Diamond Princess Review
Diamond Princess Southbound Whittier to Vancouver August 22,
Rating by category
Additional details
My first cruise eleven years ago was an Alaska Vancouver round trip itinerary. When I looked at the map of Alaska afterwards I realized that I had visited a small panhandle of Alaska, so I had decided when it was time to go back that I wanted to see more of Alaska. I had originally booked a five day precruise cruisetour. My intention to experience a land tour was a major reason that I picked Princess. I ended up canceling the land tour, because the five days on land cost more than the seven day cruise and didn't include food. I think I had previously been intimidated about the land portion, now I think I could confidently organize my own land tour. The tour I originally booked started in Fairbanks and traveled from the Mount McKinley Lodge all the way to the ship. I now know that is too long of a traveling day and will make sure I make it to Anchorage the day prior to the cruise to reduce travel times.
We are in our mid 40's, have no kids and have been on more than 20 previous cruises, most of which to the Caribbean. After researching itineraries and ship deck plans I had decided on the southbound itinerary and either the Diamond or Sapphire, our dates matched the Diamond. We were lucky enough to be sailing on the Emerald Princess at the time the Alaska cruises went on sale. We got onboard credit and I was able to book the room I had my heart set on. After studying the deck plans, I decided I wanted an aft facing balcony on the Caribe Deck. The Diamond has a BB category on each end of the aft on Caribe deck, while all the rest of the cabins are suites. We stayed in room C748 on the port side aft facing. This was a fabulous room for our Alaska cruise.
Friday August 21, 2009
Cabin Review
Balcony
Our room C748, category BB aft facing on the port side. For those considering a balcony for Alaska, I strongly suggest an aft facing balcony if one is available when booking. You can see to both sides of the ship. The aft balconies on this ship were totally covered which provided coverage for the many times it rained during the cruise. This balcony was also bigger than most on the side of the ship. We had two sit up chairs, two reclining chairs and a table, along with plenty of room. The shower in this room was bigger than we had on the Emerald, which was the smallest shower I had ever encountered on a cruise ship. Perhaps the showers in balcony rooms are bigger than those of inside rooms. The water pressure in our shower was extremely weak; it helped a bit to turn the shower head to the pulse massage rather than the normal setting. I love the large open closets on most Princess ships. Also love the shampoo, conditioner and lotion provided by Princess.