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Name: Melissa Smith
Email: MissyandKeith@Yahoo.com
Age: 34
Occupation: PR/Marketing Director
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Dawn
SailingDate: 1/17/98
Itinerary: San Juan; Barbados; Martinique; St. Thomas; St. Ma
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 75
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 75
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 75
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Jan 1998
Time: 19:35:57
Remote Name: 32.100.27.185
Remote User:
Comments
This was our first cruise. Positive comments: We loved our veranda cabin. It was much
larger than we expected. Everthing
was ergonomic. Tip- our empty suitcases fit under the bed. The cabin was quiet with the
exception of the loud toilet. The
entire ship was spotless. We received clean beach towels everyday. The room stewards have
pagers and ours was very
responsive. With the exception of the pool, dining room and atrium close to dinner time,
the ship was not crowded. There
were lots of places to explore where you could get away from the crowds. Some negatives:
the ship was HOT!!! Only in our
cabin were we cool. Everyone around us was commenting on how hot it was. It's not much fun
to get all dressed up for
dinner and be sweating. The ship has tons of halogen lights that really heat things up.
Only once did they dim the lights.
The elevators were slow and very hot. This problem alone was enough for my husband to
declare that we wouldn't sail
Princess again. Other negatives include the food. It was VERY inconsistent. Some things
would be excellent, other things
would be horrible. They desperately need to hire a pastry chef. I swear anything we tried
whether it as a dessert pastry or
a crab lobster puff was horrible. Not just bad, but so bad we'd spit it out! As for
service, that too was very inconsistent. Our
dining room staff were o.k. and our room steward was good. But, overall service was either
snobbish or very insincere.
Mario the Matre'd was a huge disappointment and a major jerk. On our second night as he
made his rounds in the dining
room, he stopped at our table and the other two ladies we were dining with had a question
about their seating and Mario
said 'No, I'm just here to greet you tonight, ok-goodbye' and walked away. All of our jaws
just about hit the table. I've never
encountered a more rude or arrogant person. Needless to say, Mario did not receive a tip
from our table. We encountered
staff who would say 'good morning' in a low voice with no smile. Lots of passengers
commented about how staff would say
'No' to some simple request, then come through as if they did you some huge favor so you'd
tip them. Service and
attitudes were best in the gift shops. Maybe some of the others forgot or haven't made the
connection that they're 'selling'
everytime they have contact with a guest. The British officers were quite proper and
occasionally a bit stuffy. I'm sure some
cruisers like that, but it didn't impress me. Technically, we felt that the navigational
crew was in complete control at all
times and held the passenger's safety in the highest regard. Other staff who were kind and
efficient include the
photographers, the pursers desk staff,spa and the excursion staff. I know others had very
different personal experiences.
But, word to the wise, the service you receive will greatly vary according to who you are
assigned to. Itinerary review: I'd
skip shopping in Bridgetown, Barbados. It was dirty, busy and pretty scary. We took a taxi
there at 8 a.m. and the shops
don't open till 9 a.m., so after wandering around in not so pleasant surroundings, we took
a taxi back. We later took a taxi
to the Mt. Gay rum factory. Our tour there was great. Phyllis, our tour guide did a great
job. She was extremely nice and
professional. We did a ship excursion in the afternoon, the new waves catamaran/snorkeling
trip. The catamaran was great.
Good crew, beautiful, clear water and snorkeling over a sunken ship. The fish were not
that spectacular, but the dive was fun
and the water was so clear! The next day was St. Lucia. We did the ship's St. Lucia by
land and sea with Mt. Coubaril Estate.
We loved St. Lucia. It's very lush and tropical. Bananas everywhere. The only downside to
this trip was the large numbers of
natives who approached us at every stop trying to sell tacky necklaces, etc. But, with the
group, we felt safe. We loved the
visit to Mt. Coubaril Estate. We were greeted by the owner of the plantation home, Madame
Emma Mountplaisant, who made
strong rum drinks for us on her veranda. She was a beautiful and charming 79 year-old
woman with many interesting tales.
We toured the plantation and were served lunch. Very nice. Other great stops include the
Pitons, the volcano/sulpher
springs; and it all ended with a fun catamaran sail that included a stop to swim in a
lagoon. Wonderful tour, worth the
money!!! Then, the next day, it was Martinique. I agree with another reviewer who said he
wouldn't mind it if they took
Martinique off the itinerary all together! I wish someone would have given us this
advice...don't do the Martinique by land
and sea excursion! It was the pitts. The boat part was nice. Then, we landed in St. Pierre
where we waited in the hot sun
forever and finally boarded a tram that took us by one ruin and to a small museum where we
had 5 minutes to look
around. What a joke! Then, we waited again in the hot sun for a long time for the taxi.
This tour was supposed to last 4
hours, but ours only lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes because our taxi driver drove so fast.
We all got car sick. The roads are
one continuous curve. We couldn't look around and enjoy the drive because we were hanging
on for dear life. He only made
one stop at the replica of Sacred Heart. I was so sick and dizzy from the drive that I
couldn't enjoy that. We think he was
just driving as fast as he could to drop us off at the ship so he could get more business.
We spent something like $112. for
this. Skip it! And, as for the charming people of Martinique, we didn't encounter them.
They seemed annoyed with the
tourists. Martinique is French. Enough said. Next, was St. Maarten. We loved this island.
We took a taxi to Orient Beach and
went shopping in Phillipsberg. If you don't want to take a taxi to a beach, stay on the
beach at Everyt'ing Cool. You can have
lunch and get icy drinks at good prices and do your shopping. Then, was St. Thomas. We did
a ship excursion to St. John on
the Leylan Sneed boat. I would skip this. We were supposed to go to Trunk Bay, but they
said the water was too rough, so
we went to Honeymoon Beach. The beach was nice, but the water was very cloudy and the
waves were too big for
snorkeling. Also, word to the wise, a lot of older folks were on this trip and it was
pretty exhausting. Several of them had
trouble because they tried to swim/snorkel to the beach from the boat. They had to ride a
dingy back. Then, in the
afternoon, we did some shopping in St. Thomas. Needless to say, we're exhausted and need
another vacation! If we ever
take a cruise again, I'd pick one with fewer islands. We went strong all day and were too
tired to enjoy activities on the boat.
Another thing, I really didn't think we'd get sea sick because of the stabilizers. Well,
the water from San Juan and to San
Juan was very rough. The boat was really rocking! I recommend bringing Bonine. Overall, we
enjoyed the boat. It was
beautiful to watch the water go by. We were disappointed with the service and food because
it was inconsistent. I imagine
the huge responsibility of catering to the needs of 2000 guests each week is exhausting.
Those traveling with friends or
consuming great quantities of alcohol seemed to have the best times. As a result, the
dining room was quite loud and
rowdy at times. Overall, we did enjoy ourselves and had a fun time inspite of any of the
shortcomings.
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