Dawn Princess 12/14/03-12/21/03

We just returned from a 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Dawn
Princess. There are a ton of reviews out there for this particular
ship, but I just thought I'd share a few observations:

We cruised with another couple (all of us between mid 40's and early
50's). We really splurged this time and booked the Capri suite, and
our friends booked the mini suite right next to us. Boy were we
thankful that we flew in to SJ a day before the cruise departed! Snow
hit the Northeast again the day after we left. I don't know what
impact it had on plane travel, but I was extremely glad that we didn't
even have to worry about it!

We booked a room at the Ritz Carlton (thanks to recommendations from
RTC). Originally requested balcony with ocean view, but when none
were available we were given the suite :-) Fabulous large
marble-tiled rooms with dining table, three patio doors, guest
bathroom, small kitchen area, private patio with recliners and
table/chairs, etc. Sunday we lounged around a bit and had a few
Bloody Mary's before heading over to the ship at about 1:00pm.

The embarkation was the easiest and smoothest of all our cruises (5).
We virtually sailed on and went immediately to the cabin.

What a cabin! The veranda was HUGE, and the cabin was tastefully
decorated in muted blues, and white/brown marble tile. The bathroom
had a large Jacuzzi tub that I never got around to using, and a
separate shower stall. There was a wet bar in the main salon with
complimentary bottles of liquor (miniatures of course), and a fridge
stocked with beer, water, tonic and club soda.

The ship was just beautiful. In several places the ceilings looked
like stained glass with backlighting. One are in particular was the
casino. The ceiling looked like a giant roulette wheel but done in
gold tones with muted reds and greens. This same thing was done in
our bathroom on one wall.

We only made it to two shows (comedian and comedian/magician), but
they were very funny! We visited the pizza place a couple times
(yumm), and the buffet a couple times too. We spent the majority of
time trying to complete the bar-hopper cards. When we finally got all
of our stamps we took them to the Jammers night-club and we received a
hat and a t-shirt for our efforts! I call that a bargain since we
would have had at least that much to drink even if we weren't 'bar
hopping' g.

We attended the first wine tasting and I was disappointed in the wine
selection and the presentation. It was held in one of the dining
rooms, and we couldn't even see the gentlemen speaking about the
wines. Another low spot was the art auction. The auctioneer (Dr.
Henry) was my least favorite. I'm used to the Celebrity and RC
auctions where you tag things of interest, and then they bring them up
as they can. This time we were instructed to tag what we liked, but
were told that we needed to talk to Dr. H. before the auction started
to make sure we were comfortable with the reserve price. He made a
big deal about having to pass on pieces that were tagged, but then he
brought up a bunch of stuff that nobody tagged - and it didn't even
sell! I can't fault them for wanting to push slow moving art, but IMO
the auctions weren't as much fun as the others I've attended. There
was too much time spent 'educating' us, and not enough time spent on
actually auctioning. And there was very little cross-bidding. Don't
get me wrong - I love to hear specifics about the particular pieces,
but 20 minutes spent telling us not to call them prints, and a whole
discussion about how we could get at least 20% off at a galary just by
asking if it was a serograph or a lithograph seemed a bit excessive.
I like more art being auctioned, and lots of bidding for each piece -
the thrill of the hunt!

The ports were okay. The itinerary was St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada
and Aruba. Originally we were supposed to go to Caracas (sp), but
that port was cancelled. My TA said they weren't refunding port taxes
but they would have a cocktail party or something on board. Never saw
a party, but was pleasantly surprised when the final bill included
$21/pp for port tax refunds. The ship also credited everyone with $50
for the missed port!

By far the most beautiful stop was Grenada, but the people were so
pushy (read SO PUSHY) that I really didn't enjoy it. We may go back
for a land vacation because it seems like there is so much to do - but
we'll definitely stay away from the pier! I picked up some baskets of
assorted spices, and now I wish I'd taken more money ashore and picked
up many more. They make great gifts! The friendliest (least pushy)
place was Aruba. I was surprised at how flat it was, but with the
lovely breezes and the lack of hawkers, it would make a nice vacation
spot as well.

There were a couple small incidents in the dining room that put a
damper on the festivities. The first was when I was filling out a
comment card and our waiter came by. He looked over my shoulder and
saw that I marked 'Quality of Service' as Very Good. It upset him to
no end. He said it should be Excellent. I realize he was serving a
number of tables at the time, but he just wasn't Excellent in our
opinion. Twice more during the cruise we got him. In general he was
sullen and uncommunicative. The other incident involved the lobster
night. The Maitre D (sp) stopped to ask about the meal. One person
mentioned that the lobster tail was dry. The guy went on for about
5-minutes talking about how hard they work and why it may have seemed
dry to us. I just think he spent too much time trying to rationalize,
when he really could have just said he'd make a note of it and then
moved on. In general I found the food on the Princess a bit bland but
good, and there was certainly plenty of it! Definite highlights:
Chocolate and Vanilla Mousse, Pizza from La Scalaria, canapes each
night (my all-time favorite was the whipped cucumber on dill
bread!!!!). We never did find the Sundae place, but you wouldn't know
it from my expanded waist-line!

Debarkation was quick and efficient. People moaned and groaned about
waiting in the customs line aboard the ship, but it was only about a
half hour or so, and then right off the boat when the tag color was
called. It couldn't have been easier! I understand why people get
crabby and cranky at the end of a cruise. I always feel just a bit
sleep deprived, and too mad that I have to get off the ship g.

We were late departing from San Juan and again from Aruba due to late
passengers. Princess seemed to be much more inclined to wait,
although I don't know if it was due to the fact that tours/air flights
were booked via Princess, or if it's just their style. The all-aboard
for Aruba was at 4:30, and at 5:10 stragglers were still occasionally
strolling down the pier.

I'd certainly sail princess again, although I might try a smaller ship
for slightly more personal service. The DP was lovely!