Dawn Princess 4/20-4/27 Great time

[atgatari]

We just returned from the Dawn Princess and had a great cruise. I hope to have a review soon. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Quick review:

Food-Excellent

Service-Excellent

Ship condition-great condition for a 12 yr old ship-small problems with elevators at times-one of them got stuck between floors and another one would not stop on the Baja deck (10).

One of the jacuzzi's didn't work that well (no bubbles). Everything else on the ship was perfect

Our inside cabin was perfect and was my kids triple cabin.

Kid's program-Shockwaves -Good

Remix-OK

Only 104 kids onboard so the teen program was poorly attended my daughter lost interest but still had a great time hanging with us and enjoying everything else the ship had to offer.

I was on a RCCL cruise back in Feb on the Grandeur of the Seas and the Dawn blew away that cruise in virtually everyway. The only items the GOS was better were the buffet and the availability of the indoor pool.

That's all for now.

[dchip]

looking forward to your review!! Thanks for the quick update. We will be on the Dawn in June. Only 47 more days :D

 

Cheers, Denise

[atgatari]

I forgot to mention the weather-Cool on departure 60's and part of the first day at sea. Mexico was hot in the 80's no rain and fairly calm seas. My wife is prone to sea sickness and was fine. when we arrived back in San Diego it was hot-94 (record breaker). Went to Sea World for the day and had a great time.

Ports:

Cabo-went to beach-kids didn't like all the people trying to sell them stuff. The jelly fish were really bad at the ports-my boys got stung.

Mazatlan-went shopping and went back to the boat so everyone can enjoy the pools on the dawn

Puerto Vallarta-Went to Krystal resort and had massages and the kids enjoyed the pool at the resort.

[bettyb24]

Glad you had a good time on the ship. My mother and I will be sailing on the Dawn to Alaska on 6/6. Did you have any problems with the beds? I've read a few threads that said that the beds were extremely uncomfortable and people needed egg crate mattresses. :)

[atgatari]

The beds were firm. I should have requested the egg crate top for myself but my wife didn't have a problem with the bed.

[addicted to cruising]

Dont mean to hi-jack your thread but I to was on that cruise and was going to post my review...just as soon as I get help figuring out how to.

 

So I'll give my take on things from a Carnival perspective:

Cruised with Carnival about 6 times since 94' once with RCCL on Souverign of the Sea (I dont count this one)

 

So Im a first timer with Princess....chose the Dawn as I was in San Diego for 4 days prior to sail date and this was the only good choice of cruises leaving on the day I needed to set sail.

 

Embarkment:

We arrived about 12:30 and things were smooth as can be...there werent 50 people at the terminal. Never ever been this smooth!

 

Rooms:

We had Aloha 315...when I booked it I liked the location and the fact it looked bigger, I later realized it was a handicap room but we decided to keep it unless it was needed for someone else. We were curious to see the difference. Boy were we surprised....our room was huge in comparison.

The bathroom was amazing...you could actually fit more that 1/2 a person in it. Yes we had some handicap bars and a fold down bench in the shower but other than that it was laid out like the others only 2-3x bigger.

Also when you entered the room the bed was tucked off to the right so we had a very large floor area, a wrap around cradenza with drawers for storage.

Beds...didnt think they were much different than past cruises until about day 4 when I could barely walk cuz my back hurt so bad. I also didnt sleep well this cruise and I think the mattress was the reason.

Refrig....might as well not have it, it barely cools

Ice buckets...worthless as well, the ice is water within an hr or two.

Other than that...room was great and what I would consider "usual" stateroom. Dont look for towel animals as they dont do them. Steward was good, just no fluff

 

Ship:

For a mid size/older ship I thought it was very nice. Laid out different than what Im used to but I really liked that things were split up. No area was ever crowed. The decor def lacks the tacky, bright, over the top, WOW factor that Carnival has....and I liked that. It was refreshing to see bridal staircases leading to marble floors, lighter more elegant tones, and pianos throughout. The cactus in the windows was really cool. I found the ship easy to navigate, very clean and in good repair. I was alittle concerned when i saw the size of some of the theatres and lounges but there was plenty of room in all of them. pools are fresh water...a plus and there are plenty of them. Maybe the biggest main pool Ive seen. Chairs....tons of them! One big beef I have with Carnival is there are no lounge chairs down when you arrive on board and they pick them all up about 6. Princess had those decks ready for us with chairs everywhere and they stayed there most of the time.

 

Big issue: Odor....this has been talked about before. We did smell a moldy musty smell in the halls when we first arrived that went away but the foul sewage odor that lingers around the public restrooms is quite a turn off.

I rarely use them but decided to check them out to see what the issue was...dont know. Restrooms were lovely, super clean, didnt really notice the odor while in there but in the hall it reaks! Seemed to get alittle better as the days went on.

 

I'll continue tomm....

[atgatari]

Hi Addicted to cruising...I forgot about the odor problem. We noticed it the day we boarded in a few times early in the trip but seemed to clear up after that. I have cruised with Carnival twice, Celebrity once, RCCL twice & this was our third Princess cruise. I was lucky enough to cruise twice in the last 2 months. I was on the RCCL Grandeur of the Seas in Feb.. I will post a quick comparison on this thread over the next few days. Princess was better in just about every way. I am glad that based on what you wrote so far it looks like you enjoyed the Dawn.

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a partial review. Bummer about the elevators.

[Scubagal1]

We had the same problem with the elevators and the electrical system during our cruise on the Dawn April 13-20. The annoucements said they were testing the system. Didn't really affect us as we always take the stairs, but I know some people were really upset. It happened two or three times during the cruise.

 

We didn't notice an odor with the exception of when we walked the Promenade deck. At the bow of the ship it was awful, we held our noses and walked as quickly as we could. It seemed to be better towards the end the cruise.

[woodofpine]

'Epirotiki Semiramus' notwithstanding, my first two 'modern' cruises were on Dawn's sister Ocean Princess (P&O Oceana). It's nice to hear that Dawn is well cared for and holding up well; I love the Sun class.

[addicted to cruising]

Yes, overall I was pretty pleased with Princess.

Im not to critical, I dont think there is any line that is perfect.

 

Let me say there was one huge difference on this cruise and that was the age of the passengers. I was prepared from all the threads I had read indicated Princess has an older crowd. At least on Dawn...that was true.

I was shocked at first....it seemed like the average age was 90. As the week went on I realized it wasnt. However it was an older crowd. My DH is 50 and Im 41, I would say avg age probably 60+. I wasnt real sure what to make of this but overall I think it wasnt so bad. One thing I noticed is the older folks are more apt to talk to you. I met some really great folks. People would strike up conversation anywhere. There was just a more mature feeling about the ship.

 

Entertainment:

Becouse we had the late dinner we missed some of the entertainment. We did do 2 of the production shows in the Theatre and they were average.

Pretty much the ususal show you see.

We went to the comedian one night and I thought he was fair. Think he could have been really funny but he was very slow with his show and spent way to much time talking to the crowd. liked Gavin and Jen our cruise directors...they were around just enough. The piano players seemed pretty good and the Wheelhouse bar usually had some pretty good sound coming from it...they did line dancing one night.

 

Dining:

 

I loved the buffet...usually by about day 2 Im sick of the same old stuff. Not the case here. yep they had the regular staples but everyday there was a twist. They did some "theme" entree' which was nice. I loved the lay out. With Carnival there is usually a huge line, and we all move through "cafeteria" style. We never had a line to enter and with food on both sides and in the middle it allows for folks to move about and get what they want. yes, you had to be cautious of other cruisers moving about but I felt it worked really well. One issue....drink stations! Not enough of them. Out on the decks they need to serve more than water and coffee. I shouldnt have to come from the sun deck into Horizon where folks are enjoying lunch to get a glass of tea. Also I felt the drink selection could be better. Carnival has lemonaid and fruit punch avail along with tea.

Enjoyed the desserts and liked that they put ice cream on the buffet.

 

Staff were great, things always stocked quickly. Love that they serve you in the dining room with drink refills. Carnival staff just stand around waiting to clear the table. Princess goes above and beyond in this area...full service!

 

Made it to the burger stand once....they were supper slow with really no reason for it. There were about 10 of us in line and we waited 20 mins.

This is one area where Carnival kicks butt. However the food was better on Dawn...the Brat was awesome and the buns they use are to die for!

 

Pizza....really didnt like that I had to go sit down but I got over it and we ate there twice. For a late dinner after PV the one night. I felt it was pretty good. Appears as though it is cooked in one of those stone pizza ovens. It is a thinner crust. Wait time about 20 mins. On our last day at sea we went back for lunch...much busier. We waited 20 mins just to place our order, but again the food was pretty good. menu alittle different from lunch to dinner

 

Changed my mind about Sterling Steakhouse...first off Ive heard really good things about it and the price is fantastic, but for me it felt like an afterthought on this ship. they use part of the Horizon for it and that was a real turnoff for me. On Carnival Ive done it twice and they have a seperate, very nice, private area for this. I just couldnt get my mind around sitting in a draped area of the horizon...maybe a mistake on my part.

 

Ventian for dinner...we had the 8pm time.

Service was superb, faster than what Im used to. One thing I love is your server is also the one that asks about bar items...On Carnival, everynight Im bothered by bar staff to see if I want anything. Very quickly our staff knew we didnt and it was so refreshing to not be asked all the time. Felt the menu was very diverse with good choices. Loved the "Love Boat Dream Dessert".

[Scubagal1]

Loved the "Love Boat Dream Dessert".

 

Ditto!!! :D

[addicted to cruising]

Ovreall Service:

Was excellent...Ive spoke about it in my earlier posts.

One thing I loved was that there are not tons of bar staff on the decks walking around all day with a tray of the "daily drink special" asking you over and over if you want one. Princess just didnt seem to have alot of bar staff about but whenever I wanted something they just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. You must try the 24k Margarita...order it at a regular bar so that it comes in a glass. If you order it around the pool areas its in a plastic glass about 1/2 the size of the normal drink and isnt made even close to the ones ordered at either jammers or Vista lounge. I also noticed the staff are a bit older, wonder if that doesnt play into the great service and very laid back environment.

 

 

Activities: Similar to what Ive seen on Carnival but just kicked up a notch.

Like that they have a wine event and the scholorship at sea programs were nice. I'll have to get my patter out and site a few examples. We did the cooking demo which was different.

 

Although Dawn is about to head to Alaska I will give a brief port review for those doing MR in the future.

 

Cabo:

Is a tender port...becouse we had nothing pressing we took the morning slow and let those who needed off get off first. We ate breakfast and at about 8:45 we strolled to get our tender # which was called 10 mins later.

When we went to leave it was very organized and with a nice flow of folks leaving. Im used to a mad house of people complaining and lined up the stairs for several floors. So refreshing. got off the tender and just wondered the marina area in the morning. Very easy area to navigate with lots of shop and places to eat/drink. A couple of times we headed out of the Marina walkway to the streets for some shopping. If you watch the water in t he marina you will see sea lions swimming around. In the afternoon we grabbed the water taxi to the arches....water was pretty rough so be prepared to be knocked around. Seemed pretty busy out there but amazing. Water Taxis are everywhere...found there are plenty of people wanting to take you on excursions. I think we paid $10pp not totally sure..I know it was a huge savings from what the ship wanted.

 

Matzalan: Getting off the ship was a breeze...planned to go to Old Town first then Gold Zone. However, knowing that the timeshare folks would be around I totally got off track when a lady approached me to help with a map and she sent us to Gold Zone first...hmm realized why later...her resort was there. I didnt really think there were tons of timeshare people that morning. Anyway...you have to take a taxi to either Gold Zone or Old Town...no walking here.

We did some shopping...really surprised that the deals were not that good. No one wanted to negotiate prices and the stores were empty and what few of us were in there they let walk. I bought multiple pewter pieces from one lady and just asked if she could do any better on the price since I was buying several items...NO! We went through panchos to the beach...no luxuries there but alot of vendors. I did find that if I layed down they didnt bother me but if I sat up they stopped and the same vendor would ask you everytime they passed. No one was real pushy, usually a "no, gracias" worked fine. As we strolled the beach we found Joes Oyster bar and introduced ourselves to some local brew....That Pacifico is some good stuff. 9% alcohol! Lets just say I was glad we made it back to the ship.

There are alot of shops right outside where the shop docks for souveniers

 

PV to come.....