Just back from Diamond

[mcpepe]

Hello all!

 

We just returned from the 11/17 5 night sailing on the Diamond, which sailed from San Juan to St Barts, St Kitts, St Maarten, and St Thomas and returned to San Juan.

 

My husband, age 40 and I, age 41, had a WONDERFUL time on this very special ship.

 

Captain Neil Broomhall is as nice and unassuming as I've read. Many times my husband didn't realize it was the Captain since he was just getting off the ship to wander around the port behind us. Open bridge was such a pleasant experience.

 

Giuseppe, our Cruise director, is a charming Italian man and so friendly. The entire upper management/staff are very approachable. Mimi (real name Myriam but goes by Mimi) was our Assistant Cruise Director and is quite a charming Frenchwoman with a great sense of humor. Some of you may know her from the Paul Gaugin and she's also been on the Mariner and one other ship.....she has been on all the Radisson ships but one and I'm confusing which. We had dinner with her several nights.

 

We had @290 passengers if I remember correctly. We met some great people on board. There was a nice cross section of ages, from mid 30's to 70's. There were over 150 passengers who were previous Diamond guests, which says alot about the ship.

 

The dining room has some of the best food at sea. I've sailed on Carnival and HAL before and I'd put Carnival's food above HAL, but Diamond's food is heads above both. We come from South Jersey, near Philadelphia and have access to many great restaurants. Eating on the Diamond was like eating out in a really nice restaurant every night. There was nothing mass market about it.

 

Don Vito's was open every night on our cruise and was totally booked by the first evening. We had reservations but had to cancel....but that story can come later.

 

We enjoyed the open seating in the Grand Dining Room. The dining room is just beautiful. We had great table mates each night we dined except one night. We actually had a "table mate from hell" experience one night, the first time we encountered that in 8 cruises I've been on. I'll detail that experience later as well. For the most part, we met some wonderful people.

 

Can't say enough about our Cabin Steward(ess) Alina. She was so sweet and caring.

 

The staff really do make this ship special, always saying hello, asking about your day, etc.

 

If anyone has any specific questions about the Diamond I'd be happy to answer. Those of you with hesitation, I would say GO!! You have nothing to worry about sailing the Diamond. I'm now spoiled rotten and can't wait to sail Radisson again. :-)

 

Maria and John - excuse any typos

[traveller333]

Good to hear you enjoyed the Diamond. It is probably my favorite of all the ships within the rssc fleet. Such a smooth ride! The cabins aren't as large or lavish as Mariner or Voyager but it has such a good feel to it and it's own personality....more like the Song of Flower did. Also, I think the food is the best on this ship. Sorry you weren't able to dine in Don Vito's. We always enjoy dining there once during any cruise for just a fun night...it's more like going to an actual dinner show with entertaining singing waiters. I'm anxious to hear about your dining mate from hell!

 

I'm looking forward to cruising on the "Lil Diamond" again this winter.

[KatWag]

Maria and John,

 

So glad you enjoyed your trip. (And definitely looking forward to hearing more details.)

 

I still rave about Capt Neil. He was hands-down my favorite of any captain I've sailed with. And such a special feeling about the ship. Reading your report made me feel like I was back onboard. :)

 

Kathy

[English Voyager]

Given the comments of one contributor concerning the food in the "Diamond's Don Vito's" thread,it must be difficult for a potential first timer to come to a judgement.

Personally,I thought the food on the Diamond,both in the main dining room,and in Don Vito's,was excellent.

Our cruise on the Diamond was our first with RSSC,and it compared extremely favourably with Seabourn.

[JoAnne B]

Yes, English Voyager you are right. Critical comments made by those of us who have sailed the Diamond should not be a put-off to anyone considering the Diamond for the first time. To put it in perspective, food on the Diamond is head and shoulders above anything on the mass market ships. And the plating and presentation is beautiful! The overall dining experience is quite elegant. That said, many dishes and sauces lack the zing that a little more aggressive seasoning would impart, and fish dishes are relatively limited compared say to the Voyager. But that is a matter of personal taste.

 

Breakfast on the deck is an example of the best of RSSC. Don't you hate standing in line for steam table food first thing in the morning? Not on the Diamond. There are no lines to contend with, but rather, large individual tables of food placed strategically around the atrium, juice and coffee in one corner, breads, cereals, and rolls at another, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs, at another, and fruit, salmon, and cheeses at still another. Choose your juices, make a plate of fresh fruit, and your plate is wisked by a waiter to a nicely set table of your choice. Waiters then take your order for hot foods and keep your coffee cup filled. Tables are quickly cleared..not a dirty table, or even dish, to be found! What a relaxing way to start the day!

 

I comment on the blandness of the food at Don Vito's only because the chef is so talented and I know he could do even better. In a cooking class, he taught us to prepare a wide variety of hand-made pasta (what a mess we made of the side dining room!) and then improvised sauces to complement each pasta. The results were marvelous! But nothing even vaguely similar was ever served in Don Vito's or the main dining room.

 

Like any restaurant, some will love the food, while others are more critical. I remember one Princess cruise years ago where 8 of the 10 at our table raved about the food (it was definitely the best I ever experienced on Princess) while one couple complained loudly on the last night that it was the worst food they'd ever had on a cruise and that the chef should be fired. The rest of us were shocked. You can't please everybody!

 

Overall, let there be no doubt that the dining experience on the Diamond will be quite positive. It's a relaxed experience and an opportunity to engage with a variety of interesting fellow passengers. Consider it a positive and decide for yourself.

[Lv2sail]

We are scheduled to cruise the same itinerary in February.

 

We've done 7 day cruises with RSSC before but never a 5 day. Do they

have a formal evening? Also, do they supply the two bottles of liquor in

the cabin? Also, does the Diamond have a swim platform?

 

Looking forward to getting away during the dark days of winter.

Thanks in advance for your response.

[Phylhering]

There is a formal night. They have a dive platform but can only be used when you are tendered. I left the ship in St. Barts and never realized that that platform was down.

[JoAnne B]

Yes, you will receive two bottles of liquor, wine, or champagne of your choice. Look for the form right away when you board, then hand it to your stewardess when she comes to introduce herself. With a little luck, it'll arrive during turn-down that night. There will also be four beers in the fridge. Soda and water are replenished, while beer can be ordered from room service. On my back-to-back, the beer wasn't replenished for the second leg (two more bottles of liquor were provided--four bottles for 13 days--no wonder I had no bar bill!). I mentioned it to my stewardess, and she brought them with a smile that evening.

[jhp]

Sports platform was in use when we were docked, not tendered last time I was on the Diamond in January in St. Thomas. Don't know if phylhering is talking about something different with "dive platform"

[zimmer64]

Hello all!

 

We just returned from the 11/17 5 night sailing on the Diamond, which sailed from San Juan to St Barts, St Kitts, St Maarten, and St Thomas and returned to San Juan.

 

My husband, age 40 and I, age 41, had a WONDERFUL time on this very special ship.

 

Captain Neil Broomhall is as nice and unassuming as I've read. Many times my husband didn't realize it was the Captain since he was just getting off the ship to wander around the port behind us. Open bridge was such a pleasant experience.

 

Giuseppe, our Cruise director, is a charming Italian man and so friendly. The entire upper management/staff are very approachable. Mimi (real name Myriam but goes by Mimi) was our Assistant Cruise Director and is quite a charming Frenchwoman with a great sense of humor. Some of you may know her from the Paul Gaugin and she's also been on the Mariner and one other ship.....she has been on all the Radisson ships but one and I'm confusing which. We had dinner with her several nights.

 

We had @290 passengers if I remember correctly. We met some great people on board. There was a nice cross section of ages, from mid 30's to 70's. There were over 150 passengers who were previous Diamond guests, which says alot about the ship.

 

The dining room has some of the best food at sea. I've sailed on Carnival and HAL before and I'd put Carnival's food above HAL, but Diamond's food is heads above both. We come from South Jersey, near Philadelphia and have access to many great restaurants. Eating on the Diamond was like eating out in a really nice restaurant every night. There was nothing mass market about it.

 

Don Vito's was open every night on our cruise and was totally booked by the first evening. We had reservations but had to cancel....but that story can come later.

 

We enjoyed the open seating in the Grand Dining Room. The dining room is just beautiful. We had great table mates each night we dined except one night. We actually had a "table mate from hell" experience one night, the first time we encountered that in 8 cruises I've been on. I'll detail that experience later as well. For the most part, we met some wonderful people.

 

Can't say enough about our Cabin Steward(ess) Alina. She was so sweet and caring.

 

The staff really do make this ship special, always saying hello, asking about your day, etc.

 

If anyone has any specific questions about the Diamond I'd be happy to answer. Those of you with hesitation, I would say GO!! You have nothing to worry about sailing the Diamond. I'm now spoiled rotten and can't wait to sail Radisson again. :-)

 

Maria and John - excuse any typos

Glad to hear you had an enjoyable trip. My husband and I are taking our first Diamond cruise in January. What was the attire during dinner. Was it somewhat casual or did the men wear ties?

[Jim B]

Hi Mcpede (Maria & John.)

 

I have a post somewhere on this Radisson CC board requesting information about the different ports.

Which ones would be the best where you can just get off the ship and walk around reasonably close to the ship?

Example: We have been to St. Thomas a couple of times and would consider that port easy to just get off and walk around.

Which ones would be best at doing an excursion since there is nothing close by?

Would appriciate your comments.

[zimmer64]

I am getting ready to go on Diamond Cruise from san Juan in January. Can anyone tell me what is appropriate attire for evening dinners and for formal evening as I want to avoid taking too much unneeded luggage. In addition, what is appropriate for daytime wear when leaving the ship?? Thanks for your help.

[mike35]

Many thanks for the review(s) of the Diamond. We just booked their August 20 cruise from Istanbul to Athens, and we are looking forward to it with great anticipation. We have had only one other RSSC experience - the 7 Seas Navigator from New York to Montreal (end of Sep 2004) - while there were many positives, we didn't feel the overall experience lived up to the 6-star hype.

 

The Diamond food comments parallel our impression of the Navigator - beautifully plated, but rather mundane when it came to flavor. We were also disappointed in the lack of variety of entrees.

 

Mike

[JoAnne B]

Zimmer64

 

You will find a wide range of dress aboard the Diamond. Check your documents for info on the number of formal nights. I take a dressy black dress with the requisite number of covers or fancy shawls. Same for other nights, mostly a less dressy black dress or pants with a variety of overblouses, lightweight jackets, or scarves. Since you probably won't dine with the same folks every night, "repeats" won't be noticed. Don Vito's is always casual. Daytime ashore will be similar to any other nice cruise...shorts, slacks or casual skirt/blouse or dress. Sailaway is a little dressier than other cruises but a nice casual outfit will fit in nicely. For a 5 or 7 night cruise, you shouldn't have to pack too much. Given the closet limitations, the less you take the better!

 

Hope this is helpful. Enjoy your cruise!

[Jim B]

MCPEPE:

Would you please tell me which night is formal night aboard the Diamond?

 

Our group of 8 is trying to decide which night we would like to make reservations at the specialty restaurant.

[JoAnne B]

The formal night is usually the second night, but can vary by itinerary. You may want to check with Alex as soon as you board. You'll probably find him near Don Vito's (in the atrium of the pool deck). He'll probably know the schedule. If you are with a large group, you may want to book early in the cruise. If not, sometimes it's more fun to wait until you know more fellow cruisers. Don Vito's is the most fun when it's packed with people!