The cruise liner Diamond Princess entered service in 2004. Constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, she is a sister to the Sapphire Princess (also 2004) and part of the enlarged Grand Princess class, with all the amenities and wide range of public rooms. The 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess has a gross tonnage of 115,875, length of 954 ft and a draft of 28 ft. Her officers are British and Italian and the crew is international.
This ship suffered a fire while still under construction that delayed entry into service by about nine months. Princess Cruises is now part of Carnival Corporation, and the fleet has grown by leaps and bounds in both number and size of ships.
Most passengers are American of all ages, and some British add to the mix. Families come in droves during school holidays and enjoy excellent facilities. Gratuities are added to the final bill, and these may be adjusted with a personal visit to the reception desk.
The Diamond Princess spends May to September on the 7-day Inland Passage route, including a trip into Glacier Bay, between Vancouver and Whittier, Alaska, then in September sails across the North Pacific for a China and Southeast Asia program until December. Australian and New Zealand itineraries last until April, whereupon the ship sails from Sydney via the South Pacific to Los Angeles. Her 15-day cruises to Hawaii leave from Los Angeles, spend four days at sea, then make a five-stop island circuit with four more sea days back to LA and a foreign port call at Ensenada. She and her sister Sapphire Princess are the largest ships cruising the Pacific, and their wide beams prevent them from using the Panama Canal.
Although the Diamond Princess is a huge ship, she is easy to navigate, especially from the Grand Plaza, a three-deck high atrium that serves as the heart. For vertical travel, three elevator banks and stair towers will connect you to all decks. Princess Theater, bi-level and forward on Decks 6 and 7, presents lavish production shows, twice on one day with a third performance the following day. There is no need to rush to secure a seat if you can wait for the second night, with the bonus of a critique from fellow passengers. Explorers Lounge, with its Middle Eastern and African decor, presents cabaret acts such as magicians and comedians, alternating with popular dancing sessions. Club Fusion, with large high-definition TV screens, serves multiple purposes as a nightclub, cabaret room and the platform for TV trivia and game shows. From here you can find the Wake View Bar, a real hideaway. For light entertainment and a drink before or after dinner, try the Wheelhouse Bar with a classy maritime British atmosphere, or Crooners Martini Bar off the Grand Plaza featuring a pianist. From 11 pm, owls flock to Skywalkers Night Club, perched high on Deck 18 just aft of the funnel over overlooking the stern pool, for a disco hosted by a DJ who manipulates the music, neon, strobes, moving lights and interactive TVs. There is a small library and an Internet room with no less than 29 terminals.
As the Diamond Princess is registered in Bermuda, the captain performs lots of legal marriages for Americans in the wedding chapel. The ceremony can be broadcast live over the internet for those not present. Forward on Sun Deck 15, the Lotus Spa houses the beauty parlor, massage rooms, gymnasium, a lap pool, aerobics classes, and fitness programs. Princess Links is a nine-hole golf putting green on Sports Deck 16 just forward of the funnel. Five swimming pools include the Calypso Pool and Bar enclosed under a glass dome, the outdoor Neptune's Reef and a children's splash pool, plus eight whirlpools. Children have their own separate deck space, hot tubs and pool. With a dramatic flare, the Diamond Princess sports prominent jet engine pods on the top of her funnel, but they serve as decoration only, with the actual gas turbines housed inside the stack.
Princess' Personal Choice dining provides traditional fixed 5:45 and 8 pm seating in the aft International Dining Room or anytime from 6 to10 pm in one of four restaurants on Decks 5 and 6 located aft of Grand Plaza. While all restaurants have a similar menu, Pacific Moon also serves Asian cuisine, Santa Fe Mexican and Vivaldi Italian, and the Savoy (formerly Sterling Steakhouse) proffers a variety of prime steaks for an extra charge. Sabatini's Trattoria, for an eight-course eating extravaganza, charges an extra tariff and requires reservations. For informal dining, the Horizon Court is open 24 hours a day high up on Lido Deck 14, and counters there and by the pools serve pizza, burger and sundaes.
Of the 1,337 cabins, 1,000 have ocean views and 748 have balconies. Balcony cabins on three decks are overlooked by those above, so they lack privacy. Standard insides are 168 sq ft while outsides are 183 sq ft. All cabins have twin beds that can be made into queens, multifunction phones, refrigerators, safes, hair dryers, and remote-control TV with CNN, TNT, CNBC, cartoons, Discovery Channel, movies, special interest lectures and interviews. Mini-suites and up have tub baths, robes, two TVs and a separate sitting area with a sofa bed.
The Diamond Princess is a virtual city at sea with every activity imaginable aboard.
