differences between Diamond and Dawn/Sun Princess

[anjo]

Hi Everyone, We have travelled on both Sun and Dawn Princess and are looking at Diamond Princess. Just wondering how different they are? Will we find it too big and how does Anytime Dining work? Any major differences we should be aware of? Are the cabins bigger as we will be three adults sharing [husband,me and MIL] Thanks in advance.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Depends on what type of cabin you have but generally they are around the same size. The Diamond is a newer and larger ship. The ambience is like all Princess ships. You will enjoy the extra amenities and the crew is wonderful. It will take you a lot longer to get from one end to the other.

 

Try not to compare the two types of ship they are different classes and sizes so just book the Diamond and enjoy yourselves. We loved the Diamond and have rebooked for another cruise on her in 2013.

 

Lots of people like anytime dining. We tend not to as there are good and bad points to it. Yes you can choose what time you would like to dine, however, that depends on demand. Usually you have to wait, sometimes quite a while, for a table. You have different waiters every night so they don't get to know what you like. Because of this they tend not to be so attentive (not all but some). True you get to meet more people if you don't mind sharing but not everyone likes going through their life stories every night to different people. True you can dine with friends you have met on the cruise. So the choice is up to you. We look at the itinerary and if there are lots of sea days and early port departures we book traditional..... if it is a port intensive cruise with late departures, hence late return to ship after tours, we book anytime.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Everyone, We have traveled on both Sun and Dawn Princess and are looking at Diamond Princess. Just wondering how different they are? Will we find it too big and how does Anytime Dining work? Any major differences we should be aware of? Are the cabins bigger as we will be three adults sharing [husband,me and MIL] Thanks in advance.

 

 

I felt exactly the same way before my first Diamond Cruise.....however I would find it hard going back to Sun or Dawn now....in fact Sun and Dawn seemed more crowded than Diamond.

How do they differ?

Several ways...basically the same layout but with one major difference....

The Buffet is at the back of the ship where a buffet should be and it does not get crowded. It is very well laid out and just works very well.Plenty of room for everyone.

The Theatre. Much, much bigger than the tiny one on Sun and Dawn, so no need to rush for seats.

The Wheelhouse Bar Has a corridor around it so it is not used as a thoroughfare to get to the theatre.

The Dining The main Dining Room is used for Traditional First and Second Sittings and then there are 4 other Restaurants, Vivaldi,Savoy,Santa Fe, Pacific Moon, to choose from for Anytime Dining. You can work your way around all 4 until you find the one you like best, although they all serve the same food with each one having a specialty of the house. Due to the popularity of Trad 1st sitting, Vivaldi is used for that but then reverts at 8pm. We ended dining in Vivaldi each night as we found the setting and service suited us, and were able to get to know the waiters as we had the same table each night for the last half of the cruise. You can also dine in the Buffet which they set up as a Bistro.

 

Diamond Princess has become my favourite as everything seems to be just right. Her sister ship Sapphire is the same, but the new ones built after those 2, although the same basic design and layout, have larger passenger numbers.

[Sutho]

The Diamond Princess is a more modern and improved design over the Sun and Dawn Princess.

 

In fact the Diamond Princess has a more generous passenger space ratio than the Sun class meaning that it feels allot less crowded than the earlier ships.

 

Whilst they are all Princess ships and have the same feel, entertainment and service, there are differences.

 

* There are more public rooms on the Diamond Princess giving more choice for evening entertainment.

* There are more larger pools on the Diamond Princess spread out more around the ship and making it less crowded.

* The Diamond Princess has more deck grills than the Sun/Dawn Princess. Open all day on deck you can get pizzas, burgers, fish and chips by the pool.

* Theatre is allot larger and access points on more levels making it easy to enter and leave.

* Buffet is larger and more spread out making it a hassle free dining venue.

* There are more restaurants on the Diamond giving better freedom of choice for any time dining as well as traditional.

 

I do not think anyone can go wrong choosing the Diamond Princess if they love Princess. Although it may have more passengers, it is a true fact that there is more space per passenger on the Diamond Princess than the Sun/Dawn Princess. The ship is also allot larger in physical size that it makes the Sun/Dawn Princess feel small.

[Kinkacruiser]

I agreee wholeheartedly with all the posters here. If you get an opportunity to cruise on the Diamond and board in Aus or NZ, grab the opportunity. You won't regret it.

[anjo]

Thanks Everyone for their input. Looks like I can't go wrong!! I'm so excited!!

[cruise flotsam]

The Diamond Princess is a lot longer than the Sun and Dawn princess meaning that you have to walk a lot further to get anywhere. The Diamond Princess is also in American Dollars, If you are not from America that can be a hassle working out your bill. The Sun and Dawn are in Australian Dollars also there is no compulsory tipping as it is included in the original cruise price. The Diamond has an $11.50 USD compulsory tipping fee adding to the on board account.

[tassie cruiser]

The auto tipping can be reduced or removed altogether so thats really no problem if you want to do that as I think a lot of Aussies and New Zealanders tend to do this.

Fiona:)

[rugbypopsie]

I have spent 6 weeks on the Dawn Princess and sailed 3 times for around 50 days on the Diamond there is no comparison....Diamond is lovely, spacious, modern, well staffed..large balconies...more choice in dining venues, more pools including an adults only, aft bars, bigger theatre..will such poor ratios on the Dawn sometimes it was impossible to find somewhere to sit even between meals as everyone used the buffet. The Diamond is a super ship.

[thied]

Diamond Princess way better cruise ship.

[jannandjohn]

absolutely NO comparison between Sun and..Diamond(best)

[Izabelle]

Diamond Princess for me too.....our favourite ship and we have 24 fabulous nights coming up in the New Year..can't wait:):D

[Debsta]

Another vote for Diamond :D

[NSWP]

I prefer the Grand Class ships - Diamond Princess etc, as opposed to the Sun Class - Dawn Princess/Sun Princess. Been on both. The Grand Class such as the Diamond have much more deck space, longer, higher, wider, even with 2600 pax on board as opposed to 2000 on say Sun Princess. Plus of course the Grand Class ships are newer the the Sun Class.

 

Sun Class ships are Panamax, meaning at 105 feet wide, they are just about the widest ships able to traverse the Panama Canal. Coral Princess which I was on recently is Sun Class and Panamax @ 105 feet wide, I reckon we had about 2 feet either side of the ship through the 3 sets of Canal Locks.

[tassie cruiser]

We are booked on Diamond Princess for this NYE. We leave from Auckland 29th Dec. After checking the NYE cruises on the site we booked thru, all (or most) of the NYE cruises are sold out. Our cruise looks like it is half empty :eek: This is our first time on Diamond (have previously cruised many times with P&O and once on Dawn Princess and Rhapsody Of The Seas) I have heard how big it is and how much space there is, so by the looks of it we will have sooooooooooo much room.. This is also our first time with a balcony. We have an aft balcony C748 so right at back of ship, so we are really looking forward to that. :) I am surprised it hasnt sold as well, as it was very reasonably priced, maybe as it leaves from Auckland it has put people off as they have to get flights etc... but even with flights and accom it still worked out so much cheaper than the other NYE cruises out of Aus. Fiona :)

[Sutho]

The Sun class with Princess are also too over crowded compared to other ships their size.

 

They are similar size to Aurora and Oriana wtih P&O (Aurora is larger than the Sun class. At 270m long Aurora is a good 10m longer than the Sun class and has around 1,870 passengers. The Sun class has 1,950 passengers. The Oriana is exactly the same length and width as the Sun class and has 1,828 passengers. - - - - Where the figures get more interesting is deck space. The Sun class only has 93,000 square feet of open deck space. Oriana has 105,000 square feet of open deck space and Aurora has 99,000 square feet of open deck space. The larger Grand class has 122,250 square feet of open deck space.

 

What those figures tell me automatically is that it will be significantly mroe crowded on the Sun class than other equal sized ships and larger ships. Even the Royal Caribbean giants have more space per passenger over the Sun class.

 

When you look at the Sun class compared to other similar sized ships like Aurora and Oriana you notice that Sun class is crammed with cabins, has less public rooms and less deck space.

 

So even comparing the Sun class to other ships they lose out and come out second best, so in reality there is no way the Sun class can match or compare in any way to the Grand class when they cant even compare to ships of their own size and generation.

[NSWP]

The Sun class with Princess are also too over crowded compared to other ships their size.

 

They are similar size to Aurora and Oriana wtih P&O (Aurora is larger than the Sun class. At 270m long Aurora is a good 10m longer than the Sun class and has around 1,870 passengers. The Sun class has 1,950 passengers. The Oriana is exactly the same length and width as the Sun class and has 1,828 passengers. - - - - Where the figures get more interesting is deck space. The Sun class only has 93,000 square feet of open deck space. Oriana has 105,000 square feet of open deck space and Aurora has 99,000 square feet of open deck space. The larger Grand class has 122,250 square feet of open deck space.

 

What those figures tell me automatically is that it will be significantly mroe crowded on the Sun class than other equal sized ships and larger ships. Even the Royal Caribbean giants have more space per passenger over the Sun class.

 

When you look at the Sun class compared to other similar sized ships like Aurora and Oriana you notice that Sun class is crammed with cabins, has less public rooms and less deck space.

 

So even comparing the Sun class to other ships they lose out and come out second best, so in reality there is no way the Sun class can match or compare in any way to the Grand class when they cant even compare to ships of their own size and generation.

Geez Sutho, well done, some good technical information there. You are bit like I, student of ships.

 

Might I add, the Ruby Princess and Crown Princess both of which I have been on have an extra passenger deck, carry around 3100 pax. Therefore in my opinion, this reflects adversely on their public room/deck space, a liittle more crowded than say the Grand, Diamond, Emerald, Star, which carry around 2600 pax. Those extra 500 pax on the Ruby/Crown do have an impact.

[Sandielle]

Poor little Sun Princess! :( God willing, my DH and I will be boarding her decks in two months' time, and I intend to enjoy EVERY MINUTE! I don't care how big/small/long/short she is! I won't have to do any cooking/cleaning/driving/bed making.... and the hardest decision will be what food/drink/entertainment to partake of! Oh, I know when I'm well off! Blissssssssss! ;)

 

BTW, I have read only one bad report/review regarding the Diamond Princess - she sounds lovely and I feel sure you will enjoy your cruise Anjo!

 

Cheers,

Sandy -

(So lucky to be a 'cruiser'. :) )

[Sutho]

Poor little Sun Princess! :( God willing, my DH and I will be boarding her decks in two months' time, and I intend to enjoy EVERY MINUTE! I don't care how big/small/long/short she is! I won't have to do any cooking/cleaning/driving/bed making.... and the hardest decision will be what food/drink/entertainment to partake of! Oh, I know when I'm well off! Blissssssssss! ;)

 

BTW, I have read only one bad report/review regarding the Diamond Princess - she sounds lovely and I feel sure you will enjoy your cruise Anjo!

 

Cheers,

Sandy -

(So lucky to be a 'cruiser'. :) )

 

Dont worry they are still good ships to sail on and you can have a good cruise on them. Its just the truth is that these modern giants are far better than the older stuff on offer. No big deal really. I have been on Sun and Dawn Princess and would go again if the itinerary was right.

[Sutho]

Geez Sutho, well done, some good technical information there. You are bit like I, student of ships.

 

Might I add, the Ruby Princess and Crown Princess both of which I have been on have an extra passenger deck, carry around 3100 pax. Therefore in my opinion, this reflects adversely on their public room/deck space, a liittle more crowded than say the Grand, Diamond, Emerald, Star, which carry around 2600 pax. Those extra 500 pax on the Ruby/Crown do have an impact.

 

Thats exactly my thoughts on the new design. I have been on the Azura and was really disappointed with it. I used freedom dining and the main theatre sitting I could not get a seat to watch the show unless I turned up 30 minutes early. On that ship people are entering the theatre as the first show ends to get a seat as people leave.

 

Fortunately we will not be seeing anymore of these ones built as I suspect Princess knows they are no match for the Royal Caribbean giants, the Solstice class with Celebrity and other competition. We will soon be seeing the new Royal Princess (whos statistics I am still waiting on). Ultimately the extra deck was all about money with no thoughts going into adding new space for passengers.

[anjo]

A Big Thankyou to all the people who responded to my query. I am really excited now as we have just been assigned staterooms. Gone from Plaza Inside to Emerald Obst/ Oceanview. E700. Any Good? Didn't really mind Plaza as handy to everything and a laundry for just those few cabins! Arrive Sydney 8.30am and sail 8.00pm. Are we able to offload our bags early so we don't have to lug them around all day? Thanks.

[Izabelle]

Poor little Sun Princess! :( God willing, my DH and I will be boarding her decks in two months' time, and I intend to enjoy EVERY MINUTE! I don't care how big/small/long/short she is! I won't have to do any cooking/cleaning/driving/bed making.... and the hardest decision will be what food/drink/entertainment to partake of! Oh, I know when I'm well off! Blissssssssss! ;)

 

BTW, I have read only one bad report/review regarding the Diamond Princess - she sounds lovely and I feel sure you will enjoy your cruise Anjo!

 

Cheers,

Sandy -

(So lucky to be a 'cruiser'. :) )

 

 

Hi Sandie...absolutely nothing wrong with Sun Princess, she is gorgeous as well, you will have a great time on her, I think the OP just wanted reassurance about Diamond Princess.

[Izabelle]

Hi Anjo, just wondering when you are cruising on Diamond Princess as we have a B2B starting 11th Jan and we don't have our cabins as yet....we also booked insides, it would be great to get an upgrade but we don't worry if we don't as we are happy just to be cruising :D:):D

[Sandielle]

Hi Sandie...absolutely nothing wrong with Sun Princess, she is gorgeous as well, you will have a great time on her, I think the OP just wanted reassurance about Diamond Princess.

 

Izzy, I'm sure she is gorgeous, and I will love her. Can't wait to be cruising! I have salt water in my veins, you know! :D

[Debsta]

Poor little Sun Princess! :( God willing, my DH and I will be boarding her decks in two months' time, and I intend to enjoy EVERY MINUTE! I don't care how big/small/long/short she is! I won't have to do any cooking/cleaning/driving/bed making.... and the hardest decision will be what food/drink/entertainment to partake of! Oh, I know when I'm well off! Blissssssssss! ;)

 

BTW, I have read only one bad report/review regarding the Diamond Princess - she sounds lovely and I feel sure you will enjoy your cruise Anjo!

 

Cheers,

Sandy -

(So lucky to be a 'cruiser'. :) )

 

Perhaps for Sandi we should do a comparison of the Pacific Dawn and Sun Princess to appease her salt water veins :p Just like Diamond to Sun is Sun P to Pac Dawn! You'll love it! :D