Awesome destination, but Princess lacks

Diamond Princess Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 3

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Diamond Princess

Sail date: January 01, 2010

Ship: Diamond Princess

Cabin type: Suite

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 14 years ago

Review summary

The Diamond Princess is huge -- think 15 stories above water!!!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
The items on the Horizon Court buffet are ordinary. Items on the dining room menus repeat (we were on a 12 day cruise). Freshness is an issue -- we noticed wilted produce on the salad bar several days. Food can be bland at times and far too salty at other times.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
There was plenty to do on the ship and you could easily fill your days with the activities and entertainment options. Shore excursions are a HUGE problem for Princess. We booked over a month before our cruise, only to find several of the most popular shore excursions were "sold out." Once we embarked the ship, we were told they would not add extra spaces. On one "sold out" excursion, we counted 20 empty seats on the bus. The shore excursion staff can be rude and dismissive. Some shore excursion itineraries are not well planned and there is inadequate time to spend at some attractions.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Generally, staff were friendly and helpful. Our dining room service was exemplary.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
The Diamond Princess is showing her age. Our bathroom was moldy, carpets are frayed in areas, wood in some areas needs repair. We notice Holland America works much harder to keep their ships in top shape and pays better attention to maintenance items before they become big problems.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Our mini-suite was spacious, although storage areas could have been better laid out. Sheets, pillow cases, and towels often came with mysterious stains and we often had to ask our stateroom steward to replace items he had just changed.

Pros: The destination -- Australia and New Zealand are AMAZING.

Cons: Princess' service and ship lack in many areas.

Recommends Diamond Princess? No.

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1 Comment

Gwbigdog    2 years ago