Dawn Review- 7/16-7/26

[aaerobear]

"morons"? how charitable. As one of the people that works at the port, I really find that comment (from someone in your profession) to be very demeaning. Most of the problems at embarkation are caused by the "lack" of traffic control pierside....now who do you think is in charge of that???????

[sultan_sfo]

The reason I posed the question (Post #21 above) is that contrary to other reports I have found that both the porters and the SFPD very professional and efficient at Pier 35. I am not connected with either -- just a long-time resident. We have boarded at least 4 times from Pier 35. Also, quite often when a new ship (or a ship we have cruised on for nostalgia) comes to Pier 35, I wander about there around 12 noon just for fun. I almost went there last Saturday when Dawn was in port but being Saturday the public transit was slow -- so I changed my mind. When I am at Pier 35, I observe out of curiosity what is happening. /Sultan

[arch199]

Porters were just great!

[arch199]

I haven't sailed Princess in a while, so please forgive my questions if they seem dumb...

1. You say Dawn Princess has anytime dining - that is like Diamond Princess with 4 restaurants in addition to the main dining room, right?

 

2. Did you have chocolate buffet on this cruise?

 

3. Day 2 was one of the formal nights. Which day was the other?

 

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and did not have any hassle in boarding. Embarkation from here can be hectic - with the morons who work the ports (no organization whatsoever).

 

There were 2 restaurants with Traditional Dining and 2 with Anytime.

 

There was no chocolate buffet

 

Second formal nite was on next to last nite on board. In our case, that was Friday nite

 

Hope this helps

[Cruizin' Dude]

I was on the Dawn out of San Francisco 2 years ago to Mexico. Beautiful ship, wonderful crew. I happen to live in SF, and was on the local Golden Gate Ferry on my way into the city. We went to see the Festival of Sail, featuring all the Tall ships of days past. On our way back home on the ferry, we got to watch the Dawn sail out. Was a great site to see, hope you all are having fun. I'm envious! :)

[azrose]

First off, I was on this cruise too and it was truly a most wonderful experience.....I am already wishing to return!! Brett Cave is my most favorite entertainer in the whole wide world--EVER, EVER, EVER.....:D

 

As far as parking and loading at the dock to/from: we parked about 6 blocks away at a garage that was 10 per day.....it was a bit of a trek with the luggage. We now would know to drop off a person with the luggage and let the other person do the parking. We arrived early enough to have done that with no problem before the ship let the "old" passengers off.....before 8 am. Upon our return back to port, I don't know if there is any way to avoid the street mess. But, it did look worse than what it was. We left one person with luggage and went back for the car. We got through the cars/taxis/limos pretty easily. The police were aware everyone needed some slack and kept things moving even though we did double park and things like that.....if you want anymore explanation of things in SF---just ask. That was our first time leaving from SF so it was a learning experience as well for us!!

[SFParrtHd]

I haven't sailed Princess in a while, so please forgive my questions if they seem dumb...

1. You say Dawn Princess has anytime dining - that is like Diamond Princess with 4 restaurants in addition to the main dining room, right?

 

2. Did you have chocolate buffet on this cruise?

 

3. Day 2 was one of the formal nights. Which day was the other?

 

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and did not have any hassle in boarding. Embarkation from here can be hectic - with the morons who work the ports (no organization whatsoever).

 

OT, What recruit class were you in? Are you refering to the porters or the PD?

[melika091900]

Glad you had a good time! You sure got your review written quickly! We were on the same cruise as you and also had a good time! We were able to get a table in the Florentine Dining room every night at 5:30 with no problem. Did you notice that about 25% or more of the people (men and women) wore JEANS??? The sign just said no shorts, tanks, or baseball caps. Even on the two formal nights, I noticed a couple people slip by in jeans, believe it or not! Formal night had a fair amount of men wearing Dockers and button down shirts and women just wearing nice slack or skirts with blouses or sweaters. So things are getting more casual all the time!

I am going to write a review also. Plus I got copies of the Dinner Menus and Princess Platters which I will post somewhere at some point in time!

My absolute favorite entertainer on board was Brett Cave! His final performance was absolutely awesome! Unfortunately, he was getting off the same day as us to go back to the U.K. They will have a hard time filling his spot!

 

hello there from the bay area, would you mind emailing me the princess patters and the menus? we leave next week,

 

thank you so mcuh

melissa

melissaofoia@sbcglobal.net

[sfpd3000]

OT, What recruit class were you in? Are you refering to the porters or the PD?

 

198th. You?

I'm referring to neither porters or PD. The people inside can't control anything. When we boarded in May, they were letting a group of people move to the next room and then stopping the rest of us. Then they would let another group go and hold everybody again. Have they ever heard of boarding passes (VIPS get Pass #1, first arrivals get Pass #2, and so on)? They used that in 2007!

[sfpd3000]

There were 2 restaurants with Traditional Dining and 2 with Anytime.

 

There was no chocolate buffet

 

Second formal nite was on next to last nite on board. In our case, that was Friday nite

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

[bdjam]

"morons"? how charitable. As one of the people that works at the port, I really find that comment (from someone in your profession) to be very demeaning. Most of the problems at embarkation are caused by the "lack" of traffic control pierside....now who do you think is in charge of that???????

Having sailed numerous times out of and into San Francisco, I will have to agree with 'bear. Getting to the pier or off of it can sometimes be difficult due to traffic. I live 30 minutes outside the city and it has taken me 90 minutes to get from my house to the pier - 30 to get across the Bay Bridge and to the waterfront and another sixty to get from the Embarcadero to the pier. When disembarking, I walk off the pier and toward Pier 39 so that my ride can get me where it's less congested.

 

Not that I'm complaining - I find the energy and the hub-bub a great way to start a cruise. But there is a marked difference once you're on the pier and in the hands of the Princess representatives. I usually time my arrival on the pier so that I don't have to deal with boarding groups. I have always been treated well by the Princess representatives and have no complaints.

There were 2 restaurants with Traditional Dining and 2 with Anytime.

And by the way, this is incorrect. Dawn Princess has two main dining rooms - one is designated for Anytime Dining, the other for Traditional.

[SFParrtHd]

198th. You?

I'm referring to neither porters or PD. The people inside can't control anything. When we boarded in May, they were letting a group of people move to the next room and then stopping the rest of us. Then they would let another group go and hold everybody again. Have they ever heard of boarding passes (VIPS get Pass #1, first arrivals get Pass #2, and so on)? They used that in 2007!

 

DH in the 110th - Solo's last 23 yr, now retired. Tier 1. You?

 

Now we understand who you were refering to as the "morons". We have sailed in and out of SF about 9 times. Sometimes are worse than others. This May was the best ever, but one never knows.

[aaerobear]

We "morons" on the inside handle the boarding process the way we are instructed by each of the different cruise lines. If you were sailing in May,it had to be either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity (I doubt it was Regent) and they certainly use the boarding number system (numbers are only used until the ship starts boarding as the passengers are directed to the lounge on the second floor) once boarding begins, the numbers are no longer required. As for moving from one room to another, if one room is full of people, what sense would it make to keep letting more people in the room (there are two rooms in the lounges)

 

Princess uses the number system, but the numbers are given out in the upper lounge (except for "preferred" passengers who get their "vip" boarding cards at check-in). When boarding is announced the preferred passengers are called first and the numbers are called in order. If you arrive after boarding has started there are no numbers given out. Sometimes the passengers have to be held in groups because of security and the fact that the baggage carts are also crossing the passenger lines to the gangway, thus making it necessary to hold passengers back while the carts pass through.

[SFParrtHd]

Just to clarify, I was just trying to figure out who the poster was referring to as "morons". I agree with bdjam, we have always been treated well by the Princess employees and, generally, boarding went smoothly. It all depends when you arrive at the Pier.

[karenem]

I was on the July 6 sailing, and we nearly missed the ship because we didn't leave enough time for the Embarcadero traffic. The time from when the Dawn came into view to the time we got to Pier 35 was over 45 minutes. My husband dropped off luggage, me, and kids, parked in the nearby garage, and met us there. That's definitely the way to do go. Just make sure *each* person has their boarding paperwork!

 

Debarkation was *incredibly* congested. The traffic cops were out in force trying to keep some sort of minimal order, but still, people would try to force their way in so that *nobody* could move. There's just not enough space there, period. It took about 1/2 hour of sitting with the luggage on the sidewalk for my husband to get the car and traverse the 1 block to the pier so we could load up. Very frustrating, but the cops and porters were doing the best they could to avoid total gridlock.

[karenem]

Oh, one other thing: I completely agree that Victoria was *much* too short a stop. We did the butterfly and Butchart Gardens tour, and had literally 0.5 hour at one, and 1.5 hours at the other, which is IMHO about 1/3 the time it should be to actually see and enjoy them.

[charleskatz@comcast.net]

thanks for the headup Dale&l leave on the August 15th sailing on the Dawn.

living here in the City the ship has become something of a fixture as if it

were a muni waiting for the next boarding.

we enjoy the fixed table/late dining as l always bring 2 magnums of wine

to share.

the thought of having to fly to a cruise destination with all the airline mess

would seem to take a whole lot of pleasure out of the whole experience.

l think from now on we will just do cruises from here.:cool: charlietuna

[Bobed1927]

We're going to Alaska on the Dawn soon. On previous cruises to Alaska on another ship there was a forward facing lounge with wrap around windows where one could sit and enjoy the scenery from inside. What would be the best place inside on the Dawn to enjoy the Alaska scenery while the ship is sailing?

[bdjam]

We're going to Alaska on the Dawn soon. On previous cruises to Alaska on another ship there was a forward facing lounge with wrap around windows where one could sit and enjoy the scenery from inside. What would be the best place inside on the Dawn to enjoy the Alaska scenery while the ship is sailing?

A comperable area would be Horizon Court on Dawn Princess, but staff does prefer that you not take up space there if you're not eating - it can become crowded.

[TorontoTL]

I was in San Francisco on the weekend and saw the Dawn Princess at the Pier. She is a great ship and I'd love to do another cruise onboard her sometime in the future. Thanks for the writing the review.

[bdjam]

I was in San Francisco on the weekend and saw the Dawn Princess at the Pier. She is a great ship and I'd love to do another cruise onboard her sometime in the future. Thanks for the writing the review.

You were in San Francisco and you didn't call me? :mad: :( :eek:

[TorontoTL]

You were in San Francisco and you didn't call me? :mad: :( :eek:

 

I'm sorry Brian! I was there for work and the only free time I had left I met up with a couple of friends of mine from a scooter forum called Modern Vespa. They lent me a Vespa and took me on a tour of San Francisco and its surrounds. I actually was going to call you until they offered to take me around San Francisco on Vespa.

 

Sorry :(

 

Benny

[bdjam]

I'm sorry Brian! I was there for work and the only free time I had left I met up with a couple of friends of mine from a scooter forum called Modern Vespa. They lent me a Vespa and took me on a tour of San Francisco and its surrounds. I actually was going to call you until they offered to take me around San Francisco on Vespa.

No worries Benny - hope you enjoyed the tour of the city.

[TorontoTL]

No worries Benny - hope you enjoyed the tour of the city.

 

Yes, you are so lucky to live in San Francisco. If I had to choose a city in the US to live in, SF would be it. I'll definitely call you next time I'm in the city. I may take a weeks vacation there next summer. There is a huge Vespa event happening in San Jose next year that I might attend. I would definitely have enough time to meet with you then.:)