Diamond Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
922 reviews

Great Itinerary and Destinations

Review for Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess
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sfgenato
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Oct 2018
Cabin: Interior
Sailing past Kaimondake Volcano
Sunset from the stern
Beautiful Xiamen, China
Sakurajima, Kagoshima - volcanic lava park
Imperial Citadel, Hue, Vietnam
Butterflies in Hong Kong Park

This was my first time taking a cruise with Princess. I selected Diamond Princess for it's itinerary and destinations, and because it fit in my prior travel plans to Tokyo and Osaka. I was traveling by myself. By booking my ANA flight using EZair, I was able to save a couple hundred dollars, still earn ANA miles and chose my seat.

On previous cruises, I sailed aboard much smaller ships, so Diamond Princess seemed very large and crowded. Even on the last day of the cruise, I was still learning my way around Diamond Princess. I was surprised to find that crew didn't always seem to know where things were - for example, when asking for directions to nearest restroom, crew members didn't always know where the nearest one was.

My cabin attendant was very good, timely and polite, but I was frustrated by having to go to a bar each day to pick up bottled water, because the beverage package doesn't include the bottled water for sale which is automatically left in the staterooms.

Cabin Review

Interior

Cabin ID

I found my interior stateroom (C737) to be a long walk from public areas and outdoor decks. Nevertheless, the room itself was nice and I enjoyed good sleep each night. It was reasonably near the guest laundry - which I used three times on a fifteen night cruise.

Port Reviews

Tokyo (Yokohama)

Prior to the cruise, I visited Kamakura's Hachiman shrine, Hasedera temple, Shijo Kingo's house and the Dai Butsu. I also visited Yokohama's Chinatown the morning of the ship's departure. I spent a few days in Tokyo as well, visiting Meiji Shrine, did some shopping in Shibuya, enjoyed the exhibits at the Mori Art Museum and National Art Center, took in the view from the Tokyo Sky Tree, visited Ginza, Akihabara and more.

Kagoshima

I enjoyed the visit to Arimura Lava Observatory. The weather was beautiful and had a clear view of the volcano. Sengan en gardens were beautiful, the luncheon was great. Enjoyed seeing the Shochu distillery and tasting room

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is easy to visit on one's own, without paying for an excursion. I took the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island (for about 30 cents or so), then rode the mid levels escalator up to Mosque Road and back down. visited Hong Kong Park, Tai Kwun Centre for Arts, Man Mo temple, took a round trip double decker tram ride for about 30 cents or so.

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