Diamond Princess Japan? My questions

[Cruiserkenn]

Hoping that someone who has been on the Diamond in Japan can answer some questions.

Is the food at the buffet similar to what is served elsewhere, or is it mostly Japanese and other Asian food?  I would be happy with Japanese and other Asian food,  but I am curious.

Are some shore excursions conducted in English, and if so, are they so labelled?

What about shows in the Princess Theater?  In English, Japanese, or both?

I was on the Diamond, years ago, in Alaska, and I would love to sail the Diamond in Japan.

Thanks in advance for any information you can 
provide.

[princessfanboy]

8 minutes ago, Cruisin'Rabbit said:

Hoping that someone who has been on the Diamond in Japan can answer some questions.

Is the food at the buffet similar to what is served elsewhere, or is it mostly Japanese and other Asian food?  I would be happy with Japanese and other Asian food,  but I am curious.

Are some shore excursions conducted in English, and if so, are they so labelled?

What about shows in the Princess Theater?  In English, Japanese, or both?

I was on the Diamond, years ago, in Alaska, and I would love to sail the Diamond in Japan.

Thanks in advance for any information you can 
provide.

Did a 2015 Japan cruise on the Diamond. 

The experience for my was excellent, they do have equal food, but with more sushi, a permanent ramen station (delicious), more things with matcha, etc; for breakfast in the dinning room they offer the typical Japanese tray breakfast. 

There are shore excursions in English, for there more popular ones, they marked them as Guided in English. 

The production shows are in English, and in Japanese, there are more activities in English. 

all announcements  are in English and Japanese. 

Hope these helps. 

[shepp]

What princessfanboy said. We did 17 days on the Diamond around Japan in 2015 and liked it so much we're booked for 18 more next year.

 

There were not only Westerners and Japanese onboard, but a lot of Chinese. It was all a pleasantly cross-cultural experience. One thing to remember is that relatively few Japanese speak English. Since there were a goodly number of Asian-Americans onboard, it was always guesswork as to which strangers would understand me and who wouldn't.

 

During the makeover for Japan, the Diamond was given a sushi bar and an onsen, a Japanese bath. Since better of both could be easily found onshore for less money, I'm not sure who onboard indulged (except maybe Westerners shy about a full-blown clothes-off onsen). I do know the sushi bar was empty whenever I walked by.

Edited October 21, 2018 by shepp

[Hlitner]

Not surprised that the Sushi Bar was empty.  Most Japanese (and others who love Sushi) prefer sushi that is only made from the freshest seafood!  This does not exist on a cruise ship. I doubt if many of these Sushi fans would even know about California Rolls.  And they sure are not going to find Fugu on any western cruise ship.

 

Hank

[emmaasher]

The buffet will have a mix of eastern and western cuisine as will the main dining room.  I noticed that the portion sizes were smaller in the main dining room. 

When booking excursions you will see the same excursion listed twice one for English speakers and one for Japanese speakers.  Just make sure you book the right one.

[pink845]

We were on the Diamond in 2017 (it did Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and on the last couple of days of our cruise, signs were going up all over the ship with Japanese and English), I guess they were expecting a lot of Japanese customers.  Anyhow, Diamond had the onsen at the back of the ship if I recall.  Never attended. I believe there were times when it catered only to women other times only to men.  If I recall, $20.00 to use the onsen.  Not our thing.   

 

We were on the Golden Princess this past spring and did a Transpacific commencing in Yokohama.   Food wise, pretty much all American western food like any other ship in the Princess fleet.  Might have been some sushi but not really that much (for free that is).  There were arts and craft activities with a Japanese themes.  There were activities at each port (Japanese Chamber of Commerce would have people welcoming the ship at almost every port (a couple of ports the mayor of the cities came out).    What else.   They brought people on board to do traditional japanese music and dance.  That was nice.    Other than that not very Japanese.  We did ourselves immerse ourselves in Japanese culture by spending two weeks traveling Japan by train prior to the cruise.  

[petechan]

Just came off the Diamond Princess this October. Just as pink845 said, the buffet food was about the same as the food offered when I went on Princess cruise to Alaska last year, except there is a ramen station, and for breakfast they had congee and miso soup on offer. In the dining room there were one or two Japanese inspired starters and sometimes a main dish as well. Most online excursions had a Japanese and English version, with the latter being more expensive. Also to mention, there was a $10 shuttle from the port to the train station in Iwakuni and to the city of Busan in case one wanted to travel independently, which is doable with some preparation.  In the other ports, one could get to the train station using the local trains/subways. I would encourage you to look into it, was an enjoyable trip! 

[Travlintrish]

We have just returned from a Diamond Princess cruise around Japan this month - it was a 10/10 experience.  The cruise had a broad mixture of cultures from around the world including people from Japan and other Asian countries, with no one dominate group.  There was not a lot of Japanese food offered but you could find some in the buffet including a 'make your own sushi' station. 

The shows and announcements on the ship were in English with some Japanese translation. The entertainers VOP and Monique were great and I could listen to them every night.

Ship excursions are very expensive (more so for the English speaking ones). We found it was more economical to spend a week  before the cruise to visit Hiroshima, Kyoto, Hakone and Tokyo by ourselves using their excellent train service - we didn't buy a rail pass as it worked out cheaper to buy our tickets. The Japanese people are incredibly helpful but you do have to do your homework to get the best out of the experience. Many cities in Japan offer free volunteer guides to take you around for the day - we had one in Kyoto when we first arrived and he was a great help. 

The ship offers  shuttle buses for US$10- return  when the port is not close to transport BUT don't buy your ticket until the day as many ports offer free shuttles - like in Busan. Busan also has an excellent Hop On Hop Off Bus for AU$15 (show them your cruise card for a discount). So for just AU$15- we had a 2 hour panoramic tour of the city and then got off to explore the fish market/tourist area for several hours. The ship tours cost  many 100's for a couple and you only get to visit 2-3 places whereas we saw so much - fortunately we were in port for about 12 hrs.  Busan is a great city and I would like to go back and see some more. 

[Cruiserkenn]

Thanks, everyone, for the great responses!

[rocklinmom]

Were there any specific immigration procedures for Busan?  I'll admit, I had to look it up (LOL) and it's in South Korea.  And were visas needed for any of the countries? 

[shepp]

12 hours ago, Travlintrish said:

We found it was more economical to spend a week  before the cruise to visit Hiroshima, Kyoto, Hakone and Tokyo by ourselves using their excellent train service - we didn't buy a rail pass as it worked out cheaper to buy our tickets.

 

One note here. For many people, Kyoto is the headliner attraction in Japan (and justifiably).  When we went, it (Osaka, really) was part of summertime itineraries. I just looked and it no longer is in 2019, and the spring sailings that visit there are sold out. Even so, Kyoto was some distance from the port, and as it happened a medical emergency truncated the day there, to many passengers' disappointment. If you're going all that way to visit Japan an independent trip to Kyoto before or after the cruse is strongly recommended. 

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, shepp said:

 

One note here. For many people, Kyoto is the headliner attraction in Japan (and justifiably).  

I have to say I loved Kyoto. If I go back, I will definitely spend more time here. 1 day is truly not enough.

[shepp]

2 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

Were there any specific immigration procedures for Busan?  I'll admit, I had to look it up (LOL) and it's in South Korea.  And were visas needed for any of the countries? 

 

No visas required, but you might make sure that you have sufficient blank visa pages in your passport. It seemed like the Japanese stamped our passports a ridiculous number of times, thereby taking up valuable passport real estate. In Busan, we grabbed a cab to the hillside Gamcheon Cultural Village (look that up too). It was a pretty fabulous place to wander around, definitely better than visiting still another fish market.

 

Oh, and if a stop in Russia is on your itinerary, expect lonnnng customs delays in disembarking there. 

[shepp]

5 minutes ago, Coral said:

I have to say I loved Kyoto. If I go back, I will definitely spend more time here. 1 day is truly not enough.

 

We spent three days there (and in Nara). Still not enough.

[Coral]

11 minutes ago, shepp said:

 

We spent three days there (and in Nara). Still not enough.

Nara - also amazing! It has been a long time since I have been to Japan but I remember it vividly. If the plane ride wasn't so long..... I did a land trip (not a cruise).

Edited October 27, 2018 by Coral

[ABCfamilyTravel]

We'll be on the Diamond Princess this Nov to Japan.  Similarly, we have not been on it since our time in Alaska too.  Will bring back great memories!

 

As to the shore excursions, if you use the cruise personalizer, you'll notice which tours offer them in English, Japanese, and even Chinese.  It is too bad there are no overnite stays on this trip. It will be our first experience there and will be more a smattering than anything in depth, which is ok as it will help us focus our next trip!  

 

Can anyone tell me how long it took to get the ship cleared from Customs so people could get off?  We've heard some stories that there have been delays of hours in the past and would like to know recent times as the first stop would be in Tokyo.

[Love2cruise77]

Had a wonderful time on Diamond Princess.  You can view my review of our cruise here:

We did a lot of DIY in Japan, it's very easy to navigate there.  In Busan, a group of us on CC booked a tour with Trazy/BusanMate.  You can find out more info from the review above.  You will need to go through immigration there, so leave a little bit of time for that if you have anything booked ahead of time...

 

[Brisbane41]

On 10/21/2018 at 2:47 PM, Hlitner said:

Not surprised that the Sushi Bar was empty.  Most Japanese (and others who love Sushi) prefer sushi that is only made from the freshest seafood!  This does not exist on a cruise ship. I doubt if many of these Sushi fans would even know about California Rolls.  And they sure are not going to find Fugu on any western cruise ship.

 

Hank

You have been given incorrect information. I have been on Diamond Princess for 4 cruises this year and one each proceeding year in Japan.

 

The sushi bar is popular in Japan as they get fresh local ingredients from Japan and a local qualified chef on board. It is only open at certain times and it is definitely popular and whenever it is based in Japan has all the fresh fish they can get.

 

The big difference is that they offer real sushi and not fake sushi like california rolls and other trash that is filled with avocado or cucumber. Japanese people would never eat such an abomination with their sushi.