Review w811 p/dawn

[Seadreams27]

Ok here goes.

 

Just to start with.. the ship that we were on seems

to be a different one from the one that I have been

reading about:confused:

 

We were so excited about going on our first cruise that

we were at the wharf at 9.30am.. arrived in a very expensive

taxi ($56) our own fault for travelling in peak hour traffic..)

We had our bags taken off us as soon as we stepped out of

the taxi.. then to get our cards..took 5 mins..a couple of hours to

just look at the ship and have a couple of cups of coffee..

then...we are on. It was about 12;10 and we were on the bags

were in the cabin and we are sitting down having lunch..

talk about quick..

Our cabin was on Baja deck 10 it was lovely and yes we loved

the balcony and we did use it . We would get a balcony cabin

again if we could get a good price on it.. this one only cost us an

extra $200 so it was worth it.

 

The weather for sailaway was perfect as it was for most of the

cruise..the ocean was like a millpond for at least 8 of the days and

when it got lumpy it was only a little bit..

The service and the crew on the ship we found to be excellent..not at

any time did we come across a grumpy or unhelpful person.. and when

you think og the hours that they work I'm sure I would lose my smile

after a while.

 

To be cont...

[Brushtail]

Excellent start, Lorrae. Reading between the lines it sounds like you had a good time.

 

Cruising is the BEST holiday, we enjoy every minute. :p

 

Keep it coming........

[spakman]

Excellent review so far. Yes it does look like you went out to enjoy yourself and succeeded!

[AuzzieCruiser]

Welcome back Lorrae.:)

The first sentence certainly had me thinking that you didn't enjoy it. Just shows how much I jump to conclusion!!:p :o

[aussiedisneyfan]

Glad you had a wonderful time.

[Welsh Fargo]

Ok here goes.

 

Just to start with.. the ship that we were on seems

to be a different one from the one that I have been

reading about:confused:

 

We were so excited about going on our first cruise that

we were at the wharf at 9.30am.. arrived in a very expensive

taxi ($56) our own fault for travelling in peak hour traffic..)

We had our bags taken off us as soon as we stepped out of

the taxi.. then to get our cards..took 5 mins..a couple of hours to

just look at the ship and have a couple of cups of coffee..

then...we are on. It was about 12;10 and we were on the bags

were in the cabin and we are sitting down having lunch..

talk about quick..

Our cabin was on Baja deck 10 it was lovely and yes we loved

the balcony and we did use it . We would get a balcony cabin

again if we could get a good price on it.. this one only cost us an

extra $200 so it was worth it.

 

The weather for sailaway was perfect as it was for most of the

cruise..the ocean was like a millpond for at least 8 of the days and

when it got lumpy it was only a little bit..

The service and the crew on the ship we found to be excellent..not at

any time did we come across a grumpy or unhelpful person.. and when

you think og the hours that they work I'm sure I would lose my smile

after a while.

 

To be cont...

 

Lorrae, That's a bargain price to pay for a taxi, considering you and Peter came all the way from Melbourne. ha ha

[SAKA85]

what a teasing first statement i thought somebody was going to post a bad review was that your first cruise lorrae? glad you enjoyed it & hope to see your next cruise up on the screen soon

[Seadreams27]

Cont...

The first three days are sea days and there is always a lot

to do.. we started each morning the way I guess everyone does

by reading the pacific daily..The hard part is picking out what to do..

Exploring the ship is a must and no matter how many times you go

to the same deck you always get lost.. Thank goodness for the signs

on each deck that show you exactly were you are.. it's not so much

a matter of where, as which end is the pointy end.. it sure is good to

see that there is a lot of people scratching their heads and wondering

where they had to go..makes you feel less stupid when everyone's the

same.

Anyway there is shows to see which even though some were a bit cheesy

nevertheless were still fun, bingo, drinks,movies,drinks,horse racing,drinks,

lectures,drinks,swimming,drinks,dancing,drinks,casino,drinks..anyway you

get the picture:D I think you would have to be pretty hard to please if

you could not find something to do.

It was so nice to catch up with fellow ccers on the friday in Bengal/piano

bar..We met some people that hopefully will remain good friends.

(ok welsh fargo you can pay me now;)or just email me)

 

The islands..

Our first port of call was Wala.. what can I say.. all the islands are

beautiful.. but each has something special about it.. for me Wala had

absolutely beautiful vegetation, it was so picturesque. it was my ideal

of a lush tropical island..and yes it was very humid.. those webcam

shots that we all follow are very deceptive, it might look like a cloudy

or partly sunny day but when you step off the ship onto the islands it

is hot and humid..but that's ok as the water is just divine. I think nearly

everyone goes for a swim at these islands. We met a lovely local that

took us for a personal tour of his island and explained how many tribes

lived on wala and that they were all late setting up for the tourists (us)

as they had to go across to another island to go to church.. yes it was

Sunday and they are nearly all Catholic..We left him a tip and thanked him

very much ,as this was something that he just took upon himself to do

I thought it showed just how friendly and helpful the locals were.

 

A day on an island sure wears you out so after dinner in Palm court we

went to the early show and were in bed by 10;30 I know.. we are getting

old..Just can't stay up like we used to:(

 

To be cont..

[happyholiday]

We were also on this cruise(first time cruisers)we were in a group of 6 we could not fault the staff or anything about the cruise we were on Aloha with a balcony,we booked a balcony for the simple reason we are smokers,at the time of booking nothing was mentioned about the new rules(NO SMOKING EVEN ON BALCONYS)as we had paid top $ we did smoke on the balcony and placed all ash and butts in a bottle of water and our Stewart took it away(no problems)we did not enjoy all the shows,but everybody has there own opinion,(they can not cater to everybodys taste)the food was fine,we ate mostly at the buffet as we were enjoying talking to people and then could not be bothered getting dressed to attend the dining room,the couple of times we did we all enjoyed the servive and food,the security was great in my opinion and took care of a few people without interupting any one else,the seas were good to us until the Friday on our way home i couuldn't wait to get out of bingo as i could really feel it, a lot of people were sick.

Hey sorry for crashing your review i have been hanging for someone to write just to compare.

Cheers

[Seadreams27]

Hi Happy holiday.

Crash away, we all do:D

This was our first cruise as well..we were in bingo on that last day and

myself and DH were sitting back (drink in hand) watching people rush

out to be sick. We got to the stage we were mahing bets to see if they

would make it out of the lounge or not.. a few didn't.. I didn't think

it was that rough but maybe that was because as soon as we saw

whitecaps we took some quells..They worked a treat:)

 

Saka 85

My opening sentence was in reference to the thread 'to hell and

back' I really thought we must of been on a different cruise as we

never saw nor heard about any of this.

 

Welsh fargo

oops ,I mean't from the airport.

(email on way)

[aussiescouser]

great review so far, looking forward to the rest regards aussiescouser:D

[Carlz]

:D I wanna read more!!! :D ...please?

[SAKA85]

lorrae i got the title was a jab at you know who and am wondering how many threads will tease us as yours did...

cant wait for next installment

[nitelite]

I love reading reviews and yours is a great one. After the couple of negative posts from one particular cruiser on Pacific Dawn, I was really starting to get a bit apprehensive about taking my first cruise as I am booked on PD, but I obviously was worried about nothing, (thanks to your review and happyholidays review as well), I'm now really looking forward to my cruise again.

 

Just goes to show what a great forum this is espescially for first time cruisers as it provides varying reviews and puts one's mind at ease.

 

I can't wait for the next instalment of your review.

 

Thanks for putting my mind at ease and I'm glad you had a great time

 

:) :)

[arxcards]

Great stuff Lorrae,

Glad you had a great cruise. Looking forward to the next part.

 

If you become disoriented, there is a tip that worked for my missus - look at the cabin doors. If the numbers are going down, you are heading to the pointy end.

[kaseyoz]

great to hear you had a good time.

 

also with regards to which way is "up" I seem to recall something mentioned about the carpet that tells you which was is the front.

I have checked but still couldnt work it out.

 

Maybe it is on those american ships where they even have to put a carpet in the lift with the day of the week on so you do not forget that either.

could have some fun on the last day with that!!!

[kezza]

Come on Lorrae, where's the rest of your review!!!!

 

Kerri

[Seadreams27]

Vila.

When you get to to Vila you definetly know that you are in

another country..Wala and Mystery island are tropical paradises

that except for the islanders you could believe you were in a part

of QLD.

Once you take that dice with death drive in a shuttle into town you

finally realise that this is not Australia..the driving on the wrong side of

the road is the first giveaway..the city itself has to be seen to

understand..it's quaint but in small way ,modern..some shops have goods not seen

in Aus. for decades, while others have much the same as back home.

The prices were good..if you have the room in cases, or the weight

allowance for flights, this would be the ideal time to stock up on not

just drinks but jewllery, clothes, bags and almost anything you can think

of..unfortunately we were serverly restricted with weight limits so could

only buy a few items. Next time DH can have the clothes he is wearing

and an empty case. Seems fair;)

We did the Ekasup cultral tour and was most impressed..not only was

it visually pleasing, we found out a lot about how life was for these people

both before and after the europeans arrived. If anyone wants to get

a first hand experience of island life we would strongly recommend this

tour.. well worth it.

Mystery Island

Not a mystery to us..and to those that it still is, keep trying..it is a

beautiful tropical paradise..The water is crystal clear and warm, except

on the side where the best snorkeling is, there was sea slugs, but thats

alright they can't hurt you, just looked a bit yuk..the other side of the

isalnd has none and is great if you just want a swim..This is a great

island for just relaxing, so beautiful and peaceful, I would be quiet

happy spending a few days there.

To be cont..

[Tyche]

Am loving reading your review Lorrae, more please :D

 

Layni

[Seadreams27]

Isle of pines

 

This was our only rainy day..but it was only a drizzle.(.at least in the

morning it was) still this didn't stop us from exploring the island.

We flagged down a bus and for $15 aus. we were given a tour of the

island..we were shown the church, and what I think was a burial ground,

as well as a few other places of interest. Our driver didn't speak a word of

english ( except for $15 please) and the only thing he understood of us

was photo..which when spoken he would oblige and stop and let us take

some...this tour lasts for about 45 mins and is not a bad way of seeing a

few sights..what none of us realised till almost the end of the tour was

that the driver had put a tape on that explained in english what we were

looking at, or passing..so if doing this tour try and listen as it probably

would of explained a few things..we just thought he had the radio on:o

Even though it was raining we still went for a swim and the water was

just perfect..the sand really is white and like talc..to me I liked isle of

pines the best of the four..would liked to of stayed on the island a bit

longer but unfortunately the rain was starting to get a bit annoying..

We went back to the ship around lunchtime and spent the afternoon

sitting in the dome reading..I did hear that due to the weather there

was a limited number of tenders going over in the afternoon and I think

they stopped taking people over about 2ish.

This was our last port and we had 2 sea days to go which flew past

pretty quick. We had a very pretty lightening show on the night we

left isle of pines..and for the last day there was a few whitecaps but

still not much movement except for the afternoon when for a couple

of hours when we were in the showlounge it got a bit bouncy and we

could even hear the bow slamming into the sea..a few people were

seasick but we were lucky and didn't feel ill at all.

As I said in a different thread all to soon the cruise is over and we were

back in Sydney.

We will definetly go on another cruise, may not be until next year as we

have a land based one we are now saving for, but we are already looking.

As most of you know this was our first and we were really looking forward

to it, as you do, and weren't sure whether we would enjoy this type of

holiday or not, we were hoping we would..It turned out to be better

than we anticipated.:D :D

[Sailaway John]

Good report:) . . . look forward to the rest of it. We are booked on Baja Deck on PD 24th May. Our cabin will be B183. Were you any where near that cabin. Any noise, etc.:)

[Welsh Fargo]

Vila.

When you get to to Vila you definetly know that you are in

another country..Wala and Mystery island are tropical paradises

that except for the islanders you could believe you were in a part

of QLD.

Once you take that dice with death drive in a shuttle into town you

finally realise that this is not Australia..the driving on the wrong side of

the road is the first giveaway..the city itself has to be seen to

understand..it's quaint but in small way ,modern..some shops have goods not seen

in Aus. for decades, while others have much the same as back home.

The prices were good..if you have the room in cases, or the weight

allowance for flights, this would be the ideal time to stock up on not

just drinks but jewllery, clothes, bags and almost anything you can think

of..unfortunately we were serverly restricted with weight limits so could

only buy a few items. Next time DH can have the clothes he is wearing

and an empty case. Seems fair;)

We did the Ekasup cultral tour and was most impressed..not only was

it visually pleasing, we found out a lot about how life was for these people

both before and after the europeans arrived. If anyone wants to get

a first hand experience of island life we would strongly recommend this

tour.. well worth it.

Mystery Island

Not a mystery to us..and to those that it still is, keep trying..it is a

beautiful tropical paradise..The water is crystal clear and warm, except

on the side where the best snorkeling is, there was sea slugs, but thats

alright they can't hurt you, just looked a bit yuk..the other side of the

isalnd has none and is great if you just want a swim..This is a great

island for just relaxing, so beautiful and peaceful, I would be quiet

happy spending a few days there.

To be cont..

 

DH can have the clothes he is wearing and an empty case ? Dont forget Lorrae, next cruise pack a belt for Peter's trousers! but that's another story. Great review.:)

[Legs11]

Great review - glad you enjoyed it.:D

[Seadreams27]

Hi sailaway John

You will love the Dawn, there is always a quite corner to

sit if you want..or something happening somewhere on the

ship..it's up to you whether you want to be alone or mix with

others..or if you want to go full bore or at a more leisurely pace.

Our cabin was B 175 so very close to where you will be..There

is hardly any traffic noise, and after about 10pm. we didn't hear

a thing. We did have a couple of mornings when our immediate

neighbours thought that making as much as you like at 5.30 was

ok (and they weren't young party goers) but otherwise we slept

well and didn't hear anything.

It is also close to stairs and lifts..but not much traffic from them..

there is also a laundry not to far away. Found this cabin to be in

a great position and would book it again.

Anything else you would like to know, please ask and I will try to answer.:)

[Lizard©]

Great review Lorrae, I'm looking forward to our first cruise even more now.:)