kopiko

Just off the Escape last week and the whiskey selection was great! While there was plenty of good selections on the regular drinking package, we did upgrade to the P+ so we could experiment with stuff we've never had before and boy did we have a blast! The Haven bar had all the Macallans, EH Taylor, Blanton's, Woodford, Buffalo Trace, 1792 SB, Old Forester, Gentleman Jack, etc. The Tobacco Road Bar, which is the whiskey bar on the Escape, actually had a few great offerings not available at the Haven bar (1792, both small batch AND full proof, Old Foresters, including my fav 1920, etc.). 

So no worries, whether you have the regular package or the P+, they'll have plenty of good options to choose from!

* If you like cognacs, they also had an excellent selection!

Los Lobos!

I cancelled on 3/6; received my full refund yesterday. My daughter received her refund yesterday as well.

We did this cruise in October out of Barcelona and loved it! Definitely not your usual beach/Caribbean type cruise we usually do but this was our 25th anniversary and had a wonderful time.

On 12/26/2019 at 6:13 PM, Peachypooh said:

Very interesting. We have been in Owner's Suites many times and have never been offered a hot

or cold face towel or been served champagne LOL But then again we were always early

enough to have lunch so maybe just the late arrivals get that.

 I was about to say the same thing!

Epic 10/6 still not working

2 minutes ago, clw1624 said:

What’s a PCC?

Personal Cruise Consultant; basically a specific NCL salesperson assigned to you if you request one

18 hours ago, mertziek said:

Upset with recent dismissive attitude and other issues from my PCC.  Has anyone here gotten a new one and how did you go about doing that?

I changed mine (following the same steps graphicguy described above) a few years back. The supervisor re-assigned me to a new PCC, no questions asked. The new one has been simply phenomenal!

Wait, they updated the website on this overnight but still can't figure out the ongoing dining reservation issues? lol

I'm at 110 days to go and still can't make dinner reservations. 🤷‍♂️

4 hours ago, Ajat0921 said:

Anyone else notice this issue? I have the three UDP and can only make reservations for the first night. I should be able to make it for the following night as well, but can't.

Same here. I called the pre-concierge number and they said they are having issues and are way behind. Dining reservation options for my 6 Oct sailing won't be available until late June.

Ugly as it may, it's definitely a conversation starter and most remember it. Some of my friends still talk about it years later!

I've also seen so many posts in here about it so at least they succeeded on making it unique and memorable.

1 hour ago, amygutman said:

To answer the above questions  - the wine / liquor benefit is only for OS and above - the rest of the list applies to all suites. The full list of suite benefits is on the NCl website and clarifies which class of rooms get what. 

 

The wine / liquor list and bottle offering for Owners Suite, Deluxe Owners Suite and garden Villa is independent of the Ultimate Beverage Package - if you are not a drinker, I suppose you could ask for alternatives. 

 

We generally have an H4 and do NOT have unlimited water in the room with the UBP - but do have sodas. We request to have the fridge emptied and fill with a pitcher of unsweetened iced tea and a carton of almond milk.

 

If you read over the attachment, it does clearly say the alcohol benefit is only for the OSs - it's fine print of course. 😊 3 Bottles of alcohol should not make the difference between booking and not booking a room - to me it's all about the balcony...or in this case the TWO balconies (oh, heaven on Earth)...

 

Amy

Amy,

We stayed in one of the OS w/2 balconies (10506) on the Dawn in November, you will LOVE the two balconies! It is an awesome room. Enjoy!

My PCC is always available during the weekends.  And the few times that she wasn't, her voicemail always pointed me to her alternate's number. She told me long time ago a large number of new reservations happen during the weekend so don't hesitate to call. 

Last year we stayed in one of the Owner's suites on the Dawn. Our preference letter came via email about 45 days out, and then at the 30 day mark after I didn't respond to the first one. The luggage tags (alone) came in the mail around the same time.

Lots of H4's still open on our Western Med/Oct 2019 sailing on the Epic; currently booked on 17025 but still have time to change. 

Considering the itinerary, would it be better to stay port or starboard side? Other than the center/front facing one (already taken), are there any H4s better one than others or are they all pretty much the same?  I'd love to be on 16016 (right next to the Haven bar lol), but as we are sailing out of Barcelona our only choices are the 17th deck. Looks like they reserve the 16th deck for the Wed boarding in Civitavecchia. 

TIA!

JB

3 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

What new promo starts May 1st?

Free straws and towel animals?? 😅

On our last cruise in November (Dawn) Cagneys and La Cucina were by far the worst of the restaurants we tried! So disappointing. 

We stayed in 10506 on the Dawn this past November and loved it! Much better than the DOS we stayed the year before (12500). To answer your specific question about motion sickness, I'm not sensitive to it but my wife is, and she had no issues in 10506 anymore than any other room we have ever stayed at (and we almost always book a front-facing cabin). Of note, we had really nice weather (southern Caribbean) and calm seas, so that of course made a difference. As always she took her Dramamine the first 2 days and never complained at all, even on the last night which had the roughest movement.

IMHO, the OS's on the 10th deck are better than the 9th; you get the bump out with the dining table and just like Maja mentioned you still get two huge balconies. I used both every single day and took some gorgeous time-lapse videos from the front balcony pulling in and out of all the ports.

After 2 Dawn cruises in a row we're moving on to the Epic this year but if we ever sail on the Dawn again 10506/10006 would be our 1st choices hands down. Let me know if you have any questions!

At Modernos; overflow at Cagneys next door

We cruised recently and faced a similar situation. Long story short...as long as your name is listed in your daughter's birth certificate, you are fine and don't need any letter; that is the one thing customs checked very carefully. Make sure you bring the birth certificate.

If your name is not listed in her birth certificate, or if the minor is not your own (i.e. grandkids), then you definitely need a letter from both parents.

Kmkub, did you ever sail with NCL back when you were a minor? I ask because our daughter sailed with us many years ago as a minor; fast-forward to last year (she's 23 now)...when she booked her Nov 2018 cruise, she was also listed as a minor despite being 23. Our PCC said something about that's how her latitude account was listed in the system based on her last cruise, and that it would update itself after the new cruise.

Didn't make any sense to us, but I'll say we didn't have any issues when she checked in; her current age was clearly listed. We recently booked our family 2020 cruise, and she's no longer listed as a child. Not sure if this is the same thing happening to you, but wanted to share. I'm sure your TA and NCL will figure it out.

The SBs on the Dawn are definitely better than the SAs. Not sure why they coded them the way they did but their pricing reflects it.

Having stayed in both (DOS 12500 and OS 10506), I personally liked the OS much better. Huge cabin with 2 different balconies and great bathroom/closet. Awesome views from the front balcony when arriving/departing the ports. The side balcony was awesome for sitting for breakfast o drinks and snacks after coming back from the ports. If balcony is not a must, my 2nd choice would be one of the 2 external DOS, which have gorgeous panoramic views.

12 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

That is interesting - perhaps he was overwhelmed with Concierge this Concierge that - every now and then

his services are in demand and taxing to the limits - there is only -1- Concierge on the DAWN.

The Butlers fill in for him when needed and called for.

The Butlers are rotated around the ship with 1 for the 2 Garden Villa suites - 1 for the aft suites - 1 for 10 suites

forward on deck 11 - 2 split for the suites on deck 12 forward - and 1 for the deck 9 & 10 suites forward.

The Butlers have a pool for the late night shift service with 1 serving the entire ship during that time.

The Butlers are rotated so that no one butler gets the prime high rolling tipping suites and they are all familiar

with what each suite demands and offers.

Recently being in the Garden Suite on the DAWN I found out a great deal about this.

The Concierge watches the GV suites with a great deal of personal attention as I found out and when I

needed help with a shore excursion - he was unable to be there because of other pressing agenda - he

dispatched my Butler to take care of the escort directly to the vendor and again at the end of the cruise

my Butler was dispatched to the luggage claim area and airport transportation.

The DAWN has 64 suites - that is an awful amount of work load and then the occasional Platinum P+ and

Ambassador status guests that may require some personal attention.

On turn around day it is a wonder how the Concierge can be here and there ironing out problems getting

guests off the ship and settled in !

 

Sorry that you caught Roel in a down moment - he does a fine job and his butlers are a great help !  

It was just weird not seeing a concierge around, ever. I guess we got spoiled by Leah last year!

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

We have sailed with Roel before and he was pretty much a dud. When he made a guest appearance at the concierge table in the suites dining room, he could barely tell you where the next port of call was. 

That's exactly what we experienced with Roel last week on the Dawn!!

He never introduced himself; only know his name from the welcome letters they leave in your room. He had a "concierge desk" sign set up at the entrance to Moderno; we ate breakfast there every day (and a few lunches) and never saw him. I'm used to (especially on the Dawn) seeing the concierge when boarding, then greeting and chatting up suite guests every morning and offering port and show information. There was none of that with him. Never saw him either at the Stardust when going up to the OS/GV seats. I don't mean to bash him, but he was just absent.

I finally met Roel at the disembarkation meeting 2 days before departure. He was nice but quiet, and apologized to the crowd because he "didn't feel comfortable with large groups of people".

We had Ceasar as our butler, who provided good/average service. Room Steward was Wayne, nice but extremely quiet. I don't think we saw him smile once.

Having said all of that, we had a great time! Love the Dawn.

27 minutes ago, maja651 said:

Did you happen to find out if Roel will be on the ship in March? We will be on the Dawn in March and hoping for s good concierge.

Just my opinion of course, but we were on the Dawn last week and Roel was the most absent/disinterested concierge we have ever had on NCL.