Review - W809

[dea71]

Well here it is - our cruise review (sorry it is so long but wanted to give some details!) Hope you enjoy!

Dea:)

 

 

Review – W809 Pacific Dawn

 

 

 

Firstly I should preempt this review by saying that we traveled with 2 children – aged 1 and 3 – so our expectations and the things that were important to us were probably a little different to some people. I will have little to offer in terms of the nightlife on board and the myriad of tours available in Vila, but hope that some of our other feedback will be helpful.

 

We traveled with 2 other families – 2 adults with 2 children aged 1 and 5, and 2 adults with 3 children age 7,10 and 13.

 

Embarkation & Sailaway

 

We arrived in Sydney bright and early having left Newcastle at 7.30am. We parked at the cruise terminal with no problem and went straight over & checked our luggage – no dramas so far! We decided to check in and get our cruise cards before we headed to Chinatown for brunch with family – very good choice! It took us a total of 10 minutes to fill out the ‘have you been sick lately’ form and have all our paperwork checked, cruise cards issued and credit card details recorded – this was too easy so far! When we returned from Chinatown (about 1pm) it was chaotic and friends we were traveling with waited 1 hour to check in.

 

We proceeded through customs about 2pm – waited approx 45 minutes. The customs people were great as my little boy had fallen asleep and they didn’t make us wake him but scanned his pram with the wand (having said that we had to wake him for his photo as he went on board anyway!). There was minimal queuing for any duty free/tax claims – very speedy!

 

On board and we were directed to our cabin where all our luggage was waiting for us EXCEPT the portacot – oh dear! (It turned up while we were on deck – had lost it’s PO tag so lucky for personal luggage tags!).

 

Our Cabin

 

Our cabin was C124 on Caribe deck – about 4 cabins along on portside near aft elevators. We were a little nervous about the four of us in a cabin being a little crowded – but no problem (yes it was small but unless we had a suite it was never going to be the taj mahal). DH was relegated to the top bunk and Miss 3 and I slept on the bottom. We put the portacot at the end of my bed in front of the desk. Only inconvenience was the cot was in front of the fridge – although it did keep little fingers out too – not too big a drama though. We were pleased that we had brought the portacot as the cots available on board were a lot bigger and timber so could not be easily moved around. Oh and pillows – if you like a nice firm pillow I suggest you bring your own – a wee bit squishy and lumpy!

 

Cabin had ample drawer and hanging space for all of us. 3 safes were available – for all those jewels, share documents and family secrets we had felt necessary to take on our journey!! We stored our suitcases (2 quite large ones!) under our desk (thus limiting my abilities to complete my first literary masterpiece – oh the sacrifices!) and our cabin attendant took away the small table in the corner as it was a little superfluous to our needs (and it meant we could actually get to the fridge).

 

Our cabin attendant – Warlito – was an absolute gem. Nothing was ever too much trouble and he even managed to find the cabin floor when all my attempts were in vain! Anyone who has ever traveled with children will know that if the staff/crew are attentive to the needs (and everchanging moods) of your little ones then you can cope with almost anything! It was the little things with Warlito – the towel animals (of course), rushing ahead to open the door as I struggled to the room with a sleeping baby, two teddy bears and a 3 yr old becoming increasingly unhinged and the extra beach towels (“to sit on at the beach Miss Deanne – no sit on wet ones”)

 

Sailaway

 

I had forgotten the fun of sailaway – the feeling of yes we really are on holidays and it starts right now!! We went up to pool deck – kids were running around exploring the pools and we were all enjoying sailaway cocktails. Flare were the band on board and we became big fans over the 12 days. Nothing quite like ‘Down Under’, ‘Celebrate’ and ‘Hot Hot Hot’ to get you in the tropical, holiday mood (oh and another Sailaway cocktail). I have never sailed out of Sydney before – what a wonderful experience. It was overcast but nothing was going to dampen our excitement!

 

Dining

 

We ate the majority of our meals in the Palm Court Dining Room. Our waiters at dinner – Eva and Giwell were delightful and just wonderful with the children – bringing out carrot sticks, chips anything to keep kids happy! The childrens menu was very impressive (although spaghetti was the order of most days!).

 

Our breakfast and lunch waitstaff were a bit of a lottery – some days fantastic and others just plain rude and dismissive. It did make me wonder at times when we would walk in – family of four, 2 children who needed some quiet time out – looking for a very quiet corner to hide and they would seat us with some poor unassuming couple looking for a nice peaceful breakfast and some light conversation. We would need to be very specific and tolerate some eye rolling and impatience just to be seated on our own as a family at a table for 4 – didn’t really get what the problem was – the tables were available and everyone was more relaxed and enjoyed their meal.

 

The food was excellent most of the time – we all had a case of ‘poor menu selection’ at some time. The soups were sensational and the smoked salmon mmmmmm. The biggest hits for desert were a pistachio and hot chocolate pudding and a Malaysian Mango rice Pudding – to die for! Along with the menu of the day you could always have a Caesar Salad, Grilled Chicken or Salmon Fillet. The servings were adequate without being huge and the meal service was very quick.

 

We did eat at the buffet a couple of times – breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meals there were similar or the same as the dining room. There was a great range of salads (not just the ‘usual suspects’). We often went in to get a fruit plate or crackers and cheese to eat by the pool when we had just eaten too much and didn’t need another full meal. There was always some fruit available and we would sometimes grab a yoghurt, fruit or crackers to take back to cabin for the children to snack on later.

 

On two nights we ordered take away pizza from the trattoria to have by the pool (the idea of getting dressed for dinner and wrangling 5 kids out of the pool was just too much!) – pizza was delicious and we thought quite reasonable for $7.

 

On our return from Champagne Bay we also had lunch at the grill – burger, shrimp and fries and a basket of fries – all very tasty and reasonably priced. The basket of fries was humungous and only $2.

 

Our last night on board we had a ‘grown ups’ dinner in the steakhouse (ie all babies asleep and it was after 8pm ooooooohhh). The food was great and again at $20 per person we thought reasonably priced. HOWEVER, the service was appalling (by far the worst we had received all trip) and the location of the Steakhouse is a bit ordinary – cordoned off area of the buffet and directly below the Teens Club – where apparently a herd of small elephants were learning to tapdance – a bit of a dampener on an otherwise great evening!

 

If we had one issue with the food it was the lack of an afternoon option (outside those with an additional charge) when we in port – often people would come back later in the afternoon having had no lunch and the buffet officially closed at 2.30pm (although often there was still a queue at 3pm). On other cruises (namely NCL/Star) there was a BBQ/Noodle/Pizza option each afternoon.

 

Anytime Dining, in our experience, was simply another name for the traditional ‘sittings’ particularly earlier in the evening– it seems that the dining facilities on the Dawn are just not set up to accommodate true Anytime Dining. On most nights we would book in the dining room for 5.30 or 6pm or be told our other option was 8pm or later. So I guess if you wanted to eat later than 8pm there was some degree of flexibility but any earlier and it was 6 or 8 thank you! There was also the option, if you wanted to, to have different times ie 6pm one night and then really ‘Mix It Up' and have 8 the next night.

 

 

Turtle Cove

 

Miss 3 was keen to check out Turtle Cove so we headed there first thing after breakfast. Great, new set up – play/jungle gym with softfall, craft areas, large screen tv, 6 playstations, plenty of books and a corner of preschool type toys (eg little people, lego). The friends we were traveling with had previously cruised on the Pacific Sun and their only feedback on the Turtle Cove setuop as compared to Pacific Dawn was the Sun had an outdoor area for bikes, outside play. The Dawn is completely enclosed on Deck 6 – no windows or outdoor access.

 

The brochure and marketing does say that you can take under 3’s to Turtle Cove with parental supervision – this was technically true HOWEVER if there were more than 3 older kids in the centre the little ones could only play in a fenced off area about the size of a cabin bathroom – hardly the play time we had in mind. The parents also had to stay in the fenced off area with the little people so you can imagine 2 parents and 2 toddlers in a cabin bathroom (along with a playhouse and various other toys) – a little crowded! It did depend on which staff were in the centre at the time as to how strictly this was enforced.

 

The staff were lovely – some were coming toward the end of their contract and looking forward to heading home. A mix of nationalities, ages and approaches to caring for the children. You received a pager when you dropped the children off each time and they just paged you if the kids were upset, wanted to go home or, in our case most of the time, hungry!! Often the pager would go off and you’d ring just for the kids to say hi and check in only to go back to what they were doing. It was a comfort to both parents and kids that each was easily contactable.

 

The door to Turtle Cove does not have a lock or security keypad so was always open – a bit of a concern when the children can open the door (most of the time one of the crew were at the desk at the door – bit there were times when they were obviously busy in the room).

 

The children had a fantastic time and there were plenty of organized activities for each day – their program was as busy as ours! A lot of craft, games, face painting and free play. They had a tour of the ship on the 1st day (lots of 3 – 6 year olds walking around the ship holding hands – priceless!) and even had a bridge tour one day (more than we can say for the adults) – Miss 3 was most disappointed that the captain was sleeping! There were pizza parties, icecream parties and island night celebrations. Each night they had stories and then a movie (all snuggelled up on little beanbags with sheets and pillows). Turtle Cove activities finished at 10.30 but if you wanted to you could pay for group babysitting until 1am (not that we needed to take advantage of that – I was certainly not awake by then!!) On the final day Turtle Cove and Shark Shack presented a concert in the Showlounge – a very decent crowd flocked to see some great songs, dancing and a few skits – very entertaining and much rehearsal time had obviously been dedicated!

 

Our friends’ children hung out at the Shark Shcak and again by all accounts this was fantastic. Our eldest ‘kid’ was in the Teen Lounge and we hardly caught sight of him all cruise – the general consensus is that he had the best time of all if us!!

 

Entertainment

 

I will preempt this by saying that I am no expert on the finer points of dancing (or singing for that matter) but I do enjoy a live show be that on Broadway or the Preschool Christmas Concert (having over the years experienced a little of both!). Despite the moanings of numerous passengers regarding the ‘amateur’ performances I found the Pacific Dawn Entertainers just that – entertaining. No I did not experience the spine tingling moments of Billy Elliot or U2 in concert, but I did find it had me tapping my toes and humming along. The performers seemed enthusiastic and the costumes were very colourful.

The show band were very entertaining and played a great range of music to suit all tastes.

 

Roland Storm was another matter (I am sure that there will be those that will disagree and that is their right…) – he was not funny, he was not even particularly entertaining – we thought that Rock and Roll Night may involve a little more music (and maybe dancing) and a little less name dropping and rambling.

 

We loved listening to Flare – again a good range of music and we particularly enjoyed listening to them on the pool deck (something about a reggae song, while sailing the South Pacific…..mmmm).

 

Subaah Duo were the other main entertainment in the bars and on deck – FANTASTIC – could have listened to them night after night (oh that’s right we did!). These guys are the kind of

‘Band’ that we would go to see at home.

 

The Bengal Bar was our favourite ‘local’ and we would meet there each evening – comfy chairs with a good layout for both conversation and enjoying the entertainment, good music and a really nice atmosphere.

 

Activities

 

Between all of us we tried a lot of the daily activities on board – we all enjoy a good trivia quiz – although we struggled with some of the sporting ones (yep – you either get the VIC questions or the NSW – league vs AFL!) and had a good laugh at just how old we must be getting as we tried to guess the TV themes in the Promenade Bar.

 

DH and mates tried desperately to ‘snag a nag’ in the Calcutta for the wooden horse racing – unfortunately the ‘ministers for finance and war’ (ie 2 wives) put a dampener on their horse racing syndicate aspirations! They had to make do betting on the race and watching our kids having fun being the jockeys!

 

The same ‘ministers’ tried feverishly to improve the state of the public purse with the ever exciting at sea Bingo – to no avail. The final day jackpot was over $10000 and was shared by two ladies – lucky them. I did get one number away from $2800 at one stage – needed a few little green drinks to calm the nerves after such excitement.

 

The racing syndicate did refocus their energies on breaking the casino – again the best laid plans were inherently flawed! They did say that the various ‘tournaments’ were fun and certainly seemed to keep them occupied (and away from sleeping children) long into the night on a few occasions.

 

There were a great variety of activities for all ages and cruisers eg. Singles drinks, honeymooners get together, people with varying interests getting together for a chat, card games, ceramics classes, activities in and around the pool – always something going on. If you were bored it was because you’d locked yourself in your cabin bathroom without a book or you simply didn’t walk outside your cabin door!

 

We didn’t have time to try out the Lotus Spa and Salon but reading the ‘menu’ – we wished we did! Some lovely treatments and there was always a daily ‘special’ featured in the Pacific Daily – keep an eye out!

 

We did fall foul to the budget breaker – the photos! Having said that we are actually thrilled with the photos that were taken – contemporary portraits on a white background – especially the more natural ones taken of the kids. We finally have a decent family photo – even if we all look a little bit ‘warmer’ than normal after a great day at the beach! We also bought a set of Pentacost Island photos – just a far better series of shots than any we could take! We did buy the DVD – in hindsight not really that great an idea – if you want an hour of the dance parties and the same faces over and over again then go for it – very tedious but if you Fast Forward to the port shots then it isn’t too bad!

 

PORTS

 

Champagne Bay – we really hit the jackpot on this one. We were originally scheduled to go to Luganville but that was changed for ‘operational reasons’ (talking to the locals at Champagne Bay – the volcano was ‘operational’ causing an ‘issue!). We had a fantastic day – swimming, snorkeling and relaxing. DH and mates tested the local lobster – sensational – straight from the pots – you walked out to the water, picked the one you wanted and watched them cook it and serve it in a banana leaf – price dependant on size – from $10 (of course the ‘lobster lovers’ had a dinosaur which cost them $40!). There were markets mainly selling grass skirts, jewellery, cheap ‘tropical’ clothing and shells. Miss 3 had her hair braided (the novelty wore off half way through so a $2 necklace bribe was necessary to ensure we got the whole head completed!) for $5 – although they did do a much better job at Mystery Island if you are interested!!

 

The tender process was a bit of a nightmare – everyone wanting to get off the ship at once for our first port (after 3 days at sea) – 40 minutes to get a tender ticket and another hour to wait for your tender to be called – a lot of cranky and impatient passengers. All other days – leaving the ship was fine as everyone was happy to spread their departures out a bit more.

 

Pentacost Island – a great experience to see the land divers – just amazing. Everyone sits on the hill and looks up at his huge tower made of branches and vines and the natives continuously chant and sing as each diver ‘jumps. Really worth seeing…HOWEVER…it was extremely hot so we decided to head back to the ship early – it took nearly 2 hours to get to the front of the queue for the tender (we later learned that the tide was low and they couldn’t fill the tenders to go back as they would bottom out).

 

Our issue was not so much the wait (whilst is was stinking hot!) – they had run out of anything other than beer (ok if you are not a 3 year old!) and as with all the other islands you cannot take anything off the boat. We tried to do the right thing and so didn’t take any food – thinking we would be back in plenty of time for lunch – wrong!! Miss 3 was starving and hot – not a great combination. Thankfully we had taken a couple of bottles for the baby and we had taken water with us.

 

The water was beautiful and clear and I believe the snorkeling was quite good.. The beach is a pebble one though – so as Miss 3 said….’No Sandcastles?’.

 

Mystery Island – loved it! Relaxing, little to do but swim and snorkel! Markets had the usual sarongs, shells, basketware and fake surf brand t shirts. The lobster lads were on the lookout but the lobsters were precooked and not looking anywhere near as good as Champagne Bay!

 

 

The snorkeling off the north east side of the island was great – deeper and a lot clearer. As the day wears on visibility does decrease as the sand gets churned up. We just spent the day in the water and playing on the beach – for us it doesn’t get any better!

 

Vila – here I am sure that I have little to add – we didn’t go on any tours as most were just not suited children as young as ours. We caught a taxi into town ($10) and looked around shops for a while – it was very hot and our little boy was really feeling the heat so we headed back to the ship after buying some duty free alcohol. Found the watch and handbag/wallet (genuine article) prices were not that great – you can get cheaper at the department stores here during sale time! Plenty of fakes to be had at good prices though!!

 

Markets alongside ship had all the ingredients for Island Night – grass skirts for little ones, the smallest hawaiiin shirt I could find for Master 1 (will still fit him for our next 5 cruises!) and delightfully tacky floral dresses and crazy shirts for mum & dad! I also wandered around the markets later on my own and found down toward the front of the ship (walk out and to the right) a girl selling some lovely jewellery with shells and beads (unusual and quite fashionable) – about $15 - $20.

 

Our friends took their two children over the Irririki Island for the day – swimming in the pool. They said it was very relaxing and a nice easy day. Our other friends hired a mini bus for the day (their children are older) for $150 – took them wherever they wanted to go – said it was a great day. They also did the jetboating which was fun and exciting especially for the 2 boys (age 10 & 13).

 

Isle of Pines – our day on Isle of Pines was very windy and quite cool. We just headed over and, again, swam and snorkeled – great snorkeling further out near the back of the island nearest the beach. We walked over to the side of the island nearest the tender – looking for a toilet – found a resort where there was a café/restaurant and shop as well. We didn’t go to the restaurant but were told by others later that a coffee was $9 and a beer $10 with a champagne $32. I bought Miss 3 a magnum icecream for $6!!!!! Back on the ship and we heard numerous stories of very expensive food and drink around the island.

 

A lot of passengers took a tour of the island – you pick up a minibus as you walk toward the beach – the tour was 45 minutes (sorry I cannot remember how much) and most people said it was a good way to see the island. You can also hire bicycles for a reasonable price to get around. The roads are ‘sealed’ and it is pretty flat.

 

Arriving Home

 

Well all good things come to an end and on Tuesday 18th March we arrived back home – sailing back into Sydney was just beautiful. We were up at 5am to watch the sail past the heads and into the harbour – just spectacular. Miss 3 decided that your pjs are the most suitable ensemble to view the opera house at 6am. It was actually very quiet on deck as people hugged their coffees and just watched the most beautiful city in the world ‘wake up’.

 

Disembarkation was relatively painless – we were a fair way down the list and were still leaving the ship at 9.30am. Anyone who had transfers or flights booked were certainly off the ship a lot earlier. Customs took about 20 minutes and we were in the car park, bags in the car and headed for home…..dreaming about our next cruising adventure!

 

OVERALL – what a wonderful family holiday. We did have one rough day at sea with mummy and Miss 3 feeling more than a little 'rough' too - but after that all was ok - thank goodness!! It had the right balance of activities and relaxation time. The food was great (anywhere where someone else cooks and tidies up has to be good in my book though!), the service was, on the most part, friendly and very obliging, our accommodation was very comfortable and the facilities for kids were fantastic. Our itinerary was perfect (for us) and we had a wonderful time enjoying the South Pacific and just relaxing.

 

Would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Not if – but when!!!:p

[aussiedisneyfan]

What a great and detailed review. Thanks.

[sparkyt]

Hi dea71. Sounds like you all had a great time. Very brave travelling with 2 toddlers. Well done.

We leave in 13 days on our first cruise with 2 boys 11 and 9. Getting very excited.

We're from Newcastle too and we're driving to the ship. Just wondered where we can park the car? Plan to be there early so the car will be parked all day til the ship leaves and my parents wave a teary farewell. :rolleyes:

[LouLou28]

Thanks ... what a great review, absolutely loved reading it!

[Megagirl]

Hi

 

We find driving down a good option too. Parking at the terminal is ample and free. Your parents won't have a problem leaving the car there until you sail.

 

Have a great time. Your kids will love it.

 

Jenny

[dea71]

HI!

 

You can park right at the terminal - about a 50 metre walk from baggage check. We got there about 9.30/10am and had no problem parking. We left our car there until we sailed - we walked down to Chinatown (what a hike - not recommended) for lunch and came back to board a bit later. There is a coffee shop at the the terminal (and one across the street too) if your parents want to wait to see you sail.

 

Have a fantastic time!! Happy Packing

Dea

[surfoz]

Great review, thank you.

[arxcards]

Wonderful review Dee. Glad your family had a great time. A work mate was on this one (not PC literate, you won't see him on CC). I am hoping to catch up with him this afternoon to see how he rated this cruise compared to his previous Pacific Sun ones.

 

Did you ask your Cabin Steward if any firmer pillows were available?

 

I am trying to work out how to take less on our next cruise, and taking our own pillows would blow that ambition pretty quick.

[rkmw]

good review dea, we were on that cruise too and we had a great time also but can i add one day for lunch they had these lovely prawns from 11am until close of lunch, we have been on the pacific sun, rhapsody and the sun princess and this was a first for having prawns for lunch

[dea71]

Yes, the boys (aka the lobster lovers) decided that that would be their beer and prawns afternoon on the pool deck (much to their frustration they had paid $10 for a half kilo of prawns the night before in the dining room! - never too many prawns though they figure!)).

 

Glad that you had a great time too!

 

Dea

[dea71]

We didn't ask for firmer pillows - just a few extras. I think the pillows were just a little well worn to be honest! The beds though - very comfy (and I love those little doona type covers rather than starchy sheets -dh was most annoyed as on the top bunk you only get sheets with regular blankets!).

 

Dea

[newyork40]

Hi Dea,

Enjoyed your review (you are doing well to be able to write one with 2 littlies in tow!). We are going on the Dawn (1st Ocean Cruise!) 2nd May and our cabin is C172 so its next door to the one you were in. There also will be 4 of us in the cabin which will be hubby, me, my mum and our 14yr old daughter. I am dreading us all being squished in but it was so much cheaper to have a 4 berth cabin. Were you happy with the location of the cabin?. P & O told us this was a good choice location especially if you are prone to sea sickness which my hubby is. Also glad to hear your friend's teen son enjoyed the teen club as have been hoping its going to be a hit with my daughter.

Cheers,

Trish (NEWYORK40)

[Tyche]

Good review Dea, I love reading everyones perspective on things. You did a great job covering what it's like to cruise with kids.

[staceymrow]

Thanks for your review Dea.

I really enjoyed it! :)

Its good to hear how others cruise with little ones! :)

[Carlz]

thanks for a great review...glad to hear you had such a nice time!

[cruisyguy]

Hi Dea,

Enjoyed your review (you are doing well to be able to write one with 2 littlies in tow!). We are going on the Dawn (1st Ocean Cruise!) 2nd May and our cabin is C172 so its next door to the one you were in. There also will be 4 of us in the cabin which will be hubby, me, my mum and our 14yr old daughter. I am dreading us all being squished in but it was so much cheaper to have a 4 berth cabin. Were you happy with the location of the cabin?. P & O told us this was a good choice location especially if you are prone to sea sickness which my hubby is. Also glad to hear your friend's teen son enjoyed the teen club as have been hoping its going to be a hit with my daughter.

Cheers,

Trish (NEWYORK40)

NEWYORK NEWYORK 40 We are going on the Pacific Dawn on July 20 2008and our cabin number is also C172 ,so please look after it for us . We are a family of 4 , daughter is ten and son is seven .Would love to hear about our cabin and also the kids facilities .We are also from perth .

 

have a great cruise from Wayne and Kirra

[Lizard©]

What a great review, thank you Dea. :)

I look forward to reading everyones views of the Dawn.

I so can't wait for our first cruise. :D

I'm already gathering bits and pieces to take with us. :cool:

[kezza]

Great report, thanks for doing a great job with the detail. You went to 3 of our most favorite islands.

 

For our next P&O cruise I'm hoping to do 3 of our favorite islands in the one cruise. It'll have too be next year tho as we're off to the US mid year & Europe at Xmas.

 

Can't wait to cruise on the DAwn

[newyork40]

NEWYORK NEWYORK 40 We are going on the Pacific Dawn on July 20 2008and our cabin number is also C172 ,so please look after it for us . We are a family of 4 , daughter is ten and son is seven .Would love to hear about our cabin and also the kids facilities .We are also from perth .

have a great cruise from Wayne and Kirra

 

 

Dear Cruisyguy (Wayne & Kirra),

 

Yep will try to look after cabin 4 u!. Well its 4 weeks today until we go (we are having 4 nights in Sydney before the cruise). If I forget to message you when I get back from the cruise (get home 12th May) then send me a reminder (the memory is not as good once you are over 40!!!.).

 

Cheers,

Trish (NEWYORK 40)

[dea71]

HI Trish,

 

Lucky you - getting ready to cruise!! Your cabin is more toward the midship than ours - we were in C124 which was toward the front. If I was to travel on this ship again we would actually request a cabin around yours - alot less movement (it was quite noticeable in our cabin - I was really sick one day and found it very rocky!!). Caribe deck is great - all cabins (no public areas) so is relatively quiet. It is also convenient to everything - never too many flights of stairs if the lifts are a bit slow (or you've eaten toooo many desserts :p ). You are nice and convenient to the laundry (up one flight of stairs) - and while you don't want to think about washing you will appreciate it being nearby when the fairies don't get the washing done for you!!

 

I hope that you have a great time - your daughter will love it - our friends' son had a fabulous time (we hardly saw him for 12 days).

 

Happy Planning and packing - any other questions just ask away!!

 

Dea

[cruiseaway08]

Thanks for a wonderful review! We are travelling on the 13th of April on the Dawn and with 2 children, 6 and 8, your review was very informative!

 

We are also on Caribe deck, but have no cabin number yet-that is worrying me a little! Glad you enjoyed your holday!

[newyork40]

Dear Dea,

Thanks for that info. I am sure CRUISYGUY (Wayne & Kirra) will be happy to read what you wrote also!. Am happy to hear that we are not far away from the laundry as hubby says he is going to be very strict with me with my packing as I always pack way too much, so I will prob have to use the laundry a few times. One thing that everyone seems to be disappointed about is the so called ANYTIME DINING. I was looking forward to being able to rock up to the restaurant (not the buffet 1) when I want and not have to make a booking. So it looks like this is ANYTIME DINING advertising is actually not true. How do P & O get away with it?????. Maybe they havn't had any formal complaints. False advertising is a real pet hate of mine!.

Regards,

Trish

[cheznandy]

Thanks for a great review, you had some lovely ports:D

 

Yes, the anytime dining does to appear to be anytime as long as it's 6pm or 8pm:p

 

Chez

xx

[slasher64]

Thanks for a wonderful review! We are travelling on the 13th of April on the Dawn and with 2 children, 6 and 8, your review was very informative!

 

We are also on Caribe deck, but have no cabin number yet-that is worrying me a little! Glad you enjoyed your holday!

 

Yes great review, it's great to learn something new with every review.

 

I know how you feel Cruiseaway, regarding cabin number.We know our cabin number, but are yet to recieve our tickets:( .We are on plaza deck, p126.... 2 children 11,13....

[aussie down under]

Great review Dea,

Cruising is just the best way to holiday, just no going back once you've done it:D . Well thats our excuse!

Cheers,

Michele:)