Review - Diamond Princess 11th to 19th December - East Coast of Australia

[gm217]

Enjoying your review. Will be on the Diamond in February

 

 

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[Purples]

We will be on Diamond soon and wondering if they still do a happy hour - buy one and get another for $1 in the afternoon please?

[Bazandgiz]

We will be on Diamond soon and wondering if they still do a happy hour - buy one and get another for $1 in the afternoon please?

 

Yes they do, this was in the Wheelhouse Bar every afternoon.

[rossco_p]

Day 2- At sea 12th December

 

The beds in our cabin were very comfortable and we had a great sleep. The Diamond Princess is very smooth; no rocking. I got up and had a quick shower so we could have breakfast and settle by the pool. The shower was small but perfectly functional. Of course there’s nothing like a clingy shower curtain sticking to your butt to make you a little self-conscious about the size of the posterior aspects of your body. The water was hot and the pressure was good.

 

Breakfast at the Horizon Court was the usual breakfast buffet fare. There were scrambled and fried eggs as well as omelettes. There was English and American bacon, sausages and occasionally there was steak; enough to satisfy the most carnivorous of breakfast goers. You could have waffles and pancakes with syrup and an array of muffins. Asian food was also on offer such as noodles and miso soup. The staples like cereal, yoghurt and fresh fruit were in plentiful supply. Pretty much anything you could want for breakfast was available.

With regards to the coffee service, maybe it was my grumpy face, but I found it was delivered to our table very promptly every morning. I never get excited about cruise ship coffee and this was no exception. It was passable, but if your average coffee snob in metropolitan Sydney was served such a beverage at one of the million outlets we encountered during our walk in the city, they would have thrown back in the Barista’s face.

 

After breakfast we made our way to the indoor Calypso pool. We managed to find some chairs with reasonable ease close to the side of the pool so that we could keep an eye on the boys while they swam. The Calypso pool is a nice oasis away from the hot sun and the sometimes blustery Pacific wind outside. It is air conditioned and less noisy than the main exterior pool (Neptune’s Reef). After settling into my chair, I began reading my “cruise novel” - James Joyce's “Ulysses”. This will be my 5th attempt at reading this laborious book. Over the course of my adult life I have tried many times to read it in its entirety. My best effort was to get up to chapter 5, but then work and parenthood intervened, requiring me to employ a better use of my time. At each attempt, I always have to start again because I can never remember what the hell was going on. This time, I figured 8 days on a cruise ship would give me sufficient leeway to finally finish it (spoiler alert - I only got up to page 15).

 

After a lengthy discussion between myself and DW, we decided that 11.30am was not too early for a drink and I sauntered up to the Calypso bar to get a beer. I have found none of the bars to be very busy so far on this cruise and I was served immediately. They have a wide range of beers on board including Grolsch, Fosters, Heineken and Pure Blonde. In the interest of writing a well informed blog I decided it would be best to try all of them, so that was my little mission for the rest of the cruise. That’s the sacrifices we make.

 

We decided to take advantage of this sea day and spent most of it just lounging around the while the boys swam, got an ice cream, swam, got a piece of pizza, swam, got a hot dog, swam, got a cheeseburger…you get the idea. The ice cream bar, pizzeria and burger grill are all centred around the outside pool and they are all free, which was great.

 

There was a good mix of Nationalities on board. Australians were in the majority with about a quarter being Japanese. I detected a few American/Canadian accents and a smattering of other nationalities. Throughout the whole cruise people were mostly polite and courteous to each other when it came to lining up for food or using pool chairs. Only once in the Princess Theatre, when everyone was piling in for a show, did I see things get a little “pushy”.

 

Speaking of which, that night we went to the production show “Bravo”. It was a polished performance with lots of singing and dancing and sparkly costumes. The Opera singer from the Philippines was very good. After the show we went to bed, well I went to bed; the boys watched a movie on the TV. Princess has a good selection of on-demand films.

 

Tomorrow we would arrive in Melbourne and I had a few exciting activities planned.

[rossco_p]

This is the Calypso pool where a lot of time was spent investigating beer varieties and slices of pizza.

 

[Wildblue]

Very good, am following this thread with keen interest. We sail on the Diamond this Thursday on a B2B from Sydney. First to the South Pacific and Fiji, then to New Zealand.

[rossco_p]

Day 3 – Wednesday - Melbourne

 

We woke to find ourselves docked in Melbourne. Today was my birthday whereupon I turned "forty and a bit more". I celebrated by finding a few more grey hairs while shaving in front of the bathroom mirror.

 

One thing of note is that the power sockets on board are American and we did not bring a converter. However, the only thing I needed to charge was my phone. Most people probably know this, but just in case you were not aware, there is a USB port in the back of the television that you can plug your phone charger cable into. The TV does not even have to be on for your phone to re-charge.

 

We had a casual breakfast and sauntered off the ship and headed into Melbourne. I wanted to show the boys Federation square which is noted for its groovy angular geometric panels used on the building exteriors and its outback inspired paving stones of the main square. We took a tram, as the boys had never caught a tram before and they found it quite exciting. Halfway into our journey, a man snuck on with a live chicken in a box. He was trying to keep it quiet because obviously such a thing is not allowed on public transport. His efforts were thwarted somewhat with the boys pointing and shouting “that man has a chicken in a box!” He got off at the next stop.

 

When we got to Federation square there was certainly a buzz about the place. Lots of people were hanging out, sipping café lattes or taking selfies in front of the architecture. Paul McCartney fever must have caught on in Melbourne during his current tour, because there was a busker playing all of his hits. I requested “Temporary Secretary” but he told me to bugger off.

 

We had some sushi for lunch and then decided to go to the Esplanade Hotel at St Kilda. During my courting days with DW, we loved to visit Melbourne a few times a year and would always enjoy a drink at the Esplanade Hotel. I wanted to show the boys where their mother and I had some nice memories together. Against my better judgement I ordered an ordered an UBER. The UBER driver arrived in quick time and after refusing his offer of a bottle of water we headed off the Esplanade Hotel. We talked excitedly in the car about how wonderful it would be to have a beer at a place we had not been to in nearly 15 years. Twenty minutes later we pulled up outside the Esplanade Hotel. I looked out the window in disbelief. It was closed down. It looked derelict; obviously it had not been open for many years. I turned to the UBER driver and said “Did you know this place was shut?”

He just nodded and said “Yep”.

“Well why did you bring us here?” I asked incredulously.

He shrugged, “That’s where you said you wanted to go.” I figured logic was not going to win this battle so we all got out and the UBER driver whizzed away.

We stood morosely outside the abandoned Hotel for a few minutes unsure what to do. Eventually we did what any normal person would do - took some photos of the abandoned, dilapidated pub.

Then we crossed the road to visit the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. DW and the boys are all avid sailors and inside there was a lot of interesting memorabilia. After a good look around, we had beers and soft drinks at the bar, which we were surprised to find was packed (maybe they were all fellow devastated former Esplanade Hotel drinkers).

 

We headed back to ship in time for dinner (tonight I managed to take a photo of my dessert before I ate it) and then the boys went to kids club which they really enjoyed (7pm to 10pm). There are fewer children on this cruise than I thought there would be, given that it is school holidays, so getting them into kids club was no problem (it is first come first served).

DW and I went to trivia at the Explorer’s lounge which was fun. The table service was very good; we never had to go to the bar. I had a Beverley Hills Iced Tea which I highly recommend. But I suggest having no more than 2, otherwise the next morning you may feel like you have woken up in the gutter on Rodeo Drive.

 

Rossco

 

Dessert - It tasted like a large Ferrero Rocher

 

Explorer's Lounge - Home to many lost trivia games

[rossco_p]

I just found this view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Sailaway on my phone. There was much excitement in the air.

[crochetcruise]

This is the Calypso pool where a lot of time was spent investigating beer varieties and slices of pizza.

 

[ATTACH]413133[/ATTACH]

 

Oooh! An undercover pool with steps leading down into the water so I can manage independently! This gives me another ship to cruise on!

 

THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION!

[princess09]

Enjoying your review and writing style. I'll continue to follow along. Thank you.

Have a wonderful time!

[rossco_p]

Day 4 – Thursday - Depart Melbourne – At Sea

 

DS2 lost a baby tooth last night while brushing his teeth before going to bed. Without really thinking, I put 5 dollars under his pillow for him to find this morning. Consequently, most of our time at breakfast involved me answering questions from DS2 such as "How did the Tooth Fairy know where I was?" and "How did the TF get to the ship?" I explained that the TF and I came to an arrangement last night, through a series of texts, whereby I forked out the money and now TF owes me 5 bucks when I get back to Brisbane. There was still an air of scepticism by the time breakfast was finished with DW shaking her head at how my impulsiveness got me into yet another jam.

 

After breakfast we returned to the cabin to change into our swim gear. This morning we decided to laze by the outside pool while the boys swam. Our room (B504) is only about 10 metres from the lifts and stairs, which is very convenient. There are 3 sets of elevators on the Diamond Princess (forward, midships and aft). They appeared to work very efficiently with only minimal waiting times. However, this was from observation only, because I had resolved that the family would not be using the elevators at all while on board. DS1 and DS2 briefly labelled me "the worst dad in the world" for instituting a stairs only policy for the entire cruise. But they got over it fairly quickly and were soon racing each other up and down each floor as we made our way to the various decks.

 

The boys spent the morning swimming, in between applying sunscreen every hour and ordering alcohol-free strawberry daiquiris with their soda package. At 11.30am I re-commenced my mission of sampling every beer on board.

 

After lunch the boys decided they wanted to go to the afternoon kids club and so at 1pm we were lined up waiting for it to open (Shockwaves). Again I was surprised at the small number of children waiting.

“I wonder why there aren’t that many kids on this cruise?” I mused aloud.

“Maybe they are all on the P & O ship which has a water slide?” offered DS1.

“Or maybe they are all at home doing chores. Should we do that next year for our holidays?” I responded. The boys fell quiet.

 

Having deposited the boys at kids club, DW decided to go to the gym. I wished her all the best and I headed to the Terrace Pool at the aft of the ship to watch the Diamond Princess sail away from Melbourne. She left at 1.30pm and she will remain at sea until she gets to Port Arthur on Saturday.

The Terrace Pool is on the Aloha deck which is an adults only area. It is a quiet retreat for those who want to lounge around, read a book and sip a beer or cocktail while avoiding the noise and bustle of the main pool. One deck above, overlooking the Terrace Pool is the Outrigger bar on the Lido deck. It was here I continued my beer quest and I ordered a Grolsch and perched myself on a bar stool and watched the ship’s wake trail away as the Diamond Princess steamed towards Bass Strait.

I spent a relaxing hour sipping my beer (which I really enjoyed) and reading Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography – Born To Run (which I did not enjoy as much as I thought I would – too many musings, too little detail IMHO).

 

Dinner was at 5.30 pm. After the requisite prawn cocktails, I had the Fettucine pasta with Lobster. I thought this was one of the tastiest pasta dishes I have had in a long time. DW had the Slow-roasted Beef Striploin Au Poivre which she also enjoyed.

 

After dinner we went to Karaoke at Club Fusion which is large bar/club at the aft end of the ship on Deck 7 (The Promenade Deck). It was hosted by Yumi, one of several very enthusiastic Japanese assistant cruise directors onboard. The boys decided to get up and perform something called the Duck Song which made no sense but got a rousing round of applause nonetheless.

I sang Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the Corner.” The TV screen stated it was to be sung in the key of “G” however at various times I do believe I was singing in the key of A, F, D sharp and B flat minor. Polite applause ensued after my effort.

I avoided the Beverley Hills Iced Teas tonight and went to bed with a clearer head.

 

The Terrace pool. Also pictured - a nice bottle of Grolsch and slightly disappointing Bruce Springsteen autobiography.

 

Karaoke at Club Fusion with Yumi one of the Japanese assistant cruise directors.

[Wildblue]

Particularly liking the kid insight. We're on the Diamond with kids this week. They'll be disappointed if there's no water slide.

 

But the kids love the Duck Song. If they can do it for karaoke, they'll be ecstatic.

[Sexywilzy]

The duck song, for those who don’t know it! [emoji3]

 

 

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[Coral]

Thanks for the review! You are right, there are not a lot of reviews of the Diamond Princess recently.

 

Love the tooth fairy story! Love that the tooth fairy texts!!

[georgiacat]

Enjoying your review. Keep it going.

[thunderbaycruiser]

Enjoying your review!

 

Wondering if they ever offered the Crab Shack on the Diamond (all you can eat seafood set up in Horizon). We really enjoyed it on Royal and will be sailing on Diamond soon!

[cjhawk52]

Wonderful review. Looking forward to reading more.