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Name: Ken Hamlin
Email: ken@n-jcenter.com
Age: 54
Occupation: CEO, Interstate Trucking
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Dawn
SailingDate: 08/29/98
Itinerary: North Bound
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 94
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 96
FoodVariety: 98
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 98
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 88
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 98
EntertShowLounge: 92
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 96
Casino: 92
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 96
SpaceRatio: 98
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 13 Sep 1998
Time: 08:25:37
Remote Name: 209.26.35.37
Remote User:
Comments
The Dawn Princess is a new, state of the art, high tech, luxury cruise ship, which in my
opinion, boarders on perfection. My girl friend and I
planned our Alaskan trip far in advance. We made our reservations for our August 29, 1998,
northbound voyage in October of 1997. We choose
a forward cabin with a balcony on the Aloha Deck. If it is within your means, the balcony
cabins are wonderful for the Alaskan trip. I would not
consider an interior cabin for this particular cruise. It might be OK for the Caribbean,
but not for Alaska. I was convinced that we needed to be on
the starboard or right side of the ship for a north bound cruise, however, I now feel it
would not make any difference which side you are on
because there is plenty of scenery everywhere you look.
We used frequent flyer mileage so I cannot comment on air arrangements. We flew from
Florida to Seattle, rented a car and drove up to
Vancouver via the coast roads the night before the cruise. Nice trip. Embarkation is a
piece of cake. These are some of the most organized people
I have ever seen.
Cabin and bath are not large but very adequate. We were very conformable in this
spotlessly clean, quite cabin. Our cabin Stewart did his job
perfectly. We used our balcony frequently. We just jumped out of bed, put on the Princess
bathrobe, called for coffee (which arrived in about three
minutes) and then sat on the balcony and watched the sun rise, ship dock, glaciers go by,
Northern Lights or whatever was going on outside.
Believe me if it is light there is something to see outside.
We choose a table for eight since we were traveling as a couple. I felt somewhat sorry for
the people sitting by themselves. We were sited with
three other couples. We ended up good friends and it was fun at each mean sharing what we
had done that particular day. Our Italian waiter and
his Portuguese assistant were excellent. They always smiled and made meals an experience.
Neither of us ever had a thing we did not like. We
never eat deserts at home but we certainly did on this ship. Especially good was the rack
of lamb, lobster tails and Alaskan king crab.
By the way, everyone on an Alaskan Cruise should have his or her own pair of binoculars.
The extra day tours, although expensive, were great. In Ketchikan we did not take a formal
tour, but rather did our own walking tour, which was
fine. In Juneau we took the "Pilots Choice" Helicopter tour and landed on two
glaciers. This was fantastic and well worth the $243.00 each. We also
road the cable car to the top of the mountain which was $18.00 each and well worth it.
Even after these two tours, we still had time to walk the
Juneau streets. We visited the state capitol building, which I enjoyed especially. It is
about the size of most courthouses in the lower forty-eight. It
contained a lot of history, which I enjoyed. In Skagway we took the White Pass and Yukon
Railroad trip. The train loads right at the Princess dock
and costs about $80.00 each and lasts three and half-hours. This was a rainy, low
visibility day for us but we still enjoyed the trip.
After our cruise was over, we stayed with Princess for a five night interior trip. We flew
from Anchorage to Fairbanks for one night then boarded
the Alaskan Railroad on Princess' own railroad cars. We then spent two nights at the Mt.
McKinley Princess Lodge and finally reboarded the train
back to Anchorage where we spent two nights. Train is great, take it if you can.
On our train trip, we saw the Denali Princes Lodge. There is nothing wrong with it, but
the Mt. McKinley Princes Lodge is better. It is in a more
tranquil setting and far newer. We were glad we had made the right choice.
The land tour is a little hectic and a number of people said they felt it should be taken
first. Then you can relax on the cruise. They might be right,
however, we wanted the north bound cruise to watch Alaska unfold and I don't think we
would change a thing about our trip now that it is over.
One bonus about traveling the interior during the first week of September is that the
leaves were at full color. We never thought of this when we
chose our dates, but the colors were spectacular In fact, our pilot on the Anchorage to
Fairbanks flight said he thought we were visiting Alaska
during the best time-peak fall colors and no mosquitoes.
In summary, we would not change any part of our trip. Princess is a first class
organization. The Dawn Princess is magnificent.
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