bakerintn

You don't have to pay for traditional shows.

On Epic, Getaway and Breakaway, there are "dinner shows" that have an extra charge, but all the other shows do not. Also, on those ships there are one or more shows that need reservations, but no extra cost.

So...if you are not going on one of those 3 new ships, no extra cost for shows. If you are going on them, check out the dinner show and decide for yourself if that is a good value for you.

Well, here in middle TN, a medium wedding reception meal would be served family style and include dry slices of ham, mashed potatoes, biscuits, canned corn, maybe fried chicken and white gravy. A lower end wedding dinner would more likely be catered by Krystal or a pulled pork BBQ place.

I have never had a meal in an NCL MDR that was even close to that. The presentation is at a high level and the sauces are mostly quite good. Yes, the MDR is a banquet service, but with individual choices (versus everyone getting the same entree). I would class the NCL MDRs at a high level banquet service that would cost about $25 per person at banquet halls in most major cities.

Your parents won't get platinum benefits if they were not platinum level when they booked. The next cruise does not gain points until it is completed.

note that the phones in your cabin will have a flashing light if there are messages....just make sure all your group knows to check their messages. It is also helpful to get each cabin to set up a personal greeting so that when you call a cabin, you know that you have reached the cabin that you intended before you leave a message.

no.

However, if you pack large sized containers in your checked luggage, your bags may get flagged after the xray, and you will have to go get them yourself later that day on board. (they are checking for alcohol).

It was available on the Dawn in Nov 2013

You can join lots of locals and ex-pats at the Mazatlan Wal-Mart!!

Here is a picture of a common transportation method in Mazatlan .... worth a try to get around.

Specialty restaurants or main dinning room?

The main dining rooms use a rotating menu, so even if someone posts a recent 9-day menu cycle, yours could easily be different. When you see MDR menus, just treat them as "samples" of the types of food offerings to expect.

The specialty restaurants remain the same each day of the cruise, so when you see these posted, they should be what you will see. However, some ships are set up to experiment with a new dish and NCL can change the fleetwide menus at any time. But...they seem to stay the same for a couple of years at a time.

November 2013 - Tampa

4 people tried, one got caught. And...his luggage was opened without him there and the RR were confiscated, with an NCL note left inside. I have not heard of them opening luggage without you before.

Here is a picture that should give you an idea of what to expect:

The first one is of the Dawn...the "hull balconies" are like the one with the red circle around it whereas the regular balconies are shown one deck up and to the left. The second one is of a hull balcony on the Pearl, looking out from the cabin.

Something rich: Bread Pudding

Not so rich: Cheese plate

You can't just go to the pier and expect to get on.

Booking before 48 hours of departure would be my recommendation, because of the U.S. laws requiring advance passenger manifests be submitted in that time frame.

So...try at a week out to see. You could "test the waters" by picking a sailing coming up soon and calling to see if you can get on board. You don't have to actually book it, just ask.

cruised mid Nov 2013 on the Dawn.

Did not try the "bulk" syrup, because a few people in line suggested the bottled sugar-free instead. I used that and it was good, as regular ol' store bought syrup goes.

I am not a fan of that watery, very maple-y northeast syrup, anyway.

If you wait to reserve a clam shell, day of going to the island, is that too late? Also, I went to NCL site, didn't see anything about reserving clam shells. If I wasn't on CC, how would I have known about the clam shells? I read on this site there are 2 lounge chairs. Can 6 people fit in a clam shell?

I guess so it you are really friendly!!

Probably a couple of years away. They got an island that is a few miles off shore. Can't imagine that Belize would let them build a bridge over the reef area, so tenders from the island to shore will likely be the mode.

here is an article about it here on CC:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5487

Seems to me that we all need to compare prices based on the total, "out the door" price for a cruise.

The only providers that care (or know about) diagnosis codes and treatment codes are those providers that accept insurance. Since the ship's Dr. does not accept insurance, they don't care about these codes and don't have the resources or staff to deal with that.

It would be wise, when treated, to ask that the Dr. license be included on your paperwork and that a diagnosis and treatment description in readable, plain language, also be included. With that, an insurance co or friend can theoretically get the needed codes.

I can echo the sound mixing issues in the Stardust. I complained about that in writing to the HD and included it in my review of the cruise the week before the OP's cruise... no feedback from NCL, and apparently no attention paid to my complaints the week before. The sound levels around the pool were way too high, as well.

This has nothing to do with the Dawn, but it does with the CD and HD.

You can count on it!!

No need to reserve them at this point...maybe about 60 days out would be better.

a month ago, the Dawn did have crepes made at a crepe station. Fillings were 3 kinds of fruit plus a vanilla cream. It was close enough to the soft ice cream station that it was easy to add some on the side.

They had a Second City troupe onboard. The late night SC shows were a bit more adult, but not raunchy.

They had the white party on a sea day ... in the new Spinnaker Lounge which gets crowded easily and is somewhat claustrophobic, at least for me. This party depends a lot on the DJ and that is the luck of the draw for your cruise. Don't plan on being able to carry on a conversation at this party or at most of the musical entertainment.

We had Tim Kaminsky as the comedian, and I thought that he was very good. He was leaving right after we returned to the states, but I think that he is returning to the Dawn on his next contract. If he is on your cruise, definitely check him out.

 

Limerick would have been better!

There once was a man named TonyE

Whose favorite utterance was a peeve

He cruised on the Dawn

Should have stayed on his lawn

And kept away from that board that has keys

Most of us are used to US TV. Remember that the Sat TV that cruise ships use is international, and many US events just won't be carried. Can you imagine a soccer fan caring about US college football??

It is way more than nickels and dimes to get a broad spectrum of international sat TV on a ship.

I will say that on our Dawn sailing in November, the lobster was very good...cold water lobster, cooked correctly and very sweet. The melted "butter", however, was not (think canola oil with some food color and a dash of butter flavoring). They brought around trays of tails after the entrees were served for seconds, thirds, etc. The steak was a good surprise...small (like a medallion cut), very tender with some actual beef taste and cooked as ordered!!

Here is a link to a picture from the Dawn galley showing the lobster tails being prepped. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8430634/DawnRepoTour2013/2013-11-12%2020.58.52.jpg

The quality of lobster may have been because the Dawn had just come south from Boston....who knows??

Don't plan on that laptop having any useful applications accessible...just an internet connection that you first have to sign up for. I suspect that even the USB port has been blocked.

I skipped through the thread and did not see any particular suggestions on how to best minimize the hassles. We are on the January 26th cruise and too late to cancel or change without a penalty - plus other plans around the trip are made. We are driving from about 8 hours away and have lots of flexibility on the embarkation side - maybe a bit less on leaving the ship as we need to get on the road. Has anyone who has been through this posted any suggestions for avoiding as much of the mess as possible - early or late boarding etc etc??

 

Wish we had known about this before locking in.

Try to be one of the first to get off the ship with your own luggage .... or chill and wait comfortably somewhere (in your cabin until 10 am and elsewhere after that) on the ship until most everyone else is off the ship. We waited in line for 2.5 hours, starting at 9 am to get off...not fun and no bathrooms or beverages in that line!