Dawn Princess 6/26/08 LIVE-Pam and Rex's Great Adventure

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We are doing the Dawn 24 September SF to Sydney and reading your fabulous reports is making us impatient. Great news about wifi and being able to use your laptop for the free minutes. Does anyone know how many free minutes you get for a 31 day cruise? This is our first cruise with the free minutes - yeah!

 

Beryl

 

We were on the 30 day last year and if memory serves it was a 500 minute total - of course memory doesn't always serve:D

We didn't even use half the minutes - the connection was really bad most places and other times the place was so full with passengers taking classes you couldn't get near.

[luvtahiti]

Each Platinum Member will receive a credit towards the purchase of a package in our Internet Cafés.

 

 

$75 for voyages of 7 days or less (equivalent to 150 minute package)

$100 for voyages of 8-20 days (equivalent to 250 minute package)

$200 for voyages of 21 or more days (equivalent to two 250 minute packages)

You can use your credit towards a larger package if necessary, or enjoy all those minutes - compliments of the Princess Captain's Circle!

(Does not include wireless internet access; effective on voyages beginning on or after April 1, 2007)

This also applies to Elite now.

[tiggyfrank]

Thanks for the review! Is there any live Texas Hold 'Em in the casino? Any tournaments?

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the review! Is there any live Texas Hold 'Em in the casino? Any tournaments?

 

They did have live THE on the Sun, were pretty busy with people waiting every night:rolleyes:

[Ceresgal]

I think your post is just wonderful Thank You for posting it. But, I was wondering where you got your Cruise Critic T-Shirt? I would like to get one.

Thanks.

[azrose]

Wonderful posting! We are on Princess Dawn July 16th!! We can hardly wait and love hearing this to look forward to......:D

[mii]

I think your post is just wonderful Thank You for posting it. But, I was wondering where you got your Cruise Critic T-Shirt? I would like to get one.

Thanks.

Just go to the homepage of Cruise Critic and look under CC logoware.

 

marilyn

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks so much for you review. Keep it coming

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus/Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[pamwinn]

Hi everyone. The wi-fi is still experiencing problems. He said it was the router but he replaced that in Ketchikan....didn't help. If I thought they would take me seriously, I would volunteer my services. That is how much I want the wi-fi to work.

 

June 28th Continued

It is broad daylight outside and 9PM here. We have sailed beyond Vancouver Island though it was foggy and we couldn’t see it. Our cabin is portside if I haven’t already mentioned it (if I have it’s a memory thing you’ll figure out before this is over) and are just now entering the inside passage. I can see the Queen Charlotte Islands from our balcony.

The retinol is not a good choice for me. My face is beet red, flaky dry, and I have 3 pimples one of which is on the tip of my nose! Rex doesn’t want me to write bout his nose pimple so I won’t.

June 29th, 2008 Ketchikan 7:00 AM -3:00 PM

Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer

My all time favorite excursion was taking the Float Plane into Misty Fjords. Since I have seen it by air (which I will do again) this time I decided to see it by sea. The description of the excursion is:

Explore Misty Fjords, one of nature’s most spectacular creations, while cruising in luxury aboard one of the fastest sightseeing vessels in Alaska.

Along with us in port were the Millenium and Veendam. Taking a ship that isn’t on the Saturday or Sunday schedule has it’s advantages.

We returned from the excursion. I recommend it. We saw eagles of course, we saw other assorted things that fly and poop on your head, and we saw some harbor seals. But, that which must happen on every trip to Alaska to make it complete happened; we saw a bear. More importantly, the scenery from the ground is Misty Fjords is almost as beautiful as it is from the air. The sheer 3000-foot granite cliffs complete with waterfalls were amazing. The water is so deep and the cliffs so steep allowed the boat to get within feet of the cliff wall. We could feel the spray of water from some of the falls. Trying to imagine the enormity of the glacier that carved that massive swath is mind-boggling. We had a wonderful 4.5 hours and returned in time for a 30-minute stroll before it was time to board the ship. It has been a beautiful day so far with clear blue skies. I think the high was 57 degrees. The average annual rainfall is 162” but not a drop fell today.

We watched the Millenium sail, followed by the Veendam then we joined the Cruise Ship caravan and left Ketchikan at 3:00 PM.

It was hard to tear away from the balcony after leaving Ketchikan. Each moment a new masterpiece is being painted before your eyes. We saw a whale wave his tail at us. But the chef beckoned and we answered.

Chefs Table = A 3 hour exercise in gluttony

The menu (their spelling, not mine)

− Salmon Ceviche with Lime and Celery

− Carpaccio of Venison with Forrest Herb Crust

− Buckwheat Blinis with Caviar and Cream Fraiche

− Pizette with Goat’s Chees and Ricotta

− Butter Fried Polenta Cake with Dolce Latte Gorgonzola

− Strawberry & Cracked Pepper Sorbet

− Oven Roasted Veal Shank with Pan Jus, Pesto Sauce, Bernaise Sauce and Spicy Pepper Sauce

− Premium Fresh Market Vegetables & Creamy Mousseline Potatoes

− Baked Camembert with Pine Nuts, Port Wine Reduction and Honey with Walnut Bread

− Iced Amaretto Parfait

− Vanillo & apple Compote & Brandy Snap Tuile

− Ulrich’s Homemade Amaretti Biscotti

The above is not what you had to choose from but what you were served. I was full after the Polenta, which I knew not to finish even though I loved it. One of the parties cut her finger with a bread knife and had to go to the medical facility to receive 3 stitches. She returned and was a good sport about the entire thing and finished her meal. Chef Ulrich is a very kind and funny man. I thoroughly enjoyed his hospitality and sense of humor.

Course after course arrived and the service was excellent. In fact, I think I need to mention that service is excellent all over the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed he Chef’s Table and yet it is simply too much food. Toward the end, the chef presented all the men with roses and told them to give them to their wives. He then presented signed cookbooks to the wives and had us present those to our husbands. Chef Ulrich then went around the table and had a photograph taken with each couple. Afterwards, the waiter asked that I move my chair over and the Chef pulled up a chair between Rex and I and he chatted with us for about 20-minutes. I don’t know how we were so lucky as to have his company for that length of time but we enjoyed and appreciated it very much. Each time he came around the table, I tried to make him laugh each time he served me, maybe that is what did it. I am so full that I am unable to write about all the humorous things that occurred during the meal. The wine flowed freely and I just have to go to bed now. Good night.

June 30th Juneau

I awoke at the crack of dawn once again. I can see what is going on outside with my head on the pillow and the trip from Ketchikan to Juneau is so beautiful that I had to get up. It is a good thing I did because I got to see another whale. No tail this time just the whale blowing along on the surface. Time to get off the ship. More to follow.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the continued posting, sailing from Ketchikan is one of my favorite balcony watching things to do. All those eagles and the weather the times we have gone I got sunburned after sitting for a couple of hours.

[lizzy77]

Thankyou for taking the time to share your cruise. It is reliving it for me:D . We just loved Alaska and would go back again if it wasn't so far away:cool:

Now just approximately how many cruises do you think you have to do to get an invite to the Chefs Dinner?

[pamwinn]

You pay for the chefs table. If you seach you can find a lot of reviews of it and even some videos on youtube

[sailinglisa]

Pam - where and when did you sign up for the Chef's table? I'm very interested in this!

[dchip]

We were on the Dawn 6-16 to 6-26. We called the Restaurant Reservation line at 2:30pm on Embarkation Day. The phone number and information are in the Princess Patter in your cabin.

 

Your name will be taken and then you will be contacted later in the cruise and told when the Chef's Table will take place.

 

There was only one Chef's Table on our cruise. It was the evening after we left Ketchikan. It was fabulous.

 

Cheers, Denise

[dchip]

Grrrrrr ;-)) Double post when I didn't think anything posted!!

[sailinglisa]

Thanks, Denise!

[LAC2]

Thank you. Thank you. Am living vicariously through your adventure. What a great "Live" thread.

[sailinglisa]

Thanks for the information! I will plan on doing that as soon as I board the Dawn in September.

[Colo Cruiser]

Pam - where and when did you sign up for the Chef's table? I'm very interested in this!

 

 

We had 3 on our Emerald cruise.

 

I would also talk to the MD in person because there have been incidents of people making the res on the phone only to find out it was never made. ;)

[rdsqrl]

We had 3 on our Emerald cruise.

 

I would also talk to the MD in person because there have been incidents of people making the res on the phone only to find out it was never made. ;)

 

 

Totally agree -- I couldn't even get through on the Dine line on my cruise, it continually rang busy. I gave my name to the waiter loitering outside the Horizon Court signing up people for the wine tastings and amazingly enough, he did pass it on to the right person and I got an invitation; if I had it to do over again, I'd go down to see the maitre d' in person during his office hours that first day. In person is always best -- that way, they can see your eagerness to do it (as you drool in anticipation while recalling the yummy menus posted here on CC!).

[sailinglisa]

OK - thanks for the advice. I will do both!

[pamwinn]

We too, found the DINE phone line busy. Later we were passing by a dining room and told a waiter. We also reserved the ultimate balcony dinner at that time. Everything worked out fine. I have been told there will be 3 chefs tables on the next cruise. I do not know how they know that in advance. There are two on this cruise

[pamwinn]

The day in Juneau started out with just 2 ships in port. We didn’t plan an excursion this time as we’ve been whalewatching here a couple of times in the past and we have been to the Salmon bake and Mendenhall Glacier and didn’t really see anything that interested us so we played tourist and purchased stuff. We got a couple of t-shirts and sweatshirts and a big hunk of mystic topaz for me. The dogs (3 minpins) gave us their allowance and asked us to get a prize as they call it, for their Aunt Leslie who cares for them while we are cruising so we did that too.

We returned to the ship and dropped off our purchases then went back to town in search of beverages brewed in Juneau. One must partake in local custom so even though we didn’t want to, we did. We’ve been to the Red Dog Saloon many times so we passed by the crowds waiting in the drizzle and went to the Triangle Club instead. This little bar opened in 1947 by the Grandfather of the lady who served us some excellent Summer Ale. We found a liquor store, we know where all of them are (in the world), made a modest purchase and stashed it in Rex’s backpack. Because of the crowds; 3 more ships appeared throughout the day, we went back to the ship. The backpack went through the scanner, no questions asked.

We’ve had a bit of a mystery. Our clothes kept getting a brownish stain and we couldn’t figure out how this was happening. We checked every door jamb and hinge and everything else in our cabin but could not find the source. When I noticed the stain on the sleeve of my white T-shirt, it looked like dried blood. Then Rex had it down the front of his white T-shirt and said he thought it was melted chocolate. He eats the pillow chocolate and never saves me any so I silently thought, serves you right. Today it got on a couple of the things we just bought. We decided to do our own laundry so we could wash these things immediately. When we arrived at the laundry room there was a couple standing there checking out the machines but they left to go get change….so we put our clothes in the machine. Rex did his anal retentive thing and made a paste out of the detergent to try to get the weird brownish stain out of his new sweatshirt. He is amazing with stains. What a man! The lady walked in with her clothes and saw we had taken the only available machine. Rex told her about our mystery stains. She immediately asked if we had flowers in the room and if they were lilies. “Yes!” I screamed. Then I noticed a huge stain on my right sleeve. She took a Kleenex and brushed it off and told us that the flowers are causing the stains. DON’T BUY THE LILIES! She told us that her daughter is a florist and she had learned about the lilies. She told us to cut the stamens off when the lilies bloom and this will not happen. We gave her the lilies in gratitude. This is turning out to be a vacation of coincidences. What are the odds of running into someone who could solve the mystery of the stains in the laundry room? Not to mention finding my brothers twin. I have to apologize to the guys doing the laundry. I guess they didn’t stain those sweaters after all.

Those ladies found Rex again. They squeaked when they saw him. I remember in days gone by when men did that to me.

We had dinner, roamed the ship a little, shopped for some better binoculars (the photography shop has some $600 binoculars for anyone interested), listened to the pianist, Brett Cave, in the atrium for awhile and then returned to the splendor of our balcony to watch the world being painted before our eyes once again.

July 1st, 2008 Haines

The approach to Haines is breathtakingly beautiful. It is so magnificent it makes you want to cry. I hope those who live here can see it like those of us who don’t live here can see it. We dressed like twins today in our matching Alaska sweatshirts, how touristy. The activity for the day was the Chilkoot lake scenic tour. We got on the tour bus, left town, and followed the Chilkoot river to the lake. It was cold and rainy. It rained the entire tour. We boarded an open pontoon boat, though it did have a canvas top, and set off for a scenic tour around the lake. I am so happy to have my new Jacket. It is a weatheredge windproof/waterproof jacket from Eddie Bauer and it’s the perfect Alaska jacket. I have been warm and dry on this not so warm and dry vacation. As fate would have it, the rain blew in on my side of the boat and though we were provided warm lap blankets, a lot of rain blew in on my seat and created a puddle under my hiney-boo. Rex and I also brought earmuffs and warm gloves that were a life-saver on this excursion. The water temperature was 38 degrees. By noon, the sky cleared and the weather was glorious.

We returned to the ship, visited Al for a couple of “Red Dragons”, had lunch, came back to the cabin, put out the do not disturb sign, and then did what husbands and wives our age do. We took a nap. The nap turned out to be 3 hours long. I am only sleeping a couple of hours each night because of all the daylight and not wanting to miss anything. It is catching up with me.

By late afternoon/early evening, the sky was clear and the weather mild enough to sit on the balcony in T-shirts and shorts. We enjoyed the view of Fort Seward from our balcony for a couple of hours. I am not finished with Haines. Next time I want to rent a car and see what the drive toward Whitehorse is like. Then the next time I want to go to the eagle preserve, then the next time…….

We saw some funny little ducks today that work cooperatively for their food. The guide called them shore scooters. I am not sure if that is a real name or not. If the wi-fi was working I would look it up. They herd schools of small fish toward the shallow water and then dine on them. I saw them in action. They were floating along in a randomly spaced cluster then, in a flash, formed a perfect semi-circle cupped toward the shore. It was amazing and cute because they are tiny birds.

[shining gem]

Love reading your review. Perhaps you should take up writing as a career as your posts are very entertaining! Keep it up! Cheers, Meg:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the continued story Pam, it sounds wonderful. ;)