Review of 12/02 Dawn Princess

[mimicsr]

2 couples in early 60's met in San Diego for the 12/2 sailing of the Dawn Princess. We stayed one night pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express on Ash Street between 6th & 7th and had a really great rate from Hotline of $59.00. The king-size rooms were clean and comfortable and completely suited our purpose. They had a free continental breakfast plus free shuttle from the airport and to the cruiseport the next morning.

Embarkation was fairly quick & easy. We arrived at the cruiseport at 11:30 and were on the ship by 12:30. We were able to put our carry-on luggage in our room before proceeding to the Horizon Court for buffet lunch. We had inside cabins next to each other A709 and A711 on Aloha Deck aft. Our cabin steward was Efrin and he was very good. Kept the soda & beer in our collapsable coolers on ice all week.

It was our 3rd Princess cruise and the other couple's first. We found the food somewhat below Royal Caribbean & Carnival but pretty good overall. We ate all our evening meals in the Venetian dining room, traditional dining at a table for 8. Our waiter was fairly good but not the best we've ever had. The inside cabins were certainly adequate and the beds were comfortable without egg crate toppers. We had a very large vanity area which was very much appreciated, plus the small fridge came in handy for cooling the wine.

We really enjoyed Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. Mazatlan not as much. We went to Stone Island on our own and ate at Victor's, which was quite good. The vendors were a little persistent, but went away after many "No gracias."

We've been on 17 cruises now, most in the Caribbean, so this change to the Pacific was very enjoyable. Plus we enjoyed sailing out of San Deigo. The airport and cruiseport are very convenient to each other. We will definitely do this itinerary again, but perhaps on a Panama Canal cruise where we fly out to San Diego and end up in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, close to where we live. We found the dancers to be some of the best we've ever seen. The sea had very large swells the last day coming back and I got a touch queasy, something I have not experienced since my first 2 cruises. All in all, it was a pretty good cruise.

[WeRockChalkKU]

Thanks for the review. We'll be there in March and have a lot to learn about MR since we've alwasy done Caribbean.

 

How early did the ship clear for disembarkation? We want express/sellf as we plan to mess arounf San Diego before we fly out early evening. Any thoughts on any of this?

 

Thanks again

[bdjam]

I was on the 11/25 sailing and they called self-disembarkation about 8:30. You could take in a few things if your plane doesn't take off before early evening.

[Steve94]

Mimicsr......We are going on the Dawn on Feb 10/08 in cabin A711. I see you had that room before. Can you advise the noise level in that room? Is there a pool or hot tub above that they clean overnight? Thanks for any reply!

Steve

 

 

2 couples in early 60's met in San Diego for the 12/2 sailing of the Dawn Princess. We stayed one night pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express on Ash Street between 6th & 7th and had a really great rate from Hotline of $59.00. The king-size rooms were clean and comfortable and completely suited our purpose. They had a free continental breakfast plus free shuttle from the airport and to the cruiseport the next morning.

Embarkation was fairly quick & easy. We arrived at the cruiseport at 11:30 and were on the ship by 12:30. We were able to put our carry-on luggage in our room before proceeding to the Horizon Court for buffet lunch. We had inside cabins next to each other A709 and A711 on Aloha Deck aft. Our cabin steward was Efrin and he was very good. Kept the soda & beer in our collapsable coolers on ice all week.

It was our 3rd Princess cruise and the other couple's first. We found the food somewhat below Royal Caribbean & Carnival but pretty good overall. We ate all our evening meals in the Venetian dining room, traditional dining at a table for 8. Our waiter was fairly good but not the best we've ever had. The inside cabins were certainly adequate and the beds were comfortable without egg crate toppers. We had a very large vanity area which was very much appreciated, plus the small fridge came in handy for cooling the wine.

We really enjoyed Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. Mazatlan not as much. We went to Stone Island on our own and ate at Victor's, which was quite good. The vendors were a little persistent, but went away after many "No gracias."

We've been on 17 cruises now, most in the Caribbean, so this change to the Pacific was very enjoyable. Plus we enjoyed sailing out of San Deigo. The airport and cruiseport are very convenient to each other. We will definitely do this itinerary again, but perhaps on a Panama Canal cruise where we fly out to San Diego and end up in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, close to where we live. We found the dancers to be some of the best we've ever seen. The sea had very large swells the last day coming back and I got a touch queasy, something I have not experienced since my first 2 cruises. All in all, it was a pretty good cruise.