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Alaska Southbound - Diamond Princess by
Mark from Boston, MA Sailing date: Jul 2010Pros: Clean ship, food in the dining rooms was good Cons: Getting a dinner reservation, many of the staff were rude I took a cruise with several family members. Check in went smoothly and faster than other cruises I've been on. The ship was well kept & clean. All the room stewards were top notch, always on top of things and very friendly. The buffet was sub-par and rather disappointing. Couple that with the absolute NEED to make dinner reservations more than a day in advance if you choose anytime dining, less you want to wait an hour... Breakfast stops @ 9am, except for the sub-par buffet. Half the wait staff was terrific, the other half were rude. Almost every maitre'd was rude. A good selection of shore excursions, though I found the personnel manning the desk less knowledgeable than I would have liked. Ship QualityIt's a good sized ship. The common areas were kept clean and nice. Dining/FoodThe food in the dining rooms was nice. The food in the buffet was sub-par. My biggest frustration with this cruise was making dinner reservations and arrangements and is the prime reason I gave this a low score. Half the wait staff was great, the other half rude. Almost every maitre'd was rude.
Only 2 specialty restaurants, we went to the steak house which was good. Stateroom QualityState rooms were larger than I've had on other ships, and a bit nicer. The beds were hard as a rock though. A room steward brought a thin cushion immediately upon request, which helped. The suite (other members stayed in) had a MUCH softer bed. $4 for a bottle of water in the stateroom is a little much/annoying. Ship Staff QualityRoom stewards were great. Passenger services was hit or miss, depending who you got. You may get different answers depending who you ask. Internet manager was your typical IT guy, and was a bit abrasive. Often times I felt the ship staff was tired of dealing with customers; while understandable... not the feeling you want to have as a guest. Entertainment & ActivitiesFor the first few days, you'll be overwhelmed by their sales pitches on absolutely EVERYTHING. The Spa staff was over the top, pushing products & services on people. More than one person in our party agreed to something just to get them to stop, then later canceled it. They mis-charged something and it took a while to sort it out.
Other entertainment was alright. I was a little disappointed in the illusionist, but it is good for the kids. The hypnotist took about 20 minutes to get her volunteers "under", which lost me and several other audience members. Poker table was computerized and takes a 10% rake, which is a bit steep.  
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Juneau, AlaskaThe capital. Went on the Canopy/Zipline tour. Was a lot of fun and well worth it! Took a float plane over the glaciers. Great view, a little expensive as you only get to listen to an automated guide.
Don't Miss: Zipline tour Ketchikan, AlaskaWent kayaking around the Tatoosh Islands. A fair amount of work, as the water was a bit rough in places and for half the trip you're paddling against the current.
Skagway, AlaskaSmall and quaint port. I went on the dog mushing tour, as well as the eagle preserve rafting tour. Wish the dog mushing tour went a bit longer, they seemed to rush people through. Eagle preserve was good and everyone was really friendly.
Don't Miss: Red Onion Saloon 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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  Great views of glaciers by
Steve R from Boston, MA Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: Up close to glaciers and wildlife This is a nice ship. It is well maintained and the food was very good. There was a naturalist on board that added a lot to the experience Ship QualityThe crew was always working on cleaning and sprucing up the interior and exterior of the ship. We felt that they really cared about how the shipped looked.
We did find that a lot of people got lost on board. It was not always easy to find the right deck to go to, and one could not access some areas without going up or down. Dining/FoodThe food was quite good, plentiful, with nice presentation. Stateroom QualityVery nice. We were very pleased. Ship Staff QualityMost were wonderful. Anytime we asked for help, we got it. Entertainment & ActivitiesWe enjoyed the evening shows. Some of the daytime programs turned out to be promotions to buy more things. It's clear that the cruise line has ties to some merchants on shore.
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Juneau, AlaskaMendenhall Glacier was great!
Ketchikan, AlaskaGo to the totem pole park. Also, the lumber jack show was a lot of fun. The shopping is more of the same. After a couple of ports, you've seen it all!
Skagway, AlaskaTake a bike trip. It is well worth the time and expense. Others we spoke to really enjoyed the train ride to the pass.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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A great vacation in a moving hotel! by
Debbie from Seattle Sailing date: Dec 2006I love to sit in a nice sunny deck chair and read. I go to play trivia. I love the 5 course meals with that great service. The deck party food was spectacular. It would be great to have a real time planetarium show on a clear night and someone to show me things with a telescope. I know the ship is navigated by satellite, so this should not be hard. I missed the movies on deck! No movies under the stars either. Please add that to this ship. Entertainment & Activities
Entertainment: They had a better troop of singers and dancers on our previous cruise. We love magicians and hypnotists! We like seeing these in the smaller venues, instead of the main theatre. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Very good. by
Ewa from Laguna Niguel, CA Sailing date: Sep 2006Pros: A lot of space. Excellent staff service in restaurants and bars, excellent music, bands and soloists. Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Great Experience. by
Jane from Mesa, AZ Sailing date: Dec 2006Pros: Their staff is the best. Talk about excellent customer service, it doesn't get any better. We enjoyed our trip so much we are booked to go again Dec. 07. We have no desire to even try another cruise lines other than Princess Cruise Lines, what a wonderful experience. Entertainment & Activities
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Ship Review by
Walter from Plantation, Florida Sailing date: Jan 2007
Entertainment & Activities
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Extraordinary experience. by
Marsha from Clayton, CA, USA Sailing date: Apr 2007Pros: Dining! We loved everything about our cruise. Our cabin steward was fantastic, as was all of the staff above the Diamond Princess. We loved having a balcony room... definitely worth the extra money to be able to sit out and have coffee every morning in the privacy of our own patio. Because there were only two of us, anytime dining rocked! It gave us more flexibility and options and we thoroughly enjoyed our choices. Entertainment & Activities
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Mazatlan, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoCabo wabo!!
Cabo was the best port. We enjoyed the water sports and going through the local mall and flea markets. Too bad the day was so short! It's the best for upscale leisure, in my opinion!
Don't Miss: The new mall area! 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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First Trip. by
A Traveler from USA Sailing date: Mar 2007Pros: The many hot tubs & pools. The Princess Diamond is an impressive ship. We had a group of 8 adults and had plenty of time to be together or go our separate ways. We went during spring break so there were many families with little children who crowded around the pool areas. We did anytime dining & it was easy. The food was usually great with a few exceptions. When I was given a very dried out piece of salmon my server immediately saw the problem, took it away and suggested a different dish (which was great). They could improve their desserts...many were tasteless. Be prepared to spend the $$ on any drinks you want. We all took 2 bottles of wine (packed in our luggage) on board so that was a savings...except the corkage fee is $15 per bottle at dinner. Still less than what you'd have to buy. It was a fun trip & I would do it again. Entertainment & Activities
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Ship Review by
Jack from Seattle, WA Sailing date: Apr 2007Clean,friendly,relaxing. Entertainment & Activities
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Great dining. We enjoyed the service and by
Ronnie from Carmel, IN Sailing date: Mar 2007Pros: Pools. There was always a longe chair near a pool you could go to. The three port we saw were OK. Tendering in Cabo was a waste of time. We needed more time if they want to stop there. It took 45-1 hour both ways! Way too much vacation time to waste. Entertainment & Activities
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Mazatlan, MexicoWe did our own walking tour and it waws great. We saw the cliff divers, local market, and church. We also went to a local beach.
Don't Miss: Cliff divers. Puerto Vallarta, MexicoBeach. We went to a local beach. It was OK. Shopping was touresty.
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoDisembarkment was terrible. Took way too long for the short time we had in Cabo.
We went ot a local beach. The water was cold, and the sun was hot. The people were friendly.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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