Dawn Princess World Cruise

[steve1970]

How old is an "Old Dear"......;)

 

Around very late 70's, early 80's.

Its all about attitude, I know people in there 70's and high 80's that have more 'getup and go' than people 1/2 their age.

Around here there are so many peole with great attitudes, and are having a great time because a great time is what you make out of it.

Steve

[thied]

on her way to mumbai

[ibulou]

We embarked in Dubai, yes already we have found some whingers, although the fellow passengers we have met are here to have a good time.

The crew are attentive as always, we feel they were happy to see the new passengers of a younger age group (from 40yrs).

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

We embarked in Dubai, yes already we have found some whingers, although the fellow passengers we have met are here to have a good time.

The crew are attentive as always, we feel they were happy to see the new passengers of a younger age group (from 40yrs).

 

 

Thanks for your views from the ship. It must be a nice change for everyone, including the crew to have both new passengers board the ship and also having a slightly younger cruisers.

 

Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts.

 

Jillybean:)

[blackdognz]

We completed the Auckland to San Francisco leg of the current world voyage (21 days). It was our 5th cruise - all with different cruise lines - so I guess we have something to compare with.

We had an outside cabin which was smaller than on any other ship we have sailed on. However, it was comfortable and had ample storage space. The TV could do with upgrading to a larger flat screen rather than the current CRT. The bathroom was small as well (compared to others) but it was adequate for one person at a time.

Room steward service was absolutely first rate - no complaints there. Found all other staff to be friendly and helpful.

CD Sammi is "different" to any others we have encountered. Her attempt at North American humour was often lost on us downunder folk. We felt that more entertainment could have been provided outside of the theatre/showroom. A rock & roll show one night lasted 45min after we had waited 90min for it to commence. Lots of folk were enjoying it but after 45min it finished and we were just left to our own devices.

16 of our 21 days were "at sea", and we felt a lot more could have been organised in the entertainment department

We were on early dinner session and had no trouble seeing the shows. Some nights we saw two, one in the theatre and the late show in the lounge. I guess folk on the late dinner have the choice of the late show at 10.00pm, or going to bed. They could always eat at the buffet and attend the early show if they really wanted to see it. Cabaret type shows were few and far between, but most nights there were good sole performers.

I agree with the comments re the library - it is too small, lacks a "downunder" flavour in the book selection, and was usually full of people sound asleep in the only "lazyboy' type chairs on the ship.

The food throughout the ship was as good as, if not better than any of our previous cruises. Even the buffet food was very good. Our only "complaint" re the restaurants was the Horizon Court buffet. Because of its location at the top and front of the ship, it is a superb viewing location. Because of this many people just sit for hours and chat, and are oblivious to the queues of fellow passengers trying to find a place to eat. This is no fault of the ships complement but rather of some passengers thinking only of themselves and having no consideration for others.

We witnessed some passengers speaking very rudely to staff which was totally unecessary.

Although the ship was full, the only times this was a problem was the queues in the buffet restaurant, and they usually cleared quickly. The early shows were often full up and you had to arrive 30min early to be assured of a seat. However, the late shows were easier to get seating in.

A lot of passengers were doing the full 104 day world trip and for many it was their first ever cruise. Pretty brave in my view and perhaps some of them have not found cruising to their liking.

Would we travel on Dawn Princess again?- Yes, definately

Would we complete the full world tour? - probably not

[thied]

great read blackdognz yes the u s a cd,s are very hard to to under stand there type of humour is a little wasted on us ozzies. thats what i found any way great you enjoyed your cruise.

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

We completed the Auckland to San Francisco leg of the current world voyage (21 days). It was our 5th cruise - all with different cruise lines - so I guess we have something to compare with.

We had an outside cabin which was smaller than on any other ship we have sailed on. However, it was comfortable and had ample storage space. The TV could do with upgrading to a larger flat screen rather than the current CRT. The bathroom was small as well (compared to others) but it was adequate for one person at a time.

Room steward service was absolutely first rate - no complaints there. Found all other staff to be friendly and helpful.

CD Sammi is "different" to any others we have encountered. Her attempt at North American humour was often lost on us downunder folk. We felt that more entertainment could have been provided outside of the theatre/showroom. A rock & roll show one night lasted 45min after we had waited 90min for it to commence. Lots of folk were enjoying it but after 45min it finished and we were just left to our own devices.

16 of our 21 days were "at sea", and we felt a lot more could have been organised in the entertainment department

We were on early dinner session and had no trouble seeing the shows. Some nights we saw two, one in the theatre and the late show in the lounge. I guess folk on the late dinner have the choice of the late show at 10.00pm, or going to bed. They could always eat at the buffet and attend the early show if they really wanted to see it. Cabaret type shows were few and far between, but most nights there were good sole performers.

I agree with the comments re the library - it is too small, lacks a "downunder" flavour in the book selection, and was usually full of people sound asleep in the only "lazyboy' type chairs on the ship.

The food throughout the ship was as good as, if not better than any of our previous cruises. Even the buffet food was very good. Our only "complaint" re the restaurants was the Horizon Court buffet. Because of its location at the top and front of the ship, it is a superb viewing location. Because of this many people just sit for hours and chat, and are oblivious to the queues of fellow passengers trying to find a place to eat. This is no fault of the ships complement but rather of some passengers thinking only of themselves and having no consideration for others.

We witnessed some passengers speaking very rudely to staff which was totally unecessary.

Although the ship was full, the only times this was a problem was the queues in the buffet restaurant, and they usually cleared quickly. The early shows were often full up and you had to arrive 30min early to be assured of a seat. However, the late shows were easier to get seating in.

A lot of passengers were doing the full 104 day world trip and for many it was their first ever cruise. Pretty brave in my view and perhaps some of them have not found cruising to their liking.

Would we travel on Dawn Princess again?- Yes, definately

Would we complete the full world tour? - probably not

 

 

Thanks blackdognz for sharing your views with us on your cruise. Overall it appears reading all the reviews so far that the entertainment crew were on a bit of a vacation themselves. We have experienced more caberet type shows on a 12 day cruise than you and others who have been on the world cruise from Sydney had. And a 45 minute Rock and Roll evening....not good enough I feel.

 

Yes the size of the cabin is pretty important, if you're going to be on the ship for 104 days.....

 

Jillybean:)

[Witchymob]

Has anyone read the review on the current cruise www.cruise-australia.net/DP-world-cruise-review.htm which has been written by a respected cruise reviewer? Seems some things on the ship need fixing by the Princess management

 

Yes, have read the review with interest, the pictures of the various ships are great too. Reviewer seems to have changed his mind about Oriana, see his review of the 2008 sector. We also were on that cruise but Singapore, up through asia to China and round Oz to Fremantle and did not notice the problems he mentions. We did Fremantle to UK on Adonia (now Sea Princess) which is finally having some work done on the rudder, propellers etc. We had an inside cabin and it was very small but we managed, Just off Sun Princess 3 weeks up to Asia had a balcony cabin, which is great, but the wardrobe, drawer space and bathroom are smaller than in the inside cabins. I think a world cruise on the Sun Class ships would be a challenge, P&O Uk admitted Adonia was the wrong ship, for a world cruise, promptly sent her back to Princess and got the Arcadia instead. This was annouced during our cruise on Adonia and a letter sent to all passengers advising of that presumably to try and stop the whingers. I think a half world is all I could manage, and I have noted something for my one day dream holiday that it should be posible to cruise from oz to the Uk on a P&O Uk ship and then back on a Princess ship to OZ, assuming they keep doing similar cruises, and have about 3 months to explore Europe and UK, ahhhhh if only I had the time and money:p

[Kiwi Kruzer]

One thing we must realise is that a World Cruise is very ,

very , different from a 10 day cruise.

On a short cruise, you are out to party

and eat your heart out every night.

Could your body cope with that for 104 days,

every day?

However taking all that in mind I must agree

that if you are going to do a World Cruise,

you should really research the ship

and take its facilities into mind.

Ships like , Aurora, Oriana, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the like

have been designed for World Cruising

 

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

One thing we must realise is that a World Cruise is very ,

very , different from a 10 day cruise.

On a short cruise, you are out to party

and eat your heart out every night.

Could your body cope with that for 104 days,

every day?

However taking all that in mind I must agree

that if you are going to do a World Cruise,

you should really research the ship

and take its facilities into mind.

Ships like , Aurora, Oriana, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the like

have been designed for World Cruising

 

 

 

We met a couple at the International Cruise Terminal in Sydney who were doing their 'annual' world cruise on Amsterdam. They had done many world cruises and commented that their priority was the Amsterdam because it was designed for world cruising. They were even allowed to invite friends on board to join them for dinner whilst they were in Sydney overnight.

 

Jillybean:)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

They were even allowed to invite friends on board to join them for dinner whilst they were in Sydney overnight.Jillybean:)

 

Thats the difference with a

"proper World Cruise"

or segment thereof..

we have had friends join us twice onboard Amsterdam.

[thied]

We met a couple at the International Cruise Terminal in Sydney who were doing their 'annual' world cruise on Amsterdam. They had done many world cruises and commented that their priority was the Amsterdam because it was designed for world cruising. They were even allowed to invite friends on board to join them for dinner whilst they were in Sydney overnight.

 

Jillybean:)

now that would be great fo the friend to have dinner with them while they in port

[acmjjm]

I may have missed the posting but has any passenger who has returned from sailing on a segment of this cruise posted any comments either agreeing with or disagreeing with Mr Goosens?

I did the Cherry Blossom Cruise earlier this year and can identify with all the criticisms he makes.

We have booked on the Southampton -Sydney segement of the 2010 cruise as 50 days will be enough on this ship as we know what to expect since the obvious cost cutting was present in our earlier cruise especially in the areas of quality of entertainment, limited organised day activities, and lecturers.

[Gaznjo]

here it is...

 

We completed the Auckland to San Francisco leg of the current world voyage (21 days). It was our 5th cruise - all with different cruise lines - so I guess we have something to compare with.

We had an outside cabin which was smaller than on any other ship we have sailed on. However, it was comfortable and had ample storage space. The TV could do with upgrading to a larger flat screen rather than the current CRT. The bathroom was small as well (compared to others) but it was adequate for one person at a time.

Room steward service was absolutely first rate - no complaints there. Found all other staff to be friendly and helpful.

CD Sammi is "different" to any others we have encountered. Her attempt at North American humour was often lost on us downunder folk. We felt that more entertainment could have been provided outside of the theatre/showroom. A rock & roll show one night lasted 45min after we had waited 90min for it to commence. Lots of folk were enjoying it but after 45min it finished and we were just left to our own devices.

16 of our 21 days were "at sea", and we felt a lot more could have been organised in the entertainment department

We were on early dinner session and had no trouble seeing the shows. Some nights we saw two, one in the theatre and the late show in the lounge. I guess folk on the late dinner have the choice of the late show at 10.00pm, or going to bed. They could always eat at the buffet and attend the early show if they really wanted to see it. Cabaret type shows were few and far between, but most nights there were good sole performers.

I agree with the comments re the library - it is too small, lacks a "downunder" flavour in the book selection, and was usually full of people sound asleep in the only "lazyboy' type chairs on the ship.

The food throughout the ship was as good as, if not better than any of our previous cruises. Even the buffet food was very good. Our only "complaint" re the restaurants was the Horizon Court buffet. Because of its location at the top and front of the ship, it is a superb viewing location. Because of this many people just sit for hours and chat, and are oblivious to the queues of fellow passengers trying to find a place to eat. This is no fault of the ships complement but rather of some passengers thinking only of themselves and having no consideration for others.

We witnessed some passengers speaking very rudely to staff which was totally unecessary.

Although the ship was full, the only times this was a problem was the queues in the buffet restaurant, and they usually cleared quickly. The early shows were often full up and you had to arrive 30min early to be assured of a seat. However, the late shows were easier to get seating in.

A lot of passengers were doing the full 104 day world trip and for many it was their first ever cruise. Pretty brave in my view and perhaps some of them have not found cruising to their liking.

Would we travel on Dawn Princess again?- Yes, definately

Would we complete the full world tour? - probably not

[joll]

I may have missed the posting but has any passenger who has returned from sailing on a segment of this cruise posted any comments either agreeing with or disagreeing with Mr Goosens?

I did the Cherry Blossom Cruise earlier this year and can identify with all the criticisms he makes.

We have booked on the Southampton -Sydney segement of the 2010 cruise as 50 days will be enough on this ship as we know what to expect since the obvious cost cutting was present in our earlier cruise especially in the areas of quality of entertainment, limited organised day activities, and lecturers.

 

We have returned from doing the Sydney to Southampton (via the Panama Canal) segment of the World Cruise - I believe this is the sector you are booked on next year as the cruise will be in reverse. We enjoyed everything on offer and do not have any major complaints. We have done a fair bit of cruising in recent years and think Sammi Baker is the best Cruise Director we have had.

 

We also did the Cherry Blossom Cruise last year on the Pacific Sun and even though we enjoyed it, think the food and activities which were offered on the Dawn Princess are of a higher standard. Of course you get a lot of complaints and whinges from certain people and we know that things go wrong, but overall it was great. (Just make sure that if you have an Australian Credit Card and your account is in AUD that Princess process it correctly - they sent ours to London and we were charged an International Transaction Fee - can run into hundreds of dollars at 3% if you have booked lots of tours on a world cruise!!)

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

We have returned from doing the Sydney to Southampton (via the Panama Canal) segment of the World Cruise - I believe this is the sector you are booked on next year as the cruise will be in reverse. We enjoyed everything on offer and do not have any major complaints. We have done a fair bit of cruising in recent years and think Sammi Baker is the best Cruise Director we have had.

 

We also did the Cherry Blossom Cruise last year on the Pacific Sun and even though we enjoyed it, think the food and activities which were offered on the Dawn Princess are of a higher standard. Of course you get a lot of complaints and whinges from certain people and we know that things go wrong, but overall it was great. (Just make sure that if you have an Australian Credit Card and your account is in AUD that Princess process it correctly - they sent ours to London and we were charged an International Transaction Fee - can run into hundreds of dollars at 3% if you have booked lots of tours on a world cruise!!)

 

 

Gosh, are you saying that your Australian Credit Card was charged a fee for using Australian dollars? Or was that because you were using USD?

 

Jilllybean:)

[Gaznjo]

is she heading into mumbai today.... look at bridge cam you can see other ships...

I read somewhere that there stop was up in the air due to security reasons....

[Kiwi_cruiser]

[Sandielle]

They must be nearly there. They have the Princess flag flying. ;)

[rugbypopsie]

Gosh, are you saying that your Australian Credit Card was charged a fee for using Australian dollars? Or was that because you were using USD?

 

Jilllybean:)

 

Always it is better to ask the ship not to convert ships charges if they are in a currency other than AUD just send straight to your bank in USD and you will get the current bank rate to AUD when it hits. Double conversion rates are to be avoided at all costs.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

 

Arrived Mumbai.

 

We only saw Mumbai out of a bus window at midnight, as when we did Pacific Princess from Bangkok to Capetown we left the ship in Colombo and did the 3 day overland tour, catching up with the ship in Mumbai. As soon we got on board they pulled the gangway up behind us and we were off.

 

[Riffraff]

Gosh, are you saying that your Australian Credit Card was charged a fee for using Australian dollars? Or was that because you were using USD?

 

Jilllybean:)

 

In the Commonwealth Bank credit card terms it says that an international transaction fee will be charged, even if the currency is charged in AUD, when the company charging is overseas - in this case, Carnival UK - so looks like I'm going to get hit with the currency conversion fee!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Docked in Mumbai.

Looks like an aircraft carrier on the other side of the wharf.

Wonder if they are docked in the Naval Base?

 

[joll]

In the Commonwealth Bank credit card terms it says that an international transaction fee will be charged, even if the currency is charged in AUD, when the company charging is overseas - in this case, Carnival UK - so looks like I'm going to get hit with the currency conversion fee!

 

The Commonwealth Bank told us that even though the payment transaction went through the UK office, the merchant (Carnival London) can process it in such a way as to not incur an International Transaction Fee (which of course is levied by your Bank).

 

The girl at the Commonwealth Bank was very helpful and saw from our credit card records that on 3 other occasions, even though P&O and Princess had sent our account to London, we had not been charged a fee. As a result, she waived the charge stating that "it will save you spending all afternoon on the phone to Princess''.

 

NB. We brought this problem to the attention of the Purser whilst still onboard who then supposedly had a meeting with all the staff and advised their Head Office of the problem. Prior to disembarkation, we paid most of the final account in cash and the small amount that was charged to our credit card has not attracted the additional fee. (Looks like the message got through.)

 

So just keep checking your credit card records, especially if you are paying at the end of each sector of a world cruise. I just hope those passengers still on the current world cruise don't get too many bad surprises on their return.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Going to Goa