Port intensive cruise

We went on this cruise from March 15-April 5, so it was a back-to-back journey. Overall, we had a great time on the ship, with only a total of 4 sea days during the 21 days we were on the cruise, which we loved. After all, we went on the ship to see Japan, not the ocean. Ship's condition: The ship is definitely not one of the new ships, but they try hard to keep it clean and well maintained. While walking through the public areas, I could see them cleaning things I never would have thought of. I never saw trash onboard, since they cleaned up very quickly. My only complaint about the condition of the ship concerns the toilets, which tended to malfunction. After calling Guest Services about our poorly flushing toilet three separate times, my husband and I finally mastered the method for getting the toilet to flush. While onboard to use toilets in public areas, I noticed that some of them were jammed when I entered the stall area. They did fix the problems quickly when they were addressed. Staff: The staff were really so nice to us. We had the same table every day for breakfast at 7:00 in the International dining room, making sure we got the same waiters, and also for our 5:20 dinner in the Savoy dining room. Every day they knew exactly what we liked and were prepared for us. The cruise director Nick was extremely energetic. Our steward was very efficient, professional, and competent. He kept track of our comings and goings times and cleaned our room while we were gone. Embarkation: Was very smooth. We got onto the ship quickly. Likewise, disembarkation was very well organized. We were able to get off of the ship about 7:25 for our 11:30 flight out of Haneda. Get in the line on Deck 6 rather than 5 for a quicker exit if your need to get off early and quickly. We beat the people from Deck 5, and there was practically no line on Deck 6's exit. My husband and I were actually the first two people off of the ship. We arrived at the airport well before our flight time. Entertainment: Was excellent. Music was always too loud (bring earplugs), but the performances were enjoyable. Food: The food was excellent in our opinion. They served what Westerners would consider to be typical food, while they also served Japanese traditional food. They had an incredible dessert bar on our last cruise day.

Princess back to her old self.

Having had a couple of post covid dud cruises with RC and P&O Aust I was nervous about a 22 day from Yokohama to Sydney. Yay! It was so good. The food was excellent. The dining rooms ran smoothly. The shows were great and our cabin steward was the best! I’ve been on 25 cruises and he was exceptional, quick thorough and unobtrusive such a professional. We did a couple of shore tours in Alotau PNG and in Taiwan. They were ok but high priced. In Manila we just got a guy with a car to show us around Manila. 3 hours and he helped my disabled husband up stairs and pick the easiest routes for him. What a sweetie. 2500 pesos. Bargain for the service we received. The Princess plus package was great and we met heaps of nice people. Good work Princess. Off to Antarctica in Jan on Emerald.

Hokkaido - North Japan

Fantastic cruise, the food, the entertainment, the route, the weather, etc. This is a Japanese cruise with 60% of the guest Japanese. The others tend to be USA, Australia, Canada, other Asian countries, etc. Like all Japanese weather, it was a bit damp at times, but also sunny and warm. Kushiro was the only place needing a light jacket. The food was also a mix of standard Princess and local Japanese. Miso soup and rice at every meal, along with many other Japanese dishes. The Entertainment was very good, 3 nights of Princess singers and dancers, a magician - kind of slow, Stevie Wonder impersonator - who goes too far with the blind and physical attributes, just do Stevie Wonder. Extremely talented cruise staff, they keep you busy. The Hokkaido stops were small to medium cities, with local markets ( fish being the prime mover ). If you love Sashimi then Kushiro is your place. There are parks and Museums all around the local area. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Sailing Japan in style

The cruise was fabulous. The cabin was very well appointed and the steward kept it looking great. Service was always with a smile and everyone was friendly and helpful. We mainly ate into the Horizon Court and were very happy with the excellent selection available for every meal. We ate a couple of times at the more formal included dining rooms and service was very good and the meals lovely. There was always plenty of activities and you could join in with as few or many as you liked. There was always plenty of quality entertainment so you were never at a loss for, something to do. In fact you had to choose as it was impossible to do everything. For what they offered I thought the shore excursions were very expensive. At some locations it was cheaper to go by taxi and do your own thing. The few I did were good but too expensive. I would have done more if the cost was more reasonable. Thankfully at every port there was port side information and it was easy to get maps and more so that you could do your own thing. We used the roll calls on Cruise Critic and linked up with other travellers from around the world. We were able to coordinate and arrange a few private tours which was great and considerably cheaper and more flexible than the ship excursions. I recommend anyone sailing to join up to the Roll Call for your particular cruise. The medallions were great for easy access to your cabin. And downloading the app made it easy to locate family members or others you have shared details with. You could also use it to find your way around the ship, book dining times and more. With a full ship, embarkation and disembarkation was a bit slow but extremely well organised. We had a wonderful time and would happy sail on Diamond Princess again.