Diamond Princess

[dennisamor]

Lookiing forward to our mini-cruise on Diamond Princess in a couple of weeks time. Anything we should know about her? We have booked a balcony cabin for the first leg, and have a mini-suite for the second one.

 

Dennis Amor

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Bon Voyage...have a great cruise. Diamond is a lovely ship.

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

The Diamond is a great ship, can handle big swells with class, the food and service is great and I have nothing negative to say about her. If you like X, you will like Princess.:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The Diamond is a great ship, can handle big swells with class, the food and service is great and I have nothing negative to say about her. If you like X, you will like Princess.:D

 

 

The only negative I have is that the balconies are very open and exposed and are far from private. Having had a mini suite ,I would not bother with one again. They are they same as a balcony...the only extra being that a sofa is included and you get a larger balcony buit it has no cover and is overlooked by everyone above.

Apart from that , Diamond is still my favourite.

I loved the the choice of the Anytime Dining venues.:)

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

The only negative I have is that the balconies are very open and exposed and are far from private. Having had a mini suite ,I would not bother with one again. They are they same as a balcony...the only extra being that a sofa is included and you get a larger balcony buit it has no cover and is overlooked by everyone above.

Apart from that , Diamond is still my favourite.

I loved the the choice of the Anytime Dining venues.:)

 

 

 

Is Diamond one of the ships that has larger balconies on Caribe deck - part covered and part uncovered? It looks like it on the deck plans. Sounds like those are better than a mini-suite. :D

[yatchet]

This is copied from a previous thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2165005

 

Hi guys,

Re Diamond balconies

Dolphin mini suite balconies are totally open no cover

Caribe balconies above look right down on them, there is no privacy on Dolphin balconies.

Caribe balconies are one third covered, so you have shade/sun and privacy as the floor of the Baja above cover the first third as you walk out the door.

Aloha and Baja balconies are covered.

 

I believe the balcony sizes are :

 

Aloha and Baja 9x5

Dolphin 9x7

Caribe 9x9

 

So Caribe is pick of the bunch for me, large and partly covered. We just had C705 and it was the same Cat as a Baja with a small balcony.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Chez

xx

Edited March 9, 2015 by yatchet

[MicCanberra]

The only negative I have is that the balconies are very open and exposed and are far from private. Having had a mini suite ,I would not bother with one again. They are they same as a balcony...the only extra being that a sofa is included and you get a larger balcony buit it has no cover and is overlooked by everyone above.

Apart from that , Diamond is still my favourite.

I loved the the choice of the Anytime Dining venues.:)

 

 

 

Yes, the four differing venues are great, Savoy, Vivaldi, Sante Fe and Pacific Moon. I preferred the Sante Fe and the Savoy but all were good with their own signature dishes.:D

 

We also had a mini suite Dolphin but did not mind it being open or exposed.:D

Edited March 9, 2015 by MicCanberra

[nodandade]

my wife and i were on the diamond 18 months ago Bangkok to Sydney,she is a great ship,nothing was a problem and we had smooooooth seas all the way.

three things (beside all the others ) we liked was, the English pub (great steak and kidney pie with a pint) the crème brulee, and the biiiiiiiiiiig diver scallops.

we had a balcony and overlooked the mini suites partially open balconies below.

enjoy one of our favourite ships

[cheznandy]

Lookiing forward to our mini-cruise on Diamond Princess in a couple of weeks time. Anything we should know about her? We have booked a balcony cabin for the first leg, and have a mini-suite for the second one.

 

Dennis Amor

 

The above post Yatchet quoted is mine, so info on balconies there.

I would recommend a balcony on Caribe and a mini on Emerald as I believe they are covered, if that is a concern for you. The full sun when on your side would be an issue for us as there is NO shelter on the Dolphin minis. At least with Caribe you get the larger balcony and sun/shade.

There are also 4 larger insides on Aloha deck, these are sideways cabins, different layout, we enjoyed 23 nights in one of these and loved the extra room and location.

 

Agree with everyone else, love the four anytime dining rooms, nice and intimate and not as loud as the main dining room. Skywalkers a great place for sailaway and reading during the day, great views.

I counted 8 spas:p so plenty of choice, aft, midship or the pointy end!

Lovely solarium/pool with two levels.

 

Haven't been on since the Japanese spa was put in.

 

Love that ship:p

 

Chez

[MicCanberra]

The above post Yatchet quoted is mine, so info on balconies there.

I would recommend a balcony on Caribe and a mini on Emerald as I believe they are covered, if that is a concern for you. The full sun when on your side would be an issue for us as there is NO shelter on the Dolphin minis. At least with Caribe you get the larger balcony and sun/shade.

There are also 4 larger insides on Aloha deck, these are sideways cabins, different layout, we enjoyed 23 nights in one of these and loved the extra room and location.

 

Agree with everyone else, love the four anytime dining rooms, nice and intimate and not as loud as the main dining room. Skywalkers a great place for sailaway and reading during the day, great views.

I counted 8 spas:p so plenty of choice, aft, midship or the pointy end!

Lovely solarium/pool with two levels.

 

Haven't been on since the Japanese spa was put in.

 

Love that ship:p

 

Chez

Agreed, I was on prior to the refit as well, I would like to try her again one day. I will be on the Caribbean Princess in august so can do some comparisons in some aspects of the ship.:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Yes, the four differing venues are great, Savoy, Vivaldi, Sante Fe and Pacific Moon. I preferred the Sante Fe and the Savoy but all were good with their own signature dishes.:D

 

We also had a mini suite Dolphin but did not mind it being open or exposed.:D

 

 

My favourite was Vivaldi .

[Stuartm]

Haven't been on the Diamond since 2011 but we were on her sister Sapphire at New Year. We had a mini on Dolphin in 2011 and loved it so booked another for the Sapphire cruise. We have also had a cabin on Caribe with the extra large balcony and really enjoyed it but once we had experienced the extra room in the mini-suite we were sold. And it isn't just the extra space in the sitting area. The bigger bathroom with the bath tub is a major plus.

For us, the only downside with the balcony wasn't the lack of privacy but the lack of shelter when it rained but a trusty golf umbrella solved that problem.

 

We are booked on the Diamond this coming New Year and are looking forward to seeing how she looks after her last make-over. I have to say that the Sapphire is heading for a dry-dock soon and not before time. She has a few pretty tired areas that are in need of attention.

 

cheers

 

Stu

[cheznandy]

Haven't been on the Diamond since 2011 but we were on her sister Sapphire at New Year. We had a mini on Dolphin in 2011 and loved it so booked another for the Sapphire cruise. We have also had a cabin on Caribe with the extra large balcony and really enjoyed it but once we had experienced the extra room in the mini-suite we were sold. And it isn't just the extra space in the sitting area. The bigger bathroom with the bath tub is a major plus.

For us, the only downside with the balcony wasn't the lack of privacy but the lack of shelter when it rained but a trusty golf umbrella solved that problem.

 

We are booked on the Diamond this coming New Year and are looking forward to seeing how she looks after her last make-over. I have to say that the Sapphire is heading for a dry-dock soon and not before time. She has a few pretty tired areas that are in need of attention.

 

cheers

 

Stu

 

Stu, that would be our problem as well, not lack of privacy but shade. my sister had a Dolphin mini when we did NZ in 2012, we spent a bit of time on their balcony, and funny thing I never noticed the privacy thing then, but I did just recently when our Caribe balcony looked on top on them and they no where to hide:p

You were on the Sapphire just before us, were Phil and Jill on your cruise? They did a few b2b2b2b.....haha

Agree that Sapphire needs a little makeover, been on Diamond twice and really noticed the Sapphire looking a bit worn. Wish the Diamond had the IC, a great place 24/7 for coffee/snacks and a quick brekky.

 

I can feel a Princess cruise coming on......but I have 3 with Royal booked so I can make a fair comparison!!!

 

Chez

[Stuartm]

Stu, that would be our problem as well, not lack of privacy but shade. my sister had a Dolphin mini when we did NZ in 2012, we spent a bit of time on their balcony, and funny thing I never noticed the privacy thing then, but I did just recently when our Caribe balcony looked on top on them and they no where to hide:p

You were on the Sapphire just before us, were Phil and Jill on your cruise? They did a few b2b2b2b.....haha

Agree that Sapphire needs a little makeover, been on Diamond twice and really noticed the Sapphire looking a bit worn. Wish the Diamond had the IC, a great place 24/7 for coffee/snacks and a quick brekky.

 

I can feel a Princess cruise coming on......but I have 3 with Royal booked so I can make a fair comparison!!!

 

Chez

 

HI Chez,

 

When I booked the Sapphire cruise, knowing that it would be the wet season I figured that the rain may keep us off the balcony. As it turned out, we only had a day or two of rain but what kept us off the balcony was the heat. It was just too hot and humid to go out there apart from the morning and the evening. Also, when the sun shone on the balcony doors, despite the fact the curtains are quite heavy, the cabin did heat up. Also (and you make think I'm being precious) but the mini-suites have two TV's. They are flat screen but I assume plasma as they put out a lot of heat and we did turn them off when it got a bit warm in the cabin. But having said all of that we would choose a mini-suite every time. Well, except next time in December, we've booked a Penthouse Suite and there you get the best of both worlds. Very roomy cabin with a double width balcony that is half covered. We figured to splurge while we are still working.

 

cheers

 

Stu

[cheznandy]

OMG Stu, we said the same thing about the TV, they really heated up. We couldn't work out why our cabin was getting so hot, thought the air con wasn't working but with the heat from outside and that TV it was hot!!

 

Good for you re the Penthouse, sounds great!!

 

Chez

[MicCanberra]

OMG Stu, we said the same thing about the TV, they really heated up. We couldn't work out why our cabin was getting so hot, thought the air con wasn't working but with the heat from outside and that TV it was hot!!

 

Good for you re the Penthouse, sounds great!!

 

Chez

 

Somewhat jealous, wish we had more than just a balcony for our Caribbean but the prices were so much more.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

HI Chez,

 

When I booked the Sapphire cruise, knowing that it would be the wet season I figured that the rain may keep us off the balcony. As it turned out, we only had a day or two of rain but what kept us off the balcony was the heat. It was just too hot and humid to go out there apart from the morning and the evening. Also, when the sun shone on the balcony doors, despite the fact the curtains are quite heavy, the cabin did heat up. Also (and you make think I'm being precious) but the mini-suites have two TV's. They are flat screen but I assume plasma as they put out a lot of heat and we did turn them off when it got a bit warm in the cabin. But having said all of that we would choose a mini-suite every time. Well, except next time in December, we've booked a Penthouse Suite and there you get the best of both worlds. Very roomy cabin with a double width balcony that is half covered. We figured to splurge while we are still working.

 

cheers

 

Stu

 

Gosh ...what some folk will do to have breakfast at Sabitinis:D:D

 

Sounds great ..Enjoy...The perks are wonderful:)