Please Note: There is a 2010 and now a
2011 World Cruise UPDATE at the bottom of the
page!
INTRODUCTION
TO THIS REVIEW
This
review was compiled during the maiden circumnavigation voyage of the globe (106
nights) on Princess Cruises MV Dawn Princess from Australia Sydney/Sydney
continuing though to
As
always, my regular readers will know, I shall be totally honest and frank with
my comments and will ensure that all who may be thinking of booking an around
the world cruise, or a sector on the Dawn Princess in the future will be well
advised regarding the differences between these two products Princess Cruises
and P&O UK. Therefore I trust that this review will provide you with a
clear guide which of the two products is best suited to your personal needs,
for there is no doubt that both products have their own special features, which
greatly vary and Dawn Princess may be better suited to one type of passenger,
whilst the P&O Cruises UK product, now operating the new and larger MV
Arcadia as well as the ever popular MV Aurora may well be better suited for
others.
You
will note the Up Ý and Down ß arrows, which have a rather obvious meaning and
this review will make what this means quite clear. However, let me state quite
clearly that I have enjoyed my voyage on the Dawn Princess immensely, for as I
always state, “A cruise is what you make of it!”
On
this voyage of discovery the ports of call have been nothing short of superb as
has been the weather the vast majority of the time. In addition I have made
countless new friends whilst on board. In spite of this, I also have to be very
honest and say that this ship does have its problems and this will be discussed
down the page and it is my sincere hope that Carnival Australia who operates
Princess Cruises in
SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS. Ý
Ý MARK WESTERN: I have to clearly state that the
senior assistant cruise director Mark Western is simply superb and has done an
excellent job throughout this cruise. He has a great personality and is, unlike
Sammi, greatly liked by passengers and staff. Mark’s humour is very
British thus he makes one and all laugh. His intros to the Vista Lounge variety
shows are to say the least a total riot! One night at the end of a show, Mark
gave an unexpected extended talk/comic patter due to the passenger’s
interjection and as he finally sat down on the edge of the stage he continued
his entertaining dialogue. Considering that the lounge was packed I was amazed
that not one passenger left the room and when he was finally finished the
audience wildly applauded in appreciation! Mark Western certainly is the
perfect replacement as a cruise director and I would recommend him to be
promoted as soon as possible!
However,
Newman does stand out as the very best I have come across in all my sailing
days! Often I heard positive comments made by two older passengers who sat at a
table just behind me on a regular basis, as well as two rather fussy elderly
ladies who have special diets who required a pot of special tea as well as a
pot of hot water that had to be at a certain temperature in the middle of their
meal. Newman seems to bring their tea and water just at the right time and I
would hear them say “It seems like he can read our minds” and
obviously the water and tea is just perfect and they were always delighted with
the service received. We need to remember that breakfast and lunch are open
sittings, although my travel companion and myself always had the same table for
both breakfast and lunch and these other folk would only sit at those
particular tables occasionally, yet Newman would remembers all their various
needs to perfection, as he did with others. He has not only served us to
perfection, but he is able to chat with us and others, yet he knows just when
to pull back, which is the mark of the perfect waiter. Newman receives my
highest commendation as not just as the finest serving staff member on Dawn
Princess, but one of the very best I have encountered of countless years of
around the world cruising on Oriana, Aurora and other ships and now on the Dawn
Princess!
Update
July 2010: Since arriving home I have kept in touch with the remarkable Newman
and I was so happy to hear when he told me that he was appointed as a senior waiter.
He really deserved that having been the junior for long enough, for it was he
that his passengers loved and his efficiency is simply outstanding! I hope and
pray that he will make an head waiter one day, for he
will make a very good one as he has a good brain and many excellent skills. I
have been in this industry since May 1960 and operated my own cruise ship and I
can see talent and this man has it. With luck Princess will be able to see it,
but, it has a great deal to do with the head waiters and Hotel Directors around
him for the competition is rife amongst the waiters and many will try and outdo
others and even sabotage them.
Photograph © 2009 Reuben Goossens
Due
to this new Princess Cruises venture, Australian’s and New Zealanders can
now choose between taking a world voyage on a P&O UK ship from Australia/NZ
to or from the UK, or participate on one of the sectors available,
alternatively do a round the world voyage Sydney/Sydney or a sector on the Dawn
Princess in 2010 or in the following years. This review will cover several
points and I trust it will be worthwhile reading, as I said earlier I will be
totally honest having your interest at heart. We need to understand that both
Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises UK are part of the Carnival Group of
cruise companies, but we need to understand that they are independently
operated, one in the UK by Carnival UK, being P&O Cruises UK and the other
in Australia by Carnival Australia or Princess Cruises Australia, but the ship
is still managed by the American HQ, yet operated according to Australian
standards and thus the standard on the Dawn and Sun Princess will be quite
different to the wholly American based ships, which is of a far higher quality
and that became quite obvious for all who have sailed with Princess Cruises
frequently!
For
my 49 and a half year history in the passenger shipping industry please use the
link shown below and read an article written by my associates Mr. Kosta G.
Specis and Mr. Hun-Eng Tan: www.ssmaritime.com/author-ssmaritime.html.
P&O
CRUISES
PART ONE
Photograph © 2009 Reuben Goossens
Prior to our arrival in
Boston USA the tours office advised all passengers of what seemed like if they
were doing the passenger a big favour, a shuttle bus service would be made
available from the berth to Quincy Markets downtown, they also stated that it
was a 20-minute drive each way with the fare being $19 one-way or $24 return.
For interest our taxi ride was 10 minutes into town and 9 minutes back to the
ship (certainly not 20 minutes each way) and our return taxi fares cost the
three of us a grand total of $23 including tips, which is less than a fare for
one person on a bus filled with 45 passengers paying $24 per person return,
that is $1,080 per bus load – what a rip off! The taxi fare was certainly
much better than paying $72 for three of us on the Princess organised shuttle
bus, which is ridiculously costly. Shuttles have been available in most ports
but at again costing from $14 to $29 return.
I am sorry, but this kind
od utter robbery was simply not good enough, for as I stated Princess Cruises
is promoting itself to be a “Premier” product and thus should carry
through its services and it should at least compare itself to the P&O UK
product in some ways, for the fact is that the cruise fares are much the same
and the P&O ships are by far superior and they also offer 24 hour free
service, etc! In Southampton many British passengers joined and most are past
P&O UK passengers and I know quite a few of them personally from past
cruises and they were very disappointed with this cruise and will certainly
never join the Dawn Princess, or another Princess ship ever again for as they
stated “it represents poor value, especially as there are so many
additional charges on this ship, and prices on ship are so very high.
Believe me
Australian’s paid hefty fares in regardless of the so called discounts,
Americans, Brit’s, and Kiwi’s and Australian’s who purchased
tickets at the last moment for sectors, they obtained them at fares so
ridiculously low and even obtained free air fares, let’s say from
Australia to Dubai, meaning that those who undertook the whole around the world
cruise or a sector from Australia prior her departure, paid a very high price
indeed and, if David Price was talking discounting, was he talking about these
last minute deals certainly not passengers who had booked in advance with the
so called 40/45/50% discounts, which are not real discounts at all, for
the regular fare shown in the brochures is there for show only and these fares
are NEVER charged! Many of the cheap fares sold at the last minute were to fill
up staterooms vacated by passengers who either died during the cruise, and
there were a few or were taken from the ship at one port or another (and there
were many as we were on a very sick ship indeed!) due to medical reasons or
passengers who had decided to leave the ship at various ports. The first
passengers I know to leave the ship had booked the round the world cruise, but
had enough of the ship and the conditions and got off in
However there was one port
when I was really angry and that was when we reached the
Now I am certainly am not
worried about the money, but it is the principle that matters, for if a ship
takes to a port you should be able to get off without any further cost. I
believe that Princess Cruises is was in breach of
contract with its passengers by not providing free access to the
Princess Cruises I am
sorry, but you have disgraced yourselves, it is about time you got you
accountants out of the system and started working on how to satisfy your
passengers, remember the C.R.U.I.S.E. Credo, I think Princess Cruises you have
forgotten it somehow!
1. Ý FACILITIES AND 2. ß ACCOMMODATIONS.
During the cruise the
bathroom was without hot water for seven days, thus having to take cold
showers. I do not understand why it took so long, but eventually it was fixed.
Air conditioning in our cabin was a total disaster throughout this 106 night
voyage, the temperature control did not work at all, we froze during the day
and had to wear a dressing gown in the room during the day over our clothes to
keep warm and at night the room was far too warm as the air conditioning seemed
to have been closed down regardless of what you did with the dial. Reporting it
to the Pursers office is totally useless as no action was ever taken! If you
look at the ship she may look superb, but underneath she has many rough edges,
such as the seating in both restaurants, for the cushions in the chairs are so
old that when you sit in them they go flat and it seems like you are sitting on
solid timber and by the time you finish you meal you are glad to go for you
have a sore bottom. In fact it is so bad that many passengers requested
cushions to be placed on top of the seat, in addition
the seats are far too low as the table too high to dine from. I believe that
Dawn Princess is in a desperate need of a serious upgrade before she goes on
her next world cruise, for currently she is simply not good enough, not when
you have top class P&O UK liners available such as the MV Aurora, MV Oriana
and the newer and larger MV Arcadia.
The
truth is that every P&O Cruises UK cabin, and that includes the very
cheapest inside room, contains a sofa, a coffee table and an easy chair at the
foot of the bed/s, as well as tea and coffee making facilities, a larger fridge
than that tiny one on Dawn Princess that has no room for anything. In addition
all P&O UK ships have very spacious wardrobes (that have space for volumes
of clothes as well as all your suitcases) as well as many deep and wide chests
of drawers. Each room also has a much larger safety deposit box than those tiny
ones found in cabins on the Dawn Princess. Therefore the P&O Uk and P&O
Australia Staterooms on Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel are far superior to any
of the regular cabins, especially the inside ones on Dawn Princess. For 104/106
night world voyages, with the wardrobes being extremely small, as well as extra
small fridges, being just big enough for a about 6 cans of drinks, and the safe
that which is just so tiny that it will just hold your passport and ticket, but
nothing else. In addition Dawn Princess has a good number of three and four
berth cabins, including inside ones (without a window), however I would
strongly recommend that no more than two persons occupy any of these rooms for
they are really VERY SMALL and only just big enough for a couple. Comedians on
board call the ships inside cabins - “State-cupboards.”
And believe me I have seen them and they are tiny, and
you would not wish to live in one for 104 nights, it is a little box, yet
Princess’ publicity has the audacity to advertise “Spacious, elegantly appointed staterooms.” Outside
twin bedded outside cabins are a little larger and have a little more wardrobe
space, however would you believe, their bathrooms are much smaller than those
of the inside cabins. They are so tiny drying yourself after a shower in the
bathroom is an art all by itself! Mini suites and suites are very good and
superbly appointed, but you would expect that, for you are certainly paying for
the extra space, however, they certainly do not measure up to the suites on a
P&O UK cruise. In addition, all suites and mini suites are located at the
stern and considering that this ship has had ongoing mechanical problems, the
aft vibration was quite bad, and thus all who are accommodated in the aft
section were far from happy.
Let
me sum up, if there are two people travelling together on a budget, the very
small inside cabins are fine if you do not mind small spaces, for let’s
face it you do not spend a great deal of time in the cabin as it is only a
place to sleep, bathe and get dressed, the rest of the time you are enjoying
the of your voyage and the service onboard as I said is great, as is most of
the food, as are the many fabulous ports of call!
One
night in the Vista Lounge a comedian started a joke with “My cabin is so
small, it is the smallest on the ship” – to which the entire
audience replied almost in unison – “No it is not!”
And I believe that really said it all!
WARNING TO ALL NON SMOKERS: It needs to be noted that Princess Cruises
has one of the worst smoker’s policies afloat, especially if you are a
non-smoker. Amazingly for the 21st.century but Princess Cruises allows
passengers to smoke in their cabins, which results to the hallways to stink to
high heaven! There have been passengers arriving in their cabin, stateroom or
suites, and the room absolutely stank of stale tobacco, and in one case a
passenger suffered greatly during a month long cruise of severe bouts of
asthma, something she had not suffered with for years. Having advised the
Information Desk of the problem the cabin steward sprayed the room with
air-freshener, and this had to be done again a number of times several days in
a row, for the problem simply would not go away. Eventually the room had to be
completely washed down, with carpets shampooed as no other accommodation was
available on the ship. In addition, each time you walk out of your room the
hallway also tends stink badly of stale smoke because your neighbours could
well be a smoker. And believe me, I know for I was on the Dawn Princess in 2009
104 night Around the World Cruise (never again!), and on our deck there were a
good number of smokers nearby who smoked in their cabins the hallway stank that
it even made me sick! We need to understand that these rooms were either an
inside or room with a fixed window, thus the smell of smoke simply came out
into the hallway for cabin doors are not well sealed, and slowly the odour
wafts into the hallway and it becomes a hideous smell.
Please Note: I am not against smokers smoking on board, as I
believe that everyone has a right to smoke or not to smoke, but certainly not
in their cabins. And not only because of the smell and it annoying others, but
more importantly, for reason it being a safety issue, as fire is the ships
greatest danger, and how many house fires do we hear about due a smoker having
fallen asleep with a cigarette still alight in bed!
The amazing thing is that thankfully P&O Cruises
Australia has a “No Smoking policy in all cabins, including out on their
balconies” and there is a substantial fine if caught smoking there - good
on you P&O! It is about time that Princess, this so-called
“premium” cruise line catches up with the times! Personally, I feel
that these are nice ships for a short cruise, but the Dawn Princess is the
certainly wrong ship for a world cruise, believe me she was not designed for
it, and I spent what many called “a horror cruise from hell” on her
in 2009, and I am sorry Princess, although I support many of the Carnival
products, I will never cruise with Princess Cruises again!
ENTERTAINMENT Ý and ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR SAMMI
BAKER. ß
Ý Again, I am having a wonderful time as are so
many on board, but, “A cruise is what you make of it” as well as
the many friends you will have made whilst you are on board. The variety of
entertainment has been varied and generally of a good standard by a host of
guest acts from around the world. But the production company does very little
to nothing onboard this ship, and during the Sydney to Southampton voyage they
provided a mere five shows and besides that they have not entertained passengers
in any other way as is usually done on all other cruise lines, such as P&O
Cruises Australia and P&O Cruises UK, Holland America Lines, etc. Frankly
they spend most of their time sun baking and enjoying the pleasures of the ship
acting more like a spoiled passenger, including clubbing it up at Jammers Night
Club and living it up in the Crew Wardroom up on deck 12 late at night.
Thus
on a whole Princess Cruises has provided a good level of entertainment with
music in various locations on the ship with various bands, pianists, fine
vocalists, multi talented musicians and other artists, be it in the Grand
Atrium, Wheelhouse Lounge & Bar, out on the Riviera Deck (although in this
area it was not often, where it should have been), the Vista Lounge and of course
the magnificent Princess Theatre. Later in my comprehensive review of this
voyage and ship, I will expand on the entertainment onboard, however,
outstanding artists featured were well known acts such as Australia’s own
showman extraordinaire Tony Pantano, and the fabulous Trevor Knight.
There was a superb American band playing in the Wheelhouse such as Gypsy
Moon featuring the ever vivacious and entertaining vocalist Della!
There has been a fine host of talent and I will describe and list more in my
extended cruise review upon my arrival home. In addition there has been a host
of excellent lecturers and we have been fortunate to have a superb port
lecturer named Debbie Shields who has been most comprehensive on all the ports
of call! Another word of note is in
relation to the ships bridge (card) instructor Michael Witham has been very
instructive since arriving aboard in Sydney and has proved to be very popular
with all bridge players on board! Thus with the excellent variety of
entertainment, lectures and instructors you would think that this writer is
completely satisfied, however, our problem on this cruise has been with the
cruise director and she has certainly tried her hardest to lower our cruise
experience.
Being
a long voyage it stands to reason that this cruise will have in general an
older demographic on board of various nationalities, Australian, New
Zealanders, American, British, Dutch, German and from other nations. However,
it should be noted that there are also many younger passengers on board
including families: apparently the age range is from 5 to 92. But there are
quite a few young men and young ladies onboard as well as young couples and
couples with a family in their thirties and forties. What comes next is based
on comments from all ages and not just from one sector of the ship. Also, may
speak to me being a cruise reviewer and there are those who are what I call
professional complainers, and believe me, they I simply do not listen to them
and more often that not make an excuse and walk away. But there are those who
have a genuine need of concern, and there have been certain events that I must
cover. The next section will simply amaze and astound you on how one person
change and in some way destroy a happy environment for so many!
ß One of the main problems on board is the poor
planning by one of the most unpopular cruise director’s I have ever come
across. Sammi Baker, who by the way heads one of the smallest cruise staffs I
have encountered on a cruise ship (not her fault of course but Princess
Cruises who seems to be run by accountants and cist cutting). Sadly this woman
seems to care very little about her passengers, especially the older ones who dine at the second sitting
which is at 8pm, and finishes around 9.15pm or a little later. I need to state
here that many of these did apply for first sitting but were unable to obtain a
seat for first sitting thus were forced to dine late. In addition, the level of
daytime activities is considered to be exceptionally poor and certainly does not
measure up to anything that P&O UK or other cruise lines have to offer! On
P&O UK and the majority of other cruise lines second sitting shows are
scheduled in the Theatre whilst first sitting is dining and then the first
sitting follows later. However for some reason only known to
Sammi, 1. She frequently has shows overlapping, meaning that you either
see one or the other and you will miss out on one of these, 2. But worse still
she has the first sitting show commencing either at 7.45pm or 8pm, which is fine,
but the second sitting shows commence at 10pm, which for the many older folk on
board on this world cruise is far too late. Thus sadly many of the second
sitting passengers had not seen a show until they reached
December 20, 2009: Yesterday I had been invited by Carnival to a special ceremony for the
official arrival of the MV Pacific Dawn to
Thus
due to the aforementioned, I have now removed a great deal of her evil dealings
on board. However, I must say is this, sadly this years passengers were badly disadvantaged
being stuck with her and she certainly did spoil our vacations too a point.
ß “MUTS”: The new “Movie Under The Stars” screen is certainly spectacular,
but on this voyage it is a huge disappointment. The brochure tells you that
there will be “two recent release moves each night.” Don’t
believe that, there has not been one yet, and as I said earlier if we see
“Mamma Mia” once more we will go mad, although it a great show, but
how many times can they repeat the same show over and over, just like Pavarotti
and Tina Turner live. “Breakfast at Tiffanies”, “Affair to
Remember”, “Death on the Nile” and foreign movies with
subtitles, yet the sound system is so loud that it is deafening, although with
the movie with subtitles we could not understand a word of it! We are told in
the brochure that there would be live sports events, well during our voyage
there has been the Ashes, 20/20 cricket, footy, etc, but not even as much as a
radio broadcast on this ship. MUTS will show you lots of really old movies and
“has been” live shows. The odd sort off newer release movie, such
as the latest “Star Trek” Movie was shown indoors on a small square
screen in the Vista Lounge. This was the most up to date movie shown on the
entire voyage, the rest even included “A Night
at the Opera” with the Marx brothers. Millions of dollars of movie screen
and we received a heap of rubbish! Do not go running to your in cabin TV, it
gets no better there, it contains lots of Princess advertising, one news
channel Fox USA and the majority of the other channels will tell you that there
is no satellite connection, even when we were berthed in New York City or other
harbours, and still they say there is no satellite connection. Come on
Princess? During our cruise nothing much was actually connected. Excuses were
made that this American (No it is not an Australian ship, just badly managed by
SHORE
EXCURSIONS OFFICE & DISSABLED ARRANGEMENTS. ß
ß We need to understand that on a cruise such as
this there is generally an older demographic and there are many passengers that
have various disabilities who have booked shore excursions. On P&O UK
passengers that are disabled to some degree, but able still able to board a
bus, be it with or without assistance are extremely well cared for. Let me
explain...
1. On P&O UK - All passengers
with disabilities are, or should be registered prior the cruise or at the
purser’s office at the beginning of the voyage. Having booked their
tours, the evening prior their excursion they receive their tour stickers and
an instruction sheet stating where they are to assemble the next morning, which
is usually in a special location on the lowest deck, which will be close to the
gangway.
2. When the time comes to head for
the coach they are escorted all the way to the coach by a member of the tour
office or one the ships staff.
3. On the coach the front rows will
there will be printed reserved signs containing a “Disabled” sign
and the name of the passenger who will occupy the designated seats. Thus
obviously P&O has carefully thought out the process and ensures that these
passengers have a smooth and a happy tour.
However
on Dawn Princess this is sadly not the case. Although disabled passengers are escorted
separately to the gangway, but from there they are left totally on their own
and when reaching the coach, usually there are no seats designated for them
whatsoever. On one coach a man with amputated legs, but having prosthetics
arrived and was forced to stumble to the rear of the coach as all the front
seats had been taken. Able-bodied persons had already taken the front rows and
were not willing to vacate them. There have been many such incidents and
frankly Princess has much to learn in this area of passenger care! Princess
Cruises needs to re discover what their policy “C.R.U.I.S.E.”
really stands for, but here they fall far short off the mark. And we cannot
blame the tour operators, for it is the P&O tour office staff
themselves who do the ground work prior passengers go ashore! I believe that
the P&O UK system MUST be implemented in the future! As I said earlier,
this is the first round the world cruise for the Dawn Princess and it is a
learning curve for Princess Cruises, in some departments passengers are not
getting the very best service and care possible and I believe that Princess
Cruises certainly let the disadvantaged down badly!
PART SIX
MY CONCLUSION?
After
Southampton Sammi had continued to be her rude to me and usually completely
ignored me and at one time she spoke to all passengers at my table out on deck
12, but refused to speak to me, something everyone commented on. However, it
mattered not, for I will continue to have your, the passenger and the future
passenger well being at heart for that is what I do best. However, on our last
day at sea surprisingly Sammi did have a few sort of friendly words with me,
and I am still shocked and do not know why??? As many know I have for a long
time liked and promoted Princess Cruises and have always given Princess high
praise, but Princess Cruises please note for a world voyage you need a top
quality Cruise (entertainment) Director not some washed out individual who does
not have the passenger’s well-being at heart. As I continued my cruise to
Brisbane and having re boarded the ship in Sydney I spoke with a new rather
senior staff member who had just joined the ship, and he told me that when he
joined another ship he was shocked to see Sammi on board and said that she was
only good enough for that old bar she used to work in back home in North
America (I won’t name the bar). There is no doubt that Sammi Baker
greatly lowered the cruise experience for so many and she has badly affected
many passengers on this maiden around the world voyage.
Many
felt let down by Princess Cruises and never sail with them again, and many have
since cancelled their cruise next year on the Princess world cruise and have
booked a P&O UK world cruise as is it is by far a superior product for the
same money and you receive free shuttle busses in ALL ports (where needed) as
well as a much larger cruise staff, for P&O UK has double the cruise staff,
thus they offer superior activities on board, for on Dawn Princess daytime
activities are pathetic to say the least!
PS:
I have received four reviews from passengers who were going on the Dawn princess,
but decided to go on P&O’s Aurora and Arcadia and each of them
thanked me for they had a superb cruise and told me that the ships were simply
superb, and as one of the couples had siled on the Dawn Princess on a short
cruise, they agreed that the cabins were 100% superior, the additional food
were also better, as was the excellent room service and the “food in the
Restaurant and buffet was perfect!”
As I
have stated, although the Dawn Princess she is a good ship for short cruises,
but she is the wrong ship for a world voyage. Since placing this review
online many of the emails received have said much the same thing, “Why is
it that Australia always receives old tonnage,” and sadly this statement
is 100% true we always receive the leftover’s, both the Sun and Dawn
Princess are Princess Cruises’ oldest ships. However, besides the many
problems we have encountered on this very long voyage, these problems would not
be experienced as much on shorter cruises.
Just
one note of interest: for many Australians a Princess cruise unlike the English
P&O ships, Dawn Princess is far more casual, thus beside the almost daily
smart casual evenings there are only the two formal nights on each sector,
whereas on P&O UK there more formal and semi-formal nights. Sadly on the
Dawn princess the casual attire is taken very much too far at night, with men
walking into the Restaurants in thongs, board shorts and T Shirts, etc, yet the
staff is unable to do anything about it.
Whilst
on P&O UK the nightly dress code is strictly adhered to and enforced in the
main Restaurants as well as in the Crows Nest and the
Also
as I stated, shore excursions on Princess Cruises for the disabled must be
upgraded for passengers on this ship, and free shuttle busses MUST be
introduced one way or another for this will help to make the Princess Cruises
product a better one and be genuinely the “Premier” cruise product as
is claimed. Right now it is certainly not! In addition, Princess Cruises MUST
employ a Cruise Director that is suited to this kind voyage which has a mostly
Australian and New Zealand clientele as well as an older demographic. I trust
that Carnival Australia Plc/Princess Cruises is listening; for so far we are
stuck with one of the worst entertainment (cruise) directors I have sailed with
in my 121-cruise/voyage history. The good news is Carnival and Princess Cruises
has heard me and Sammi will never be back!
Continued
below the photograph:
As I
have stated, the cabins on Dawn Princess are certainly not as good as those on
P&O UK, especially those tiny inside “State-Cupboards.”
However, the beds are comfortable and it is a great place to sleep. Sammi
Baker, thankfully as we have discovered she is long gone. But I have to say
that the Dawn Princess is a great place to dine (if only the food was better),
to be pampered by a host of friendly and efficient stewards for the ship has a
superb staff and you be well entertained by a host of guest entertainers and
(occasionally) by the production company, but with only just 5 shows between
Sydney and Southampton – now that was VERY poor.
PORTS: What does stand out is that you
will be taken to a host of exotic ports around the world. It is for this reason
alone you may consider going on a Princess World Cruise in the future, even if
it is on the Dawn Princess. I was advised some time ago by the
Carnival/Princess Media department that the 2010 departure was selling fast,
with well over 500 having booked the full round world voyage and many more
having booked various sectors. It is a great itinerary, but sadly Dawn Princess
is not a great, or what is claimed to be a “Premier” ship and she
has certainly become a money making machine with added costs everywhere,
including when exchanging money at the Information Desk, besides the rather
poor exchange rate, there is an added A$5 charge to your account each time you
make a transaction, thus they make money on the exchange rate as well as
charging the extra A$5. Then there are the $20 photographs, unbelievable spa
and hairdresser’s prices, A$134.00 shave for
anyone? Shuttle bus fees everywhere, which are free on
P&O UK and where the photographs are only $10. Drinks and all things
on board this ship are very expensive especially the shore excursions, at least
35 to 40% more that on past ships I have sailed on. However the
Alternatively, book what I consider the superior
cruise experience, the more sophisticated P&O Cruises UK product and sail
on ships that were especially built to sail around the world such as the
superbly elegant MV Aurora and the modern MV Arcadia in 2010 and 2011. Unlike
on the Dawn Princess these ships there will be a fine Ballroom with regular
classes as well as Line-dance classes on every single sea day - GRARANTEED and
there are many more and superior daytime activities, and the evening show times
are correctly organised, unlike this disastrous voyage for the second sitting
passengers! In addition the Theatre Company have a far greater repertoire (not
just 5 shows) and there will be several shows each week, as well as two superb
stage plays on stage during, lets say on the Australia to UK voyage. But be
prepared to dress up more. There are three dress codes – Formal, Semi
Formal and Smart Casual.
If I
have been rather frank in this review and I am sorry if I have disappointed
some, but I know that is how my readers wish me to be, totally honest. I can
say that in some areas on a professional basis I am disappointed with this
voyage for it is not measuring up to the standard I had expected, fort other
Princess cruises have been on have proven to been far superior, but in another
way I am delighted with my vacation as I am having the time of my life, for as
I said at the start, “A cruise is what you make of it” and I have
made many fine new friends and the staff and entertainment in general has been
good, except for the severe lack of production shows.
Whatever
you do I suggest that you see a good cruise agent and I mean not just any
travel agent, but one who knows cruising in-depth. Just for interest, there are
passengers on board that were ill advised regarding Visas and did not obtain
them and had many problems. This is all part of the agents responsibility. Thus
I suggest that you visit my “Agents page” for some of the best
cruise agents in
**********************************
2010 World Cruise Update: Sadly I have received a good number of email of complaints from
passengers who were on the 2009 world cruise, and although some things did
certainly improve somewhat, the odour of smoke in the hallways was described as
“a living hell” and there was constant disturbance onboard due to
certain officers family members. In addition, there have been reports of
complete electrical breakdowns, plunging the interior of the ship into darkness
as well as losing propulsion and thus drifting in the
Complaints
rolled in regarding the never ending additional costs that seem to arise on
board, be it gratitude’s, chancing money at the desk which is quite hefty
and the never ending hard sell in your daily programme and the In House TV.
Even some of the so-called entertainment is 100% sell, be it the future
bookings officer, or the tours clerk giving a lecture, selling their goods,
Then these officers family members on board are even given priority over Elite
passengers, including one couple who have done countless cruises with Princess
that they should have had triple super Elite status, yet, they were treated
extremely poorly indeed, as they were pushed back and these officers families
and children were permitted to go ahead of them. We need to remember that Elite
passengers who according to Princess Cruises have PRIORITY to board a tender or
leave the ship, etc. Well frankly that is a joke, as I discovered in 2009!
Another complaint was that the children of the first officer was permitted to
attend the Captains “Top Forty Most Travelled Passengers” Party,
and we need to remember that alcohol is served at such an event, and these are young
children, thus this was not a suitable event for them, in addition, this
event is to honour the guests, so why are these kids there at all! Princess
Cruises have it all wrong and they are being operated by amatuars, no wonder I
have dumped them and will never cruise with them again, and I am also an Elite
passenger!
2012 World Cruise Update: Well this year it has been no
better the ship departed
What
is the alternative?
I
have to say that I receive countless rave reviews regarding the so-called poor
relative P&O Cruises Australia, but to be honest, I will choose to cruise
on P&O Australia and P&O UK any time for I know with assurance that I
will have a superb time on them as I always have! And yes, they are still from
the Carnival stable but they are far better run and operated, they do not treat
their passengers like mud as do Princess Australia obviously on the longer
cruises. Now remember that os short cruises you can get away with problems and
even hide them to a point, but not when you are on a ship for three months.
If I
want a superior product, then I highly suggest that you sail with the by far
superior products such as Holland America Line and enjoy what is a really
sublime cruise experience! Although also owned by Carnival, but
Reuben
Goossens.
Seabourn: Seabourn Yachts
MS Rotterdam - MS Volendam - ms Zaandam
On HAL you will discover REAL “Premier”
Style Cruising!
Also visit the -
******************************************
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author has been in the passenger shipping industry since 1960 and is currently
semi-retired, but continues to write cruise and ship reviews and articles in
order to better to inform cruise and ship enthusiasts and provide information
for those intending a cruise in the future.
However,
if you are interested in a cruise, I am happy to refer you to a dedicated
cruise agent in
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