Dawn Princess couple of questions

[Wildence]

sorry if some questions are very silly!

 

1. All-Inclusive Beverage Package for one? yay or nay? i do like my wine and cocktails! would i be able to share some of the drinks with my hubby? :p

2. Do they supply mineral water on board? would it be extra charge? i assume tap water wont be recommended to drink? and especially for kids?

3. Is there a kettle and microwave in the cabin? (to boil water for the kids to drink and warm up milk before their naps)

4. we took last balcony room, and i think bed configuration will be pretty crappy... are they able to provide withe the cot?

5. it says that kids club is from 3 years of age... are these clubs, leave your kids and go? or stay with your kids?would they take 2 yo? or they are very strict? we have 2 kids. 1 is 3 years of age and his younger brother is under 2...

6. must pack items for kids? do we need to take AUS / US adapter with us?

 

Thank you all so much!

[Wildence]

two more questions! :)

 

7. would we be allowed to take kids to have dinner with us in the main restaurant? or better to always eat at the 24h buffet?

8. how do they cater to intolerance? one of the kids is diary and gluten free. if we require rice milk, where would we be able to find it? or do we take it with us on board?

 

Thank you again!!

[rkmw]

sorry if some questions are very silly!

 

1. All-Inclusive Beverage Package for one? yay or nay? i do like my wine and cocktails! would i be able to share some of the drinks with my hubby? :p

2. Do they supply mineral water on board? would it be extra charge? i assume tap water wont be recommended to drink? and especially for kids?

3. Is there a kettle and microwave in the cabin? (to boil water for the kids to drink and warm up milk before their naps)

4. we took last balcony room, and i think bed configuration will be pretty crappy... are they able to provide withe the cot?

5. it says that kids club is from 3 years of age... are these clubs, leave your kids and go? or stay with your kids?would they take 2 yo? or they are very strict? we have 2 kids. 1 is 3 years of age and his younger brother is under 2...

6. must pack items for kids? do we need to take AUS / US adapter with us?

 

Thank you all so much!

 

i can answer a few questions

 

you cannot share the drink package and if caught they could cancel it with no refund

 

not sure about mineral water but the water is fine to drink

 

no kettle or microwave in the cabin due to fire hazard but you can get hot water from the buffett 24/7

[By The Bay]

sorry if some questions are very silly!

 

1. All-Inclusive Beverage Package for one? yay or nay? i do like my wine and cocktails! would i be able to share some of the drinks with my hubby? :p A definite no no.

2. Do they supply mineral water on board? would it be extra charge? Yes i assume tap water wont be recommended to drink? and especially for kids? The ships water if fine, no problems.

3. Is there a kettle and microwave in the cabin? (to boil water for the kids to drink and warm up milk before their naps) No, use room service to heat up your drinks.

4. we took last balcony room, and i think bed configuration will be pretty crappy... are they able to provide withe the cot?

5. it says that kids club is from 3 years of age... are these clubs, leave your kids and go? or stay with your kids?would they take 2 yo? or they are very strict? we have 2 kids. 1 is 3 years of age and his younger brother is under 2...

6. must pack items for kids? Snacks do we need to take AUS / US adapter with us? AUS outlet, no need for US adapter.

 

Thank you all so much!

See comments in Red above.

[GUT2407]

two more questions! :)

 

7. would we be allowed to take kids to have dinner with us in the main restaurant? or better to always eat at the 24h buffet?

8. how do they cater to intolerance? one of the kids is diary and gluten free. if we require rice milk, where would we be able to find it? or do we take it with us on board?

 

Thank you again!!

 

7. Kids are welcome in MDR, but only you know their behavior, would you take then to a reasonable restaurant on land?

 

8. DD an adult, is gluten and dairy intolerant and get by fine, well if anything better than eating out on land.

 

Re earlie Q Dawn has Us Power points.

[Wildence]

all right awesome! thanks all for replying..

q1. lets forget about the hubby, he can have his water..

would you recommend all inclusive drinks package in general?

[LC1950]

Wildence, not sure about rice milk, never seen it on board the Dawn Princess (cruised on her twice), but then again, I've never gone looking for it. Perhaps a phone call or email to Princess would be an idea. At the same time, be sure to alert them to your child's dietary intolerances and needs. They are very used to accommodating these sorts of issues.

 

The all inclusive drinks package isn't for us. I'm afraid we don't drink enough to get our money's worth. :rolleyes: But we do buy a coffee card each for our specialty coffees.

 

And yes, the power point in the cabin is Australian not U.S.

 

Also, there are self service laundry rooms on each of the cabin decks. Can't remember how much per wash and dry but there is an iron and ironing board in each laundry too.

[By The Bay]

sorry if some questions are very silly!

 

6. must pack items for kids? do we need to take AUS / US adapter with us?

 

Thank you all so much!

From the Princess web site: "Three styles of electrical power sockets: US sockets are 110v, 60-cycle AC with standard 3-prong. UK style square pin sockets and Australian sockets are 220v 60Hz power supply."

[Aus Traveller]

Nearly all of your questions have been answered. I think one question that wasn't relates to the kids club. From 3 years of age you can leave the kids there, but only when you are on the ship (not in port when you leave the ship). They need to be able to contact you if necessary. Children under 3 can be taken to the kids club, but the parent/guardian has to stay with them.

 

Princess is fantastic helping people with food intolerances. One of the head waiters will discuss with you the choices for the next meal and these are ordered for you ahead. You just tell them your cabin number and the food is delivered to the table at the same time as everyone else's food.

 

Don't worry about drinking the water on the ship. We have been cruising for more than 30 years and have always drunk the ship's water. In the cabin, this is the water from the hand basin. The water is purer than you would get in your reticulated water supply at home.

 

Have a fantastic cruise.:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

We thought the drinks package was good value for us - we typically had 3 cocktails, 3-5 glasses of wine, bottled water, and coffees each day.

 

I found the tap water in our cabin, both on Sun and Dawn, was foul. No way would I drink it. It was bad enough cleaning my teeth with it.

[clairebearinaus]

Wine by the glass is about $8 and most cocktails are $14 approx, if that helps you work out the value of the package.

 

Basically, you need to be putting away 8 beers or wines a day to break even. That's surprisingly easy on sea days. If you'll also be drinking coffees and bottled water, it's easier to get in front.

[Mobi Cruiser]

As a matter of interest, do they put the 15% gratuity on top of the daily charge or is it already included? $64.95 can then become $74.35.

[Aus Traveller]

As a matter of interest, do they put the 15% gratuity on top of the daily charge or is it already included? $64.95 can then become $74.35.

On Princess cruises from Australia there are no gratuities added. No 15% to drinks, no auto tip every day. With the drinks package, keep in mind that it is every day - port days as well as sea days. Whether it would be worth it for you depends on how much you drink. It wouldn't work for us because we only have a glass or two of wine with dinner. We usually do not finish a bottle between us so the waiter keeps it for us for the next night.

[cheznandy]

Is it still the case to buy the drink package onboard Princess as it's $59 inc of gratuities? My cruise personaliser shows all different prices for the 3 Princess cruises I have booked, they are all highrer than $59!

Anyone been recently, I know OzKiwiJJ said they purchased onboard for $59, so just checking that is still the case.

I would rather use our OBC and purchase onboard if it is cheaper.

 

Chez

[Wildence]

Thank you all for your replies!

What a great forum!!!

 

 

What kind of cocktails do they serve on Dawn Princess? I was disappointed with the cocktails on Royal Caribbean couple of years ago, as they were pre mixed and not freshly made.

[Wildence]

Is it still the case to buy the drink package onboard Princess as it's $59 inc of gratuities? My cruise personaliser shows all different prices for the 3 Princess cruises I have booked, they are all highrer than $59!

Anyone been recently, I know OzKiwiJJ said they purchased onboard for $59, so just checking that is still the case.

I would rather use our OBC and purchase onboard if it is cheaper.

 

Chez

 

Could it be US$ 59? hence higher in AUD?

[clairebearinaus]

Thank you all for your replies!

What a great forum!!!

 

 

What kind of cocktails do they serve on Dawn Princess? I was disappointed with the cocktails on Royal Caribbean couple of years ago, as they were pre mixed and not freshly made.

 

On Golden Princess recently they were adding booze to pre mixed bases e.g. pina colada mix.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Could it be US$ 59? hence higher in AUD?

 

Nope, it was AU $59 onboard, and we found it very good value.

Edited November 20, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

On Golden Princess recently they were adding booze to pre mixed bases e.g. pina colada mix.

 

I didn't try a pina colada on Dawn - after a horrible one on RCI I wasn't risking it.

 

Martinis were great, especially the pmegranate one. The key lime pie martini was made fresh and was wonderful - it has lime juice, coconut cream, and vodka in it. Too rich for me as a pre-dinner drink but a great after dinner cocktail.

[cheznandy]

Nope, it was AU $59 onboard, and we found it very good value.

 

Thanks:)I knew you had posted it somewhere, just couldn't find it, and wasn't sure if things had changed, personliser still showing 3 different prices for different cruises on Dawn, Emerald and Golden.

Wonder what happens to those that buy online before departure then find that it is $59 onboard?

 

I didn't try a pina colada on Dawn - after a horrible one on RCI I wasn't risking it.

 

Martinis were great, especially the pmegranate one. The key lime pie martini was made fresh and was wonderful - it has lime juice, coconut cream, and vodka in it. Too rich for me as a pre-dinner drink but a great after dinner cocktail.

 

Agree, I watched cocktails being made on Radiance and EVERYTHING came out of a carton. They were all sweet and sickly.

I love the Martinis on Princess, love their long list on the cocktail menu, my husband had a plan to get through every martini on the list on a 23 night cruise, he didn't get there because he kept going back to the ones he liked:p

 

The Key Lime Pie one sounds yum, it's my favourite Princess dessert.

 

Chez

[LC1950]

Yep, with you cheznandy and OzKiwiJJ on the great martinis on Princess. They also do a great lime daiqueri too. I tried my first (and only) pina colada on the Dawn Princess and certainly wasn't fond ... far too sweet and sickly for my taste and freezing cold too. LOL talk about brain freeze. :eek:

[Wastegirl]

We had the drink's package on the Diamond in October, purchased on board it was $59 per person. I heard that if you buy it on line before you leave, as you are purchasing it in Australia, you must pay the GST as well, hence the higher price. I also heard that the GST portion is refunded once you are on board but I have not seen any proof of this.

 

I would need to drink several glasses of wine/beer, a couple of cocktails, speciality coffees, bottled water, etc to make the package viable. I was most likely on par but for my husband it was definitely worth while. It would depend on the length of my cruise as I can only drink so much alcohol, so for an 8-10 night I would get it but for anything longer I might only get the mocktail package for me and the all inclusive for my husband, as I like alcohol free days.

 

It was really easy to purchase on board, there was someone selling it in the Buffet when we went for lunch the first day. I must admit it was certainly worry free drinking and that an be dangerous :D

[cheznandy]

We had the drink's package on the Diamond in October, purchased on board it was $59 per person. I heard that if you buy it on line before you leave, as you are purchasing it in Australia, you must pay the GST as well, hence the higher price. I also heard that the GST portion is refunded once you are on board but I have not seen any proof of this.

 

I would need to drink several glasses of wine/beer, a couple of cocktails, speciality coffees, bottled water, etc to make the package viable. I was most likely on par but for my husband it was definitely worth while. It would depend on the length of my cruise as I can only drink so much alcohol, so for an 8-10 night I would get it but for anything longer I might only get the mocktail package for me and the all inclusive for my husband, as I like alcohol free days.

 

It was really easy to purchase on board, there was someone selling it in the Buffet when we went for lunch the first day. I must admit it was certainly worry free drinking and that an be dangerous :D

 

Thanks for that info Elise.

Not sure if it is worth it for us either, not these days anyway! but good to know it is available on board for that price, for us it makes no sense to pre purchase as we usually have a lot of combinable OBC with Princess, so can use that onboard.

 

Chez

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks:)I knew you had posted it somewhere, just couldn't find it, and wasn't sure if things had changed, personliser still showing 3 different prices for different cruises on Dawn, Emerald and Golden.

 

I've found the online price for the Golden repo cruise up to Hong Kong is good value. The onboard currency will be USD on that cruise. The online drinks price I saw was $61.99. Onboard it would cost US $56.35 per day including gratuities, which converts to AU $79.31 at the exchange rate when I booked it, so a real bargain buying ahead of time, and it also works out a dollar or so cheaper than buying the OBC to buy it onboard.

 

Agree, I watched cocktails being made on Radiance and EVERYTHING came out of a carton. They were all sweet and sickly.

 

I don't understand why those premixes are so popular. They are disgustingly sweet. I tend to prefer very tart cocktails. On Dawn I managed to get one bartender to make me long caprioskas for my afternoon cocktail. He'd make it bigger than a normal caprioska (I think) and serve it in a tall glass with lots of ice. Refreshing and delicious on a hot day.

Edited November 21, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[Wildence]

Thank you guys!

very disappointing to hear that cocktails are all not freshly made.