Considering Diamond Princess but heard negative comments from fellow cruisers on HAL

[Betty in Cozumel]

We did a 14-night Asia cruise on the Celebrity Millennium in Jan 2018 and LOVED IT!!!!

 

We then did a 14-night Asia cruise on the HAL Westerdam in March 2019 and it was just okay.  Loved the ship but the food was horrible!!!!

 

We are now looking at another Asia cruise for early 2020 doing mostly Japan or Japan & Taiwan and like the itineraries on the Diamond Princess.  We mentioned this ship to fellow cruisers on the HAL cruise and people were quite negative about it.  (They weren't all loyal HAL customers)

 

I always thought that Celebrity, HAL & Princess were comparable.  Am I wrong?

 

I like the idea of the Diamond Princess having more Asian type food.  My husband is from Hong Kong and loves the idea of the buffet having a ramen station as well as Japanese cold noodles available.  But overall is the food better, same or worse?

 

I still have time to do research as we usually book last minute but would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

 

[Ombud]

The food is the same to better quality but then I'm a vegetarian from SF who prefers Asian (Japanese & Korean) food so my thoughts may differ from a lot of posters. 

[neverbeenhere]

If you enjoyed the Celebrity experience, you should stay with it. If you are looking to try another experience, then yes try Princess. We are not ever disappointed by either line. 

[oskidunker]

Hal food was bad when I cruised it 20 years ago. I think for really much better food than Princess you would need to step up to Crystal. Have not tried it but someday...

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

We did a 14-night Asia cruise on the Celebrity Millennium in Jan 2018 and LOVED IT!!!!

 

We then did a 14-night Asia cruise on the HAL Westerdam in March 2019 and it was just okay.  Loved the ship but the food was horrible!!!!

 

We are now looking at another Asia cruise for early 2020 doing mostly Japan or Japan & Taiwan and like the itineraries on the Diamond Princess.  We mentioned this ship to fellow cruisers on the HAL cruise and people were quite negative about it.  (They weren't all loyal HAL customers)

 

I always thought that Celebrity, HAL & Princess were comparable.  Am I wrong?

 

I like the idea of the Diamond Princess having more Asian type food.  My husband is from Hong Kong and loves the idea of the buffet having a ramen station as well as Japanese cold noodles available.  But overall is the food better, same or worse?

 

I still have time to do research as we usually book last minute but would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

 

So what exactly did these HAL folks say that was so negative?

[riffatsea]

39 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So what exactly did these HAL folks say that was so negative?

I would also like to know more specifics about their complaints??

We have considered one of the Japan cruises for the future.

I've been to Japan twice on land but DH is not good at living in foreign countries so a cruise would be better for him.

[Betty in Cozumel]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So what exactly did these HAL folks say that was so negative?

 

People said that it wasn't as good as it use to be.  The food was horrible.  And Princess nickel & dimes you for everything.  One couple also complained that the beds were horrible.  Lumpy and their backs hurt after sleeping on them for over a week.

[Betty in Cozumel]

One vlogger I watch loved their Japan cruise so that is what made me think of Princess since the Diamond Princess was specifically built for the Japanese market.

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

One vlogger I watch loved their Japan cruise so that is what made me think of Princess since the Diamond Princess was specifically built for the Japanese market.

The Diamond Princess was not built for the Japanese market. It was based on the West coast and did Alaskan cruises and then did Australia/New Zealand when not in Alaska. It attracted the same type of passengers the rest of the Princess fleet did when she first came out.

 

She was later retrofitted for the Asian market. She was one of two ships that was built in Japan. The Sapphire Princess is the other.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Coral

[Sillyjilly]

I loved the Diamond and the Sapphire. I was sad when they left the West Coast.

Never had a problem with mattresses on any Princess cruise.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

54 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

One vlogger I watch loved their Japan cruise so that is what made me think of Princess since the Diamond Princess was specifically built for the Japanese market.

Negative Ghost Rider!

 

Lots of ships have bad mattress's.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

44 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

People said that it wasn't as good as it use to be.  The food was horrible.  And Princess nickel & dimes you for everything.  One couple also complained that the beds were horrible.  Lumpy and their backs hurt after sleeping on them for over a week.

Interesting. We've booked quite of few upcoming cruises with Princess and don't remember folks on CC saying any of that. I'm sure the food is not as amazing as you would find on a Crystal or Oceania cruise, but I'm sure it's fine. As far as the beds go, I'm sure they're fine as well. The only negative we've heard on CC lately is the removal of the barrel chairs in the ocean view and regular balcony cabins.

 

Now, only one chair in a cabin would be a showstopper for us. But since we book mini-suites which have couches, it's not a concern for us. 

[J-D]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

[re Princess] ...The only negative we've heard on CC lately is the removal of the barrel chairs in the ocean view and regular balcony cabins.

 

Now, only one chair in a cabin would be a showstopper for us. But since we book mini-suites which have couches, it's not a concern for us. 

 

When we got to our "regular balcony cabin" on Emerald Princess for our transatlantic cruise last month, the barrel chair had indeed been removed.  However, our room steward was able to find one for us.  We find it incomprehensible that Princess no longer considers it necessary to provide two chairs in a cabin for 2 people. 

 

John

[BritinSoCal]

Recently returned from a 7-day cruise out of Kobe on the Diamond as part of a 2 and a bit week holiday in Japan (first week we spent in Kyoto - a city I'll definitely recommend if you've never been).

 

The Diamond's a beautiful ship, which has the new Princess bedding - dead comfy. Add a gently motioning ship and Mrs SoCal and I had no problem stacking Zeds. Food in the MDR was OK - nothing really wowed us (compared to both the Star and Majestic last year) - but it was all edible and no one on our table complained. HC does indeed serve ramen and cold noodles - they're not bad tbh (not as good as the real thing, but make for a pretty decent lunch) - and a pretty decent number of curry dishes (I digress). As befits a ship where the the passenger demographic is overwhelmingly Japanese (~ 65% on our cruise), there's a sushi restaurant (underwhelming by all accounts - I'd already had my fill by then, so can't comment), a decent selection of Japanese dishes for lunch, dinner and breakfast, including natto with your miso soup and grilled salmon, should you desire. While there's no tub chair in your stateroom, there is a kettle - just the thing to make a nice cup of matcha.   

[OzKiwiJJ]

We did the repositioning cruise, from Sydney to Yokohama, on Diamond last year and loved it. They were still running the Aussie-based menus and the quality and variety were good although perhaps not as good as on our first Princess cruise few years ago. I liked the layout, especially the Wheelhouse Bar which was large but still had cosy sections. I'd love to do a Japan-based cruise on her.

 

I consider Princess on a par with Celebrity. Some things Celebrity does better and some things Princess does better.

Edited June 16, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[Porky55]

Just returned from 14 days on Diamond around the South of Japan. We dined in the Savoy Dining Room -  early dining each night - our meals were served quickly, hot and delicious.

The buffet was similar to the Celebrity buffet with the inclusion of Japanese dishes as others have said - both mains and desserts (interesting).

Beds are better than most - but I do wish both cruise companies and hotels would do something about feather and down pillows - they start the night full of softness only to quickly lose all their promise 🥺

BTW - asked my cabin steward for the tub chair and it was returned to our cabin with a smile 👍

The ship was predominately Japanese pax - with a smattering of other nationalities. 

Diamond is beautifully maintained, clean as a pin, mostly well organised (more a passenger drama than the ship when getting on & off the ship in ports).

Missed the Patisserie with the coffee at the International Cafe in the Atrium on Deck 5 - but probably saved me a kilo.

So, go for it - Cruise on Diamond if you are interested in Japan. It’s not Celebrity, but that is half the fun of cruising isn’t it?

Rose 🌹

Edited June 16, 2019 by Porky55

[villauk]

10 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Missed the Patisserie with the coffee at the International Cafe in the Atrium on Deck 5 - but probably saved me a kilo.

 

 

Is there no IC on Diamond? 

[Ombud]

4 hours ago, villauk said:

Is there no IC on Diamond? 

Correct. No IC, one of the few ships without it

[ggprincess2004]

We spent 42 days on the Diamond, primarily Japan cruising. It was not our favorite cruise experience, but that was because we are anytime diners, and cruises originating in Japan on Princess generally offer only fixed seating dining. The food was fine, there was the noodle bar in the buffet at lunch and dinner, which we truly enjoyed. Also a make your own sushi station. No International Café. We thought the service level was typical for Princess, and the ship itself was in good shape. We cruise Princess almost exclusively, did Celebrity once because 200 of our closest friends were doing the group cruise. Convinced us that Princess is more to our liking. 

 

We loved the ports, there were so many interesting experiences.  We would consider the Diamond again, but would prefer that the cruise originate in Australia or Singapore, so that anytime dining is offered. But, if you are fine with fixed seating dining, you probably will very much not only enjoy the ports, but the ship  as well. 

[Porky55]

There is actually an International Cafe - just without snacks 😢 You are able to get all your tea and specialty coffees here and the area has the usual lovely ambiance, with people sitting and chatting for ages, or having drinks before dinner etc. 

As to the no Anytime Dining - I for one prefer Traditional, so each to there own I guess. They tell us that this occurs on Diamond around Japan because this is what the locals like (and understand).

We had a couple beside us though who dined very much ‘Anytime’ and had a wonderful cruise; they turned up for dinner with us if the fancy took them, or booked a restaurant, or stayed ashore when in Port, or went to the Buffet or ate in their cabin - it can be done, all you need is time 😉 (of which there is plenty on a cruise).

Rose🌹

Edited June 17, 2019 by Porky55

[Landsnark1]

We sailed on the September 5 - 9 Day around Japan cruise plus the 3 day pre-cruise hotel package.  We were not thrilled with the pre cruise hotel (the Keio Plaza), because it was not in or near "central" Tokyo.  Other than that, the hotel was fine.

 

We had been on the Diamond Princess years ago, and enjoyed it.  The retrofit for the Japanese market was not to our liking:  First, the extra cost sushi restaurant served good quality sushi - but assumed that their guests had never tried Japanese food before.  Nothing had any taste:  The miso soup was like water, the nigiri sushi had virtually no wasabi on the rice.  The quality was good, but the taste not.  There was surprisingly little Japanese food anywhere else on the ship, including in the dining rooms.

 

Finally, if you stand taller than 6 feet and/or weigh more than 250 pounds, you will find the toilets almost impossible to use and are quite uncomfortable.  They retrofit the "built in bidet toilet seats on the toilets in the staterooms - and they are now quite small and uncomfortable.

 

Among the positives:  there was locally themed entertainment on the ship, the port lecturer was quite informative and, as always with Princess, the shore excursion program was outstanding. 

[JWUC]

We were on the September 9-18, 2019 Circle Japan Cruise. We had a wonderful time. Unlike Landsnark1, we loved the sushi at Kai Sushi. My DW and her 90 year old aunt are Japanese American. DW is a little bit of a sushi snob - the rice needs to be flavored - and just so. Kai Sushi did an excellent job in our opinion. The build your own sushi in the buffet does not have flavored rice - so it was bland. The ramen bar and availability of green tea soft serve at Swirls was also a plus. I had a tonkatsu burger from the grill and enjoyed it.

 

Last year we were on the Celebrity Constellation from Singapore to Abu Dhabi. We thought the food and service were similiar.

 

We aren't huge fans of the new beds. They make the beds pretty tall and we didn't sleep any better on the new beds.

 

The CD staff was largely bi-lingual. Unfortunately, the two CDs - Brian Sato and Kenta - got off the boat with us since their contract was up. They did an excellent job.

 

Knowing some of the dining room tips made our cruise more enjoyable. We don't care for the Princess dinner rolls. We asked for Jewish bread and bread sticks. They were excellent. Also, a volcano is a wonderful way to finish off a dinner.

 

A couple final notes about cruising Japan.

1) Japanese Immigration at the ports is pretty bad. We had to go through immigration at Maizuru - since we would be leaving Japan for S. Korea. There was a long slow line at the port. Also, in Hiroshima after S. Korea - it took over 4 hours before we cleared immigration. Certainly not Princess Cruise Lines fault, but something to be aware of. I missed a shore excursion in Hiroshima since I thought 3 hours would be plenty to clear immigration.

2) Weather in Japan can be iffy. Our cruise started out being affected by a typhoon. We skipped a port due to it. They following cruise was also impacted by a typhoon.

 

Bottom line - we loved Japan and would recommend the Diamond Princess.

 

 

[Brisbane41]

I have been cruising to Japan on Diamond Princess since 2014 and have spent a total of 69 nights on the ship. There is a reason I keep going back and it is because it is so good and the ship and atmosphere is more relaxed with a friendlier vibe to it. The ship generally is kept in good condition.

 

No real major changes have been made for the ship for the Japanese market apart from the Japanese baths and the alternate restaurant serving sushi. These are just minor areas and do not impact the rest of the ship and enjoyment of it as the rest of it is exactly the same as all other Grand class ships. The toilet seats that have the water jet cleaner for down below are removable by maintenance and replaced by regular ones if it is not to your liking. This is a simple task they do often. There is however a problem with shower water pressure. I do not know the reason why but the water pressure in every shower I have been on in the Diamond Princess has been excessively slow.

 

The food is exactly the same as all other Princess ships. Some of the names have been tweaked to represent the Japanese language and a bit more creativity but that is about all it is. The Princess favourites still exist and the popular menu items on Princess are still there. Just the same as when a Princess ship comes to Australia there are additions of Australian style food the same can be said for Japan and Diamond Princess. There is plenty of Japanese beer and Sake available.

 

Entertainment is exactly the same. The bars are exactly the same and the activities are exactly the same. In some ways the ship functions more quickly having more Japanese on board.

 

I also find it more relaxing cruising out of Japan. I know what cruise ships can be like how you tend to get a crowd that are not so much "undesirable" but just inconsiderate or absent minded or a situation like the brain goes on holiday at the same time as them. I find that being based in Japan the language barrier and distance prices out the ones who go on cruises that you do not want to go on cruises with. So in short do not expect to see too many deck chairs being occupied by a book all day long or soaking wet lounge chairs where someone has gone inside with wet swimmers or kids jumping and running around the pools or loud chanting parties celebrating whatever significant milestone they are having.

 

Prices of excursions can be expensive. That has never been an issue to me. My level of Japanese is at JLPT level N4 officially but I could well pass the next level if I bothered to try. For me getting past immigration and touring has been simple and fast.

[CineGraphic]

Negativity on the HAL board??? Why am I not surprised???

Some of the people on there are just plain miserable.

The board even has a pinned topic, "Dealing with "Difficult" Posts or Threads on the Holland America Board".

 

[ggprincess2004]

We sailed 42 nights on the Diamond on the Japan itineraries.  We have no complaints about the food, loved the Ramen station. The beds were just fine, not lumpy but quite nice. It was very much what we expect from Princess, and we prefer them over Celebrity. Happy to sail the Diamond again anytime. 

The one issue we have with sailings out of Japan is the lack of anytime dining, with the exception of Club Class. We are anytime diners....tough adjustment for us. But the buffet food was lively for the most part so when we skipped dinner in the din8ng room, all was still wonderful.

The Diamond and Sapphire were built in Japan and have a wider beam than the Grand class ships. We have sailed them both and love them. Do not hesitate if the itinerary is something you want.