In a nutshell-Dawn Princess?

[sally r]

I would sure appreciate any input on this ship. I don't have a lot of time to spend reseaching right now so I am hoping for some quick insight from my fellow CC'ers!

 

Please bring me up to speed on Princess. My past cruises have all been on RCCL & NCL. I am thinking of booking a 10 day Mexicao cruise next fall on the Dawn Princess.

 

Princess still offers discounting? Is there normally an on board credit associated?

 

Personal Choice dining sounds great. How does it compare to Freestyle (which I loved)? Exactly how does it work? Are there still formal nights?

 

The Dawn seems pretty old. Is she in good shape? What would be a good location for a balcony cabin? Which deck is best and is aft or forward better?

 

I need to decide soon so thanks in advance for any info.:)

[geejay]

We are also considering the 10-day out of San Francisco. We have been on the Sun Princess and it was beautiful, but the cabins are very small and I remember our balcony being just big enough for two chairs.

 

We are spoiled by the affordable mini-suites on the Grand Class. Decisions, decisions!

[karfest]

We were in C749 which is an aft suite. (AA) If we go on this ship again, (which we will) I would take the mini-suite next door. Basically the same suite and balcony(just a little smaller) but a lot less money. The perks with the AA were not worth the extra dollars. The view from the aft cannot be beat!

 

I know the Dawn is considered an "old" ship, but it was in great shape and well maintained. I liked the size and atmosphere of this ship. The crew was very pleasant and there was plenty to do. We used personal choice because we are also freestyle people. It was great to eat when you wanted but there aren't many choices of restaurants, which I missed. We were able to get a table for two when we wanted or sit with others if we felt like it. There was never a wait for a table.

 

I know the Pricess loyalists will boo me for my next statement- but I found NCL and Princess very comparable. The food was maybe a little better on Princess, but the dining venues and disembarking are better on NCL. We also like RCCL but I don't think we will try them until they have some form of personal choice. I like to eat when and where I want!

 

If the itinerary and price are right- you will love the Dawn:D We did!

[sunprincess]

The Dawn is a Sun Class ship. She is not one of the newer Princess ships, but, maintained very well. I really love this size ship. Starting out years ago on the "small" Pacific & Island Princess I graduated up to the Sun Class. Now I have been on some of the Grand Class Ships, and they are nice, but, huge. To me Princess does a great job with big ship, intimate atmosphere though. Lots of great places to hang out.

Princess does offer specials. They post some on their website. They also have onboard credit. When you are on board if you book another cruise they have a great program where $100 per person holds the reservation for up to 4 years, plus ship board credits.

The Personal Choice Dining option offers alot of flexibility. I think it would be compared to Freestyle. There are many alternative dining options as well now.

Most cruises have 2 formal nights. Welcome Gala & Farewell.

If money is not an issue I would go for the balcony cabin. Of course the balconies are not huge. Enough to fit a table & 2 chairs. Some of the handicap balconies are much larger. And of course the suites offer alot of balcony room.

I do no think you will be disappointed to try the Dawn. Good Luck:)

[Druke I]

Ship age is like dog years - Dawn and her sisters are still fairly young, and with good maintenance, fine ships.

 

The mini-suites on that class of ship are almost the equivalent of full suites on other ships.

 

I for one would much rather go on a Sun class ship than one of their younger siblings of the Grand class, which I find too large. (Any ship that can't get through the Panama Canal is too large for my tastes.)

[sally r]

Thanks everyone!

[cherylandtk]

The Personal Choice Dining option offers alot of flexibility. I think it would be compared to Freestyle.

 

Freestyle dining on NCL, however, is not quite the same as PC dining. ;) Freestyle is eat at any dining venue at any time you choose--no traditional dining seating, but you can ask for the same table each night. There is only one dress code for the entire week, basically smart casual.

 

PC dining is a choice between EITHER traditional seating or open seating. You do not switch between the two. Additionally, on a 7 day cruise there will be two formal nights, which is suggested for the entire ship, regardless of dining venue chosen.

 

That said, many folks really enjoy the flexiblity of the anytime choice of dining; and many still prefer to choose the traditional dining arrangement. And quite a few take advantage of the alternative restaurants as well.

[hawgwildterry]

The Dawn Princess is in great shape even after all these years. Yes, it does show minor wear and tear but the maintenance staff is always hard at work keeping the ship in shape.

 

We just completed the 15 day Panama Canal voyage and loved every minute of it. Our cabin was a mini-suite Baja 417 and our cabin steward was Angel from Mexico. Location is pretty much mid-ship and this is the second time that we have booked a mini-suite on the Dawn in 2 years. We will book again with Princess and probably the Dawn if their itinerary is right for us at that time.

 

We like traditional dinner seating and had 1st. seating in the Venetian with a table for 2. Table 134 and were told that we were very lucky to get that table as tables for 2 are very limited. Our Venetian maitre‘d was Franz from Austria. Head waiter Alex from Romania and Songslip from I believe Indonesia. The entire staff was wonderful.

 

Every single meal that we had from the dinning room, Horizon Court and pizzeria were great. Absolutely no complaints! I’m not sure what people complain about when I read the message board about the food on Princess but in our opinion it is fine.

 

Embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale went very well and we were actually on the ship prior to 12pm. We did arrive at the dock early but the wait was bearable. Disembarkation in San Francisco was delayed due to several idiots that did not bother to clear Immigration as instructed. We started to disembark just prior to 9am which really isn’t all that bad but certainly made those with early flights anxious to say the least. Hint: Check with Princess about flight times if you are making your own flight arraignments. If Princess is taking care of your flights they will make sure to allow plenty of time for embarkation and disembarkation.

 

Overall the Dawn Princess is a great ship and as always……..a cruise is like life…..it’s all about what you make of it. :p

[yancycruiser]

Thanks Sally for starting this tread and for all of you who responded. We are booked on the Dawn for a November 10 sailing to Mexico. I appreciate all the feedback.

[sally r]

A few more questions, if you don't mind;

 

So even if we select Personal Choice I should still pack the Tux and Gowns? Will DH need a sports coat or will dress slacks and a collared shirt be okay for smart casual? This is really a dumb question but if we are PC can we still have lunch and breakfast in the dining room or are we forever banished to the buffet?

 

The price for a mini suite is double that of a regular balcony cabin. We always cruise in at least a mini but I am feeling cheap...are the regular balcony cabins okay or totally claustrophobic?

 

What would you say is the "personality " of othe Dawn? Some ships are fun and crazy (Monarch), some are refined (Brilliance) while others (NCL Sun, Serenade) have a relaxed atmosphere.

 

I am learning something on every post..thanks so much!

[cactusrose]

I just got off the Dawn after 15 days and she is in terrific shape. This is probably one of the better maintained ships I have been on, including the newer Diamond. I was in C747 which is a mini suite on the stern. I really like this one much better than the full suites. The full suites have a unit dividing the bedroom from the living area but it makes them feel smaller than the mini suites. The advantage of the full suite on Caribe is the very large veranda. The one we had was also about four times larger than the veranda for the balcony cabins. It had two loungers, a round table and four chairs and a smaller square table to put between the loungers. Even with all this furniture there was still plenty of room. We had about 12 people on our balcony when we were going through the Panama Canal. Great ship, and great cruise. Oh how I miss that cabin.

[berylmorris]

We are on the Dawn down to Mexico on 21 September. Does anyone know what theme nights they are likely to have as we would really like to pack the right clothes for them - ie rock n roll, island or whatever? Thanks for any help

[seastar2]

I was on the Dawn in March in the Carribean and am booked again for next March for the rt Mexican Rivera.

 

I like the size, small enough to see familiar faces and get around easily, large enough that not every space does double duty or seems miles away from where every you are.:D

 

Yes, even with PC diniing the expectaion is that everyone dresses for formal night. If you don't want to dress then you can eat in the Horizon court or do the lobster dinner on your veradnda. Yes, you can eat breakfast and lunch in the tradtional style dinning rooms if on pc check once on board as to which one is being used. I did pc dinning but ate breakfast and most lunches in Horizon or the Pizzaria.

 

Smart casual does not mean a jacket unless the a/c seems to cool or if the gentleman just feels more comfortable with one.

 

You will enjoy the ship as stated great crew and very well maintained.

[yancycruiser]

I believe most of your questions have been answered. Just wanted to add that it is, in our view, well worth eating in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. They will normally seat you with someone unless you specify otherwise. We have met some of the greatest folks from all over the world during those two meals. Keep in mind that the dining room is open at specific times for breakfast and lunch. I believe it is closed at 9:00 am for breakfast. That is why many folks opt for the buffet.

[cruiseapril]

Just cruised on Dawn Princess in April. Ship in very good condition. Clean and polished. Food quite good- Personal Choice very convenient for those who like variety. Stateroom & bathroom very clean, bathroom a bit small (Oceanview)- Service usually gracious. Wine service a bit expensive but worth it. Wine Tasting and Afternoon Tea fun. Riviera Deck steel band great (called "Tidal Wave"-don't know if they'll be there again)-a few good movies (in our opinion), lots and lots of stuff to do- good pizza place, good Steakhouse area (of buffet at night)- Internet room, card room, something for everyone, I'd guess. Just our opinion. cruiseapril

[CL-JW]

Even though we're not the original poster for this thread - Thank You everyone for the information on the Dawn Princes.

 

We have a group sailing out of SF on 10/1 for a 10 day round trip to the Mexican Riviera. It will be our 3rd cruise and we're getting very excited (especially since we can just drive to this one instead of fly!!).

[sally r]

Craig & Jack, I have a question. What hotel would you suggest for a pre-cruise stay in San Fran?

[michel45]

This is my first posting after having lurked for a while. My question is about the perks for a AA suite. There was a comment that the perks were not worth the extra $. (over the mini suite). What are the perks? Princess doesn't give much information.

We just got back from Alaska and saw the Dawn in Ketchican. The verandah on the AA, caribe deck, was hard to see. It appears to be completely enclosed. Does it make the cabin very dark?

All comments welcome. We are sailing to Mex. in Sept.

Susan

[sally r]

Susan, what did the "regular" balconies look like? Really tiny? Could you see what furnishings were on the balconies? I just booked a BD (c333) for Mexico, 10/21/05. It is a few cabins forward of the main elevators. Maybe we should both do a seach on Webshots!

 

Thanks, Sally

[hawgwildterry]

Sally R from Everett this is hawgwildterry from Marysville. Howdy neighbor! We have been on the Dawn twice in the last two years and have stayed in mini-suites both times. The mini-suite balconys are basically two standard balconies together. My best guess would be that the standard balcony is maybe 7 feet long and maybe 4 feet deep..........that's just a rough guess as I have never actually measured the balcony. A mini-suite balcony then would be approx 14 feet long and 4 feet deep. I could be off and maybe someone will actually know the size. The mini-suite balcony has two lounge chairs and a small table with two chairs. Hope this helps and enjoy the Dawn as we will be booking on her once again in the future.

[sally r]

Hey Hawgwild! I am trying to talk my friend from Marysville into joining us on this cruise! I bet you even know her as she was a bartender at El Toros for many years. Sure has not been good Harley weather lately..can you believe all the storms?

 

Anyway, thanks for the positive feedback on the Dawn. Some of the reviews have been pretty bad. DH wants to know what bar is best for socializing. He is a Magician and likes to do tricks/illusions with groups.

[CL-JW]

Craig & Jack, I have a question. What hotel would you suggest for a pre-cruise stay in San Fran?

 

Sally,

 

Unfortunately, because we live so close, we never actually stay in the city itself, so I really don't have any good recommendations.

 

Sorry about that.