Just off the Dawn Princess

[rdsqrl]

[

Yep, and it was a crew member!!! Anything can (and will) happen during a 10-month contract. The rumor I heard was that she sneezed and went into labor. Isn't that a hoot? Mom, dad (both crew members) and baby were dropped off in Cabo.

 

I've cruised enough to be surprised when there is NOT some sort of medical evacuation. It goes with the territory and adds to the excitement.

 

According to my source onboard, who I would rate an A- for reliability, the baby was actually born 3 months premature. And the crewmember claimed she had no idea she was pregnant because apparently pregnancy on the job will get you released from your contract, so she played dumb until -- well, until she couldn't play dumb anymore, I guess.

 

Nice to see I wasnt the only one that was taken aback by her comment. Maybe it was just the way she said it, I dunno. Her jokes werent very funny so our group concluded that maybe she aspired for the CD staff but was relegated to Captains Circle hostess.

 

I think her name was Anita? One morning I saw a couple of ladies pacing the floor around Anita's desk. Apparently it was during her posted "open" hours but she wasnt there. They had been waiting for a while and started complaining to the Purser staff.

 

I needed to talk to her one afternoon and noticed she was working on something at her desk so I walked over. Seeing the posted hours sign I realized it wasnt during her "open" time. Out of courtesy I asked, "are you open". She replied, "No, but what do you need?" Granted she did take the time to talk to me, but I felt she was a bit rough around the edges especially when compared to her peers on other ships. Most of the others have been friendly and courteous.

 

We were at the same past-passenger party (well, duh) and I thought that was one of the weirdest things ever said by anyone holding a microphone on a Princess cruise. She definitely seemed like either she'd had a few too many free drinks or else she's WAYYYY overdue for retirement.

 

I agree that there really was very little going on around the ship once the main production show was over. We never went into Jammers because we preferred conversation and quiet with our drinks, and I hated that it was impossible to find an open bar (except in the Casino which hardly counts) after midnight. If it was to discourage rowdiness, all I can say is, they simply either need to get better security or else restrict the number of passengers under 25 that they'll allow on board at once (which is obviously ridiculous), but seriously, it's not right to curtail the full experience for everyone else just so they can protect against the possibility of problems.

[txflyer]

 

We were at the same past-passenger party (well, duh) and I thought that was one of the weirdest things ever said by anyone holding a microphone on a Princess cruise. She definitely seemed like either she'd had a few too many free drinks or else she's WAYYYY overdue for retirement.

 

[/color][/font]

 

My thoughts exactly...In fact, when they said it was her last cruise, I concluded that she was retiring! ...until they clarified that she was going on vacation.

[Jhawktx]

Thanks for the tip - will keep that in mind.;)

 

The tip on the strong sewer smell?;)

[WeRockChalkKU]

My thoughts exactly...In fact, when they said it was her last cruise, I concluded that she was retiring! ...until they clarified that she was going on vacation.

 

We were on the cruise before you and at the past pax party they announced that she was going on vacation the next week....why all the announcements? Were they glad she was going away for a while or was there just nothing else to talk about? Our party was rather dry too but the servers were almost begging you to drink. THey kept coming back and offering drinks. That's a change usually you have to wait to even talk to a serve.

[want2cruiseagain]

The tip on the strong sewer smell?;)

 

 

LOL!! :p

[WeRockChalkKU]

Hey - I just paid attention to your sign on...are a Jayhawk from Texas?

 

if so: ROCK CHALK!!

[txflyer]

I too was on the Dawn Princess during that voyage (Mar 9).....don't forget about the medical evacuation we had also!! From what we heard and the Captain seemed to confirm it, we had a birth on board which made us stop in Cabo on our return to San Diego.....I personally thought that was kind of cool.....

 

One of the guys in our group fainted on the tender back to the ship in Cabo. He went to his cabin when we got on the ship. After resting for a couple of hours and still feeling fuzzy, he went to the Medical center. They gave him an I-V and conducted several tests. He had a fever of 104 and was dehydrated. Their findings led them conclude he had a some sort of chest infection. They then did a chest X-ray which was transmitted to Houston for evaluation.

 

They continued the I-V for several hours that evening and administered antibiotic treatments. After releasing him to his cabin, he was scheduled for more antibiotic treatments at intervals throughout the next day and a half.

 

Within 24-hours he was feeling better. He said the medical staff was attentive and thorough and was probably the best medical treatment he had ever had.

[cawhite]

Thanks for the thorough review, Rockwife. We'll be on the Dawn in early April.

 

So, here are my questions:

 

(1) What time did you schedule your Los Veranos Canopy Tour? Our cruise arrives in PV @ 10 a.m. (not sure if ship time and port time are the same?). We're scheduled with Los Veranos @ noon. Does that seem about right?

 

(2) How long did the tender process take in Cabo? Our ship gets in at 8 a.m. (again, don't know about ship vs. port time). We plan to go parasailing but can't decide if we should sign up for 9 or 10 a.m.... any advice?

 

(3) Were there any noteworthy port restaurants you visited? We'd love some good, non-touristy local food.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Carole

[Rockwife]

I agree that there really was very little going on around the ship once the main production show was over. We never went into Jammers because we preferred conversation and quiet with our drinks, and I hated that it was impossible to find an open bar (except in the Casino which hardly counts) after midnight. If it was to discourage rowdiness, all I can say is, they simply either need to get better security or else restrict the number of passengers under 25 that they'll allow on board at once (which is obviously ridiculous), but seriously, it's not right to curtail the full experience for everyone else just so they can protect against the possibility of problems.

 

I completely agree that closing bars at midnight was silly, especially considering some of us were practically chased out of them while still socializing and purchasing drinks. This was my sixth cruise and the first time I ever heard the words "last call". Even more ironic is that I saw more super-sloppy drunks on this cruise than any other.

 

Thanks for the thorough review, Rockwife. We'll be on the Dawn in early April.

 

So, here are my questions:

 

(1) What time did you schedule your Los Veranos Canopy Tour? Our cruise arrives in PV @ 10 a.m. (not sure if ship time and port time are the same?). We're scheduled with Los Veranos @ noon. Does that seem about right?

 

(2) How long did the tender process take in Cabo? Our ship gets in at 8 a.m. (again, don't know about ship vs. port time). We plan to go parasailing but can't decide if we should sign up for 9 or 10 a.m.... any advice?

 

(3) Were there any noteworthy port restaurants you visited? We'd love some good, non-touristy local food.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Carole

 

You're very welcome, Carole!

 

1) Good question. . . Our ticket for the Los Veranos tour read 10:30, which was the check-in time at their office. We loaded the bus at 11am, then heading up to the jungle. It took us no time at all the exit the ship, snag a cab, and arrive to the office, so we had a good bit of time to kill before checking in. This allowed us to walk down to the beach and check out the neighborhood surrounding the office. Your schedule looks fine.

 

2) It's a good idea to double-check the ship time/port time with the front desk. I was constantly confused about the times this cruise because DST had just started, we'd gained three hours from travel, and then we moved into different time zones during sailing. Tendering was quick. I ran up to get tender tickets for our group a little before 8, when a line was forming and they hadn't started giving out tickets yet. I waited maybe 10 minutes and we got #4 with the first color, so we waited until maybe 8:30 and our tickets were called. It was the quickest tender I've experienced.

 

Again, we arrived early for our tour and had to wait around for our guides to get ready. My impression is that people aren't usually early for things in Latin America and you don't have to worry about time as much as here in the US.

 

3) I wish I could tell you we ate some yummy local food, but it just didn't happen this trip. We did have some top-notch margaritas at a little place next to the Hooters they're building at the marina in Cabo. If you're looking at Hooters, it's on the left. The drinks we had closer to the cruise port weren't nearly as good.

 

We had some snacks at a resort near the port in PV, but I can't remember the name. Jack probably knows! My ceviche was yummy and we had an amazing view of the sunset right on the beach, but it was certainly a tourist joint.

 

Happy travels!

[txflyer]

We had some snacks at a resort near the port in PV, but I can't remember the name. Jack probably knows! My ceviche was yummy and we had an amazing view of the sunset right on the beach, but it was certainly a tourist joint.

 

Happy travels!

 

The margaritas and incredible sunset were at the Krystal Resort. Its a short walk, about a 1/2 mile, from the dock in PV. The big bonus to this itinerary is the late port time in PV, allowing for full day and most of the evening. Be sure to watch for the fireworks when the ship sails away from PV. I dont know if its true or not, but someone said they always do it for the cruise ships.

[txflyer]

(3) Were there any noteworthy port restaurants you visited? We'd love some good, non-touristy local food.

 

 

The Shrimp Factory is one of the restaurants the ship recommends in the port guides. We went in Mazatlan and were disappointed, except for the margaritas. The food was high priced compared to some of the menus we checked out as we walked around the Zona Dorado (Golden Zone) AFTER eating there. The food was OK but the shrimp was rubbery and limp in the shrimp cocktail.

[willysgrandma]

We are doing this cruise in 10 days. How warm was it each day? Warm enough for swimming?

 

Also, we are doing the zip line. How much walking is there to get to each platform, especiall the first? Is it a lot of uphill walking?

[Rockwife]

We are doing this cruise in 10 days. How warm was it each day? Warm enough for swimming?

 

Also, we are doing the zip line. How much walking is there to get to each platform, especiall the first? Is it a lot of uphill walking?

 

The first and last days were too nippy for most people to swim, the last day especially. I wondered why the ship seemed so full on the last day and it was because very few were using the pool.

 

I would consider myself fairly fit and the hiking up to different platforms took my breath away several times. I was probably walking much faster than necessary, though, because there was no hurry. You'll find yourself waiting at most (if not all) platforms for others to go before you. Take your time and you should be fine. They also had water at two of the platforms, which helped.

[willysgrandma]

Thank you.

 

Did the Dawn have a lot of seafood on the menu? That was my biggest complaint about the Crown - on some nights, there were three different seafood items on the menu and one chicken and one meat.

 

As one who doesn't care for seafood, that is a problem. Or maybe not - it was the first cruise I didn't gain weight on because I didn't pig out - so maybe it is't such a bad thing, LOL.

[AZAaronBoy]

My thoughts exactly...In fact, when they said it was her last cruise, I concluded that she was retiring! ...until they clarified that she was going on vacation.

 

Yeah she was on our cruise and she seemed to do what she wanted when she wanted. Thought it was funny when we booked the 2 day in May, the new cruise answer guide we received features her on the captain's circle page. :eek:

 

The margaritas and incredible sunset were at the Krystal Resort. Its a short walk, about a 1/2 mile, from the dock in PV. The big bonus to this itinerary is the late port time in PV, allowing for full day and most of the evening. Be sure to watch for the fireworks when the ship sails away from PV. I dont know if its true or not, but someone said they always do it for the cruise ships.

 

We saw them as we were leaving too, the HAL Oosterdam was in port the same night and left just after we did. It wasn't much but a nice touch while leaving.

[want2cruiseagain]

Yeah she was on our cruise and she seemed to do what she wanted when she wanted. Thought it was funny when we booked the 2 day in May, the new cruise answer guide we received features her on the captain's circle page. :eek:

 

 

 

We saw them as we were leaving too, the HAL Oosterdam was in port the same night and left just after we did. It wasn't much but a nice touch while leaving.

 

 

Thanks for that info. My friend was on the Oosterdam at Xmas and didn't mention it. Should make for some pics, ya think?

[WeRockChalkKU]

In response to Willysgrandma question about the seafood:

 

Seems to me they always offered seafood, beef dish, vegetarian and then some other meat (rabbit, chicken, duck etc). Then they had the always available options of salmon, steak, chicken. Plus don't forget the pizza. We really enjoyed that - it's deck 8 and overlooks the atrium and all the happenings there. We liked listening to the piano player on deck 5 that played during dinner....it was just a change from the traditional dining we usually do.

 

Have a great cruise

[Braves Fan]

Yep, and it was a crew member!!! Anything can (and will) happen during a 10-month contract. The rumor I heard was that she sneezed and went into labor. Isn't that a hoot? Mom, dad (both crew members) and baby were dropped off in Cabo.

 

The guy in the photo lab told me it was a guest who was seven months pregnant. The only man I saw get on the tender was old enough to be my grand-dad and in a wheelchair. One of our CC pals said that she met a lady in the hallway (the one they were paging that morning) who told her they were being taken off due to her friend suffering a collapsed lung. I assume that the friend was the older man who was in the wheelchair.

 

Interesting find: there is a door at the very front of the hallway. It leads out on the forward deck. The door is not labelled and I rarely found anyone else out there. It was the perfect place to get a shot of the sunrise over the city on the morning we arrived back into San Diego.

 

There is access to a similar deck from the Aloha deck. This was a good spot on Monday when it was still cool out and the ship blocked most of the wind. By then end of the cruise many more people had found it.

 

 

(2) How long did the tender process take in Cabo? Our ship gets in at 8 a.m. (again, don't know about ship vs. port time). We plan to go parasailing but can't decide if we should sign up for 9 or 10 a.m.... any advice?

 

We had a horseback adventure planned for 9 in Cabo. We met in the dining room and tendered as a group at 8:30. So if you reserve through Princess you don't have to worry about tendering, they will make sure you get off in time. I would carry everything with you for the day so you don't have to come back and forth.

 

 

BTW: Are you sure we were on the same cruise? :confused: I thoroughly enjoyed myself...except for the party crowd...I could have done without them. I was a little concerned that I would get bored because there was more to do on the Golden, but I had plenty to do. We spent all port days in port checking out that part of Mexico. We also enjoyed the sea days, it gave us time to rest up from the three port days.

The food was not the best, but it was very good...except for the beef wellington...that was terrible. The lobster was more the size of three thumbs, but with all the appetizer, soup, and dessert it was big enough that I didn't request another. I did like the grill, especially the fries. The buffet was good for breakfast and dinner, we always ate supper in the DR (Gabriella and Richard are terrific if you want great service...and she will tell you what not to eat. ;) Check them out in the Florentine DR.) I don't remember the main maitre d's name, but the one I liked was Victor. The third day we walked in and he said "let me see if Gabriella has a table". :D He took care of us. I would definitely do this cruise again next week.

[nw2this]

Thanks for the positive note Braves Fan,

 

Based on this thread I was considering staying home. Exactly what is the 'more to do' on the Golden?

[cdncruzer]

We were also on the Dawn Mar 2-9...Sewer smell was noted on our level (Riveria deck) our cabin at times; as well as various other areas of the ship.

 

I agree with the forward Aloha deck access. We saw very few passengers...always the same female crew member though, who had a cabin right at the doorway.

 

.....l

 

(1) What time did you schedule your Los Veranos Canopy Tour? Our cruise arrives in PV @ 10 a.m. (not sure if ship time and port time are the same?). We're scheduled with Los Veranos @ noon. Does that seem about right?

......

 

(3) Were there any noteworthy port restaurants you visited? We'd love some good, non-touristy local food.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Carole

 

 

We scheduled Los Veronas for 11:00 as their office suggested but could have easily done it earlier as the ship is now on the SAME time as PV. We grabbed a cab outside the port; Cabbie stopped on the Malecon to let us watch the flying pole dancers, which was very touristy but cool nonetheless. There is a number of "challenging" climbs to the platforms but worth every breath! The ziplining was a blast!

 

FYI: If you plan to purchase the DVD of the zip line, try and be in the 1st group going down the lines. That group tended to be featured more in the video due to location of the videographer...at least on our video that was the case. Cost is overpriced at $40.00....but there were 4 of us.

 

We ate at the Los Veronas restaurant which was good.

 

After the tour it is a short, easy walk from the canopy office to the Malecon. Had cheap drinks at the Cheeky Monkey-$1.00 for beers/decent margaritas. Nice place to sit and people watch on the Malecon.

 

The stories of the medical evac are interesting and conflicting for sure! I just hope all is well, no matter what the emergency was.

[Rockwife]

BTW: Are you sure we were on the same cruise? :confused: I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

 

Could I ask- Who are you speaking to with this comment? I thoroughly enjoyed myself, too, and was pretty sure I expressed that in my review. There were some negatives, yes, but we had a blast in the ports and socializing with our friends on the ship. Entrees tended to just be okay, but all other parts of the meals were yummy. Bars closed early, which may not have affected you.

 

As far as the evacuation goes, I'm sure Princess didn't like the fact that a crew member was hiding her pregnancy, that we had to reschedule the ship for a crew member, or that she got knocked up in the first place. The photo guy was probably giving you the party line - saying it was a passenger.

[txflyer]

Could I ask- Who are you speaking to with this comment? I thoroughly enjoyed myself, too, and was pretty sure I expressed that in my review. There were some negatives, yes, but we had a blast in the ports and socializing with our friends on the ship. Entrees tended to just be okay, but all other parts of the meals were yummy. Bars closed early, which may not have affected you.

 

Rockwife, youve gotta learn the cruise critic formula for posting. Comments are scored: Negative comments carry 100 points and positive comments carry 5 points. This is why negative comments have overwhelming influence to some people.

 

Of course Im only joking but thats how it seems to go. I have to agree with you, in general it was a very good cruise and Id do it again.

[Rockwife]

Rockwife, youve gotta learn the cruise critic formula for posting. Comments are scored: Negative comments carry 100 points and positive comments carry 5 points. This is why negative comments have overwhelming influence to some people.

 

Of course Im only joking but thats how it seems to go. I have to agree with you, in general it was a very good cruise and Id do it again.

 

Oooh, a *points system*! Now it makes sense. Shoot, my bad. I'll post nothing negative next time and only include the good stuff, promise.

 

[/sarcasm]

 

:)

 

I'd do-over the cruise again 50 more times! I mean, could the two people in my avatar smile any wider!?! I doubt it!

 

I was smiling almost the entire time and can think of only one time my mood really went downhill. . . and that was over a bigoted, drunk passenger, not the cruise itself or the crew. My few mild disppointments didn't inhibit my good time in the least and I hope others were able to read that.

[azrose]

I too agree.....definetly a "do-over" cruise time and time again!! Nothing was so bad that it stopped anyone from having a great time.....geee....even when we waited in port or right outside of Mazatlan, how could one be upset on such a beautiful ship in such beautiful ports!! Those things happen.....just adds to the flavor of life!!:D

[readytogo2]

I thought Rockwife's review was a good one:D. When I read a review, any review, I try to read more than just the words. If they write enough, you can get a feeling what kind of a person he or she is. There are some horrible reviews out there and I know I can not believe the cruiseline was at fault. I haven't cruised all that much in my life, but I sat at enough Dining tables to know that some people just ramble about the bad things, never say anything good, yet they have cruised 35 times and booked several more future cruise.....go figure:rolleyes:. I say read a review then review the review:D