Diamond Princess

The 2004-built Diamond Princess cruise ship is the 4th Grand-class Princess Cruises liner, with sisterships Caribbean, Crown, Golden (Pacific Adventure), Grand, Emerald, Ruby, Star (Pacific Encounter) and Sapphire.

The vessel (IMO number 9228198) is currently UK-flagged (MMSI 235103359) and registered in Southampton.

History - construction and ownership

Princess Cruises is a US passenger shipping company headquartered in Beverly Hills CA. A former subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises (1977-founded), in 2003, the company merged with Carnival Corporation - the world's largest passenger shipping company. Among Princess Cruises assets is the Caribbean private island resort Princess Cays (on Bahamas Eleuthera Island's southern end), located approx 80 km (50 mi) from Nassau.

The 2700-passenger ship Diamond Princess debuted in winter 2004 as the biggest vessel in the fleet of Princess and travelers were very impressed. Diamond Princess is also the first cruise liner built in Japan in more than a decade. The restaurants and diversity of lounges disperse the crowds and make passengers feel like they are on a much smaller cruise ship.

There are times the Princess Diamond ship does feel big, especially at night when passengers find themselves at the wrong end of the hallway from their stateroom. Diamond Princess, with her 4 swimming pools, a children splash pool, extensive kid's center and cutting-edge amusement and programs, is especially well suited to families, and that's likely why there were a good number of multigenerational groups onboard. Couples will find much to like on this cruise too, including the fact the dining venues have a decent number of tables for two.

Decks and Cabins

Most Diamond Princess staterooms (1353 total, in 33 grades) are 170-ft2 balcony cabins (522). Almost 75% of the ship's outside accommodations have private step-out balconies. Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 27. The largest accommodation is the Grand Suite (615 ft2 / 57 m2, with terrace sized 115 ft2 / 11 m2).

The boat has 16 decks, of which 13 are passenger-accessible and 8 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Nearly all dining options onboard Diamond Princess are complimentary, including the five main dining rooms: Vivaldi, Pacific Moon, International, Santa Fe and Savoy Dining Room. There is also a free of charge buffet, pizza place, ice cream counter and grill. All main dining rooms offer the same menu items, though each has a small selection of signature items, most of which can be made in appetizer size. Sailings that carry a majority of Japanese cruisers feature purposely small entree sizes. On cruises that are not full, certain main dining rooms will not be open. On some of the sea days, Savoy opens for a special British-Style pub lunch featuring fish and chips, steak and kidney pie. Lunch in the International is especially popular with Japanese passengers, as it offers a variety of Asian dishes.

Follows the complete list of Diamond Princess restaurants and food bars.

• Savoy Restaurant (ship's aft Dining Room; offers traditional dinner at 5:30 p.m., as well as “Anytime Dining” between 8-10 p.m., and British pub lunch)
• Pacific Moon Restaurant (ship's forward Dining Room for Breakfast 7-9 a.m., Lunch 12-1:30 p.m., Afternoon Tea 3:30-4:30 p.m.; features “Anytime Dining” for Dinner between 5:30-8 p.m. or 8-10 p.m.)
• Vivaldi Restaurant (dinner only aft Dining Room; offers traditional dinner at 5:30 p.m., as well as “Anytime Dining” between 8-10 p.m.)
• Santa Fe Restaurant (forward Dining Room, “Anytime Dining” dinner only)
• International Restaurant (aft Dining Room, with 2 dinner seatings at 5:30 and 8 p.m.)
• Sabatini’s Restaurant (Italian speciality restaurant; reservations recommended)
• Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria (self-service, complimentary fast food bar)
• Horizon Court (self-service buffet restaurant, complimentary)
• Sterling Steakhouse (speciality restaurant for seafood, grills, steaks).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The 2-deck Princess Theater serves as ship's main entertainment venue. There, guests can catch one of the traditional song-and-dance Princess Cruises' production shows. The theatre also offers a variety of other acts, including magicians and juggling comedians, doing shows that combine English and Japanese. Afternoon movies alternate daily between both languages. At night, virtually every bar offers some kind of music and enough room for dancing: from Latin and ballroom music in Club Fusion and DJ dance music in the Skywalkers Nightclub to light piano at Crooners. Theme nights (50s rockabilly, Country & Western and Caribbean deck party) are also common.

Follows the complete list of Diamond Princess lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• The Piazza Atrium (3-deck open floor area; features live performances entertainment and lobby Bar Piazza)
• Princess Fine Arts Gallery; Photo Gallery & Shop; Platinum Studio
• La Patisserie (specialty coffee bar)
• Library (with Internet stations); Internet Cafe (24-hour)
• Princess Diamond Theatre (2-level musical and show productions; hosts workshops, seminars, game shows)
• Churchill Lounge & Bar (smoking lounge and sports bar)
• Calypso Cove Shop; Essence Shop; Meridian Bay Shop; Facets Shop
• Princess Diamond Grand Casino
• Crooners Lounge & Bar (live music; also used for seminars)
• Explorers Lounge & Bar (disco/show lounge; hosts karaoke, comedy, game shows and art auctions)
• Wheelhouse Bar (piano bar during the day and an English pub nightly)
• Club Fusion Lounge (hosts dance classes and quizzes, after 7:30 pm becomes Disco Nightclub)
• Scoops Bar (Sundaes Ice Cream Bar, complimentary)
• Outrigger Bar (poolside bar); Tradewinds Bar; Wake View Bar
• Diamond’s Lotus Spa complex; Beauty Salon; Fitness Center (with Aerobics Studio)
• Hearts & Minds (Wedding Chapel)
• Movies Under the Stars (LED screen outdoor cinema)
• Video Games Arcade; Teen Center; Youth Center with Paddling Pool and outdoor playing areas
• The Conservatory (recreation area); The Oasis relaxation area
• The Sanctuary (adults-only open-air area)
• Calypso Reef & Pool area; Neptune’s Reef & Pool area
• Jogging Track; Sports Court (volleyball, basketball, European football); Deck Chess, Shuffleboard; Princess Links mini-golf course, Cybergolf simulator
• Skywalkers Disco & Nightclub.

Itineraries

Diamond Princess itinerary program is based on cruises leaving from Australia, New Zealand and Asia in the summer. During winter months, the ship offers Japan cruises departing from homeport Yokohama (Tokyo). Princess Cruises scheduled the company's ever longest Japan season with Diamond Princess. Itineraries were from homeports Kobe-Osaka and Tokyo, circumnavigating the country. In season 2018, a total of 63 itineraries (ranging 4-23-days) offered visits to 38 destinations in 7 countries.

Ship's Japan 2020 cruise program was also based on homeports Kobe and Tokyo, with 50+ departures to 50+ destinations in 11 countries. The planned 2020 itineraries (ranging 5-28 days) included special onboard events and shore activities themed on Japan’s traditional cherry blossom celebrations and summer festivals. The program featured:

• 8-day "Japan Explorer with Kumano Fireworks" (roundtrip from Tokyo) visits Wakayama, Kumano, Kochi, Kanmon Straits, Busan, Nagasaki, Gunkanjima, Kagoshima. The voyage departs on August 15 (2020), with prices starting from GBP 1450 pp.
• 9-day "Japan Explorer Spring Flowers" (roundtrip from Tokyo) visits Gamagori, Osaka, Kochi, Hiroshima, Busan, Sasebo. The voyage departs on April 2 (2020) with prices starting from GBP 1400 pp.
• 14-day "Borneo and Japan" (from Singapore to Tokyo) visits Bandar Seri Begawan, Kota Kinabalu, Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Okinawa, Osaka, Shimizu. The voyage departs on December 30 (2020), with prices starting from GBP 1770 pp.

In early-August 2020, Princess Cruises canceled all Diamond Princess itineraries in Asia for winter 2021-2022 season. The canceled voyages (out of homeport Yokohama Japan) were scheduled for the period October 24, 2021, through April 19, 2022.

On August 18, 2020, was officially announced the ship's inaugural South America and Antarctica season (2021-Fall through 2022-Spring). With the new deployment, Princess planned to replace in the region Sapphire Princess (December-March).

The new Diamond Princess itineraries during the maiden season included:

• "Andes and South America" (departures December 1, 2021, March 19, 2022)
• "Antarctica, Andes and Cape Horn Grand Adventure" (departures December 1, 2021, March 5, 2022)
• "Antarctica and Cape Horn" (departures December 19, 2021, January 4 and January 20, 2022)
• "Cape Horn and Strait of Magellan" (departures in 2022 February 5, February 19, March 5)
• The ship also offers two repositioning cruises (North Pacific Ocean crossings) between Asia and South America (between Los Angeles USA and Singapore/Yokohama Japan via Honolulu Hawaii).

Princess Cruises South American itineraries feature coastline cruising and exploring exotic port cities like Santiago (from Port San Antonio Chile), Buenos Aires Argentina, Montevideo Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Lima (from Port Callao Peru), Pisco Peru, Punta Arenas (Chilean Patagonia's Fjords), Falkland Islands (UK), Cape Horn (scenic cruising), Magellan Strait (passage). On shore excursions/via flights are visited Iguazu Falls (Parana Brazil) and Machu Picchu (Peru's Andes Mountains).

However, due to the Coronavirus crisis, the Diamond Princess ship was paused for ~2,5 years (March 202 thru September 2022) and the South America 2021-2022 and Asia-Japan 2022 programs were canceled. Operations were scheduled to restart with California-Mexico itineraries (roundtrips from San Diego) starting on September 1, 2022.

Princess Cruises Diamond ship is from company's Grand-class vessels, with sistership Sapphire. The other (similarly-designed) liners in this class are Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Golden (now Pacific Adventure), Grand, Ruby, Star (now Pacific Encounter). Diamond was the first Princess liner built by a Japanese company - MHI. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a subsidiary company of Mitsubishi Corporation. Unlike the other fleet mates, Diamond has no spoilers at the stern.

Ship's godmother is Yoshiko Tsukuda - wife of MHI's President Kazuo Tsukuda. The christening ceremony was on February 26, 2004. The inaugural cruise (maiden voyage) started on March 13, from Los Angeles to Mexico Riviera.

Fun fact is, that vessel's hull was first named "Sapphire Princess". A shipyard fire damaged the decks of another vessel under construction (already named "Diamond Princess"). Therefore, Sapphire was renamed to Diamond, and completed on time.

Cruise ship's engines can work either with HFO (heavy fuel oil) or with MGO (marine gas oil). MGO emissions are much lower, but it is also rather costly. However, some cruise destinations like Alaska for instance, have very high emission standards and MGO pays off.

In 2017 (April through November) the ship operated on Asian cruises with departures from Japan (homeports Yokohama-Tokyo and Kobe-Osaka). The itineraries visited South Korea, Taiwan, Russia, China (Hong Kong), Vietnam. Following the 2017 drydock refurbishment (Singapore, March 28 - April 5), Diamond Princess became fleet's 3rd liner (after Royal and Majestic) to feature the company's new livery design.

Ship's Captain is Stefano Ravera - brother of Sapphire Princess' Captain Paolo Ravera.

Diamond Princess refurbishment 2019 review

Ship's last drydock refurbishment in Singapore (14-day project, January 19 - February 2, 2019) was part of the company's USD 450 million fleet-wide renovation project "Come Back New Promise".

Major upgrades included Movies Under The Stars (outdoor theatre updated with 7.1 surround sound), pool deck (new dynamic LED lighting), Princess Casino (new carpeting, TVs, light fixtures), Lotus Spa and Fitness (upgraded treatment rooms and beauty salon, latest Precor fitness equipment). Also were upgraded the digital audio systems in Explorers Lounge, Club Fusion, Princess Theater (show lounge), new furnishings (Horizon Court buffet area). In all public restrooms and all Suites' WCs were added Japanese bidets.

Following the epidemic Coronavirus outbreak in February-March 2020, Diamond Princess completed a Level-3 deep cleaning project (conducted by Belfor USA - recovery and restoration services corporation, 1946-founded). The Yokohama-docked vessel was fully cleaned and disinfected, with the operation being constantly monitored by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Following the extensive cleaning, the ship was certified and cleared to leave the country. While in Japan, the liner also entered a wetdock (at a local shipyard) for interior refurbishment (all mattresses, pillows, linens, draperies and curtains were replaced) plus previously scheduled regular maintenance works.