DIAMOND PRINCESS SYDNEY TO JAPAN 2025

[willsaway]

Never thought we would book a Princess cruise. Nothing against Princess but we are Royal/Celebrity cruisers, but time for a change.  It almost didn't happen - 22 nights in a cabin without a couch was a deal breaker, even though the itinerary was very enticing. Then a friend mentioned Mini Suite, and we now have a gty, lower deck, aft ME, whatever that all means. There are many posters on this forum who are obviously very au fait with all things Princess, and you are all an absolute mine of information (plus Google). I've been reading a lot of posts. And I discovered something that sounds fun, a dinner served on your balcony. Thanks to many comments I found it (the dinner) on the website, and thought I might book it for day 6 Conflict Islands, and the price seemed sort of reasonable. However, unlike Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, I couldnt use obc for the purchase. Is this a Princess thing, can obc only be used once on board?  I've added the Plus package, and don't really want to throw more $$ into the pot. 

I see some members of CC are on this cruise. Looking forward to your comments. 

Bit horrified to read all your comments about the poor wine selection, and the focus on American wines.

Cheers

 

[MicCanberra]

Check out the roll call for your cruise.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, willsaway said:

Never thought we would book a Princess cruise. Nothing against Princess but we are Royal/Celebrity cruisers, but time for a change.  It almost didn't happen - 22 nights in a cabin without a couch was a deal breaker, even though the itinerary was very enticing. Then a friend mentioned Mini Suite, and we now have a gty, lower deck, aft ME, whatever that all means. There are many posters on this forum who are obviously very au fait with all things Princess, and you are all an absolute mine of information (plus Google). I've been reading a lot of posts. And I discovered something that sounds fun, a dinner served on your balcony. Thanks to many comments I found it (the dinner) on the website, and thought I might book it for day 6 Conflict Islands, and the price seemed sort of reasonable. However, unlike Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, I couldnt use obc for the purchase. Is this a Princess thing, can obc only be used once on board?  I've added the Plus package, and don't really want to throw more $$ into the pot. 

I see some members of CC are on this cruise. Looking forward to your comments. 

Bit horrified to read all your comments about the poor wine selection, and the focus on American wines.

Cheers

 

All mini-suites on Princess are nice and roomy, comfortable without being special. We also have a ME guarantee for our next cruise on Diamond. The "ME" is just a grade of mini based on location, with MA, MB, MC, MD considered to be in a more desirable lspot. We had booked a specific MD cabin, but found that combined with Black Friday sales we could save a motza by switching to a ME guarantee. At the time we followed advice here that all minis are on deck 9, but that wasn't accurate as some are aft on deck 8 - likely where your cabin will be.

 

OBC can be used for tours, but not for pre-booking of dining. Never fear, you will be able to book Ultimate Balcony Dinner easily once aboard with your OBC. Most other passengers are the same, that they would rather wait and book once aboard and it will be unlikely that it will sell out. It has been ages since we have done one, as they were shut down for a bit post-covid. We loved it and would recommend it as something worth trying.

 

The wines are drinkable, but in the main are cheap and cheerful bottom shelf - i.e. the price per glass is what you would normally pay for a bottle of the stuff. There isn't a great variety, and that is disappointing when you have paid for a package that allows you to drink every beer or 90% of the spirits/cocktails. This is pretty typical of "by the glass" wine across most cruise lines though, Royal included. $65 per day for plus, and it also includes internet and a few other bits you may or may not need. Cheap as chips compared to buying drinks or drink packages on other ships. 

 

As you have been loyal to Royal, everything you do with this cruise will relate back to how it compares with your past experiences with them. Only natural. We like Royal, we like Celebrity, we like Princess a bit more, all for varied reasons.

 

Enjoy putting your plans together.

[willsaway]

9 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Check out the roll call for your cruise.

Hi, yes just joined. I thought I recognised your name from reading your various posts over the years. It will be nice to meet you. I also see there is a you-know-what page.  We may do a little Diamond cruise out of Brisbane prior to, just to get a feel for Princess.

[willsaway]

7 hours ago, arxcards said:

All mini-suites on Princess are nice and roomy, comfortable without being special. We also have a ME guarantee for our next cruise on Diamond. The "ME" is just a grade of mini based on location, with MA, MB, MC, MD considered to be in a more desirable lspot. We had booked a specific MD cabin, but found that combined with Black Friday sales we could save a motza by switching to a ME guarantee. At the time we followed advice here that all minis are on deck 9, but that wasn't accurate as some are aft on deck 8 - likely where your cabin will be.

 

OBC can be used for tours, but not for pre-booking of dining. Never fear, you will be able to book Ultimate Balcony Dinner easily once aboard with your OBC. Most other passengers are the same, that they would rather wait and book once aboard and it will be unlikely that it will sell out. It has been ages since we have done one, as they were shut down for a bit post-covid. We loved it and would recommend it as something worth trying.

 

The wines are drinkable, but in the main are cheap and cheerful bottom shelf - i.e. the price per glass is what you would normally pay for a bottle of the stuff. There isn't a great variety, and that is disappointing when you have paid for a package that allows you to drink every beer or 90% of the spirits/cocktails. This is pretty typical of "by the glass" wine across most cruise lines though, Royal included. $65 per day for plus, and it also includes internet and a few other bits you may or may not need. Cheap as chips compared to buying drinks or drink packages on other ships. 

 

As you have been loyal to Royal, everything you do with this cruise will relate back to how it compares with your past experiences with them. Only natural. We like Royal, we like Celebrity, we like Princess a bit more, all for varied reasons.

 

Enjoy putting your plans together.

Thanks for the info, have you ever travelled in a mini on deck 8 on this particular ship. The ever-informative YouTube features cabins on deck 9, and a (small) downside would appear to be absolutely no cover over the balcony.  Logic tells me that the mini's beneath on Deck 8 would have Deck 9 above as a cover? 

And what passes for a mini on Diamond is really a standard balcony cabin on Royal and Celebrity? Just a chair and a bed is doable for a short cruise, but not 22 nights. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, willsaway said:

Thanks for the info, have you ever travelled in a mini on deck 8 on this particular ship. The ever-informative YouTube features cabins on deck 9, and a (small) downside would appear to be absolutely no cover over the balcony.  Logic tells me that the mini's beneath on Deck 8 would have Deck 9 above as a cover? 

And what passes for a mini on Diamond is really a standard balcony cabin on Royal and Celebrity? Just a chair and a bed is doable for a short cruise, but not 22 nights. 

The mini-suites on Diamond are a bit bigger than a standard balcony cabin on Celebrity Solstice. They are slightly wider and longer. They have a walk-in closet area with the bathroom opening off that. They are very comfortable cabins. 

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, willsaway said:

Thanks for the info, have you ever travelled in a mini on deck 8 on this particular ship. The ever-informative YouTube features cabins on deck 9, and a (small) downside would appear to be absolutely no cover over the balcony.  Logic tells me that the mini's beneath on Deck 8 would have Deck 9 above as a cover? 

And what passes for a mini on Diamond is really a standard balcony cabin on Royal and Celebrity? Just a chair and a bed is doable for a short cruise, but not 22 nights. 

We have only had a mini on deck 9 of a sister ship. We had a regular balcony on our previous Diamond cruise. Those on deck 8 are covered by the ones above on deck 9. The downside with a ME guarantee is that if you are allocated one on starboard, it could be in proximity above the promenade deck smoking area.

 

Comparing cabin size or couch/no couch? The numbers I have places them as slightly larger than Junior suites on Ovation (354 vs 348 square foot). We have cruised in plenty of Royal balconies, mostly on the bump, and Diamond minis are certainly larger.

[resordanis]

5 hours ago, willsaway said:

Thanks for the info, have you ever travelled in a mini on deck 8 on this particular ship. The ever-informative YouTube features cabins on deck 9, and a (small) downside would appear to be absolutely no cover over the balcony.  Logic tells me that the mini's beneath on Deck 8 would have Deck 9 above as a cover? 

And what passes for a mini on Diamond is really a standard balcony cabin on Royal and Celebrity? Just a chair and a bed is doable for a short cruise, but not 22 nights. 

Deck 8 definitely covered and minis on Diamond WAY larger than a balcony on Royal/Celebrity. They are extremely comfortable. 

[cheznandy]

20 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Deck 8 definitely covered and minis on Diamond WAY larger than a balcony on Royal/Celebrity. They are extremely comfortable. 

We really love the standard balconies on Caribe, large half covered half open balcony, they are so good.

[resordanis]

5 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

We really love the standard balconies on Caribe, large half covered half open balcony, they are so good.

Our favourite deck too. Although we have had some very good minis on Diamond and an upgrade to a full suite on a long cruise . (That was in the old days, when they actually upgraded and we didn’t have to bid😩). Caribe Aft the best though for us.

Edited February 9 by resordanis

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, cheznandy said:

We really love the standard balconies on Caribe, large half covered half open balcony, they are so good.

But no couch?

Not something we have ever considered before.

[cheznandy]

10 minutes ago, arxcards said:

But no couch?

Not something we have ever considered before.

The Caribe balconies or not having a couch?

 

We never use a couch, also depends where the TV is located but always end up on the bed🙃

If a couch/sofa is important then they are not for you, but for the price point compared to a Mini, worth some thought.

We look for Caribe Aft, just before the Mid cabins where the price goes goes up! Always look for where the smoking side is and go the other.

These X large half covered balconies are on Crown class, including P&O Encounter and Adventure

[arxcards]

34 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

The Caribe balconies or not having a couch?

 

We never use a couch, also depends where the TV is located but always end up on the bed🙃

If a couch/sofa is important then they are not for you, but for the price point compared to a Mini, worth some thought.

We look for Caribe Aft, just before the Mid cabins where the price goes goes up! Always look for where the smoking side is and go the other.

These X large half covered balconies are on Crown class, including P&O Encounter and Adventure

I like the Caribe balconies, but really like BE aft on Aloha - with easy access to those awesome tiered decks down to the aft pool. Ideally well aft, away from being under HorrorZone Court.

 

The couch doesn't matter for us personally.

[resordanis]

We have just booked our first cruise on Princess that is supposed to have a couch.Never had one before in a standard balcony. They used to have 2 chairs, which was nice, but unfortunately these two old people, use the bed! As we usually need a nap!

Still like Caribe deck, but minis on Diamond are also very good.

[arxcards]

The newer Princess ships have couches in some balcony cabins. That is a nice feature for sitting, but they are really there to allow for more 3 and 4 berth cabins via a sofa bed. 

[possum52]

6 hours ago, cheznandy said:

We really love the standard balconies on Caribe, large half covered half open balcony, they are so good.

Diamond was the first time we had a Caribe cabin. As it was a nineteen day re-location cruise, we used the balcony a lot. 

[arxcards]

19 hours ago, cheznandy said:

We look for Caribe Aft, just before the Mid cabins where the price goes goes up! Always look for where the smoking side is and go the other.

 

Princess is pretty reliable that the prom deck smoking is starboard, and outside the doors adjacent to Vista lounge.

[Wanderers2]

Hi all,

 

If you are doing this cruise in February 2025 check out the roll call that has been created;

 

Diamond Princess, February 2025, Brisbane/Sydney to Tokyo (Yokohama)

 

Regards

Dianne

[Normanville]

@willsaway if you have a gty ME it may not be on deck 8. ME are also located forward deck 9 We did a gty ME at Christmas and despite many requests for deck 8, we got deck 9, 3 cabins from the front. We are Elite and have always traveled Aft. We love deck 8 mini suites because of the covered balconies but unfortunately they can't be booked anymore only as gty and crossed fingers! Love the Diamond as it was our first ship and we are on again in November. Have a great cruise no matter where your cabin is.

P.S. We were allocated the cabin about 2 weeks before sailing and put in a bid for an upgrade but being a Christmas cruise there was no room in the Inn!!

Juls