A huge "THANK YOU" to all board posters (and a mini review of the DP 1/22)

[tarps14]

My DH and I wish to thank all of you that take the time to post here. We have frequented these boards for several years and always seem to find our way back when we have an upcoming cruise planned. I don't think we have ever gotten as much info as we did for our most recent trip on the Diamond 01/22-29/05. We celebrated our 20th anniversary on this trip and you all made it PERFECT. Without your information we would never have known about the aft cabins. We were in D738, a vista suite, with the most incredible view we have ever had. Lets put it this way, shows?-didn't see a one, putt-putt?-never made it up there, bad CD?-never heard the guy (which from what I understand, was pretty bad), 3000 other people on the ship?-didn't really notice!! (HA!) (Okay, okay, I'll try to keep this PG!)

Seriously, though, this cabin was truly wonderful. Do not worry at all about the privacy of these balconies, we felt like we were totally alone back there. Absolute quiet, saw our neighbor maybe twice when they were standing at the railing, no one looking down on you, nobody looking up. You simply couldn't see anything except that beautiful wake each and every day. I have to agree with Mrs. Christine, food was not at all as bad as I expected. Horizon Court, considering how much food they prepare on a daily basis, was actually quite good. A little congested people-wise, but what do you expect when everyone is trying to eat at the same time. We opted out of traditional seating as soon as we boarded because we really wanted a table for two. (BTW, the staff at the dining change-table were absolutely thrilled that someone was giving up trad. as opposed to demanding it.) We started at Sterlings and, to be perfectly honest, I just didn't see what all the raving was about. The food was certainly good, but my DH has spoiled me with grilling steaks to perfection so I guess I'm just a bit jaded. Service seemed a little rushed but acceptable. I now understand the comments about the two-person "bench" seating, not at all private. We had very cordial guests on either side of us so we made the best of the situation. Had a very similar experience the second night at Vivaldi, but the maitre'd took pity on us and sat us at what was normally a table for four. Much more private, but again a little rushed. I understand these are the two most popular "any time" restuarants so we expected this to a degree (again, thanks to all of you!).

The third night we found perfection. We dined at Santa Fe and had the best experience of all. We were, at first, led to the well-known bench seat table for two, which my DH promptly said "no" too and requested something different. They took us to table 343 which is just inside the dining room behind the partition of flashing pottery lights (not as tacky as it sounds). This is normally a table for four with a curved bench seat and two chairs opposite. We both sat on the bench and had a lovely view of the whole dining room without feeling like we were on display. This worked so well for us that we ended up requesting the same table for the rest of the week at 8:00pm. We still had to call each morning for reservations, but they were always willing to take a specific table request. We had a wonderful waiter, Joaquim, and his assistant, Adrian. I firmly believe that where these hard-working staff are concerned, you "get" what you "give". If you are demanding and unappreciative, that is what you get in return. If they are treated with respect and kindness, they bend over backwards to help you in all your requests. The maitre'd was absolutely one of the hardest working we had ever seen. I wish I could remember his name, but he has beautiful white hair with the funkiest little square glasses (I know, I just described half the ship). My understanding is that the maitre'ds rotate every two weeks, from dining room to dining room, but I hope you get the opportunity to meet him, very efficient!

I wish I could say we experienced all there was to do on this lovely ship, but other than eating, gambling a little (came out on the plus side over all), and shopping a bit, we simply spent most all the rest of the time in the cabin and on that great balcony. I can't say enough about how incredible this was. It was, by far, the largest we have ever had out of 10+ cruises. We have had suites on RCCL and Carnival and never have we had this big of a balcony. (BTW, the support beam that goes through the balcony in no way interferred with the usage of the balcony, plenty of room).

I know each persons cruise vacation can be as different as night and day, but we simply had one of those "cruises to remember". Each time we left a port, we had something new to remember. Leaving Puerto Vallarta, there was the most beautiful full moon coming up over the island, leaving Mazatlan where it had been a little rainy, we had a double rainbow! Then leaving Cabo, we had whales swimming about, with dolphins jumping and playing around them. I truly thanked God at this point for making these moments some of the most memorable we will ever have.

I can't begin to tell all of you how much a part you played in all of this. As stated earlier, without the much needed info you provide, we would not have been able to make such informed decisions. We certainly had moments that were memorable for other reasons (like 12 foot swells our last day at sea, UGH!) but these were fleeting and not worth dwelling on.

I didn't mean to make this quite so long, but I had to say thank you and hope that each of you, at least once in your life, are blessed with such a vacation as this.

 

Sincerely,

Tarps14

[randyat1001]

Tarps,

Very eloquently described. We are on the 2/12 sailing of Diamond and if our experience is anywhere close to yours we will be estatic!!

This is our 4th cruise with Princess and we have never had anything less than an extremly positive experience.

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

Randy

[ca2ga2000]

Tarps-

 

Thank you SO much for the wonderful words about your cruise on board the Diamond. We are going on the Diamond on 4/9/05, and although our extended family cruise will likely be much different than your experience, it was so nice to hear about another positive experience. We have cruised Princess before (on the biggest ship in the middle of summer), and thought it was the best vacation ever. Some of the negative posts about the Diamond recently have really started to upset me, so I thank you for making me feel better again!

 

P.S. We are from Gwinnett too... have you found the Atlanta Area Cruisers group on this board?

[trip42]

Tarps... It is wonderful to hear that you had such a great time. I sailed the diamond in Nov. and had a great trip for a first cruise. I also was getting worried about all the bad things being said, but I would sail her again in a heartbeat.

 

So glad you had a wonderful trip, the hubby and I are going in oct. this year for our 16 year ann. and have booked a Mini for us that is a real treat.

[Hucc]

so glad to hear all the great stuff about the Diamond... we're boarding her in a few weeks :)

[elliair]

If you would like to read more reviews of the Diamond, there's some pretty comprehensive reviews here:

 

http://www.cruisereviews.com/PrincessCruises/DiamondPrincess.htm

 

We were on the 1/22/05 cruise. We were not impressed with the food. The ship is beautiful, loved our cabin. The service was great (except for our waiter). We're going to try Celebrity or RCL next.

[cynbar]

I wrote a review of the 1/22 cruise a few days ago which was critical of the dining room service, and frankly, I think it's insulting to suggest that it was all our fault. We not demanding or unappreciative, and no one who knows us has ever suggested such a thing. Two of the nights, the service was excellent. Three nights, it was adequate. And two nights, it was not satisfactory. Do you suppose the variable here is that we were more accomodating on some evenings than others???? We are usually Princess cheerleaders and are not difficult to please, but I can;t believe anyone would have been satisfied with the service we got in Sterling and Pacific Moon. There has been criticism of these boards for slamming and insulting posters who criticize Princess, and it seems that way to me here. To tell me "you get what you give" is contrary to the spirit of sharing I thought this community was about.

[elliair]

Cynbar, I've read several reviews (here and on different boards), where people have criticized the food on Princess. There was one thread in particular here where someone said the food was inedible on the Diamond. I tried to pin the author of the thread down as to specifically why the food was inedible, but never got an answer. I was specific in my review of how I saw things in the dining room and buffet. I suppose some people don't want to hear anything negative as it may affect how they will perceive things when they cruise. We've been on enough cruises to know that not everyone will experience the same as we did. I know what good food tastes like, and our table of eight did too (and we all agreed the food was not good). It doesn't bother me if people want to flame what we have experienced, that's why this board is called "cruise critic." Not all apple pie tastes the same. ;)

[tarps14]

Again, thank you to those who take the time to post comments here, both good and bad, as I feel both sides are necessary to make an informed decision. However, I have been home all of three days (only got home Monday due to the ice storm in the south) and have simply not had time to read any reviews other than the initial post by Christine. I apologize if I offended anyone with what I wrote (and am having a very difficult time seeing exactly where that might have happened!). I was simply stating an opinion about treating any one, not just dining room staff, with respect. I wouldn't take it upon myself to judge anyone else's opinion or experience, as it is just that, an opinion and their own personal experience. (Haven't we already covered this recently?) If I stepped on toes, forgive me. Absolutely unintended as I am simply not "in the know".

 

Is it just me, or have all of us been taking things WAY too personal lately? Lets back off some and, just maybe, try to actually see where the posts are coming from and the point the person is trying to make. My one and only purpose was to simply say each of you are appreciated for the information you provide. Happy day to all. :D

[cynbar]

Tarps --- we were with you on the 1/22 Diamond cruise, arrived home in Boston early Sunday morning and posted some comments re: our trip later that day. We have 13 cruises behind us of which 5 have been on Princess, and we are reserved and polite people who ALWAYS treat others with respect. Still, we had service 2 nights on this ship which offended us quite a bit. Even after some time to digest all this, I still thiink it's insulting to state that "you get what you give", because in this case, it was not true. We try to treat EVERYONE with respect.Our cruise was very good, just not great because of the problems with the DRs. Perhaps if you avoided the generalizations , you would have an easier time. I hope my posts have always been thoughtful, and it's denigrating to suggest that they are not.

[tarps14]

:confused: :confused: This it truly not worth the effort.

[Lynda90]

Tarps, we were on the 11/27 sailing and also had just a wonderful time. So glad you enjoyed yourselves. I would go back in a minute. I thought the food was good; not great, but quite good for the most part. There is always something to find. We had such a wonderful time we are trying her sister, the Sapphire, in May. Thanks for the wonderful review. Made me feel I was back on board. We also were on the Diamond to Alaska last May and stayed in a suite (lucky upgrade) in cabin B753. Our balcony was also one of the highlights of our trip.:D

[skarletohara]

Hey Tarps,

Great review. We too were on the Diamond on 9/25/04 and will be going

on her again Feb. 12th!!!! We enjoyed our anytime dining experiences

once we actually were able to GET a reservation. I've posted on this before

ad nauseum so I won't go into it, but it did take some "creativity" to secure

a dinner reservation for our desired times --- but all that aside, it hasn't

dissuaded us from going AGAIN on this great ship.

 

We found the waiters to be very, very polite and accommodating. However,

we did have a bad experience with one maitre 'd who was so snooty and

unaccommodating, but it's not the maitre 'd whom you refer to.

 

This time I think I won't make any reservations (except for formal nights) and simply show up for dinner

at 8:30 or 5:30. I'll post back afterwards to let everyone know how it goes