Hello from the Dawn Princess!

[Shogun]

Hi Toto..

 

Can you tell us about the mix of passengers where do they all come from,

 

Keep up the good work,

 

yours Shogun

[Tahoestarr]

Toto, have a wonderful time!! I apologize to all for my non live from thread. I did start one but it never appeared. I think the was a big upset with the computer people on our cruise and there was a re-staffing during the cruise.

 

Carole

 

Carole,

 

I know when I was on board, there was an issue with the gentleman teaching the computer classes...so, it doesn't surprise me at all.

[billco]

We are being totally spoiled on this one. Not sure how we will ever go back to a mini suite after this cruise. :(

 

I know exactly how you feel. We were on the April 1 Dawn cruise and found out we had been upgraded to an oceanview cabin as we were checking in. Every night our steward, Marco, would put two chocolates on our pillow and one night he surprised us with an elephant made out of washcloths. Every time we left our towels on the floor we would come back to find them returned to the towel rack. What a guy! Not sure we could ever go back to an inside cabin. :confused:

[Wormy53]

So Toto - did you bring your coffeemaker, or are they possibly furnished in the suite? (Hope that's an alternative!)

 

We loved sailing under the GG Bridge. Thanks for your post!!

[Tahoestarr]

Hey Toto! CL JW got some shots of your departure...check them out on the thread "SF Port 4/12/07 Dawn & Golden in port" Post #20....if you look at them full size, you can see that you on your C746 balcony! Also, there is an intruder on my balcony C747!!!! How dare they!!??!!

[JotWorld]

Hey Toto! CL JW got some shots of your departure...check them out on the thread "SF Port 4/12/07 Dawn & Golden in port" Post #20....if you look at them full size, you can see that you on your C746 balcony! Also, there is an intruder on my balcony C747!!!! How dare they!!??!!

 

Yup, as the Dawn's Sailing Away Pic #66 there are some people on C-746, but I'm not sure if I can see you smiling;) There is a Good Close up shot of your Suite Balcony b/4 sail away on Pic #21, but it's empty, there is someone on Suite B-750 Balc above you & someone on Suite D-753 Balc below you & starboard in that Close up pic.:D

Toto, Enjoy your fabulous Suite & Cruise, and keep the Lives coming when you can!:eek:

Jot:)

[Casshew]

We are being totally spoiled on this one. Not sure how we will ever go back to a mini suite after this cruise.

 

There are still suites available on our Egyptian cruise :D

 

Your suite sounds great, enjoy!

[gvre]

Hi Toto,

 

Debbie and I have been looking forward to hearing from you. We were in suite C-749 on the starboard side of the Sea Princess in November the same cabin, I think. The jacuzzi was the largest we have ever had in a suite.

 

We are keeping an eye on the bridge cam and hoping you all excellent sailing, beautiful weather, and a great time.:D

[Toto2Kansas]

Hip Hip Horray! Just checking in to say the weather has warmed up even more than expected today. We can actually use our balcony without the provided blankets or our coats. Sun is shinning and the pool is busy with passengers, even non Canadians now. lol (the Canadians were even sunning themselves in their swimsuits when we were wearing sweaters and coats the last couple of days, gotta love em ;)) Seas are so calm, I was amazed, we had expected a very rocky ride, but so far it has been wonderful. Now, if we can just do this well on our return. ;)

 

So Toto - did you bring your coffeemaker, or are they possibly furnished in the suite? (Hope that's an alternative!)

No coffee maker supplied, even in the suites. But you bet cha we brought ours along and with these cooler temps the last couple of days, we were very glad we had it. The room steward was laughing at me yesterday bringing my own with us. I told him the joke was on him, he gets it when we leave. He did tell us that the stewards are no longer allowed to have them in their personal cabins, no heating devices at all for them. But he was excited to hear it will be his as he wants to take him home with him when he leaves the ship.

 

 

There are still suites available on our Egyptian cruise :D

 

Your suite sounds great, enjoy!

 

Cass, even though I am sure I won't want to spend the $$$$ again this soon for one, you can bet I will be checking pricing when we get back. This is just too great not to have again ASAP. With all these sea days, that was the main reason we decided to splurge on this one. If they deliver any more goodies without us asking, I am going to need to buy a new wardrobe when we get back. I think I have already gained 5# and the cruise just started. ARGH!

 

Hi Toto,

 

Debbie and I have been looking forward to hearing from you. We were in suite C-749 on the starboard side of the Sea Princess in November the same cabin, I think. The jacuzzi was the largest we have ever had in a suite.

 

We are keeping an eye on the bridge cam and hoping you all excellent sailing, beautiful weather, and a great time.:D

 

Richard, this suite is lovely. NO vibrations like on the Sea Princess. Non at all. Just the normal slight hum from the engines at times. So, that means on this cruise we can actually sleep in past 5:30 AM as we aren't shaken out of bed at first light. It has brought back my confidence in aft cabins after that episode last December. :)

 

ROTTI-See above to Richard and Debbie. Not a hint of horrible vibration on this cruise whatsoever. Does that mean I really know what a bad vibration feels like and I wasn't just trying to start a myth? ROFLMAO

It's fantastic!

 

The casino, nice and large, but so far not as lucky for me as some of the other ships. Great wins the first night, then spent the last two days giving back what I won. Oh well, at least they let me win enough to play. But then, I still have many casino credits left in my cabin to cash in the next 8 days. I do know I will no longer gamble on Friday the 13th in the future. lol

 

Oh Oh, I almost forgot. The food! (how in the world could I forget something as important as that?) The Dawn has showed us there is still very very good food on Princess. Some of the best we have had in the last few years on any Princess ship. Even the buffet choices are great. And since we order lunch and dinner occasionally from the dining room menu, we can now voice our opinion on that also (as we normally don't even bother going to the dining room anymore). Definitely delicious.

 

Off I go, time to get ready for the evening.

 

GeeJay-I took a ton of pics of our cabin this morning, figured you might want to see them first hand when we get home.

[geejay]

Thanks for the info on your (our!!) suite. It sounds fantastic and I can't wait to see your pictures.

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Enjoy!

 

Gloria

[gvre]

Toto,

Glad to hear the weather is good. We had some heavy winds here in Southern California along with some 10'-15' waves the day you left. You must have sailed by us yesterday and the weather was perfect.

Is the food hot when it gets to your cabin? We stopped ordering off the menu because it kept coming cold.

Good luck in the casino.

[CruisinCadie]

Toto,

 

Thanks so much for the weather report. We're getting ready to pack for the 4/23 sailing, and I was wondering what people mean by "the weather the first two days is cool." Given the weather we've had in northeast Ohio the past 10 days, even 50 would be balmy, but I'm glad to hear it's more like 60+. Keep the reports coming, please.

 

KD

[cruzinchris]

The Dawn has showed us there is still very very good food on Princess. Some of the best we have had in the last few years on any Princess ship. Even the buffet choices are great. Definitely delicious./quote]

 

While DH and I never went to the buffet on the Dawn, the food was probably the best we've had on a Princess cruise to date. We attributed it to fewer passengers as our other Princess voyages were on "grand" class ships. And, even though we ate in the "anytime' dining room, there were nightly dishes prepared at a chef's station that were likely similar to a "traditional" dining experience.

 

If you meet "Maggie" (Miglena) from Bulgaria, please say "hello" from Chris & Mike from Michigan (we gave her a Tigers ballcap) and ask her to make her specialty "Bulgarian Coffee" for you ;) .

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[pmcrusta]

Dang...I knew we forgot one beverage...your DH's hot drink additives:D How will he manage. Well, warm weather now...Pina Colada's should be a good substitute.

[edzachary]

We sailed the Dawn out of SF on your cruise a year ago:

 

 

We sailed the Crown later on in the year and found that we liked the Dawn better. We're planning on taking her next year at this time. The food was better and the further down the coast we got the weather, temperature and relative calm of the sea improved by the minute. The ports in Mexico don't hold as much for us but the cruise was always more about the event of just going than the destinations themselves.

 

Enjoy! We're reading your observations with great interest.

[BEAV]

We had a short CC meeting yesterday in the Wheelhouse, but with sailing delayed two hours, we had to cut it a bit short to head back to our cabin to watch us sailing under the GG Bridge. Great views of San Francisco and we got some beautiful pics of the coastline.

 

Just a short note for this time, gotta run.

 

We were in SF on Thursday to see both Dawn & Golden sail away. Any idea why your ship left two hours late? Also, your sister Golden didn't leave until 9:00pm --- 4 hours late! Have a great cruise.....

[JotWorld]

Good Morning Toto & All you Dawn Cruisers!:)

 

(& also you CCs out there that are Landlocked)

 

Have a Great Day at Sea!:D

 

& looking forward to hearing more "Live from the Dawn" as you continue to Mazatlan, Mexico! ;)

 

Jot:)

 

[mycruz]

Great hearing from you Susan! So glad you are having a great time, I join the others to say that I can't wait for your full review and pictures once you return. I know you've been looking forward to this cruise and so happy you are being treated well in the suite with no vibrations from the ship waking you early. Thanks again for all the info you gave me when I was booking our Sea Princess cruise for next year. Can't wait to be spoiled in our suite on the Emerald this December. Sorry to hear about your Friday the 13th experience in the casino. Hopefully your luck will turn around.

 

Mary

[Toto2Kansas]

Good (late) Morning everyone!

We will be arriving a bit late in Maz early this afternoon, due to our late departure from SF, only an hour or less, so no biggy there. We were told the late departure was because of late arriving passengers and luggage loading delays. (see my post earlier where I tried to explain). The weather warmed up late yesterday to almost 70 (it felt like a heat wave). This morning it has already passed that and is expected to be in the mid 80's this afternoon. I can't remember the last time I needed to wear long pants and a sweater every minute onboard a ship, but what a difference a couple of days can make

For those planning this sailing soon, you might make sure to pack a sweater or light jacket for the first couple of days, they were a lot more chilly then we had thought they would be, thankfully we did pack accordingly because of reports we had read. The wind made it feel even colder, so outer decks and our balcony weren't used much the first couple of days. Luckily our seas are smooth as glass and we haven't had any problem with the rough weather reported on previous sailing, just the opposite, smoother than when we have sailed in the Caribbean.

Our meals are still right up there with the best we have had in a very long time on Princess. Richard, room service meals have been delivered quickly and all hot foods were hot when they arrived, cold foods also appropriate. No problems in that department.

I have to also say that we have the best room steward we have had in many years. Rod is excellent. Efficient, friendly, never forgets the smallest detail. And strives to make this sailing as perfect for us as possible. Our last couple of cruises, our room stewards have been mediocore and always seemed to forget things or we would wait and wait for our room to be serviced each day. Not this time, he is right on the ball with every detail.

 

PMCrusta-Yep, he mentioned that a few times. Sure wish I had my coffee additive packed. lol Guess I slipped up on that one, but those darned bottles are so heavy.

Great time in SF, so glad you all could make it. And yes, I still miss that clam chowder and sourdough bread. ;)

 

Time to move here and get ready for our horseback ridinig on the beach adventure. This is going to be funny as I have only been on a horse once since a bad horseback riding accident many years ago. They are going to laugh when I try to climb up atop that big old beast and need a push. Sure hope nobody has a camera available during this tour.

 

 

 

 

Toto,

 

Thanks so much for the weather report. We're getting ready to pack for the 4/23 sailing, and I was wondering what people mean by "the weather the first two days is cool." Given the weather we've had in northeast Ohio the past 10 days, even 50 would be balmy, but I'm glad to hear it's more like 60+. Keep the reports coming, please.

 

KD

Just be prepared for 50's with a bit of wind and pack accordingly. Better to have something to throw on for cooler temps then to be huddled under a blanket in your cabin. lol

[DougH]

Do you know if the Capatin and CD will change after the drydock in SF for the Alaska season? Hope the warm weather continues for you, have fun.

 

FYI your old buddy Glenn has booked a 2008 Med trip with some friends of mine. Will be along trip from Sydney but he came all the way to Florida and sailed with a group of us in Feb 2006

 

Doug

[CruisinCadie]

Just be prepared for 50's with a bit of wind and pack accordingly. Better to have something to throw on for cooler temps then to be huddled under a blanket in your cabin. lol

 

We'll definitely have light (and probably even heavy) jackets, because we're spending two days before and two days after the cruise visiting our daughter, who is a grad student at Berkeley.

 

KD

[TABLEROCKER]

Glad you are having fun. Just had to tell you we went to Kansas this weekend and it snowed Friday night. Thought this would make you feel Better about the cold first days. Hopefully getting ready for our cruise comming up pretty Quick. Have fun Bill

[Toto2Kansas]

A great day in Mazatlan which we spent riding horses on the beach with "Randi's happy horses". The day was warm, but overcast, so it was enjoyable riding without all the usual heat that comes with this port. A very nice tour which I can highly recommend. The horses seemed healthy and definitely well broke as we had a couple of first timers with us that didn't have any problems at all. It was nice to see well taken care of horses in Mexico. From us, two horse lovers.

 

We may have left a couple of passengers behind this evening. Several calls by the captain for one couple seemed to go unanswered as they kept repeating the page for over 30 minutes. We sailed about 30 minutes late as they tried to locate them, which I don't think happened. I wish them the best and hope they managed to get onboard at the last moment before we sailed, although we saw no one on the shuttle after the pages.

 

Gloria-I can't remember the date of your sailing, but I hope it is sometime in the next 8 months. Our room steward Rodrigo has to be the very best room steward we have had in the last 10 years and he has 8 months left in this section of the ship before his contract expires. This young man is the most efficient, fast, friendly (without being intrusive) a room steward we have ever seen. Upon talking to him this evening, we find out he has been with the cruise line for a while, but he has only been a room steward for 2 months. We were shocked as he seemed so experienced at this. Everything has been perfect from the moment we stepped into our stateroom. In fact, this evening, we dined on the balcony. He came in and cleaned the cabin afterwards while we were watching the ship sail. In our laundry, I had grabbed DH's 'horsey smelling' pants from the ride today and put them into the bag. A few moments later, I realized he had a great deal of cash this afternoon but I didn't find it on his normal 'cash resting area'. He gasped and told me he never took it out of his pants. A quick page to Rod and he was off like a flash to the laundry to recover the bag. 15 minutes later, he appeared at our door, panting from running with the laundry bag in hand. Needless to say, he received a nice reward for his efforts, even though he tried to tell us it was not necessary. This room steward is going to go a long way and I just hope they don't promote him before someone else on CC has the opportunity to experience his excellent service.

 

Do you know if the Capatin and CD will change after the drydock in SF for the Alaska season? Hope the warm weather continues for you, have fun.

 

FYI your old buddy Glenn has booked a 2008 Med trip with some friends of mine. Will be along trip from Sydney but he came all the way to Florida and sailed with a group of us in Feb 2006

 

Doug

 

Doug-Not sure about the CD and Captain, but will see if I can find out at the most traveled luncheon tomorrow afternoon.

Well, DH was just asking the other day if I had seen any news on Glenn lately. Hadn't heard from him in years, but glad to see he is still traveling.

Please tell him hello for us the next time you are in touch with him.

 

Time to run now, but will check in again soon.

[bdjam]

hmmm...is there a trend here? This "smaller" ship is offering more quality than a Grand Class ship might offer?

[tawcat]

toto, thanks for a great post. we sail next monday and are very excited. difficult packing for two seasons! we hear SF is always cool and spending a few days prior to sailing makes packing even harder. bet we manage:)