quercus alba

We spent a fair amount of time almost every day in Gatsby's, immediately adjacent to the cigar bar, and generally didn't find it to be too obnoxious. It is a somewhat more pleasant, and briefer, whiff than the constant cigarette smoke from say, the Epic casino, back in the day. We were more bothered by the smoking on the streets of Athens and Istanbul than onboard.

There was an NCL shuttle from the new port to town for us. We just followed a Rick Steeves walking tour (kind of) on our own and were more than satisfied. Read about Delos, but after Athens the day before and with Ephesus coming up...thought I might be getting ruined on the ruins already, and figured that old Zeus didn't need any more celebration of his serial rape exploits than he was already getting.)

Driving with my kids...they're so used to having Siri or their GPS tell them where to go now... It's kind of sad actually... OK, now I'm turning into one of those old people. [And sorry OP, we taken you way off topic, I think...]

And if there is anything that NCL is all about...it is the marketing, yes?

Don't get Mr. @Auburn Girl started on the grits--amirite Alicia and John??? 😂

I just sifted through some Dailies---it's crazy, lots of opportunities to spend your money unnecessarily, but no simple listing of basic information like that. Go figure! The captain, IIRC was Ronnie(?) Berg. The Cruise Director, who we did actually chat with at the coffee bar on our unplanned sea day as he was personally passing out updated activity schedules was Jerry _____ , and he was from Latin America somewhere I think. The General Manager was a pleasant French gentleman who made a jovial attempt to steal my coffee from me in line to board tenders one morning--and I'm blanking on his name too.

I feel that NCL promoting Trieste = Venice is like saying Port Canaveral = Disney World. I really am glad that we aren’t tearing up that city with the wakes of mega ships anymore, but it’s a 2 hour train ride from the port, and an awful lot of Americans just weren’t paying attention that well in high school geography class.

Really missed my instantaneous, no-nonsense wifi access and spotify playlists. +2 on the Weather Channel votes, too. Would just be really nice to know how to dress for an excursion in the variable fall weather of the Mediterranean, and the info the ship delivered was unhelpful.

Istanbul is literally as far away from the Syrian border as one can be--literally on a different continent. As I told several people, I felt safer in Istanbul than in an American bowling alley, night club, or elementary school! 🤔

Ship - Dawn Deck - 11 Stateroom # - 11112 Stateroom Category – Balcony Starboard or Port Side - Starboard Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Generally OK EXCEPT as noted below. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - no Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – large overhang might bother some, might be a plus to others. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - normal? Was wind a problem? - no If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - n/a Any specific problems with this cabin? - cabin is located directly off midship elevator/stairwell lobby--this was not a problem--no excess noise from this area or from atrium when door was closed, HOWEVER... ...cabin is DIRECTLY below entrance to Garden Cafe/Pool deck/buffet storage locker on deck 12. (Picture of this area is attached--door to storage area to left, pool area to far left, Garden Cafe entrance to right--your bed is directly below the traffic pattern here.) As a result there was always loud activity overhead at 0500-0530 as staff were preparing for breakfasts. Light sleepers will be bothered--my wife did not notice. Any other comments? - very convenient location, but buyer beware.

Just returned from essentially your #2: Trieste --> Istanbul on Dawn. I though Dawn was well suited for this itinerary. It was very port-intensive. We did lots of archaeological sites in Croatia, Turkey, and Greece. Weather was a factor in mid November--we missed our port call for Olympia due to high winds making docking unsafe at Katakolon that day, and it was somewhat chilly and windy at Santorini and Mykonos, too. I really hate to think what it was like there this summer with 90-100 degree temps and the more crowded conditions! We enjoyed spending time in Istanbul after the cruise, too. Why not? Izmir/Ephesus and Istanbul were both perfectly safe--and amazing, interesting destinations. Our Thanksgiving Day lunch in Türkiye, our Thanksgiving dinner filets at Cagney's, and what our poor, abandoned children had back home in Minnesota 😂

Just got back from the 10 day Eastern Mediterranean itinerary, and I would concur. My previous NCL cruises were on Epic and Pearl--and I was expecting this to be something akin to the Pearl in experience. Don't know if it's related to "post-pandemic blues", or the staffing priorities that you mention above, but Dawn was not up to the level of our Pearl cruises (2013 and 2015...so the world has certainly changed since!) in terms of staff morale and initiative. My sense was that a lot of the staff were new in their roles, and very reluctant to step out of defined protocols (even altering a drink recipe slightly in a bar, for example). That said, though, I think Dawn is nicely suited for "grown-up cruises" --i.e. people who don't need constant entertainment and stimulation from VR arcades or go-kart tracks. It was great for this kind of port intensive trip -- not a single planned sea day , though we got one due to having to miss a port for weather conditions. We covered 9 different destinations in 10 days, and could come back on board to soak weary legs in the hot tubs and recklessly enjoy our food and drink. I think it's kind of cool that a ship like the Dawn is doing so many long cruises to non-standard places, even though the 10 days was plenty long for us this time. (Some people were doing not just B2Bs, but 3 or 4 x B2Bs...nice life!) I liked the layout for the most part, and thought the atrium was nicer than Epic's or Pearl's--seemed "right sized" for the way it was used, and was pleasant to look at while seated at O'Sheehans or the coffee bar. As always, YMMV.

10 years ago you could have tempted me with an offer to "lose" a couple of my children in a foreign country like that...

Valid point--but the reapplication process was still less painful than the initial.

Once you get a passport, I find it convenient for my kids because they then always have documentation of citizenship without having to carry a certified copy of their birth certificate on trips, or find where it's filed when applying for a job, etc. Plus, within 5 years of the trips we initially got the passports for, both of my younger kids already had them when school trips came along that took them overseas with music or language classes. And although child/youth passports expire sooner than adult ones, it's still easier to keep them renewed than to get new ones.

Conversely, on our first cruise, a Western Med circuit in 2011 on Epic, Barcelona (with Messi!) was playing in the final of the European Cup against (iirc) a German team on the final night of the cruise--as we were inbound to Barcelona. It appeared to us that NCL was doing everything in their power to get that game up on the big screen in the atrium, even in the face of some really spotty satellite reception. The citizenry of Barcelona appeared to be a little hungover as we disembarked the next morning! But we stumbled onto the victory parade that afternoon on our walk back from Sagrada Familia, so that was a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Yes, appreciated! We're boarding in Trieste for an Eastern Mediterranean cruise in mid November, and it's nice to read something recent about the ship.

Basically except Deck 8, they're all mostly covered. The thing you may want to avoid is booking too far forward and getting a "hull-" or "cove-balcony" which has less visibility than the others as the "cutout" for the balcony is a part of the hull. Epic is big enough that almost everything else though is glass-windowed and covered by the level above. Lots to choose from. Side doesn't matter much--you typically don't hear much from above. Maybe look at deck plans and don't book beneath the buffet, kids' clubs, or fitness center if noise really affects you--but you probably won't notice other stuff above very often. Remember sitting on a Deck 12 or 11 balcony during a sailaway and just barely being aware that there was music being played on the pool deck a couple of levels above--would probably be the same wherever you were.

Have been in balconies on Epic deck 11 and deck 13, both roughly midship. No appreciable difference, really. Never minded the stairs--we were usually going up to buffet or pool deck areas anyway. Hated the lack of a continuous walking path, though...they really made a mistake with that poor ship's design. 🙁 Great cruises, otherwise.

Just popping on as a dad and ally (after unfortunately subjecting myself to a really nasty twitter thread about goings-on in certain states here) to say that I'm grateful for all of you "guys, gals, and non-binary pals" as a friend of mine would say, and it felt good to read the positive vibes here. That's all. (Same goes for all of you brave souls in recovery on cruise ships--you're the True Rebellious Fish swimming against the current!) Peace.

Puerto Rico is simply a worthy vacation destination on its own for us mainlanders--hopefully you and your daughter will be able to return, stay a few days, and enjoy its charms more fully another time!

Unless it's being performed in the ship's theatre, it's not real drama, only "sparkling performance". And don't call me Shirley.

My Filipino MIL swore by ginger tea for all gastric ills. On Pearl in Alaska, a Filipina server noticed that my wife was absent from the family group on a night of rough seas, and she sent me back up to the room with a pot of hot ginger tea from the Chinese restaurant, "just like Mama used to make". I'd say that plus the green apples, and daughter may very well survive! And based on the inventory of your beverages so far, well, whether you survive or not--you may not care! 😂 You've hit most of my faves so far--but make sure you have a Rum Cake from Shakers Martini Bar for dessert at least one night!

I think you may need to run an update on your sarcasm detection software.

Two posts in and I am already in love with her...if high profile lawyer Husband isn't available and Mrs.Q finally gets fed up, well, I'm available to cruise with this lady--just for the attitude! (Cruised Epic twice, including once on similar itin to yours. Reviews below. Have my beefs with her, but the bathrooms aren't it.)