Diamond Princess: Princess Cruises' new vessel sparkles with personal choice options

Debuting last March as Princess Cruises' largest ship to date, the 116,000-grossregister-ton/2,670-passenger Diamond Princess--the first major cruise ship built in Japan in more than a decade--is a gem when it comes to personal choice options. Built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, she could be called a Grand-Princess-Class-Plus ship, or if you would, a Grand-er vessel, as she expands upon the popular design introduced with the 109,000-grt/2,600-passenger Grand Princess in 1998. And the Diamond Princess also advances the line's concept of "Personal Choice" dining with an unprecedented number of themed restaurants for Princess.

With five main dining rooms, there is literally something for everyone onboard. For starters, the International Dining Room is a traditional, two-dinner-seating restaurant for about 500 guests who enjoy having an assigned table and time. It's located aft on Fiesta Deck 6, the same location as one of the Grand Princess's three main restaurants, but here boasts the addition of a bar. Four smaller dining rooms are available for passengers selecting Princess's "Anytime Dining" option.

These four restaurants (carved out of the space occupied by two large restaurants on Grand Princess) seat 230 passengers each and have themed decor and menu. On Plaza Deck 5, the Vivaldi features Italian cuisine, while Sterling offers a steakhouse menu; on Fiesta Deck 6, Santa Fe serves up fajitas and other Southwestern fare, and Pacific Moon has sushi and dim sum among other Asian specialties. Service was friendly and attentive throughout.

Whether a guest opts for traditional seating or Anytime Dining, the best of both culinary worlds is available. Diners in the four themed restaurants have the option of ordering from the International Dining Room menu every evening. And passengers who select the traditional seating dining room can also choose from one of the themed restaurants' specialty menus each evening. Brilliant!

Another dining option is the trattoria Sabatini's on Promenade Deck 7, Princess's alternative Italian restaurant ($20 fee). Dining here is a feast, with waiters bringing an array of appetizers, pastas with a variety of sauces, the entree (tiger prawns over langoustine, any one?), and scrumptious desserts. "It's like an Italian-style wedding banquet," said Beniamino Acier, maitre d'hotel.

The line's bountiful no-fee/24-hour Horizon Court Buffet/Bistro (Lido Deck 14) is hugely popular, and understandably so--with succulent papaya and mangoes among the breakfast offerings and lobster thermidor for dinner on formal night. "We are finding that some guests do not want to dress up on formal nights, but they enjoy lobster, so we have it for them in the casual restaurant," said Rai Caluori, Princess's senior vice president, hotel operations.

For a snack or lunch without having to stray far from Lido Deck's two main pools, Prego serves freshly made pizza, and the Trident Grill offers hot dogs and burgers. And to satisfy cravings around-the-clock, there is 24-hour room service.

Guests make dining reservations using another Diamond Princess innovation: "Princess Concierge Service." staffed by concierges using a new computerized reservation system. Passengers make their choices through a special telephone number or in person at each restaurant. Depending on the success of this service, it will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet and expanded to spa treatments and other types of onboard reservations, Caluori said.

Also new is Princess's largest Internet Cafe (Promenade Deck 7) offering 29 work stations (35 cents per minute) and an actual care serving pastries and coffee. Additionally, the ship features wireless internet access in the Grand Plaza atrium (Plaza Deck 5) for passengers who bring their own laptops ($10.50 for 30 minutes).

Other innovations include an enhancement of Princess's trademark Skywalkers Disco & Observation Lounge (Deck 18). On this ship, it is 35 percent larger and has a new 125-foot terrace with views aft--great for those who want to take the night air. Club Fusion on Promenade Deck 7 is a new, multi-purpose space (replacing the Vista Lounge on Grand Class vessels) serving as a dance club, theater, casino, and game-show venue. It boasts 42 high-definition video screens mounted on columns around the room, state-of-the-art sound and lighting, and table-top machines.

A spiral staircase leads from Club Fusion to the Wake View Bar below, a great little wood-paneled lounge decorated in tones of forest green and brown; seating only 47 guests, it's an ideal spot for pre-dinner cocktails for passengers dining in the International Dining Room. Other intimate spaces include the Lobby Bar (seating 52, on Plaza Deck 5) and Crooners, the martini bar (seating 52, on Promenade Deck 7).

The Grand Casino, adjacent to the three-deck-high Grand Plaza atrium, has an African safari theme and features the latest Vegas-style games as well as 269 slot machines. Other nighttime options abound, including 14 lounges and bars--two for each night of the cruise! There is live music in the atrium and production and variety shows in the 705-seat Princess Theater (Fiesta Deck 6 and Promenade Deck 7), a state-of the-art Broadway-style theater with a warm burgundy color scheme, proscenium arch stage, and excellent sightlines (only two pillars support the entire lounge). "Piano Man," a top-notch show that debuted with the ship, salutes luminaries of the key board and received a standing ovation.

Other lounges include the line's hallmark Wheelhouse Bar, one of the finest nautical-themed, private-club-like lounges at sea, where a trio entertains, and the Explorers Lounge, evoking the Far East and Africa with music for dancing. Both are on Promenade Deck 7.

But if the nights on the Diamond Princess sparkle with options, so do the days. Active guests find four swimming pools (plus a teen pool and children's splash pool) and eight whirlpools; the Lotus Spa, with Asian decor and an oceanview salon, offers a menu of treatments in 14 rooms. A swim-against-the-current pool, gym, and fitness classes including yoga, Pilates, aerobics, and pulse-cycling complement the spa services.

Sports Deck 16 boasts a court for paddle tennis, volleyball, and basketball (with spectator seating), two computerized golf simulators, and Princess Links, a golf center featuring a nine-hole mini putting course. An ambitious roster of organized activities includes bingo, deck games, bridge tournaments, and the ScholarShip@Sea enrichment program that offers classes on computers, ceramics, culinary arts, finance, and photography. Also, the ship's library (with books and CDs, listening chairs, and computer terminals), an art gallery, and boutiques hugging the atrium beckon passengers who want to get out of the sun for a while.

The Hearts & Minds Wedding Chapel (on Promenade Deck 7, scaring 34) is available for vow renewals and for those who would like to tie the knot at sea (the captain performs the ceremony--and yes, it is legal). Best of all, the wedding can be viewed by those at home through Princess's live "Wed Cam" on www.princess.com.

For little sailors the Fun Zone/Off Limits are children's and teen's clubs including out door and indoor play areas, pools, video arcade, disco and supervised activities (on Sun Deck 15). Ah, to be young again!

In addition to offering a wide range of dining, entertainment, and activity choices, the Diamond Princess continues Princess's emphasis on balconied cabins. A veritable cascade of verandas--like waves lapping at the sides of the vessel--is one of the ship's most striking exterior features. She has 748 cabins with private balconies-78 percent of all the outside cabins-spread across a variety of cabin categories. ("Affordable verandas" is a concept that Princess pioneered in the mid-1980s.) Standard outside and inside cabins (183 square feet and 168 square feet respectively) feature such conveniences as refrigerator, hair-dryers, safe, and television with first-run movies, CNN, ESPN, TNT, and CNBC. A wonderful splurge is a mini-suite (354 square feet) or suite (535 to 1,329 square feet) including all the comforts of standard cabins plus separate sitting area with sofa bed, two televisions, walk-in closet, terry-cloth robes, and bathroom with tub and shower (whirlpool tub in suites). Additional luxuries in one grand suite include a separate dining area, wet bar, and king-size bed. Two family suites feature two self-contained state-rooms that connect through the living room and two bathrooms (sleeping up to 10 people if four are children, eight if all are adults).

Whatever accommodations her lucky guests choose, the Diamond Princess--this Grand-er vessel with her expanded personal choice options and facilities is a new gem sparkling on the high seas.

With 123 feet of beam, the Diamond Princess cannot transit the Panama Canal. She summers in Alaska, offering seven day Inside Passage voyages from Seattle visiting Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm, Ketchikan, and Victoria; early-booking fares begin at $899 per-person/double-occupancy. The ship winters in the Mexican Riviera featuring seven day cruises from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas; early-booking fares begin at $949. She will feature a 10-day New Year's Mexican Riviera sailing roundtrip from Los Angeles, departing December 29, and adding stops at Acapulco and Ixtapa/Zihualancjo in her seven-day itineraries; early-booking fares begin at $1,049.

For more information contact your travel agent or Princess Cruises (Cruise Travel Magazine), 24305 Town Center Drive, Santa Clarita, CA 91355: or log on to www.princess.com.

COPYRIGHT 2004 World Publishing, Co. (Illinois)
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group