Competing for space on Diamond

I took the “Transpacific Odyssey” cruise aboard Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess, booked through Vantage Deluxe World Travel. I embarked in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 23, ’05, and ports of call included Ketchikan and Juneau, Alaska; Petropavlovsk, Russia; Muroran, Japan; Pusan, South Korea, and Nagasaki, Japan. I flew home from Osaka on Oct. 13.

The Diamond Princess is a true luxury ship. It’s beautifully decorated and everything shines — it entered service in 2004. It carries 2,670 passengers, and the staff-per-guest ratio is high. My single cabin was roomy, with a large picture window, and the excellent cabin steward was attentive. The ship offered an extensive range of services plus entertainment and very fine food.

I have sailed on ships of comparable size and services. The main flaw I found in the Diamond was in the allotment of space.

There were 16 areas listed where one could eat. I chose the early, 6 p.m. seating in the main dining room and was at a table with seven interesting and delightful people. The nightly 8 o’clock entertainment was at the extreme fore of the ship, and the elegant Princess theater was not large enough to accommodate all of the early diners. It was just too small. This caused people to hurry with dinner in order to get a seat. Guests were turned away from the early show in the theater each evening.

There was a postage-stamp-size library with half-empty shelves, four chairs and four computer stations. I laughed when I saw a notice in the daily Princess Patter advising guests to donate books to the library on this unbelievably expensive ship.

The gym was extremely inadequate for the number of people wishing to use it. Twelve walking machines and 12 step machines, with an equal number of weight machines, were, again, crowded into a room entirely too small. The seas were too rough to dock in Russia, which extended the number of sea days; people wanted to exercise and were standing in line to use the gym equipment.

Card games are always a favorite with passengers, and although there were bridge lessons offered, there was no designated card room, which left guests searching for tables in empty bars and eating areas.

Also, in the Scholarship at Sea program, there were a few fine lectures, but ceramics and arts & crafts were included in this program while the scholarship part was not adequately covered, in my opinion.

The worst flaw of all, on this beautiful Diamond Princess, was when I went looking for my favorite frozen yogurt machine. I was directed to the special ice cream bar by the pool and found I had to pay for it!

CAROLYN KEARNS YOUNG

Dayton, OH

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Princess Cruises (24305 Town Center Dr., Santa Clarita, CA 91355) and received no reply.