Another newbie with questions about Diamond Princess

[PoohQ]

Hi,

My husband and I and our two sons (ages 18 & 14) are booked on our first cruise, the Alaskan one on Diamond Princess this summer. We have booked a mini-suite (wanted a balcony room that could accomodate 4 people) and I'm getting very excited about it! But I have a few questions that I'm hoping you experienced cruisers could help me with:

1. Is there "high tea" on the Princess? And if so, is it complimentary? Or is there a fee?

2. I read somewhere that Princess now charges a fee for their Hagen Daz ice cream. Does that mean that there is NO ice cream bar that our boys could make treats at without paying an additional fee?

3. I saw in the Princess brochure that there is a Patisserie, where one could have pastries and lattes (I love my lattes!) Is there an extra charge to get stuff from the Patisserie? And is the Patisserie open only at certain times, or all the time? Would I be able to get a latte in the dining room? Or do they only offer regular coffee?

4. Is it possible to bring lots of soda cans on board, and just store them in the refrigerator in our room?

5. Is there a movie theater on the Diamond Princess? And if so, do they show current movies?

6. My family and I are really not "into" dressing to the nines. I know that there are two "formal" nights, but do we have any other options, other than getting burgers or pizza, or ordering room service, so we don't have to get all dressed up?

7. We have the early seating, but I'm thinking we'd also like to check out the food at the 4 other non-specialty restaurants (Pacific Moon, Santa Fe, Vivaldi and Sterling). How would that work? I heard something about making reservations in the morning, but then I was wondering if that applies only to the two specialty restaurants?

8. And last but not least, how strict is the "no jeans" in the dining room policy? My boys don't wear baggy, holey, scummy jeans, but nice ones. Would they really not be able to wear them into the dining rooms?

Thank you in advance for all of the information! I'm really looking forward to this new experience!

[katisdale]

I will try to answer what I can - 1. Yes there is tea every afternoon, no charge.

2. There will be ice cream in the afternoon in the buffet. You can also get ice cream with lunch or dinner in the dining room at no extra charge.

3. Yes you can get a latte, this is a charge for this and I don't know how much. I can't remember the hours but it will be published in the booklet in your room.

4. Yes, you can bring soda and wine aboard.

5. I don't know.

6. You can eat in the buffet.

7. If you have traditional dining the menus from the 4 other restaurants will be offered to you on different nights (ie Pacific Moon one night, Santa Fe the next night etc.) and the diners in those areas are also offered the regular menu as well as the speciality menu. I'm not sure if you can go to those restaurants without losing your space in traditional.

8. No jeans means no jeans, dockers are fine though.

[BJS]

Thank you in advance for all of the information! I'm really looking forward to this new experience!

1. There is afternoon tea but not "high" tea. No charge.

2. ice cream with lunch and dinner in the dining rooms. Some ships have it in the Horizon Court late afternoon for a very short time.

3.Patisserie has cookies available during the day. Internet Cafe has lattes at a coffee bar. You can order them in the dining room. There is a charge for all lattes and other specialty coffees.

4.You can bring sodas and store but the refrigerator is very small and you will not be able to store "lots" at one time. Soda cards might be your answer so you don't have to lug sodas with you.

5. There is no "movie theater" but they do show movies in the Princess Theater and on the TV in your room. They are not the very latest releases but probably the "just released" on DVD ones and some that could still be showing in theaters.

6. Formal nights are formal but you do not have to dress to the "nines". A nice dressy top and pants for you and dark suite and tie for DH or even a sport's coat and slacks will do just fine.

7. If you have traditional dining you will have to change to "anytime" dining to use those dining rooms. You will be offered a menu from each of the 4 "anytime" dining rooms during the cruise.

8. Honestly from what we've seen lately they are not strict about jeans in the dining rooms. We frequently see them. There has been much debate on this subject here on the boards. Some say no jeans at all and others say the policy is no torn jeans. As for pants: when we were on the Diamond Princess they just said no shorts in the evenings in the dining room but we saw those also. I'm sure if they wore a nice shirt - polo or button down vs. a T-shirt- no one would probably even notice that they had on jeans. Bring a pair on "Docker" type pants or slacks just incase.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Some of the movies are shown in the Princess Theatre (I believe that's where) are also shown during the week on your tv in your cabin. We have never gone to see them, though. Check your patters to see which ones are playing.

Pizza and burgers -- and the ice cream that you pay for -- are usually just available during the day until 6pm in the outdoor grill area (by the outside pool). Those items are also available on the children's menu in the dining rooms but I don't know if your boys can order from it. Ice cream is generally available for a short time in the Horizon Court -- I think around 3 or 3:30. In the dining room, the dinner menu usually includes several flavors of ice cream, sorbert, etc. along with some really yummy cakes, mousses, etc. I sometimes find it hard to select just one (the waiter will offer to bring you more than one if you can't decide but there's only so much exercise I want to do ;) ).

The last couple of cruises, we have been bringing a plastic crate aboard with bottled water, Pepsi (they only offer Coke products on the ships), and the carbonated water my daughter will drink. No problem doing so as long as you don't mind schlepping to the luggage area or paying a porter to do it for you.