Princess diamond ship
Jan 21st, 2007, 09:16 PM
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Princess diamond ship
Going on the southbound Alaskan cruise in Sept. Has anyone been on this ship? If so..can you give me some suggestions for things we should be aware of...such as making dinner reservations ahead of time, etc. Thanks. Marilee
Jan 22nd, 2007, 05:43 AM
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We were on the sapphire Princess for Alaska which is the sister ship to the Diamond. It will be cooler in Sept. for sure. When exactly are you going? a friend of mine did Alaska in late Sept. which was a repositioning cruise and he said it was pretty cool on deck. Do you have an assigned seating? If not there are several restaurants available for anytime dining and I don't think those take reservations. reservations are required for the two surcharge restaurants, Sabatinis and Sterlings. Expect the excursions to ne costly but worth it IMHO. Do dress in layers, bring binoculars and avoid the reindeer sausage. 
Larry
Larry
Jan 22nd, 2007, 07:53 PM
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Reindeer sausage? I am thinking that it is a good thing tha tI am a vegetarian!! 
This is our first cruise, so I am really a newbie. We do have assigned seating. I had considered not, but had heard it can be difficult to get reserations? Can we still eat at the two restaurants if we have assigned seating? We are going on the 8th, so early Sept. but we will bring warm clothes. The excursions appear expensive, but thought I would book them myself as I have planned many european trips all over the internet, with great success. THANKS. How was the food? Marilee
This is our first cruise, so I am really a newbie. We do have assigned seating. I had considered not, but had heard it can be difficult to get reserations? Can we still eat at the two restaurants if we have assigned seating? We are going on the 8th, so early Sept. but we will bring warm clothes. The excursions appear expensive, but thought I would book them myself as I have planned many european trips all over the internet, with great success. THANKS. How was the food? Marilee
Jan 23rd, 2007, 09:50 AM
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Yes, you can eat wherever and whenever you like even if you have assigned seating. No worries there. The food, IMO was very, very good! If you can do the excursions yourself then go for it but book as far ahead as you can as the cruise ships gobble up many of the excursions from private companies and sell them to you for a higher fee. The advantage of booking with the ship is they have to wait for you if for any reason you are delayed in returning. We did not go to Anchorage but did stop at the others yopu mentioned. In Ketchican we did a land/sea trip and all of our excursions were thru the ship BTW. We took a smallish boat and toured the rivers, saw a few eagles, viewed some really neat totems and also toured a dilapidated, long closed salmon canning factory which I could have missed. . In Skagway we tok the WPRR up into the mountains and that was great. The views were awesome. In Juneau we took the Mendenhall copter ride, landed on the glacier, toured a bit and then rode back. That was pretty awesome too. I tried to book that privately several mos. ahead but all the spots were taken much to my surprise. However Princess had them and we took the same copter company for about $15.00 more thru the ship. This price was 7.5% higher than the co. charged to book with them directly. My suggestion is to see what you can do (the range is amazing) and book what appeals to you the most. Any other questions please ask and have fun. You will be awed by Alaska.
. In Skagway we tok the WPRR up into the mountains and that was great. The views were awesome. In Juneau we took the Mendenhall copter ride, landed on the glacier, toured a bit and then rode back. That was pretty awesome too. I tried to book that privately several mos. ahead but all the spots were taken much to my surprise. However Princess had them and we took the same copter company for about $15.00 more thru the ship. This price was 7.5% higher than the co. charged to book with them directly. My suggestion is to see what you can do (the range is amazing) and book what appeals to you the most. Any other questions please ask and have fun. You will be awed by Alaska.
Jan 23rd, 2007, 09:26 PM
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Thanks.....great information. Can't wait to go! We are thinking of flying into anchorage, taking two days to seward (basically to see the fjords) and two days to denali.....Do you see any problems with that added to our trip? Thanks. Marilee
Jan 24th, 2007, 07:31 AM
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I am afraid i don't know enough about Alaska to comment on this. However there is a frequent poster who would and her screen name is Budgetqueen (Anne). I suggest posting these questions for her. Just use her name in the new topic line and ask. Larry
Jan 26th, 2007, 11:35 AM
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Marilee,
I was on the Diamond last April from Australia to Vancouver. Great ship and crew. As far as assigned dining, I too had this. However, you can go to the speciality restaurants. When we were on Diamond, we only ate in Sterlings. Great service and FANTASTIC steak. I think we paid an additional $15 pp. You do need to make reservations, particularly on sea days. I understood that Sabatinis is a long drawn out multiple-course meal and we chose not to spend that much time in the evening. I agree with jacketwatch, there are 3 other restaurants that are available to the anytime dining passengers from 5:30-8:00. After 8:00 they open them to those with assigned seating in the main dining who want a change of ambiance. They are theme restaurants with a signature dish. (great fajitas in the Mexican one) Other than that the menus are identical to the main dining room.
I can't help with the Alaska part of your cruise. It has been several years since I made that trip and it was on Holland. Have a great time. You will love Alaska.
Kate
I was on the Diamond last April from Australia to Vancouver. Great ship and crew. As far as assigned dining, I too had this. However, you can go to the speciality restaurants. When we were on Diamond, we only ate in Sterlings. Great service and FANTASTIC steak. I think we paid an additional $15 pp. You do need to make reservations, particularly on sea days. I understood that Sabatinis is a long drawn out multiple-course meal and we chose not to spend that much time in the evening. I agree with jacketwatch, there are 3 other restaurants that are available to the anytime dining passengers from 5:30-8:00. After 8:00 they open them to those with assigned seating in the main dining who want a change of ambiance. They are theme restaurants with a signature dish. (great fajitas in the Mexican one) Other than that the menus are identical to the main dining room.
I can't help with the Alaska part of your cruise. It has been several years since I made that trip and it was on Holland. Have a great time. You will love Alaska.
Kate
Apr 7th, 2007, 07:01 AM
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Marilee, We went on the Diamond Princess last May Southbound. It was by far the best ship I have been on. The first day our son purchased a Sanctuary pass, that was the greatest thing we have experienced cruising. They usually have this special on the first day, and for $100.00 you get unlimited visits to the sanctuary where there are saunas, steambaths, heated lounge chairs, rainforest showers and scented steam baths as well. They only have 30 passes so you need to get one right away, it covers two people. We went rock climbing in Skagway in 2002 and 2006, and the sanctuary was a real treat after such a fun day. Mind you we are in our late 50's to early 60's. I wish all their ships had this lovely sanctuary. Have been to Alaska many times, have family there. There is no bad trip. I checked prices ashore against shore excursions and there was very little difference. Rock climbing in Skagway, back country carts in Ketchican, and biking in Skagway were all a blast, the people took very good care of us and we had the added assurance of getting back to the ship, on time, if any problems arose. The food in the Horizon court is the way to go for us, it is good and usually the same as what is served in the restaurants, just lacking presentation. My husband is diabetic, so this works out very well for him. This year we are going trans-Atlantic on the Grand Princess, I love Princess, what can I say. I just wish the Grand had the sanctuary offer. You will have the best to times. Every one should see Alaska once before they die.
