Wonderful Alaskan cruise on the Dawn Princess
Written: Jun 29 '08 (Updated Jun 29 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Food
Nice ship
lots to do
Cons: smell on our floor
lack of people our age
The Bottom Line: This was a great, not too costly way to travel with a large group and see plenty of sights. I would definitely recommend this cruise to others.
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| sbowen505's Full Review: Dawn Princess |
We just got back from a 10 Day cruise to Alaska. We had a wonderful time. This was our 3rd cruise and out first time to Alaska. My husband and I are in our late 20's and traveled with his family and a group of other friends and their family for a total of 35 people. We took the Dawn Princess and this was our itinerary:
Day 1,2,3 at sea
Day 4 Ketchikan
Day 5 Juneau
Day 6 Skagway
Day 7 Tracy arm fjord
Day 8 at sea
Day 9 Victoria
Day 10 at sea
Although it was a smoking ship the smoke wasn't bad, it was usually confined to the Wheelhouse bar and the casino. The wheelhouse bar seemed like a nice place to hang out, they had bands every night but I didn't go because of the smoke.
The food was amazing, there were lots of options. I wasn't too impressed with the buffet but they did have good breakfast options. Something I came across on the last day is that the Patisserie bar on Deck 5 offers smoothies for $3.50, that is something I would have taken advantage of if I found it sooner. The Pizza parlor was delicious. The outdoor grill also had several options. Besides burgers and hot dogs it had veggie burgers and chicken sandwhiches as well as special lunches somedays. I really enjoyed the Alaskan BBQ the day we left Ketchikan. The afternoon tea was an amazing treat. The scones were better than any I have had. The only problem was the timing of the tea since we had the early seating for dinner I often wasn't hungry enough for it. Room service was also great for those few times I wanted a little snack. We got flan, pitchers of water and sandwhiches from room service. It is a little bit of a hassle to get water around the ship so ordering pitchers or filling up nalgenes in the gym is a good idea.
Note: this cruise does not go to glacier bay and does not ever get up close to a glacier. We saw the Mendenhall glacier in Juneau so that was enough for me.
There were plenty of activities on board. We picked up daily brain teasers in the library, participated in basketball games at the hoop on the top deck, played lots of ping pong. We also used the golf simulator and never even went in the pool or hot tub. The gym has the best view of any gym I've ever worked out in, it looks out the back of the boat. There were lots of board games to use and borrow. Lots of movies play on the in room tvs and there was a newer movie playing on the big screen almost once a day. Our group participated in group trivia everyday. It was very fun with good questions. We won at least 4 times and got prizes each time.
It was pretty neat cruising north, the farther north you get the later it stays light out. In Juneau the sun set after 10 and then rose before 4am the next day.
There is a nice teen room and kids room on this ship.
The ship was very nice. It was a lot classier than our last 2 carnival cruises. Everything was top quality, the only wear I noticed was the carpet on the main stairs and some of the couches had lost their spring in the atrium lounge. Our hall (deck 8) smelled like sewage the entire trip but luckily the smell did not come into the room.
There was lots of entertainment every night. I only went to two shows because they weren't really my thing but a guy played the piano every night in the Atrium lounge. He was really good and very friendly. His name was Brett Cave. I definitely recommend seeing him.
other tips:
-do on-board shopping at the end of the trip, it all goes on sale
-wait until the last day or 2 to get spa treatments, they go on great sales (I got a $99 one hour package on the last day that included a back massage, a facial and a hot stone massage, it was beyond worth it)
-professional photos are very expensive: $25 for an 8x10
-balcony rooms are worth it on this cruise, there is lots to see and no public protected areas to see it from
-clientele seemed to be mostly older with lots of families, not many people our age 28-31
-no sports bar, ask Jammers to put games on for you if you want, we watched soccer on the flat screens and were the only group in there
-if you drink soda, buy the soda plan for one person in your group. It is $43 but we had no problem using it for several people per day.
-Kayaking in Ketchikan is awesome
-scholarship at sea is not free, and didn't seem too interesting
-Pilates, yoga and spinning all cost $10 each class
-internet is .75/minute after a one time $4 start up fee
-15% gratuity automatically added to all bar drinks (beer was 4.75 for a pint so not bad)
-champagne waterfall new years eve party on the second to last night was very fun, lots of free champagne
-early dinner seating felt rushed every night, they turn the lights on and then try to quickly get the room turned around for the next seating
-bring cold weather clothes if you plan to be out on the front of the ship(watch for dolphins, whales, eagles, and sea lions)
We had a wonderful cruise. My favorite things about this ship were probably the food at dinner and all of the fun activities especially the daily trivia. I definitely recommend this trip to others.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
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Epinions.com ID:
sbowen505
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Reviews written: 1
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