and professional. He always had a welcoming greeting, day or night. Ice and fruit were always delivered promptly and the room was kept immaculate. The tv channels included BBC, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, Australia Prime, and Sports 24. ESPN rarely worked. There was also on demand movies, some were less than 6i months old. On early excursion days, we used the continental breakfast in room service. It was always prompt. If we chose 7-7:30, it always arrived at 7:00. The room temperature was easily adjusted and quite accurate.
The food was good. We chose anytime dining and utilized the Santa Fe room. Except for the first two nights all went well. The first two nights are waiter was extremely slow as we noticed others who came later were served and finished before we got our entree, which unfortunately was tepid to cold. We expressed our concern with the maitre d' who was upset that we did not complain after the first night. Once seated in a different part of the room, the issue was resolved. The meals were quite tasty, but I must admit that the ice cream was absolutely fabulous and addictive. One warning, unless you like fat, stay away from the pork belly. We ate breakfasts up in the Horizon Court and found it to be better than most buffets. One note of caution is in the evening (we had 2 dinners upstairs), they tend to close one side and there can be disappointingly large lines. The range of "international" theme dinners were excellent. We had only one disappointing meal and that was on the second formal night where we chose to eat in the Horizon Court. We had one meal at the Sterling Steakhouse (really just an addendum to the Horizon Court). The meal was very good, but not quite as good as the one we had on the Royal.
Cabin Review
Interior
A little smaller than RCL and HAL, but totally adequate. Refrigerator and safe worked well as did the air conditioning/heat. The room steward, Ricardo, was superb. The television was fine, except for the almost constant loss of the ESPN signal. No real complaints.
Port Reviews
Sydney (Australia)
Typical HOHO excursion with two routes. We took both and enjoyed them. The only hiccup was the traffic in the later afternoon. It was almost easier to walk back to the hotel. One other point, although not advertised, there is a senior discount.
Auckland
Took the HOHO and found it to be a small not air conditioned van from which viewing was very limited. It was a significant walk from the ship to the departure point, though on the return, it did stop closer to the ship. Because the ship got in at noon and the HOHO ends quite early, around 4:00, little or no chance to get off the bus. We did take both routes and again because of the type of vehicle, it was very difficult to see the sites.
Tauranga
Absolutely fabulous tour of Rotorua and Maori Village with the geothermal geography. There was also a lunch stop at Rotorua (though cost not included). Highly recommend using this company's tour which was 30% less than the same ship tour, with much fewer people.
Wellington
Wonderful overview of a delightful city. We got off at the Te Papa Museum and used a taxi to get back to the ship. We also had to use a taxi to get to the I-Site pick up location. We were glad we had reservations via their website as they were sold out and turning people away.
Akaroa
People could not be nicer. The actual tour begins steps from the tender arrival, though you need to check in at the building at the end of the wharf. Had a great time spotting dolphins, penguins, seals, sea lions, sheep on the cliffs.
Dunedin
A great overview of the city. A wonderful tour guide, Alan. Beautiful walk through the botanical gardens and fun "hiking" up Baldwin Street...Would recommend for anyone who wants to get an overview of this delightful town. Had a nice lunch (independent of the tour) at the cafe next to the art gallery on the Octagon.