Diamond Princess Southbound Review

[bralli]

I just posted this review (the link isn't up yet):

 

"June 16th Southbound Cruise

 

This is my first review. This is my 5th cruise and 2nd with Princess. I have always wanted to do the Alaska cruise because I have always been disappointed with the scenery of past cruises where I essentially looked at open ocean the whole trip. I was traveling with my wife and 2 daughters (3 and 6).

 

We flew into Anchorage and took the Princess transfer to Whittier. This was an efficient process with Princess taking our luggage off our hands and other than the bus driver hawking his "I beat cancer by taking lots of vitamins" novel the coach ride was nice and scenic with great commentary and even a welcome stop at a wildlife refuge.

 

Embarkation was very smooth compared to past experiences. We had an inside cabin this trip and for whatever reason we were given a handicapped accessible cabin which was HUGE. Heck, I could have thrown a party in the bathroom alone. Being that we were traveling with small kids, this was a welcome treat. We also requested the "egg crate" mattress pad which was promptly set up for us.

 

The ship itself was in great shape; not significantly worse or better than other ships I have been on. Overall I found the staff to be exceptionally courteous. Maybe it was because we had two cute little girls, but we did seem to attract a lot of personal attention from many of the female dining staff. The child care was very convenient. We were mistakingly given a late seating for dinner but it actually worked out nicely as we could dump the girls off at the "Fun Zone" and enjoy a relaxing dinner together. Unfortunately, this did cause us to opt to miss a lot of the entertainment shows which I can't comment on other than the magic show which I thought was pretty darn spectacular for a cruise show.

 

I found the food to be exceptional despite the reviews I had read. The portions were very generous and the dishes were unique. The Horizon Buffet was a little cramped compared to Royal Carribean but I did find the quality of the food to be superior and you couldn't beat the view.

 

College Fyord was unfortunately very fogged in and I was not able to see very much. The ship arrives very early (6 am) and only stays for 3 hours.

 

Glacier Bay, the next day, was considerably more eventful with lots of wildlife (including a pair of humpbacks right off the side of the boat) and several instances of spectacular calving of glaciers.

 

Skagway was really just a bunch of jewelry stores. I'm glad we booked the train ride which was really worthwhile with tons of great scenery.

 

In Juneau, we booked a whale watching trip, so I didn't really get to see much of the city itself but it appeared much more substantial than the previous port. We saw lots of whales and shared the boat with "Bowser" from Sha Na Na (before my time, sorry...).

 

In Ketch, it was our first rainy day and I went salmon fishing with a private charter. Needless to say, I caught a 30 lb. King Salmon, so I was pretty stoked.

 

Disembarkation was very chaotic. The staff was nowhere to be found and people were wandering around in every direction. That could have been handled much better in my opinion.

 

Overall, this was my best cruise so far. I loved the scenery. It's really hard to describe what's it's like slowly cruising through these gorgeous waterways with constant mountains, trees, and wildlife to keep your eyes busy."

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions. :D

[sosvc]

Thanx for the review. We are also going on the Diamond...where would you say is the best area to view the scenery? I have read that some areas are very busy while others there is hardly anyone around. Did you experience this?

[bralli]

Thanx for the review. We are also going on the Diamond...where would you say is the best area to view the scenery? I have read that some areas are very busy while others there is hardly anyone around. Did you experience this?

 

Go to the Promenade Deck (Deck 7). It is covered, close to the water, not crowded, and has plenty of deck chairs. Dress warm! I'm really glad I brought a stocking cap to keep my ears warm.

[SoccerMom#3]

In Juneau, we booked a whale watching trip, so I didn't really get to see much of the city itself but it appeared much more substantial than the previous port. We saw lots of whales and shared the boat with "Bowser" from Sha Na Na (before my time, sorry...).

 

 

Bowser actually performed on our ship Serenade of the Seas last week. I think he was before a lot of people's time who were on our ship. The best part of the show was when he had folks from the audience perform.

[GatorTom]

We where on the Diamond Northbound May 26th and I agree with great viewing from Deck 7. As you go forward near the bow the deck ends but if you walk up 1 flight of stairs you come up to deck 8 and it wraps around the bow of the boat. Great viewing. We had a Ocean view cabin so when we where in Glacier Bay we spent most of our time on Deck 7 and 8. Much less crowded then up top. At that back of the bay you get very close to Maggerie Glacier. You first view the glacier for the port side and then they turn the ship around for people with balcony's on the Starboard side. While on the port side we saw a great deal of calving(Glacier shearing) but for those who chose to wait when the ship turned to the Starboard side they saw no activity whatsoever. Even if you have a balcony I would suggest you get out on deck. In addition when the ship was turning I walked up to Deck 8 and had a great and uncrowded view from the bow of the ship.

[diverearl]

Thanx for the review. We are also going on the Diamond...where would you say is the best area to view the scenery? I have read that some areas are very busy while others there is hardly anyone around. Did you experience this?

 

We were also on the Diamond Princess on the 6/16 southbound and spent a lot of time on the 15th floor - bow of the ship (right above the bridge). It was very cold and windy as we were moving along most of the time at about 20+ knots. Dress right and stand back from the rail about 10 feet and it was a less breezy great place to view the wildlife and scenery.

 

While in Glacier bay watching the calving of the glaciers get a good spot early as everyone on the ship will be on the side facing the glacier. Other than this we never had a problem getting a "front row seat for the show"

[bralli]

Here's a couple pics:

 

 

 

 

 

[thawan]

Nice pictures...love how they are moving

[nicstress]

We saw lots of whales and shared the boat with "Bowser" from Sha Na Na (before my time, sorry...).

 

That is really funny because I shared a taxi with "Bowser" in St. Thomas from Red Hook back to the ship. I was on the Rhapsody. I missed his show that time but heard it was good!

 

I enjoyed your review and pictures. We will be on the Diamond on 7/7/07! I am anxious to try Princess for the first time as RCI/Celebrity is my favorite so far!

[Twomalamutes]

Which whale watch did you do? Was it one of the ships or did you book your own?

[bralli]

Which whale watch did you do? Was it one of the ships or did you book your own?

 

I booked directly through Orca Enterprises. Captain Larry himself drove the ship (but never said a word). There was another captain who did all the narration.

 

http://www.orcaenterprises.com

[The Postman]

Could you let us know your experience in Ketchikan with your fishing charter?

 

Thanks!

[bralli]

Could you let us know your experience in Ketchikan with your fishing charter?

 

Thanks!

 

I booked directly with:

 

http://www.ketchikancharterboats.com/

 

They were very professional and the captain seemed very enthusiastic about helping us find and catch fish. They were nice because they were one of the few boats that I was able to book an individual ticket on. Most of the other charters required you charter the whole boat.

[marlee73]

Did you take the train up and bus back or all train?

[nikatgram]

What great pictures, thank you! We are going on the Diamond next month. Where were you going on the train in the photo?

[ecpc1302]

Loved your pics. Thanks for writing.

Elsie:cool:

[Boca_Raton]

We where on the Diamond Northbound May 26th and I agree with great viewing from Deck 7. As you go forward near the bow the deck ends but if you walk up 1 flight of stairs you come up to deck 8 and it wraps around the bow of the boat. Great viewing. We had a Ocean view cabin so when we where in Glacier Bay we spent most of our time on Deck 7 and 8.

 

Can you hear the commentary over the P.A. from these decks?