Diamond Princess Review
seaspraydc
10+ Cruises • Age 60s
Rating by category
Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
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Additional details
Sail Date: Jul 2018
Cabin: Balcony
We actually did a 16 day cruise from 7/11 to 7/27 on the Diamond Princess. Overall, we had a great time and we found most of the staff to be quite friendly and helpful. Japan is an amazing place to travel to as it is clean and the people are kind and helpful. All the ports we traveled to were wonderful. Sadly, we missed Okinawa, a decision that was made in haste, as the storm was weaker than expected and passed through well before our expected arrival. The $50 on board credit, helped, but it was a tough port to miss.
Service: As usual, the service was quite good. This is an area where Princess shines and the Diamond Princess did not disappoint.
Embarkation: Our embarkation was the worst we have ever experienced in 32 cruises. The terminal in Yokohama was hot, with no AC, and packed with uncomfortable passengers. The entire boarding process was chaotic and Princess did not offer cold towels and only set out scant amounts of water. But, they were fully equipped with excuses, which after a while became quite tiring.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Cabin BB
Room: Until the Diamond goes in for renovation, I suggest staying away from the top floors (14,12 and 11) as people were complaining about the AC not working well. We had a musty smell in our room and both of us experienced allergy flares that we normally do not have in the summer. If this happens, demand a different room as they may not be able to fix it. Be careful with the tap and shower water, which was unusually warm in our room. Another issue we had during the first leg was poor TV reception. This included the movies and shore excursion clips.
Port Reviews
Tokyo (Yokohama)
We love Tokyo! It is about a 50 minute train ride to downtown from the port. Yokohama is a nice city to walk in. You can literally walk right out of the port into the city.
Busan, South Korea
We did that UN Cemetery and then when into the mountains and visited the Tongdosa Temple and grounds. Both were nice. In hindsight, I would have prefered to do the Cemetery and seen more in town rather than traveling to Tongdosa.
Sakaiminato
We did the Izumo Grand Shrine. Very historical and interesting, but the tour price was too high and they did not provide water on a hot day. At $160 per person, they should at least provide a $1 bottle of water.
Naha
We missed our stop in Okinawa and made it to Ishigaki. Sadly, we would have prefered it be the other way around. Ishigaki is like a caribbean island, owned by Japan. It is pretty and picturesque, but not very historical.
9 Helpful Votes
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