The
Dawn Princess offers reliable shore excursions, delicious food and plenty of entertainment, as well as intimate areas that belie her gigantic size.
This cruise liner, built in 1997, is the sister ship of the highly acclaimed Sun and Sea Princesses. Like her siblings, this Liberian-registered vessel comes in at 77,000 tons, stretches 856 ft, rises 14 decks, cruises at 21 knots, and accommodates 1,990 passengers. Italian officers command an international crew of 830. Waiters and bartenders are European, the housekeepers are Filipino, and the reception staff is British and American.
From the fall of 2008 through the spring of 2009, Dawn Princess sets sail to the South Pacific and calls Sydney her home port.
The four-deck atrium, aglow with a circular marble foyer, glass elevators, a winding staircase, and a stained-glass dome, is the social hub aboard, with restaurants, shops and entertainment venues ringing the vast space. The main show room dazzles with a 36-ft arched stage, aisle seating, and excellent sight lines, and two more show rooms also host lavish productions. The cabaret spotlights more intimate entertainment. The aft theater has floor-to-ceiling windows and a large dance floor, and a casino and disco also light up the nights aboard. Seven lounges and bars indoors, and three outdoors, offer drinks along with more entertainment and dancing. The Wheelhouse Bar, in particular, impresses with its leather furniture, rosewood paneling, touches of brass and nautical memorabilia. Leisure time can be spent in the cinema, library, card room, children's and teens' rooms, seven duty-free shops, the beauty salon, and business center. Vintage canopied deck chairs line the teak Promenade Deck, and athletic guests stay in shape in five pools, five whirlpools, the health center, and the spa. The PADI dive outlet offers scuba certification. A computerized golf center comes to the aid of duffers, and a multipurpose court serves those in search of paddle tennis, badminton, basketball and volleyball.
Stacked one above the other and seating 552 each, the two restaurants feature etched glass, granite trim, rich woods, decorative sconces and membership in the Chaine des Rotisseurs. The traditional two fixed sittings remain, where passengers have the same dining times, waiters and tablemates each evening. But new "Personal Choice Dining" has added flexibility, with expanded dinner hours (5:30 to midnight) and the flexible seating allows guests to dine when and with whom they choose. Customer preferences are also addressed, with easily reconfigured tables and a reservation system that guarantees dining times to keep waits to a minimum. The 24-hour cafe hosts entertainment and dancing, the pizzeria and grills offer light fare, and the wine and caviar bar ooze refinement. Dessert lovers enjoy the patisserie and ice cream parlor.
The standard cabins feature TVs, phones, refrigerators, safes, queen beds and ample stowage. The baths have showers and robes. Two-thirds of the 1,011 cabins are outsides, and most of these have balconies. In addition, the ship has six balconied suites, 32 minisuites, and 19 wheelchair-accessible cabins.
Despite her size, the Dawn Princess offers a handful of hideaways aboard so that her passengers can enjoy big-ship offerings with small-ship intimacies.
