Diamond Princess - Japan Season - REVIEW

[Aussie Gal]

We are leaving for Japan and a cruise on the Diamond in 6 days time and are looking forward to our time on that ship. I believe that there will be 900 Japanese cruisers on board. A well known Travel Agent from here was on a cruise on the Diamond in July and I read her review which gave the ship high praise. This was the first ship that she had been on that wasn't 5 star snd she was most impressed with everything on board.

She said the entertainment was excellent and there w

was a lot happening around the ship at all times.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Aussie Gal

[pebblertw]

I suspect the big cruise lines are looking for new revenue sources since the traditional Western passenger market isn't spending what they used to and there is an internatinal glut in the number of berths.

 

I was looking at trying the Diamond in Japan next year. Sadly, I've read a lot of reviews that indicate Princess isn't really catering to Westerners on these cruises. I'm all for experiencing new cultures, but I don't want to be limited in my choice of activities and excursions.

 

I guess this is how non English speaking cruisers often feel on big US/UK mainstream ships.

 

I would not agree that Westerners are not catered for, at least that was not our experience on our B2B. Aussies dominated with I think 1500 first leg and 800 the 2nd. The number of Japanese passengers seems to vary between cruises. Not all the Asian population were Japanese on our cruise. There were quite a lot from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea.

One of the problems with the shore excursions is that there are not a lot of qualified English speaking guides. They often travel 2 hours from home to do a tour and go from port to port as well. The Japanese market is not yet geared to shore excursions for the cruise market.

[Emma Chisit]

I would not agree that Westerners are not catered for, at least that was not our experience on our B2B. Aussies dominated with I think 1500 first leg and 800 the 2nd. The number of Japanese passengers seems to vary between cruises. Not all the Asian population were Japanese on our cruise. There were quite a lot from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea.....

 

We are just back from what must be the same 18 day cruise that pebblertw was on. (As it wasn’t our first time in Japan we did some independent travel by train before and after the cruise. It is very easy to get around Japan by train, especially if you use the luggage forwarding service, takuhaibin.) I agree with what pebblertw said in response to an earlier comment about Westerners not being catered for. We did not feel un-catered for at all. The only possible issue was that announcements are made in Japanese and English, which slowed things down somewhat. The changes introduced for the Japanese market, like new menu items, Japanese cultural performances etc were an improvement, in our opinion. (We have been on Diamond before.) The ship was in good condition, and our cabin (minisuite) was sparkling clean (had a Japanese toilet). The sushi restaurant and upscale shopping boutique seemed under-utilised. We took ship’s shore excursions in Jeju, Kushiro, Korsakov and Aomori, and all went well. Korsakov was not a guided tour; just a shore visit which is controlled by the Russian authorities as to amount of time spent onshore. We chose ship’s excursions in Jeju, Kushiro and Aomori because we wanted to go further afield and visit several places, so that seemed a convenient way to do it. In the other ports we used shuttle buses, trams, trains and taxis to get around. In Otaru we had enough time to go by train to Sapporo, as well as seeing the sights of Otaru. The local Japanese tourism authorities cater very well to cruise ship passengers, with shuttles mostly available, as well as lots of helpful advice on DIY sightseeing. One thing however which this cruise confirmed for us was that we prefer smaller ships. (Based also on other cruises this year on Windstar and QM2.) We were looking forward to next year’s 62 day cruise (from April 2015) on the small ship Ocean Princess - but came home to find that unfortunately for us Princess has put the ship up for sale. Hopefully, finding a buyer will take a long time and our cruise will go ahead as planned. However, we were also seriously considering the 64 day Jan 2016 Grand South America cruise on Ocean, and that is now off the table for us. Thankfully there are other cruiselines which still have smaller ships, and that is where will now be looking.

[Aussie Gal]

Emma,

 

Looking forward to meeting you when hopefully we are on the Ocean in April. We board her in Singapore and finish in Cape Town. We have already done the legs from Sydney to Singapore and Cape Town to Dover which is so interesting. Our fingers are crossed for a slow sale of our favourite ship - the lovely Ocean Princess.

 

Jennie

[Emma Chisit]

Emma,

 

Looking forward to meeting you when hopefully we are on the Ocean in April. We board her in Singapore and finish in Cape Town. We have already done the legs from Sydney to Singapore and Cape Town to Dover which is so interesting. Our fingers are crossed for a slow sale of our favourite ship - the lovely Ocean Princess.

 

Jennie

 

Yes, likewise to everything you have said. :) I must admit that when we heard about the Ocean sale prospects we started looking at what other cruises we could do in the same time frame (because we have one of those difficult to get hold FF one-way flights already booked to get back to Oz again.). There are other options with other cruiselines, some quite tempting. However, this itinerary is the one we have been looking forward to since we originally booked in 2012 for this year's cruise & then cancelled to get the cabin we wanted for 2015.

And now, since I have gone off topic with this post, I promise to come back and post a copy of the shuttle arrangements for each port on the cruise we just finished. It is a good cruise, but the big ships are...just too big for us....Fortunately, there is a ship out there for everyone, sad to think that ours might no longer be with Princess.

[Emma Chisit]

And now, since I have gone off topic with this post, I promise to come back and post a copy of the shuttle arrangements for each port on the cruise we just finished.

 

As promised above, some information from the Sept 2014 cruise on Diamond Princess. No guarantee, of course, that this will be the situation in future. On this cruise the Port Lecturer Peter Croyle gave very useful talks, complete with maps showing where ship was docked, and these talks were also subsequently available on the TV in cabins.

KOBE: Docked at Kobe Port Terminal. Local free transport provided to the Motomachi area (downtown), approx 10 mins each way. The Port Terminal Monorail (Portliner) Station and taxis were available just outside terminal building. Kyoto is a long trip (about two hours ea way); had been there before several times so instead Himeji Castle was very do-able by train. Now looking beautiful as it has emerged from the scaffolding (but still unable to go inside until March 2015.)

BEPPU: Docked at Beppu International Sightseeing Pier #4. Taxis available and also a complimentary shuttle bus to JR Beppu Station (10-15 mins). Used taxis to get around and see the “Hells” (Hot Springs). Please note if you do this that they were not always available to flag down (though we always managed to get one in the end). Leaving the port is easy as taxis are waiting there, but not knowing how long we might need to see the “Hells” (which are in two areas) we did not keep the taxi for the morning. This might be the better option.

KAGOSHIMA: Docked at Marine Port. Free local shuttle bus from pier to downtown area, supposedly takes about 30 mins. We did a ship’s tour here for convenience, as we wanted to see sights in different areas, and were pleased we did as it was a very humid day.

JEJU, KOREA: Docked at International Cruise Pier. Taxis available. Shuttle Bus Service available to somewhere near the Dongmun Market (10-15 mins drive), which cost $5 each way. Did a ship’s tour here to Seongsan (Sunrise Peak) and a Folk Village because we wanted to see the countryside, and time in port only 7am – 1pm. Sunrise Peak is impressive, but almost 400 steps.

NAGASAKI: Docked Matsugae Pier. Taxis available. No free shuttle. Glover Garden is within walking distance, but was a difficult walk as it is uphill with many steps, and the day was humid. The local tram service is very good, which is what we used to see the other city sights. Nearest stop about 5 mins walk from terminal.

YOKOHAMA: We bought this cruise as an 18 day cruise, but it was also sold as two 9 day cruises (and as well a few passengers got on in Kobe). Therefore many passengers left at this Yokohama port stop midway through our cruise, and many more got on. We opted to use this “turnaround day” to visit Kamakura by train, which was easy, and highly recommended. Friends stayed in Yokohama and used the excellent HOHO bus which costs 100 yen every time you get on or off, or you can simply stay on. (We used this on Disembarkation Day at the end of the cruise and saw a few sights.) There is a free shuttle to Sakuragaicho Station where you can get the HOHO bus (or a train to Kamakura, as we did on turnaround day). We also used it on disembarkation day. We sent our big bags to our Tokyo hotel using the luggage forwarding (takuhaibin) service at the station, and then took the train to the station nearest our hotel. You need to have several days' post-cruise stay to do this, as the luggage service is typically next day delivery. Princess did not offer any transfers to hotels in Tokyo.

KUSHIRO: Docked West Pier #4. Local free shuttle bus service to Fisherman’s Wharf (MOO) Shopping Centre. About 15 mins. From there another 10-15 mins walk to Kushiro Station. We did a shorex here.

KORSAKOV, RUSSIA: A tender port. Options here a day trip to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, or a visit to Korsakov only, which cost $15 per person. Did the latter - time slots were assigned beforehand; the whole experience took around two hours. On shore there was an opportunity to walk around a bit, shop for some souvenirs, and see a cultural performance put on by the residents.

OTARU: Ship docked at Katsunai Pier. Short walk from there to a large shopping mall, or Otaru Chikko Train Station. We however took a taxi to JR Otaru Station and went by train to Sapporo for the morning. The train trip takes about 45 mins and is quite scenic, while Sapporo was worth seeing. We got off the ship early, so returned from Sapporo in time to have a late lunch in the canal district of Otaru and sightsee in the shopping area. Could not find a taxi to take us back to the ship so we walked, which was do-able.

HAKODATE: Docked Minato-cho Pier. Free shuttle to Hakodate Station, near the Morning Fish Market. Can get a day pass (600 yen) for the trams, which we used. It’s a long uphill walk from the tram stop nearest the cable car (ropeway) station which goes to the top of Mt Hakodate (a ship’s shorex puts you on a bus which eliminates the walk as it parks at the top.) We used the tram pass to visit all the other Hakodate sights, but still did a fair amount of walking.

AOMORI: Ship docked at Okidate Wharf. Free shuttle (15 mins) to ASPAM building, which is a short walk from the town centre, shopping and the Wa Rasse museum which houses the Nebuta floats. We did a shorex out of town here, but also had time on our return to use the shuttle to visit this museum, which we recommend. The shorex went to Goshogawara where we saw the Kanayama Kiln, and the Museum of their Nebuta floats, as well as something of the very pretty countryside because the trip was an hour each way.

June51 earlier asked about excursions being cancelled for lack of participants. I had thought this tour might not go ahead, given Princess’s warnings about minimum numbers needed for excursions. It seemed so specialized. However it did happen, and there were about 40 on the tour. I highly recommend it. The kiln (a climbing kiln) and the pottery are very unusual and well worth seeing, especially if you have an interest in pottery or Japanese crafts. The Goshogawara festival floats museum, however, was mind-blowing, and in my opinion way better than the one in Aomori (which we also saw).

[stki]

As promised above, some information from the Sept 2014 cruise on Diamond Princess. No guarantee, of course, that this will be the situation in future. On this cruise the Port Lecturer Peter Croyle gave very useful talks, complete with maps showing where ship was docked, and these talks were also subsequently available on the TV in cabins.

[

 

[

JEJU, KOREA: Docked at International Cruise Pier. Taxis available. Shuttle Bus Service available to somewhere near the Dongmun Market (10-15 mins drive), which cost $5 each way. Did a ship’s tour here to Seongsan (Sunrise Peak) and a Folk Village because we wanted to see the countryside, and time in port only 7am – 1pm. Sunrise Peak is impressive, but almost 400 steps.

[

YOKOHAMA: We bought this cruise as an 18 day cruise, but it was also sold as two 9 day cruises (and as well a few passengers got on in Kobe). Therefore many passengers left at this Yokohama port stop midway through our cruise, and many more got on. We opted to use this “turnaround day” to visit Kamakura by train, which was easy, and highly recommended. Friends stayed in Yokohama and used the excellent HOHO bus which costs 100 yen every time you get on or off, or you can simply stay on. (We used this on Disembarkation Day at the end of the cruise and saw a few sights.) There is a free shuttle to Sakuragaicho Station where you can get the HOHO bus (or a train to Kamakura, as we did on turnaround day). We also used it on disembarkation day. We sent our big bags to our Tokyo hotel using the luggage forwarding (takuhaibin) service at the station, and then took the train to the station nearest our hotel. You need to have several days' post-cruise stay to do this, as the luggage service is typically next day delivery. Princess did not offer any transfers to hotels in Tokyo.

[

 

 

Thanks so much for this info. We are boarding the Diamond on the 6th Oct for a B2B, Tokyo to Hong Kong.

 

Just a few questions, did you need local currency for Jeju. We have a local tour & he is happy to take USD, but did you still the Sth Korean currency for other stuff.

 

We also have a turnaround day in Yokahama. How long did the trip to Kamakura take, as we would also like to see some of Yokohama. I suppose my question is , could we do both?

 

I have yen organised for our Japanese ports. If I run out, is it easy to find ATMS to withdraw more( though I will also have my CC as a back up)

 

Cheers

 

Tanya

[someotherguy]

Quite a good article on Toto Washlet toilets here: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/04/toto_washlet_s350e_the_incredible_japanese_wonder_toilet_that_will_change.html. 90% of Japanese homes have one, vs. 30% that have a dishwasher. The idea is the water jet does the work for which paper is used elsewhere.

 

You can buy them from Amazon: from $299 for a basic model to $999 for one that has a remote and raises the lid automatically.

[someotherguy]

For the person who wanted to go to Kamakura (good choice), you get the train times and fares here: http://www.hyperdia.com. Use nihon-odori (spelled exactly like that) as the origin and kamakura as the destination. Use Google maps and its streetview to see how to get to the Nihon Odori station from the pier (about 10 minutes). You will need Japanese Yen and/or a Suica card (like an Octopus in Hong Kong or an Oyster in London). General guidance here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html and (more in-depth) here: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/ (Kamakura is under Kanto),

[someotherguy]

Answering another question upthread: Western bank cards do not work in most Japanese bank ATMs (except at the airport), but they always work at the ATMs in post offices (the logo is a red T with another bar on top) and 7-11's.

[KarateMan]

I suspect the big cruise lines are looking for new revenue sources since the traditional Western passenger market isn't spending what they used to and there is an internatinal glut in the number of berths.

 

I was looking at trying the Diamond in Japan next year. Sadly, I've read a lot of reviews that indicate Princess isn't really catering to Westerners on these cruises. I'm all for experiencing new cultures, but I don't want to be limited in my choice of activities and excursions.

 

I guess this is how non English speaking cruisers often feel on big US/UK mainstream ships.

 

That idea of yours is totally wrong and you should ignore all those reviews.

 

I have been there to Japan on the Diamond on the 31st August sailing. I can assure you it is still 100% Princess style. Nothing has changed.

 

I found my cruise outstanding with lots to do and a very friendly well organised cruise. The passenger mix was great. Sure they catered to Japanese tastes and gave them some of their own shows and food. How could you begrudge them that. It still is very much Princess. There is absolutely nothing different from my recent Diamond Princess cruise just a while back compared to my Golden Princess cruise in March. There is absolutely no difference.

 

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

[stki]

For the person who wanted to go to Kamakura (good choice), you get the train times and fares here: http://www.hyperdia.com. Use nihon-odori (spelled exactly like that) as the origin and kamakura as the destination. Use Google maps and its streetview to see how to get to the Nihon Odori station from the pier (about 10 minutes). You will need Japanese Yen and/or a Suica card (like an Octopus in Hong Kong or an Oyster in London). General guidance here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html and (more in-depth) here: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/ (Kamakura is under Kanto),

 

Answering another question upthread: Western bank cards do not work in most Japanese bank ATMs (except at the airport), but they always work at the ATMs in post offices (the logo is a red T with another bar on top) and 7-11's.

 

Great info thank you. Interesting about not being able to use bank ATMS

I would have blamed my card, will look for the 7-11's as I have heard they are everywhere.

 

Tanya

[stki]

That idea of yours is totally wrong and you should ignore all those reviews.

 

I have been there to Japan on the Diamond on the 31st August sailing. I can assure you it is still 100% Princess style. Nothing has changed.

 

I found my cruise outstanding with lots to do and a very friendly well organised cruise. The passenger mix was great. Sure they catered to Japanese tastes and gave them some of their own shows and food. How could you begrudge them that. It still is very much Princess. There is absolutely nothing different from my recent Diamond Princess cruise just a while back compared to my Golden Princess cruise in March. There is absolutely no difference.

 

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

 

How did you find the Internet on board. DH needs to check his emails daily as he is Self employed.We are Elite, so have plenty of minutes.

 

Tanya

[OzKiwiJJ]

Answering another question upthread: Western bank cards do not work in most Japanese bank ATMs (except at the airport), but they always work at the ATMs in post offices (the logo is a red T with another bar on top) and 7-11's.

 

When we were in Japan several years ago we always looked for Citibank ATMs after reading in the Lonely Planet that these ones usually worked with international cards. We had no problems. We didn't try any other banks.

[Emma Chisit]

 

 

Thanks so much for this info. We are boarding the Diamond on the 6th Oct for a B2B, Tokyo to Hong Kong.

 

Just a few questions, did you need local currency for Jeju. We have a local tour & he is happy to take USD, but did you still the Sth Korean currency for other stuff.

We didn't try to buy anything, but others reported that they could not use anything other than Korean currency for small purchases. Try to get currency in advance if you think you may need it as Princess may not have it in the change machine or at Purser's Desk.

We also have a turnaround day in Yokahama. How long did the trip to Kamakura take, as we would also like to see some of Yokohama. I suppose my question is , could we do both?

Maybe... if you can get off the ship early enough and are willing to be ruthlessly selective - but there is much to see in Kamakura.. We found the trip to Kamakura alone was enough for us. Depends on your stamina! Someotherguy gave good advice about Hyperdia and the other sources he mentioned - we have used all of them quite a bit in Japan.

I have yen organised for our Japanese ports. If I run out, is it easy to find ATMS to withdraw more( though I will also have my CC as a back up)

Again, the advice about ATMs in 7-11s or Post Offices is good - we found we used more yen than we thought we would as it is cash only quite often.

Cheers

 

Tanya

 

You're Welcome. :) See responses in red above...

[Emma Chisit]

How did you find the Internet on board. DH needs to check his emails daily as he is Self employed.We are Elite, so have plenty of minutes.

 

Tanya

 

Sometimes slow - at those times when you would expect everyone else was trying to use it, like the day before disembarkation.. But we could access it every day...

[Roadrunnerelephant]

Thanks Emma, all very informative.

 

Do you know what the disembarkation times are when back in Yokohama please ?

 

Thanks

 

Bob

[Emma Chisit]

Thanks Emma, all very informative.

Do you know what the disembarkation times are when back in Yokohama please ?Thanks Bob

 

I didn't keep a copy of the disembarkation schedule for our cruise. However, the ship arrived at 6am in Yokohama. Princess asks everyone to vacate cabins by 8am so they can be cleaned and got ready for the new passengers. This is typical. I think they want all passengers off the ship by 9am. Some time before the end of the cruise you get a form to complete asking for the time you need to be off the ship. I assume those on Princess transfers are assigned to a particular departure time depending on their flight time if leaving Japan the same day. (We have never flown home the same day from a cruise so have no experience how that works.) Friends of ours took the Princess transfer and shore excursion option to fill in the time before their evening flight back to Australia. They said it worked out well as they were travelling Jetstar with no lounge access and Narita isn’t too interesting an airport to spend time in. As we were travelling independently post-cruise, we nominated 8.30am for departure, and when our colour-coded baggage tags arrived a day or so before we left we were assigned to the 8.15 departure slot. (They always seem to build in some fat with the timing.)

[Roadrunnerelephant]

Thanks Emma. This is very helpful.

 

Regards and best wishes

 

Bob

[KarateMan]

How did you find the Internet on board. DH needs to check his emails daily as he is Self employed.We are Elite, so have plenty of minutes.

 

Tanya

 

I found it fast enough and reliable. I could upload high resolution photos to facebook no problems at all and could navigate the web on several tabs at the one time and go offline the moment I had everything I needed. For the 9 days I was on I did not go over the 250 minutes of free elite internet. It is not at the speed of land based but it was fast enough for me and I always got a connection.

[June51]

Thank you very much for your helpful information Emma,

June

[stki]

Thanks again

 

One more question

 

What did most people wear for Formal night? DH is wondering whether he should bring his Tux, Suit or is shirt & tie & good pants enough.

 

I have a couple of cocktail dresses that dont take much room, so I'm easy

 

Cheers

 

Tanya

[paddingtonbear]

Lanwood and others that cruised on the Diamond Princess in Japan recently.......could you post the Princess Patters that you have of the cruise?

 

I'm collecting Patters and the websites they are located at for a future posting of recent Princess Patters for future cruisers to view. Trying to find examples from all the cruise destinations on the Princess ships.

 

Any effort is very much appreciated.....:)

 

Excellent idea! Can you post the website when you have some up?

[KarateMan]

Thanks again

 

One more question

 

What did most people wear for Formal night? DH is wondering whether he should bring his Tux, Suit or is shirt & tie & good pants enough.

 

I have a couple of cocktail dresses that dont take much room, so I'm easy

 

Cheers

 

Tanya

 

For myself I just took an ordinary suit and tie for formal nights. I have a fairly better than average mid-priced but not a fashion label suit that is light and easy to take. Some men will always take a tux so you will see a few. There are now always the crowds that "don't do formals" and a handful of passengers stick to the buffet and upper decks in shorts and singlet tops watching movies. The Japanese will either bring their western style clothes or go traditional kimono style. Personally I loved seeing the variety of different styles people wore on formal night. It was all different.