Dawn Princess, a short review...

[MosaicRose]

I returned last Friday (11/04/104) on the Dawn Princess - Melb to Melb via New Zealand. I will say from the outset that I did have a really good cruise, met some lovely people and saw some amazing places.

 

Having said all that though, I was "struck down" with the noro virus and ended up stuck in my cabin for three whole days!! No wonder this virus is so rampant on cruise ships... I was never seen by a medical person during my time that I was laid up and only spoke to someone four times a day when they rang to see how I was... that's fine, BUT everyone onboard was left up their own discretion as to whether they were ill or not... I had a few tell me they were seasick for a few days, REALLY?? We had the most benign seas I have ever been on, no way was anyone really inconvenienced by the 3m waves (max) that we had... you had gastro and you continued to walk about the ship!

 

I had the "dirty" and the "clean" guys come to my room twice a day to disinfect etc so I did get to talk to other people LOL, thank goodness I had an ocean view room though or I would have gone insane, shame the window wasn't really clean!! Unlucky for me I missed three ports of call which I had pre booked outings on, so the only time I saw the medical personnel was when I had my shore excursion tickets stamped for reimbursement once I was well again.

 

What really ticks me off about the whole experience is my fellow passengers and their attitude to the "Code Red" strategies that were put in place. So many people gave the waiters in the Horizon Court a hard time about not being able to serve themselves, so many people were seen not washing their hands at meal times or when exiting the loos... REALLY people, as someone who was robbed of part of my first big cruise ship experience I thank you (NOT) for your concern for your fellow man!!

 

My bad experience aside, the cruise was fantastic! All the entertainment was top notch. As for the food, we ate to our hearts content in the Venetian Dining Room for dinner each night (except for my sick days) and breakfasted and lunched in the Horizon Court. Didn't get around to the pizza but as my friend and I are both gluten intolerant we couldn't have been happier even feasting on specially made soufflés and a GF Bombe Alaska on the last night. Ferenc and the boys (Ongart & Alvin) who served table 170 were the best!! James in the Wheelhouse Bar was the most attentive drinks waiter I have ever had and Phil and the boys in Mosaic were great to listen and dance to!

 

I will cruise with Princess again... just not sure where to...

Edited April 17, 2014 by MosaicRose

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry you had to deal with Noro.

Doesn't surprise me about the selfish me first attitudes in the HC. :rolleyes:

Thats one of the reasons it spreads so fast. :(

Edited April 17, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[judylou]

I was also on this cruise. Luckily my friends and I managed to dodge the bug. We all saw people walking into the buffet without using the disinfectant and giving the servers a hard time. I have a lot of respect for the way the staff managed difficult people and even though it often fell on deaf ears, their insistence that people do the right thing. I guess some people are just ignorant. Apart from the illness on board, we had the best time and loved everything about our cruise. BTW James was also our waiter of choice in the Wheelhouse Bar. So good at his job!

[MosaicRose]

Thanks Colo 😊 Judy, I dare say we crossed paths over the many nights...

 

 

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[judylou]

That is very possible!

[Fuzzyape]

I'm sorry you had to experience the entrapment of your own room. DW and I have been fortunate enough to avoid these viruses.

 

I'm not sure if we are lucky or if the way we approach cruises helps us out. When we cruise, we always take the stairs (not holding onto railings [unless the seas are terrible]). We don't do the buffet line, we always eat in main dining rooms.

 

I think these steps help in cutting down on our chances of catching noro...or maybe we are just lucky.

 

Also, unlike the OPs post, we wash our hands quite often.

 

Hopefully, you'll get to cruise without having to spend time in the quarantine situation.

 

Counting down the days.

[cruiseclues]

Sorry you had noro...but good that your cruise was fantastic. :):):):)

[KarateMan]

Just to clarify something I hope you don't mean that the virus spontaneously appears out of no-where because someone has failed to wash their hands??? This is not the case at all.

 

For someone to spread the virus this way they actually have to physically be sick with the virus.

 

Most commonly it is spread by food.

 

On my last cruise the virus was present and I was extremely lucky not to contract it at all. The way the ship handled it was brilliant and I think their cleaning methods kept the rest of us safe.

 

On the cruises I have seen major outbreaks I could easily blame the crew for poor cleaning standards.

 

As a passenger I find it offensive that "we passengers" get the blame for spreading their virus. No one in their right mind goes out of their way to get sick on a holiday they paid to do.

[MosaicRose]

I know the virus is always around, it just irks me that poor hygiene or whatever spreads it and then people failing to report that they are sick turns a small problem into a big one... Thanks for all the replies 😊

 

 

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