Another Dawn itinerary thread

[cajunpepsi]

We have a group of 10 booked on the Dawn for April 9th, 2005. Several are first time cruisers, really looking forward to going, as all of us are, I hope this Dawn engine/Dry dock problem gets taken care of.

 

In an effort to narrow this down somewhat, if your itinerary has been changed, please post the date of the cruise, and what changes have been made. It appears several individuals have been in contact with Princess, and have gotten several answers. But if you have actually gotten a letter changing things, please let us know.

 

For what its worth, I do intend to call Princess after the Columbus Day holiday, and get yet another answer. I cant believe Princess has not posted info on their website for all to see. I will of course post the answer of the day when I call to see whats happening.

 

We will enjoy our cruise no matter what, I love the at sea days, but it would be nice for Princess to pass that info along as soon as it is known.

[dcourt]

Princess sure has been very secret about these changes. When you call Princess post what you find out and we will get another answer. Good Luck!!

[melissa_bel]

Cajun,

According to a major travel website that showed the changes in itinerary, your cruise is intact.

The cruises affected so far are 11/23, 12/03, 12/13, 12/30, 02/08, 03/10, 03/20, 04/09. After the 04/19 (that is unchanged), the Dawn leaves for a Panama Canal sailing to San Francisco.

You might need to double check though, I might have skipped one.

[cactusrose]

Melissa bel. . the OPs cruise is on 04/09 so sounds like his/her cruise may be affected. I'm on the 4/29 Panama Canal Cruise. I'll keep watching to see if that itinerary is changed down the road.

 

I finally figured out which site you were seeing this on.:D

[kkorman]

The Princess website still only has changes through Christmas. The 12/30 sailing is back to normal. From what I can gather though, people have been notified of changes after this?

[RichP]

Hello Cajunpepsi

If you check the Princess RollCall link their is a large group of DawnCats booked on this cruise. We are planning a get-together and just sharing info.

See ya round

RichP

[Desertbelle]

My advice is to avoid the Dawn like the plague for the next 6-12 months. There appears to be something terribly wrong with the engine and Princess is not coming forward with anything concrete. They are selling these cruises knowing there is a problem. Remember, Princess didn't tell us about the changes until it was too late to cancel or change our cruise.

 

And don't expect too much in the way of information from Princess Customer Relations, in my calls a week and a half ago I was treated nicely and with courtesy, but by a couple of days ago the representatives were edgy and curt, and one was down-right rude and mean to me. She actually made me cry. They don't seem to understand that we have saved, planned and looked forward to these cruises for a long time and we are emotional and upset.

[melissa_bel]

Ooopsss... yes, sorry... After looking closely, I added it in my list and forgot to erase the first part of the message. Sorry Cajun.

According to this major travel website your itinerary would be:

01 Fort Lauderdale, Florida --- 5:00 PM

02 At sea --- ---

03 At sea --- ---

04 Curacao (Willemstad) 12:00 PM 8:00 PM

05 At sea --- ---

06 Barbados, Barbados (Bridgetown) 9:00 AM 6:00 PM

07 Dominica, Dominica (Roseau) 7:00 AM 2:00 PM

08 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Charlotte Amalie) 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

09 At sea --- ---

10 At sea --- ---

11 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 7:00 AM ---

 

Princess hasn't changed it on its website. So, yes, you should definitely call Princess and see if you want to book another cruise instead, if that is possible.

[Kallen]

We have a group of 6 booked on the Dawn for the Feb. 28th southern trip. There is a small (but hilarious) group on the roll call who will be interested to see what happens to our itinerary over the next four months. Please keep us informed as new info comes out.

 

Kerry

Dawn Princess Southern Feb. 28/2005

Grand Princess Western February 2004

[Perky1]

We are on the Western Dawn run on March 30th. Seems the Western itinerary is not affected accept for the Grand Cayman cancel but that may be fixed by then. We are still debating if we should try and find a different ship as we have concern that the Dawn's problems may worsen. I am keeping a close eye on this. I would love to find some cruisemates but so far has not happened.

[schack74]

There has been so much said about this topic and most of it has been speculation. The drydock was planned for months and the itinerary before the drydock was cut. What we don't know is why it's still cut after the drydock, however, I find it hard to believe that something is "terribly wrong" as someone said. If something was terribly wrong Princess would not let the Dawn sail. If the itinerary is not acceptable to those who have not made final payment I'd try to change my plans. Otherwise, at least you know for sure the ports you will definately be going to and maybe at some point the two ports left off the itinerary will be added.

[Desertbelle]

Please don't misunderstand me, I didn't mean "terribly wrong" as in the ship was a hazard, but terribly wrong as in the ship is not functioning as normal.

 

Of course much of what is being said is speculation, that's because Princess has chosen to be secretive about what is going on. What we do know for sure is that the itineraries have been altered and that many of us were informed of the alteration AFTER is was possible to change our plans.

 

My warning to people is that any itinerary with the Dawn right now is questionable. If you are OK with changes in your itinerary, then go ahead and book her. If on the other hand you desire to spend your cruising dollars on something a little more secure, you might want to avoid the Dawn for a while.

 

Since the ship is running slow it seems that the more distance your itinerary covers the more likely you will have ports eliminated or shortened. Hence, the unaffected Alaska and Western Caribbean itineraries. This might be something to think of when looking at the Dawn over the next several months. Also, if indeed the engine is not being repaired at this November 3 dry-docking, they will be cancelling a future cruise or two in order to get that done at some point. I am sure the people who were booked on the two cruises that were cancelled in November weren't very happy.

 

I am not trying to scare people, but there are a lot of cruises out there, and the Dawn's problems are, in my estimation, serious enough to look elsewhere until this can be remedied.

[BJS]

.. But if you have actually gotten a letter changing things, please let us know.

We received an "Emergency Notification" letter from Princess. These were mailed to TAs or IF you booked directly with Princess the letter was sent to you as if you were the TA.

 

It was dated Sept. 29,2004 and said "**Please note that the itinerary for the above voyage has been modified**Due to operational requirements, the port calls to Princess Cays and Guamache (Isla Margarita) have been cancelled. In Additon, the port times in the following ports have been revised: *Curacao: 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM *Dominica: 7:00AM - 2:00 PM * St. Thomas: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM

In recognition of any disappointment these itinerary changes may cause, we are pleased to provide your clients with an onboard credit of USD $150.00 per person. This non-refundable credit may be used towards all purchases onboard, as well as gratuities. The onboard credit has been applied to your client's booking. We apologize for any inconvenience these itinerary changes may cuase. We look forward to welcoming your clients aboard Dawn Princess. Thank you for booking Princess cruises!"

[kkorman]

Please don't misunderstand me, I didn't mean "terribly wrong" as in the ship was a hazard, but terribly wrong as in the ship is not functioning as normal.

 

Of course much of what is being said is speculation, that's because Princess has chosen to be secretive about what is going on. What we do know for sure is that the itineraries have been altered and that many of us were informed of the alteration AFTER is was possible to change our plans.

 

My warning to people is that any itinerary with the Dawn right now is questionable. If you are OK with changes in your itinerary, then go ahead and book her. If on the other hand you desire to spend your cruising dollars on something a little more secure, you might want to avoid the Dawn for a while.

 

Since the ship is running slow it seems that the more distance your itinerary covers the more likely you will have ports eliminated or shortened. Hence, the unaffected Alaska and Western Caribbean itineraries. This might be something to think of when looking at the Dawn over the next several months. Also, if indeed the engine is not being repaired at this November 3 dry-docking, they will be cancelling a future cruise or two in order to get that done at some point. I am sure the people who were booked on the two cruises that were cancelled in November weren't very happy.

 

I am not trying to scare people, but there are a lot of cruises out there, and the Dawn's problems are, in my estimation, serious enough to look elsewhere until this can be remedied.

 

 

Thanks for clearing up your original statement. Yes, everything on these threads are speculation and your original statment is misleading.

 

I was on the Dawn 3 weeks ago and will be on again Thursday. I think having the extra sea days is great as you just get to spend more time on a great ship!

[Flacrusrs]

How frustrating, this was such a great itinerary. If there is a problem I cannot imagine they would not try to schedule a drydock. Please continue to post as new info becomes available.

[sue d. miller]

Hi FLA!!! Welcome back!!! :D

[Flacrusrs]

Hi to you too Sue. This itinerary thing has me bummed but I am not going to get excited until I see what happens.

[BJS]

I was on the Dawn 3 weeks ago and will be on again Thursday. I think having the extra sea days is great as you just get to spend more time on a great ship!

I agree with you but sympathize with those that are so upset. If I were as upset as many are I certainly would not take the cruise. It will be very hard for them not to look at the entire experience with a "jaundiced eye". I know they say they will go and enjoy but find it hard to believe that this entire negative experience won't be with them every minute of the cruise just like it is now. Why ruin what should be a wonderful time why not just find an alternative cruise or make alternative plans. Hopefully they have taken out insurance which can help them in this situation. We always take out Princess Travel Care Insurance and would certainly opt for a 95% credit, of the Non-refundable payment amount, towards another cruise. Having learned about the change 7 weeks before sailing there would be very little money lost.

[balanceok]

We've read posts on this board from passengers currently on the Dawn that say there is no obvious problem with the Dawn engines. As I understand the itinerary changes are for conditions on the islands, not the engine.

 

Can anyone clarify this?

[CruiseAholic]

Oh please....you are not sailing until April and complaining/worrying about a possible itinerary change already.

 

#1, it isn't in the hands of Princess (or any other cruise line) as to whether or not they can stop in an island, if the island has been damaged and can't handle the passenger load, they won't.

 

Can't you hear it now....stopping in an island with too many passengers and nothing to do, and of course, it would be the cruise lines fault!

 

Go on a land trip, ready your cruise contract, the cruise line can do anything they want with the itinerary they want. The hurricane season has been bad this year and from what I have read, daily, things change.

 

Excuse me if Princess can't be too bothered about your cruise in April and the itinerary or if someone's cruise personalizer isn't updated (I know that the way that Princess' computer is set up, cruise personalizer is not tied to a centralized database for itineary).

 

Be happy you can go on a cruise, enjoy what you have. People have lost their homes and livelihood in the storms and people are bothered about an onboard credit!

[kkorman]

We've read posts on this board from passengers currently on the Dawn that say there is no obvious problem with the Dawn engines. As I understand the itinerary changes are for conditions on the islands, not the engine.

 

Can anyone clarify this?

 

The engines work, but not to 100% cruising speed. THis prevents them from making the scheduled itinerary. Nov 3 is the scheduled dry dock to fix the engine. This is scheduled in Freeport and no one know whether it is going to actually happen.

 

Grand Cayman is the exception to the above. The cruise line is cancelling that because of damage to the island. I guess Princess Cays can fit this rule as well, but it was cancelled on my itinerary before the hurricane eroded the beach. The other adjustments are definitely due to the engine issues.

[kodiac]

Be happy you can go on a cruise, enjoy what you have. People have lost their homes and livelihood in the storms and people are bothered about an onboard credit!

 

 

I sympathize for all of those who lost their homes in one of the worst hurricane seasons to hit Florida. All I see when driving around is tarps on roofs, trees still down, homes under water, personal belongings outside to the garbage (due to damage), and so forth. I could go on for hours about everything going on here.

 

We have finalized repairs on our home and property and are defiantly ready for this cruise.

 

Kodiac :)

[CruiseAholic]

No Cajun I cruise on Princess almost exclusively, I have been on 62 cruises, and 31 of them have been on Princess. I have only cruised on another cruise line 1 time in the past 4 years.

 

At age 45, Holland America doesn't appeal to me.

 

I truely can't see what the big deal is about port time being cut, have had it happen (in truely exotic places like Egypt) and just rolled with the flow.

[Coral]

I think this post has gotten a little out of hand.

 

Having spent 2 weeks on the Dawn Princess this summer - it is a fantastic ship and i had the time of my life on it. I read from several on this board about the engine and thought it would affect my cruise. If I had not read the reports on this board, I would never have known. I asked the Capt about it and he was surprised I knew.

 

Worrying now about a cruise in April....... If you are that concerned, maybe a land vacation would be better for you. I have no doubt that the cruise/ship wil be fine. I also hope that the islands are in good shape 6 months from now. I know Princess and some of the other lines are spending millions trying to help the ports back ready for passengers. Though if you think about it - some of these ports had massive destruction from the storms and may never be the same again or it may take years for the locals to have homes again.

 

kkorman seems to be one of the best resources on this board for the Dawn Princess (since he has been on it so often lately and will be on it again). I am sure when he sails this week - he will find out all the info he can and will report back to us (as he has the past few weeks). Thanks Kevin for doing this.

[Coral]

If Princess knows about changes, it should surely pass that info along.

 

I am not sure if you have followed other lines but the same could be lines other than Princess. I know several who have had their cruises cancelled within a few days of sailing on Celebritty due to azipod/bearing issues. Celebrity has several issues with this with their Millennum class ships and several sailings have been cancelled at the last moment due to this. Does Celebrity know they have a problem with this - yes, they are suing the manufacturer for $$$$ but they are dealing with this issue the best they can. Do they inform people when they book the ship that the ship may need to be cancelled at the last minute to fix this - no they don't.