Diamond princess questions

[When and How]

We have never been on the Diamond. Is the dining room crowded and noisy? Can you order room service from the dining room menu? Are there triple sheets? Or just duvets, so you can either roast or freeze? Are there trays in the lido? Just wondering how many of our cruise pet peeves we may be working around. We have done princess before and they DO have lovely service, etc.

[highheel girl]

We have never been on the Diamond. Is the dining room crowded and noisy? Can you order room service from the dining room menu? Are there triple sheets? Or just duvets, so you can either roast or freeze? Are there trays in the lido? Just wondering how many of our cruise pet peeves we may be working around. We have done princess before and they DO have lovely service, etc.

 

The Diamond/Sapphire have 4 seperate DR's (anytime). (2 large DR's split in 2 on 2 decks) We don't care for the setup but thats just us. :)

 

Room service can only be ordered from a limited room service menu unless you are in a suite.

 

One sheet! :eek: We always ask for a top sheet.

 

No trays.

 

 

Not really pet peeves, you can always go back for seconds. ;)

[caribill]

The Diamond/Sapphire have 4 seperate DR's. (2 large DR's split in 2 on 2 decks) We don't care for the setup but thats just us. :) That is four anytime dining rooms. Also there is one traditional seating dining room at thye aft end of the ship.

 

Room service can only be ordered from a limited room service menu unless you are in a suite.

 

One sheet! :eek: We always ask for a top sheet. A duvet, but you can ask your cabin steward for a sheet.

 

No trays. But the plates are large.

 

Not really pet peeves, you can always go back for seconds. ;)

 

 

see above in red

[Pam in CA]

The plates in the buffet are really oval platters. Tables are pre-set with napkins and silverware so you don't have to chase those down before looking for a table. There's tableside beverage service so you don't have to juggle the platter, a cup of coffee, or glass of juice or iced tea. I use a small bowl at lunch or dinner for my salad that I put on the platter and there's still plenty of room. That way, the dressing doesn't run. :)

[Duane T]

We have never been on the Diamond. Is the dining room crowded and noisy? Can you order room service from the dining room menu? Are there triple sheets? Or just duvets, so you can either roast or freeze? Are there trays in the lido? Just wondering how many of our cruise pet peeves we may be working around. We have done princess before and they DO have lovely service, etc.

 

The Dining Rooms are divided into the big International Dining Room, smaller Dining Rooms (Savoy, Vivaldi, Santa Fe, plus one more) and of course the Horizon Court Buffet. The Specialty restaurants were Sabatini's on Deck 7. The Crown steak house on Deck 14 (it's a closed off section just for fine dining during the evening...daytime it's part of the seating area for the Horizon Buffet).

 

The dining rooms were never crowded, but each dining rooms is open for anytime dining at different times. You can order room service anytime but I found going to the Dining Room everynight was a very pleasant experience whether you're on a table for 2 or larger. The Dining staff was absolutely wonderful. On days (especially after a long shore excursion), we would run up to the buffet where we always found excellent selections every day including cook-to-order Steaks, shrimp or scallops, fish.

 

We just got off the Diamond Princess and it had a great Dining room staff and service experience.

[UT-Volsfan]

We've actually enjoyed eating at the smaller anytime restaurants on the Diamond. When we were on board back in 2010, each one of these restaurants had the same menu as the main restaurant and they each also had a specialty dish that was not on the menu that could be ordered anytime. I believe the Santa Fe also had an appetizer dish of chips and fresh made guacamole dip they would bring out. That was a different touch than we've seen on most Princess ships.

[When and How]

Our last two cruises - celebrity silhouette and Hal Maasdam - had such crowded dining rooms you could barely converse. I will certainly ask for a top sheet and will also look forward to set tables in the buffet. So nice not to have balance everything without a tray.

[beg3yrs]

We've recently been on both the Diamond and its sister, the Sapphire.

 

The fourth smaller dining room is the Pacific Moon.

 

The Vivaldi dining room was used for traditional dining first seating only on both our cruises. It switched to anytime dining at 7:45PM.

 

On our last cruise we ended up mostly at Vivaldi at 7:45 and never had to wait for a table. We also went to Pacific Moon and Santa Fe around 5:45 with no trouble either.

 

Even with Anytime Dining, you can call the DINE line after 8AM each day and get a table reservation for a specific time - then you don't have to wait.

 

These four smaller dining rooms are decoratively themed and each has an off-menu specialty item available each night. The off-menu item is the same for the whole cruise and, you can ask your waiter for the specialty from the other dining rooms no matter which small dining room you are in.

 

The specialties we most recently remember are:

Vivaldi: Osso Buco - outstanding!

Santa Fe: Fajitas - very filling and will satisfy your Tex-Mex craving.

Savoy: Pork Loin - haven't tried this one

Pacific Moon: Rice noodles with seafood and vegetables - also very good if you are missing Asian food.

 

Finally, although the smaller dining rooms are themed, the overall menu is the same in each dining room each night.