We chose Diamond Princess because it tied in with a Japan cherry blossom tour, but were somewhat concerned by some negative reviews about the state of the ship and its service. However, we found the ship to be spic and span, just out of a period in drydock in Singapore where it received a spruce-up. Cabins, food, dining service and the general program were quite good although some of the land excursions at minor Japanese ports and Busan Korea were not exciting and quite expensive for what you got. The fellow passengers were mainly Australian/American/European with Japanese and other Asian guests making up maybe a third. Some reviewers have felt that the ship is too Japanese, but we found it to have a sensible balance of Western and Japanese cuisine and activities. We were however quite disappointed that a number of the usual Princess specialty restaurants were not offered - no Chefs Table, no Steakhouse. Only Sabotinis Italian was offered for online booking. We dined there but found that while pleasant, it had a limited menu and was nothing special. Drinks are expensive on board. There were some good shows. We have two specific complaints. The first was that it often was difficult to find a quiet space for reading as the lounges are used for activities or have video screens blaring all the time. The adult lounge (The Sanctuary) requires booking at $40 per day, and appeared empty most of the time. Our other complaint was that they put out bowls of fruit which looked appetising, but were unripe, hard and inedible.