This cruise was chosen to celebrate our engagement and as an early honeymoon. The fact that we were due to enjoy New Years Eve celebrations in Hong Kong including the expectation of fireworks the world has watched year after year. Instead no contingency plans were in place to make alternative options available and in fact many people who had made their own plans were impeded in attending these activities by not releasing passports or providing adequate information on port locations etc. Guest engagement was minimal by most of the crew - with only a small handful of staff demonstrating any concern or interest in guest satisfaction. Having provided feedback on a number of occasions throughout the cruise regarding concerns such as customer service, incorrect charges added to account, incorrect food items served, food hygiene standards disregarded by staff in Horizon Court, lack of Guest safety and well-being concerns, provision of fresh water at passenger expense, .... little follow up was shown apart from a request from the Hotel Maitre D' for a meeting to allow me to expand on my concerns. The only outcome from this meeting was to have the additional charges removed from our account and the apology from one member of crew who was held responsible - seemed very unfair given she is only able to work within her capability and the equipment available to her. She showed me personally on the next purchase that she need to swipe my card 3 times before it indicated my premium drinks package (word of advice - check your account daily). The internet is snot work anything.... without access to personal mobile data not even emails were accessible! WE resigned ourselves to utilising it for personal messaging on the ship between ourselves and other passengers and it wasn't even adequate for this task. Read Less

Ship was dated, service was very poor, dining was average, take a large bank account with you because they will charge you like a wounded bull!! Don't trust what they tell you as we were told that to certain destinations by foot was not possible but it was, again another ploy to sell you their excursions which are grossly overpriced as are their drinks, note you will be paying a daily gratuity fee which is suppose to cover all gratuities but then you will find that they put an 18% gratuity fee on any drinks purchased in the bars, double dipping at it's best. Staterooms are very dated and not particularly clean, fresh towels not presented every day, old ones folded and hopefully you don't notice - yuk! Calls to room service ignored but then again they were overrun with calls as was the front desk. As one person said " you can't complain about the service - there isn't any" Correct!! Would go on a Cruise again, yes but not with Princess NEVER! Read Less

Princess cruise lines needs to relook at the way it does things. The Cruise Tokyo to Singapore was a good cruise but were there any memorable moments? No there were none I could tell you that related to the performance of the Cruise Liner. Why? Accounting! There policy of doing daily preauthorisation on your credit/ Debit Cards followed by a big debit at the end left me and others not smiling at the experience. Why do they need to do pre auths anyway? Most Australians after age 65 have no credit cards, only Debit Mastercard/Visa Cards. A pre auth takes the money out of your bank account. At the end of the cruise they then charge your account for the total bill. A double dip! When challenged, they say its your banks fault. You can wait up to 30 days for the pre auths to disappear. Not acceptable practice! Left a sour taste Princess. We booked two packages pre cruise. 1. A Birthday package for my wife to be in the cabin upon arrival, It was not in our cabin and no paperwork. The package arrived well after departure. No kisses for this performance. 2. An Anniversary package, deluxe version at a cost of $650 pre booked, there was no paperwork in our cabin on arrival. At guest services they were unable to find the paperwork and one of the restaurants featured only in the deluxe version was not on this ship. It was not until after three visits to customer service, we received a letter confirming we had booked the package and told the vouchers would arrive on the day of the package. On the day it was booked for, we received no vouchers only a copy of the letter sent to us earlier. The reason for advertising a different restaurant. None. The guest services found it acceptable. Not a good look Princess! The destinations were good, two destinations were berthed a long way from the facilities available requiring long and costly travel by bus/taxi. Da Nang in Vietnam we were shuttled to a run down resort location with no markets and miles from anywhere. We brokered a taxi ride with another couple, $120aud, to Da Nang for the day. We salvaged a great day from a bad start. Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City. Berthing is 1.5 hrs away. No other cruise lines in sight. Princess charged us $15USD for a shuttle to local markets, which the Tourist body had provided free. The three hr round trip into Vietnams largest city whilst onshore for only 8 hrs made this a dubious option. Besides no alternative was offered. Some of the packages required a 5 hr round trip. You basically had to leave as soon as you got there. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it went to several ports that we haven't been there before. But we may need a second thought next time to see Japan is good for cruise visit or rather land tour. Some ports are too quiet and some ports are having too short stay time. Besides, too many immigration process have wasted our time to go onshore to visit. Just wonder why they can't give multiple entry permit to cruise customers. Perhaps one more port in Korea will be more appropriate. Cost of shuttle bus n shore excursion are relatively expensive. Due to limited English speaking tour information staff, you have to do your homework beforehand or you need to wait for long time to talk to them at ports. Except for clean buffet restaurant (no sticky chair back) and comfy bed, the ship itself was dated with no surprises as well as their entertainment show - same old style. Dining is on fixed time, 5:45pm or 7:45pm and your table is pre-fixed. While this may be good for their monitoring and also no worry for us to fight for a table for dining, if your table location or waiter is not that good, that will affect your whole cruise trip. Fair food quality as well as limited varieties and also very general service from some staff, there is no incentive for you to feel great to dine but rather a routine to fill the stomach. I was really a bit disappointed not just on this cruise but the overall quality from Princess. They need to do something to rejuvenate the cruise line to attract people to book again. Read Less

Cruise embarkation is a bliss. However they mess up the dining time. I book for 5:30pm, and everything is triple confirm with the princess cruise staff during bookings. I am travelling with 2 kids aged 7 and 2 lovely moms 70 years old. They put us at 7:45pm which is a so so no for Asian. I went to the customer service to check on this, and I was given those ( get out of here face and voice, get to the restaurant to enquire.) I was so upset. Then again, when I reach the restaurant to enquire, dozens of people queuing! It took me 30 mins queuing and they said they will come back to me... it is the 3rd day on board now. I am still waiting. I do not wish to go queuing for another 30mins for nothing! (They never reply nor make any further arrangement until the cruises ended) not even an apology for their error! It was very disappointing. My kids took the buffet every night, so that they won’t miss the kids camp Which start at 7pm. We were strip off the chance of sit down dining, and the kids never get the chance to eat the chocolate journey dessert that highly recommended by princess cruise. If your are travelling with kids and already signed them up for the kids camp, please insist and double and triple check. And must fight for the time slot that you booked. I must says, their kids discovery camp is superb. My kids had so much fun! Read Less

Love to visit Japan on the Diamond Princess. What a great ship and staff. Also great itineraries. The ship is well maintained for its age. The crew is friendly and accommodating. There were lots of shopping but no one was pushy. Bars are attractive and well staffed. We especially appreciated Skywalkers lounge and views while leaving each port for a pre-dinner drink. Both the Explorers and Wheelhouse lounges provided entertainment and both are beautiful appointed. Churchill’s is a small bar for smokers and also serves as a sports bar. Crooner’s is a piano bar near the atrium and was busy quite often as a great meeting place. Club Fusion is the largest bar at the very back of the ship, and served as both bar and activities center as well as for dancing classes, etc. We dined in the Pacific Moon main ding room and it was very good. Our waiter, Anthony and his assistant Misato were excellent. Our favorite was Kai Sushi were Sushi chef Tsuyoshi-san, and waiters Nami and John were excellent. They made our cruise! Our cabin, D737 had an exceptionally large balcony that wrapped around to give a ships wake view even though it was not a stern facing cabin. Our room steward Rudi was excellent. The itinerary was excellent and we enjoyed each port on our own. The Japanese people are friendly and helpful. This cruise is a great way to explore Japan and we highly recommend it! Read Less

WE chose this cruise in celebration of our 43rd anniversary. My wife and I had planned for a cruise of this nature and area coverage for a while. The motivation was re-enacted when my wife saw a special promo on this 16 nights cruise trip(it turned out to be a back-to-back cruises in one package). We thought we could take advantage of the E-Z Air program promoted by Princess on booking new cruises. The agent at Costco Travel tried to get us the entire package together with the ordering. Only to be told by the representative at Princess that the E-Z Air was not available to us. WE had received too many 'specials' in pricing on this cruise already. The agent was so upset with the booking rep at Princess… Finally, we had to book the cruise through Expedia Travel for our flights and cruise as a package. The ship was built in 2004. It lacked a lot of new amenities that other ships and cruise lines are offering to its cruisers as part of their exploratory cruising experience especially on sea days. Sea days on board of Diamond were extremely boring. The deck space was closed due to weather - too cold and windy to be roaming around deck in late November. I noticed technicians dressed in black polos working around ship. They told me they were working on changing the ship into a 'medallion class' ship. I am not sure if the major infusion of capital spending on an old ship would add that much more customer satisfaction in return on the investment. As an observation, there was a. high proportion of seniors(Japanese) traveling on board. They could hardly manage their cell phones. I am not sure if they would appreciate more electronic gadgets to be placed on board of ship. Entertainment was a repeat of the first week for those on the second leg of the cruise. The same joke and the same magician and his magical acts! The menu at the dining room, was a repeat of the first week. Portions were very small. we had to eat at the buffet deck again after the 7:15 show. Quality of food was not what I had anticipated on this cruise in comparison even to other Princess' ships I had traveled before. Those who were on their 3rd leg of the cruise grumbled the most. They had to order from the same menu for the third time! The executive chef Paolo M. could be seen walking around the decks with his assistants. I just wished he could spend more time in the kitchen and to come up with more exciting menus. Food fantasy and exploration are part of the highlights in cruising according to my definition. Highlight on board: I could taste fresh ramen and soba noodles with miso soup. Also hand made sushi( they provide the ingredients, you do your own wrapping) on the sushi bar at the buffet deck. NO raw fish available of course. We enjoyed the shore excursions very much. All the bookings were made through Princess. We signed up on every major excursions at every port. The experience was very educational and memorable to say the least. The shore excursions were quite costly, almost as much as what we paid on the cruise itself. Read Less

Itinerary was what attracted us and we were happy with each destination except for the Mt. Fuji tour which only took us to the gift shop on Mt. Fuji rather than further up the mountain. The ship is dated and could use a thorough cleaning. Princess' business model seems to be to nickel and dime you at every opportunity which leaves a very poor impression overall. Crew was really fantastic. The room was disappointing, particularly having to ask for certain items like...soap. The food was horrible, particularly at the buffet where food was obviously recycled and reheated. This was the perfect cruise for enrichment lectures but there were none. Interestingly, they do not ask for feedback on their shore excursions, many of which did not reflect the on-line description. Seems like this is just a profit center and they really don't care. Activities/movies, etc. for the second part of the cruise repeated the first part. Seems like no effort was made to change up the routine. Read Less

The cruise was chosen so we could see most of Japan with the convenience of a cruise...perhaps we would have been better off using the rail system itself. Getting to our hotel from Haneda easily accomplished by riding the airport bus....45 min door to door, ¥1,350/person...Yokohama was worth spending a few days exploring before boarding. We explored easily on our own and the rail/subway system was a breeze to navigate (with the help of the friendly rail personnel). Staying at the hotel Monterey was easily walkable to the osanbashi port as well as having shopping (red brick warehouse) and dining options close by. Embarkation was accomplished in a timely fashion, despite personnel’s lack of the command of the English language. We booked a disembarkation tour so it was a breeze to get to Haneda. Shorex was a rip-off, had to pay double if not triple for the same tour with an “English speaking” guide... The ship is VERY dated despite recent refurbishment. The furniture is in desperate need of an overhaul if not reupholstered. The lounges were empty and forlorn. Dining was a challenge. If we went up to Horizon, there was an extreme lack of seating. Dining room service was a hit/miss during breakfast and lunch. Food quality poor....cold gelatinous tasteless...the cuts to quality and service very noticeable. There was a sense of “nickel and dime” ing for everything...there was constant barraging for an up-sell. Entertainment was abysmal with the notable exceptions of the pianist and the ballroom dancers. There was better entertainment from our send off from the ports we visited! Notable mention was the port of Tsuruga!!! The kids danced their hearts off despite the deluge of rain! The guest services personnel left a lot to be desired. There was no service....just lip service. There was a lack of the command of the English language again...and there was much confusion since the ship was run by TWO/2 different companies....princess and carnival japan. The left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing....leaving frustrated and angry guests. I have never been on such a disorganized/disrespectful cruise in my many years of cruising. I don’t know if I will cruise with Princess again despite being platinum member.... Read Less

Diamond Princess on the Japanese route is always my choice as it has the Japanese style of decoration such as the water kettle inside the cabin that you can make your own tea. Inside the dinning rooms you can always have Japanese style food. I particularly love the traditional Japanese breakfast in the dining room. The port facility always arrange good shuttle bus service (used to be free but now always with fee). The port staff are always efficient and helpful. It is so well well arranged that you do not have to wait too long. There are always Tourist Information counter at shore. They are always helpful and kind, provide you good information in local transportation, points of interest, where to eat and what to food etc. The destinations of each Japan cruise are always different, unique and beautiful. You enjoy different taste of food, festivals, stories and scenic points. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of the numerous ports around Japan during the fall when we were supposed to observe the leaves changing colors. We were in Tokyo before 3 times and we were looking forward to see the small port cities were the ship was going to dock. Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly. The ship is an old ship built in 2004, mainly for Japanese customers as per one of the crew members. It was refurbished in 2014 but it still looks old and it needs another overhaul. The cabin P 221 is small and we opted for a cabin with a window, that was full of rust on the edges of the window and also on the window itself so we could not enjoy the views from the cabin. The shower is small and my husband that is 1.8 meters had a hard time taking a shower there. When we arrived the shower head was leaking and it had to be replaced. The shower curtain was too short and the water kept on seeping to the bathroom floor and I had to clean the floor each time we took a shower. The mattress my husband had was askew, and it leaned to one side the whole night. We did not enjoy the cabin for 17 days on this cruise. The service was good , and the cabin attendant tried to fix all the problems in the cabin but could not do it. The dining was OK, there were two main restaurants one a buffet style and the other a sit down dinner. The servers were attentive and professional. The entertainment was fair, there was a main show every night. The port excursions were fair, we took 10 excursions from the ship, and only 3 guides spoke English that we coud understand and also could answer different questions out of the manual they were reading. In Toba it was rainy and windy and we had an excursion that was not cancelled, this was an excursion that was supposed to be for landscaping viewing and we went to the sites and could not see anything, In addition the ship did not dock in the city and we stayed on Anchorage , so the ship used tender boats to take us ashore. on the way back it was pouring and the windows were leaking from the top to the benches were people were supposed to sit. My husband and ten people stood during the ride to the boat because they did not want to sit on a wet bench, and the crew did not prevent them from doing so , and in addition they never provided us with life vests during the ride. In Nagasaki, the guide squeezed us in a tram full of people and we could not breath inside. On the trip to Mount Fuji, we did not see anything and they gave us half an hour to hike it..And we went to the shrine at night and we could not see anything. We observed the autumn foliage in two ports during this trip. The gym was very small for the amount of people on the boat. We could not use the pool since it was very cold. Read Less

This was our first Princess cruise, and though the crew did an amazing job making our dining experiences wonderful, I feel like the activities could have been better and the land tours could have been MUCH better! We had 4 cabins with 2 people in each, and our travel agent arranged adjoining balcony cabins where they partitions could be removed, so we could go cabin-to-cabin easily. That was the best part of this cruise. Our cabins were mid-ship/aft, deck 11, portside so we were comfortable during the rough weather. Good-sized. Our travel agent sent us all, but two of us got them upon embarkation and we had to call for the others to be sent. The travel agency also purchased travel mugs for us, but when we called for those we were told that the mugs were out-of-stock on the vessel. We were shocked to see that we could get ANY beverage we wanted comped, but had to pay $2-4 for water. Had we known that, we would have picked up several large bottles at the convenience store (for 104 yen each!!!) Our dining room food was quite good for the most part, but sadly the buffet was rather unappetizing. The pizza was consistently good at the take-out stand. This cruise was especially challenging as we traveled with my 90yo dad who has limited mobility and used a wheelchair for longer distances. Several guests were using wheelchairs and the crew were very helpful when embarking and disembarking and with getting on and off at ports The destinations for the shore excursions we took were great, and the residents were so grateful for us coming. One tour was from 8:30-2:30 with NO LUNCH. It would have been much better to extend it an hour an give us the option to do lunch on our own. Even though some guidance and tips were provided, they were not specific on how to get there. It's so important to make the best use of our limited time at each port instead of trying to figure out how to get to places, AND because some of the ports were smaller, taxis were not abundant. . Entertainment was good, but the seating was limited, so we weren't able to get into one of the best performances because of our late dinner seating (we ended dinner at 9:00 and the performance started at 9:15 and ALL seats were taken) We had rather rough weather because it was in the Fall and one port stop was cancelled, which meant an extra sea-day. IF Princess wanted to provide EXCELLENT service they should have provided better activities or some kinds of activities to combat sea sickness or even discounted wi-fi for that day. The activities onboard as a whole were just okay....our favorite thing were the after-dinner dance lessons, which at 45 minutes were just enough. The worst activity was Speed water-color painting. We had 5 minutes to do it...It would have been more meaningful if someone showed us some watercolor painting techniques- even if the class was 45min to an hour. There is a lot of time to kill on the cruise....Waiting to get off in Shimizu (after returning from Korea) took almost 3 hours, they could have done better job providing some refreshment while waiting. Fitness center was small and always packed. I was also disappointed that they charged so much for the Japanese bath- so we did not utilize that option. We liked the movies they offered and they kept adding new ones. One commendable thing I noticed was that the crew were diplomatic and assertive when dealing with several aggressive and persistent Chinese passengers who were trying to avoid waiting in lines. The Japanese passengers were very orderly, but some of the Chinese passengers would rush ahead and were subsequently directed by the crew to fall in line, as instructed. They were persistent in trying to go ahead, but the crew would not relent and made them get back in line. The absolute WORST thing about the trip was our luggage handling AFTER the cruise. Prior to the cruise, I sent several e-mails to Princess to inquire about luggage transfer to Narita, which normally just takes one day. I was assured that I could get information once on board and that they had a company that passengers use. The ship's young staff's inexperience was not helpful at all. No one could answer questions regarding the transfer company's services. We had to wait until we reached our final port and arrange this ourselves. We finally learned that they do NOT transfer luggage to ANY airport (not Narita or Haneda) and would only do it to our hotel in Tokyo. We ended up having to handle 15 pieces of baggage and a wheelchair on the Skyliner with 8 of us. My dad pushed his own chair and we caused a delay with the train leaving for the last stop as we got all our bags off the Skyliner. Lesson-learned, the cruise company only cares about you ON the vessel. Overall, probably would NOT recommend this cruise to others. I heard that Norwegian will be sailing in Japan starting next year. May consider that.... Read Less

White shrimps were served as tiger shrimps as mentioned on the menu. The size of shrimp is so small in Vivaldi restaurant. Jumble shrimps should be served in dining room. Many cutleries, plates, cups, bowls, chopsticks, etc. are not clean. Chopsticks needs special attention to clean as it is black and hide food from previous users. Music in Horizon needs to be overhaul as it is depressing to hear whining, moaning, wailing, yelling, etc. Elite passengers should have priority for going through immigration process. Serving portion in dining room is adequate. Food variety should be expanded and from different regions such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Thai, etc. Lobsters were very salty on one formal night and a bit too salty on another formal night. Roasted pig should have crisp skin throughout. Seafood should include more varieties and more frequent inclusion of large clams, sea snails, octopus. The cruise was advertised as Japan Fall colors but absent throughout the 25-day cruise. Read Less

We loved the Viking River Cruises so wanted to try the ocean cruise and also wanted to see China. For the most part we were very pleased. The cabin and service were excellent. The food was good but not excellent. Their waffles were inedible. We tried the chef's table two times - both times the food was too spicy. Since there was a limited menu choice, we opted to skip eating there. Embarkation was ok but could have been better. Because we all landed too early to get on the boat, they took us to a hotel conference room. That was fine, but they had limited food which disappeared before everyone had a chance to get some. The people coming in after us, had no food. Most of the shore excursions were good, but others were lacking. The walking tour of Hong Kong was a total waste of time. The magic show and cultural history was fantastic. We had Viking book our airfare. We were very unhappy with their service. On one flight they put us in the very last row. There were plenty of seats available so I could move us, but was not pleased that they put us in the worst seats on the plane. On the American flight to Hong Kong from L.A. we were packed in like sardines in the most uncomfortable seating arrangement ever. I was disappointed that Viking did not reach out to us before the cruise about the situation in Hong Kong. I know a lot of people cancelled their trip. I had expected some information from Viking about the situation and how it might effect our time and safety in Hong Kong. We took the extended tour to Beijing. We were disappointed that Viking had not warned us that it was week of China's celebration of their country's 70th anniversary. The crowds were so large. Not sure we would have booked the extension if we had known. Overall we were very pleased with our cruise, but we feel Viking could have done better in some areas. Read Less

This was our third trip on Silversea in an Owner's Suite. We did Alaska--Anchorage to Vancouver on this cruise. Silver Muse was only about a year old. We found the decor to be comparable to Silversea standards, but modernized. We prefer the older, warmer decor, but recognize that Silversea must keep up with the times. Compare my pictures of Silver Muse with my pictures of Silver Shadow (we were on the final voyage of Silver Shadow before its makeover). As you probably know, Royal Caribbean bought Silversea a year ago. It may be starting to show. 1. There have always been binoculars in Owner's Suites in the past. Now eliminated. 2. Service in the restaurants on Silver Muse has deteriorated compared to our prior experience. There were inordinately long waits between courses. And it wasn't just us. We had recommended Silversea to an informal group of 15, and everybody had similar experiences. Our next to last night took the cake. We were in one of their specialty restaurants (Silver Note). Our reservation was for 8:00, and we arrived at that time. At 9:50, we had only been served an appetizer. We had waited an hour following our appetizer, and still had not been served our main course. That is when we walked out. Perhaps, they have reduced the wait staff to the point that service does not meet their prior standards. Or, perhaps, because of the expansion of the fleet, they have been forced to promote staff before they were ready. 3. They have installed Royal Caribbean's Cellular at Sea system on the Silversea cruise ships (I don’t recall that on my prior Silversea cruises). Having spent my career in the wireless industry, let me assure you that there is no bigger rip-off than Cellular at Sea. You can easily spend far more on Cellular at Sea, than the cost of your cruise. We worried that despite blocking our phones from connecting to Cellular at Sea, that we would unintentionally unblock it, and incur thousands of dollars in charges (thousands of dollars is not hyperbolic). 4. Restaurant reservations have been impossibly frustrating for me on Silversea. At the beginning of this cruise it occurred to me that I should probably make reservations for our next cruise, even though it was still 50 days away. Here is what I got: 11 not available, and 14 waitlisted. I was unable to make a single reservation--not one. I advised my cruise consultant that for future bookings he must set his alarm clock for midnight on the day reservations open and call me so that I don't miss the window of opportunity. (In fairness, our butler was able to make reservation for all the restaurants during our next cruise.) 5. Silversea is remodeling their owner's suites and eliminating the convenient U-shaped bars. They are putting in little cabinets that simply are not as nice or convenient for me. While there were some disappointments with restaurant service, I trust that management will focus on correcting those deficits. Read Less

We booked the nine day version of this cruise as a complement to a land tour of Japan. In most respects, it met our expectations, but there were definitely some aspects that were disappointing. This circumnavigation of Japan was an excellent, well-balanced itinerary out of Yokohama. What impressed us the most was the number of ports (three in total) visited on the Sea of Japan coast. This is an area of the country that does not seem to see many cruise ships, so it was an appealing aspect of the itinerary. We also appreciated the opportunity to visit South Korea through the port of Busan. For future cruises, it would be nice if Princess could add a port on the island of Kyushu. We booked shore excursions through Princess for each port. Generally, these were well-organized and efficiently run. There was a good variety of offerings, with something for everyone. The process of getting off and back onto the ship was relatively painless, although we were a bit in the dark about the process of retrieving goods that were taken and held by security until the end of the cruise. More information on this procedure would have been welcome. In terms of the running of the ship and service onboard, there were positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, the Princess waiters were excellent, with outstanding service in the Savoy dining room, although the cuisine could be a bit hit-or-miss. The food was generally very good, although two evening meals were substandard due to under or over-cooking. With half of the passengers being Japanese, there were many more Asian dish choices than what one would normally see. The service in the Horizon Court buffet was equally good. We had one evening meal at the Italian premium restaurant, Sabatini’s. Again, the service was excellent, but the food was a little disappointing. For example, the lobster served in the Savoy dining room was superior to what we had in the premium restaurant. Finally, we were regulars at the afternoon tea service in the International Dining Room and really enjoyed the white glove table service and tasty goodies that one usually finds at high tea. The cabin housekeeping service was also a bit unpredictable. Our first cabin steward was sub-par, to the point that we were about to complain. However, after two days, we got a new cabin steward who was so dedicated and attentive that he made up for the first one. The entertainment was good. There were three production shows, of which two were very good. We also enjoyed the other acts, especially the rock violinist, Katei. We really appreciated the demonstration of traditional Japanese comic storytelling, rakugo. We were disappointed that Princess did not take the opportunity of being in Japan to showcase more Japanese talent, such as a J-Pop group or a Kabuki theatre performance. On the negative side, the ship appears tired, with several evident maintenance issues and some areas of the ship being downright filthy. One of the ladies' toilets near the atrium was constantly malfunctioning, and ceiling fans in the dining section of the Lido were covered with so much encrusted dirt that it would have failed a health inspection. We saw at least one instance where a wall had to be torn out to fix the plumbing, and many parts of the passageways showed damage from years of wear and tear. Some of this should certainly have been addressed by the crew, while other issues will require the resources of a full refit. Other parts of the cruise also misfired. On both occasions that we chose to catch a movie on the pool deck on the big screen, the sound system malfunctioned. We also had a total screw-up with room service delivering the wrong items to our cabin. Additionally, we were also taken aback by the way that Princess seems to be nickle-and-diming more aspects of the cruise. For example, the Japanese baths which are unique to this ship were advertised as an appealing feature, until we discovered that you had to pay for each visit, more or less like spa experiences. On the whole, we enjoyed our cruise on Diamond Princess. The itinerary was great, and the crew for the most part was excellent. Nevertheless, the ship needs a lot of work, and we were disappointed by other aspects of the cruise. As a result, only an average score was earned, with lots of room for Princess to improve this unique Japanese experience. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it went to places in Japan we could never get to easily in the time. We enjoyed all the excursions and took advantage of the opportunities they afforded. Definitely worth it for the excursions. But the stateroom was half the size of staterooms on P&O cruise ships. The shower was over the bath which is not suitable for people with mobility issues. The bathroom was so small you couldn’t get changed in it. The toilet was in the bathroom not separate which was an issue when sharing with a friend. The Club Class dining was average with no options for Japanese cuisine. Got charged for a Yoga class which I walked out on because the instructor was doing starjumps. Not exactly yoga. Had a reasonably priced wine option for the first couple of days and then a more expensive wine was the only choice. Went from $35 to $51 which made a significant difference. Read Less

I love this cruise, not only you visit many exceptional cruise ports, you experience the Japanese cuisine and interact with many Japanese guests (60%) on the voyage 80% of The cruise ports are far away from the port terminals. Cruise port shuttles are expensive. It would be nice if Princess to cover this cost The services are exceptional but the ship shows it age The layout of the main decks 5, 6 are so confused. You have to use deck 7 or 5 to go to a certain restaurant or spots on deck 5, 6 The 7:30 pm show is at the preferred time schedule. Seats all are taken 15 minutes before the show. The seats are very tied, narrow, no room to serve drinks before the show I love Japanese cuisine served on the cruise. There are more Japanese guests than American guests, we feel like we are submerged Japanese culture totally. Love it Read Less

I had not been on the Diamond since its first year in Alaska. The ship is in good shape and has been renovated to the tastes of the Asian clientele it now mostly serves. Our trip from the airport took about 2 hours and was a pleasant drive. We wee on the ship and in our room in about 15 minutes total time from walking off the bus. Our room was a standard room B612. The lamps have a plug now so it makes life easy in the electronic age. Our room was clean, and they only make the beds, they did not change out pillows or anything like on some others. The steward also did not put the luggage protector on the bed, so maybe that isn't done either. Despite being Elite we did not get our upgraded amenities in the bathroom until I asked at day 3. He also did not provide our section the shopping bag unless we asked. The beds were comfortable for me and our room was right below the covered pool so we did start to hear the chair set up around 4am every morning. The ship leaks in places, especially after it rains, I had my cashmere sweater get soaked down the back one evening in the HC when the ceiling leaked. Speaking of the HC, the service for us was terrible. It seemed at times that they would ignore some passengers while catering to others. At one point I took a water pitcher and refilled my water and some other nearby tables. The table situation is also crazy, they allow saving of empty tables, were talking a stretch of 30 tables could be empty and "saved" which meant you were stuck with a tray of food and nowhere to sit. Food was boring, the menu was lacking and began to repeat early. Not much variety here The internet was okay, but that is the case with internet at sea. The internet manager was the rudest person I met on the ship. Many of the staff was wearing Carnival shirts the entire cruise. Seemed odd, I know they are the parent company but it didn't seem Princess. The ports were nice, but many were very remote, so the drive to town could take a bit. Some towns were not the greatest for touring on your own and needed to take a excursion. The tour guides English is not the best, they can be quite difficult to understand and a few things were lost in translation, One one log bus ride, the guide attempted to play a game. I would have rather had the silence. Also, on long tours you may not get back at the time you expect. On one day we were the last people on the boat. The best part of the trip was leaving the ports. Many put on shows for those of us lucky enough to be on the port side. Singing, dancing and even a bit of a show. When the Diamond docked in one port for the first time, we were welcomed by the governor, the mayor, and many other dignitaries. There was a presentation on the ship and a dance performance by children that lasted nearly 45 minutes in the humidity on concrete. Then we had a band play until we left. It was quite nice I really liked Captain Genaro Arma, he was the best captain I have seen or heard. He was very involved in the day to day operations giving the guests the updates himself. He showed up where he said he would be, he had some signed Stanley the Bears you could purchase in the gift shop and seemed to love his job. I would have felt safe in any weather with him at the helm. Our last day at sea we had a problem and it was quite upsetting . They called our cabin and said that they after cruise excursion we booked we could not have. They could not accommodate our transfers to the hotel after or our luggage on the bus. They also said that they could not honor our transfers from the hotel to Narita and they cancelled everything. Leaving us in a panic at sea. It was past 5 in California and there was a hurricane in Florida so we could not get in touch with anyone. We ended up having to buy new airline tickets and transfers to get home since. When we got home Princess said the ship was wrong, so now we are left in limbo about the costs we incurred. The shore excursion staff and the Captain Circle host were of no help. It wasn't the best cruise, and it will be a while before I cruise again. Read Less

The embarkation check in process was abysmal. We had submitted our pre-boarding forms electronically along with photos and brought copies with us. When we got to check in, NONE of that work paid off. Their computer system could not call up the data provided electronically, so we had to supply it AGAIN while the person entered it finger by finger on the keyboard. Then their system could not read our passports and THAT information had to fingered in. After 20 minutes of this misery, the system would not print out a confirmation and cards. We were directed to another check in person and the ENTIRE PROCESS WAS REPEATED for another 15 minutes. Neither of the ship's IT people were able to help or explain. As Discoverer level loyalty cruisers, we did expect a better performance by the check-in people. Our cabin was well maintained by the crew assigned to it. The on-board WiFI system is much better than in the past. More reliable and much easier to use. As is the norm for Azamara, the buffet and main dining rooms serve good meals and the service is very attentive. The buffet changes each night to a different country cuisine. When the meals are not what we were interested in, we have the option of eating al fresco in the Patio Grill. Nightly specials are very good there. We did not use the room service for meals. WE did not go to the specialty restaurants on this cruise. We have in the past and found that the meals in the other venues of the ship are just as good and more casual as they do not require reservations. We always buy the top shelf beverage package and found at least one bartender at each bar had some skills in mixing drinks. We do not go to the production shows when cruising, but prefer to go to the smaller venues around the ship where music is playing at the bars. This trip was no exception and the music was fine. This cruise did not have an Azamazing evening. There was a White Night. The crew always does a great job with the food and entertainment that night. We took only private shore excursions and because of the many ports which were cancelled, it was real scramble to get refunds at the last minute from the vendors What has happened to Azamara since expanding their fleet by 50% last year? Their backroom operations in Miami are horrendous. On this voyage nearly 40 people were told that they could get a China visa through a group visa with Azamara. When the ship arrived at the first Chinese port - no visas, so the people either had to leave the ship and fly away or stay in their cabin for the next 8 days. More backroom problems came about when passengers were given the wrong port departure and arrival locations for this voyage. Hotel reservations and ground transportation plans were utterly worthless when it was discovered that Harumi in Tokyo was the departure point, rather than Yokohama which was the information provided by backroom personnel. Also, impacted was Hong Kong where Kai Tak was given as the disembarkation point when in fact it was Harbour City. These are not incidental oversights to travel plans, but severe problems when planning many pre- and post- cruise activities/costs. Why did Azamara choose to sail during the local typhoon season? A devastating one hit Tokyo (the embarkation port) 3 days prior to boarding, another one hit central Japan 3 days after boarding, another one hit between China and Japan on the 10th day of the cruise. Over 1/2 of the originally advertised ports were skipped by the captain and the whole trip was a hodgepodge of unplanned ports, repeated ports and twice as many sea days. Totally worthless. A few months before final payment was due, passengers were advised that the ship was not going as planned to South Korea because of some restrictions applied by China. A misleading narrative was provided in the letter. Factually, in March of 2017, two years before the passengers on this voyage got a letter, RCCL, the parent company of Azamara, published their new corporate policy through Reuters News Service that they were terminating South Korea ports on China cruises. The entire cruise industry knew in the first quarter of 2017 that ports in South Korea were not to be included in direct cruising with China. Why did it take Azamara 2 years to tell the booked passengers and why did they continue to offer/advertise the cruise with the South Korea ports when it was in violation of corporate policy and Chinese law? Travelling with Azamara should not require the passengers to check and double check the planned itinerary because of the above ineptness of the company. While the company can bemoan that this voyage cost them too much to conduct, the passengers bore the financial brunt of shore-side incompetence. When the cost of air flights equaled the cost of the cruise for most passengers, Azamara did not seem to care that their mishandling of the whole voyage from start to finish resulted in those losses. The ship crew was not at fault for any of the above problems as this voyage was doomed by the planning and shore-side offices. Read Less

Very nice ship. Service and food at restaurants below average. Full wine list was not available from day one. Ripped-off having to pay 18% service fee on all drinks etc. Cost of shuttle bus expensive. A number of crew members trying to gouge money by inviting to attend paid activities etc. Due to the late arrival of the ship there was total chaos and incompetency by staff at embarkation. Very little or no information as to why it was taking so long to embark while passengers were sweating under 35 degree temperatures in the waiting lounge without air-conditioning. Although it was no fault of the staff for the late arrival, staff were absolutely hopeless in organisation embarkation. Only received notification of the late arrival of the ship 2 hours before we were due to embarkation. Many passengers were complaining about the poor quality of food in restaurants and the 18% service fee. Read Less

1. The day before the cruise a Typhoon hit Tokyo. We understand that you cannot do anything when mother nature hits but there was no communication, no notifications or emails from Princess explaining that there is a delay in the cruise ship coming back into port due to the Typhoon and that there was any delay in embarkation. There should have been an initial email warning of the approaching Typhoon and a subsequent email stating the delay on embankment. In this case we could have spent the day doing other things than sitting around a hot and sticky cruise terminal from 10am until 6pm waiting to embark. 2. The conditions while waiting at the cruise terminal was appalling. There was no air-conditioning. If there was, it was negated by the opened front doors as you approached being left open bringing in the hot air. There was no airflow once inside and the air was stale, hot and sticky. I nearly passed out from the heat and I even witnessed a few older people passing out. To me this is simply unacceptable. It could be likened to a scene from a war camp! 3. There was no offer of any water, wet towels or anything to help with coping in these conditions. It made the wait very uncomfortable and upsetting for everyone there. This was a cruise we were really looking forward to but so far the disappointment and state of the organisation of the cruise was the start of the cruise from hell. 4. Once we finally got onboard, we were then told that there would be a delay in departure until later that night. Then we were told that they could not organise a pilot or tug until 2am at this time we were starting to get fed up and just wanted to get back off the ship in disgust. We were then informed that we would be departing at 6am the next morning and that they were still waiting on 250 cruise passengers and 30 staff members to arrive at the port. 5. This meant that we had to miss the first stop at Ishinomaki which we were really looking forward to and it meant yet another day at sea. We were very disappointed with the way this was handled. 6. The days at sea were really long. The princess patters on the days were filled with activities that did not appeal to the majority of the Caucasians that were on the ship. My father (72 years old) who was travelling with us was so bored during the sea days that all he did was sit around the explorers lounge and drink. The only highlight of the day was the trivia and even then it was not that exciting to talk home about. 7. Our first port stay in Hakodate started off terrible. What we were not informed about is that the ship itself was docked so far away from the main attraction areas that you had to purchase a shuttle ticket of USD$15.00 per person, get in a cab or just fork out on a tour. This was the common theme for all the port stays ahead and with 4 people to pay for, it ended up being a very expensive cost which was not factored into our budget. This was really upsetting. 8. We were highly disgusted at the decline on services provided from our last cruise with the Diamond Princess which had free shuttle buses, offered bottles of water as you got off the ship to explore for the day and bottles of water on return back to the ship. The location of the ports was in walking distance of all the main attractions in Japan and you did not have to keep putting your hand in your pocket to pay for the shuttle services or cab fare. This particular cruise was a real letdown and we felt we were getting ripped off at every place we visited. 9. The most stressful part of the cruise was the time it took to get through immigration. Standing in queues in the heat for hours with no water or wet towels offered, just to get a passport stamped was not pleasant and cut majorly into the time we had at the ports. The worst locations were in Busan and Hiroshima. Hiroshima had the time scheduled from 7am until 6pm. They were late in setting up the immigration in the makeshift terminal (which looked like worn out abandoned warehouses), as such, we were unable to step onto the port to get through immigration until 10am. By the time we got through immigration it was 12pm then we had to make a mad dash to Hiroshima (which took another 20 mins via cab and train) to try and see anything before we had to turn around and be back on the ship before 5:30pm. At this point, the cruise itself felt so disorganised and we were really stressed that we just wanted to get off the ship and demand our money back. 10. In Hiroshima, there is a cruise terminal right in heart of Hiroshima that has the trams and buses just outside the cruise terminal door and access to Hiroshima and all the sight seeing is plentiful. We wondered why they parked at a port so far away from the Main station at first but we soon realised that Princess would not make any money from the Shuttle buses or ship tours if moored in the main terminal. This just made us more and more furious. 11. As previously stated, we have cruised on the same ship before and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and stress free cruise from Singapore to Yokohama. We never had the immigration issues that we had this time. Never had to wait in queues and had more time in ports because the process was different. On the last cruise we handed our passports to the cabin staff for immigration to be done and we simply showed our cruise card as we went off and back onto the ship. I am not too sure what has happened to change the way the immigration is done but to say I was disgusted in the current process is an understatement. I would liken the current process to Faulty Towers. 12. Another sticking point was the length of time at each port. Some of the port stops had very little to do with long port stops while other ports had heaps to do but very limited time to do it. The length of stay in Hakodate was from 10am until 11pm which was far too long to stay in the township which you can complete in half a day. As we had already been at this location before we can attest to that. 13. Maizuru is also a port that has nothing to do unless you fork out a tonne of money to travel or go on a tour. We were struggling to find something interesting to do at the port for the 10 hours we were there but in the end we ended up looking through a red brick museum telling us the history of how red bricks are made and looking through a few odd shops and returning really early to the ship. Really, really boring port. It would be better if the port stay was somewhere like Kanazawa where you have more interesting things to see and do. 14. The one good part of the trip was the port stay in Busan. We chose to go on a ship tour here and went to the UN cemetery and Museum. 15. The letdown about the ship tour in Busan was the length of the tour. It was too short. We would have liked to spend more time in the museum to learn about the wars and conflicts that South Korea went through but instead the tour guide was only interested on telling us about how the country was formed and what they are doing now. When I asked about seeing the war history. The guide stated that they “do not talk about that” and purposely walked us past all the rooms that contained the war history. We were stunned at the response and upset that we could not see what we came to see. The guide also took us to the Lotte Shopping Centre which was not what we wanted to do and we sat around for an hour and a half waiting to get back on the bus to return to the ship. We were informed the next day from other passengers that the shuttle bus was free. This is the only port where there was a free shuttle bus but no one was informed of this at the time and knowing that we could have re-visited the museum later in the day at no extra cost made us very angry as there was no communication and no proper direction given from staff at the time we were in port. 16. We were also rather unimpressed by the food selection available on the ship. It appeared to be roughly the same menu everyday with minor adjustments here and there. Not very appetizing and the taste was lacking. Our family went to the Steakhouse one night for dinner which made a pleasant change but everywhere else the food just did not rate. We were bitterly disappointed with the food on this cruise compared to the previous princess cruise which was 100 times better, with tastier food and more food selection. 17. On the final day we were so happy to be finally off the cruise from hell that we had our bags packed the night before and was excited to leave the ship for good. Because we were so distraught, stressed and disappointed with the whole cruise we are now reluctant to go back on a princess cruise again. The whole experience was so horrific and it is a cruise we will never forget and not in a good way. Read Less

This was a reunion cruise for 5 college friends and spouses. We arrived at Yokohama cruise terminal around noon and was told to come back at 3pm. A typhoon had hit Tokyo the night before and the ship actually left the port to weather out the storm. It was noon and people were still dis-embarking. The port was over crowded with disembarked passengers and embarking passengers. Worse of all, it was 90 something degrees outside and the port does not have air conditioning. Everyone was sweating like pigs and felt it it too. No one new what was going on. Princess could have done a better job of letting people know what was going on and what was to come. All we saw were staffs walking around with clipboards yelling for passengers waiting for buses. I guess transfer buses were late to take passengers out of the terminal. Princess set up a table at the corner of the terminal with cold water. I don't think many people knew about it. Sometime after 3pm, they started to allow priority passengers to enter the check in area. The entrance was stormed by people eager to be called next. Staff members were holding people back. The place was a mad house. The check in process was very quick. We were so tired and upset, we did not stop to get pictures taken. We found our cabin and was pleased to find our luggage already inside the stateroom. The room was clean. Furniture appeared dated. Carpet shows worn traffic pattern. The shower head was spraying water every which way. We called it in and when to dinner We were going to meet at Vivaldi. It was open dinning since everything was running late. A few of us got there and asked for a table for 10. Maitre D said he could only do table for 6 and table for 4 and they are on different sides of the dining room. We were too tired to argue and said ok while we waited for the rest of the party. When all of us were there 5 or 10 minutes later, Maitre D said he cannot do 6 and 4 anymore, only 8 and 2 and far apart; that rational escapes me. My wife and I took the table for 2 and the rest of the 8 took the table for 8. What a way to start the cruise. I suspect if we waited a few more minutes, it would be 9 and 1. We did get a table of 10 for the rest of the cruise. The meal portions were small. Most of us ordered a second portion. Breakfast and lunch were mostly at the Horizon buffet. Food choices were not that abundant and taste was somewhat bland. We sat in the back of Horizon where there were large tables. Unfortunately, it is always too warm there. I really the made to order omelets at breakfast and the ramen noodle for lunch. I wish there was sushi more often. It was only available on one day. The immigration process at Maizuru (the port before Busan, South Korea) was very lengthy. We waited on line for over an hour. The captain acknowledged the long wait time and only said it was beyond their control. This was the same thing he said about the embarkation madness. He always finishes with the statement that this is the friendliest crew of the seven seas. My experience was a little different. I would greet staff member as we pass in the hallway, and they don't greet me back. The nightly entertainments were very good. We did not use the Princess excursion but booked from outside vendors before the cruise. The best part of the cruise was reconnecting with my old friends. Read Less

With a Typhoon to deal with which made the transfer to the ship difficult, a missed first port due to logistical issues we still will say that this cruise became one of the best we have ever experienced! The captain and the crew pulled out all stops to make it so. Their friendly visibility, extra cocktail party put on by the captain went a long way to creating an enjoyable atmosphere, thank you Captain Arma. Our dining experience was perfect and we dined at sabatini and the Japanese restaurant and both were very impressive in service and quality of food almost to a level of very fine dining category, the cocktail party was fun and very enjoyable we have been to many of these parties but this one was special and the captain and his executive officers made the difference Chris and Trent were very friendly and courteous, thanks for your wonderful company. Read Less

My parents and I chose this cruise because of the enticing marketing brochure we received in the mail. It was a disaster the first day -- at embarkation. While there was a looming storm, the embarkation staff and procedures were a nightmare. No one could give us any accurate information on when embarkation was to begin. We were advised early on that we had to be at the dock by noon to check luggage and get settled. Well, five hours later, we are all like caged animals in the waiting room that must have been over 100 degrees with thousands of passengers waiting. There was no airconditioning and the Princess staff didn't even offer any courtesy water to drink or anything. We could not go out of the pier because embarkation could start anytime -- again, no one could give us any definite time. My 81-year old parents were both disabled and this cruise ship is not the friendliest to disabled people at all. At embarkation, there were no available wheel chairs until we got into the ship already. Next, they nickel and dime you for everything -- from wifi, which is free on most cruises we've been to; to bottled water -- in the room, in the dining areas! It would have been better if Princess just charged for everything upfront with the package than charging extra for everything. Also, their shuttle buses from the ship to the town center of various ports were quite expensive. Again, this is usually a courtesy-free service with other cruise lines. The only saving grace of the cruise was the food and the staff. The staff was excellent especially the dining staff and the food was excellent as well. It was also chaos at disembarkation in Yokohama. The line at the customer service desk was so long and they were short-staffed. It took us another two hours before we were able to disembark. I had a very bad incident at the lobby bar. I had ordered a VIRGIN drink as I am highly allergic to alcohol. The people around us all heard me clearly when I asked the wait staff to make sure and ask the bar tender to mix a non-alcoholic beverage. Those around me were teasing me about being always the "designated driver". When my drink arrived, it was spiked with alcohol. I went into anaphylactic shock and had to be rushed to the ship's infirmary were I was given high doses of anti-histamine. I didn't have my epi-pen handy at that time. I didn't like the fact that the waiter lied and continuously lied about my ordering a non-alcoholic beverage when he said he would ask the bar tender if it was possible to order my drink as a non-alcoholic beverage. The tours were also expensive and not worth the money we paid for the tours. Read Less