Having done a "Trip of A Lifetime" on the Dawn in 2011, we found ourselves hooked/addicted and this was our third long cruise on this ship. We all know it isn't the most modern ship in the fleet, nor the largest or smallest and therein lies its charm. With just under 2,000 passengers it is neither too large nor too small.

Going from Sydney to Venice and back via the Suez Canal, with many ports - particularly in the Med, was a great attraction, aided considerably by a reunion of our table of 10 from 2011!

We hooked into the Cruise Critic roll call early and it wasn't long before friends from cruises past were in too, and I cannot stress too highly that with a good 'leader', the Cruise Critic group (Dawn Nomads this time) added a lot to the trip, especially with runs of sea days. Princess acknowledged the group and were very supportive on board. Read more