Should I cancel Diamond Princess?

E

egee

Guest
We've booked Diamond Princess 7 day Baja Mexico Cruise for Christmas week. We've cruised Princess once before--Coral to Alaska. We made this booking several months ago. We were excited with the idea of cruising on a new ship. As east coast residents, this would be our first warm weather Pacific cruise. However reviews for this ship are pretty poor compared to easier-to-get-to cruises out of Florida Same time frame and similar cruise fare options are Sun Princess or Zuiderdam. So we're asking ourselves: is it worth the the extra travel time effort and air fare expense for a ship which is problematic,just to cruise a newer ship and itinerary alternative? Any advice out there? Thanks.
 
S

Sharkin

Guest
egee,
We went on this itinerary during our grandsons Easter break (April 10-17). It was the Diamond's fifth sailing I believe. We experienced none of the problems I have read about. While the "Mexican Riviera" is NOT the Caribbean, it is a nice itinerary nonetheless. The service in the dining rooms was as good as any other cruise we have had. Even the wait team we ranked the lowest of the bunch was acceptable. All the others were pretty darn good. Food quality is very subjective, but we were very pleasantly surprised at the quality, preparation, variety and presentation. The stage shows, which are important to us, were up to cruise standards. We didn't encounter any of the unpleasant odors others have reported and found the vessel very clean and ship shape. One of the concerns I had was the coffee. I have read much about Princess' notorious brew. Again I was very pleased with their offering. I guess I am trying to say we enjoyed our Diamond "Mexican Riviera" cruise very much and recommend it to others. Oh sure I could find some things to complain about, but I won't unless asked to do so. Besides most of my complaints are with my fellow passengers behavior, not with the Diamond Princess' product.
 
K

kruznut

Guest
:wave egee, I don't think that you should make your decision based on the reviews on this board. I agree with what Sharkin said in his post. The experience somebody else have may not be your experience. We decide for ourselves and take most reviews with a grain of salt. :cheers Happy Cruising ! =bigwave =bigwave
 
C

Cruise cutie

Guest
=yeah..I'm with Sharkin and Helen..we =love Princess cruise lines and I've never had a bad one yet in 10 years..and I don't figure I'll have one either..good luck with your decision..we have one we are researching for spring 2007..same ship and itinerary Helen is going on next..we just are cruise @ddicts..but especially Princess ones..:)..Joanne
 
B

bostongal

Guest
I enjoyed our cruise to the Mexican Riviera in April so much that I booked another one for 11/27/04. I fly from Boston so for us it's across the country with a nasty little time change thrown in there - I am still going - that's how much I loved the Diamond Princess.

I wrote a review on this board - I loved the ship, thought the food was great and had a wonderful cruise. I have sailed on RCCL, HAL and NCL and Princess is our line right now.

I wouldn't cancel a cruise based on anyone else's review because what's important to one cruiser might not be important to me. I have read negative reviews of the same exact sailing that I was on and have wondered "were we on different ships?"

Meg
 
G

gaa

Guest
We have taken this same cruise (same itinerary) on the Star Princess 2002 and 2003 in the spring, and will be on the Diamond in March 2005 for the Mexican Riviera again. Although we really love the Caribbean, and prefer those ports, unless that is driving your decision, don't change. Why are we doing this itinerary again??? Well, we love Princess, enjoy new ships, and welcome the opportunity to take a cruise without flying across the country (we are from southern Calif.)

I wouldn't cancel. Go and have a great time!
 
A

Alley

Guest
Hi,
I'm booked on the Diamond in October (our 2nd cruise to the Mexican Riviera) and I'm not worried about the poor reviews. Some people just seem to complain about everything! LOL!!

Still going on the Diamond in October and looking forward to it!
Alley
 
J

JAT

Guest
=yeah...ALL that! I was on the Diamond in Alaska 4 weeks ago...sigh! It was wonderful! The ship is beautiful, the service was great, and the food was :thumb ! I am a Royal Caribbean fan who was lured onto Princess by family members...I loved it!

Don't cancel!
 
G

gaschatt

Guest
Most of the bad reviews for the Diamond were from the two cruises around the Victoria docking incident in mid-June that temporarily incapacitated the ship and messed up the itinerary and good will on both . Almost every review I've read from other cruise have been good to excellent.
 
C

CaribbeanSun

Guest
I agree with gaschatt - most of the bad reviews were written over a 2 week period. Everyone returning from the ship now is loving it.

Don't let those who were vocal during those 2 weeks ruin it for you.
 
L

Lisa63

Guest
I wouldn't be concerned about reviews over a brief period... in fact, we just booked Diamond Princess ourselves. :)
 
D

danbee46

Guest
Cancel - bad
Sail - good

I agree with all of the others. Don't be swayed by a few unhappy passengers.

Our favorite cruise line has been Celebrity. All our friends have been raving about Princess so we are giving it a try. We are booked on the Diamond for the January 8, 2005 sailing.

And remember........even a bad cruise is better than any other kind of vacation.
 
T

tispwisp

Guest
I wouldn't be too concerned about reviews. I was a little leery about booking the Dawn Princess two years ago after reading very mixed reviews. Turned out it was our favorite cruise.
 
N

newmexicoNita

Guest
I too hate to put to much into reviews, but as one born and raised in Southern CAlif thought I would warn you: Christmas leaving from Calif and doint the Mex Riv may not be the weather you had hoped for. Just a warning!

NMNita
 
C

CaribbeanSun

Guest
I have sailed the Mexican Riveria in December. The first and last sea days were a little rough but the temperature in the ports were wonderful. They were in the high 80s and low 90s.

I wouldn't worry about the ship. It had one issue on one sailing that has been blown out of proportion.
 
J

John in LV

Guest
Actually, it was fifteen or twenty issues over two sailings, but whatever. The Captain has been "reassigned", recent reviews are glowing, and Norwalk isn't likely to strike again, so you'll probably be OK. And the ship itself was wonderful. Our issues were with the crew and management. You'll probably get to most of your ports-of-call.

CaribbeanSun wrote:

>
> I wouldn't worry about the ship. It had one issue on one
> sailing that has been blown out of proportion.
 
S

sailboat

Guest
As many posters have already stated a review is a snapshot in time. Sometimes there are real problems (not just whining passengers), but these usually are resolved or the line would not be in business very long. I've actually stopped reading reviews of any travel method or destination. A hotel I booked in Batlimore's Inner Harbor had five (out of seven) bad reviews on Travelocity, but when I stayed there I found none of the problems posted. I can honestly say that after 17 cruises, not one has been problem free perfecta-mundo. But you know what? I don't recall any of the problems--only the fun and good times.

The Mexican Riveria is not my favorite itinerary, but I've enjoyed my visits there. So go, and get the experience. Hope you have a great time.


"Life--It's not a rehearsal."
 
K

kruznut

Guest
Ditto Sailboat ! like you said, some problems encountered may be legitimate. But most of the things i read about in these reviews are a lot of whining people that seem to expect life to be perfect and the cruise lines darn sure better be. I've read some where even the weather is the cruise lines fault ! =lolgang =lolgang Happy cruising all ! =bigwave =bigwave
 
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