I've become acquainted with Cruise Critic from friends of ours that we met on our last cruise, and prior to sailing this year, my partner and I began to utilize the site. Our cruise on the Dawn this year was my fourth cruise, the 2nd on the Dawn. The other trips were on Costa and American Hawaii Cruises. Before I begin, I do want to mention that my partner tried to attend a meeting of Cruise Critic folks on the Dawn and was treated terribly by some old woman who called him a lurker and by the host. We had been INVITED to that meeting by long-time cruise critics and that was a disappointment.

About our most recent trip on the Dawn - First the bad news...overall the service was down a notch from our sailing last year. It seems they sent the entire crew from last year (who were all really terrific) to their newest ship. Most distressing was the embarkation. As Latitude members we thought boarding the ship would be easier this year as last year the ship was late and it was a nightmare. We arrived at 12:30 only to find out that we had missed a boarding of Latitudes members and would have to wait. The gentleman in charge (with Port Authority) asked if we thought it would be fair if we were able to board the ship before people who had been waiting since 9AM. My answer was yes. It would be a good marketing tool if Latitudes members could board at their leisure and tell everyone else, That could be you if you sail with us again. But to no avail. I learned later that NYC is the only port that does not have a specific line for Latitudes members at all times.

This year's Cruise Director was pretty awful. She was lackluster and talentless and didn't have the energy or charisma to handle this job. Most of the deck parties at night were sparsely attended and I think the CD had a lot to do with the poor turnout. I was shocked to find out that the shows in the main theatre were the same a year later. Read more