Dawn Princess Review (10-1 thru 10-11) Long

[CL-JW]

Hey---quick question---when we were onthe Dawn 2 summers ago in Alaska, there was a terrible stench right at the entrance of the Vista Lounge. They had fans there all the time. Did they straighten that out? Just curious.

 

We didn't notice any smell at the Vista Lounge. We had heard about it and were paying attention when we were there, but they must have cleared it up. We did have the slight sewer smell in our bathroom, but quickly got used to it.

[stephenandrew]

We didn't notice any smell at the Vista Lounge. We had heard about it and were paying attention when we were there, but they must have cleared it up. We did have the slight sewer smell in our bathroom, but quickly got used to it.

 

 

Glad the cleaned it up---you most definitely would have noticed it, if it were present. It was gross!!

[LHT28]

How long did it take to clear the ship on return to SFO?

 

I don't want to sit around the ship and maybe miss my only flight home at noon.

[CL-JW]

How long did it take to clear the ship on return to SFO?

 

I don't want to sit around the ship and maybe miss my only flight home at noon.

 

We were in the middle of the all the groups getting off - our luggage tags were Purple 2. We were off the ship by 10:15.

 

You can let the Purser's desk know earlier that you have an early flight and they will make sure you get one of the earliest debarkation tags. The first group was getting off at approx 9 or 9:15.

[meemeec]

Craig and Jack,

Last year when we did this itin on the Sapphire there was an early call at disembarkation for those who wanted to carry off their own luggage. As I recall it was the first call of the morning and we were off the ship by 8 or 8:15. Do you know if that option was available on your sailing?

Thanks,

Maureen

[CL-JW]

I honestly don't recall. I don't remember hearing anything like that though.

[Kentchikan]

Hi Craig and Jack,

Thanks for the great review. Extremely well done. We're booked on the 31st and actually were in SF the day you returned. We had lunch at Butterfly which looks onto the bow of the ship.

It makes me even more excited to go.

A Sterling Question: Is the steakhouse blocked off from the other area? If so, how? We loved the Sterling on the Pacific Princess.

Kent

[CL-JW]

A Sterling Question: Is the steakhouse blocked off from the other area? If so, how? We loved the Sterling on the Pacific Princess.

Kent

 

Not sure if or how they blocked it off, as we never ate there (mainly because it was just part of the Horizon Court). We went out on the deck in front of the Horizon at night and I really don't recall seeing anything blocked off - they just used the starboard entrance - and the tables were set as you would find in the dining rooms.

[crishsapig]

Awesome pics! It's amazing how much this ship reminds me of the Celebrity Mercury. I think we will feel right at home! ~Christine

 

Bonnie1750 - you will love leaving from San Francisco. So relaxing. And if you haven't already, log onto the roll-call for your cruise. It's always fun to meet your fellow posters!

 

Well we've begun putting up some photos from the cruise. We have two albums up now - one of "on board" pictures and one of the MANY different cruise ships we saw along the way. Click the link in our signature. The albums should be at the beginning and both start with "Dawn Princes".

 

Will be posting more pics this evening (it's amazing how time consuming it is to go through all of the pictures, but we love it).

 

Really appreciate everyone's feedback so far - thanks!

[blueiris]

:) Thank you for the nice review! We have been on the Dawn before and she is a very nice ship. We are sailing Jan 9th 06, the same route you did, so was nice to see what you thought of the itinerary. Thanks again

Matt and Kathy

 

Dawn princess Jan 2003

Island Princess Feb 2004

Dawn Princess Jan 2006

[sable1]

Thanks for the great review. Question, please. How long was the process to clear customs in S. Diego? What time were pax. allowed to start ashore?

Also, what time wewe pax. allowed to start embarking in S.F.?

Can't wait til the 31st.

Joanne

[sable1]

Thanks for the great review. Question, please. How long was the process to clear customs in S. Diego? What time were pax. allowed to start ashore?

Also, what time were pax. allowed to start embarking in S.F.?

Can't wait til the 31st.

Joanne

[CL-JW]

Thanks for the great review. Question, please. How long was the process to clear customs in S. Diego? What time were pax. allowed to start ashore?

Also, what time were pax. allowed to start embarking in S.F.?

Can't wait til the 31st.

Joanne

 

Joanne,

 

Customs in San Diego was a bit of a mess. Our deck (Baja) was supposed to go down between 7:30 - 8:00 (approx). When we went down, the line was stretching from the Vista Lounge, all the way to the front of the ship in the Wheelhouse. There seemed to be some sort of delay in getting Customs onboard. The line ended up stretching back down the other side of the ship.

 

On the positive side, once the line began to move, we were through it in about 15 - 20 minutes. People were getting off the ship by 9:30 or so.

 

In SF, we got to the pier at approx noon and we were able to get on board.

 

Have a great trip - look up Charlene in LaScala and say hi for Craig & Jack!

 

Hope this helps.

[crishsapig]

We have never had San Diego as a port before, only US port has been SF and customs was done there before disembarking so...since we hit SD this time we do customs there and not SF? I never thought about this before. I guess it will make disembarkion faster in SF. Thanks! ~Christine

 

Joanne,

 

Customs in San Diego was a bit of a mess. Our deck (Baja) was supposed to go down between 7:30 - 8:00 (approx). When we went down, the line was stretching from the Vista Lounge, all the way to the front of the ship in the Wheelhouse. There seemed to be some sort of delay in getting Customs onboard. The line ended up stretching back down the other side of the ship.

 

On the positive side, once the line began to move, we were through it in about 15 - 20 minutes. People were getting off the ship by 9:30 or so.

 

In SF, we got to the pier at approx noon and we were able to get on board.

 

Have a great trip - look up Charlene in LaScala and say hi for Craig & Jack!

 

Hope this helps.

[loriva]

Craig,

 

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the Dawn very shortly and are very much looking forward to it thanks to posts like yours!

[CL-JW]

Craig,

 

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the Dawn very shortly and are very much looking forward to it thanks to posts like yours!

 

Lori and Chris,

 

Thank you very much. We enjoy writing the reviews and are glad that people are enjoying it. (And - it seemed rare to find anything really positive about the Dawn in writing).

[CL-JW]

Well, we've finally uploaded the last of our pictures from our Dawn Princess cruise.

 

New albums:

 

Dawn Princess - San Francisco

Dawn Princess - Catalina & San Diego

Dawn Princess - Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan

Dawn Princess - Cabo San Lucas

Dawn Princess - Exteriors

 

Albums can be accessed via the link in our signature.

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

Thanks!

[Kentchikan]

Craig and Jack,

Thanks so much for all of the info and wonderful pictures. I know it was a lot of work but it is well appreciated.

Thanks again,

Kent

[CL-JW]

Not a problem, We enjoy doing the photo logs of the ships we go on.

 

Thanks

[Kentchikan]

The only thing missing is a photo of the two of you.

[T&TRenault]

Hi Kent,

Off the subject of the Dawn, but I noticed your logo is a Matson Lines stack. Correct or not?? Just curious as I worked for Matson for several years and my husband still does.

Thx,

Toni

[Kentchikan]

Hi Kent,

Off the subject of the Dawn, but I noticed your logo is a Matson Lines stack. Correct or not?? Just curious as I worked for Matson for several years and my husband still does.

Thx,

Toni

 

Hi Toni,

Good eye. Being from the SF I have an affinity to the line. And one of my favorite if not the favorite was a cruise to Hawaii on the Lurline in the 60's. The cruise started and ended in San Francisco. It went to most of the islands. At each island we had a hotel we could use ashore and charge to our shipboard accounts. They rented suites for changing rooms. Good hotels too. The Halekulani in Honolulu for example. They even had an alternative dining venue that one could reserve for your group to dine in.

Great line. Great ships. Great times. Cruising in the old style. As great as cruising is today it doesn't begin to touch the style of those golden days of cruising. Flawless service.

What did you do for them? What does your husband do?

Kent

[T&TRenault]

Hi Kent,

I was pretty impressed myself that I caught that stack. :) My husband is a refrigeration mechanic and has been with Matson Terminals for over 30 years. SSA merge terminals with Matson several years ago but he still says his heart is with Matson. I worked for them from 1978 to 1985 in the accounting department. Hubby and I met in 1982 rowing for Matson in a whaleboat named IMUA. Long history with Matson, father in law was a VP of Engineering and designed the Maui and Kauai. Mother in law worked for him. I love hearing about the old times cruising on the Matson ships. Thanks for responding.

Toni

[Kentchikan]

Hi All here is a link to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning about the Dawn Princess. It is a generally good article but I think he got the Personal Choice part wrong.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/23/TRGHPFAV791.DTL

Kent

[Kentchikan]

Hi Kent,

I was pretty impressed myself that I caught that stack. :) My husband is a refrigeration mechanic and has been with Matson Terminals for over 30 years. SSA merge terminals with Matson several years ago but he still says his heart is with Matson. I worked for them from 1978 to 1985 in the accounting department. Hubby and I met in 1982 rowing for Matson in a whaleboat named IMUA. Long history with Matson, father in law was a VP of Engineering and designed the Maui and Kauai. Mother in law worked for him. I love hearing about the old times cruising on the Matson ships. Thanks for responding.

Toni

Wow! A Matson family for sure. Very cool. Are you going to be on the Dawn on the 31st? Would love to chat with you about Matson. I have some great stories. One of my faves is years after my first cruise I boarded a Matson ship and one of the staff called me by name and said it was good to have me onboard again. That's what I mean by service. Amazing.

Kent