Mac4YYZ
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Posts posted by Mac4YYZ
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You can reserve at the specialty restaurants and enjoy 2 apps, a main course and dessert I believe. They may let you order more apps but not more than one main per person. I really enjoyed Cagney's, Le Bistro and Los Lobos. I paid for Los Lobos a la carte.
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I agree but would add that it was a little congested, windy and noisy in the area that you've shown in the pic. I did hang out at the Bimini a few times and it was nice. Just something about sitting at the stern that I really like. As an aside I really enjoyed your review and it was quite useful for my cruise on the Dawn. I really loved the crew and it is a pleasant ship but somehow I couldn't escape the feeling that the Dawn is kind of like the red haired step kid of the fleet. They never should have cut out the Spinnaker lounge forward.
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Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. I originally considered booking the New Year's cruise you were just on when I saw the nice 9 day cruise our of New Orleans with some ports I liked. The price was insanely cheap when I first saw it (about $600 per person Canadian for a 9 day New Year's cruise). Unfortunately, it did not fit into the time I could get off from work at the time.
Good news is that we have booked the Dawn for 10 days this coming New Year's cruise out of San Juan, so I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I love Reuben sandwiches, so I will have to give them a try. By any chance did you happen to take any photos of the menus for the MDR? I would love to see what they are currently offering on the Dawn to help build the anticipation for December.
I enjoyed this cruise so much that I'm looking at sailing around the same time this year. Pearl will be in New Orleans and Jade in Miami doing similar itineraries. I looked at the same Dawn cruise you've booked and it sounds great but very Port heavy. I like a few sea days.
Sorry I can't help with MDR menus but they're standard across all NCL ships so you should be able to track them down. I would advise you to invest in a SDP and enjoy a few meals at Cagney's and Le Bistro. Much better than MDR food. Well worth the extra few bucks.
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I forgot to add that my additional gripe for the Dawn was the lack of space to eat outside. I missed the Great Outdoors on the stern of the ship like on Jade and other NCL vessels.
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Just did the private island tour with Victor Bodden with snorkeling add on in Roatan. It was well worth it. Harvest Caye in my opinion is a glorified version of Paradise Beach in Cozumel. Well put together but it could be anywhere in the Caribbean. Sanitized cruise line cattle call stop.
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I'm thinking that you mean they had a wide selection of American Light Lager. Which does not mean that it is an American beer.
I think beer was being brewed in what is now the Czech Republic long before the United States was a thing, so I'm not sure what you mean by 'American Light Lager'.
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They didn't last year. Wondering if they added to the selection. That menu on the escape is pretty nice. Big difference!
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There were some decent beers on Dawn. One thing I did notice was a big change in the food at O'Sheehan's from my last cruise on Jade. They have improved the late night food significantly.
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Sorry I don't recall. Don't mistake 'decent' selection for craft beer. By decent I mean a few European labels like Pilsner Urquell etc.
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We booked on the Gem and received the beverage package. My is how is beer served...by the glass or bottle?
Marc
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Just off the Dawn and there was decent selection of beer on tap and in bottle. Best selection was in O'Sheehan's. And all were included in the UBP.
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Prime rib in the dining room was leaving Grand Cayman I think which was our last port. But remember this was a 9 day so the schedule may change. They always posted the dining room menus for the next day after the dinner service was over for the evening. Beef Wellington was on New Years Eve if I recall properly. The Dining Room manager may be able to help once you are aboard.
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Hi all! We sail on 1/29 and I'm not seeing any options for making reservations for the shows on the Dawn. Is this normal? Do they take reservations for the shows on this ship? We booked prior to slung on the Getaway last year.
Terri Lee
Don't miss Elements, it's the big show of the week. Show up a few minutes early to get good seats. I'm just off Dawn and the shows were all pretty good.
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And I'll add that we docked in Roatan which was great and the tender process in Grand Cayman went very smoothly.
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Just got off Dawn from a 9 day New Year’s sailing from New Orleans. This was my seventh NCL cruise having sailed Epic, Getaway and Jade twice each before this cruise.
Embarkation/Disembarkation
Check in went smoothly on the pier and we were on the ship by noon. Cabins were ready by 1 pm. We were back in New Orleans quite early and the ship was alongside the terminal by 3 am. Part of this was due to rough conditions in the Gulf of Mexico so the Captain made for the sheltered waters of the Mississippi as quickly as possible. We walked off with our bags without issue, breezed through customs and were at the airport for 8:30 am.
Ports
This cruise featured a great 5 port itinerary with two stops in Mexico.
Costa Maya – We were there on New Years Day by 10 am. Thankful it wasn’t an early day. Mayan ruins tour with local operator Native Tours was enjoyable.
Harvest Caye – NCL has done a decent job of doing what I would call a glorified version of Paradise Beach in Cozumel. Nice beach and pool area along with some zip lines etc. It is a little frustrating that they talk about this great technology that can allow sail & sign cards to be used on the island but won’t allow the use of the UBP.
Roatan – Used Victor Bodden for a beach and snorkel excursion. Great snorkelling with a nice local guy. Hung out in West End for a while.
Cozumel – Went to Paradise Beach which is my general go to in Cozumel. Felt like the place is slipping a little. But still a good beach/pool combo.
Grand Cayman – Used a local outfit for Stingray City. Bit of a cattle call but still a great excursion years later.
Dining – I had no problems with the food at any venue on the ship. Food was fresh and well prepared.
Main Dining – Venetian and Aqua were pretty much the same. The food was good, service a little spotty. They served a nice Beef Wellington one evening and a nice Prime Rib during the week.
Buffet – Never had to fight for a seat even on very busy days. Always fresh and plentiful. Some really good sandwiches. Asian foods quite good too.
Bimini Bar & Grill – Best burger on the boat.
O’Sheehan’s – Much improved menu from last year. Reuben sandwich is quite good. Fajitas decent too. Served nice Prime Rib first night of the cruise.
Cagney’s – Ate at the steak house twice. Both times good. Friend had to send back the tuna steak which they cooked another without issue.
Le Bistro – Ate here twice too. Both meals were very good.
Los Lobos – Food good but heavy. Easy to order too much. My pork tacos were a little dry. Strange that they wouldn’t let people eat at the bar. They should open this venue up for lunch on sea days.
Entertainment
My biggest gripe with this ship is that they did away with the Spinnaker lounge on deck 12 or 13 to put suites in. Really enjoyed this space on Jade. Bliss is not well suited for many activities. Bar was too small and congested to serve the space when busy. And it really felt like there was nothing to do on this ship after 11 aside from the disco.
All the shows onboard were enjoyable. The comedian, juggler and acrobatic couple were all fairly good. The production shows were good as well for a small ship. Cruise director and staff were pleasant. Some of the live music in the lounges was a little too much like ‘elevator music’ for my taste. None of the performers really engaged the crowd and tried to do a ‘show’ with possibly the exception of the reggae band and another couple who performed together. NCL does a pretty decent job with onboard entertainment.
All in all a good holiday on Dawn. Met some really nice people, weather was very good and New Orleans is a much more interesting home port than Miami or Lauderdale.
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Just off Dawn today and heard nothing of this. Great cruise. A little quiet.
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Your OBC rate will depend on the rate you got when you bought the cruise providing you paid in CAD, the rate is locked in.
OBC is normally a lot batter than exchanging one on board even if you withdraw it in cash in the casino paying the 3% convenience charge.
I booked with a US based travel agency in USD.
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That's a possibility. I think the cruise lines are wanting in on the Forex game because it's another revenue stream for them. If they can make a few points doing currency exchange it all goes to the bottom line.
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Anyone have an idea what NCL is selling USD for onboard right now? I'm sailing on the Dawn at the end of the week and I'm wondering if I should exchange currency onboard or buy USD ahead of time. The banks in Canada are selling USD right now for $1.39. Ouch. :(
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Ask for a Baileys coffee. They will make it like an Americano. Included in UBP. And if want to be really cheeky ask for the Baileys on the side nudge nudge wink wink.
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If you can afford a suite you can afford to be generous.
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If you can afford a suite then you can afford to be generous.
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Depending on where you are cruising from be aware that you won't be able to get into your cabin to usually about 1 pm. So pack a change of clothes including a bathing suit into your carry on. Your bags may not appear for a few more hours too.
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It's amazing what a little generosity will do. And for people who moan about tipping consider it an investment.
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Booking Cagney's on Escape
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
I'm booked on Escape in Feb and just bought a SDP. But there is nowhere on the website to book Cagney's. Le Bistro is there as is Teppanyaki and Moderno but nothing for Cagney's to make reservations. Am I missing something? :confused: