Elementstorm

CozGurl, passes are typically cheaper before the cruise and will cost about 20-50$ more once on board.  That said, if you have port intensive itineraries, it's often possible to just pay for the day (about $20) that you want.  Some ships limit that though even if the Thermal spa is empty. 

According to my research, the Dawn has a warm pool, a hot tub, a super bubble pool (thelasotherapy) or something like that, a number of showers and heated loungers in the shared area along with a stand for cool water and tea.  Both hot tub style tubs require you to climb steps to get in and out.  The change rooms have saunas and I think the men's side has cool plunge baths but I'm not sure if the women's side has that.  I haven't been able to get anything definitive on the plunge baths.  Prices tend to vary based on how long the cruise is as well.

Loving this review!  Your pics are great and the details are perfect!  That pic of the moon was superb and the dailies and menus are really appreciated.  

Okay, I have read with interest all the comments on my review. First let me say that I don't feel "entitled" to anything. I understand and read the contract when we booked the cruise. I don't expect anything in regards to any sort of compensation. You are right. NCL owes me nothing. However, there is a difference between not being obligated to do anything and doing the right thing. I have in my possession a letter from Royal Caribbean for the sailing of Grandeur of the Seas that sailed from Baltimore on Sept 8., one day after our cruise left from Boston. They were headed to the Bahamas, not Bermuda because of the storm. In this letter RC was explaining that they were adding at 50% refundable onboard credit to each person's SeaPass account (based on cruise fare). ALSO, they offered a 50% future cruise credit for a cruise booked in the next year. ALSO, if you chose not to sail (yes, that was an option) they would offer you a 100% future cruise credit. So don't waste your breath telling me this can't be done. Did RC have to do this? No, they did not. However, they chose to do the right thing and offer the options.

 

Now, as for sailing during hurricane season. Did we know it was hurricane season? Yes we did. Did we buy the insurance? Yes we did. We were told that it covered "cancel for any reason". However, when we found out about the itinerary change, we called the insurance company (after calling NCL and asking for a future cruise voucher). No one could or would answer our questions at 10PM the night before the cruise. Oh, they tried, but they said there was a clause about damage from a hurricane making the cruise port "uninhabitable", etc. They weren't certain that we could get our money back. They told us we could call at 9AM the next morning when "a supervisor" would be in the office to know for sure if we could get our money back. Now, we had to fly to Boston at 4:30AM the next morning in order to make the cruise that day. See the problem? We felt trapped. And I realize you have no sympathy for that either. So, we thought we had everything to prepare for a storm disrupting our cruise. Yes, I try to be prepared. And no, I still don't feel entitled to anything.

 

Now, let me just throw this at you. I'm not looking for sympathy. God only knows, it's sorely lacking in today's society. My husband and I are not like some of you. Both of us are still working. We don't get to take multiple cruises in a year, or even a cruise a year. We are the sole caregivers for two elderly parents. Whenever we leave town, we have to make sure someone is present to take care of these two. WE can't leave on a whim; we have to plan for MONTHS to take a vacation! So excuse me for being bitterly disappointed about going someplace I didn't ask to go and feeling like I really had no choice about the matter. Did I still enjoy my week away from other responsibilities? Yes, I did and I think I said that in my review. The crew of the Dawn was excellent. We were well taken care of. I still didn't have to cook, clean, or make numerous beds during the day. And no, I still don't feel entitled to anything. Do I know that NCL owes me nothing? Oh yes, that has been made perfectly clear. But having the letter from RC about what they are doing for their passengers certainly puts a different perspective on things and makes me question my loyalty to NCL. (Yes, I am a Latitudes member). Does that hurt NCL's feelings. I'm not foolish enough to believe that either. They have plenty of other customers that take many more cruises than we do. However, Royal Carribean showed a better example of caring about their passengers during this instance. That is an example of customer service.

 

I'm sorry that some of you read the first paragraph of my review and chose to focus on that instead of my review of our cruise. I am probably the least person that feels "entitled" to absolutely anything. But I have to try. Yes, NCL had every right to change the itinerary and no, I don't want to be sailing into a hurricane. That's not the point. The point is that we asked for a future cruise voucher and were told no but they were heavily pushing the CruiseNext program on board. That's were you pay a deposit on a future cruise and have 4 years to book that cruise. Isn't that really a cruise voucher? That's what we asked for on Thursday night and were told "it wasn't possible". Our cruise was, of course, paid in full by the time we sailed.

 

Until you walk in my shoes, you don't have the right to call me entitled. You have no idea what I'm like just from reading a review of my cruise. I thought I was doing the right thing because I depend heavily on Cruise Critic when planning a cruise and excursions. I wanted to share my views with others. Guess I learned my lesson on that one! From now on, I'll keep my opinions to myself!

Very eloquently expressed. Please don't ever stop posting reviews of the good and the bad. They're probably the best gift you can give to others planing trips. There's always going to be someone(s) with a myopic view that doesn't take into consideration your circumstances. They make assumptions, as we all do, based on prior life experiences. Thank you for sharing your full experience. Considering your circumstances, it's a tribute to the kind of people you are that you still did your best to enjoy your trip. That said if you ever do come back to Canada, old Quebec city is like a little bit of Europe and very beautiful as is the old port of Montreal. I wish you the best in your future travels.

Activities:

 

We spent a fair amount of time in the cabin so were glad we had the balcony suite for that reason. We spent time out and about together but occasionally "traded off" where one of us would stay with our daughter while the other was out on the ship or ashore. We knew when planning the trip that this would be the reality... no "nights out" just the 2 of us on this cruise!

 

I got the Thermal Spa pass and enjoyed it in the evenings while my husband stayed in with our daughter. I loved the new heated tile loungers. I liked that the seating area between the pool and loungers was set up like a conversation area.* The way I remember it before it was like rows of chairs lined up all facing one way... just seemed awkward. There were never more than half a dozen or so people in there at any given time, it seemed.

 

In hindsight, had I known how nice the weather was going to be, I may not have gotten the pass. I got it as kind of a "just in case", for cooler weather. It was great though, nice to escape for a while :)

 

I spent some time by the pool in the afternoons. Mostly in the area of the risers up to Deck 13. Busy but I never had trouble finding a seat. I didn't get to take advantage of the new "sunbeds" or the wicker seats set up along the ledges of the pool... although they did look quite comfortable.* I never had a problem getting drink service at my seat. But not everyone shared that experience, apparently.* I heard someone complaining that the bar line was too long and "they should have more staff walking around taking drink orders; they should be bending over backwards to make it up to us".

 

I went to the comedy show (Jim Colliton), funny but kind of rolling my eyes at the ship/cruise/itinerary jokes.

 

My husband enjoyed the magic show and we all liked Jose and Patti's shows in the Atrium. My daughter loved dancing to the music :)

 

 

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Do you recall how much they were charging for the Thermal Spa pass? It sounds like something I'd enjoy. Any tips regard it?

Did you happen to see how much the spa passes cost? I'm looking forward to a cruise Jan 2019 but I'm wondering if I should consider the spa pass.

We saw the pool deck, gym and toured the spa and got our passes. I know the passes get asked about a lot. We got ours at the 90 day mark before the cruise. The thermal spa on the Dawn has coed heated loungers, 2 hot tubs, a lap pool, and then separate relaxation rooms, locker rooms, saunas, steam rooms, and showers. Hubby said his locker room had a hot tub but I could never find it on my side. Also the steam room on my side was so hot--it was like scalding, face-melting hot. It was kind of disappointing since I love to go back and forth between the steam room and sauna.

 

The thermal spa does get busy and yeah the loungers can be hard to get but we felt like we got our fair share and if there were no loungers, we would just sit in the hot tub or go to the relaxation lounge. We used the passes every day and felt like we got our money's worth.

 

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Great review! Do you recall about how much the spa passes cost at the time?

Your trip report was fantastic! My husband and I are doing this same tour in September of this year. I have a couple of questions for you.

 

1. How did you get your tours arranged with Rome in Limo? I have checked out our roll call, and it is not very active yet. How close to your cruise were you before you booked these tours with other people?

 

First you can set-up your tours through this website, it very easy. We started setting up all our tours in Feb. All of the tours I booked were filled by March using our roll call. The first website is for setting up your tours and for people to join your tour group.

https://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/

 

2. I also am questioning how it works to use your cell phone internationally. Did you mainly try and use wifi?

 

We did not use our cell phones, we bought a international phone for $20 on-line and got a US and international phone number. We used our IPad when in port for email.

Great photos! I was wondering how you went about getting the cellphone? I'm from Canada and I've never seen disposable phones for 20$! Sounds like a great idea! :

Great pictures BTW! I am wondering how you went about getting the international phone. I'm from Canada and I've never seen a disposable phone for that price! Sounds like a great idea! Do you also know if it's possible to just get an international sim card of some sort if it's only something US citizens can purchase?