Dawn Princess Reviews

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We chose this cruise to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary and our 70th birthdays in the comfort of a mini-suite. Visiting new ports Tonga.Hilo,Kauui,Kona in the Hawaiian Islands, and Raiatea in Tahiti, Pago Pago and Suva. Previously visited ports Maui and Honolulu. Papeete, Moorea and Bora Bora. Company organised port tours are more expensive than privately organised an example the visit to Taha's Island in Raiatea was the highlight were our host Bruno Fabra (www.tahaa,net) with a French family spent the whole day visiting pearl & vanilla farms and the beautiful coral gardens.The ship although becoming aged is a fine and comfortable vessel. It was in dry dock in Brisbane 4 years ago to fit the big screen again this month Princess Cruises has the Dawn out of the water in Brisbane.to have her bottom scraped and her top panted. The crew were nothing short of marvelous some showed fatigue working 11 hours a day every day with only a few hours off a shore at some ports. Entertainment,the Cruise Director and his crew were excellent on the go all day every day. Entertainers, some were good some not so good, can't please all the people all the time. The ships dancers were excellent the orchestra as well though we all new who their leader was the drummer. Pleased we joined in our home state we were not restricted by with our bags though we took more than we used. In all we enjoyed the whole cruise.

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My wife and I embarked on Dawn Princess docked at Circular Quay in Sydney, Australia in March, 2012 for the 28 day cruise around Australia - Sydney to Sydney. We stayed at the Marriott Circular Quay which meant we could walk to the Opera House, Royal Botanical Gardens, and to Dawn Princess when it came in. (Be sure to have fish and chips near the Manly ferry - but watch out for sneaky birds grabbing a bite if you eat outside.) I recommend that you arrive in Sydney two or three days early (or stay after the cruise) if you haven't already experienced this beautiful city with its magnificent harbor. We thoroughly enjoyed this ship with its dedicated and happy crew, great programs, and wonderful food in all venues, the buffet open almost all the time. (An hour after we got off Dawn after the 28 day cruise we were on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas for an 18 day cruise to Honolulu, so we have a good comparison - Dawn was much superior in many ways to Rhapsody in our opinion - especially the food and friendly service on Dawn.) The itinerary was interesting with stops at most major Australia cities though I would have liked a stop at Townsville. (We were scheduled for 13 stops but skipped one due to high swells.) If you have a balcony try to get on the port, left side for more frequent land views all the way around the continent. The Indian Ocean was a bit rough at times but otherwise it was smooth sailing. With the USA dollar depressed in comparison to the AUD, we found everything in Australia to be very expensive (compared to the USA) including excursions booked on the ship. The best value for the money and much less expensive than Australia was an all day bus trip in Bali, Indonesia - they really treated us well, starting with music and dancers right at the Benoa tender port who were still there when we got back hours later. And they fed us royally in a beautiful outdoor garden restaurant. (This is Asia though, if you wander from tourist stops you'll have to make do with squat toilets - you know, the hole in the floor with footsteps on either side!) One tip about this itinerary though, being such a long trip probably, almost all the guests were seniors, some most likely in their 80's. So you may need a bit more patience than on shorter trips that younger people commonly frequent. All in all, this was a really good trip, not one to be repeated most likely, but a great memory for decades, and loads of photos. And a very good introduction to Australia and fair dinkum Australians - and to some strange wild life if you include that in your excursions. (Don't try to pet the Tasmanian devils!) We thoroughly enjoyed sailing with Princess once again, though our balcony room on Aloha deck was very small, the balcony itself really tiny.

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North Americans should be warned that this cruise is specifically for Australians; many of whom use it as transportation around Australia to visit family members. The ports are nothing to speak of with very little to do at most of them. We saw more war memorials than we've ever seen in our lives, but at some ports that was the highlight. The people were very polite and very excited to have a cruise ship in port. But we didn't fly 7,500 miles to visit a woman's garden or look at cows and cabbage fields! We understand Princess is just introducing cruising in Australia, but we had no idea they wouldn't offer the things we've come to expect from a Princess Cruise. There was no Elite Lounge, no Chef's Table, a laughable excuse for a steakhouse (a curtained off part of the buffet), no Sabatini's, terrible nightly entertainment (with the exception of the production shows), and an overly casual style of dress. After speaking with both the Captain's Circle Hostess and the Cruise Director the first week, we were informed someone would be getting back to us to discuss our issues with the cruise. No one ever did. The seas were extremely rough at least half of the time (we're bruised from being tossed around the ship...particularly in our bathroom). And it's not terribly appetizing to see "barf bags" splayed attractively across many flat services (including the Maitre D' station of the restaurants) and attached to every stairwell. The one positive note was that the food was very good. In fact, some of the best we've ever had on a ship. The dining room was at least half empty most nights, as the Aussies seem to prefer to eat at the buffet and certainly don't believe in getting dressed up! My husband brought a tuxedo and I brought several dressy outfits. After the second formal evening, we gave up on wearing them. Many passengers considered a short-sleeved sports shirt with a pair of slacks and a tie to be formal; which it was when you compare it to the t-shirts and flip/flops (thongs) they wore most nights. The entertainment, as I said, was very disappointing. In general, it was extremely juvenile. Aussie humor is much different from ours...in a Three Stooges/slapstick kind of a way. Many of the terms that were used in the jokes were Aussie specific and we didn't have a clue what they were talking about. The highlight (actually low point) was the evening the entertainer sat on a folding chair with a strong light aimed at him and made shadow puppets for our entertainment. I kid you not! The Aussies loved him. We found it insulting. There was a movie every night, but I don't necessarily consider that entertainment worthy of a cruise line. I can watch movies at home. The singers were terrible and would be boo'd off most stages. They perhaps would have been acceptable had they not been leaping about (literally one singer leapt from one side of the stage to the other as he sang...no dancing...just leaping) or dressed in crazy costumes. And Australians apparently think it's perfectly acceptable to sing along with any entertainer on stage...even if they can't sing. The passenger talent show had several acts that were far superior to those presented by the stage each evening. The passengers tended to be in the 70-90 age range with a huge number of walkers, wheelchairs and canes (sticks). I suppose the cruise served its purpose...we saw Australia, but would have enjoyed a trip to Australia far more had we gone on our own and spent more time in Sydney and more time at the Great Barrier Reef. Lesson learned! We have also been told that cruises around Japan (which we were very interested in booking) are handled in a similar way. Food, entertainment, announcements all geared toward the Japanese consumer. I'm glad we were warned. We'll either look at other cruiselines for a similar trip or do a land-based trip and skip the convenience of cruising all together. PORT (AIRLIE BEACH): We took a Sail the Whitsundays cruise that was very nice. The catamaran is clean and fairly spacious. The lunch they served was excellent. Unfortunately, it rained (monsoon rains) the entire day, so we weren't able to see as much as we would have liked, but the staff was exceptionally friendly and accommodating. Do NOT do the Great Barrier Reef trip from this port if you can do it from Port Douglas!! This port has a smaller platform and a two-hour catamaran ride in each direction, which gives you less time at the Reef. PORT (Port Douglas): We took a Great Barrier Reef tour from this port and loved it. It's a 90-minute catamaran ride to the platform. The platform was fabulous and beyond our imagination. It included a lovely buffet lunch, the opportunity to snorkel (all gear included in the price), or scuba dive (if you are certified), ride a glass-bottom boat, view the reef and fish from a tunnel underwater (like in an aquarium), and take a helicopter ride (additional charge) over the reef. Truly a magical day and a highlight of our entire 35 days in Australia. PORT (Benoa, Bali): Took an Elephant Safari and loved it. The day is long and included a stop for shopping in a small town, which wasn't worth the time. The Elephant Safari is high up in the mountains and probably can't be safely done on your own (due to time restrictions). The Elephant Safari included a lovely buffet lunch, a 35-minute ride on an elephant with the handler sitting on the elephant's neck and answering questions or talking about the elephant and his/her training. Another highlight of our entire trip! PORT (Perth): Went to the Aquarium of Western Australia. It was fabulous. PORT (Bunbury): Couldn't dock due to winds and bad weather. PORT (Albany): Went to the Albany Wind Farm, which was very interesting. We've never been close to a wind thingy (I don't know what they are called...windmill? turbine?), but we sat on a bench underneath one and could count the revolutions and hear how quiet they are. It was interesting. PORT (Burnie, Tasmania): Not sure why the ship even bothered to stop here. A VERY small town (under 20,000 people) with very, very little to offer. A ride around the countryside to see cows, sheep, and vegetable fields; a trip to Preston Falls (small if you've seen other falls), and a stop in Penguin (the town) to see a 12-foot statue of a penguin. No actual penguins...just a statue of a penguin. PORT (Hobart, Taxmania): Very nice botanical gardens (can spend several hours here), nice city drive, a fun visit to the Cadbury chocolate factory, which included an entertaining overview of how chocolate is made and a visit to the outlet store to buy chocolates that aren't available in our part of the world. And the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. What could be bad about cream with melted chocolate it in topped with whipped cream?

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Having sailed extensively on Celebrity and RCC ships we chose this cruise to sample Princess to see how they compared. I've been on old ships, new ships, big ships and small ones and almost without exception had a marvellous time. All ships have their own personality. Some suit certain travellers. All have strengths and weaknesses. Over the years I've only really ever heard very complimentary things about Princess Cruises and I know they have many fans. Especially of the food. Although I must add I had read a few reviews on here at CC before sail away about Dawn Princess that I'd considered overly harsh. I tend to be a very positive person and have yet to write a negative review of a cruise. I was surprised by what I discovered on board. Sadly Dawn Princess does not reflect well on the brand, to the point where I will not consider another Princess Cruise. Why? The ship is very, very dated. Like an RSL, but not a good one. It is showing its age and it shouldn't be. Princess management has a lot for answer for. In this day and age there really is no excuse for a ship going 5-10 years without a total refit. To me 10 years is even far too long. This ship does not appear to have had ANY work done on it since it was launched 15 years ago. There has been some fiddling around the edges, such as the addition of the outdoor movie screen, which is impressive, but the basics have been ignored completely. Certainly the carpets are not thread bare and the fabrics on the furniture is OK, but only just, which at least means that they are being maintained, but it really is decor going back 15 years and it looks appalling and feels depressing. Seriously. Cabin: As for cabins, one of the things I look forward to most on a cruise is climbing into a supremely comfortable bed and enjoying a beautiful sleep. Not on Dawn Princess. The beds are very old and feel it. I equated it to like sleeping on someone's sofa bed. And the pillows were old, disgusting and really lumpy. Two together were so flat they weren't even as high as one of my pillows at home. The print on the wall would have looked dated 15 years, after all that time at sea it was faded beyond belief. We had significant rust on our balcony and this was accompanied by bright blue plastic matting on the floor that you would expect to see on a fishing boat. Rust happens on all ships, even new ones, but good cruise lines rarely let it go unpainted for long especially on balconies. I'm used to small cabins but these are the smallest I have 'enjoyed'. There is no separate sofa on which to sit, only a crappy tub chair thrown into a corner that only serves to take up valuable space. Flat screen TVs had been added at some stage but these were the smallest Princess could have found, fitted to a hideous mount that wouldn't swivel - go figure. In reality bathrooms are one aspect of a ship that really can't be updated. And if the rest of the ship was up to standard these excessively small, badly designed ones could be over looked - sadly they only added to the gloom, they were a dull musky colour. Public areas/bars: Again dated, dark and depressing decor through out. 15 year old faded plastic plants are a feature of the main atrium. The wheelhouse bar is just sad. As are virtually all of the bars, most decked out with uncomfortable tub chairs. And here's the rub, a total refurbishment can transform a ship and make it appear and feel just like a new one. But the real problem with Dawn Princess is that even if this was done, and it should be, there are structural problems in the design that are virtually impossible fix. The lifts are badly positioned and incredibly slow. I'd never really thought about lifts on other cruises, as they all seemed to run smoothly. On Dawn Princess everyone complained about them. You'd wait for ages, minutes at a time, and when a lift did arrive, you'd have to run across the width of the ship only to miss it. The Atrium is served by its own lifts but they only go through about 4 levels which only added to the problems. Instead of one large two story dining room, Dawn Princess has two on top of each other with low ceilings that make it seem cramped. As too are most ceilings on the ship. Some passenger corridors funnel down to half width and even have strange corners and steep ramps in them. All very strange and poorly designed. The Princess theatre is only one level and hence no where near enough room to sit everyone for popular shows. Hence people hog chairs very early and if you want to ensure a seat you have rush through dinner and even skip desert. The Horizon Court Buffet was perhaps the biggest disappointment. The food from the dining room was a highlight of the cruise, but not that different, or indeed better than what we've had on Celebrity. Like the Princess Theatre it was simply too small for the number of people on the ship. Much again comes down to poor design and even with a few people the lines for food were unacceptable and cheapened the whole experience. RCC and Celebrity do buffets so much better than this. Princess have what they call a Premium dining experience - A steak house at $20 extra P/P. What a joke. Late in the afternoon staff fence off part of the buffet and start to hang very tacky nylon curtains. So there you are fenced off in the corner of the buffet and expected to pretend it is a fine dining experience - lights on the slanted windows mean that only view is of you and party eating, and of course those hideous curtains. Are they kidding??? - apparently not. It really is dodgy brothers. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the great staff and service on board. All were very happy, accommodating and professional and many went beyond expectations. Most other ships cruising around Australia have two pools, one enclosed for inclement weather. You would think that as Princess has so many cruises that spend a lot of time in NZ and Tassie that they would allocate a ship with a solarium style pool. But no. On most ships that have these they are adult only spaces - Princess have this strange out door beast called the 'Sanctuary' which is an adult only space for an outrageous $10 per half day. That being said the pool areas were great and worked well, as were all of the outside bars. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other ships of this size and age can, and are, easily brought up to industry standard if money is spent on them. And if done properly they can be as enjoyable to cruise on, or more so, than the new mega ships. Just google images and reviews of Rhapsody of the Seas. She is like a new ship. And Rhapsody has none of the structural problems that plague Dawn Princess. Celebrity Millennium has also only just had a high glamour makeover. I find it appalling that Princess Cruises treat the Australian public with such disrespect and I feel saddest for all the people that choose Dawn Princess for their first cruise because it will likely turn many people off cruising for ever. It feels as if Princess Management thought ........ "What can we do with this old tired ship?, Hey instead of bringing it up to standard, lets send it down to Australia, they won't know any different?" "Oh and while we're at it lets charge them top dollar for the privilege".

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We received a special offer from Princess in February and decided to take this five day cruise as it was at Easter and fitted in with school holidays. Usually I prefer at least ten days on a ship to have time to get to know the vessel itself and to meet people. Joining in when most of the passengers had been cruising for 23 days is not the best start to a cruise as people are already in groups for socialising at bars or playing Trivia. That being said we were just beginning to meet new friends and the cruise was over but I knew from the start it was going to be too short. Princess lines did an excellent job with boarding and disembarking. Very well organised and no waiting time. With only 700 boarding in Melbourne waiting time should not be a problem anyway. The staff were very friendly and helpful and I was impressed how they assisted the elderly passengers on board of which there were many. The 'demographic' on this cruise would be the oldest I have experienced with lots of people needing assistance with mobility. Our particular dining and stateroom attendants were very professional as was the Customer Service desk the two times I went there. The visiting entertainment was very average. Princess singers and dancers were excellent as was some of the regular entertainment on board. eg New Deal in the Wheelhouse and Alan and Alana in the Atrium. The ship was very nice and I love the Promenade Deck where you can walk all the way around. I did miss not having a lounge up front on a high deck where you can sit and look out at the sea. The food was great and even though the buffet was often busy you could always find a seat especially if you were willing to share. We went on this ship to sample the Dawn Princess and an inside cabin. The cabins were the smallest we have even cruised in so be warned. I had to climb from the bottom of the bed at there was no room to walk around. I know some like smaller ships but I would not want to do a long cruise on Dawn Princess (that is more than 12-14 days) I would certainly not cruise in an inside cabin ever again on any ship.

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