Dawn Princess to Mexican Riviera -Gene E

We spent 2 nights in SAN before the cruise and went to the Wild Animal Park which is one of my favorite attractions. Weather not so good but it was still fun.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Bay which is about 2 miles from the airport and cruise pier. It was a great three star property and they offered free airport shuttle AND free shuttle to the cruise pier. We took a taxi from the pier to the airport for $8 so I would recommend that clients NOT purchase the airport transfers. HI had a very nice restaurant on-site and the hotel manager upgraded us complimentary to a beautiful 1 bedroom suite. That was awesome.

We sailed December 2, 2008 on the Dawn Princess to Mexican Riviera out of San Diego. I decided I personally prefer the larger ships. Too much waiting in line for everything from elevators to dining.

I upgraded to an obstructed ocean view which was totally not worth it. You couldn’t see any daylight as the life boat completely blocked any view. You were looking at the inside of a life boat if you had your curtains open. I would advise clients not to waste their money.

The cabin was adequate but a bit small. We were down the hall from the casino but I have to say, with the door closed we could not hear a thing.

Overall the service was pretty good. As I have Platinum Elite status I was able to take advantage of the one free stocked mini-bar, 75 minutes of free internet, and complimentary laundry, which were all great. Our cabin steward did become a bit surly when we sent our ironing out daily so that was not a good thing. I sure hoped they don’t treat all clients that way.

The itinerary was fabulous and I had not ever been to Mazatlan or Cabo. I had been to Puerto Vallarta. We did go on shore excursions at each port so did not see much of each city. We did the Snuba excursion in Cabo, the Hacienda and Horseback Riding in Mazatlan and the Las Calitas with the Snorkel with the Sea Lions. All of the excursions were great.

The food was mostly good with the exception of the buffet. The buffet was very small with fewer choices than there are on the larger ships. The quality of the buffet was mediocre at best. The pizzeria was very good.

The entertainment was good although I only made it to one show.


Had fabulous weather the entire cruise and overall it was a great experience.