Dawn Princess Review

3.5 / 5.0
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Dawn Princess didn't live up to the hard sell.

Review for Australia & New Zealand Cruise on Dawn Princess
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Pixiewix
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Feb 2012

We realise that as first time cruisers we have little to compare with this experience, but are sure that there is something to be learnt from sharing what we experienced

Our difficulty with the cruise was firstly the seniority of our fellow passengers, which was reflected in the quality and content of both the activities offered on board and the entertainment. We had a fair idea there would be few children but no idea that so many of the passengers would be over 65 years old. Any current movies were shown in the outdoor movie area, which might be fine in warm calm seas but these are not what Bass Strait and the Tasman are known! The shows were not our sort of entertainment and we knew this prior to the cruise so had no expectations of them.

Secondly, we did not enjoy the food options. The restaurant food was cleaner than that offered at Horizon Court, but there were a limited amount of vegetables served with the meal and all the food was highly salted. Again, we realise that cooking for large numbers is difficult, but we were always told that the food was great so we were very disappointed. The service was always friendly but especially in the beginning - very intrusive! We had never before encountered the "beginning cruise sales pitch" to spend even more once on board. The only food we really enjoyed were meals where we paid extra. The food then was excellent, the service polite and unobtrusive and the restaurant area quiet and peaceful.

Cabin Review

Our cabin was great and totally suitable for person with a disability in a wheelchair. The bathroom was well planned out and the bed was a good height and distance from the wall for ease of transfer. The balcony view was fantastic and the location was very quiet. It was kept very clean as well.

We have two concerns. The door would not lock open making entering and exiting difficult and dangerous. We asked for a door stopper which was initially refused as a "safety risk" which we later found out would have been relevant if the balcony door was open and we smoked. However, we did get one and used it daily. Secondly, it took some time to put ramps in to get the wheelchair onto the balcony. As this was only required at the end of cruise at the Fiordland area, the fact that this took a while was not important. The ramps however were large and made using the balcony difficult but not impossible. We were in cabin B335.

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