Cruised on Diamond Princess 9th to 17th September 2016 from Tokyo to Kyushu and Korea to include Nagasaki and the Nagoya fire works festival. The Diamond is not the same ship we sailed on three years ago on a Far East cruise of 18 nights nor was the standard anywhere near that encountered on the Ruby Princess two years ago.The ship in general is now looking quite tired and in need of a little TLC.

The ship has been altered, at some expense, to cater purely for the Japanese market and even the majority of the announcements are firstly in Japanese. The food and choice on the menu is Japanese orientated and one thing removed from the menu which was always available as an alternative to the menu dishes was a steak. Western choices are not as varied or as good as found on previous Princess cruises. Portions are small but an extra portion can be ordered although they come after one has finished the first of the small portions. Why don't they use larger plates for non Japanese passengers?

The staff did not seem to be happy in their work, which is unusual for staff on a Princess cruise ship and smiles were few and far between with enthusiasm being way at the bottom of the list. Read more