Dawn Disappointment

We disembarked this morning and although we enjoyed our trip, we were disappointed in the post dry dock Dawn. She’s all shiny & new looking but, IMHO, a lot of the changes didn’t improve anything & things that needed fixing, still need to be fixed!! My thoughts………..

Pearly Kings (sp?) is now a wine bar. It looks really nice but they took a busy bar & it’s not so busy anymore.

Replacing Blue Lagoon & Moderno with O’Sheehan’s was a good idea. The wood floors and hard furnishings make it much too loud for me when it’s busy.

A Mojito bar replaced Star Bar which was apparently being underutilized. Now there’s no place to have drinks before dinner at Cagneys unless you can grab one of the few seats at the bar! The tables are all set for use by Moderno for dinner.

LeBistro & LaCucina swapped places. No big changes there.

Photo area is great! Looking at photos on the monitors is nice & easy and being able to locate the hard copies in a folder instead of searching the walls is so much better.

The Buffet didn’t seem to change much. The kids section is gone & it’s much brighter but that’s pretty much it. No Mexican restaurant yet.

Changes in the casino were minimal. Slots were a major problem for several days. There were probably 2/3’s of the machines not working when we left Boston. They got most (not all) of them working by the time we left Bermuda but there were a lot complaints. Especially from CAS players who were trying to maintain a certain level of play.

The iConcierge app works well & I imagine will be worth the $9.95 cost for families & large groups. Not all the daily activities were on it & the information was only for the current day but that may be why it was free. Maybe they were still working on it? It was easy to check our account which was great because although I was told it was available on our TV, I couldn’t find it!

Everything else is pretty much the same. Less gaudy, fresh paint & upholstery but it was all cosmetic. Things that were broken last July are still broken. They seem to be grossly understaffed everywhere! Wait time at the bars & included restaurants was excessive. Staff was trying but they just couldn’t provide the level of service we received previously.

So,,,, if they stripped all of the public areas down to sheet metal and rebuilt the interiors, what exactly were you expecting to "impress" you? They took out all of the old, and replaced with the contemporary bars and restaurants in the big ships,,, but you're not going to turn one of the smallest ships in the fleet into a mega ship with a dry dock.

For what it's worth, all the things you mentioned about iConcierge (checking account, activities, etc.) have always been free. The fee is only paid if you intend to use the texting/calling features.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

The Buffet didn’t seem to change much.

Is this the new Garden Cafe? If it is, I'm surprised by your comment. What did/didn't change?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

So,,,, if they stripped all of the public areas down to sheet metal and rebuilt the interiors, what exactly were you expecting to "impress" you? They took out all of the old, and replaced with the contemporary bars and restaurants in the big ships,,, but you're not going to turn one of the smallest ships in the fleet into a mega ship with a dry dock.

I wasn't expecting, or wanting, a mega ship but I did expect things like the bathrooms that weren't working last year to be repaired...... Crazy, I know, but what can I say?

I also thought they intended to utilize space better. They pushed more people to the Atrium area which increased the noise level significantly. That may have been the plan but it wasn't what I expected & I don't see it as an improvement.

For what it's worth, all the things you mentioned about iConcierge (checking account, activities, etc.) have always been free. The fee is only paid if you intend to use the texting/calling features.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I didn't realize you pay based on usage. I was told the cost was $9.95 but it was free for the week.

Did they replace the old cafeteria lines with the newer "action" station type buffet?

 

Is this the new Garden Cafe? If it is, I'm surprised by your comment. What did/didn't change?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I guess I wasn't clear.... The layout of the buffet hasn't changed except for the removal of the kids section. There was speculation that it was changing to stations. My interpretation was something similar to what Royal has but the layout is the same.

The ship looks fantastic. Everything is shiny & new & it's much classier looking than it was but it's still a tired ship. I guess I was expecting too much.

I didn't expect to see out of order signs on the same stalls, in the same ladies rooms, as last year. I didn't expect to have to call maintenance for the same problem, in the same cabin as last year, on day one.......... multiple times & then again several more times on multiple days.

I wasn't thrilled with the changes. I thought drydock was going to repair things, not just cover them up with new paint.

It was still a great trip & we'll be on her again next year. My expectations will be lower so I won't need to post my thoughts again........

How were the changes to the cabins?

Thanks for your review…. I love the Dawn its a beautiful ship… we enjoy it and can not wait to see her changes.

Question about the ex restaurant. Web site says its there…. any idea where its going to be?

Everything else is pretty much the same. Less gaudy, fresh paint & upholstery but it was all cosmetic. Things that were broken last July are still broken. They seem to be grossly understaffed everywhere! Wait time at the bars & included restaurants was excessive. Staff was trying but they just couldn’t provide the level of service we received previously.

I appreciate your comments. We will be sailing the Dawn for the second time next year. I had somewhat the same reaction as you when we did the first post dry dock sailing on the POA and I said some of the same things. I felt the "NEW!" menus were no real improvement and was maybe just a euphonism for "We are now using cheaper cuts and dishes easier and cheaper to produce". First time I was ever disappointed in the specialties. Food was not as good as on previous cruises. And I too saw a change in service, not as far as waits, but a few incidents of general incompetence in places where they should have had their top employees.

Maybe part of the problem was the fact that we both did first post dry dock cruises. I hope they are flukes, because we love the NCL product. But it takes more than a pretty facade.

I didn't realize you pay based on usage. I was told the cost was $9.95 but it was free for the week.

The basic check your account features are free, but if you want to text or call others on the app, you need to pay the weekly fee, apparently $9.95 per week now. It's unlimited with the fee, not based on useage.

I wish that they increased the size of the Windows in Spinnaker Lounge. It lost so much when it was relocated to it's present location.

How were the changes to the cabins?

New curtains, rugs, bed coverings & throw pillows. They look very nice. Everything else seemed to be the same. The fridge in our cabin had no handle or facing or whatever you call the front. It worked quite well which was all that really mattered!

Thanks for your review…. I love the Dawn its a beautiful ship… we enjoy it and can not wait to see her changes.

 

Question about the ex restaurant. Web site says its there…. any idea where its going to be?

If it's there, we never found it.

I appreciate your comments. We will be sailing the Dawn for the second time next year. I had somewhat the same reaction as you when we did the first post dry dock sailing on the POA and I said some of the same things. I felt the "NEW!" menus were no real improvement and was maybe just a euphonism for "We are now using cheaper cuts and dishes easier and cheaper to produce". First time I was ever disappointed in the specialties. Food was not as good as on previous cruises. And I too saw a change in service, not as far as waits, but a few incidents of general incompetence in places where they should have had their top employees.

 

Maybe part of the problem was the fact that we both did first post dry dock cruises. I hope they are flukes, because we love the NCL product. But it takes more than a pretty facade.

I don't think being the first cruise out of drydock had much to do with the issues. It could be the reason for the staffing problems but it certainly isn't the reason for the maintenance issues.

The a la carte pricing in the pay restaurants is just awful! Four of us ate in Cagney's and our check was $169!! We each had an appetizer, main course and dessert. Nothing excessive and no wine or alcohol because we all had the UBP. The pricing is comparable to many of the nicer restaurants north of Boston and that surprised me. I expected to pay but for some reason thought the prices would be a little lower than they were.

We also ate in LeBistro but it was part of the Anniversary package so there was no check involved.

We enjoyed both but for the price, I rather spend the money locally.

Sorry that OP was disappointed. I'm not sure though that anything NCL could do to Dawn would be an improvement. I loved Dawn just the way she was, and the changes don't sound like she is better now.

Thanks for your thoughts on the Dawn. We were last on when it was 1 year from the previous dry dock and the Dawn still needed a LOT of TLC.

From the limited pics I've seen I've been impressed and considering the Dawn again (which I wouldn't after the last sailing).

My impression was the buffet had moved to action stations but I haven't seen more than the one pic. So it is still two sides less the section for the Mexican restaurant? That will leave less room - did you get any word on if the Mexican restaurant would be open for buffet area for breakfast? Can you access it from more than just the rear stairwell area?

The beds on POA after drydock were raised up higher and comfortable - those were replaced on Dawn?

The pool area looks like they added shading canopies which is a good idea.

OP: Thanks for posting your thoughts on the Dawn; hopefully the staff will get up to speed quickly.

Do you recall what day and time the Platinum Latitude party was?

Thanks,

I'm curious on how this works .I'm computer and iPhone illiterate LOL .we are taking a cruise on the dawn in November and there's three adults. is the fee per phone and how do you keep your phone from running up charges. I was going to go to AT&T and check with them but if someone knows it'll save me a trip. Thanks for any and all input

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sorry that OP was disappointed. I'm not sure though that anything NCL could do to Dawn would be an improvement. I loved Dawn just the way she was, and the changes don't sound like she is better now.

Dawn is prettier now than she was but she still has many of the same problems.

What made Dawn special for us has always been the crew & that hasn't changed. There were many familiar faces and the overall attitude remains upbeat & happy. Not sure how they keep smiling even though they seem to be working harder than ever but they manage to do it!

Couple other thoughts. Could service, at least in the restaurants, be due to the crew learning the new menus?

Thanks for your thoughts on the Dawn. We were last on when it was 1 year from the previous dry dock and the Dawn still needed a LOT of TLC.

 

From the limited pics I've seen I've been impressed and considering the Dawn again (which I wouldn't after the last sailing).

 

My impression was the buffet had moved to action stations but I haven't seen more than the one pic. So it is still two sides less the section for the Mexican restaurant? That will leave less room - did you get any word on if the Mexican restaurant would be open for buffet area for breakfast? Can you access it from more than just the rear stairwell area?

 

The beds on POA after drydock were raised up higher and comfortable - those were replaced on Dawn?

 

The pool area looks like they added shading canopies which is a good idea.

As I said previously, she's shiny & new looking but there are still maintenance issues.

There are still 2 sides to the buffet and no Mexican restaurant yet. My understanding is that it's going to be in the small area in the back that was utilized mostly by staff.

I didn't notice that the beds were any higher than they had been but it's possible.

I'm curious on how this works .I'm computer and iPhone illiterate LOL .we are taking a cruise on the dawn in November and there's three adults. is the fee per phone and how do you keep your phone from running up charges. I was going to go to AT&T and check with them but if someone knows it'll save me a trip. Thanks for any and all input

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes the fee is per phone. Download the Iconcierge app. It's free. You connect on the ship and go through the set up process. You may be able to connect in the terminal. As I recall your phone is on airplane mode while you are connected to the ships network. You'll get no charges from your phone company. I still have the instructions somewhere if you don't find them here.

Couple other thoughts. Could service, at least in the restaurants, be due to the crew learning the new menus?

I don't think so. To me, they were overwhelmed. There was just too much work and not enough staff to handle it. They all tried hard but just couldn't provide the level of service people expect. Wait time was excessive with O'Sheehan's being the worst.