madfisher

I personally think that the dawn is in a ship shape, the insides however, are not.:p

Only in Canberra do they make such sick jokes :D have a great day Mick

Bit surprised that potable piping was steel, haven't seen that in many, many years. The pipe on the Sky was polypropylene, thermowelded pipe. Apparently, one of the subcontractors installing it during new build did not weld the fittings correctly, and 8 years later they were failing.

Definitely steel on dawn as I was there when they were repairing it

Actually, on the Norwegian Sky, when she was the Pride of Aloha in Hawaii, renewed virtually every piece of potable water piping on the ship, while in service. We took one deck of pax cabins at a time out of inventory for a week, and renewed everything on that deck. Galley areas were done in shipyard. This was due to the increasingly frequent failures of the plastic water pipes installed at new build.

Thanks for your reply and you too kiwi

My observations while on board I Sept 2015 were that she had heavy rust scale everywhere you could see. Water pipes were steel. I can identify with PVC pipes giving out as I had a major problem on a ship I was working on some years ago. It created quite a mess throughout the ship. The cause was too much costic cleaning substances. This was waste water pipe not supply

Does anyone have access to or know of the proposed changes to Dawn princess soon to be rebadged for P&O as Pacific explorer. I am hoping for cabin upgrades, water pipe replacements and a total descale and repain as she is in very poor condition as she stands.

PS I am a ship builder by trade so please don't try to tell me she is in good shape.

Thanks in advance

Michael

I agree we were on her in September 2015 with same problems internal leaks everywhere refurbishing pizza outlet for entire cruise .

We did that cruise too.not only did it leak in the lifts, the pool bar, the bistro and several floors into cabins but our cabin was so small you almost had to take turns at being in it and there were only two of us there. I am hoping that they do a good job onthe refurbishment before they hand it over to p&o

Hi Mick, it's been a while. Can you shine any light on how many alteration will be made to Dawn Princess/Pacific Explorer and how they expect to get it done in such a Short time frame. I am booked to do Pacific on Explorer in August.

Thanks Michael from lake mac

Hi Madfisher,

 

There is a wealth of information on the Cruise Critic web site.

 

Can I suggest you try the following links as a starting point.

One of these is my own review from Radiance of The Seas back in 2012.

 

Disabled Cruise Travel on Cruise Critic

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

 

Cruises for Disabled Passengers

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/cruisestyles/area.cfm?area=30

 

Cruise reviews

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/styles/cruises-for-disabled/

 

My own review from 2012 on Radiance Of The Seas

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=96655

 

Ultimately you will need to confirm final details with the cruise line directly. They often have specialised staff to manage disabled or special needs customers.

 

Hope this helps

Mark.

Thanks everyone for you input I will follow up on your advise and hopefully find my friend a good cruise experience

Hi all

I have a friend who is severely disabled and would love to take a cruise.

He is quite a big person and will require mechanical assistance for personal issues and getting into bed etc, he would need to take his own chair. Is there a cruise line out of Sydney that would cater for his needs.

thanks

Hi all is there any word on drinks packs on Carnival Legend out of Sydney.

Now that Princess and P&O have it then it stands to reason that the parent company Carnival would have too. We are booked fro 26 Oct and would like to plan our expenses. 6 adults and 8 kids

thanks

P&O Cruises Australia​ will introduce an alcohol drinks package across the fleet -- if this week's trial on Pacific Pearl is successful.

 

Check out the details on our News page today:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/news.cfm?ID=6545

 

http://*******/1j920nt

 

Louise Goldsbury

Australia Editor

Cruise Critic

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Sorry I cannot help you with your question but this will get it back to the top as well.

Good luck.:D

Hi Mic

Just read the post re Numea unrest can you shed any light on the subject as we are heading there in 2 weeks on the Dawn Princess

thanks Michael

I believe they are good value. I had Premium last time on Celebrity Solstice and will do again for our next cruise. I found this calculator and modified it to almost current prices and you do not have to drink much to get your value.

 

Play with some numbers and see what you come up with.

Thanks for the calculator link .

We did the Hawaii to Sydney trip in 2013 and it was our first time with a drinks package. We didn't go overboard with drinks and found that compared to previous spending on drinks it was definitely worth it.

We are looking forward to our next cruise on the Dawn Princess 6/9/2015 and the concept of not having to worry about will we or can we afford another drink.

As posted before all drinks are included, not just alcohol. As for the soft drink pack. There is plenty to choose from. Then add the coffee pack and presto you are at the same price bracket as the all inclusive package.

For me it is not a matter of should I get the package or not but who will take my money once on board. I understand that all bars and the Purser's office are the go.

Jasmith that is why I prefaced my post with my intention that it was not to upset anyone.

I felt safe writing this post on the Aussie board because generally it's not an issue. Considering there is a long thread on cheap cruises, I think one can say we like to help others and generally are happy when someone gets a good deal.

I did also mention that at the end of the day my deal was not much better than if I booked it 3 months ago prior to final payment.

My intention was to show what I had to go through and the reasons behind my booking.

If I upset anyone that potentially read this post that is on the same cruise and is unhappy because I got a perceived better deal, then I'd be happy to shout them a beer on board as an apology :D

you gogo girl

everyone wishes you well and are genuinely happy for your great deal

don't know about martini's but would like to know if carnival are going to follow Princess with an alcohol package on Aussie cruises. for those who have already had a package with Princess, how did it all go????

I love the convenience.

 

The freedom (not thinking do I really want to spend the extra if I feel like a drink)

 

And the certainty, what my bill will be.

 

But then I ALWAYS get value out of my package.

I couldn't agree more. We had the package with Celebrity in 2013 Hawaii to Sydney. Feel like a drink, have one, no worrying about can I afford one more or what has it cost me so far. Just relax, have a drink, don't worry. We had a great cruise. So to see that Princess has introduced the pack is great news for our upcoming cruise on the Dawn Sept 6/15.

Max your review was great and only goes to show that the crew are a very important part of how you enjoy your cruise. My friends had issues that are more in keeping with attitude than services on board. As I said before, no such thing as a bad cruise. I'm hooked as are many others, even my mate from Penrith and they do about 3 a year. we were too late to book that cruise but will do it later.

Short answer is 'I don't know' but I believe there isn't any. In the past I have got the train to Central and then got a taxi (or the prearranged shuttle). The taxi cost ($30-50 depending on traffic) works out cheaper per person if more than two and is quicker and easier.

Thanks Mic

I have dropped people off and picked up there before and was quite impressed with how easy it was compared to OPT at the key.

We may have to con someone into dropping us off and picking us up.

I think any ferry service from anywhere will be an improvement on what is offered now.

hey mic , I havn't been to White Bay for a couple of years. Is there any long term parking there or near by

Thanks for the review Grey Nomad. Friends of ours from Penrith were on the same cruise.

Unlike you they didn't enjoy the trip. We are sailing on her in Sept to Fiji so we will make our own judgements. Mind you we haven't had a bad cruise yet. Life is what you make of it.

Unless you want to spend the money now (budget issues) or you already know you will drink that much each day than pre-purchase. otherwise, I think it is generally better to buy on board once you know if you will need it or not after one days drinking.

 

:D

Sorry Mic. I didn't read the thread above and am pleased to see the change in policy from Princess :)

Unless you want to spend the money now (budget issues) or you already know you will drink that much each day than pre-purchase. otherwise, I think it is generally better to buy on board once you know if you will need it or not after one days drinking.

 

:D

so Mic. My question is this. Why do Princess not offer an alcohol package for cruises out of Aus or is this the case with all cruise lines?????:eek:

P&O's coffee (free stuff in buffet and MDR) is steps above the syrup coffee used on all of the other lines I have been on. My normal morning coffee usually needs to be from Cafe's on the various ships.

Hey Mic I'm with you. I just loved those 3 shot coffees on the Solstice and the best part was they were covered by the Alcohol premium package.

Speaking of which, I am a bit miffed about not being able to get a drinks pack with Princess out of Sydney.

put me down for the Dawn Princess Sept 6 2015 to Fiji From Sydney

hello mic

long time since we last spoke. solstice 2013 from Hawaii

how is everything these days. lake Macquarie is still a great place.

regards michael

Thanks for sharing your fantastic photos! Great information & phenomenal photos!

 

We're taking the reverse cruise this Oct and are counting down the days. We were on Equinox earlier this year and are looking forward to being on her sister ship Solstice. We have cruised Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora several years ago and are looking forward to being there again, but this will be our first time to Australia.

 

Thanks again for the "Appetizer"!

Hi Kay&Mike

We too will be doing the Solstice trip in October and thanks to the great photo's We are so looking forward to it. There seems to be a great deal of excitement from both AUS and the USA on the solstice Roll call site.

Mic has given about the best weather report to date as the Pacific is very changeable. I was a seafarer in a past life and have experienced both best and worst that the sea can offer. The Solstice seems to be a relatively stable ship on face value. Maybe some past cruisers can confirm this. She could be a little top heavy. We are on the 6 the floor so if she rolls we won't feel it too much.:eek: