Had a great cruise. We have a 2 and 6 year old. When the 2 year old got tyred and started crying waiting in queues to depart, a staff member came and helped us get out slightly quicker which was very good. We have cruised once before (honeymoon), and this cruise exceeded our expectations. The staff we absolutely brilliant. The staff at the Waterfront restaurant were friendly and attentive. Many would make linen squirrels for the kids, and some even did card tricks at the table. The maitre'd and supervisors at the Waterfront are very professional. The consistent great service at the Waterfront restaurant was amazing. The food is probably only 2-3 star, but you could order many dishes, there is one set menu every night, and one that changes every night, the choice was superb. I didn't expect 5 star food because the Pacific Dawn's cruises are quite cheap. The no set times for dining at the Waterfront suited us very well, and the maitre'd helped us twice when we had forgotten to book, (we dine early so we were probably lucky).

I have seen criticisms regarding 'pay for this' pay for that', but considering the cruise is so cheap, if you want an ice-cream anytime or special espresso coffee anytime...pay up! There was ice cream available for the kids/adults at every dinner so what's the problem?!

The buffet was very good, we tended to only use this for lunch, and 2 brekkies, once again good choice but 2-3 star quality (as expected). Read more