Princess tends to do that sometimes on your first cruise. I've heard similar stories. Also, for us, on our first Princess cruise we had only booked an oceanview, and we were double upgraded to a gorgeous mini suite. Very nice touch.
Fun video Zach ! Looking forward to more! The Diamond Princess brought back happy memories of our Alaska cruise in May on the Crown Princess. Looks like they are very similar ships. We are avid Celebrity cruisers like you and it was our first time back on a Princess ship since 1994! We got a fantastic price on a Club Class mini suite and it was a 10 night cruise that included Skagway, which we hadn't visited, so we thought, what the heck Eh! We were blown away! Our head waiter and assistant waiter in the club class dining room were phenomenal ! The club class manager in the dining room was so attentive, came around each evening and asked everyone if everything was satisfactory. We had the Princess Plus package and were very happy with it. The medallions were so cool. We could order drinks and food to anywhere we were sitting on the ship. Hubby and I could locate each other at anytime around the ship. The whole of the staff were fantastic. You didn't mention the club class dining room in this video, so hope you were aware of this perk. Our Crown sailed roundtrip out of Vancouver, so as Canadians it was a win, win cruise. Happy sailing Zach! Cheers!
oh wow @ZachtheTravelingMan I've literally just found you, this is the first video I've watched of yours as I'm madly searching for Diamond Princess and Japan cruises. We are booked to go on the Diamond Princess for a 10 night cruise around the lower half of Japan and into Busan, South Korea, October 8th, 2025 for my 60th birthday. I was totally surprised when you first went into your cabin and announced it was D609. That is the same cabin we have booked so it was nice to see our future cabin. This will be our 4th Princess cruise, we are booked on the Crown Princess for December 29, 2024 to Fiji. I have subscribed and now look forward to watching your other Diamond Princess videos. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia, the land down under 🙃
Thanks for another great video, Zach. Just finished my first Princess cruise on Monday, 27 days Vancouver to Sydney. Although I’m pretty loyal to Celebrity, I loved Princess! You should try a long cruise one of these days. Looking forward to the rest of this series.
Ahh, I'm so glad that these videos have started - I actually know VERY few people who have cruised out of Japan, so I'll be watching very intently! I also adore Princess as a cruise line - I reckon they'd do Japan really tastefully...
I was also bumped from Celebrity Millenium for overbooking on the Japan cruise for March 2024. Looking forward to your videos on Diamond Princess. Never been on Princess. I am Elite on Celebrity and still have ill feelings for them overbooking my cruise.
Just searched this particular cruise and found your brand-new video. I'll be checking out the rest as you go along! I've had this cruise in mind for mainly my parents (and me) for a while.
You're videos are so informative. I'm booking my cruise soon on the Princess for our first trip to Japan. Haven't been on a cruise in over 20 years and so much has changed!
I just found your page! I love your videos and the information you have on the different cruises. Never taken a cruise. Might do one in 2025. Still deciding on what cruise line to take.
Very informative ship tour-I have cruised a few times, all on Princess, but that was a new experience for me. I have been on Crown Princess, which is technically the same class, but it looks like the Japan-focused ships have been modified quite a bit. If you want to try the larger, newer vessels, I suggest one of the more recent Royal Class ships. (If you find yourself on Sky or Enchanted Princess, be sure to see Five Skies-the show with sets so large they had to be built into the ships while they were being constructed.) 20:34 I did notice your Elite-black medallion, and thought, "Didn't he say this was his first Princess cruise?" 🤣 Princess' higher tiers, Platinum and Elite (there's not much difference between them) are reportedly easier to achieve than the high tiers on other cruise lines.
It's not haunted. Just motion sensitive, ha, ha, ha. I am waiting for the video of the food. Get some rest and enjoy. Thank you so much for this video. Amen
Wow, this ship looks pretty amazing! I think the medallion is a nice touch. No more searching for your Seapass when you get to your room. So jealous!! lol!! Looking forward to this series!!
Another really great video Zach - Pacific Princess looks very nice and really glad you’re having a good time. Also great to see the ship doing what it does best, after all the negativity surrounding her at the start of the pandemic.
Loved this video Zach! Always so informative 🙌🏻 gotta say I’m super impressed with the Princess product from what I’ve seen so far. I made have to look into booking a cruise with them 😁 can’t wait to see the rest of this vlog series.
I have been in a mini suite twice on Princess…love it,but the Princess ships i have been on had coverings. No Princess does not usually do that way to board..it must be a Japan thing. You will enjoy having Princess premiere in sure did❤️I love Princess ……the pkgs are great. Here is hoping you have a wonderful time..looking forward to your upcoming videos🚢😊
Nice to see you again and on Princess no less lol. We are Elite on Princess but haven’t cruised with them for quite awhile. We’ve been trying all the new ships on Celebrity and we’re going back on Princess again at the end of January. We did miss them and want to be back with a real balcony. I’ll be watching your trip through Japan and Korea. It’s something that’s still on our bucket list. Although I’ll be 80 this summer so don’t know if I’m up for the long trip to Japan, we’ll see.
Hope you enjoyed Japan! It's an incredible country, one of my favorite places I've visited. Really recommend you go there at least once for a non-cruise trip; it's really worth exploring by land. Looking forward to the rest of your Princess videos! Embarkation did sound hectic, but that sort of meticulous bureaucracy sounded pretty typical for Japan. Granted, I've never been on Princess, but I think you just felt a bit of culture shock there. Trust me, there's no shortage of culture shock to be had traveling from the US to Japan and that's not a bad thing! Just part of what makes for a very memorable trip.
I HATE bathtubs on cruise ships. You have to step over a barrier onto a curved, slippery, moving surface. Very dangerous. But interestingly, it appears to have a bidet.
Interesting. I wonder if its time to take a break from Celebrity and try Princess. Just finished with the Summit a few weeks ago and found the food a 6 out of 10 in the main dining room. Skimpy portions. I have the Equinox this April Ill see how that transatlantic goes.
Excellent. I will explore beyond celebrity in the future. I need to do an edge class at some point so i can compare . Ive been on two millenium and two Solstice but not an Edge Class. Celebrity need to do better or people will leave for Princess and others. @@ZachtheTravelingMan
Crazy! My partner and I were on this same cruise and in the mini suite next to you but on the night of embarkation we upgraded to a different room. We did the back to back and this cruise was the second half for us. It was my first princess cruise too. I enjoyed it but did find it more quiet than I was use to on a cruise. By coincidence I was also once on the same cruise as Brandon ‘the weekend cruiser’.. who will I be on a ship with next? 😂
Had a fantastic time in Japan. Was lucky enough to also spend time before and after cruise exploring Tokyo. Would definitely recommend Japan as a place to visit and would like to go back myself
Looks exciting. I’m considering a Japan cruise on Celebrity Millennium for next August. I heard Diamond Princess offers Japanese cultural programming. What did you think of it? Airfares seem very expensive though unless you want to sit in basic cattle class for 14 hours. Do you mind sharing how much you paid for your flights?
Great tour Zach! Was that just the "upgrade cost" to your all inclusive package, and was that at a 50% discount upgrade? Saw some upgrade options were advertised on a table that you filmed at the beginning of this video. Your initial package included tips, basic Wi-Fi, and regular alcoholic drinks, correct? Thanks!
My initial package didn’t include anything but the Princess Premier only cost $580 ($80 a day) for the entire week and included everything! The sign in the video was just saying you save 50% by buying the package versus buying everything separately as you go. It’s a great value IMO.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan oh wow!! That is awesome. That is a lot cheaper than Celebrity even on their “flash sale” days. We have only done drinks a-la-carte for that reason since not huge drinkers anyhow. Princess makes it a no-brainer with that kind of offer though! Thanks for the info.
That quarantine in 2020 was definitely a major blunder by the Japanese authorities. The cruise industry got a lot of misplaced anger, in a situation which they didn't actually have control over.
Oh they gave you Elite but maybe didn't applied it right because a Suite get free mini bar but so does Elite so that's 20 items plus another 20 items ? usually it takes 15 cruises to get that ?
Zach: Nice job on this video (series). Princess does a good job on the itineraries, and features. But, for the price of the mini-suite…what a letdown on the overall furnishings of the ship and especially your cabin. It’s a floating time machine from the 2000’s. Yeah, they upgraded the tech, but, there’s so much “lipstick” you can put on a pig. That’s the reason we cancelled our planned cruise with them for this coming March.
Basically a door prize that you have a chance to win each time you unlock your stateroom cabin. Folks who book the Princess Premier package get entered and you can win anything from OBC to a free cruise if you are lucky.
OMG Zack, this video would have been good if you hadn't filmed yourself talking so much. Please watch other videos as you might get some ideas from them. You can only get the medallion posted in America
The way you pronounced YokohAma as YokohOma made me wonder if you're from Oklahoma. 😆
Love that princess still prints out the daily activities.
I do too
The Princess beds are the BEST IN THE INDUSTRY! Enjoy every moment on Princess - and thank you for keeping the amazing Zach reviews coming!!!!
Yes! It was so amazingly comfy. Thank you for watching!
Princess tends to do that sometimes on your first cruise. I've heard similar stories. Also, for us, on our first Princess cruise we had only booked an oceanview, and we were double upgraded to a gorgeous mini suite. Very nice touch.
Oh wow! They were great.
When we sailed in a window suite on the Caribbean Princess a decade ago, the first round of mini bar contents were complimentary.
I worked on Diamond Princess in 2019. Great ship.
Fun video Zach ! Looking forward to more! The Diamond Princess brought back happy memories of our Alaska cruise in May on the Crown Princess. Looks like they are very similar ships. We are avid Celebrity cruisers like you and it was our first time back on a Princess ship since 1994! We got a fantastic price on a Club Class mini suite and it was a 10 night cruise that included Skagway, which we hadn't visited, so we thought, what the heck Eh! We were blown away! Our head waiter and assistant waiter in the club class dining room were phenomenal ! The club class manager in the dining room was so attentive, came around each evening and asked everyone if everything was satisfactory. We had the Princess Plus package and were very happy with it. The medallions were so cool. We could order drinks and food to anywhere we were sitting on the ship. Hubby and I could locate each other at anytime around the ship. The whole of the staff were fantastic. You didn't mention the club class dining room in this video, so hope you were aware of this perk. Our Crown sailed roundtrip out of Vancouver, so as Canadians it was a win, win cruise. Happy sailing Zach! Cheers!
I only had a mini suite and not club class unfortunately. I want to try Alaska on Princess next. Thanks for sharing your experiences with them!
oh wow @ZachtheTravelingMan I've literally just found you, this is the first video I've watched of yours as I'm madly searching for Diamond Princess and Japan cruises. We are booked to go on the Diamond Princess for a 10 night cruise around the lower half of Japan and into Busan, South Korea, October 8th, 2025 for my 60th birthday. I was totally surprised when you first went into your cabin and announced it was D609. That is the same cabin we have booked so it was nice to see our future cabin. This will be our 4th Princess cruise, we are booked on the Crown Princess for December 29, 2024 to Fiji. I have subscribed and now look forward to watching your other Diamond Princess videos. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia, the land down under 🙃
Hi 👋🏻 thanks for watching!
Thanks for another great video, Zach. Just finished my first Princess cruise on Monday, 27 days Vancouver to Sydney. Although I’m pretty loyal to Celebrity, I loved Princess! You should try a long cruise one of these days. Looking forward to the rest of this series.
That sounds amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it
Ahh, I'm so glad that these videos have started - I actually know VERY few people who have cruised out of Japan, so I'll be watching very intently! I also adore Princess as a cruise line - I reckon they'd do Japan really tastefully...
I loved them. And loved Japan! Thanks for watching. 🙏🏻
Thank you for the awesome review! Makes me want to change my loyalty from Celebrity to Princess now! I love the walk-in closet and room configuration.
You are so welcome!
Another great video, Zach! I hope you had an amazing cruise! Cheers!!
I did! Thank you!
Great video Zach. Doing a cruise in Japan is in our bucket list.
You should! It was amazing!
We did B2B Japan cruises with two different itineraries--amazing and one of the best cruises ever.
Thank you so very much… Looking forward to the next video… This series is going to be amazing… I can tell already🚢
Glad you enjoyed it!
We enjoyed your video! Have a great cruise!
Thanks so much!
Great video as always Zach, thanks
Thanks for watching!
I was also bumped from Celebrity Millenium for overbooking on the Japan cruise for March 2024. Looking forward to your videos on Diamond Princess. Never been on Princess. I am Elite on Celebrity and still have ill feelings for them overbooking my cruise.
Ugh it’s an awful feeling, I know. I really enjoyed Princess!
Just searched this particular cruise and found your brand-new video. I'll be checking out the rest as you go along! I've had this cruise in mind for mainly my parents (and me) for a while.
It was amazing! Much more to come.
Thanks Zach...I am looking forward to more Japan videos'
Thank you!
Have a great cruise!!
Thanks Zach! Another great video! Japan is a "bucket-list" destination for us. We look forward to your next videos!
Thank you!
You're videos are so informative. I'm booking my cruise soon on the Princess for our first trip to Japan. Haven't been on a cruise in over 20 years and so much has changed!
Glad it was helpful!
What a lovely ship 🚢..I have been thinking about a Japan cruise and wondering what it what been like. The ship looks lovely
Wow that ship needs a little refresh and TLC. The wrist bands are nice though. I’d love to sail those ports.
Great video! I've not been on Princess but definitely considering it for Singapore
I just found your page! I love your videos and the information you have on the different cruises. Never taken a cruise. Might do one in 2025. Still deciding on what cruise line to take.
Very informative ship tour-I have cruised a few times, all on Princess, but that was a new experience for me. I have been on Crown Princess, which is technically the same class, but it looks like the Japan-focused ships have been modified quite a bit. If you want to try the larger, newer vessels, I suggest one of the more recent Royal Class ships. (If you find yourself on Sky or Enchanted Princess, be sure to see Five Skies-the show with sets so large they had to be built into the ships while they were being constructed.)
20:34 I did notice your Elite-black medallion, and thought, "Didn't he say this was his first Princess cruise?" 🤣 Princess' higher tiers, Platinum and Elite (there's not much difference between them) are reportedly easier to achieve than the high tiers on other cruise lines.
It's not haunted. Just motion sensitive, ha, ha, ha. I am waiting for the video of the food. Get some rest and enjoy. Thank you so much for this video. Amen
Thank you for watching!
Wow, this ship looks pretty amazing! I think the medallion is a nice touch. No more searching for your Seapass when you get to your room. So jealous!! lol!! Looking forward to this series!!
Thank you!
Did I see one of those Japanese bidets in your cabin?? So awesome!
It was! A pleasant surprise to have in the room.
Another really great video Zach - Pacific Princess looks very nice and really glad you’re having a good time. Also great to see the ship doing what it does best, after all the negativity surrounding her at the start of the pandemic.
Thanks so much!
He was on the Diamond Princess
Loved this video Zach! Always so informative 🙌🏻 gotta say I’m super impressed with the Princess product from what I’ve seen so far. I made have to look into booking a cruise with them 😁 can’t wait to see the rest of this vlog series.
Thanks so much!! I can’t wait to go with them again just as soon as I can.
I have been in a mini suite twice on Princess…love it,but the Princess ships i have been on had coverings. No Princess does not usually do that way to board..it must be a Japan thing. You will enjoy having Princess premiere in sure did❤️I love Princess ……the pkgs are great. Here is hoping you have a wonderful time..looking forward to your upcoming videos🚢😊
Thanks for sharing!!
im so happy for you Zach safe travels to you
Thank you 🙏🏻
@@ZachtheTravelingMan your welcome🙏
Nice to see you again and on Princess no less lol. We are Elite on Princess but haven’t cruised with them for quite awhile. We’ve been trying all the new ships on Celebrity and we’re going back on Princess again at the end of January. We did miss them and want to be back with a real balcony. I’ll be watching your trip through Japan and Korea. It’s something that’s still on our bucket list. Although I’ll be 80 this summer so don’t know if I’m up for the long trip to Japan, we’ll see.
I loved Princess. Thanks for watching!
Hope you enjoyed Japan! It's an incredible country, one of my favorite places I've visited. Really recommend you go there at least once for a non-cruise trip; it's really worth exploring by land.
Looking forward to the rest of your Princess videos! Embarkation did sound hectic, but that sort of meticulous bureaucracy sounded pretty typical for Japan. Granted, I've never been on Princess, but I think you just felt a bit of culture shock there. Trust me, there's no shortage of culture shock to be had traveling from the US to Japan and that's not a bad thing! Just part of what makes for a very memorable trip.
I loved it. It ended up being my favorite place that I’ve visited so far.
I HATE bathtubs on cruise ships. You have to step over a barrier onto a curved, slippery, moving surface. Very dangerous.
But interestingly, it appears to have a bidet.
Happy you found another line after the Celebrity screw over.
Zach i don’t know how you do it flying all over the place on long long flights !
Thanks for the video 😊
My pleasure 😊
Interesting. I wonder if its time to take a break from Celebrity and try Princess. Just finished with the Summit a few weeks ago and found the food a 6 out of 10 in the main dining room. Skimpy portions. I have the Equinox this April Ill see how that transatlantic goes.
I’ll say that Princess will be prioritized over other cruise lines for my future bookings. :)
Excellent. I will explore beyond celebrity in the future. I need to do an edge class at some point so i can compare . Ive been on two millenium and two Solstice but not an Edge Class. Celebrity need to do better or people will leave for Princess and others. @@ZachtheTravelingMan
Crazy! My partner and I were on this same cruise and in the mini suite next to you but on the night of embarkation we upgraded to a different room. We did the back to back and this cruise was the second half for us. It was my first princess cruise too. I enjoyed it but did find it more quiet than I was use to on a cruise. By coincidence I was also once on the same cruise as Brandon ‘the weekend cruiser’.. who will I be on a ship with next? 😂
How cool! Congrats on the upgrade. I hope you enjoyed the cruise as much as I did. Loved Japan and can’t wait to return. Cheers!
Had a fantastic time in Japan. Was lucky enough to also spend time before and after cruise exploring Tokyo. Would definitely recommend Japan as a place to visit and would like to go back myself
Over 20 years ago, you had to get a boarding number at check in with all ports.
We can’t decide on a trip to Tokyo or do a Japan cruise. Interested to see how this goes
Looks exciting. I’m considering a Japan cruise on Celebrity Millennium for next August. I heard Diamond Princess offers Japanese cultural programming. What did you think of it?
Airfares seem very expensive though unless you want to sit in basic cattle class for 14 hours. Do you mind sharing how much you paid for your flights?
I thought the cultural programming was amazing! Really enjoyed all of those special events. I used miles to pay for my flights this time.
Yoka-haw-ma. Not Yoka-home-a
Nope.
Just Yokohama.
Super simple
We’ve been eyeballing a few Princess itineraries. Boarding def seemed weird but some lovely amenities!
Great tour Zach! Was that just the "upgrade cost" to your all inclusive package, and was that at a 50% discount upgrade? Saw some upgrade options were advertised on a table that you filmed at the beginning of this video. Your initial package included tips, basic Wi-Fi, and regular alcoholic drinks, correct? Thanks!
My initial package didn’t include anything but the Princess Premier only cost $580 ($80 a day) for the entire week and included everything! The sign in the video was just saying you save 50% by buying the package versus buying everything separately as you go. It’s a great value IMO.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan oh wow!! That is awesome. That is a lot cheaper than Celebrity even on their “flash sale” days. We have only done drinks a-la-carte for that reason since not huge drinkers anyhow. Princess makes it a no-brainer with that kind of offer though! Thanks for the info.
Exactly! Such a great value.
I used to be able to trade the mini bar for coffee card and water, since I don't drink alcohol. Do they still do that, I am Elite for many years.?
They no longer offer a coffee card. They have the plus and premiere packages. Also a soda package is available.
I prefer the open closet on Princess but the shower curtain sucks.
Only other bonus the self laundry areas.
I do like the Medallion
Which restaurant did you go to the first night (with the prime rib)?
We are sailing on Celebrity Beyond for her transatlantic cruise this week. We will be in the Retreat!
Have a great time!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Thank you!
Zach you mentioned that you bid for a mini suite, what was your original reservation. A balcony or ocean view? Wanted to know for price comparison
A balcony
That quarantine in 2020 was definitely a major blunder by the Japanese authorities.
The cruise industry got a lot of misplaced anger, in a situation which they didn't actually have control over.
My dream is to take a cruise of Southern Japan and Okinawa. I was stationed on Okinawa and want to see how much it has changed.
I want to go there as well! Hope to cruise a lot more in the area in the future.
How do they handle tips? Coming from the USA.
Oh they gave you Elite but maybe didn't applied it right because a Suite get free mini bar but so does Elite so that's 20 items plus another 20 items ? usually it takes 15 cruises to get that ?
I’m not sure that mini suites get the mini bar set up. The note specified “full suites”.
*Yoko-HAMA
Just FYI....it's YOKOHAMA, not Yokahoma. ☺
How do you have an “elite” medallion if this is your first Princess cruise ??
What’s the name of the captain?
Do we need a visa to fry and embarkation the ship in japan?
Not if you have a US passport and round trip airfare.
Remember.....Elite gets Unlimited, FREE Laundry and Dry Cleaning. The BEST perk anywhere.
Very true! I did multiple bags and it was a life saver.
Zach: Nice job on this video (series).
Princess does a good job on the itineraries, and features.
But, for the price of the mini-suite…what a letdown on the overall furnishings of the ship and especially your cabin. It’s a floating time machine from the 2000’s.
Yeah, they upgraded the tech, but, there’s so much “lipstick” you can put on a pig.
That’s the reason we cancelled our planned cruise with them for this coming March.
what's princess prizes?
Basically a door prize that you have a chance to win each time you unlock your stateroom cabin. Folks who book the Princess Premier package get entered and you can win anything from OBC to a free cruise if you are lucky.
Princess mini suites are nice but the lack of a covered balcony make it almost unusable in sunny climates.
How many people does this ship hold?
If I recall correctly
Approximately 3000
Just shy of 3,000
No if you are in a Suite booked your mini bar at least the 1st set up is free after that is a charge for restocking it ? Drink Up
No coffee maker in the room?
No. I’ve never had one in any stateroom.
Actually you are in Princess out of Australia. Peace
Great to see the ice cream server wiping her nose with her hand. Not good.
OMG Zack, this video would have been good if you hadn't filmed yourself talking so much. Please watch other videos as you might get some ideas from them. You can only get the medallion posted in America
Omg Sue this was almost a good comment.
The first fill of the mini bar is FREE if you are Elite (15 cruises)