Dawn Princess Southbound Alaska Review 5/17 (long)

I cant believe its over. Oh well, just have to start planning the next one. I have posted a port review under the Alaska board for those who are going to Alaska. I will try to stick just to Princess and the Dawn Princess here. Sorry its going to be a long one (but good!!!) since I tried to remember what threads have been included here recently and will try to add related comments.

Princess, I feel, is smart using Whittier as a port in Alaska. It is a small town with not much there (yet, I'm sure in a year or two that will change), but it made getting to the ship easy. Train let us off about 5 min walk from the ship. The new terminal there is a spacious single story building. Embarkation was sooooo easy. We beat the busses in from Anchorage and did not have to wait at all in line. The train got in at 1215 and we were on the ship by about 1245. Walked right in and took 5 mins to check in and on our way. I still like they take all your cc info here (unlike HAL) and you dont have to see anyone again for this. Got our shipboard cards and off we went. You have to board outside to get to the ship. It appeared that they were still working on the terminal though as there was no cover on the walkway to the ship. It wasnt raining hard so it wasnt a big deal, but given the weather Whittier is known for, I hope this is in the plans.

The ship was full. They had a sign at the pursers desk to not ask about changing rooms because there were none.

Once onboard the ship they check your card and send you to an elevator with someone to drop you off on your floor. They also had people in the stair areas on each floor to direct you down the correct hallway. They had half of the elevators marked off for embarkation passengers only and the others for people who were already on the ship and just checking things out. We dropped off our bags, met our room steward(ess?) Janice and off we went. I had asked for robes in the room and they weren't there, but Janice said they'd be there when we got back and they were. She was super efficient. We tried to reuse our towels by hanging them on the door to reuse, and half the time she had new ones in there for us anyway. Ice always full and room spotless (except for our mess!)

Headed up to the buffet for first day lunch. It was busy. I dont care for the setup in the Horizon Court on the Dawn. It would work well with the various stations IF there were more room to walk in there, but it felt tight and cramped with people bumping into each other and no semblance of order. One long line or this setup with about 6 feet more between lines would work well, but it felt crowded and unorganized. Also with the space required for the triple line setup there is only one line of tables along the windows and many many tables in the extreme front of the ship, way out of window view. It appeared there is some kind of dance floor in the front and then the tables are in a semi circle out to the windows with about 4 or 5 rows of tables. Everyone sat at the window seats first and there were several who lingered a little long over breakfast and lunch on sea days that it was hard to find a place to sit. Not just at a window, but anywhere. Since they were lingering at the windows, people who were eating were forced into the middle and there didnt appear to be many empty tables. (These were the only chair hogs on the ship!) Other than the sea days though, there never appeared to be a long line or problem finding a table here for any meal. We ate several dinners in the buffet and the selection was always varied and the food good. We actually chose the buffet over the dining room because of the choices 2 nights. We arent big seafood eaters (which there is a lot of on this cruise) and the alternate choices werent something we were interested in. The buffet always had a carving station (lamb, ham, roast beef, swordfish) and several other hot meats (minute steak, chicken marsala, mexican pasta, veal stuffed cannelloni in addition to various seafood dishes each night). Always a salad station, 4 or 5 fresh fruits, cheese and cold cuts, 3 or 4 cold pasta salads, potatoes, rice, veggies and rolls AND of course a huge dessert table.

Our waiters in the dining room (Traditional dining, late seating) were Willie and Bartos, both from Poland. Willie was a little hyper (and confused many times), but he was fun to watch. On several occasions we got the wrong item or it was misplaced, but he would always mumble to himself like he couldnt believe that had happened AGAIN and go get whatever it was we had ordered meaning many nights we ended up with several choices! It was actually comical after a couple of nights. He tried though. Not sure if he couldnt read his own writing or what, but he was fun and we really didnt care. The food was very good here and the nights we did eat here were nice. We did both formal nights and the first and last night in the dining room. If you wanted tea you had to ask every night and it was never offered to refil.( On a personal note, I still think Celebrity has the best setup and service in the dining room, but was not disappointed with Princess since I know their setup is different, you just have to adjust and do it their way).

Muster drill was held at 8pm. The first night early dinner was moved forward and late seating moved back to have the drill. You do not have to stand outside. You go to your muster station and sit. They play the tape, then you are shown how to do your vest, you put it on, and thats it, back to your room. They do have a way of checking to be sure everyone attends the drill though since our beds had been turned down once we were gone for the drill. I guess that is part of the room stewards job. Not sure what happened to anyone who skipped and they did have another drill the next day for those who arrived late the first night.

Bags made it from the train to our room by about 5-530pm and they are set outside your door. Janice checked to make sure we had everything (we were missing 1 bag) but it showed up about 15 mins later. This might have been later than if we had checked them right at the ship, but not having to take them from the train to the ship made it worthwhile. We had everything we needed in our carryon for the first day anyway.

We were at College Fjord the first day (630am) and could hear the announcement from the hall about our arrival (didnt care for the wake up call ) but needed to get up to see anyway, so it wasnt too bad. No announcements in the actual room which was nice.

The ship itself was spotless. I was having trouble remembering my first cruise on her, but after being back on her, it all came back to me. No complaints about the appearance of the ship. Used the game room (well stocked board games, cards, puzzles, etc). Mom used the library and various public areas to sit in big comfy chairs and read. No lines except at the photo studio. They only had 1 person in there many times and they were ringing orders, downloading, answering questions and it was slow, especially right before and after shows at the Vista Lounge. We tried developing our pictures onboard so we would be done with them and they did a great job. $6.95 for 24 and $3.95 for second print. It was about $3-4 more than I could get them done at home, but they were done and we exchanged before we left the ship so that was nice to have them done and over with. They also do panoramics and offer the CD/Download services. There was always a place to sit in the public rooms or stand to look out on the promenade deck and we never had a problem finding a deck lounge chair. The elevators are a little slow and many times we didnt even bother and just walked (except formal night with her new heels) and it wasnt a big deal, unless you couldnt do stairs.

Be sure to check out a wool blanket from the blanket room on deck 12. It was open from 8-6 and you can keep the blanket for the week. We used them several times in College Fjords and Glacier Bay to sit out on the Promenade deck in the lounge chairs and just read or watch the scenery. It was very comfy and snug.

Used the hot tubs quite a few times. Very good temp. The back pool was warm the first day, but it felt like it cooled off after that, but people were in it and the main pool. I didnt use the pools, just the hot tubs (especially the one on deck 14 back of the ship, great views while leaving Glacier Bay and cruising the inside passage). There werent many people in the hot tubs or pools though. There are two hot tubs semi enclosed with the back pool on deck 12 and it is accessable from deck 14 or through the spa/sauna on deck 12 which was free. It was warm enough though that it never felt cold once out of the hottub. Even laid out on the back deck (alone) the last night to get some sun.

It was moms birthday on the 11th (hence her cruise present) and I had requested that it be noticed on the first day out. When we got back from breakfast they had balloons hung outside the door for her. At dinner that night they brought her a Princess chocolate cake and sang Happy Birthday to her. She wasnt expecting it and it was a very nice touch. Lots of birthdays/honeymoons and anniversaries on this cruise.

Went to just three shows. Willie Tyler and Lester (the ventriloquist), Tony Cherry (singer) and Rhythms of the City (production show). All were good. The production show was very fast paced and upbeat and much better than many I've seen on cruises. The rest of the time we went to the room early since mom wasnt feeling well (toothache, what no one told you to take, Orajel!)

The tv in the room was fairly good. There was the Dawn Channel which consisted of various shows of Friends, King of Queens, Raymond, West Wing, Whose Line?, Home Improvement, Touched by an Angel, Drew Carey. There was an Alaska program channel, National Geographic Alaska with various interests and AFI celebrates 100s (villians, laughs, actors, etc)

Also offered were Discovery, CNN, ESPN, TNT, CNBC, 4 music channels, Ship channel (temp, track, time, etc), Instant News channel (US and world news, business and weather) and a Free movie channel.

+++ They showed (entire list to follow or you can skip it. ) +++++

Freaky Friday, Bruce Almighty, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Last Samurai, Brother Bear, School of Rock, Pirates of Caribbean, Love Actually, Cat n Hat, Whale Rider, Matchstick Men, Open Range, Secondhand Lions, Along Came Polly, Radio, Mystic River, Haunted Mansion, Plots with a View, Seabiscuit, Monster, Cheaper by the Dozen, Under the Tuscan Sun, Lord of the Rings 3, House of Sand and Fog, Peter Pan, Girl with Pearl Earring, Intolerably Cruelty, Cold Mountain.

+++++++++++++++++++ End of list for those who skipped it ++++++++++++++++++++++++

Also in the theatre they showed Big Fish, Calendar Girls, Welcome to Mooseport, Somethings Gotta Give, Master and Commander, Mona Lisa Smile.

We had high tea one afternoon in the dining room with a string quartet playing. It was not formal high tea, but was a nice change of pace none the less. We did this one day instead of lunch. They offered tea, sandwiches, cookies and cakes and offered them until you said enough. It is open seating and we met some nice people who live about an hour away and a couple from Wales. We had a nice chat and stayed for about an hour.

In regards to the traditional vs Personal Choice, I would say on the Dawn it doesnt really matter unless you want the same waiter and time each night. The only dining room option for Personal Choice was the Florentine dining room and it was the same menu as traditional. Other Personal Choice options were La Scala Pizzaria and the buffet. At night one side of the buffet is closed and it becomes Sterling Steak House ($15). All of these options were also available to those in Traditional and the waiter even mentioned us missing dinner and that we could have done the dining room at a different time instead of the buffet (which wasnt why we did the buffet though). I would say on a larger ship with more dining options it would make a difference, but on the Dawn, there wasnt that much of a difference other than being able to eat dining room at a different time each night. If offered again on the Dawn, I would probably do Personal Choice instead of having to wait each night we wanted to do the dining room. Many nights the shows started before we could finish with dinner so we just skipped them and the one night we did go, we had to stand in the back since it was full except for the very front and we werent going to walk down to the front and move people to get into a seat.

The Princess Theater needs another entrance or someone to move people down the rows to the edge. There are two center aisles and everyone sits starting on the aisle intstead of moving to the wall so those who arrive late have to move everyone the entire row down (stand up, sit down) to get to a seat at the wall. An aisle along the sides would be nice. They would have to take out a seat or two along the walls, but it would be much more convenient.

Getting off the ship in Vancouver was also easy. We had all the bags out before dinner the night before and since we were doing our own thing post cruise had a late off time. We were to dock at 730 and we did. They started allowing off about 810. We asked Janice if we could leave our carryon bags in the room while we went to breakfast and she said sure she was just going to be making up the beds right now. Went to the buffet (no lines and plenty of seats) and then went back to the room to freshen up and get our bags. Headed back up to the pool deck to wait. About 835 we were called off the ship. By the time we left we didnt see any stair sitters, although one couple had camped out right at the door which was a pain. I cant believe no one told them to move. You stepped off the elevator and they were right there. I wish I had been on that side of the room cause my bag is hard to handle and sometimes can get away from me. )

Other than that, it appeared everyone did as asked and stayed away from the stairs and door. Found the bags, no hassles at customs/immigration and we got the rental car (National/Alamo) right at Canada Place with the car parked in the lot right below the ship level.

All in all, I say major thumbs up. Mom was pleased on her first cruise on all accounts, ship, service, Alaska and I think shes hooked. She felt bad for feeling sick and thought that she might be holding us back, but thats the beauty of cruising. Other than the 1 day we had the rental car, everyone did what they want when they wanted. She slept, I hottubbed, she read, I slept, we met up for meals and this and that with the other guys with us and we all had a great time! If given a choice of exact cruise with X, HAL or Princess, I'd probably do X, Princess, HAL in that order, but would not hesitate to do a Princess again if it were offered. (Just my personal choices after 7 cruises on various ships and of course the ship itself might make the order different at times, YMMV )

If there are any specific questions about Dawn I didnt answer, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer for you. You can read the Alaska ports review on the Alaska board and I will be happy to answer any Alaska questions I can there.

Forgot some minor things. Only a couple of tuxes seen, most formal night eaters were in suits. No one not dressed in the traditional dining room. Rest of the ship on formal night various stages of dress from jeans to dress casual.

No passengers from hell. We decided that Alaska is unlike the Caribbean in that you really really want to have to go to make the arrangements, get the time and plan so everyone is having a great time. You dont just hop on a plane and are there in 2 hours. It takes time and money to plan an Alaska trip and everyone was making the best of it. Everyone very friendly and we didnt run across any rude, drunk or obnoxious people.

Nice mix of ages, mostly older 50-70s probably, but there were a couple of young kids, several teens and quite a few couples in their 20-40s, but overall an older crowd. I didnt have a problem finding things to do (38 years old) and felt the overall mood was laid back easy going comfort. I think the great weather had something to do with everyone being in such a good mood too.

This was the Captains last cruise for a while so he came around to tell everyone (crew and passengers) goodbye on the last day which was nice. CD was John Clelford for those who follow that. All of the staff I met were very nice and happy.

I'm having withdrawal. Need help!

[This message was edited by tadjr on 05-27-04 at 02:38 PM.]

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. We were on the Dawn to Alaska in September and it was the best cruise we have ever taken. We spent alot of time in the aft hot tubs they were the best. Thanks for your review.

tadjr Thanks for posting your Alaska experience. I really enjoyed reading all about your cruise. We plan on sailing to Alaska next year...just waiting for Princess pricing.

If I may, I would like to ask why you would choose "X" over Princess and HAL. I have sailed both and know what they have to offer; however, I have not sailed "X." Is there something I might be missing from your preference?

Thanks for your review. Although our cruise next month is Southbound, I got good tips from your Dawn Princess review.

Carnival- Tropicale

Carnival-Fascination

Celebrity- Galaxy

RCI-Sovereign of the Seas

Carnival- Destiny

NCL- Sun 2003

Dawn Princess 2004

Thanks for the nice review. It has been six years since we've been on the Dawn. Looking forward in sailing her again this summer.

I was also on the Dawn last September 1 - 8(SaylorGirl were you on then too?)in Alaska! I loved it and can't wait to go back when ever that may be I don't know.

Thank You for such a wonderful review! I made me relive to whole trip again!

Caribbean Princess here I come!

Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often!

Peace, Love and Mickey Mouse!

~ Heather ~ ºoº

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Italy52:

_

If I may, I would like to ask why you would choose "X" over Princess and HAL. I have sailed both and know what they have to offer; however, I have not sailed "X." Is there something I might be missing from your preference?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Glad you enjoyed the report. Sorry again it was so long. First let me state, I've never had a "bad" cruise and this one was very nice, not disappointed at all.

Since eating and the dining experience is such a major event on most cruises, I've just found that the X attention in the dining room is superior to the others. From presentation to the actual taste and attention to you at each meal, its been superior. For instance on the Dawn, I had to ask every night for tea (and a refill was never offered). On X, after the first night, I've never had to ask again and never wait for a refill, which usually came right after the water refills. I dont recall having to wait for a long time on any of the X cruises to have dishes cleared or start the next course. It always seemed like it was timed perfectly. On the Dawn, it seemed like some nights we had to wait 5 mins or so to have things cleared or the next course brought. I know, quitcher bitchin, and I'm not, it wasnt a terrible event, just explaining something that seemed to flow more evenly on X and made dining seem more enjoyable. I dont know if I've just been lucky in waiters and assistants or if the way food is retreived from the kitchen is different on one ship vs another or what. It seemed like the waiter and assistant were each doing their own thing instead of working as a team like I've found on X. I've also found the desserts on X to be superior (I ate an entire cheesecake the first week on my last X cruise ) and even though Princess offered cheesecake as an anytime choice in the dining room, I never saw it on the buffet at any time I went. Its just a little thing, and other people may have other luck with a different ship or crew, so its just my opinion. There are some things I like better on Princess and I would like to try a different ship since I've only done the Dawn. Maybe my opinion would differ at another time. I guess I'll just have to keep trying to find the "right" cruise.....

I'm having withdrawal. Need help!

Thanks for the great review, I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise.

Just one question if you don't mind answering: who was the captain?

Thanks,

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004

Golden Princess - July 2003

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001

Grand Princess - Jan 2000

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999

tadjr Thank you for your honest reply. After many cruises on various lines, I understand where you are coming from. We sailed the Dawn on 4/4/04 and were lucky to have two very attentive wait staffers associated with our PC dining experience. Some of our dining experiences on other lines (not "X") were along the lines you described above. Thanks again and welcome back!

P.S. Cheesecake was offered occassionally at the buffets, it was right next to the carving stations---we found this out by accident one day.

The Captain was Stefano Ravera. It was his last trip on the Dawn (at least for a while), getting off in Vancouver for some much needed rest and family time. He said his daughter was 4 days old last time he saw her back in Sept or Nov. He also has a 3 year old so he is going to have a good time going home.

He was really impressive IMO out and about all the time not just at the Captains reception. We saw him walking around the buffet area one day at lunch and on the last day he was walking the ship talking to all the crew telling them goodbye. We were in the pizzeria and he stopped at the kitchen window to talk to the cook and then all of the wait staff that were there. He was nice enough to stop and take a pix with my mom and he chatted with several of us for about 5 mins. He made a big impression on her for doing both of those things.

I'm having withdrawal. Need help!

Thanks for the info - I don't suppose you could post the bio of him from the Patter?

Thanks

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004

Golden Princess - July 2003

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001

Grand Princess - Jan 2000

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999

Send me your email and I'll scan in both Patters pertaining to him and send them to you. They are kind of long for posting here. My email in in my profile minus the hyperlink text. Just use Cruise Critic as the subject.

Thanks for the Patters Tad - they were really useful.

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004

Golden Princess - July 2003

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001

Grand Princess - Jan 2000

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999

I was also impressed with Captain Rivero. He not only mingled with everyone throughout the week- he was dancing with the crowd after the champagne waterfall! I've never seen such a personable Captain. He was so excited to have some time off with his wife and kids. We were just hoping he didn't have to drive the ship after the party!

Karen

Carnival Inspiration-So Carib

RCCL Grandeur of the Seas-East Carib

NCL Sun-West Carib

Dawn Princess-Mexican Riviera

up next- NCL Star to Mexico!

We were on the same cruise May 17-24 on Dawn...agree with most of your observations...seemed a slightly older group that our previous three Alaska cruises. The weather is what made this cruise special, I think. For entertainment, we went to all of the movies ("Big Fish" was our favorite) and we went to the comedian/magician who is pretty good, also Willie Tyler and Lester. Don Cherry is not that good so we avoided him. The "disco" was very dead on both nights that we checked it out...the DJ pretty much plays dated wedding-reception music and he adjusted the speed of some songs which was annoying..they had two wind-tasting events,and we went to one. Liquor prices on the boat boutique was not that good...better prices at Cosco at home. Cigarette prices were very low (about $13 a carton for Marlboro). The staff were all very friendly. We ate traditional late seating with a couple from Brazil and one from Mexico, so we had fun communicating with their broken english, but it was nice to have the same group and wait staff each nite...plus the food is fresher and prepared much better in the dining room. Plus in the buffet you dont get good stuff like lobster tail, crab legs, escargot, etc. I found the prince of photos that they take of you to be pretty high....about $15 each...seeems like they have gone up in price a lot over the years. We didnt order many drinks, but the ones we got were large, strong and very reasonably priced. My wife got the $20 coke stamp for her card and used it constantly..always asking for the "large diet cok" so she didnt have to refill ofter...the wait staff always had it for her at dinner without asking. They used to have free cappuchino at dessert time, but now they charge for it. This was our fourth and probably last Alaska cruise,and the best one by far. No complaints...we like Princess.

We did miss our bus connection however at disembarkation...they did not call our color to disembark until after our bus left, despite my asking if they were going to get us off the boat on time...next time, I will just lie and tell they on the form that I have an early flight to take or something so that they give us colored tags that get off first.

any questions you can email me at grewik@msn.com

Great reviews! We are going on the Dawn in less than 2 weeks South bound, and I was wondering if you could tell me what nights were the formal nights and how were the women dressed?

Thanks! I can not wait to go!

until we start our Alaska Adventure!

Tadjr,

What table were you at in late seating? I think we were seated next to you.

Honeymoon in Alaska on the Dawn Princess

You were. I just read your review on the Alaska board and recognized the disappearing table mates and Willie. A near Cruise Critic onboard meeting.

Glad you had a good time.

The formal nights were the night after College Fjords and Ketchikan. 2 and 6.

The women were wearing clothes. Sorry, maybe one of the ladies can help here? Pretty much anything from fancy cocktail dresses to long gowns, pantsuits, etc. Mom wore a long black skirt with a colorful top. No jeans seen though in the DR.

Thanks for all the work that went into your review, we know you are anxious to go again, as are we.

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

A lady filling in on formal nights. Most of the ladies we saw were wearing long dresses or dressy tops with long skirts. We saw a few women in ballgowns/prom dresses, but they were the exception rather than the rule. I went with a velvet shirt/velvet skirt on the first night and a long dress on the second night. My husband wore his tux both nights and never felt out of place.

We, also, never saw jeans in the dining room on formal night. (On our tablemates the first night, but never after that.)

We'reg going on Dawn Princess Sept 2, 2006 to Alaska and taking our 17 yr old son. Are there many teens onboard and many activities?

We're going on Dawn Princess Sept 2, 2006 to Alaska and taking our 17 yr old son. Are there many teens onboard and many activities?