Review: Princess Cruises - Diamond Princess - [September 20 , 2004]

[Net Reviews]

Review By:

Reviewer Comments:

Diamond Princess Review Vancouver to LA (20 Sept to 25 Sept)

Just returned from a very enjoyable 5 day repositioning cruise on
Diamond Princess from Vancouver to LA (San Pedro)

Here are some observations.

We arrived around 11:45 AM at Canada Place and ended up in our Cabin
around 12:30 PM. Check in line was fairly well organized but the
lines labeled express check in didn't move any faster than the other
lines. Check in was by deck. Platinum and suites had a separate
line.

The first time on the ship they take your security photo when you
stick your cruise card in this machine. This way they can match you
up with your photo when you come back later.

We had an outside cabin with obstructed view. We picked one that was
in between some boats and we still could see pretty good. Recommend
these cabins as good values if you don't want a balcony but still like
to be able to tell if it is day or night.

Room was good size with nice closet with regular hangars. Typical
bathroom size (small but adequate) Room had refrigerator and we
brought aboard our own soft drinks without any hassles. We had 3
adults in our cabin. Bunk bed lowered from ceiling.

We were assigned anytime dining. Since their were 5 dining rooms
(Asian, Steak, Mexican, Italian and the $20 surcharge Sabatinni) We
decided to eat in a different one each night. I made reservations
immediately for all 5 nights and got my requested times ( 6 or 6:30)

Never had to wait at all for a table. All dining rooms except
Sabatinni had the same layout but with different décor. You had the
opportunity to join a larger table or offer to have others join your
table if you chose. After you were seated you were given two menus.
The same one used in the traditional dining room, plus the one for the
specialty menu from the current restaurant. The traditional menu is
the same as you would expect on any Princess cruise. The specialty
menu gave you the choice of 1 appetizer, 1 salad or soup, 3 entrees
and one desert. I typically would order the shrimp cocktail off the
main menu and mix and match other stuff.

The wait staff and service was very efficient but not as personal as
you expect when you see the same people night after night. They
didn't talk much and tell jokes, but were very polite. This is good
or bad depending on how much you want to talk to the waiters.
Consequently, dinner was much faster than you would get in the
traditional dinning room. You were never rushed, but when the last
course was finished they brought out the next course immediately. I
am sure they would have accommodated requests to slow down, but I
liked the faster pace. Personal choice was personal choice!. Dinner
took about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Food was excellent all the way around. Never saw long lines of
people waiting to get in the restaurants, but I didn't spend much time
observing either.

Sabatinnis was worth the extra $20 to me. The only choice you made
was for the entrée ( I picked lobster tail) and everything else was
brought to you in sampler sizes. 8 courses I think and all very good.
Service excellent as you would expect. No choices avail from other
restaurants, but then why would you want to pay extra to order off
those menus.

Had pizza one day for lunch. Wasn't very good. Very greasy.

Miscellaneous Information

Coke sticker was $2 per day. Waiters didn't seem as responsive when
they were bringing you "free" (no built in tip cokes) so if you give
them a buck they will generally make sure they find you for the rest
of your sitting.

Internet café was 35 cents a minute and never more than ½ full. I
bought wireless access for $10 for 30 minutes. Got connected at 11
mps in the atrium only – worked out OK. The internet café won't let
you view attachments.

Ship was very well laid out. Very few lines for things I remember
lines for on Dawn Princess. Princess theater seemed to have better
flow and was bigger. Horizon court was much bigger and being on the
aft part of the ship, was better positioned; overflow was accommodated
easier on the open decks. Never had a hard time finding a table.

Never gambled and casino seemed empty most of the time. However I was
in bed at 11:00 each night, so I am sure things are different as the
night wore on.

Entertainment was great. Juggler comedian, magician comedian, regular
comedian and two outstanding musical variety shows by the "Princess
Dancers and Singers" Almost stayed around to see them twice.

Good seats avail until about 15 minutes prior. But some first row
seats were avail until show time. Many folks didn't look in the first
row or didn't want these great seats. If you are late. Check out the
first three rows, you may be pleasantly surprised.

The free mini golf, called princess links, had no line and for good
reason. The greens were so undulating, as to make the course
unplayable. No fun. They should flatten out the greens a bit. Nice
idea, poor execution.

Getting off the ship in San Pedro was fairly painless. Lines moved
about 45 minutes faster than originally published. No pressure to
vacate rooms, although the cabin stewards appreciated our putting our
stuff in the closet so they could clean the room. Plenty of space
in the common areas to wait for your color to be called. Took about
30 minutes to get a cab - $15 cab ride to the nearest Avis Rental
office and then $45 for a one way rental to San Diego and back home.