Diamond Princess - is she really that bad?

First, let me say we love Princess, are Elite and have never had a bad Princess cruise. We also sail RCI, Cunard and have dabbled in a few others, but we always return to Princess.

We have also sailed on Diamond, 3 years ago before her refit for the Chinese market, and loved it.

We are now considering a 14 night Fiji cruise out of Sydney and reading the reviews on here we are somewhat shocked. They don't seem very good at all.

Now we realise reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt, but there are so many poor reviews it's a little concerning.

So does anyone have anything good to say about her?

We understand she is due for a refit soon - will they be adding an International Cafe, or modernising the Horizon Court?

Thank you all!

I was on the Diamond in January. In some areas she's looking rather 'tatty', especially the outdoor carpeting on Sun Deck (15). It was worn, frayed, patched and in some areas had holes where you could see the rusty deck. The wooden top railing on port side aft, was missing for about 1/3 the length of the ship - they had strung yellow 'caution tape' where it should have been. Tradewinds Bar had a 'subsidence' problem where you could see where it had 'cracked' at a support post and was not level anymore. It also seemed that all outside stairs became 'puddles' when it rained... along with lots of other areas on the outside decks. It was almost like you needed rubber boots if you were going outside if it was, or had rained in the last 24 hours.

I had an Inside aft on Aloha. My stateroom bathroom was a disgrace. The toilet seat (regular, not 'high-tech') was cracked completely thru (carefull it didn't pinch you), and literally falling off - one of the wing nuts holding it in place was 2" down the bolt that holds it to the bowl (easy fix, you don't need tools). There was no way you could clean that toilet without knowing the seat was falling off. The shower head was clogged; and, the 'inset' in the wall for soap or a shampoo bottle was full of old soap scum & black mildew. The bathroom walls were dirty. The edges of the desk were all bashed and missing chunks of paint. The room safe was full of sand.

Other than these cosmetic things (and a steward who was 'dropping the ball'), the cruise and the ship were fine.

Worthwhile pointing out that the Diamond just went through a drydock from 28th Mar - 5th Apr. While short, by understanding is that this is often where they do cosmetic fixes in addition to the heavy maintenance which needs the drydock.

With any luck, she'll have had a spruce-up in some of the areas Bill B has reported.

We're on her in later May for a 16 day Japanese cruise, so will be keen to find out what has been done. Will report back on what we observe.

Cheers

Darren

She is old and beat up.

She is old and beat up.

Have you been on board since the drydock?

We were on Diamond this Feb., and while the carpeting and flooring definitely needed repairs, we had no complaints about the cleanliness of the ship. Our steward kept our inside cabin spotless and the service, as usual was terrific. We were on first seating in the dining room, so sat with two other couples and none of us had complaints about the food. Selection was good. We had a Western menu, with a few Asian dishes, and the Asian passengers had Asian menus to order from. We had two groups of Japanese school children on board for the last four days, and they were very well behaved, polite, and I think enjoyed speaking English if you took the time to interact with them. All in all, we enjoyed the cruise. Nicole

PS: I should mention that we didn't enjoy most of the entertainment on board, except for the ships company of singers and dancers. We actually walked out of two shows, which we never do, as I think its rude, but I was very disappointed with a couple of the acts they brought on board for a couple of shows. One was a comedian, and one was an illusionist. Nicole

There was a pretty extensive live done in January by Tracie.

There was a pretty extensive live done in January by Tracie.

I've read enough of TracieABD's posts to know that she's very credible to me.

I've found her opinions to be objective & in post #246 (page 13) she summarizes her overall opinion of sailing on the Diamond Princess...she loved it! :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2442573

We were on the diamond the last cruise before dry dock. Sure she shows some wear but we had a wonderful time. Our stateroom was in need of some TLC but was clean and our cabin steward was the best. Never had to ask for any type of toiletry as he was so on top of refilling everything.

The dining room staff was also the best. Some days more food choices than others but food was always inviting. Dined in Sabatini's twice and the staff worked well together and we enjoyed our food, wine and desserts. Staff took great care of us. We were also able to partake in the chef's table and that was amazing with wonderful dining companions. Also had the champagne balcony breakfast and the food was plentiful , warm and enjoyable. Room service did an amazing job setting up table and bringing the food in stages to ensure hot food.

The Izumi Japanese bath experience was relaxing, quiet and we managed 3 visits and were disappointed when the two hours passed.

Did not go to shows as we were tired with 13 hour time change and very full port days.

Bought the photo package and very pleased with staff and venues for formal night as well as some evening photos that had special props and were less formal.

No vines bar or IC and that was really missed but not a deal breaker.

We sailed for 16 days and focused on enjoying time with our daughter... ..on her R & R from Afghanistan.

We have sailed 20 plus times with Princess and on our last port day we had a full rainbow. Cruising experiences are always subjective so sometimes you have to see the rainbow and focus on it instead of letting others change the colors!

Thank you everyone for your comments. We will await your report with interest, Darren.

I will also look at Tracie's report. Thanks for that heads up.

Has anyone gone on land tours run by Princess before boarding in Japan.

Would like your opinion

themmayblums@yahoo.com

Well we booked her and can't wait!

We were on the Diamond in January and had a wonderful trip. Loved the ship and our cabin steward. Didn't see anything that was old looking or worn except maybe the mini golf area and it just needed to be cleaned. Would not hesitate to sail on her again.

Well we're just back this week from the Spring Flowers cruise around Japan and I thought the ship was lovely - although it had just had its refit/refresh in Singapore 2 weeks before.

I understand that all of the carpeting had been changed and it certainly looked brand new. The dining rooms were fresh and clean and the theatre and bars looked great too.

Our cabin was just fine - clean, fresh etc. but a little tired in a couple of places (eg the balcony table had seen some wear and tear)

As for Horizon Court, I saw nothing to criticise there, either.

Admittedly each time we stopped in port a team of maintenance guys got to work on removing varnish on the handrails and repainting those but it was no big deal.

I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again if the opportunity arose.

(But I agree with Noodles about some of the entertainment on board - I, too, thought the illusionist was way way below par..... but I'm assuming it was the same guy. On the plus side, the show 'Bravo' is absolutely fabulous with a guest soprano who will knock your socks off.)

Well we're just back this week from the Spring Flowers cruise around Japan and I thought the ship was lovely - although it had just had its refit/refresh in Singapore 2 weeks before.

I understand that all of the carpeting had been changed and it certainly looked brand new. The dining rooms were fresh and clean and the theatre and bars looked great too.

Our cabin was just fine - clean, fresh etc. but a little tired in a couple of places (eg the balcony table had seen some wear and tear)

As for Horizon Court, I saw nothing to criticise there, either.

Admittedly each time we stopped in port a team of maintenance guys got to work on removing varnish on the handrails and repainting those but it was no big deal.

I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again if the opportunity arose.

 

(But I agree with Noodles about some of the entertainment on board - I, too, thought the illusionist was way way below par..... but I'm assuming it was the same guy. On the plus side, the show 'Bravo' is absolutely fabulous with a guest soprano who will knock your socks off.)

So glad to hear you had a great time. I'm sure we will too.

Just can't wait! :)

Hi,

We did the eight-day Circle Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess in July 2016 and had a wonderful time. The ship should be even better following its refurbishment.

Chuck

First, let me say we love Princess, are Elite and have never had a bad Princess cruise. We also sail RCI, Cunard and have dabbled in a few others, but we always return to Princess.

 

We have also sailed on Diamond, 3 years ago before her refit for the Chinese market, and loved it.

 

We are now considering a 14 night Fiji cruise out of Sydney and reading the reviews on here we are somewhat shocked. They don't seem very good at all.

 

Now we realise reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt, but there are so many poor reviews it's a little concerning.

 

So does anyone have anything good to say about her?

 

We understand she is due for a refit soon - will they be adding an International Cafe, or modernising the Horizon Court?

 

Thank you all!

I was on the Diamond at the end of 2015 and am on the ship again in January next year. I preferred her to the Emerald which I was on at the beginning of this year. It may be that the Diamond was my first cruise, but I had no issue with it. I quite enjoyed it.