kblac708

Hi. I booked this last month after trying Carnival for the first time in April with the Legend. The four day appealed to me because I can disembark and head straight downtown to work when we get back...lol. More days saved for future cruising.

As a new carnival cruiser, I was wondering if there are meet and greets/mingles that are coordinated between cruise critic or that other site? There was not a ship set up one on the Legend and I am used to the ones done on NCL that I have hosted and participated in. This is just for my general knowledge as I slowly drift to more and more fun ship cruises.

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 3:28 PM, fabnfortysomething said:

on subject of meet and greets-Ihave attended and hosted several

 

there is always a drop out rate from those who say will attend and dont

 

however when NCL  changes the date time or venue last minute and you only get to know as co Ordinator when you get a letter in your cabin it can be a bit tricky especially if they bring it forward!

 

last cruise where brought forward 1 hour to a different venue

 

cruise director stood up and said he had changed venue to Margaraitaville as weather good and wanted to showcase the [underused] venue then commented how low turn out was!!!!

 

I made sure he knew why!

 

now I make every effort to get people to email me their cabin numbers so can communicate last minute changes

It is because of this I have asked people for the upcoming meet and greet on our cruise for their cabin numbers. It's just for the "just in case something changes" after we board. I have cards made up to leave on people's cabins as well. Not everyone is giving me their numbers which is fine, but at least I tried. (especially since I have 113 people signed up.)

6 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

As I mentioned earlier, reaching out to the Access Desk is required...... did you have to provide documentation or did they take your word for it during the call?  The OP stated it's a life style change and not medically necessary.. 

I have never been asked for documentation in the years since they’ve banned carryon liquids. I spoke with them a few months ago about my cruise at the end of the month and was told “not a problem, be sure to carry the liquids on.”  They did want to know what I was bringing on. So I believe ensure is noted on my account. 

4 hours ago, travelingirl70 said:

Thanks!  Definitely not worth the hassle.  It's not medically necessary, so I will just adapt.  I think I've read here that powdered protein drink mix is okay, right?  And I assume other food (not fruits and vegetables) like protein bars are okay too?  I can make that work.

 

I had bariatric surgery and take protein shakes with me onboard. I contact the access desk (with one week out, call them) and tell them you need them due to a dietary issue and know how many you are bringing on exactly and their sizes. If approved, the access desk with add a little water bottle symbol to your edocs so that you can carry on your liquid drinks. I was told that mine had to be carried on.

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 4:39 PM, esm54687 said:

If you desire to bring your own distilled water than you are required to receive PRIOR permission from NCL by emailing accessdesk@ncl.com otherwise it will be confiscated at the port. 

 

As others have said multiple times in this thread you may ask your TA, NCL PCC or steward for distilled water to be provided.

My father uses a CPAP machine. I always call or email the access desk to request distilled water if he is flying to the port of departure and to have the special designation listed on the cruise docs so that security doesn't confiscate any distilled water he may bring on with him.

They put a water bottle symbol on your docs if you are allowed to bring on certain liquids.

Same for me for two different reservation numbers and we are 80 days out.

The site is now asking us to complete our payment, which was paid in full when we booked. We even have a $.01 and a $.02 credit for some reason.  I figured I would give it until Monday and if its still showing the same, then I will call.

I was on the Getaway on 2/25/18. It was a la Carte. I was shocked since I know the Breakaway changed to a cover charge.

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Only in the Haven. We tipped our bartenders VERY well ($2-3 for every drink) so one of the bartenders was able to get her hands on a couple of 6 packs throughout the cruise and DH got 2 out of those...

I was on this cruise as well. I know in H20 they had the languita IPAs and I think on Thursday they started serving goose island.

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Cancel the cruise before final payment. The admin fee is lower now anyway. The only thing you will lose is whatever offers were available at the time you booked. Since most of them stayed the same you should be ok. You can rebook any time you just may not have the same room location. I may also work out cheaper for you since the admin fees are now lower ($140 instead of $200)

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Call the general number. Once your assigned a CAS "host" you can email that person directly.

My host is great at getting back to me in a timely manner.

Is there a time limit you are allowed at the resort? Like would you need to arrive and leave by a certain time? Wondering if we could arrive at lunch and stay into the early evening.

If I remember you had to have lunch between 12 and 2 but I'm not 100% sure. I was never given an arrival time when I booked

You're right -- The #7 bus will get you there, but it's quite a hike (uphill) from the bus stop to the resort. Last year, we took the ferry over to Hamilton, and cabbed-it from there -- worked out well. :cool:

The walk from the bus stop can be daunting with the hill. We found out after walking to the resort following there signs that you can walk through the college next to them instead. It is all flat and a straight walk as well. This was recommended to us by the woman working the reception desk where we checked in.

Needless to say the walk back to the bus stop was a lot easier then the walk from the bus stop.

We will be on the dawn in 3 weeks. We have priority disembarkation through CAS. How quickly can we get off the ship. We need to pick up a rental car ASAP and drive to Birmingham for our flight home.

We had priority through the casino and latitudes. When we asked about it but the two people we spoke to weren't sure and we didn't want to cut a line. We just did regular walk off which was fine.

We did the Dawn back in December and would have to say the overall experience was the best we ever had on a cruise ship. The food was just okay and the ports of call were just okay but what made it special for us was the entertainment and the UBP. We went to all the shows plus stopped in at all the bars throughout our cruise to watch the individual entertainers as well. I thought they were all very good.

 

 

 

I am surprised in your trip report you missed out on the entertainment. It would have probably made for a more enjoyable trip. I remember on one cruise we did not go to any of the shows and overall felt pretty much like you did when we got off. I will never go on a cruise again without partaking in the entertainment. For us it made all the difference.

I had planned on attending some of the entertainment but I was having fun in the casino at night with the people I was playing with. Normally I try to attend one activity a night but with dinner reservations and such it didn't happen like I wanted it too.

Please understand that the tenders are not run by NCL staff, they are run by the locals and there is no NCL staff present.

 

I seriously doubt OPs version of the incident, but even if it happened, it was OPs fault for not reading their tickets which were clearly marked as to the assembly point.

 

We were on the Dawn the same week and it was a wonderful cruise. The shore excursion staff could not have been more polite or helpful. I was at there desk a number of times and had to bite my tongue at the way they were treated by passengers, yet they always maintained their professionalism.

 

I would not worry in the least about the Dawn, you will love it.

 

Here is a link to my short review of the same trip. Feel free to post there if you have any questions and I will get back to you.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2179523

I am sorry that you doubt my version. As you can see I did say that it was our fault for misreading our excursion tickets. However, there was an NCL staff person on the pier when we got off the tender. She did treat us poorly in front of others. I never said it's NCLs mistake about the excursion location but had issue with that staff members actions.

OP did you get back on the ship in Belize and just not do your excursion? Unless you were getting directly onto a boat that was doing your excursion, we did that once for snorkeling, I don't know why they wouldn't have just directed you to the line for your tour.

 

I was on this cruise, we only went ashore in Belize to do some shopping but there was a group waiting on the tender when they should have been in the lounge waiting for their excursion. They were confused because they were told they didn't need a tender ticket, someone did a poor job of explaining the need to follow the directions on the excursion ticket. I knew this because we'd been on an NCL cruise before and that was how it worked.

The excursion was apparently leaving from the ship. We were told we wouldn't make it by the NCL staff member so we just went back aboard.

Phewww Thx. I was worried bout dragging luggage around [emoji2]

 

 

 

Can't wait for this Sunday [emoji12][emoji12][emoji12][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji256][emoji256][emoji256]

You have nothing to worry about. I hope you have a great time [emoji256]

Your cab should drop you off right next to the porters, there is no where to walk with luggage. In our case the porters even took the bags out of the cab, and added the luggage tags to them for us. No problem at all. NO is a very easy port of embarkation.

I agree it was an easy port. It was our cab driver who was confused. We did not know anything was different until he said it

The cab drops you across the railroad tracks from the port building. The porters are by the cab drop off so you do not have to worry about dragging any bags.

We were on the same cruise with you, just a few doors down in another balcony cabin. Had to laugh about those fog horns. I slept through a lot of it but my husband is a lighter sleeper and was quite startled by a couple of the ships we passed. Overall, we had a great time on this cruise. I totally agree this casino staff was excellent! And this was the first time in quite awhile that I made money in an on-board casino:D

 

As for Belize, we just stayed on board and enjoyed the spa passes we got from the casino. Sounds like that was a good decision on our part! I am looking forward to the new port NCL plans to visit there in the future. Sounds like it will be a nice 'private island' type of stop.

 

This was our 3rd or 4th time on the Dawn and we have enjoyed each cruise. We will probably go on her again if she remains on the New Orleans cruises. We love to visit that city for a few days before or after a cruise.

 

Regarding Harrah's New Orleans. This is where we stay before and after our cruises. The hotel and casino staff are so great that we always feel 'at home' there. I was so surprised to hear you didn't feel comfortable there as I have always felt totally safe. We live closer to Las Vegas but love to make several visits to Harrah's New Orleans each year. Since we retired we are lucky to be able to cruise 4 or 5 times each year with NCL thanks to CETs relationship with Casinos at Sea, and two of the cruises are always from New Orleans.

Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you had a great time on this cruise. I think I just had a black cloud following me around on this one.

Just a heads up...I think there may be a change coming with CET and NCL's relationship. It seems that they are no longer offering a seven stars cruise anymore and someone, I forget who, said they think the partnership may be ending. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

Thank you for the review. My family is sailing on the Dawn in two weeks. Can you explain where in the ship you go to get on the tender in Belize? (ie: forward, aft, deck) We have a private tour scheduled and need to get off the ship as soon as possible to make the timing work.

It's midship on the 4th floor. You have to get your tender tickets in spinnaker I believe.

Hi Thanks for your review and Sorry to hear a few staff were rude to you

 

 

 

Were on the Dawn this coming Sunday and can't wait ....were also staying at Harrahs before and after for two days

 

 

 

So Happy to hear how Great the casino staff is because I spend a large amount of time in the casino

 

 

 

What table games do you play? I play primarily Ultimate Texas Holdem , 3 card poker , Black Jack and Texas Holdem plus some slots and video poker lol

 

 

 

How long after you set sail was it till the casino opened??

 

 

 

Was the Casino Host good at comping anything? You mentioned at the end seeing if there was any

 

 

 

How were the rooms at Harrahs?? Were comped a Premium room for 1 night pre-cruise and 2 nights post-cruise so we can see New Orleans as we've never been there

 

 

 

The rude staff member at the excursion who embarrassed you would of heard a piece of my mind

 

 

 

I'm like you and most times am very very easy going but be a ass to me and you'll hear it [emoji79][emoji38]. Let's just say I woulda shocked her/him and said who the F... Do u think your talking too [emoji35][emoji79]

 

 

 

Was the Drink mixup ever taken care of once you showed the bartender the menu that said Stoli??

 

 

 

I know there's another Russian vodka that's better than Stoli was that the one he was trying to give you ?

 

 

 

Cause to me Stoli is ok but I'd rather have Grey goose or Ketel or even Absolut

 

 

 

Thanks Again and any other Casino info and my questions would be greatly appreciated

The casino hosts were great. Even though I already had a free dinner and wine due to my level I was given another during the cruise based on play. I really didn't charge anything to my room so they took pretty much everything off. They also took a lot of my parents bill.

I play all the same table games as you but stick primarily to ultimate Texas hold em. That's where I could be found most days. Because of the delay leaving the casino opened later than it should have. I was told it's normally opened by 6 but don't quote me on that.

The Harrah's rooms are great. I love a good soaking tub and they all have one.

In regards to excursion person I was in such shock that I couldn't say anything. And the bartender gave us well vodka. My dad is particular when it comes to vodka and doesn't stray from absolute and stolli.

Like I said the casino was great and the highlight for me.

Thanks for ur review....waiting for more!

 

 

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Thank you! The whole review is now posted.

Final thoughts:

Would I ever cruise on the Dawn again? Probably not. The ship did not seem to be in the best condition. They definitely were having water leak issues. Every day there were huge dryers in multiple locations. The stains on some of the carpets make me think this is an ongoing issue.

The Casino Staff: This was the best staff I have ever dealt with on any NCL ship. I am excited that several of them will be on the Breakaway when I sail in September. The only vacation hero cards I wrote out were for the casino staff. And as a reminder I did lose everyday but I had fun while I did it.

The rest of the ship’s crew/staff: I had too many bad encounters over the week do not balance out to the few good ones I had. The ones that I had a good experience were given something extra. Though, our room steward Luis was very good. He was the first steward I’ve had that let me keep my collection of towel animals all week. He was also concerned when I returned from the Belize day since he could see how red and blotchy I was from crying. (When I am angry or very embarrassed I tend to cry. I try not to but sometimes it is too much.)

Overall: It was a vacation. I was in warm weather and not freezing. If I ever sailed this itinerary again, I think I would choose the Jewel to go on. Houston might be interesting.

Day 8 – Dawn Sea Day

This day had our big group Latitudes meet up at 12:30 in Spinnaker. Before we went there we decided to hit up Blue Lagoon for a quick bite. This was not the best decision. After we were seated, we waited over 15 minutes to place our order. It took another 20 minutes to get our soup. After an additional 20 minutes after they took our soup plates arrived, our main meal came. Mine, as was my luck this week, was wrong. Honestly, I was annoyed at this point. We had watched people who came in after us get served three courses and leave while we were still waiting. A ship officer noticed that I pushed my plate away and wasn’t eating. We explained the issue and she offered to get me a new sandwich to which I declined. It was almost time for the Latitudes meet up and I was in a bad mood. At least I knew there would be snacks at the party.

The Latitudes party was ok. This was the first time I was in Spinnaker all week and understand why people complain about it on the Dawn. It was not appealing at all. Being that two bites of shrimp does not count as a meal I decided to go for sushi since it happened to be opened for lunch. This was good sushi. I still like the Breakaway better but it was good.

No nap for us today shockingly since we got up late. We went to dinner at La Cucina again. I ordered the same food with the exception of no pizza as I did the other day. It was still good.

We went off to the casino to donate a little more and to see if any of our donations would help reduce our bills.

Day 9/10 – Back to New Orleans then back to New York City

Getting off the ship was ok. We had priority disembarkation and in the past that meant getting off a different way and not having to wait on line. The Dawn apparently doesn’t have this. At this point, I could care less, I was just happy to be off the ship.

We checked back into Harrah’s for the night after getting a cab. Our rooms were not ready as expected so we took a stroll to Café DuMonde. The line was crazy long for people waiting to sit outside. I could care less where I sat so we went around the line and straight inside where there were plenty of tables to be had. We did a little shopping and bought a muffalato for lunch to share back at the hotel.

We went to Harrah’s casino for a bit to kill time before our reservations at Nola that night. Nola is fantastic. I highly recommend it. After a big and delicious dinner, we headed back to the casino so I could watch the end of the NY Ranger game that I knew would be on at the Signature Bar. I’ve been hockey deprived for a week and really needed a fix. While watching the game, there was screaming behind us, we turned and watched four security guards take down a guy who had stolen a woman’s bag. In the end, it took 6 security guards, 3 NOPD and mace to get this guy cuffed. He was definitely on something.

This brings me to my thoughts on Harrah’s casino. This is my third trip to New Orleans. This was by far the most uncomfortable I’ve been in any casino and I am an Atlantic City regular. Maybe because I work in the law enforcement as support staff I am more sensitive to these things. Normally, in a casino with my mom, I feel comfortable walking away and going a few rows over. In this casino we were always within eyeshot of each other. I felt safer playing the machines closer to the table games because there seemed to be more security there than on the perimeter. But, again, this could just be me.

We were up bright and early the next morning and home by early afternoon.