5/14/2005 Diamond Princess Review: Alaska Inside Passage

[John L.]

Seems to be major complaint about Horizon buffet. If it was so bad the lst day I would have gone to the dining room. On the NCL Dawn 2 years ago, their morning buffet seemed to be a zoo atmosphere with crowds and not being able to find a table especially around 8 in the morning. We avoided that time frame and either came earlier or went down to the dinning room which was very pleasant. Later in the morning we would go to the buffet and fill up with fresh fruit. I am disappointed to hear there is no omelet station. I enjoy eggs over easy. My last Princess was the Grand and I thought they had an egg station. We're leaving end of July on Diamond.

 

John L.

[L&S80]

I may be wrong but I thought they did have a omelet station........if I remember correctly it was in the corner.....way on the right....I did see pans & eggs.........but not being a omelet person........

 

Maybe the time you had dinner was the problem with the food or the diningroom??

 

Afternoon tea was very nice & relaxing also.......

 

Any other questions???

 

 

Sharon

[John L.]

To Sharon: Thanks for the heads up to look in the corner. Does the Diamond have tables outside at the aft looking out at the wake at the Horizon. We dined there whenever we could get a table on the Grand, however, there was always a cigar smoker enjoying his Cuban and taking away our enjoyable experience.

 

John L.

[L&S80]

John L...............yes there is.....was a bit chilly in Alaska tho.....;) But it was nice when in port........

 

 

Sharon

[mojavegirl]

This was our second cruise with Princess, and while the staff didn't seem as enthusiastic as the Carribbian Crew they were still very accomodating. The following is my review, feel free to skim at will, it is long winded.

05/11/05 Seattle

Pam and Al fly on Alaska Air from Palm Springs on the first day the baggage handlers have been replaced by contractors, mass chaos ensues. Their flight is 3 hours delayed. They check into the Westin Seattle, two which has round towers like the Capital Records building.

05/12/05 Seattle

Pam and Al go to Pikes Market for supplies and take pictures of the market and cheap flowers. They visit the first Nordstrums and Nordstrums Rack.

05/13/05 Seattle

Tasha in DC rises at 4 to catch the City bus to the Amtrak train to the Airport bus to the Southwest plane to the Airporter bus to the hotel in Seattle. She leaves her raincoat on the couch (little knowing she'd hardly need it). Pam and Al have breakfast at the Westin, and say its great. Tasha arrives in the hotel, noting the awesome ice machine and shares a celebratory glass of red wine with her parents. They march off to Pikes Market to lunch, which is hard to choose, settling on Beecher's Handmade Cheese Shop. Two cheesey smoked turkey cheese sandwhiches, bread sticks, mac n' cheese and, a tomato soup later we were stuffed and happy! We made a trip to the wine store and got a bottle of Coppola Champaign and a bottle of Sherry. They return to the hotel and head out on the monorail to Experience Music Project. They see an exhibit on Bob Dylan, Jimmy Hendrix, and Pam Rocks Out in the dance room and Tasha poses with the Devo outfit. We catch the Monorail back and get ready for dinner at McCormick and Schmicks. We take the longest taxi ride ever, Seattle Friday traffic is bad! Once there we had appetizers in the bar,1.75!, during their happy hour. Yummy Kumamoto (sweet and small) oysters on the half-shell as extra appetizers. Tasha had the salmon sampler, 1 on cedar plank the other a white salmon (yum!). Al had halibut cheeks, very tender and good. Pam had a seafood pasta (eh). They all shared a berry cobbler for dessert, we felt like fat bears full of salmon and berries! We walked back, it was still very light at 8. Once back at the hotel we sat in the lounge and had a few drinks and talked with the Princess representitive in the lobby. Once back in the room we watched the Seattle skyline with the binoculars.

05/14/05 Embarkation Day!!

Tasha gets up early and walks to Pike Market to gather breakfast-a pear for Al, a cherry bignet for her, and a apple fritter for Pam. She also gets freshly fried donuts, the best! She gets a huge bouquet for the room for $10. They eat and gather up their luggage to be picked up by their van at 10:30. The valet asks us if we are moving in as he loads our 10 pieces of luggage...Got to terminal at 11 and stood in line until 11:30. We got processed and waited until 12 to board, we were among the first 50 on the ship! Apparently there was some disembarkation issues. Went straight to the room, where Al had performed a switcheroo and got us a full on suite, Baja level room 107 at the Starboard bow of the ship! Our steward brought by a bottle of champagne! Steward was ok the rest of the trip, not spectacular though. Our room was two rooms! and a thirty foot balcony, 2 fridges, an assortment of mini-liquors, and 3 closets. There were 2 other bouquets of flowers so now we had 3! Chocolate covered strawberries were there and consumed quickly. Unpacked, unpacked, unpacked, stocking the room with wine, potpourri, pictures of Rozz and former vacations, candles, a stereo, and a ceramic whale for inspiration. We left for the food court and had lunch on the port side and watched folks board. Folks at the buffet were serving us food, there was apparently a virus on board (which is probably another reason why it took so long to let us board). Al and Tasha had their best sodas of the cruise at the pool bar (perfect). They also started their bar hop cards. They all headed topside to watch departure around 3:30 and had the drink of the day. Went back to our suite to enjoy champagne. Went to the introductory show, met our entertainment crew-Paula etc.

05/15/05 At Sea

Tasha went to the spa and had a pedicure, Peaches from Jamaica. Was nice pedicure, but Peaches pushed foot oil ($50!) which was irritating. Used the spa, the tile chairs were awesome, heated from underneath, and the various steam baths were great. Went to our first of many losing bingo games at 11:00, Tasha got her first of many hot dogs with saurkraut mmm. Went to art auction, Pam won a trivia question but never turned it in. Got gussied up for our fancy night, took our fab. fancy pictures both by us and boat photographers. Dinner at Pacific Moon was prime rib, game hen (a little dry), and souffle (good but could use more goo), all served by Jeremias and Nestor, presided over by Marius our Maitre ‘d. We established our 6:30 dining time at "our" table for the rest of the cruise. Went dancing at the Skywalker lounge, supposedly was 80's night but they only played '80s when we requested whip-it and love n' an elevator. Mostly played 60's and 70's music. Mom and Tasha were complimented on thier dancing. Drink of the day was Cosmopolotan, mmm.

05/16/05 Ketchikan

Tasha was still unused to Alaska time (4:30 was 8:30 east coast time!) and was up and about. She got some great dawn pictures through Stephans passage. Went on a walk about the ship and saw that all of the restaurants had the same menus, although they had advertised having different dishes in each restaurant. Everyone was up for arrival in Juneau port at 8. We were a little early so we walked into town to take a picture in front of the Red Dog Saloon. Walked back to boat and caught our bus to Temesco Helicopters. Got in the helicopter, Al in front Tasha at the back left and Pam in left middle. Helcopter pilot (Bill/Ben?) was very smooth and from our perspective a mile wide glacier looked small! We landed on Mendenhall Glacier and was taken around for half an hour by Rayna, looking at endless crevices and glacial dirt. Saw how pedistals form under rocks on the glacier. We saw some mountain goats and then returned for another spectacular ride back to the heliport by a different pilot. Took the bus back into town, passed on the suggested Triangle Bar and went to the Red Dog saloon for a drink and some potato skins. Had a bunch of drunk Aussies singing Irish drinking songs with the piano man, who finished with a naughty rendition of coming around the mountain. Returned to the boat early and went to Lotus Spa Jacuzzi had some pizza and swam in the pool (not cold). Went to dinner got our first plate of good cheese and grapes, awesome escargot and great cheese quiche, perfectly done brussel sprouts, Orange Duck and Lamb with lots of Mint Jelly. Creme brulee for desert. Went back to patio for sherry as we pulled out of port.

05/17/05 Skagway

7:30 off of the boat and on to a quick bus to the White Pass Train. We should have sat on the left side of the train but we were able to get some pictures by sneaking across aisle and to the outside platform. On the way out of town we passed the rail yard, graveyard, then followed a river. We passed lots of waterfalls, the original world’s third largest cantilever trestle (not used anymore) and through a great Disney worthy tunnel. We started seeing snow and passed Dead Horse Gulch where the prospectors used to access the Yukon. After that we entered the pass where the trees were stunted and sparse. At the middle of the pass we reached the spot where the bus would meet us. Brett the bus driver narrated, not very informative but very nicely. We passed the cabin where the lady made pies in 1900 for $10 and then passed lots of beautiful scenery and several lakes on our way to Carcross. At Caribou Crossing we had ok BBQ chicken and good coleslaw. We then visited the natural history museum with huge ice age buffalo and Pam bought more batteries for the mysteriously uncharged camera. We hung out with a frisky horse and then went into the main street of Carcross, not so impressive but had awesome ice cream-Rollo Flavor! Bus ride on the way back was nice, saw a bear and took a picture in front of the Welcome to the Yukon sign. We went across a one sided suspension bridge that spanned a fault. Got back to Skagway and looked around, they had a nice history museum in a store and lots of cool buildings. Stopped for a drink at the Red Onion, a former brothel, where Tasha saw two future Princess Idol stars heckling the soiled doves. We all had goose farts (Baileys and Kahlua) and returned to the boat. We saw some seals and a whale while photographing the sunset. We went to the casino and Pam and Tasha won $25 each on the Diamond $1 slot. Had a good dessert wine after dinner.

05/18/05 Tracy Arm

Got up at 7:30 to watch entrance into the fjord and have our (non princess) champagne breakfast on our deck. It was clear blue skies! The our patio was mostly warm but sometimes freezing depending on the breeze across the bow. Entering the fjord we saw the Sapphire exiting, and were highly irritated by a helicopter hovering over us for 45 minutes. Saw lots of icebergs (absolutely no pictures of these ha ha) and very lush canyon with huge waterfalls. Had to turn around early because of global warming. Al tried to finagle a mid-day bingo game (it was in the patter) but no dice, apparently it was a misprint. Once we were out of the fjord there were many pods of whales, we caught one waving at us. Watched the ice carving by the chefs. Then we got dressed up and went to a crab legs and venison dinner, mmm. The venison originally came out dry and overdone, Jeremias demanded it back and got Tasha the juiciest one she’s ever had! Had a good white New Zealand wine with dinner.

05/19/05 Ketchikan

Cruised into town around 6:00 am, saw a float plane landing. It was sunny for 30 minutes and then cloudy the rest of the time. Walked into town around 8 and went to the nice and well designed Visitor Center. We passed the Johnson pole. We then went to Creek st and saw Dollies, a replica of other cat houses that used to line Creek st. Pam bought some bottles from a knife/nick-knack store. Tasha looked at her friend’s dad’s store but it was closed. Caught our bus out to Saxman Village. Saw a video on the history and present of the Tlingit. Then went on to the big beaver house which had totem poles in front of it. We went inside and watched them do some dances and Tasha got to dance with them. From there on to the totem poles where we saw the Lincoln Pole and then to the gift shop where Pam bought a mini-totem pole. We then went on to the carving shed and saw some carvers including Nathan Jackson, who carved a pole for the Smithsonian’s NMAI. Then we went back to town and mailed a postcard and bought some stuff for the office. Got back on the boat too soon! Need more time in Ketchikan! Had a buffet lunch and then on to the casino for Pam and Tasha to win together again on the Diamond Machine, $10 each. We went to the special connoisseurs wine tasting, where the Maitre ‘d’s introduced some good wines, including Cuvason and Opus 1. Saw the difference between good champagne (little bubbles) and bad champagne (big bubbles). Pam ran off to bingo, but yet again no luck. We got ready for the captain’s reception where Tasha danced with the dance instructor (and only lost her shoe once). Captain announced the new ships and new itinerary of Diamond. Lobster night for dinner, we got extra! It was a little dry but still quite tasty. It was a busy night so then we were off to Princess Price is Right. Alberto got on and made it to the finals, were he lost the chance a dinner for one at Sabitinis (he was relieved) and won a bag, water bottle and alarm clock. He also embarrassed Tasha by trying to auction her off to the crowd. From there we tottered over to the champagne waterfall construction. By this point we were on high seas and the waterfall was definitely in jeopardy. They made it though and we took a picture pouring some bubbly on. Then danced to some nasty line dancing songs.

05/20/05 At Sea/Victoria

Up early for a 75 minute hot stone massage for Tasha, very nice but disturbed at the end by the masseus Domingo pushing products on her. Then Tasha ran off to the Head chef/Maitre ‘d talk and tour of the Galley, quite fun and Impressive. Saw where all of our good cheese was coming from. Tasha bought the cookbook for the cruise and had all of the wait staff sign it. Pam and Al did another losing round of bingo and then they went to Princess Jeapordy. Lots of fun, no winnings though. On to more bingo and then Tasha, after getting Marius to sign the cookbook, on the way back to the room put two dollars in a red white and blue 777 quarter machine and won $400! Who needs bingo? Dinner started out with a fabulous seafood avacado bowl. Asparagus soup was ok, scallop entre was rubbery. We got the rum raisin ice cream and put it on the berry cobbler, ohhhhh so good. Said our goodbyes to our wait staff and went to watch our 2 hour late arrival into Victoria from the Skywalker Lounge. We stayed on the ship, played a little shuffleboard. Collected our prize for drinking at all of the bars, never did find the Oasis bar open, apparently it was only open the first day. If you don’t want to know the prize stop reading now-

It is a t-shirt, sorta tacky but fun.

Pam and Al retired and Tasha went on to visit the buffet at 11 and picked up another seafood avocado, still good (where do they get so many ripe avocados? No wonder Tasha can’t get a decent one in DC). Went to Club Fusion to watch the Princess Idol Finales, big fun! Tasha loved the running gag with the losing singer Brad. She also loved the crew out-takes. Brad’s and his friend’s version of Bohemian Rhapsody was hilarious.

05/21/05 Disembarkation

Wha! Up early to watch docking and sadly departed the boat, one of the first 100 people off, carried our luggage off and took van to the airport, we were outa there by 9. Pam and Al caught an early flight home to Palm Springs, Southwest wouldn’t let Tasha catch an earlier flight but she was still home by 12 am, good for her.

[Italy52]

We had second seating. We went to the Asian themed restaurant once and only got the traditional menu. I'm not sure if they offer the alternate menus or not.

 

We just got off the Sapphire on Sunday and were told that the Sapphire and Diamond are no longer offering special menus in the themed restaurants. On the Sapphire, all themed restaurants had the same menu except for Sabatinis and the Horizon Court. It would have been nice to have some "special variety" but the change didn't spoil our PC dining experience. We still love the flexibility of dining when we want and where we want.

[momthecruisedirector]

Loved the review. I love this kind - written like a story. Thank you for taking the time to post!