Diamond Princess May 5 2007 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

Mrqcace · 06-17-2006, 03:42 PM

Hello All:

Anyone onboard for this cruise. Nice little break to get ready for the summer.

RonC

Joy · 06-26-2006, 01:58 PM

the gals will be on the Diamond Princess, 9-23-06, looking forward to it........................................

PanamaGuy · 10-11-2006, 11:44 PM

Hi Ron-
Yes, we just booked this Diamond 5/5 coastal cruise. We liked the price and the itinerary. The ship is awfully big, but we'll manage to get around I'm sure!

I see you have cruised on the Universe Explorer. We have too! 2-weeks in Alaska and it was several years ago. How about you?

Mrqcace · 10-12-2006, 05:45 PM

Hi Vada:
Yes, we did Alaska for two weeks on the Universe Explorer, our very first cruise. It was wonderful, even though it was an old ship, the experience on the ship and in Alaska was great. We are planning on repeating an Alaskan cruise once we get some of our others done first.

BTW, we cancelled this cruise in favor of a HAL cruise to the Black Sea departing May 29th, so many places to go, so little time.

Hoping you and the rest have a great time on the Diamond.

Ron

MARTIJ6 · 10-13-2006, 10:07 PM

We found this one by accident and couldn't pass up the fare. We're actually leaving on 10/20 to board the Diamond for a Mexican Riviera cruise. Coming up is an aft cabin, but a midship for the May, 07 voyage. This month's cruise will give us a good idea of the ship's layout and crew. Obviously, we can't wait.

Joel & Diane

PanamaGuy · 10-21-2006, 12:23 AM

Ron- Well, I guess it's Hello and Goodbye! We almost got to meet you. We have such tales to tell about our experiences on the Universe Explorer. One of the most unforgettable was our "Perfect Storm". Pretty scary actually, but during the hours that we were being tossed to and fro, we just kept busy staying upright! We had some great things happen during those two weeks too.

Joel and Diane- Can't wait to hear what you think of the Diamond. We were docked right by her in LA last month. She is HUGE!!! We sailed on Star Princess once and thought that was too big for us. Hah! Diamond is even bigger! But, we couldn't resist the price, or the itinerary. Plus some of our cruising friends have this one booked too. It's going to be a great cruise!!

PanamaGuy · 11-03-2006, 10:04 PM

Joel & Diane- How was your cruise? Did you like the Diamond?

MARTIJ6 · 11-04-2006, 11:35 PM

Well we made it back safe and sound. Had a "brush" with Hur. Paul and the last leg of our return flight home was cancelled. But overall, we were on a cruise and "that ain't bad!".

We were a bit late (3 hours) leaving LA due to the NCL Star. There were 3 ships in port that day and I understand it was chaos in the other terminal. I heard some folks didn't get their luggage loaded on NCL. We were at dinner when the Diamond finally sailed.

Once again, we had really nice table mates. I do enjoy the traditional dinning. On our next sailing in March (Coral Princess), however, we will be going anytime. My brother and his family will be on board also.

The Diamond is great ship, very similar to the Star and Golden. We had the mid-ship dining room and it did take me a couple of nights to get my bearings. But eventually, I caught on. I never felt the usual "shudder" of the ship docking or pulling away. All I can say is either the ship is smooth or the Captain is great. I choose to think both. Being in an aft cabin wasn't bad. I didn't feel anything more than the mid-ship cabins I've had previously. We had waves up to 7.5 feet so it was pretty calm, even with Paul around. He hit while we were docked in Mazatlan, lasted about 3 hours and was gone! Great lightning show and you couldn't see across the street due to the rain. But drinks flowed freely and I was dry and on board. Life was great.

Now I can concentrate on our next cruise in 144 days. Not that I'm counting or anything. Then comes the Pacific Coastal. That's the one I'm looking forward to the most!

PanamaGuy · 11-05-2006, 11:33 PM

Sounds like a pretty good time! We will be doing the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Oosterdam the end of January. Not so much for the ports, but just to be cruising with friends.

We enjoy the aft cabins very much. The balcony is very sheltered and very little wind. Sad to say we have a cabin that is aft this cruise but not an aft cabin. LOL!

Did you eat at the buffet? If so, what did you think?

MARTIJ6 · 11-07-2006, 09:18 AM

We ate at the buffet, but only for breakfast and lunch. Food was good but, as usual, finding an open table can be a bit tricky. I'd suggest going aft after getting your food. Plenty of tables back there.

Something I noticed on this cruise that I may have missed previously is that Princess is now blocking one of the end access points of the buffet. That way, everyone should be going thru one entry where hand cleaner is available. Exit should be in the middle area of the buffet. There were crew at the exits that stepped up to assist those that needed an extra hand. Nice of the ship to consider the older passengers.