vent1020

Our ship leaves Sunday, but my vacation starts in less than two hours. I cannot wait. This will be our first NCL cruise.

We'll be right there with you, but on the Dawn. We leave for New Orleans Friday. WOO HOO!

We brought Alex on our cruise last December and the kids were so surprised and excited. Of course with late nights, he forgot to change places a few times, oops!!

 

 

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LOL. Yeah, I actually thought about those "late nights" also and not getting a chance to have "Zelf" move around. :D

We are on NCL so we will be docking in Coxen Hole. We are still unsure what to do in Roatan. We leave this Sunday. Has anyone just booked an excursion with a company right after leaving the ship at the dock? Is this possible?

I am curious as to why a little line of convenience would make you feel obligated to tip more? Because it's there :D

 

If it was not there, how would someone go about adding an additional tip if they chose to do so? Uh, cash?

The JADE SUITE!! I am soooo jealous!!! Have a great time!! We were in it May 2013 and May 2014....

 

If Winstor (i think that is his name) is your room steward, you will be in good hands!!

Thanks.

The JADE Suite!! I am sooooo jealous!!! Have a great time!!

Thanks. Our first time in a suite. Can't wait. We found a video that someone took of this suite(GREAT well done video) and have been watching it for the last year and a half since we booked this room.

So sorry about your suite problems on the Dawn. We have cruised the Dawn 3 times twice in SC (the same one, 11020) and once in a mini suite (11012). We haven't run into any problems, we are booked again for Jan 25 (mini suite gty, no assignment yet) Hopefully we wont be disappointed.

We will be in 11020 in 6 days(Can't believe I get to say that :D ) Hopefully the OP's experience was an isolated incident.

Anyone else ever feel like with the "additional tip" line you are expected to tip on top of the 15%? 15% of most drink costs is already an extra $1-$2. Maybe I am different then most, but seeing that line to add a tip makes me feel like I should be writing one in. :(

And yes, if the service is great, I don't mind adding an extra tip on top of the 15% but don't want to feel like I have to if it is not warranted.

I guess it's going to be a wait and see type of thing. I figured it being the week AFTER Thanksgiving there would be less kids. Well, it's going to be fun nonetheless.

No brainer. Le Bistro and Cagney's with Teppanyaki as a close third.(But that's because of the entertainment(shrimp flipping and such) and not so much the food.)

Enjoy your single digit dance while I do my 3 HOUR dance. Leaving for Tampa for the Sun shortly!!! :D

NICE. Can't wait to go from the single day dance to the single HOUR dance also. Well, in 8 days I'll be there.

YEAH for single digits.

I will guess there will be around 150-250 kids on board and that most will be very young- non school or early school age. There are no days off that week and it coming after a week kids just had a 1/2 week of school. It is an unlikely week to take kids out of school

Thank you and that's what I had figured. My 8 year old is SUPER shy and I was hoping maybe with less kids, more attention could be paid towards him from the workers in the kids club with less kids being there. BUT, maybe because there are less kids there, there are LESS workers in the kids club also. Guess we'll find out in 8 days. :D

We go every year out of New Orleans the week after your cruise. Last year there were about 90 in the kids club, but the HD said the week following ours was about 600 or more! There will be some time when they are all together.

Thank you. This is what I was looking for. :)

Thanks for the other responses also.

We will be on the Dawn the week after Thanksgiving November 30th. I know with the holidays there tends to me more(A LOT more) kids during Thanksgiving and RIGHT around Christmas.(for Christmas break) but can anyone give me a rough estimate(and I understand that is all it is) of how many kids to expect when we sail. We have a 3 year old and an 8 year old and I had heard if the kids club wasn't crowded they tend to merge the groups. My brother is also going and has a 13 year old that my 8 year old hangs out with sometimes.

Any knowledge of this would be great. Thanks in advance.

I know this thread is several years old, but for someone that plans on doing the Chef's Table and for anyone wanting to try it, I think it is a thread worth reviving. PROPS to the OP for the great job with the pics and explanation of the dishes. Bravo :)

Looking forward to this in 10 days. :)

The first cruise after thanksgiving.

That's the one I'm on. WOO HOO :D

If anyone wants to copy and paste this into word, this is pretty much the list of everyone's suggestions:

Must have foods

The mushroom soup in Le Bistro. Scrumptious!

Pretzel buns!(I saw this mentioned a bunch of times.)

Yes escargot !!!(This too)

The waffles are amazing. Buttery and crispy. I also really liked the Hawaiian burger in the buffet for lunch. Ate one every day.

creme brûlée and rack of lamb(At Le Bistro)

Chocolate croissants(This too was mentioned over and over again. I want to try them)

Chicken Pot Pie at Blue Lagoon

Herring! It's not an NCL cruise without pickeled herring on the breakfast buffet.

My wife loves the Potato soup served at Cagney's. I concure, it is really good.

My husband loves the portabello mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts. It's an appetizer served at lunch in the MDR but my husband sometimes orders two as his entrée. My favorites are the mushroom quesadilla appetizer, the filet and the crème brulee at LeBistro and the lamb at Moderno's.

Chateaubriand in MDR soooooooo good

chocolate croissants, escargot, osso bucco, and the turkey dinner!

I am not a huge French toast fan, but I LOVE the French toast in the buffet! I also can't wait to get some chocolate-raspberry truffle cake in the MDR this summer. At Moderno, pretty much everything on the salad bar is fantastic, but I was almost embarrassed by the amount of grilled pineapple I kept asking for...I think I ate more of that than the meats!

I dream about the muesli at breakfast in the buffet. I have tried every brand in our supermarket and none taste as good as this. One morning on the Epic, it was made with fresh pears and I ate nothing else for breakfast but that!!!

Focaccia bread from the Italian restaurant along with the lemon ricotta cheesecake. Also, the bread pudding and of course those yummy pretzel rolls!

In addition to the delish chicken pot pie in Blue Lagoon, i love their wings and burgers, too. They serve a pretty maen breakfast there, too.

I love the lemon sorbet with that cookie/wafer-type thing in the MDR! So yummy after a filling dinner. :-) Both my husband and my dad enjoy the chocolate raspberry truffle cake in the MDR and the beef/pork slider -- burger, topped with pulled pork and cheese.

buffalo wings in Blue Lagoon, mushroom soup and escargot (if you like it) in Le Bistro; also end the meal with fondue if you have any room left for dessert. Cream of broccoli soup in the MDR, eggs benedict in the buffet, ceasar salad at the buffer, pretzel rolls at the buffet.

My favorites were: Creme Brulee in Le Bistro (best dessert I had all week) French Onion Soup in Le Bistro (I thought it was MUCH better than the MDR) Crab Cakes in the MDR (they were fabulous) Key Lime Pie in the MDR. There were so many great dishes, but these were my faves.

Don't know if you're in a suite or not but Cagney's at lunch has a banana cream pie to die for!

Half the reason we stay in a suite is so my husband can get the fruits de mer en brioche (some lobster/poached egg concoction) for breakfast in Cagneys!

If it's available to you, try the Crab Cakes Benedict at Cagney's for breakfast.

Spring rolls in the mdr for supper! So yummy!

Crepes when the crepe station is open...delish!!

This is going to sound ridiculous - but the specialty burgers they make at the BBQ and the french fries - they are heavenly to this guy.

My "must-haves" on any NCL ship are as follows:

* Rack of lamb at Le Bistro

* Filet du boeuf (tenderloin steak) at Le Bistro

* Fruit-de-mer (seafood) specialty at Le Bistro

* Warm bread pudding (dessert) at MDR - even if I have most of my dinners in a specialty restaurant

* Beef Carpaccio at La Cocina (it is a starter, but I have often had one as starter and another as main course)

* Affogato (dessert) - ice cream topped with warm espresso at La Cocina

* Fish'n Chips at Blue Lagoon

* Spring Rolls at the Asian restaurant

Everything on the menu that they cook, and I don't have to.

Food items to try out on this cruise are pretzel rolls; chicken pot pie, artichoke dip and ice cream sundae from O'sheenan; escargot from Le Bistro or MDR; almost all the appetizers, pasta and entree from La Cucina; salad bar, sides and flan from Moderno; sushi from the sushi place and noodle soup or rice dishes from the Noodle bar.

We did Elf on the Shelf last year for the first time and the kids loved him. They named him "Zelf"

We are doing a Western Caribbean cruise on Nov. 30th and are bringing him. I know this thread is 2 years old, but maybe the OP still have pics from her cruise with her Elf. We will be in a 2 bedroom suite, so there should be plenty of places to have Zelf cause mischief in. :D

We have hosted a few cocktail parties with 4-30 guests (plus ourselves) in the GVs and OS. Basically, one time we used the liquor that came with the GV (or you could order a bar setup) and pre-ordered wine and beer a few days prior to hosting. We felt uncomfortable using the provided unlimited mixers for the liquor, so we asked our guests to bring their own mixers and glasses from their cabins/minibars or by stopping at a bar on the way. The liquor part didn't go as well as planned the first time (people arriving without glasses or mixers), so we never offered it again, after that it was strictly beer and wine. Even so, we had problems with glassware - the butlers requested each time that the provided glassware stay in the suite, but of course guests would take them with them when they left, causing issues with replacement for the butlers. The butlers would set up the tables with snacks, the bar with glasses and barware, etc about an hour or so before the party, then leave, returning after the party to clean up - they were needed too much by other suites for us to ask them to hang around and serve anything, especially anytime after 4pm when other suites were having meals and snacks delivered. For each party, we tipped the butler roughly $100-200 extra. We decided after a few of these that it was too much hassle (not to mention the expense with several hundred $$$ in extra bar bills) to do this in the future. We have since hosted just a few guests (4-8) in our suite, depending on the size of the suite, requesting they bring their own drinks, and had the butler simply set up a couple basic, uncomplicated snacks (chips, cheese plate, finger sandwiches, popcorn). We found this much easier - most people come with a mixed drink in each hand or a bottle of wine and glasses or a bucket of beer. This also helps to clear them out- nobody hanging around more than an hour or so (at one party we had to kick out guests after more than three hours!). Hope this helps!

 

Robin

Thanks for all the responses and especially Robin. I think we may forgo a cocktail party as it seems like a little bit of a pain. It was just going to be for family anyway. :D

64 suites on the Dawn have Butler service.

 

There is one guy who runs his butt off. ;)

Wow, that's more than I would have thought. Thanks.

I tried to find this answer and couldn't. Does anyone know how many total FULL suites there are on the Dawn? And how many butlers cover those suites?

And while I'm asking questions any(and as much) information you can provide on hosting a cocktail party in your suite would be appreciated. How is the alcohol paid for? Can each person order a different drink or do you just buy one bottle of a certain type of alcohol(like vodka) and then mix it? What is the best time of day to host one? The more information the better.

Thanks.

Thank you

We do enjoy NCL alot, and thought this site was to share experiences, not get berated for sharing a poor experience.

 

We would of loved and enjoyed a three hour dinner together. ...if we got an edible meal.

 

Not saying this is the worst thing in life, was just sharing a negative experience.

 

Safe sailing

I can see how it "ruined" your experience. You know, I love these boards for the plethora of information, but SO MANY people were OBVIOUSLY never brought up knowing the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it at all."

When you have expectations of something and it doesn't go your way it can be disappointing, sometimes VERY disappointing. Not everyone can just "blow off" a bad experience like obviously a lot of you people can do. :rolleyes:

Should have said first after being in Europe all summer. How did you like the ship?

You know, it was our first cruise ever so nothing to compare to, but we loved it. There was plenty to do as far as entertainment.(Loved the Blue Man Group) and also the Nickelodeon for the kids was also great. The ice bar was cool. But one of those things that you do once and then "you did it" so that is that. The kids(and me also) loved the water slides. It's a nice ship(Big) and would probably sail her again someday.

I believe the Epic left Miami yesterday for its first cruise on this side of the pond to the Caribbean. Anyone on the ship? I am excited to see the dailies and hear opinions on this itinerary.

 

Thanks!!!! 27 days and counting!!

We were on the Epic in 2012 in the Caribbean(Eastern Caribbean itinerary out of Miami) so technically it isn't it's "first cruise on this side of the pond to the Caribbean." ;)