dawn princess to alaska questions and general questions

[melika091900]

So we will like princess? i know thats a bland question

but weve been on NCL, celebrity, carnival , and celebrity was our favorite,

as far as service, food etc,

how is the service on princess? a hit or miss? kids club?

and has anyone taken the dawn to alaska?

how were the ports ? the casino? the rooms ? etc

anything else you can recommend or say about the ship or alaska,

we are thinking of booking it for august for my 30th birthday

and do they always only have guarantee insides for the 1st like 4 categories? im trying to book on the lowest deck and all they have are guarantees , until cate J ..

thanks in advance

Melissa

[mii]

For information on Alaska the Ports of Call board has a ton of information on all of the ports there. There are many knowledgable people who post on that board who have been there many, many times. Hope that helps some.

 

Marilyn

[RockyMtnMama]

I got off the Dawn 3 days ago. As a whole the quality of service was very good to excellent. There was one exception, and that was our waiter in Sterling Steakhouse who was so bad that we were laughing until we cried. Fortunately he realized it and attempted to improve, which was all the funnier.

 

There WERE people on the ship who were mad about the service, but personally I think it is ok for the Matradee to not be in the dining room at 3 in the afternoon, and perfectly understandable that the pursers desk could NOT move their seats on the flight home.

 

I have 4 children ages 5-12 and they all loved the kids club. I was glad that my oldest was not considered a teenager although, because they didn't seem to have as good of options as the younger kids, and were booted out of their area by activities for the younger children many times.

[stlrboo]

Melissa, I too am interested in some of your questions, and will be watching for some good/informative answers. We are considering Princess to Alaska from San Franciso in June 2009.. :)

 

Would be our first journey on Princess... Have heard they are 'the best' for Alaska..:D

[karatemom2]

We sailed on the Dawn Princess to Alaska last summer and it was a wonderful cruise. We have also sailed on Carnival and NCL, and we love Princess. The ship is older, but beautifully maintained and well designed. The food and service was consistently very good and my daughter loved the kids club. The activities onboard were plentiful and fun and kept us very busy on the sea days. Sailing out of San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge was really a treat and Alaska is nothing short of magnificent. We had a really great time and I would happily recommend this cruise as a great vacation option. Here is a link to my review from last year if you are interested in more detail.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=31581

[gambit57]

Service is pretty good. You do realize Celebrity is on a whole 'nother class than Princess, Norwegian or Carnival.

 

You'll likely enjoy Princess much more than Norwegian or Carnival. Might like Celebrity better though. For Alaska, you're doing good to book Princess. Princess and Holland are the 800 pound gorillas of Alaska.

[melika091900]

thank you all for responding.. it sounds very positive !!! i cant wait to book it ... :)

[mjmalino]

WE did the Coral to Alaska this past June, and I can tell you that I really liked the kids activities in the camp. They did have things like t-shirt painting, karaoke, etc. but they also had itinerary specific activities. For example, in Ketchikan (which is known for its totem poles), the kids painted styrofoam totems, when we traveled through Glacier Bay, one of the rangers that boarded the ship went to the camp and did a jr. ranger program with the kids.

[stlrboo]

karatemom2: Enjoyed your remarks as well as your detailed review...!:)

 

DS will be 18 when we sail to Alaska (or the Med if that is what we finally decide), so I'm guessing he won't have any 'ship sponsored' activities targeted at his age group!:o Maybe we'll have to 'bring a friend, but traveling in late June should afford some kids his age range on board.. :D

 

DW is spoiled with a balcony, so that will more than likely be our choice!

[San Diego Ellie]

I disagree about service on Celebrity being in another class. I took two cruises on Celebrity Mercury. The first was ok, and on the second, the service was terrible -- dirty tables in the (busy) buffet forever, etc. I have been on three Princess cruises, on Regal, Dawn, and Golden, and much prefer Princess.