My Cruise Adventures

Dawn Princess - The Ship

This ship is in beautiful shape. It is in much nicer shape physically than any of the three Holland America ships I've sailed. The crowd seems to have a high percentage of passengers older than us, presumably because this cruise is more expensive than the average 7-day cruise. Surprisingly, one of the teenagers on board is from my son's English class back home.

In a major change from Holland America and Carnival, Princess uses fresh water in its pools. Plus, all pools and hot tubs are open 24 hours a day.

Most of the on-deck bars close soon after dark, but those below deck seem to do a booming business until very late at night. The exception was the night we left St. Thomas, where we had the Island Night deck party that lasted until well after midnight.

I had concerns due to reviews of previous cruises on this ship. Those reviews, posted last November and December, spoke of bad service, bad smells, and missed ports or shortened schedules due to an engine problem. I am happy to report that we have seen none of those problems. The service has been excellent, the ship in prime physical condition, and the schedule was not shortened at all.

Our cabin steward, Eduardo, was one of the best we've ever had. He made towel animals for the kids every night, and even taught Victoria how to make them. This was Eduardo's last trip before his return home for three months, so he was in particularly high spirits.

The food on this voyage was excellent. We ate all breakfasts and lunches in the Horizon Court buffet. The selection didn't vary much for breakfast but that was OK as it was extensive and included made-to-order omlettes. The lunch selection varied daily, and had a very large selection. In addition, the selection changed every few hours. Every day (I think) they had free ice cream in the buffet for a few hours in the afternoon.

I had thought that the dinner menu would be repeated some during this cruise but it did not ever repeat. Aside from that first evening's dinner, all were excellent.