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Hi Sandra,

I'm sure the children (in general) will still enjoy it, the staff are always exceptional and hopefully they still provide all of the usual activities and experiences to participate in that they have come to cherish.

 

Yes they will have all the usual activities and more. Based on your kids ages they will love it.

Sandra

Glad to read about your happy experience on the Taiwan and Golden Week cruises. We're thinking about the round Japan sailings at the end of August and looking forward to all the Japanese experiences aboard that you mentioned. Some things that others have said were problematic wouldn't bother us at all.:)

 

Question: You said you attended the Japanese lectures.. Now that the Diamond's Japanese adventure is fully under way, were there any talks in English as well? We're concerned that we might be a bit "at sea", so to speak, if all the port talks and lectures are only in Japanese!

 

Did you find good things to do in port?

First, with respect to port activities, there was no shortage of excursions both Princess and on your own. Great prices and well organized. we loved every minute in every port both Taiwan and Japan. We even went on Japanese escorted and Japanese guided tours from Princess and had a great time with the Japanese guests. They loved Kyle and helped us with the lunches and proper etiquette. Kyle also enjoyed the Japanese experiences as much as I did. Now with respect to English enrichment, because the April 17th cruise was the inaugural cruise out of Japan there were some challenging meeting the needs of all languages on board. Essentially they did not have any nor did they have port lectures which was a big disappointment for me. The good news is that because we provided feedback on this they are looking at ways to add more English & port lectures. So I would think that by August Princess should have this addressed. I had done my research for each port so was not at a disadvantage.

p.s. the movie Gravity was not any better in Japanese!

Sandra

Just a question that I haven't seen answered anywhere since the Diamond Princess has come out of its dry dock.

It appears that Princess has substantially reduced the size of the kids club areas with the building of the Japanese Bath House. Previously on the Diamond, my kids have loved the kids club areas and activities.

Can anyone advise how these areas look now, and any comments as to their thoughts on how the kids club is now?

 

Thanks.

I too had that question before we sailed April 17 to May 6th. My son is 12 and has always gone to Shockwaves, although he is just on the edge now being 12.5 years old. So yes they did take away from the kids area. Essentially they removed shockwaves and added space to Pelican's and have combined the two groups. This didn't work well for Kyle as there were many 3, 4 and 5 yr olds on our cruises due to the school year etc. So he didn't attend except for a few days. The staff are as amazing as usual and are aware that the combined group is not ideal and will work with you if you have concerns etc. Please feel free to ask any other more specific questions and we will answer

Sandra

Hi sayaguru. There's a fair few of us still on-board continuing with a b2b on Golden Week. Hopefully they'll spot this thread and add their comments/reviews when done also.

 

Glad you had a good time. Other than our really nice Dinner companions, and a lady with her Son who where always smiling (I think that might have been Sandra), we where feeling like we where the only ones who enjoyed ourselves at any level (Non Japanese that is). Most of our conversations with repeaters we met on board where not so flattering to say the least (they mustn't have been cruise critic members :) )...

 

I have not read this thread completely but once I saw my name I had to pipe in. thank you for mentioning that we were always smiling...that was a great comment to read. we did 19 days on Diamond - Taiwan and Golden week. we loved the Japanese influences and actually wanted more. We had traditional Japanese breakfasts with chopsticks, in fact tried every Japanese meal we could and with chopsticks. I attended the Japanese lectures :) and loved the sushi bar. I was naked in the bathhouse and it was okay...I didn't scare any of the other passengers. My son Kyle who is 12 but looks like 15 yrs enjoyed all 19 days. There were a few misses for sure but to be expected when entering a new market with a dedicated ship, but we focused on the hits and really enjoyed Japan.

This was our 17th cruise with Princess and we have been to many foreign countries with Princess.

Sandra

THANK YOU !!!!

That's what I was hoping to hear!

Hi Karen, we have this cabin booked March 9th and I understand that you are in this cabin, B736, this week. How are you enjoying the balcony? I know you had some concerns. thank you in advance for your help. we have sailed on Royal last summer and loved it. Can hardly wait to be back on board.

Sandra

No, sorry, I didn't take any pictures of the kid's clubs. But I would think they would be very similar to the ones that are on the Island.

I agree that they would be similar, but I can't for the life of me remember what they were like. I am drawing a complete blank. Thank you just the same for your response.

Jasperdo, since you are on line at the moment and the topic is Coral can I ask you if you have any pictures of the kid's clubs. I have gone through most your 800 or so pictures of Coral hosted on Flicker but not able to find the kids facilities. Did you by any chance take any? I have an 11 yr old son and we are sailing 14 days alaska this June. We have previously sailed the Island through the Panana Canal. thanks in advance Sandra

Pia, I think you mentioned on another thread that you were in a minisuite OV. We are considering Coral C202 (minisuite window) on our 7 night Alaska Southbound this July 2013. We are on Sapphire Northbound prior to Coral. The minisuite OV is $200 more than a regular balcony. We do not mind motion and generally like forward cabins. I find the forward cabins quieter, less foot traffic, door slamming etc. Also I think the extra space would compensate for no balcony, but there is the scenic glacier cruising to consider. I am lucky to only have these tough decisions to keep me up at night :) and what ever we decide I know we will be happy. Saw a few pictures and the window looks bright and large enough.

Sandra (mom 51 yrs) and Kyle (11 yrs)

We have just returned from our Hawaiian cruise and we really enjoyed our excursion in Kaua’i. We opted for a plane ride through Waimea Canyon and around Napali Coast with Wings Over Kauai, versus a helicopter ride, and we made the right decision. As I said, we flew with Wings Over Kauai and this family run company made all the difference to the enjoyment of our visit. It was their attention to the details that enhanced the quality of the tour. Ellen organizes the tours and personally responds to your emails, queries in a timely and friendly manner. She ensures that the time slot is best for you and your family/group. Moreover, I mixed up the dates and the time slots and she worked extra hard to fix my mistakes and made it seem like no trouble at all. While on the flight the quality of the headsets made the real difference for me. They were comfortable, I could hear the pilots commentary and they cancelled any engine noise which can be load and uncomfortable during an hour long flight. Bruce, the pilot, personalized the tour and commentary based on our interests and it never felt like a cookie cutter tour. We felt like he was enjoying himself too and that somehow made it feel special for us. They took our picture with their camera and our camera and then made us a DVD that they gave to us. They didn’t try and sell us anything before or after. We have never been given a DVD for free. Instead, we have always been “offered a way to capture our experience” at a hefty price. Whether you are visiting for a day or a week I would take the time to contact Wings Over Kauai and take a tour of the island from a bird’s eye view. The price for two of us was $234 total no hidden or extra charges.