AKR2011

I would suggest finding a similar excursion elsewhere. It may be sold out through NCL or no longer offered. You'll likely save money AND have a smaller tour group by booking with a different agency. Just google shore excursions and you'll find a few companies. I have never had an issue getting back to port and almost always book with one of the companies that will show up on top of your search.

I have cruised out of NY twice in November and will do it again in 2018. They move pretty quickly on that first day to get you to warm weather! We were off the coast of the Carolinas by the next morning both times. From Boston during that same time of the year, we woke up off the coast of Virginia. The boat is usually rocky that first night as the boat moves so fast, but it is worth it! I have witnesses pool weather on all of my cruises by the afternoon of that first full day at sea.

Is there a lot to do?

Yes, the Dawn is a great ship to start off with! Shows every night that you don't have to pre-book, a great crew, many other activities, and it was refurbished last year. You can meet your fellow passengers on your Roll Call right here: https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/norwegian-dawn-november-3-2017/

I suggest buying a Cruise Next certificate on board in November and booking it on board too. The staff on board are fabulous and really want to help plan their passengers' trips. And one certificate is good for $100 in on board credit. That alone is worth it!

I have been on both ships. The Dawn was just refurbished is beautiful!! The Gem was my least favor of all ships, although I sailed that one back in 2013. I am booked on my first super ship in 2018, and honestly, I'm nervous. The Dawn and The Gem both had great shows that didn't need to be pre-booked. Being smaller, it was also easy to change dining reservations quickly, and the crew really took the time to get to know the passengers.

I believe that my cruise on The Gem was a fluke, and I would absolutely sail on her again. At the time, NCL was moving the best crew to Breakaway and the service was not up to par on The Gem. Either the Gem or Dawn are great choices and similar size. I would pick based on whether you want to sail out of NY or Boston. I have done both and prefer NY.

This review is GREAT so far. I checked out your others but cannot see the pics. Any way for you to update your photo bucket?

Just plan every port in depth. That's what I did last fall after booking 2 years ahead. My husband wanted to be surprised, but I wanted every detail to be special. Not everything was what we hoped, but we have good attitudes. It was an incredible vacation. Planning 2 years allows you to budget for everything really well. IMO, that's the best part.

The boat moves quickly the first day to get you to warm weather...then it slows down a little. You should wake up off the coast of the Carolinas. We have cruised out of NY in November twice. Only the first day and the very last night have I ever felt cold. I'm looking at Escape November 2018 now :)

I admit that I have become loyal to NCL. I do look at cruises on other lines, but when I compare, NCL still gives me the best value, and I always know that I will receive incredible service. It doesn't matter that I stay in an inside room. The staff always treat me incredibly well and go out of their way to get to know me as a guest. So when they offer cruise vouchers with a $100 onboard credit, I go ahead and buy one. Then I know I'll have to cruise with NCL within 4 years. It doesn't stop me from looking at other lines, and I have almost jumped ship, but I am always happy with all of my NCL experiences. I have a goal of getting to be Platinum someday!

We bought a 4 meal package for our 14 day on the Dawn last fall and booked everything ahead of time. We like to check out different restaurants on board, so this is a great option for us. Never had an issue with not getting enough food. In fact, they wanted to keep giving us more food. "Oh, you have a meal voucher. You need to try this..." was the usual in the restaurants. I had to learn to say no. We like the main dining room, but for two weeks, having 4 special meals was nice. We also booked them ahead of time online on sea days, so we never had to worry about rushing back from port to get ready or being too full to eat them. I would totally book this package again. 4 meals was perfect for 14 days.

If the Breakaway will no longer be based in NYC, what ship is NCL sending to replace it?

 

MARAPRINCE

The Escape is coming to NY in the fall of 2018 and joining the Breakaway there. After that, I am not sure.

Just make sure to give yourself at least 1 hour to get back to the ship after a tour in case there are mechanical issues, traffic, etc. The boat will wait for cruise sponsored excursions, but not private ones. That being said, I have only booked a couple excursions through NCL. I always book privately and even book in port where the prices are even cheaper. Sometimes it's also fun to rent a car and do it on your own for a fraction of what the companies charge.

Shake it Shirley was one of the better activities people... she seemed to have fun each time and got the crowd into it. Pictured with her is Nemo, who almost got lynched at the last Karaoke night...

Shirley is fabulous! I had her on the Dawn last fall. So much fun and incredibly youthful. Her dance classes and trivia were especially fabulous!

The only thing I will say is that there are not a ton of younger people on cruises 14 days long. My DH and I did a 14 day repo on the Dawn in the fall and had a fabulous time. However, there were few guests under the age of 40. we are in our 30s and had a blast, meeting tons of people of all ages. However, the shows were definitely geared to an older crowd, as was a lot of the on board activities. I would bet that the Star cruise will be similar for you. With an older crowd, we always had great service at the bars, and service was top notch. have a blast on the canal! That is on list for 2021 (We have a ways to go :()

I am looking at booking either Escape or Breakaway for Nov or Dec 2018, but I am not quite ready to commit. I am wondering how many days ahead they open booking for the shows on those ships. I wouldn't want to book last minute and miss out. Yes, I know it's a year-and-a-half away, but I am a big planner. Thanks all :)

We rented a car in Curacao and hiked to Mount Christoffel, the highest peak. GORGEOUS, but you have to get there by 11am to start. Here is a photo from near the top:

I'm late to the game, but I must weigh in here. PLEASE, for the earth's sake, can we all quit drinking bottled water? As many have stated here, the water from the tap is clean, purified, and delicious. If you are really worried, then get a Brita water bottle that adds extra filtration. No one needs to buy bottled water EVER. It is a complete waste of plastic. They also get warm quickly and then you're stuck drinking that. My best recommendation is an insulated bottle. I have one that I fill up in the morning with ice and water, and I will still have ice in there 12 hours later!

I should note that I am a water snob, and I am also from Upstate NY, and our state is known for drinking out of the tap all the time, because we have great tap water. I will admit that I am shocked when I visit other places and the water quality is not so great from the tap. Again, the Brita Bottle comes in handy for that. But on the ship, the water lives up to NY tap water standards.

I know that this post is 5 years old, but tears are on my keyboard as I type. I have never seen this post before, and I just want to say thank you for sharing this heartbreaking story. I can only imagine how difficult this trip was and I am happy that you were able to give us an update with the completion of a POA Cruise. God Bless.

I did a 14 Day on The Dawn last fall, and there were different shows each and every night. Some performers came and went at various ports and swapped with other NCL ships that were in port with us. Overall there was a lot of great variety, and a couple times the performers came together for a completely different show that combined their talents. There were also a bunch of afternoon matinees with the evening performers giving brand new shows. The DH and I were impressed!

Yes, the library has a cupboard of board games, cribbage boards, and cards. I also acquired a deck from concierge one morning. However, there is no "card room" on board. They got rid of that to build more suites :rolleyes: You have a to get a little creative about where you play at times, but yes, there are lots of places and plenty of card.

As a semi-younger cruiser (I'm 34), I do a lot of saving and budgeting so that my husband and I can cruise every 2-3 years. We like NCL, so we have decided to stick with them. Time of year is huge for us. We work with kids and would rather not vacation with a bunch of then. Luckily, we do not work in a school and late fall is a great time for us to get time off. Prices are low then and there are less kids on board. We also like being on board as long as possible. Our 14 day repo last fall was perfect!

I'm getting ready to book a Panama Canal for fall of 2018, because that itinerary looks amazing. The problem is one last factor that I haven't mentioned yet....The ship. We like smaller ships and would rather not go on one of the away ships, but I am concerned about The Star. That's the one think holding me back from booking right now. I just don't trust that it won't have it won't have mechanical problems or that NCL won't change its itinerary. I read too many things on these boards that make me nervous. And I am having a hard time finding another ship that goes completely through the canal (not round trip) during that time of year.

I like using Cruise Advice for the best cabins. They list them by the deck of each ship and never steered me wrong. As for booking, I have done a travel agent before typically just for some extra on board credit, but I've also booked directly with the NCL site. Both were equally fine. I also used a popular website that threw in free travel insurance, which was a nice bonus, and they have a loyalty program too, but the past couple years I found their prices higher than the NCL site. You would just want to do some comparison shopping.

Yes, room service has a fee, but is free for breakfast. I know it's odd, and I can't comment too much on that because I have never ordered it. Honestly, there are so many good food options, including 24-hour O'Sheehan's, that I never find room service a necessity.

The Ultimate Beverage Package (UBP) includes all sodas, beers, glasses of wine, and mixed drinks up to $15. Honestly, if you want more than a couple a day, the gratuities that you pay are well worth the cost. There is no obligation to tip any more on drinks throughout your cruise, and they won't even make you sign a receipt when you order a drink. I love not having to worry about my drink cost at the end of the cruise.

There are many threads about bottled water. Yes, NCL charges a lot more than other lines do, even though the price just went down. However, the water throughout the ship is perfectly good and drinkable. I bring a Nalgene and use a clean cup at the buffet to refill as needed. The bars will also refill for you. The water is perfectly fine.

I don't do mega ships simply because you have to pre-book shows, and that to me, takes away the Freestyle that I enjoy. However, I have read on the boards here that you do want to pre-book. I also recommend pre-booking specialty restaurants if you plan to eat in those. Personally, I like doing those on sea days so that I don't have to worry about rushing back to the ship to get ready and I can plan my meals during the day so that I'm hungry for the yummy food at night.

I hope this advice helps! Have a great cruise!!

I went to "Discover Mexico" there. We made homemade chocolate, watched an acrobatic show, walked through a museum, had a taco lunch, and did a tequila tasting. It was an awesome day of Mexican culture. I would definitely recommend this.

Not to Miss:

- The Mexican Restaurant!! Amazing food. Be careful not to fill up on too many apps.

- I loved the Main Dining Room during sea days for lunch. The hummus is so good, as is the peanut butter pie. Same lunch menu every sea day in there.

- Limoncello Vodka Martinis with a sugar rim. You can get these from Gatsby's (not on the menu), and they are yummy! Best drink I discovered.

- Another yummy drink is the Mango Meltdown

- I LOVE all of the onboard activities, and you get signatures for each one that you attend. More signatures = better prizes at the end. My favorites were Walking a Mile every morning with the staff, dance classes, Trivia, Bean Bag Toss, and Goofy Golf. All silly fun.

- Shows were all great for the most part, but they may have changed since Nov. when I got off

- The wine bar was usually empty during the day and a nice place to read a book quietly in the shade

- The sun deck is quiet if you want the sun

- My best advice: Live it up! Take in every moment and enjoy. My 14 days flew by, and I can't wait to book my next cruise :)

That spicy margarita was one of our favorite drinks on the ship! And you are totally right about those apps. I hope they expand Los Lobos to other ships. It was by far our best meal on board.