Diamond Princess - Japan Season - REVIEW

[tjcox9]

Thanks for all your insights into the NEW Diamond Princess. We are booked for a quite soon departure (24 May) for 27 days and are so looking forward to it.

 

The comments regarding other passengers' reactions remind me of when we did a Costa crossing from US to Italy and an MSC Caribbean cruise. If you're looking for a typical US or (insert your own) cruise, then this may not be for you. We experienced the multiple language announcements, passengers wanting their home style food, etc. We felt a bit out of place at times enjoying the experience. :rolleyes:

 

We are so happy to read that Dan Styne will be our CD. He was our CD on some other cruise, don't remember which. I'll bet he'll help pull it all together.

 

A couple of questions in case anyone knows..........do they have the Platinum/Elite/Suite cocktail venue on the new Diamond? Also, were any wine packages available?

 

Now, back to playing catch up with laundry and all the other stuff that comes from returning from a long cruise so we can get ready for this upcoming event.

 

Once again, thanks for this info. Sounds like great fun!

 

[Lanwood]

The comments regarding other passengers' reactions remind me of when we did a Costa crossing from US to Italy and an MSC Caribbean cruise.

 

Yeah :) We where joking a bit about this at dinner one night. With all the announcements etc being in both Japanese and English, imagine how it is on MSC where they do Spanish, Italian, French and lastly English....we had it pretty good when you look at it that way, hay.

 

 

A couple of questions in case anyone knows..........do they have the Platinum/Elite/Suite cocktail venue on the new Diamond?

 

We are neither, as we spread ourselves a bit thin over the cruise lines, so still climbing the laders - still on Ruby for one more cruise with Princess.

I did observe the same as previous Princess cruises, in that Skywalkers during certain times was reserved for Elite/Platinum (there weren't that many on this cruise, mostly a sea of blue) during certain hours.

[Lanwood]

This was also the first cruise that I witnessed an emergency that required an helicopter to be flown in.

 

During one of the nights, one of the passengers smoking on the deck collapsed and was taken to the Medical center. I was told by a fellow passenger that he had had a ruptered aneurysm in the brain.

 

The captain made a shipwide announcement (including inside the staterooms) that he had made the descision to divert course closer to Okinawa and helicopeter the gentlemen to a specialised facility for his critical condition.

 

The weather was terrible, choppy waters and very very strong winds. At first the ship slowed right down, as slow is it could go. This was followed by a circling of a large helicopter, that eventually hovered over the Neptune reef pool and dropped two military personal on ropes onto the ship (Princess ships don't have helipads). After a period of time, the helicopeter returned, took position again and the gentleman was raised up slowly by ropes to the hovering helicopter above (in very bad windy weather).

 

Many of the staterooms and areas where evacuated incase of problems with the Helicopter.

 

It was all done very well, and was good to know that, even with the ships state of the art facilities down there on deck 4, there are plan b's on the ready - to take you away so quickly. (Although you would definately want to be sedated on that windy trip up to the helicopter).

[Sailaway John]

Thanks for the cruise review re the Japaneseing of the Diamond. They had better adjust themselves when they start doing the Australian/New Zealand cruises or there will a mutiny.

I can guarantee that as I will start one . . . I did not pay for a Japanese cruise but a Westerner cruise and that's what I want.

[Lanwood]

Thanks for the cruise review re the Japaneseing of the Diamond. They had better adjust themselves when they start doing the Australian/New Zealand cruises or there will a mutiny.

I can guarantee that as I will start one . . . I did not pay for a Japanese cruise but a Westerner cruise and that's what I want.

 

I think you'll be fine. Lintywhite has already contacted Princess who confirmed the Japanese Season onboard experience would be limited to while the ship is actually in Japan.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Lanwood

[caribill]

Yeah :) We where joking a bit about this at dinner one night. With all the announcements etc being in both Japanese and English, imagine how it is on MSC where they do Spanish, Italian, French and lastly English....we had it pretty good when you look at it that way, hay.

 

I was on a (not Princess) cruise last year where the announcements were made in five languages. If an event was interrupted by an announcement, it could be up to 15 minutes until it could resume.

[sayaguru]

Thanks for the cruise review re the Japaneseing of the Diamond. They had better adjust themselves when they start doing the Australian/New Zealand cruises or there will a mutiny.

I can guarantee that as I will start one . . . I did not pay for a Japanese cruise but a Westerner cruise and that's what I want.

 

REALLY!! Why would they have a Japanese cruise in Australia?

 

The fact is there were a majority of Japanese on that cruise and they catered for that.

 

Why don't you send an Email saying you want vegemite in the buffet and kangaroo on the menu! :D

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your Diamond Princess review. :):):):)

[efghi9]

Hi sayaguru. There's a fair few of us still on-board continuing with a b2b on Golden Week. Hopefully they'll spot this thread and add their comments/reviews when done also.

 

Glad you had a good time. Other than our really nice Dinner companions, and a lady with her Son who where always smiling (I think that might have been Sandra), we where feeling like we where the only ones who enjoyed ourselves at any level (Non Japanese that is). Most of our conversations with repeaters we met on board where not so flattering to say the least (they mustn't have been cruise critic members :) )...

 

I have not read this thread completely but once I saw my name I had to pipe in. thank you for mentioning that we were always smiling...that was a great comment to read. we did 19 days on Diamond - Taiwan and Golden week. we loved the Japanese influences and actually wanted more. We had traditional Japanese breakfasts with chopsticks, in fact tried every Japanese meal we could and with chopsticks. I attended the Japanese lectures :) and loved the sushi bar. I was naked in the bathhouse and it was okay...I didn't scare any of the other passengers. My son Kyle who is 12 but looks like 15 yrs enjoyed all 19 days. There were a few misses for sure but to be expected when entering a new market with a dedicated ship, but we focused on the hits and really enjoyed Japan.

This was our 17th cruise with Princess and we have been to many foreign countries with Princess.

Sandra

[knippsel]

Glad to read about your happy experience on the Taiwan and Golden Week cruises. We're thinking about the round Japan sailings at the end of August and looking forward to all the Japanese experiences aboard that you mentioned. Some things that others have said were problematic wouldn't bother us at all.:)

 

Question: You said you attended the Japanese lectures.. Now that the Diamond's Japanese adventure is fully under way, were there any talks in English as well? We're concerned that we might be a bit "at sea", so to speak, if all the port talks and lectures are only in Japanese!

 

Did you find good things to do in port?

[ozmonkeyboy]

Just a question that I haven't seen answered anywhere since the Diamond Princess has come out of its dry dock.

It appears that Princess has substantially reduced the size of the kids club areas with the building of the Japanese Bath House. Previously on the Diamond, my kids have loved the kids club areas and activities.

Can anyone advise how these areas look now, and any comments as to their thoughts on how the kids club is now?

 

Thanks.

[Aussie Gal]

We are booked on the Diamond for October and when we booked we were notified immediately by Princess that at least 80% of the passengers on board would be Japanese so we have been looking forward to this new experience.

 

Also, when we booked last year, the cruise was being offered to Australians at half the price it was being offered to those from the U.S. I am not sure if that is the case now, I think the prices have dropped in the U.S. but it was strange to think that Aussies for once were offered a fare at a good price.

 

Our friends were on the Sun or Sea Princess last year when it went to Japan for the first time and they loved the experience. We are hoping that Dan Styne will still be the C.D. as we had him years ago on the Pacific Princess and he was fantastic.

 

Jennie

[efghi9]

Just a question that I haven't seen answered anywhere since the Diamond Princess has come out of its dry dock.

It appears that Princess has substantially reduced the size of the kids club areas with the building of the Japanese Bath House. Previously on the Diamond, my kids have loved the kids club areas and activities.

Can anyone advise how these areas look now, and any comments as to their thoughts on how the kids club is now?

 

Thanks.

 

I too had that question before we sailed April 17 to May 6th. My son is 12 and has always gone to Shockwaves, although he is just on the edge now being 12.5 years old. So yes they did take away from the kids area. Essentially they removed shockwaves and added space to Pelican's and have combined the two groups. This didn't work well for Kyle as there were many 3, 4 and 5 yr olds on our cruises due to the school year etc. So he didn't attend except for a few days. The staff are as amazing as usual and are aware that the combined group is not ideal and will work with you if you have concerns etc. Please feel free to ask any other more specific questions and we will answer

Sandra

[efghi9]

Glad to read about your happy experience on the Taiwan and Golden Week cruises. We're thinking about the round Japan sailings at the end of August and looking forward to all the Japanese experiences aboard that you mentioned. Some things that others have said were problematic wouldn't bother us at all.:)

 

Question: You said you attended the Japanese lectures.. Now that the Diamond's Japanese adventure is fully under way, were there any talks in English as well? We're concerned that we might be a bit "at sea", so to speak, if all the port talks and lectures are only in Japanese!

 

Did you find good things to do in port?

 

First, with respect to port activities, there was no shortage of excursions both Princess and on your own. Great prices and well organized. we loved every minute in every port both Taiwan and Japan. We even went on Japanese escorted and Japanese guided tours from Princess and had a great time with the Japanese guests. They loved Kyle and helped us with the lunches and proper etiquette. Kyle also enjoyed the Japanese experiences as much as I did. Now with respect to English enrichment, because the April 17th cruise was the inaugural cruise out of Japan there were some challenging meeting the needs of all languages on board. Essentially they did not have any nor did they have port lectures which was a big disappointment for me. The good news is that because we provided feedback on this they are looking at ways to add more English & port lectures. So I would think that by August Princess should have this addressed. I had done my research for each port so was not at a disadvantage.

 

p.s. the movie Gravity was not any better in Japanese!

Sandra

Edited May 11, 2014 by efghi9
add a commennt

[ozmonkeyboy]

I too had that question before we sailed April 17 to May 6th. My son is 12 and has always gone to Shockwaves, although he is just on the edge now being 12.5 years old. So yes they did take away from the kids area. Essentially they removed shockwaves and added space to Pelican's and have combined the two groups. This didn't work well for Kyle as there were many 3, 4 and 5 yr olds on our cruises due to the school year etc. So he didn't attend except for a few days. The staff are as amazing as usual and are aware that the combined group is not ideal and will work with you if you have concerns etc. Please feel free to ask any other more specific questions and we will answer

Sandra

 

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for the prompt reply.

Combining the Pelicans and Shockwaves is probably not that practical given the difference in children's ages, and it will be interesting to see if Princess keeps this arrangement for future cruises. I liked the setup on my past cruise on the Diamond, hopefully the new arrangement works out just as well for the kids. My boys (9 and 6) have always been in separate groups in the kids club, and with my family being booked on the Australian Christmas cruise in 2014, it will be different this time if they keep it as it is now.

I'm sure the children (in general) will still enjoy it, the staff are always exceptional and hopefully they still provide all of the usual activities and experiences to participate in that they have come to cherish.

 

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise and the cultural aspects that were obviously a huge part of it.

[efghi9]

Hi Sandra,

I'm sure the children (in general) will still enjoy it, the staff are always exceptional and hopefully they still provide all of the usual activities and experiences to participate in that they have come to cherish.

 

Yes they will have all the usual activities and more. Based on your kids ages they will love it.

Sandra

[Lanwood]

Hi Sandra

I thought that was you on the cruise :)

Glad to see you had a good time. I wish we had sought you out for a chat, as our conversations with passengers where getting a bit draining.

We would strike a conversation with a group of ladies who would start of with "we feel like the poor cousins", then a conversation with a couple the next day would start with "there not bothered about looking after us regulars", or a couple the following day who where fuming mad at how there last cruise together due to health reasons had turned into a night mare, and so on and so on. As I stated in my OP, the westerners on board felt like they fell into two distinct camps (loved it or hated it).

 

How where the additional ports of Japan on Golden week...? was the ship full(er) on that one?? I felt sorry for our cabin steward, as he only had our room, plus a couple of others out of his whole section (they get paid per room occupied in their section).

[cdngrl]

 

p.s. the movie Gravity was not any better in Japanese!

Sandra

 

oh my goodness, that's hilarious!

(I wasn't a fan of the English, saw it on the CB last month.)

[Mapu]

How where the additional ports of Japan on Golden week...? was the ship full(er) on that one?? I felt sorry for our cabin steward, as he only had our room, plus a couple of others out of his whole section (they get paid per room occupied in their section).

 

There was a recent thread on CC that described that the tips were pooled among the same class of ships to provide crews protection against such circumstances and when ships are in dry dock. It made a lot of sense but was the first time that I read anything like that.

[Lanwood]

There was a recent thread on CC that described that the tips were pooled among the same class of ships to provide crews protection against such circumstances and when ships are in dry dock. It made a lot of sense but was the first time that I read anything like that.

 

I'm not sure how the "tips" are distributed amongst crew, but the actual wages for the Stewards is based on a per occupied room basis. This was the feed back given to me from Stewards on my last 2 Princess cruises (including the one we are reviewing). I wasn't aware of this until they told me directly...

[Aussie Gal]

We just received this a minute ago from Princess telling us about our cruise and explaining what will be happening.

 

Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises® - come back new℠

 

Your authentic Japanese onboard experience awaits - Diamond Princess® Sun Princess®

 

 

Mrs xxxxxx

 

Geisha Fan Dance

 

Japanese food

 

Juggler

We're pleased to offer a unique experience on board our exclusive sailings in Japan which feature a mixture of English- and Japanese- speaking passengers. You'll encounter the Japanese culture on your ship as well as on land in new and exciting ways.

 

While you'll still find everything you love about Princess® dining, activities and entertainment, these cruises also feature special Japanese enhancements, including:

 

Entertainment — Traditional Japanese entertainment opportunities such as:

 

Rakugo performances

Japanese entertainers

Karaoke

Guest lecturers on the subjects of Japanese culture, history, arts & sciences

In-port shows by traditional Japanese performing groups

"Kagamiwari" Sake breaking ceremony at the Sailaway Party

Dining — A variety of new items to sample, for instance:

A la carte priced sushi and sashimi

Japanese dish options added to our Main Dining room menus

Traditional Japanese breakfast items as well as our usual selections

Japanese beverage options including beer, shochu, whisky and sake

Crew — Japanese-speaking crew members onboard

 

Announcements and Information — Public announcements and The Wake Show will be broadcast in both English and Japanese; the Princess Patter and Port Guides will also be available in both languages

 

Shore Excursions — English-speaking as well as Japanese-speaking excursions will be offered

 

We hope you enjoy this rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the Japanese culture while still enjoying everything you love about Princess.

 

Click here to visit the Cruise Personaliser on princess.com to review details about your upcoming voyage, book shore excursions, and more.

 

I am really starting to get excited about this cruise in October.

 

Jennie

Edited May 12, 2014 by Aussie Gal

[KarateMan]

I just got the same email from Princess.

 

 

Re the above posts and Japanese and tipping. Not sure if the Japanese will tip as it is not in their culture. They will outright refuse to accept tips period. I was on Arcadia about two years ago and the British passengers tried to tip the tour guides who loudly rejected the money on offer and insisted that they do not do that sort of thing in their country.

[Lanwood]

I was on Arcadia about two years ago and the British passengers tried to tip the tour guides who loudly rejected the money on offer and insisted that they do not do that sort of thing in their country.

 

Really....in contrast to your experience, My British tour guide on our tour of Bath/Salisbury/Stonehenge towards the very end of our tour got on the bus microphone and reminded everyone of "how much they depend on tips, and anything she'd get would be shared equally with the driver as a team effort"......

[Lanwood]

We just received this a minute ago from Princess telling us about our cruise and explaining what will be happening.

 

Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises® - come back new℠

 

Your authentic Japanese onboard experience awaits - Diamond Princess® Sun Princess®

 

etc etc

 

Looks like they've already "tweeked" the letter a bit from the one they sent me. And, looks like they've taken some feedback onboard already. Good old Princess :)

[KarateMan]

Really....in contrast to your experience, My British tour guide on our tour of Bath/Salisbury/Stonehenge towards the very end of our tour got on the bus microphone and reminded everyone of "how much they depend on tips, and anything she'd get would be shared equally with the driver as a team effort"......

 

I am talking about Japanese guides in Japan refusing tips from the British. They will not accept them and put their hands out of sight quicker than the British could get their wallets out. That was made perfectly obvious in the above post without having to extend the sentence to such a point that it would be too long and bore some to read. Short, direct and straight to the point is the key to getting a message across. I cant help it if you could not grasp what I meant.

Edited May 12, 2014 by KarateMan