By
Rebecca Gibson |
Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess will return to Japan for a third season in summer 2015, highlighting the cruise line’s commitment to developing the Japanese cruise market.
Diamond Princess, which will be based in Japan for the 2014 summer season, is to offer a series of new, shorter itineraries, as well as the line’s popular, longer voyages. Front April 29, the Japanese-built ship will offer 20 sailings to more than 20 destinations in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Russia from her Tokyo (Yokohama) and Kobe homeports.
“We are very pleased to bring Diamond Princess back to Japan again next summer, this time with a broader variety of itineraries and cruise lengths offering guests a diverse choice of experiences and destinations,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. “In addition to offering local consumers a shorter cruise experience, our longer sailings will offer an enriching and convenient way to explore many of Japan’s most fascinating port cities.”
Diamond Princess will begin the 2015 season on 29 April in Yokohama with an eight-night Golden Week itinerary and a nine-night ‘Taiwan & Korea’ sailing. The ship will then reposition to Kobe for three eight-night ‘Ryukyu Islands & Taiwan’ voyages that include calls to Okinawa, Hualien, Kaohsiung and Taipei (Keelung). New for 2015 from Kobe is a ten-night ‘Hokkaido’ cruise, enabling passengers to visit Aomori, Hakodate, Otaru and Abashiri.
After returning to Yokohama, the vessel will spend the remainder of the summer sailing to the island of Hokkaido and round Japan, visiting destinations such as Maizuru (for Kyoto), Nagasaki and Aomori. Passengers sailing on the Hokkaido voyages will also have the opportunity to enjoy a late evening departure from Hakodate.
The ship will also offer new three-, four-, five- and seven-night itineraries throughout the summer season, which ends in mid-September. Designed to appeal to travellers with limited vacation time, the itineraries include a four-night ‘Korea Getaway’ roundtrip from Kobe, as well as a five-night ‘Korea & Japan Getaway’ roundtrip from Tokyo and a five-night ‘Korea & Japan Getaway’ that positions between the two homeports. In August, the ship will sail on a week-long itinerary roundtrip from Yokohama, which can be segmented into a three-night ‘Korea Getaway’ disembarking in Hakata, or a four-night ‘Korea & Japan’ itinerary embarking in Hakata.
Recently refurbished at Singapore’s Sembawang Shipyard, the 2,670-guest Diamond Princess has a range of new features tailored to the Asian market. These include a 8,800 sq ft bathing complex, which has been modelled on the popular onsen Japanese bathing experience; a 66-person sushi restaurant; remodelled duty-free boutiques; 14 new cabins; and other reconfigured public areas.
Other amenities, such as the spa treatments and cuisine, have been tailored to Japanese preferences, while onboard collateral items and stateroom information have been translated into Japanese.
Sun Princess, which will sail in Japan in 2014, will not return to the country next summer. Instead the vessel will homeport in Australia where she has long been a popular ship in the region.
“Moving Sun Princess to Australia in 2015 doesn’t diminish our enthusiasm for the Japan cruise market,” said Schwartz. “As demand for cruising grows further in Japan, we will review the opportunity to add additional capacity in the future.”