Dawn - Mexican Riviera - THE DEFINITION OF RELAXATION
Written: Oct 28 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful ship, convenience of cruising, great foods, charming ports of call
Cons: Hectic embarkation
The Bottom Line: This ship now departs from LA. I would still recommend it - cruising is THE BEST!!
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| didelk's Full Review: Dawn Princess |
My husband and I took the Dawn Princess out of San Diego December, 2007. We're experienced cruisers and it is one of our favorite vacations - no matter what the destination.
Departure port: San Diego - we came in three days early. It is his favorite big city. We stayed in three difference hotel rooms (arrgggh!!) but none was truly awful. First night was the Comfort Inn near the airport. Nice hotel -- NOISY room, so they moved us. Second night was OK, but meanwhile we discovered the Ocean Park Inn on Malibu Beach near Crystal Pier. Stayed there the third night and thought we were in paradise. Beautiful views, quiet, clean - PERFECT embarkation getaway. Actual cruise terminal was a zoo the morning of departure, but it's like giving birth - once you get onboard that elegant ship you forget all the pain that you endured on the dock!!
The Ship's Appearance: We had cruised twice on the sister ship, Sun, and so we knew we'd love the Dawn's traditional decor. What we didn't know was that even for an old ship, it was immaculately maintained, had an updated library and FREE WIRELESS came with our platimun status - this is one of the only ships afloat that does this. I loved keeping up with work from the serene comfort of a quiet cruise ship and without tha hassels of not being able to access my documents on my own computer. These ships feature the Wheelhouse Bar with English seafaring decor and lovely, classical elegance throughout.
The passengeers: We had trouble with some rowdy, all night carousers across the hall. We called security more then once, but there was no place for us to move on the full ship. Princess handled it fine, but it made us very uncomfortable and we never feel insecure or unsafe on a cruise ship. It was too bad. Not really Princess's fault, but given some issues observed, I think the crew might have put those people off at the fist port, and they did not. Since I don't know all the facts, maybe I shouldn't be talking about it, but we were concerned.........Best I can say about it "all's well that ends well" This was a younger crowd than we usually see on Princess because of the Cabo San Lucas port of call. They were cute and fun and we enjoyed watching them have fun. They never caused a disturbance and were friendly to us older folks and made the holiday scene more festive.
The food: AHHH YES - the famous draw of a cruise ship -- endless food!! We're usually buffet diners and for this itinerary brought mostly casul clothes, so ate every meal in the buffet. The food was varied, the buffet seldom crowded and the quality if the food was the best food we have had on any cruise ship. The fist morning my husband complained, as he always does, about soggy bacon. Wonder of wonders, the next morning the bacon was crisp! They were responsive to sepcial requests and the food was constantly rotated for freshness and the staff was busy and attentive. This does NOT always happen on cruise ship buffets. We were delighted. If you have not cruised before, everything you hear about there being mountains of delicious food is TRUE. The variety is always what gets me. I'd say we're more fitness buffs than gourmands, but we like good food, and we were not disppointed, not once, on the Dawn Princess.
Special features: The fitness center was well appointed and clean. It had a lot of use with this young crowd, but I never had to wait for a machine. The classes were pretty good, although I think the isntructors got their training in Marine Corps boot camp instead of a gym in the states. I don't recommend them unless you have some knowledge of what is safe and reasonable for you to do in a fitness class. This ship features an elegant wrap-around Promenade deck which was a favorite venue for walkers, me included. It's like paradise, exercising so close to the water line in the blus, blue Pacific Ocean!! AHHHHH!! The movies were good - I don't recall their titles, but do recall enjoying a couple. The shopping onboard was typical - I like it - my husband doesn't!!
Ports: Cabo San Lucas. We tendered into dock (that means taking a little boat from ship to shore, for non-cruisers) The dock was clean and filled with companies offering tours, etc. Typical. We walked into town and bought some groceries - we love Mexican snacks and I speak Spanish so we walked around town a bit taking in the atmosphere of the place. There are streets nearby with tons of restaurant options and lots and lots of cute little stores. We returned to the dock and found the best price for a little boat to Lovers Beach. It was crowded, but I recommend it. It's on a peninsula that juts out between the bay in Cabo and the Pacific. On one side, crashing waves. On the other, peaceful cove with LOTS of little boats dropping people off and picking them up. Don't lose your return trip ticket, as they drop you off and you have to find THEM to return!! There is a narrow strip of sand that connects bay to ocean with huge rock cliffs on either side - DRAMATIC!! There is little shade, be sure to remember sunscreen. There are no services on the beach.
Mazatlan - our favorite!! The ships docks and you take a required free shuttle bus off the commercial dock it's berthed at. They drop you off on a bustling city street. We grabbed a little open air taxi and asked to be taken to the central plaza. It was SO charming. My husband needed a belt repaired, and he dropped it off with a man in the square who was making leather goods. The guy fixed it in like 30 minutes for $2. We wandered around in the local markets, ate food at local lunch counters and bought some blankets and stuff, The highlight of the day was striking off on foot (not recommended if you don't speak Spanish or if you're not in pretty OK shape) looking for a beach on the other side of the peninsula. After many blocks of wrong turns, we got directions and found ourselves far away from the hustle and bustle at a long street that runs along the water on the other side of the peninsula. We stopped for refreshments in a quiet restaurant and forged on. We walked through busy city streets on our way back acorss to the ship, stopping in local stores and businesses to learn about what folks do in Mazatlan. Once we found our way back to the Plaza we stopped in a cute bar for drinks and refreshments before heading back via taxi.
Puerta Vallarta - We docked right across the street from Wal Mart! We started out waking to the old part of town - grabbed a taxi instead. It's predictably charming colonial with more shops than you can imagine and a lovely view of our ship in the distance. We had coffee and started back on foot - probably about 5 miles. My husband was tired, so we stopped for a drink in a hotel and then started looking for a taxi. NONE would stopp. So we hopped a bus and asked if it was going to Wal Mart!! I carry pesos, so it was easy to get the fare, and we had fun talking to locals. I was owrried that I would miss our stop, and this adorable little old lady made me her responsibility. She even got off the bus at our stop, gave directions to Wal Mart (which was right there!) and then got back on the bus. SO friendly and sweet! We bought groceries at Wal Mart and got back on Board. My husband went back out and paid a few pesos at a nearby hotel to bask on their beach. I just worked out and vegged out.
Summary - this is my favorite cruise ship and my favorite vacation! I will be hard pressed to find any cons on this trip!!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
didelk
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Location: Houston, Texas
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Piano teacher.
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