On Diamond not live

[Colo Cruiser]

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!

 

 

Glad you had a great cruise.

[icat2000]

I think the no smoking in Churchills is to do with the laws in Australia and NZ where you are not allowed to smoke inside. It was the same for the Golden Princess too.

[Pushka]

I think the no smoking in Churchills is to do with the laws in Australia and NZ where you are not allowed to smoke inside. It was the same for the Golden Princess too.

 

 

Cunard allows smoking in the Cigar Bar during its Australia/NZ run.

[wishfulone]

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 as the menu on the Dawn in January. CS must only know how to cook three things :D Love that the noodle bar is available on the Diamond. Thanks for keeping us informed.

Edited March 7, 2016 by wishfulone

[Astro Flyer]

Weather is bad. We will be skipping ports. Now we are going north again and then through cook strait over to Oz. Lots of people disappointed but captain knows best.

In 2009 our ship was stuck overnight at the pier for Dunedin due to strong gusty winds that broke a mooring line. One irate lady expressed her anger to the captain about missing the next day in Christchurch (before the earthquake). He told her that if we had sailed the night before not only would we have missed Christchurch but the remainder of the cruise by damaging the ship attempting to navigate through Port Chalmers narrow harbor entrance. Everyone was disappointed but at least one person angrily questioned the captain's decision. :(

 

Hopefully your crossing of the Tasman Sea will have calmer conditions than our 20'-25' seas with near hurricane force winds.

 

Was Fjordland National Park on your itinerary? New Zealand is beautiful & we hope to return again for a land tour. I wish they'd have more cruises between Sydney & LA because it includes NZ unlike the roundtrip LA cruise to the South Pacific & Hawaii.

[waltd]

Just curious do they serve the custard filled donuts down under. :)

[GUT2407]

Just curious do they serve the custard filled donuts down under. :)

 

 

No they were up top at the Buffet, not down under at the Lobby Bar.

[icat2000]

Cunard allows smoking in the Cigar Bar during its Australia/NZ run.

I can only comment on Princess cruises taken within the past couple of months. Last year ago on the repo out of Sydney to Singapore there was smoking in Churchills. So it might be recent change. However, there was no smoking inside on Golden Princess in January.

 

Also these are Princess Australia based ships so might be subjected to different criteria than foreign based cruiselines??

Edited March 7, 2016 by icat2000

[waltd]

No they were up top at the Buffet, not down under at the Lobby Bar.

 

Too Funny. Thanks I now will look for them up top. :)

[GUT2407]

Too Funny. Thanks I now will look for them up top. :)

 

 

Not sure they were there every day, but they owe me at least a few kg (not as many as the Ice Cream owe me)

[Pushka]

I can only comment on Princess cruises taken within the past couple of months. Last year ago on the repo out of Sydney to Singapore there was smoking in Churchills. So it might be recent change. However, there was no smoking inside on Golden Princess in January.

 

Also these are Princess Australia based ships so might be subjected to different criteria than foreign based cruiselines??

 

 

Would be good to get feedback from those on the Cunard Queens currently in our waters.

 

Sometimes I think organisations use legislation as an excuse to stop something when the legislation doesn't actually apply.

 

I'd prefer if there no was smoking. But curious to see the differences.

 

Shame about the weather currently. But it is that time of the year in those waters I guess.

[floridalover5623]

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!

 

Were they painting or replacing carpets during the cruise?

[jagsfan]

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.

 

 

If you ever have the opportunity, NZ is absolutely worth a week and a half to two week stay. As much as I love cruising, it can't do justice to a country like NZ. The scenery and the people can't be beat, and you can go from the tropics up north to ski country in the south., and marvelous things to see in between.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[shredie]

No they were up top at the Buffet, not down under at the Lobby Bar.

 

 

LOL. I haven't seen them either place. Lots of people disappointed there is no IC on this ship. Yes, we were going to do fjords but will be missing that too.

[Pushka]

LOL. I haven't seen them either place. Lots of people disappointed there is no IC on this ship. Yes, we were going to do fjords but will be missing that too.

 

That is a shame. :( I really hope you are enjoying the ship to make up for it.

[Montrealais]

Well, here I am in Auckland. I can see the ship from my hotel window. I will try to check in when I can to tell you stuff, but I'm not promising anything. Let's see how the Internet behaves on board.

 

That flight from LAX was brutal. But my luggage made it!

 

 

Thank you for your input. The Diamond being more and more chosen by Asians (a good experience for us by the way) we don’t get too much info about it.

 

 

Our next cruise will be our fourth cruise (or fifth : see below) on the Diamond. Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, etc, were visited during those cruises. We have been on a bigger ship (Regal) and a smaller ship (Azamara Quest) but we feel that the Diamond is of a size that suits us best.

 

 

We booked the "Southeast Asia Grand Adventure" cruise – 21 days from Dec. 27/16 to Jan. 17/17.

 

 

We booked our cruise quite early because we wanted to take advantage of the «Sip and Sail» offer which ended on August 18, 2015. (Being French-Canadian we enjoy our wine! For that same reason please excuse my mistakes!)

 

In combining the 2 cruises into one, we had the benefit of an extension in the period covered by that offer (AIPB) which would end in December 2016. Otherwise, had we booked the cruise(s) as B2B we would have become Platinum Cruisers after the first of the two B2B cruises but the difference in prices and the fact that the only advantage would have been the free internet for the second leg as compared to the extension on the AIPB convinced us to do the B2B.

 

 

Considering the fact that the internet speed is very “slow” and that our needs in that respect could be filled by the opportunities offered on shore we made the choice described above.

 

 

We will be flying from Montreal, Canada to Singapore with Qatar Airways (first in the world ) with only one transfer in Doha and total flying times of 22 hours and 40 min. going and 24 hours and 45 min. returning. This is a minimum for us. Besides, the prices are very good compared to other airlines available here.

 

 

Au revoir!

Edited March 8, 2016 by Montrealais

[caribill]

We booked the "Southeast Asia Grand Adventure" cruise – 21 days from Dec. 27/16 to Jan. 17/17.

 

 

We booked our cruise quite early because we wanted to take advantage of the «Sip and Sail» offer which ended on August 18, 2015. (Being French-Canadian we enjoy our wine! For that same reason please excuse my mistakes!)

 

In combining the 2 cruises into one, we had the benefit of an extension in the period covered by that offer (AIPB) which would end in December 2016. Otherwise, had we booked the cruise(s) as B2B we would have become Platinum Cruisers after the first of the two B2B cruises but the difference in prices and the fact that the only advantage would have been the free internet for the second leg as compared to the extension on the AIPB convinced us to do the B2B.

 

 

 

 

Good news.

 

You will still become Platinum after the first segment as Princess now (and has for several years) gives a cruise credit for each segment of a multi-segment cruise booked as a single cruise.

 

Check in with the Captain's Circle rep during the first segment to make sure her records indicate this will occur. He/she may have to arrange for the proper color cruise card when the second segment begins.

[shredie]

We are in the Tasman sea now and it is bouncy. I suspect there will be some sea sick folks absent from dinner. They have had to adjust the show schedule since it's too rough for the dancers in the Princess theater. We get a singer instead. Last night they had lobster and crab cake and it wasn't formal night. That's a new one for me. The lobster was dinky and rubbery. Not good. Sushi last night in pES lounge was several cuts above the usual for lounge. More selection and better stuff. I guess it's the influence of the sushi restaurant here on board. But it's still always empty. I've been killing time between lounge and dinner by watching dance classes. Club fusion dance floor was completely full last night for the waltz class. Dancing is a big deal on this cruise. Lots of ballroom in wheelhouse. I'm still having a great time on this beautiful ship.

[icat2000]

Tasman crossings can be rough. Except when I'm on a cruise. Four times I crossed the Tasman smooth as. :D

[Colo Cruiser]

Hope it smooths out for you!

 

Edited March 8, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[wishfulone]

We are in the Tasman sea now and it is bouncy. I suspect there will be some sea sick folks absent from dinner. They have had to adjust the show schedule since it's too rough for the dancers in the Princess theater. We get a singer instead. Last night they had lobster and crab cake and it wasn't formal night. That's a new one for me. The lobster was dinky and rubbery. Not good. Sushi last night in pES lounge was several cuts above the usual for lounge. More selection and better stuff. I guess it's the influence of the sushi restaurant here on board. But it's still always empty. I've been killing time between lounge and dinner by watching dance classes. Club fusion dance floor was completely full last night for the waltz class. Dancing is a big deal on this cruise. Lots of ballroom in wheelhouse. I'm still having a great time on this beautiful ship.

Hope the seas calmed down overnight. Sorry if this has already been asked, but could you tell us who the Cruise Director and Ass CD are and what they're like?

[sawtooth]

We are in the Tasman sea now and it is bouncy. I suspect there will be some sea sick folks absent from dinner. They have had to adjust the show schedule since it's too rough for the dancers in the Princess theater. We get a singer instead. Last night they had lobster and crab cake and it wasn't formal night. That's a new one for me. The lobster was dinky and rubbery. Not good. Sushi last night in pES lounge was several cuts above the usual for lounge. More selection and better stuff. I guess it's the influence of the sushi restaurant here on board. But it's still always empty. I've been killing time between lounge and dinner by watching dance classes. Club fusion dance floor was completely full last night for the waltz class. Dancing is a big deal on this cruise. Lots of ballroom in wheelhouse. I'm still having a great time on this beautiful ship.

Shred,

Are you continuing on the Sydney-Tokyo cruise starting the 23rd?

[shredie]

CD is Bernie from Chile She's pretty good. We get off in Sydney. We are bouncier than ever today. Lots of empty seats in the dining room last night.

[Colo Cruiser]

CD is Bernie from Chile She's pretty good. We get off in Sydney. We are bouncier than ever today. Lots of empty seats in the dining room last night.

 

 

Well try to enjoy!!

[GUT2407]

CD is Bernie from Chile She's pretty good. We get off in Sydney. We are bouncier than ever today. Lots of empty seats in the dining room last night.

 

Bernie was an assistant when we were on in Oct/Nov, glad to here now a CD.