Dawn Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I traveled on the Dawn Princess with my father and my son. The staff in the children's center accommodated my son's special needs well and that part went really well.
The food was great and I really appreciated the effort that they made for my son, the "Chicken Fingers" he had for dinner both nights in the MDR were obviously of high quality (better than the chicken-nugget type meals he is used to when eating away from home) and they once made him a special dessert when nothing on the menu appealed (I nominated the waiter for employee of the month).
I get the impression that the Dawn Princess isn't run to support child centered vacations. The child center is great (the staff are really good), but it's not enough. If I was to take my son on multiple cruises on the same ship I would aim to only have him in the child center for an hour or two a day. That would require more entertainment options for children. Ideally this would include a daily pantomime show, at least one child movie on the outdoor TV screen, and games in the ship.
Cabin Review
Interior cabins are advertised as being really dark at night, IMHO this makes them better than cabins with windows. Unfortunately the cracks around the door admitted quite a bit of light which was a disappointment.
I'm taller than most people and I found the bed to be too short and the table at the end of the bed which prevented my feet from extending over the end made it even less comfortable. If I was travelling with my wife and the bed was in a double configuration it would probably have been OK, but in the twin-single configuration it's not good for tall people.
In the main part of the room there is only one power point and it's below the TV. This is inconvenient if you want to charge a phone overnight and also use it as a torch during the night. Ideally every cabin would have a power point within reach of every bed.