She Came from the Land of Oz!

Princess Cruise had a few ships that will base themselves out of Australia and Asia. Diamond Princess tends to do the Far East, Sun Princess, Sea Princess and Dawn Princess are more around Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific but unlike P&O Australia we can take advantage of the fantastic itineraries that Princess has to offer.

When it comes to World Cruise generally the only time you can do one is on P&O or Cunard from Southampton in January and they are roughly 100 nights for the full World Cruise. However Princess does also do one in May time, when they will take one of the Australian based ships and send her around the world. Last year it was Dawn Princess and this year it will be Sea Princess and one of the perk of our job means that we can get on board for the day and see a ship you would never normally see in UK Waters.

Back In July last year I was invited on board Dawn Princess and I have been fortunate enough to be invited on board Sea Princess this year whilst she is in Southampton.
But I have just realised that I never actually did my normal write up for you to see what the Dawn Princess has to offer.
Now for those of you that know your ships, you will know that some cruise ships will have identical/similar sisters with other cruises line.

For Example:-

P&O Azura is the same as the Crown Princess

Arcadia is similar to the Queen Victoria

Britannia is very similar to Royal Princess

For Dawn Princess, she is sister to the Sea and to the Sun Princess but also P&O Oceana and for those that did cruise on the old Adonia back from 2003 – 2005 this was actually the Sea Princess.

History of the Sea Princess
1998 – 2003 – Sea Princess
2003 – 2005 – P&O Adonia
2005 – Present – Sea Princess
Dawn Princess has been Dawn Princess from day one.

On arriving at Southampton I was really looking forward to seeing how the British feel of P&O was transpired to the American/Australian feel that I would find on Princess and to be honest they are not that different. You can read my review here on Oceana – Click Here!

So after a long wait to get on board due to customs and immigration doing what they do they best we got on board. So taking you on a tour of the Dawn Princess from top to bottom, here we go!

The Sun Deck is the highest, deck 15. This is split in to two decks on part on the Aft and one part is Forward. On the Aft part this is the Sports Court, it is built in to the funnel and a fantastic use of space. Definitely worth a visit even if you don’t play any sports!

The Forward part is The Sanctuary, it is the private part of the spa. A lovely place to spend those long days at sea, it is adults only so you wont find any children up here.

Towards the front part of this deck you have the Windjammer Bar, a lovely place to come with views worth having an extra drink for.

Down on Deck 14, Lido Deck. The front of this deck you have the Buffet and Steakhouse, quite unusually as you tend to find the Crows Nest here or the Gym in the location but on the Dawn Princess it is back to front.

As we venture out of the Buffet you have the Balcony Grill which overlooked the pool deck and the Sea Screen which offers on of the Princess Signature event ‘Movies under the Stars’.

Majority of the rest of this deck is open for sitting on deck and taking the sun in, at the back you have a Golf Net and the Seaview Bar offering some of the best views of the back of the ship. You have a small hot tub up here to sit and enjoy a nice glass of champagne.

Down a deck to Rivera Deck, Deck 12. On the Aft of the ship you have the lower level of the Seaview bar, here you have two hot tubs and a small pool, this again is an adults only area.

Here you will also find the Beauty Salon, Spa and the Gym, as I said it is very strange to have the Gym on the back, Oceana and Dawn Princess are two of the only ships I have found this on.

Heading more towards the main pool deck, on the starboard side you have the youth centre and then on the port side you have Sundaes which is there for all you ice cream lovers.

The Riviera is the main pool deck boasting two large pools and 3 hot tubs, the perfect place to soak in the atmosphere and the sun on your cruise, there is also the Riviera bar, handy for those that don’t want to walk to far to get a drink.

The rest of this deck is accommodation, as is Decks 11 – Aloha, 10 – Baja and 9 – Caribe.

Dolphin Deck, Deck 8 has accommodation on the very forward and very aft parts of the deck, the middle has would normally have obstructed Oceanview but they have removed majority of these cabins and replaced this area which Café Corniche which overlooks the main atrium below

You then have the Monte Carlo Club Casino, although if you look out of any of the windows up here they are blocked by a lifeboat, which gives you a good impression to what an obstructed Oceanview stateroom would look like.

Down to Promenade Deck, Deck 7. This is the main deck for all your entertainment needs, she does have a lovely full outside promenade which wraps around the entire ship a fantastic place to come and walk of some of those calories after a big meal and take in the fresh air.

On the very back you have the Vista Lounge which is the late night venue, there is a dance floor in here so you can dance the night away, this is also where they will have comedians and magicians, there is something for all the family.

Down from here, and what ship would be complete without the Photo Gallery, all the photo’s the professional photographers take on board will be on display here in the evenings and you can purchase them, although they can be rather expensive so don’t buy to many at once.

Around the corner from here you have the Internet Café, Library and Writing room. Great if you want a quiet place to escape to.

Down from here you have the Magnus bar which is linked to the Monte Carlo Club Casino so a bright and open area to sit.

For those that want a bit more partying, here is also the place to come with Jammers which is the on-board nightclub!

next up we get to the 3 tier of the 4 level atrium, on the port side you the Atrium Lounge and on the starboard side you have another one of Princess’s signature venue Crooners Bar.

From where we then have another signature venue – find on nearly every Princess Ship, the Wheelhouse Bar, a very traditional pub like feel, with lots of dark woods, there is also a small dance floor in here.

One the very front of the ship you have the Princess Theater.

Emerald Deck, Deck 6 and Plaza Deck, Deck 5 both are smaller decks with the front part having Oceanview and Inside accommodation on. On Emerald Deck you have Latitudes and Regatta which are the two shops on board so you can shop till you drop as they say.

Venetain Dining room which is one of the main dining rooms on board is found in the middle, again you tend to find at least on of the dining rooms on the Aft which has views out the back of the ship.