Comments on Dawn 10/28-11/18

[Murphey]

Sorry for the delay......with hosting Thanksgiving and a hubby with pneumonia (and in the ER on Turkey night), I've been consumed with other things!! Anyway, here are some thoughts on our three weeks on the Dawn.

 

Cabin: We were in A531 and everything was just fine. Balcony cabin, mid ship. Funny, as we have always been either aft or forward and we never seemed to be near anything, but no matter...walking kept the weight off! The seas were smooth as silk...maybe the mid ship cabin had something to do with that! Our cabin steward, Nemia, was very efficient. She left when we did. She was supposed to get off a week earlier, but had to stay on an extra week to train her replacement, Karla. We tried to keep Nemia's spirits up, she was so anxious to go home to her family! Karla was full of energy....of course, just her first week on the ship!

 

Dining: We eventually found a perfect table after three tries. Actually, we were quite happy with our second table but the Maitre D' said he had a better table for us starting our second week. Okay....yes, he was right. Kind of a long story, but if anyone wants to know I'll tell....regardless, the Maitre D' was great!

 

to be continued.....

[rdsqrl]

Thanks for starting us off with a teaser! Can't wait to hear more -- especially about the mysterious dining room table move... Three weeks? What was the itinerary?

[Murphey]

Okay, better get to the itinerary.....as most of you know, the Dawn is doing 7 day RT's from San Diego. Yes, we did three of them....what can I say???? This is a time of year we can get away and 3 weeks on the ship is actually a better deal than three weeks at a land resort, with all the amenities that a ship can offer. Bored you might think....not a chance! In reality, I guess we just don't care where the ship goes....BUT:

 

Ports: I think it's a great itinerary if you like Mexico. The pacing is just right. Embarkation, a day at sea to get yourselves rested, 3 ports in a row (cerveza, chips and salsa overload), two more days a sea to decompress. Then what we did was "rinse, then repeat" ;)

 

Cabo: GREAT excursion with Oceanriders, owned by Carlos Hudson. We met him in Acapulco a few years ago and he moved his business to Cabo recently. A blast! Beaches, snorkling, sun, sightseeing, bouncing around like mad (we went so fast at one point, my sunglasses (albeit cheap ones) cracked against the wind). I highly recommend him if you want to have FUN!! Or you can take water taxi's to the other beaches and just hang, or you can shop, shop, shop....

 

PV: Krystal's is friendly to cruise ship passengers as is the Regina Westin. Victor's at the Marina is a great place for cerveza's and eats. (No matter what you order you get a shot of Teq. :eek: ) Also at the Marina you can get a great massage (75 min for $39). Zip Lining is easy to arrange right off the ship or online prior.....just tons to do. PLUS, you don't leave until 10:00, so this is the one place you can relax and NOT have to worry about missing the ship.

 

Mazatlan: What can I say...Stone Island, Stone Island, Stone Island.... Yes, we've done the other stuff there, but if you want a cheap beach day, this is the place. $3 for RT water taxi (for 2) and the price for beach chairs and umbrellas are "eat drink and tip"

 

to be continued.....

[Murphey]

Back to Dining. I know, kind of unorganized...go easy on me! We started out on our trip alone. So, we had a table for 2 that was right underneath a server station. That coupled with our waiter, who was so fast, the silverware was flying (oaky, maybe an exaggeration , but it was funny). We asked the MD (pun intended) if we might have a change of table (late seating) with no mention of the waiter, only the place. He then moved us to a totally different section of the dining room at a table for 4 set for 2. We were thrilled, because the next week, my sis and bil were joining us and we could just stay put. Well, our MD said, "no, I have a much better table for you next week". Really the table was fine, but on the last night of the first week, he came by to inform us of our new table. We went and checked it out. Perfect and TOO funny, it was the exact same table as we had on our b2b on the Sun last year. Of course, we are happy. Until we meet our waiters the next night.....Happy doesn't cover it. We hit the jackpot!! If you run into Ana (waiter-Portugal) and Garbor (asst.-Hungary), fabulous!!!

 

More later....

[p7eggyc]

Subscribing and looking forward to more! Any chance you have the Patters for one week?

 

I'm on Dawn in 3 LOOOOONG months! LOL

 

Peg

[Murphey]

Peg....I don't have any Patters, but after 3 weeks I could probably conjur up most info you may want.....

 

Entertainment: As wth anything else, highly subjective. We are the type who love the production show and yes, we did like them. We did however decide to "retire" Piano Man (for us only). We realize for the majority of the cruisers, it was new to them. The rest we enjoyed as always. The dance company was great.....if anyone runs into Wes or Angel, tell them Hi from the old couple who kept running into them on the beaches. On Stone Island they were rehearsing their whole show in the surf, which we found highly entertaining and we loved it!!! They really are good and talented kids! As for the other entertainment...as usual, hit and misses. Entertainers hop from ship to ship, especially when running the same itinerary. For instance, the Golden was in port with us in Mazatlan each week, so the comedians or singers can move from ship to ship. We always like Dan Horn (Ventriloquist) and Kevin (someone) was funny. We had a couple of "blasts from the pasts" (Johnny Thunder and someone else who I know, but my mind is weak!) who started out great, but did more talking about their pasts then singing...but hey, at their age, gotta give them credit for getting out there, and they obviously enjoyed the limelight! But would have really enjoyed just listening to them sing.

 

One thing we really liked was on the last night of each cruise they had the Princess Pop Star. They asked the best from each of the Kareoke nights to perform on the last night, and they were great each week. A whole lotta talent out there!! Bravo to all who participated. There was a passenger talent show, but it was at 8:15 the last evening and that was during our late seating dinner.........to be continued if interested....

[CaliforniaMama]

Good job Murphey! It was fun meeting you. :) I've also written a review on the Dawn Princess Member Reviews, I just submitted it so I'm not sure how long that takes to get there.

 

Thanks for the tips on how to get to Stone Island... we thoroughly enjoyed it! Can't beat it for $3 for 2 people, plus cervezas and excellent shrimp.

[Murphey]

Hi Mama...enjoyed meeting you guys too! Hope you had a blast! Looking forward to reading your review too!

 

Onward: Internet: The E/P package was suffient for us. For a 7 day cruise we got 150 minutes each for $75 + $3.95 activation. Don't worry, the delete the activation charge also. Service was somewhat slow as expected. What I did like was they have a person assigned to the cafe that is there alot and he is very helpful (Vladimir). When our minutes didn't roll over to the next cruise he took care of it for us. Also, if you sign up for a package on the first night, you got an extra 20 minutes.

 

Laundry: Some ships have a good laundry/dry cleaning service, some do not....this one did not. I ended up doing some of my own laundry because I was not satisfied with how they did things. You can get quarters from the purser's desk or casino, the change machines never work. $.75 to wash, $.75 dry. Did a fair amount in our sink!

 

Wine: Yes, brought our own on board....did not get charged a corkage. One of our first waiters asked if it was a gift, I just smiled and nothing happened.....

 

Parties, Parties, Parties: There was the normal Captain's Gala on the first formal night and the Captain's Circle party on the last formal night (Monday and Friday). Both were fine. I thought they were generous with drinks and if you wanted something they didn't have they would bring it to us. (i.e. No you can't ask for a Crown Royal on the rocks, but yes, they would bring you a whiskey sour). Mid week they held the Most Traveled Passenger cocktail party in the library (Wed). This was also fun. Lots of time to visit with officers who actually seemed happy to entertain us. The first week was Halloween, and DH and I dressed up a bit.....well, we were the only ones at the party and the officers liked it that we were "in the mood"! So much for stuffiness!! To those who are interested. Each week there were about 700 returnees, of which about 180 were P and 60ish were E. The numbers were consistant each week. The most traveled passengers were at mostly over 1000 days....the first week, the THIRD place passengers had 999 days..what a hoot. And yes, there were two other couples who were on for 5 weeks (lest you think we were nuts at 3:o )!!!! Anyway, for us it turned out that we had a party about every other night!! :D

 

to be continued....

[p7eggyc]

Peg....I don't have any Patters, but after 3 weeks I could probably conjur up most info you may want.....

 

Ok, thanks! Hope DH is feeling better!

 

Peg

[FlorenceItaly]

Really enjoying your review. We our booked on the Dawn for April. Our first Princess cruise. For various reasons I keep trying to decide whether we should keep the reservation or not. About Mazatlan, do we just tell the water taxi "Stone Island"? Would love more details. Also, please tell me more about the massages at Victor's. Thanks. I have had a massage at Krystal and it was fabulous.

 

I hope your dh is doing better.

 

Marie

[AZAaronBoy]

Please keep going.

[FlorenceItaly]

Yes, please :). Thank you!

 

 

 

Marie

[Murphey]

Peg....thanks, yes DH is back in good shape now!!

 

Marie: Of course, keep your booking...you will enjoy it! Regarding Stone Island. Leave the port area and turn left. Walk about 3-4 blocks worth. You'll get to a guard shack and a road that turns right toward the water. Don't turn, just walk straight ahead on a small dirt road and the water taxi booth is at the end. You buy your tickets and hop on board. The water taxi takes you across the bay and when you get off, walk straight ahead again and you will see the beach. It is easily within walking distance. Simply walk until you fin a place that strikes your fancy. We liked Molokay's but anywhere is fine, really.

[Murphey]

Okay, where was I....

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Both were a breeze. You can plan to start boarding somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30. All three weeks were pretty consistant. You may go to your cabin immediately. No, the dining room isn't open for embarking passengers. It is for transit passengers. Disembarkation......we have always had very good luck hanging in our cabin until we've had to get off. I've always told the cabin steward to do whatever they need to. We just take our last carry on and sit with it out on our balcony out of their way. This is the first time we have tried EasyCheck. What a great idea. You sign up for it earlier in the week and then on the last day you receive (late in the afternoon) your boarding pass and luggage tags. Here's what we did. For $15 I signed up the DH for this service. We put out our large 2 suitcases the night before (that's the limit, 2 per person). I kept our small carry on (that we check) for overnight. The next day, all we had was our carry on. They put you in one of the earliest groups (if you're Elite, you can get off any ol' time you want). We went to the airport, checked myself and the one remaining bag in (husband already had his in hand) and poof, we're done. Off through security with our hands free. When we arrived at home, there everything was at the other end. I thought it was magic! So.....you don't have to both do it...saved us $15 bucks and had to keep an overnight bag with us anyway!! No customs, worrying about weight restrictions (within reason I suppose), etc. I will now do this every time it's offered!!

 

I'll come back with more ;)...

[FlorenceItaly]

Marie: Of course, keep your booking...you will enjoy it! Regarding Stone Island. Leave the port area and turn left. Walk about 3-4 blocks worth. You'll get to a guard shack and a road that turns right toward the water. Don't turn, just walk straight ahead on a small dirt road and the water taxi booth is at the end. You buy your tickets and hop on board. The water taxi takes you across the bay and when you get off, walk straight ahead again and you will see the beach. It is easily within walking distance. Simply walk until you fin a place that strikes your fancy. We liked Molokay's but anywhere is fine, really.

 

I am leaning towards keeping it. I'll be on the Oosterdam in Feb. on the same itinerary, but dh won't be with me,and hasn't been to those ports in years. In some ways, we are a bit tired of cruising, but when I look at pricing for a land vacation of some sort, cruising can't be beat. Plus, with this cruise I got an excellent prospect offer with great pricing, and a very generous obc. It makes it hard to give up the reservation. We'll make the decision at final payment, but more likely than not, we are keeping it. I only wish the balconies were bigger on the Dawn!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share!! It is greatly appreciated.

 

Marie

[Murphey]

We met some lovely fellow CC'ers. On the first week, one couple on our roll call offered their aft suite for sail away...complete with Champagne!! Thank you Leslie and Scott!! Just about the classiest thing I've ever seen...(L & S, if you see this, we're sorry we didn't hear from you again...hopefully you received the note we put in your mailbox????)

 

The second week we didn't have one (that we were aware of) and on the third week we had a lovely get together in Jammers on Monday. This was a good time and place.

 

A couple of final thoughts.....The tip increase went into effect between the first and second week.

 

Pools: The aft pool and upper Riviera deck pools are supposed to be adults-only. The only problem with this is that the notice is on the front page of the Patter and really, not everyone reads the thing. I love the idea of an adults only pool (perhaps the aft one alone would be sufficient) but if they don't have signage out it's very difficult to enforce. A bartender at the Aft pool tried to quiet down some of the kids and got reamed by a parent. Now, common sense might tell you that if you have retreated to the aft pool, perhaps you are trying to get away from all the noise. But, the pool and those two hot tubs were loaded, especially the first and last weeks. Yep, I like kids, even had a couple of them, but come on parents...have some sense and be aware of your surroundings!!!

 

Almost done.....I'll answer any questions you may have.....

[FlorenceItaly]

Murphey,

 

did you eat at the alternative restaurant? And, if so, your thoughts? I am aware that it is just a sectioned off area of the lido. Thanks!

 

 

Marie

[CruisinCoach]

We are on the New Year's Eve cruise and would love to see the Patters if you have a way of scanning them in.

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks for a great review! Hope your hubby feels much better soon :)

[p7eggyc]

We are on the New Year's Eve cruise and would love to see the Patters if you have a way of scanning them in.

 

I already asked her and she indicated she didn't have them but I've been looking all over the web for Patters for the Mex Riv from San Diego itinerary and can't find them anywhere. It's a new route for the Dawn this year so all I can find are either Mex Riv from SF last year or Alaska itineraries. If you happen upon them, would you be so kind as to let me know? I'll keep checking this thread and if I find them, I'll post it in this thread too (probably its own thread too since they seem to be so hard to find). Thanks!

 

Peg

[willysgrandma]

Thanks for the information on the ports. I am interested in ziplining in PV - there were tours right off the pier??? Were they any of the larger tour operators?

[Murphey]

Marie: Regarding the Balconies. You know, I don't mind them. Yes, they are small, but you are very protected from the elements and VERY private!!! Alternative Restaurant: Well, as you know the Sterling is a portioned off area of the Horizon Ct. We didn't go. We are of the mind set that the dining room would have to be pretty bad to go pay for a meal when we have a lovely meal waiting for us already. I know, loads of people like an alternative dining venue, I just don't happen to see the worth.

 

Patters: Not to sure what you guys want to know in advance. One of our favorite things to do is to return to the cabin at night and get the Patter on the bed and read about the next day. But I'll try to get you some information.

 

Do you want to know what goes on during the day or the evenings or both????

[Murphey]

Thanks for the information on the ports. I am interested in ziplining in PV - there were tours right off the pier??? Were they any of the larger tour operators?

 

You can arrange here on the web prior (go to Mexican Riviera in Ports of Call for lots of infor) OR yes, you can arrange it right off the pier. There is a table you will walk by. Get off anytime and talk to the,. They'll radio ahead to find out when there is space on the next trip (they go all day). You go in a cab to the main office downtown (here you can pay by CC) and they'll set you up.

[willysgrandma]

You can arrange here on the web prior (go to Mexican Riviera in Ports of Call for lots of infor) OR yes, you can arrange it right off the pier. There is a table you will walk by. Get off anytime and talk to the,. They'll radio ahead to find out when there is space on the next trip (they go all day). You go in a cab to the main office downtown (here you can pay by CC) and they'll set you up.

 

I think I am better off booking online - I don't want to take a chance that there won't be room. Thanks for the info.

[asrubin]

Murphey, I asked this on the Mexican Riviera boards, but so far I haven't received an answer, so I thought maybe you would know. We have a whale watching tour booked in Cabo with Eduardo on the Rissalena. He e-mailed me to tell me that there are now 2 landing places for the tenders and he wanted to know which place we would land so he could give us directions to his place. Do you know where the tenders land in Cabo?

 

Thanks,

Ann