The Magic of Asia: Princess Cruises with German-speaking Onboard Service, Six Years Later

In February 2019 we recommended a cruise that was supposed to be a quiet premium getaway: the Diamond Princess by Princess Cruises, with German-speaking onboard service through Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore, setting sail in December 2019 and January 2020. That very travel season would become the most notorious cruise story of recent years-not for the views, but for the headlines. Time for an honest look back, and the question: what remains of the offer today?

First, the promise from back then. Princess Cruises positions itself as a premium brand, and the German-speaking service was the heart of our recommendation. Anyone booking a 14-day Asia voyage doesn’t want to fight through English and hand signals at every reception desk. A fixed contact onboard, German menu cards, a German onboard program, and advice on shore excursions: it removes much of the uncertainty from a long-haul trip. The argument was strong in 2019-and it still holds true today.

What Became of the Voyage

The Diamond Princess set sail from Yokohama on 20 January 2020 on a round trip through Southeast Asia, intended as a relaxing cruise over Chinese New Year. On the return voyage, the captain received news that a guest who had disembarked in Hong Kong on 25 January had tested positive for the then-new coronavirus. By 5 February, initial tests confirmed ten cases on board, and the ship entered quarantine off Yokohama-a quarantine that would later become a case study in every pandemic chronicle.

The numbers are sobering and stark. Of the 3,711 people on board, 712 were infected: 567 of the 2,666 passengers and 145 of the 1,045 crew members. Around 14 elderly passengers died. Guests spent weeks confined to their cabins, with one hour on deck each day, masks on, keeping their distance, and avoiding contact with anything. After 39 days, the last passengers disembarked on 27 February 2020. The dream ship from our article had, for a few weeks, become anything but a dream.

Overnight, the most relaxing form of travel imaginable became the world’s tightest quarantine lab. That’s precisely what makes this story so instructive.

Context matters. What happened aboard the Diamond Princess wasn’t a failure of the brand or a flaw in the German-speaking onboard care concept. It was an early warning of a global pandemic that would have struck any dense gathering of people. The ship became a symbol because it offered a closed, well-documented population where real-time research could learn and adapt. Anyone who booked in 2019 simply had bad timing-not a bad operator.

Is the Offer Still Available Today?

Yes-and that’s the real good news for anyone who never quite let go of the idea of an Asia cruise. Princess Cruises continues to offer German-speaking onboard care on selected routes. This includes German-language boarding and disembarkation briefings, a German-speaking point of contact with daily office hours, German menu cards, and a German-language onboard newspaper. The website lets you filter searches specifically for voyages with this care, and Asia appears regularly in the results.

The ship itself is back in service as if nothing had ever happened. A 20-night round trip aboard the Diamond Princess, departing and returning to Yokohama, is listed for May 2026. Today, the name may still evoke 2020 first-but in the booking calendar, the vessel is once again a standard premium liner for Japan and Southeast Asia. Prices fluctuate sharply by cabin category and season, so we’re not quoting a specific euro amount here; instead, check the operator for up-to-the-minute fares.

What We’d Recommend Differently Today

The itinerary itself remains appealing: Tokyo, Singapore, plus ports in Taiwan and Vietnam in one go, without constant hotel changes-a compelling format for anyone who wants to see a lot without packing and unpacking. The German-speaking service makes the biggest difference if it’s your first long-haul trip. So far, so 2019.

What has changed is the fine print. Before booking, scrutinize the cancellation policy and onboard medical-incident rules more closely than was typical pre-pandemic. A travel-insurance policy with robust medical repatriation is essential for a long-haul voyage like this. And if you’re sensitive to crowds, remember that a ship this size gathers several thousand people in close quarters. That’s not an argument against cruising-just an honest expectation. Looking back at 2020 isn’t a reason to avoid an Asia cruise; it’s a reason to plan it more thoughtfully.

Find more on sea travel in our feature discovering the highlights of the Caribbean aboard the Carnival Horizon. If you’d rather stay on land but still see the world, get inspired by our top autumn destinations.