Diamond Feb 13 NZ / Australia Review

We have just posted our review of our wonderful cruise on the Diamond Princess from Auckland, NZ to Sydney Australia. It is on our website, www.thepreismans.com. It is a long one, so I apolgize for the slow download. If you ever get a chance I highly recommend going "Down Under". It is a wonderful part of the world.

What can I say? The photos are spectacular, the review is amazing, and it is of particular interest and help because we leave 3 weeks from tomorrow for Sydney, and will board the ship April 14. Many thanks, over and over and over again, for taking the time to post such a complete and exciting review. You have helped us SO MUCH!

BTW...I sailed into Sydney on the Sapphire 14 months ago at sunrise. It is an amazing thing, and your photos brought back so many wonderful memories.

Jeannie

Great website with awesome photos! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you both for the nice comments. I am so glad you enjoyed the review. Jeannie, I am glad it brought back some fond memories. It does for me too.

THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!

What a FANTASTIC review..the best we have ever seen on CC by a long way!!

We are with Jeannie and the others on the Diamond in a few weeks time , and we will ALL find that information invaluable.

We will try to write a review when we return from our cruise, but I fear it will pale in comparison to your wonderful effort!

much appreciated.

Happy cruising......

S&D

Thank You for the review. All the details about the Diamond Princess will help when we are on her for two wonderful weeks in September. You write a wonderful, detailed cruise review. All the best to you in your future sailings.

John

What a fantastic review. We are sailing on the same itinerary on 2nd April and I so enjoyed reading about it.

Wow, great review and wonderful pictures of your vacation and the cruise ship. Thanks so much for taking the time to create that website so others can view and read about your vacations.

Hey Benny, I'm Mike's other half. Thanks for the kind words about our review. BTW, I like your waves!

Your review is absolutely incredible. We are going on the Sapphire Princess Sydney-Auckland in Feb 2007 and after seeing your pictures and experiences it makes it that much harder to wait. If anyone needs convience that this is a great cruise they only need to read your review. It should be in a travel magazine.

I also enjoyed the reviews of your other trips. We did the Med cruise on the Brillance last Oct. That has been my favorite so far but it looks like Australia/NZ might top that.

Thanks again.

Thank you so much for your review. Wonderful pictures & a great reviews. I now have added another destination to my "list".

k

Wow... your review brought me to tears thinking about my 27 year old daughter who has been living in Sydney for 1 1/2 years.... she gets to experience everything you talked about every day...

We plan our visit there next year and hope to include a cruise along with it...We have sailed on Sapphire Princess so the ship photos were very familiar as well

Thanks for sharing... excellent review and well put together...good job

Emmy

Hi Mike and Carol..thanks very much for the fantastic review and pictures. We are heading out on the Diamond on April 14th and your wonderful review has really got us excited....

If you don't mind, we would like to ask a couple of questions.

With the Muster Drill at 5:00 PM how soon after was Sailaway.......Powder vs Liquid in the washing machines...we are having a hard time understanding how the machines would not take liquid but could take powdered granules...could you please explain?....and last but not least....do you recall the cost per person of the Red Sydney Explorer bus....

Take Care and Thanks again for the great review.

Ken & Jan

Toronto

Thank you all for your wonderful and very generous comments. Carol and I really enjoy putting our memories down, not only to share with our family and friends, but so that we don't forget the details of the wonderful vacations we have been so fortunate to be able to enjoy. I am so glad that you are enjoying them also.

Ken & Jan,

Sailaway from Aukland is 6:00 PM. If you start in Sydney, I believe it is at 9:00 PM. The Explorer bus was $36Aus per person or $27US converted. I do have a link to their website in the review where you can also see their two day pass prices. Carol will have to answer your question on the laundry. She knows all about it. Have a great cruise.

Adding in my thanks for the wonderful review!

We are boarding the Sapphire April 14 with a very active and large CC group.

I have posted to our thread suggesting that no one miss your website!

I even got my DH to sit down at the computer and surf through - (something he rarely does)..........he was so impressed by your wonderful photos etc.

Regards, Renee

Mike and Carol,

Thank you so very much for taking the time to post some incredible memories. We have not fully planned out our port days, until now..... We are going to follow a lot of your footsteps!

You took some amazing photos, I can't wait to see it for myself! We appreciate the time you took to share your vacation. Cindy

Ken and Jan,

I did not mean to say that the washers will not use liquid, but powder is the only thing they sell on the ship. Besides, powder would be easier to take with you, IMHO. Anyway, have fun.

Cindy,

The photos on the website are only a drop in the bucket. I know it's hard to believe, but Mike took over 3,000 pics; and I took around 500. :rolleyes: Our granddaughters are coming to visit this weekend, but I hope to have my EasyShare album upload by the end of next week.

Renee and Cindy,

Thank you for your comments. I do hope that our review will help you to enjoy your upcoming cruise on the Diamond even more. I wish I had the time to do the cruise you are doing. It really sounds nice. Someday!

Thanks so much for your review. My dh & I don't have this cruise planned yet, but were thinking of waiting until retirement - too many years still - because my list of places to see in NZ and Australia is long and longer.

NZ and Australia have been a dream itinerary for me for years and when we fell in love with cruising...

Now I'm thinking, hmm, maybe we shouldn't wait until retirement...we can always go back ;) .

Thanks again. I've saved your review to re-read and re-plan!!!

Mike and Carol,

Thanks for the most wonderful review. We are taking the family on this exact same cruise as you next year in January only on the Sapphire. My husband and I went from Sydney to Bangkok last year on sapphire and loved the ship. I will be showing the kids your review so that they can get an idea of the ship and the places we are going to visit next year. This will give them some insight into what they would like to visit on their trip. I have started already to try and map out some plans. This will be our first to NZ. we are goping to fly to Auckland a week before and tour Nth ISland before getting onto the ship

Genessa,

Like you, I wanted to wait till I retire, which isn't that far off for me. I really wanted to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef, which was what was making a little over a two vacation stretch to over 3 weeks. There was no way I could take off work that long. So by passing on diving, it worked out fine. Of course I still need to go back to see what I missed; but that will be when time will not matter.

Narelle,

A week pre-cruise in NZ should be wonderful. The one place I really wanted to go to, but couldn't is Queenstown on the South Island. When I go back, that will be a main destination.

Genessa,

Like you, I wanted to wait till I retire, which isn't that far off for me. I really wanted to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef, which was what was making a little over a two vacation stretch to over 3 weeks. There was no way I could take off work that long. So by passing on diving, it worked out fine. Of course I still need to go back to see what I missed; but that will be when time will not matter.

that's one of the things on my list for Australia. What I had been thinking is, I hate flying, so let's do a month, or 6 weeks and hit almost everything in NZ & Australia. But your review was inspiration - perfectly timed with the new Princess dream destinations brochure and the very, very untimely death of a dear friend to remind us of how short life is. When I told dh about your review, he was extremely interested. We could do 20 days or so- counting week-ends, and adding in 2 days pre and post and travel time...

now to check the budget!!

Thanks again!

Thanks for a great review and lovely photos. Like the others from the Sydneyt - San Fransico sailing said, it just adds to our anticipation for our cruise in 4 weeks time.

And thanks for checking out the Johnny Walker Swing bottle for me. We decided to keep ours as it may be very hard to replace, and gave our friends a different gift.

Best regards

Hilary

Ah yes, Genessa, a very good point. Putting off vacations till one has the time can end up with one running out of time. In addition to living long enough, physical limitations can prevent folks from taking the vacation they always wanted to go on. We have tried to travel as much as we can while we can; and don't plan on slowing down.

Hilary,

I do hope you have the good luck we had with the weather and seas for our cruise. You should have a wonderful time. I think you made the right choice on the keeping the swing bottle. They seem to be an endangered species.

Mike and Carol,

I am only 1/2 way through but am enjoying each and every word. Thanks you so much for all the details. Your review is just great.

Marilee