Just off the Diamond today

[sueandkent]

marciemi

I have my disembarkation notice right beside me and the color tag brown are only given to passengers with flights at LAX with princess transfers. Red 1, 2 and 3 are listed as flights from LAX with no Princess transfers. After that it goes by deck. We were on Emerald deck which is one of the last to go (green 1) and we did not get off the ship until 11:30 and it was almost 1:00 pm when we had our bags etc. It was a VERY slow process and immigration is really being thorough (although we got through pretty quick as we are Canadians so they didn't care what we bought etc). There is two lines after you get off the ship and before immigration, one for those with US passports and another for those just travelling on pictured id and BC. The line up for the passports went much quicker than the other.

As for the time change, we did set our clocks one hour ahead the first night and stayed at that time until the last night where we put them one hour back (got an extra hours sleep). Time change was no problem for us as we come from mountian time zone so essentially we never really changed our body clocks. The time in Mexico is actually one hour ahead of the ships time (after resetting it on the first night) however they have you stay on ships time the whole trip and to only pay attention to the time on your watch, not in the ports.

The early sitting was 6:15 if memory serves me correctly. Can't find it in the patter at the moment, will look further later.

 

Cactusrose - yes we are definitely hooked. Booked a future cruise on board and will be heading to the Carribean next Nov.

 

Sue

__________________

Diamond 11/04 :(

[marciemi]

Sue - thanks for your help. Maybe we should try to get brown tags. Our book still has the transfers in them, which we've since cancelled, but I'm sure they wouldn't know this at the Pursers desk if we just showed them and asked for the brown tags instead of red. Or do you not feel it would make a big time difference? I know last year we had Princess transfers in FLL (going to an early flight at MIA) and our tags were red, but we were off early (if we weren't the first group off, we were close!) Would you recommend the transfers or a cab or what?

 

Thanks also for the time change info. Then after the first night (when dinner at 6:15 will already feel like 9:15 plus being up early to get to the airport) we should only be 2 hours off. Dinner at 6:15 will just seem like an 8:15 late seating. We'll see how many shows we can make without collapsing! Thanks again!

[Palomino]

marciemi

The time in Mexico is actually one hour ahead of the ships time (after resetting it on the first night) however they have you stay on ships time the whole trip and to only pay attention to the time on your watch, not in the ports.

__________________

Diamond 11/04 :(

 

We are sailing this coming Saturday.

 

We are planning on meeting somebody who lives in Puerto Vallarta, so I want to make sure I understand the time issue. The Diamond itinerary says that we will be docked from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm. Is this ship time or Mexican time? Will we really be in Mexico from 8:00 am - 7:00 pm on their time?

The same issue comes up in Mazatlan, since we need to meet Randi for her tour at 8:30 am.

 

I would appreciate some help with these logistics.

Thanks!!

[catmand]

cactus................thanks for sharing this cruise with us. I have wondered how I would feel about a cruise with my brother? I think I would be missing my times with Wanda. I know the cruise would be a little different.

I really am starting to agree on the service end of Anytime Dining. We have now sat traditional once with Celebrity and Anytime with Princess twice. The service in Anytime was good, nothing to complain about but nothing special. It does seem to be a trade off, flexibility in dining for that wonderful service.

I thought the overall feeling on Sapphire was super. I wonder if the 10 day cruise (which is what we took) is a little more relaxed then the 7 day trips?

Again, thanks for the information.

[cactusrose]

Catman, I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I think it may have been a better cruise if I had been with my DH instead of my DS. I do love my sis, but we don't have as much in common as I do with DH.

 

 

Marceimi, I don't think you need to worry about your flight times. All you have to do is show them your reservations and you will get the appropriate color tags. I think I went down on Tuesday or Wednesday and showed them my 12:00 reservation and was assigned RED 1 tags. You can make reservations with Supper Shuttle for around $16 per person or catch a cab for around $40 - $50. My sister had her car, so she dropped me at the airport on her way home.

[gipper77]

marciemi - With a little luck you should be able to make it to LAX for you 12;30 flight. The Brown tags are for pax with Princess transfers. The red tags are for pax with cabins on deck 12, 11, 10. On this past week's cruise they call red 1, 2 and 3 at the same time. the line for immigartion was long but went quickly. We (two couples) were loading our cars at 9:25 and on the freeway by 9:30. LAX is about 1/2 away, depending on traffic. But Sat. should be OK. There are cabs (vans and cars) that can take you to LAX. You may want to order one to be sure or contract with a limo company. If you change your tickets it will cost you more that a meet and greet to take you to LAX.

 

Just remember that the Gov. is telling Princess when they can allow people off the ship and the Gov. doesn't care about your flight.

 

Have a great cruise. It is a great ship. Dave and Mary

[KellyCruiser]

Hi Sheebah,

 

I'm going on the 11/20 sailing with a family group of 11 people. We'll have two kids along and am a little concerned about jellyfish. We'll be snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo.

 

What is jellyfish repellant? And where can you buy it?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

 

 

Jdechter,

Regarding the jellyfish. I'll be interested to see if CactusRose encountered them as well.

 

Our entire boat was stung repeatedly when snorkeling in Santa Maria Bayon the 10/30 cruise 2 weeks ago, however I don't know if this is normal for Cabo. I wonder if it has anything to do with the warm water season.

Wear a wet suit if you can, or buy jellyfish repellant.

 

Sheebah.

[amy417]

Hi All,

We too were on the same cruise. Hi Cactus and Gipper and Sue and Kent! To give you the boring person's version, my DH and I did absolutely nothing on the entire cruise. We did not see a show and we took no excursions. BUT we had a fabulous time! It was our first cruise with Princess. Third cruise altogehter, and first time in 15 yrs we were alone without our daughter. We went on shore and hired taxis to sightsee and shop, then back to the ship.

I think we took a twist on PC dining that others may not have thought about. Every night we showed up at different dining rooms and asked for our favorite meals TO GO! We ordered prime rib from Sterlings, fajitas from Sante Fe and every night we went to pick up our Kaluha rice pudding.

Our cabin was aloha 751 smack on the back of the ship. It was wonderful and the balcony was totally protected from the sun. To all those that are wondering..yes there is a small amount of rocking but it was like a lullaby to us. The only time I think more sensitive people would complain is on the passage from Cabo to LA where the sea is a little rough. This cabin was awesome. You walk out and go thru one door and BAM you are at the aft pool. My DH and I loved to sneak out there late at night and just sit all alone.

During the day the bar is open and when you take 3 steps up, you are on the terrace of the Horizon court buffet. We usually ate there for breakfast. It took me 3 days to figure out you can go up to the kitchen window and order omlettes,egg whites whatever you want. At dinner one night we walked up and asked if they could cook us two steaks and they asked how we wanted them cooked! We never got to experiene the Bistro because no matter how late we went up there the buffet was still open.

My only vice this time around was the art auctions. Thanks to Gipper for filling me in, I felt comfortable attending and wound up purchasing 5 pieces of art. Every time you purchase a piece you get a raffle ticket. By the end of the cruise my raffle tickets earned me 4 more pieces of art valued at approx $2500. I love all of my pieces. Now I have to paint and redo my first floor to accomodate my purchases. DH is "thrilled".

My feelings sort of dovetail with Cactus rose in that i did not sense that the crew were over eager to help you with solutions to problems. I found myself asking more than one crew member questions until I got the answer that I needed. Our Steward Andelino was excellent. I gave him an extra tip and his eyes watered and he hugged me. I HATED the internet system. I got flamed because I asked questions about how to use laptops on this cruise. However, in order for me to take this cruise I needed to be able to contact my job to put out fires and certain caregivers to answer questions about a sick relative. The internet was hardly ever working. The wireless system would be up and the satellite down or vice-versa. I spent $10.50 trying to send one e-mail because it was soooo slow. Anything technological seemed a challenge for the crew. The front desk billed me twice for my first painting which caused my credit card to decline the next purchase of a soda. I go down to ask them to bring up my bill and the computrs are not working. Once they return we settle the discrepancy and I give them another credit card for the remainder of the cruise. They then try to send the entire bill thru again! Well, by now I have run out of cards :). Finally had to wait for one particular purser who knew what to do. Seems like they had a lot of trainees on this cruise. Which means the next guys going should get a good experienced staff.

All in all, we enjoyed our cruise and would consider Princess again. We just know to make better arrangements to contact home and job. The PC dining fit us to a tee.

Amy and Jessie

[TrayceeJ]

Here is my review of our experience:

 

Diamond Princes 11/6/04-11/13/04

Embarkation:

First of all we received a phone call on Friday night stating that passenger embarkation would be delayed on Saturday until 2:00 p.m. That would really cut into the time I wanted to spend exploring the ship. But we arrived at 1:30 and were on the ship before 3:30. So it wasn’t that bad. Since we had our 2 daughters with us it meant a little rushing to get them registered for the children/teen programs, but after the excitement of it all we all turned in shortly after sailaway with our new found CC friends from online and dinner.

 

 

 

Cabin:

 

We had cabin E301 on the Emerald deck. It is a handicap accessible cabin, which we did not specifically request, but were grateful for the 300 sq. ft. and very large bathroom. We had plenty of closet space (2 large ones). Our obstructed view was above the life boat, so we could see out the large window quite easily and could look down at the water rushing by next to the boat on days at sea. The decor was bright and cheerful. This is a quad room and the bunks are hidden in the ceiling until the cabin steward makes them up at night. There was a small refrigerator, desk and sitting chair. The bathroom was stocked with shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap twice daily. My only complaint about the room was the hair dryer. It took forever to get your hair dry. No big deal, next time I pack my own. We had a crying child in the cabin next to us, but the minute they shut the door to their cabin I could not hear the crying. The soundproofing of the rooms is amazing. Unlike hotels where you hear the shower and toilet of your neighboring hotel rooms.

 

 

 

Dining:

 

We chose Anytime Dining and enjoyed it, although the reservation system is pretty silly. We only made a reservation one night. Other times we walked in at 5:30 and were seated at some of the better tables. We dined with friends two nights with a table of six, two nights with just our family with a table of 4 and once just the two of us at a table of two. Here are my pros and cons. Pros: You can get the menu from the main dining room in addition to the specialty items from the individual restaurant. You are not locked into the 6:30 or 8:30 traditional seating times. The atmosphere is unique in each restaurant. Best foods: Pacific Moon - Sushi Appetizers; Vivaldi - Escargot; Sterling - Onion Rings (w/sauce); Santa Fe - Guacamole and Blue Crab Cocktail. I enjoyed the seafood and fish entrees in all the restaurants. Best dessert: Love Boat Dream. Cons: The service does not seem as personal in the theme restaurants as the main dining room, with the exception of head waiter Manuel in the Sterling. If you are not drinking wine with dinner, you will have a tough time getting your ice tea or other beverage refilled. I wish there had been more selection of salads and vegetarian items on the menu.

 

 

 

We ate breakfast on the "at sea" days in the International Dining Room. The food and service were always impeccable. We ate at the Horizon Court for a few breakfast and lunches. My husband loved the selection of foods at the Horizon Court. I on the other hand found them less appetizing in appearance and taste. We did use it create appetizer trays to enjoy pool side a couple of times, which included roasted turkey, a variety of cheeses, cracks, rolls and fresh fruit. My husband enjoyed the hamburgers and fries at the pool and the pizza was pretty good.

 

 

 

Pools, Activities & Entertainment:

 

There seemed to be plenty of lounge chairs at the two main pools. The pools got crowded at times on the warmer days and the pool temperature went from warm to cold. That didn’t stop myself and my daughters from spending a lot of time in them. There were fun pool games and bar service was plentiful. If you have the ability to stay awake 24 hours a day, you would be able to find something to do almost every minute of the day. We didn’t participate in many activities, but they were plentiful. We really enjoyed the musical production of Piano Man in the Princess Theater on the first formal night. We heard from many that the new production of Undercover was not nearly as good. There was a good Comedian/Magician named Lorenzo Clark that we caught on the night we could not get into Undercover. Internet Café: Computers are hit and miss. It took me 10 minutes to find out that the first computer I was on wasn’t working. The next computer got me on in less than 2 minutes.

 

 

 

Excursions:

 

Puerto Vallarta: We went to Las Caletas Hideaway through Vallarta Aventures. The crew was energetic and fun. After a 30-40 minute boat ride from the ship to Las Caletas we were presented with a very organized list of activities. First there was trip to visit the Sea Lion (we missed this one), then a group snorkeling tour, a lengthy kayaking trip, paella cooking lesson, pottery class and nature walk. Las Caletas is a perfect location to enjoy the sun and warm water of Puerto Vallarta. Beverages were free flowing after the snorkeling tour and the buffet style lunch was delicious. On the way back to the ship drinks continued to be served and the crew put on a very entertaining show. We were very impressed with Vallarta Adventures. We did not book this excursion through Princess, but were on the same boat as the cruise passengers. If anyone would like to know the company we booked with, please e-mail me.

 

 

 

Mazatlan: This is where booking outside of the cruise excursions proved to be a HUGE mistake! We booked a Stone Island Excursion with a not so reputable company. We were given an impromptu, unscheduled stop at a cathedral and the cliff divers then driven to a very scary dock where our boat was docked. The boat was old and dirty. We were given a boat ride to see the caves and sea lions and then brought to Stone Island, which is a short ride straight across from the ship. Stone Island is a long strand of beach with a row of restaurants and activities. There are ATV’s to rent, banana boat rides, horseback riding, kayaking and snorkeling. We did the banana boat ride, but passed on riding the malnourished horses owned by this particular company. Live and learn I say.

 

 

 

Cabo San Lucas: We have been here before so we knew our way around. We walked from the tender pier to the beach via the harbor front shops past the very Americanized mall. We picked up a glass bottom water taxi to take us around Los Arcos from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean. We skipped Lover’s Beach (been there done that). The water taxi brought us back to the tender pier where we shopped a little before returning to the ship. There is definitely not enough time in Cabo.

 

 

 

Kids Zone:

 

Our 5 and 13 year old daughters LOVED the programs offered on the ship. There were many organized activities and crafts for the 3-7 year olds for the younger one and our teen LOVED being able to hang out in the Off Limits Teen Center until 1:00 a.m. The staff in the kids programs was awesome!

 

Disembarkment:

 

We were out of our cabin at 8:00 a.m. and then spent the next four hours waiting to get off the ship and then spent another 30 minutes in the immigration line. We were Green 1, which was toward the end of list of being called.

 

 

 

Overall:

 

The ship is beautiful! I wish I had a few more days to just spend exploring, because it took me all 7 days to find everything I was looking for. The overall service was good. We enjoyed the ports with the exception of Mazatlan, which was hugely based on our bad tour company. The food in the International Dining Room for breakfast and lunch was very good and service impeccable. We enjoyed the additional menu items offered in the theme restaurants along with the main menu. The reservation system for Anytime Dining needs some work or should be discontinued so that Anytime Dining is truly "anytime". Our cabin was quite comfortable and our cabin steward (Dexter) kept it in top shape without ever being intrusive. Our daughters were treated like royalty by everyone that worked on the Diamond Princess. The entertainment was pretty good. It was a great cruise. So much so that it is hard to adjust to reality. ;-)

 

[margu1241]

TrayceeJ,

 

Great review-but I have a question: how was the age group set up for the 13 year old? I have heard both that they are with 10-13 and 13-17. Which way did you see the group to be divided on your cruise?

 

Thanks,

Patty

[Minerva]

Amy,

 

 

I really like your "to go" approach for dining. Sounds very easygoing and romantic. Did you stop by the dining rooms at any particualr time, such as before or after 6:30 - 8:00 busy period? Or is any time OK?

 

Also like your approach to the ports - where did you have cabs take you, how much did it cost?

 

Thanks,

 

Minerva

[Sheebah]

Dear KellyCruiser,

 

You can buy Jellyfish repellant at drugstore.com, or probably a large place like Walmart or your local well-stocked drug store. They have jellyfish repellant sunscreen combos, which we bought. The Mom in our snorkeling excursion borrowed it for her her kidlets to be safe on the second snorkel we experienced. I dont know if it worked or if we just got lucky at a different bay, very hard to say!!

 

I have good news for you...hopefully. I have talked to numerous people who were on the same cruise, as well as a few others who have been to Cabo since we went in late October. I have not heard ONE other person who has had this experience being stung. I think Santa Maria Bay in Cabo was infested with jellys. It sounds like it is NOT the norm for swimmers.

 

However, I would go prepared for the worst, and ask around before getting in the water. If you are stung once, you will know it, but the pain is not unbearable. In fact, ALL of the people on our snorkeling excursion got back in the water at our second snorkeling site, because the water is gorgeous at this time of year. Don't be too concerned. The great majority of people are reporting jelly free swimming!!

Have a great trip!

 

 

Hi Sheebah,

 

I'm going on the 11/20 sailing with a family group of 11 people. We'll have two kids along and am a little concerned about jellyfish. We'll be snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo.

 

What is jellyfish repellant? And where can you buy it?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[cactusrose]

Amy,

 

So good to hear you had a great time. We were also in an AFT cabin C753 and loved the location. My sister started to get a little seasick but she had the wrist bands and they worked for her. Aren't the Art Auctions fun? Sounds like you made a hual. My DH and I usually buy a one or two pieces of art on our cruises. It's so wonderful to remember the cruise everytime you look at them. We've also won pieces. I noticed Jim and Viv were on the Diamond. They were also on the Star when we purchased a number of pieces. The hardest part is getting the unframed one framed. I don't always like the selection they have on the ship. No colored mats so have to have them done when I get home.

 

Did you happen to book a future cruise while on board? I booked two. Think I'll use them for a back to back Baltic and Transatlantic next September. Sinced I plan on quiting working next April, we'll have more time to cruise.:D

[PLHag]

Guess it's time I finally post. I, too, was on this cruise w/my DH and enjoyed meeting everyone at our sailaway party. Besides being a little disappointed about the time it took us to get off the ship, everything went well for us. I'll do a formal review with highlights by the end of this week. Bottom line about cruising on the Diamond: It's a beautiful, well laid out ship. It's got virtually every amenity you could want on a 7-day vacation, considering you're sharing the experience with 2,599 other passengers.

 

Hugs to all my 11/6 C/C friends - glad you all made it home safely.

[amy417]

Amy,

 

 

I really like your "to go" approach for dining. Sounds very easygoing and romantic. Did you stop by the dining rooms at any particualr time, such as before or after 6:30 - 8:00 busy period? Or is any time OK?

 

Also like your approach to the ports - where did you have cabs take you, how much did it cost?

 

Thanks,

 

Minerva

we would stop by after 8 and closer to 9:30 for the Kaluha rice pudding..Yum

[1cruiselvr]

Kahula rice pudding....mmmm....I wish I had their recipe. Anybody know how to make it? Happy Sailing!

[TrayceeJ]

This is only our experience. Hope you enjoy the review.

[b][font=Arial]Diamond Princes 11/6/04-11/13/04

[/b][b][u]Embarkation:[/b][/u]

First of all we received a phone call on Friday night stating that passenger embarkation would be delayed on Saturday until 2:00 p.m. That would really cut into the time I wanted to spend exploring the ship. But we arrived at 1:30 and were on the ship before 3:30. So it wasn’t that bad. Since we had our 2 daughters with us it meant a little rushing to get them registered for the children/teen programs, but after the excitement of it all we all turned in shortly after sailaway with our new found CC friends from online and dinner.



[b][u]Cabin:

[/b][/u]We had cabin E301 on the Emerald deck. It is a handicap accessible cabin, which we did not specifically request, but were grateful for the 300 sq. ft. and very large bathroom. We had plenty of closet space (2 large ones). Our obstructed view was above the life boat, so we could see out the large window quite easily and could look down at the water rushing by next to the boat on days at sea. The decor was bright and cheerful. This is a quad room and the bunks are hidden in the ceiling until the cabin steward makes them up at night. There was a small refrigerator, desk and sitting chair. The bathroom was stocked with shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap twice daily. My only complaint about the room was the hair dryer. It took forever to get your hair dry. No big deal, next time I pack my own. We had a crying child in the cabin next to us, but the minute they shut the door to their cabin I could not hear the crying. The soundproofing of the rooms is amazing. Unlike hotels where you hear the shower and toilet of your neighboring hotel rooms.



[b][u]Dining:

[/b][/u]We chose Anytime Dining and enjoyed it, although the reservation system is pretty silly. We only made a reservation one night. Other times we walked in at 5:30 and were seated at some of the better tables. We dined with friends two nights with a table of six, two nights with just our family with a table of 4 and once just the two of us at a table of two. Here are my pros and cons. Pros: You can get the menu from the main dining room in addition to the specialty items from the individual restaurant. You are not locked into the 6:30 or 8:30 traditional seating times. The atmosphere is unique in each restaurant. Best foods: Pacific Moon - Sushi Appetizers; Vivaldi - Escargot; Sterling - Onion Rings (w/sauce); Santa Fe - Guacamole and Blue Crab Cocktail. I enjoyed the seafood and fish entrees in all the restaurants. Best dessert: Love Boat Dream. Cons: The service does not seem as personal in the theme restaurants as the main dining room, with the exception of head waiter Manuel in the Sterling. If you are not drinking wine with dinner, you will have a tough time getting your ice tea or other beverage refilled. I wish there had been more selection of salads and vegetarian items on the menu.



We ate breakfast on the "at sea" days in the International Dining Room. The food and service were always impeccable. We ate at the Horizon Court for a few breakfast and lunches. My husband loved the selection of foods at the Horizon Court. I on the other hand found them less appetizing in appearance and taste. We did use it create appetizer trays to enjoy pool side a couple of times, which included roasted turkey, a variety of cheeses, cracks, rolls and fresh fruit. My husband enjoyed the hamburgers and fries at the pool and the pizza was pretty good.



[b][u]Pools, Activities & Entertainment:

[/b][/u]There seemed to be plenty of lounge chairs at the two main pools. The pools got crowded at times on the warmer days and the pool temperature went from warm to cold. That didn’t stop myself and my daughters from spending a lot of time in them. There were fun pool games and bar service was plentiful. If you have the ability to stay awake 24 hours a day, you would be able to find something to do almost every minute of the day. We didn’t participate in many activities, but they were plentiful. We really enjoyed the musical production of Piano Man in the Princess Theater on the first formal night. We heard from many that the new production of Undercover was not nearly as good. There was a good Comedian/Magician named Lorenzo Clark that we caught on the night we could not get into Undercover. Internet Caf[/font][font=Arial]é[/font][font=Arial]: Computers are hit and miss. It took me 10 minutes to find out that the first computer I was on wasn’t working. The next computer got me on in less than 2 minutes.



[b][u]Excursions:

[/u]Puerto Vallarta[/b]: We went to Las Caletas Hideaway through Vallarta Aventures. The crew was energetic and fun. After a 30-40 minute boat ride from the ship to Las Caletas we were presented with a very organized list of activities. First there was trip to visit the Sea Lion (we missed this one), then a group snorkeling tour, a lengthy kayaking trip, paella cooking lesson, pottery class and nature walk. Las Caletas is a perfect location to enjoy the sun and warm water of Puerto Vallarta. Beverages were free flowing after the snorkeling tour and the buffet style lunch was delicious. On the way back to the ship drinks continued to be served and the crew put on a very entertaining show. We were very impressed with Vallarta Adventures. We did not book this excursion through Princess, but were on the same boat as the cruise passengers. If anyone would like to know the company we booked with, please e-mail me.



[b]Mazatlan[/b]: This is where booking outside of the cruise excursions proved to be a HUGE mistake! We booked a Stone Island Excursion with a not so reputable company. We were given an impromptu, unscheduled stop at a cathedral and the cliff divers then driven to a very scary dock where our boat was docked. The boat was old and dirty. We were given a boat ride to see the caves and sea lions and then brought to Stone Island, which is a short ride straight across from the ship. Stone Island is a long strand of beach with a row of restaurants and activities. There are ATV’s to rent, banana boat rides, horseback riding, kayaking and snorkeling. We did the banana boat ride, but passed on riding the malnourished horses owned by this particular company. Live and learn I say.



[b]Cabo San Lucas[/b]: We have been here before so we knew our way around. We walked from the tender pier to the beach via the harbor front shops past the very Americanized mall. We picked up a glass bottom water taxi to take us around Los Arcos from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean. We skipped Lover’s Beach (been there done that). The water taxi brought us back to the tender pier where we shopped a little before returning to the ship. There is definitely not enough time in Cabo.



[b][u]Kids Zone[/b][/u]:

Our 5 and 13 year old daughters LOVED the programs offered on the ship. There were many organized activities and crafts for the 3-7 year olds for the younger one and our teen LOVED being able to hang out in the Off Limits Teen Center until 1:00 a.m. The staff in the kids programs was awesome!

[b][u]Disembarkment[/b][/u]:

We were out of our cabin at 8:00 a.m. and then spent the next four hours waiting to get off the ship and then spent another 30 minutes in the immigration line. We were Green 1, which was toward the end of list of being called.



[b][u]Overall[/b][/u]:

The ship is beautiful! I wish I had a few more days to just spend exploring, because it took me all 7 days to find everything I was looking for. The overall service was good. We enjoyed the ports with the exception of Mazatlan, which was hugely based on our bad tour company. The food in the International Dining Room for breakfast and lunch was very good and service impeccable. We enjoyed the additional menu items offered in the theme restaurants along with the main menu. The reservation system for Anytime Dining needs some work or should be discontinued so that Anytime Dining is truly "anytime". Our cabin was quite comfortable and our cabin steward (Dexter) kept it in top shape without ever being intrusive. Our daughters were treated like royalty by everyone that worked on the Diamond Princess. The entertainment was pretty good.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Arial]It was a great cruise. So much so that it is hard to adjust to reality. ;-)

[/font]

[marciemi]

Cactusrose - we're in the same cabin in 17 days!!!!!! Do you have any pics of it? I'm so excited! My mom's coming with me and it will be her first balcony - I'd love to show her it beforehand! Were there loungers on that balcony or did you bribe your steward to get some? How many days could you actually use/enjoy the balcony? Did you do the ultimate balcony dinner or champagne breakfast? What other furniture was out there? Thanks so much for your help!

Traycee - I'm still trying to get that second Cabo map from you from the other thread. If you can post a link to go with the numbers you posted, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

[sueandkent]

Palomino - the ships time is definitely 1 hour earlier than land time in any of the ports. You should keep this in mind when meeting a friend in P.V. As for Randi's horses you should do a post and ask those who did her tour in the past couple of weeks how the time thing worked however when we got off in Mazatlan either she or one of her people were there with a sign.
Amy - was great to meet you and Jessie. Sorry to hear about your internet woes. We actually had quite the opposite experience and found the on board computers to be fairly good. We even had a death in the family during our cruise and had no problem sending and receiving messages to home.
For the record, we loved Princess and have just booked our next cruise on the Star for Nov. 2005.
Sue
_____________________________
Diamond 11/04
Star Princess 11/06/05

p.s. Hi Hag, cactus, Tracey

[sueandkent]

Regarding the Jellyfish. We swam in the ocean in every port except P.V. and NEVER had any jellyfish problems at all. I believe it was TraceeJ who's family went snorkelling in P.V. at Las Caletas and she never mentioned anything about jellyfish problems at all. You should be safe and I wouldn't worry. You'll have a great trip.
Sue
__________________________
Diamond 11/04
Star Princess 11/06/05

[TrayceeJ]

[quote name='margu1241']Great review-but I have a question: how was the age group set up for the 13 year old? I have heard both that they are with 10-13 and 13-17. Which way did you see the group to be divided on your cruise?

Thanks,
Patty[/QUOTE]
Because there were not a whole of lot of kids on the ship for our cruise dates they only had 3 groups --- 3-7; 8-12 and 13-17. If there are more children the ages are 3-5; 6-9; 10-13 and 14-17. But we were told if they had 4 groups she could choose between the 10-13 and 14-17 age groups. She wanted to be in the Off Limits Teen Center so bad, so was happy to be in there. That group gets to stay in there until 1:00 a.m. and can check themselves in and out. I always had her use the phone right outside the teen center to call us when she was headed back at 1:00 so we would know she was on her way back to the cabin. It worked out GREAT and she had a fantastic time.

[TrayceeJ]

[quote name='marciemi']
Traycee - I'm still trying to get that second Cabo map from you from the other thread. If you can post a link to go with the numbers you posted, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks![/QUOTE]
[url="http://www.loscabosguide.com/maps/cslmap.htm"]http://www.loscabosguide.com/maps/cslmap.htm[/url]

[TrayceeJ]

[quote name='sueandkent']Regarding the Jellyfish. We swam in the ocean in every port except P.V. and NEVER had any jellyfish problems at all. I believe it was TraceeJ who's family went snorkelling in P.V. at Las Caletas and she never mentioned anything about jellyfish problems at all. You should be safe and I wouldn't worry. You'll have a great trip.
Sue[/QUOTE]
That's true we went snorkeling in PV and saw no jellyfish. Thank goodness ;-)

[TrayceeJ]

[quote name='PLHag']Guess it's time I finally post. I, too, was on this cruise w/my DH and enjoyed meeting everyone at our sailaway party. Besides being a little disappointed about the time it took us to get off the ship, everything went well for us. I'll do a formal review with highlights by the end of this week. Bottom line about cruising on the Diamond: It's a beautiful, well laid out ship. It's got virtually every amenity you could want on a 7-day vacation, considering you're sharing the experience with 2,599 other passengers.

Hugs to all my 11/6 C/C friends - glad you all made it home safely.[/QUOTE]
It was so nice to meet you. Sorry I didn't see more of you and the Captain during the cruise. Thank you for the e-mails and the wonderful welcome at the sailaway at the Oasis Bar.

Tracy

[marciemi]

Traycee - thanks so much for the link. This will really help - it makes me feel so much more confident that we can find the mall, beach, etc. on our own. Now I think we'll cancel our excursion (boat to lands end/beach) that we weren't all that thrilled about anyways, but weren't sure how to get to the beach otherwise! Do you know if there's a "farmacia" (drug store) in any of the malls there? My mom wants to buy some antibiotics there! Thanks again!

Cactusrose - are you still out there? I'm waiting with baited breath (whatever that means) for any info about the cabin! Thanks!