On Diamond not live

[GUT2407]

Smooth sailings.

[shredie]

I have had trouble getting connected. Smoking policy on this ship is restrictive so I took a pic of something you don't see every day. No smoking sign in churchills. LOL. Tonight is formal so I'll be sure to count the shorts, jeans and flip flops. It looks like the always available is the same each day. Shrimp cocktail, Ceasar salad, fet Alfredo, salmon, tri tip, and 3 CS. Chicks leek pot pie. Pork belly. Osso buuco. CD is a lady. Bernie from Chile. She has scheduled a bunch of dance stuff. Lessons. Ballroom every night in the Wheelhouse. That place is gorgeous. Big and not salty doggified. Buffet is pretty but the front half has been redone in pastels and the back is stll the decor.

[GUT2407]

I have had trouble getting connected. Smoking policy on this ship is restrictive so I took a pic of something you don't see every day. No smoking sign in churchills. LOL. Tonight is formal so I'll be sure to count the shorts, jeans and flip flops. It looks like the always available is the same each day. Shrimp cocktail, Ceasar salad, fet Alfredo, salmon, tri tip, and 3 CS. Chicks leek pot pie. Pork belly. Osso buuco. CD is a lady. Bernie from Chile. She has scheduled a bunch of dance stuff. Lessons. Ballroom every night in the Wheelhouse. That place is gorgeous. Big and not salty doggified. Buffet is pretty but the front half has been redone in pastels and the back is stll the decor. [ATTACH]378738[/ATTACH]

 

 

Same Curtis Stone we had on Diamond Oct/Nov.

 

Loved the wheelhouse Bar and agree a bit strange what they have done with the buffet. I think because half becomes Sterlings at night.

[shredie]

Sushi place always empty.

[nasa1974]

Uh oh! We're flying from LAX to SYD next week. Hope it's not too brutal since we're in business class on Virgin Australia. Actually we are flying from Cincinnati prior to the LAX flight.

 

We'll be on the Diamond starting March 16. Can't wait.

 

We just got off the Diamond February 16th. Second time on her. She is showing her age a little bit but still a nice ship. We flew Virgin Australia from LAX. The flight attendants take good care of you. At least you will have more leg room than we did, we flew coach. Almost 15 hours to SYD. The flight home was the longest day I ever experienced, 34 hours with maybe 3 hours of sleep.

Have a fantastic cruise.

[Alaska05]

We just got off the Diamond February 16th. Second time on her. She is showing her age a little bit but still a nice ship. We flew Virgin Australia from LAX. The flight attendants take good care of you. At least you will have more leg room than we did, we flew coach. Almost 15 hours to SYD. The flight home was the longest day I ever experienced, 34 hours with maybe 3 hours of sleep.

Have a fantastic cruise.

 

Thanks. We're flying straight thru both ways, so should be similar to you since we're from the Cincinnati area. Delta pushed back our flight from LAX to CVG so we now have a 10 hour layover. We'll be propped up in some corner napping. 💤

[rdsqrl]

Bon Voyage, Shredie! Looking forward to more updates, even if you have to camp out in the passageway (look at it this way -- it gives Stewart something to talk about in his emails home, that crazy lady who hung out in the hall). What's the pax nationality mix? *sigh* So frenvious -- I can't wait to do the opposite side of the globe.

[Cruiserkenn]

Sushi place always empty.

 

Thanks for your observation on this. I appreciate it.

[bconley351]

It was also always empty on the 1/11 cruise.

 

Thanks for your observation on this. I appreciate it.

[Bocagirl1]

I have had trouble getting connected. Smoking policy on this ship is restrictive so I took a pic of something you don't see every day. No smoking sign in churchills. LOL. Tonight is formal so I'll be sure to count the shorts, jeans and flip flops. It looks like the always available is the same each day. Shrimp cocktail, Ceasar salad, fet Alfredo, salmon, tri tip, and 3 CS. Chicks leek pot pie. Pork belly. Osso buuco. CD is a lady. Bernie from Chile. She has scheduled a bunch of dance stuff. Lessons. Ballroom every night in the Wheelhouse. That place is gorgeous. Big and not salty doggified. Buffet is pretty but the front half has been redone in pastels and the back is stll the decor. [ATTACH]378738[/ATTACH]

 

Hi

 

Was there really a No Smoking sign in Churchills? Where can you smoke on Diamond Princess?

 

:confused::confused::confused:

[Cruiserkenn]

It was also always empty on the 1/11 cruise.

 

Thanks so much. I hope to go to Kai Sushi on a New Zealand cruise, on the Sun Princess. Sounds like it should be easy to dine there:)

[4x4bob]

Shredie

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post while you are on you Vacation. I enjoy reading your posts.

 

Bob

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Shredie! We had a cruise booked to Japan on the Diamond, but cancelled it. :( I'm interested in how the "noodle station" is. It sounds like it would be right up my alley.:rolleyes:

Edited March 4, 2016 by CruzinNoony

[shredie]

Annie. I am eating eggplant for you tonight.[emoji1] Last night was formal and I saw more tuxes than usual. Very few men without jackets and ties. I think this crowd is not heavily American. Lots of Chinese people. Lots of locals. PES lounge though is full of mostly Americans. Met some nice people. Smoking is about non existent. Not even in the casino. One spot outside on prom deck. I don't know why it's so restrictive on this ship. I don't get worked up over smokers so I guess I just haven't noticed what's going on. The noodle station has a selection every day in buffet. A meat. A veg. Condiments. Noodles broth. Looks popular. Today it was chicken and spinach. NZ is just breathtaking. Gorgeous scenery wherever you look. Worth that brutal flight! More next time I can get a signal. It really has be spotty.

[Colo Cruiser]

Annie. I am eating eggplant for you tonight.[emoji1] Last night was formal and I saw more tuxes than usual. Very few men without jackets and ties. I think this crowd is not heavily American. Lots of Chinese people. Lots of locals. PES lounge though is full of mostly Americans. Met some nice people. Smoking is about non existent. Not even in the casino. One spot outside on prom deck. I don't know why it's so restrictive on this ship. I don't get worked up over smokers so I guess I just haven't noticed what's going on. The noodle station has a selection every day in buffet. A meat. A veg. Condiments. Noodles broth. Looks popular. Today it was chicken and spinach. NZ is just breathtaking. Gorgeous scenery wherever you look. Worth that brutal flight! More next time I can get a signal. It really has be spotty.

 

 

 

Would be nice to take a ship back to the US for the return. :D

Did they ban cigar smoking and cig smoking in Churchills?

 

Enjoy!!

[TracieABD]

Annie. I am eating eggplant for you tonight.[emoji1] Last night was formal and I saw more tuxes than usual. Very few men without jackets and ties. I think this crowd is not heavily American. Lots of Chinese people. Lots of locals. PES lounge though is full of mostly Americans. Met some nice people. Smoking is about non existent. Not even in the casino. One spot outside on prom deck. I don't know why it's so restrictive on this ship. I don't get worked up over smokers so I guess I just haven't noticed what's going on. The noodle station has a selection every day in buffet. A meat. A veg. Condiments. Noodles broth. Looks popular. Today it was chicken and spinach. NZ is just breathtaking. Gorgeous scenery wherever you look. Worth that brutal flight! More next time I can get a signal. It really has be spotty.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated, Shredie. You are certainly on one for my dream cruises. I hope that all is sailing along smoothly and I look forward to hearing more! Happy sails!

[Colo Cruiser]

[shredie]

They aren't selling cigars in Churchill's, so I guess the no smoking thing is serious. My waiter tell me the CS stuff on the menu is "not popular." Sushi place is still empty. I just realized there is no Vines on the ship, either. (I haven't been hanging around Plaza deck much.) We were in Picton today which has a very picturesque little town. We took the free shuttle from the ship. There was a bagpipe band marching around the town, and I loved it. I am a big bagpipe fan! Tomorrow we are going to take a bus into Christchurch and walk around for awhile. I'm sort of interested to see the earthquake damage. If you can do this cruise, you should. The scenery has been just magnificent everywhere. It rivals Alaska in that way. Oh and one other thing, the guy who checks IDs as the buses arrive back at the ship was making jokes about you "States lot" who have an "interesting election coming up." He was snickering a lot. A lady at the back from Wisconsin said, "Why do you think we're on vacation here?" That got a good laugh from the rest of the bus. Seems our group there was mostly American, but there are many other nationalities on this ship. I have heard both Spanish and French several times. It's an interesting itinerary.

[Woobstr112G]

Would be nice to take a ship back to the US for the return. :D

Did they ban cigar smoking and cig smoking in Churchills?

 

Enjoy!!

 

Will be a shame if they banning it in Churchill's.....:(:(:(

 

Bob

[Colo Cruiser]

Will be a shame if they banning it in Churchill's.....:(:(:(

 

Bob

 

 

I know! Maybe its an Asian market thing.

[Woobstr112G]

I know! Maybe its an Asian market thing.

 

Could be sir.....

 

Bob

[GUT2407]

Will be a shame if they banning it in Churchill's.....:(:(:(

 

Bob

 

I know! Maybe its an Asian market thing.

 

Asians tend to be big smokers.

 

More likely an Aus/NZ things, where smokers are east becoming criminals.

[MissP22]

I wonder how they'll arrange the smoking areas on the Majestic Princess? They have to allot more space for the smokers in the Orient otherwise they be on top of one another.

[Steelers36]

........... We were in Picton today which has a very picturesque little town. We took the free shuttle from the ship. There was a bagpipe band marching around the town, and I loved it. I am a big bagpipe fan! Tomorrow we are going to take a bus into Christchurch and walk around for awhile. I'm sort of interested to see the earthquake damage. If you can do this cruise, you should. The scenery has been just magnificent everywhere. It rivals Alaska in that way. ......... It's an interesting itinerary.

 

Question for you ... Are you finding this is an effective and enjoyable way to see and experience NZ? I am guessing it is your first time there and not sure if you are also combining the cruise with a land stay. Or perhaps your trip was more about the cruise?

 

Just wondering for some input on this way to see the country (and some of Australia too I suppose) versus a land stay.

[CJ Dearborn]

We just returned from our cruise on the Diamond, disembarked in Auckland on March 2. It was a wonderful cruise, the scenery in New Zealand is breathtaking and the people are all so friendly. The majority on our cruise were Americans, followed by Australians. The funniest thing whenever we met a non-American, there was one subject they wanted to talk about: Donald Trump! Not one of them failed to mention him and our election. I loved the Diamond; in my opinion it was the best food I've ever had on a Princess cruise (although I met an Elite gentleman who rather pompously told me it was the worst he ever experienced). I did find the Horizon Court a bit small after our last 2 cruises on the Royal and Regal, but the food was excellent. I missed some of the newer touches, like automatic sliding doors and the International Cafe in the Piazza. Didn't stop me from enjoying my cruise, but must admit I love the newer ships. I do think the Diamond is looking a bit weather-beaten. Some of the carpet was worn and all of the balcony railings needed to be sanded and refinished. We were on Lido deck and looking down at the balconies, all of the railings were in bad condition. Also looking down we could see lots of rust on the balcony floors. But I try not to be too critical, I absolutely love cruising and the staff were wonderful. This was our first time as Platinum so the free internet minutes were great! We are planning our next cruise now, can't wait!