Dawn to Bermuda 8/19-26 (LONG)

First off, we had an absolutely fabulous time! This was one of the best vacations we've ever had, and we've been very blessed over the years to have enjoyed some tremendous trips.

Departure: After only a couple of hours sleep, we left home at 3:30am for the airport and were happily in Boston by 9am. We rearranged our luggage so that our wine we'd brought would now be carry-on instead of checked bags, bought a Charlie card from the machine in the baggage claim area, and boarded the inbound Silverline 1 Bus. At the World Trade Center, we switched to the outbound Silverline 2 which would take us to the cruisedock. Public transit was very easy and even though we'd ridiculously overpacked, we were able to schlepp all our own bags between busses, etc... without too much trouble. Also, DH was able to pop out of the station and hit the convenience store on the corner to pick up mixers for our bar set-up before getting on the #2. For a total of $6, we got to the ship from the airport, instead of $25-30 for a cab or (I think) $30pp for NCL transfers. We were at the dock before 11am, handed off our bags to a porter (w/tip, of course) and were through the lines lickety-split. We were booked in a penthouse suite, so we relaxed in the private lounge for just a very short time before we were escorted on board. Our suite was nearly ready, so we were able to drop our bags and go out on the balcony while they finished vacuuming, etc...

Aft Penthouse Balcony: I don't think that there is any kind of an upsell we could ever be offered that we would take to make us leave this suite. For the two of us it was the perfect size, we are completely devoted to aft balconies, and the 10th floor was perfect as it was just below the spa/thermal suite (nice and quiet) and it wasn't too far to go up to the pool deck/Cagney's/buffet or down to the lounge/theatre/atrium. The bathroom was nice with a separate W.C. and tub/shower both w/ sliding doors. One of the best features was the huge closet that had doors both to the vanity/changing area and to the entrance foyer, so that DH and I could both access it at the same time w/out bumping into each other. There were tons of drawers and shelves, and we were able to keep all of our belongings neatly stowed and out of sight which somehow makes me feel more relaxed. The Lavazza machine was a nice touch, and having all of the assorted barware was also perfect for us with the bar set-up. While we were there, they switched out the old setee for the new fold out couches. As it was just two of us, I actually preferred the whimsical setee, but the new fold out will be much better for those traveling w/3 ppl. The balcony was spacious with two padded loungers and a small table, and still had room for us to move the table for 4 out when we dined on our balcony.

Service: With very rare exception, we found the service to be very good. Nearly every staff member greeted us with a smile and friendly greeting. Our steward, Uzell, took great care of our suite and he and our Butler, Leila (sp?), made sure that we were kept stocked w/ plenty of ice, barware and coffee cups. Even though we'd told him not to bother w/ towel animals for us as we know how busy he is, we still had a doggie to hold our tv remote, a penguin, and finally a gorgeous pair of kissing swans covered in pink rose petals...wow!

Dining: We loved, loved, loved the breakfasts and lunches in Cagney's, esp. on embarkation day when the line for the buffet was shockingly long. We nibbled at the buffet a few times and enjoyed the variety of tasty things available. We ate in Aqua the first night and in Venetian on two other nights. The food was mostly good to very good (although there were a couple of starters that weren't so great...no big deal, as others have said, food is very subjective). We had Blue Lagoon a couple times, and while it was nothing special, it was all quite tasty and nice to be able to grab some "fast food" to take back to our room when we didn't feel like spiffing up. For our anniversary night (20th), we ordered from La Cucina and had our butler deliver it to our balcony. Everything was delicious, and I must say that it was one of the most enjoyable anniversaries we've ever had with the moonlight shining on the wake while we dined. Tremendous!!

Entertainment: Not really our "thing". We had a good time at the Second City Show, but weren't overly thrilled with Bollywood. Not that there was anything wrong with it, the costumes were beautiful, the dancers, singers and acrobats did a nice job, etc... but we should probably have done something else on our last night on board. We did have some luck in the casino which is nice (and unusual for me). The band by the pool was nice. DH went to some of the late night parties and said that the band was really good. I'm usually done in by that point, so I can't say myself. We really enjoyed the martini tastings (all 3:o) and made some friends at the first one whose company we enjoyed throughout the whole cruise...a nice bonus.

Spa/Thermal Suite: Loved it! We bought the 5-day pass for $89 each and were often either the only people there or with just 3 or 4 others. I loved swimming laps, DH loved the really, really hot jacuzzi and steam room. It was actually nicer than what I remember of the one on the Jewel and faced aft rather than forward. The whole cruise pass is $119, but we knew we wouldn't be using it every single day...you do have to declare which days you are not going to use it when you buy it. I indulged in a tip-to-toes port day special which w/tax& auto-gratuity wound up at about $152, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only sales pitch came at the end. I listened and politely declined, and it was not pushed.

Bermuda: We only went off ship on Monday (the full day). We bought a day pass for busses/ferries and took the "Special" bus to Horseshoe Bay. Our driver was excellent...as we pulled away from the dock he encouraged us to move to the front of the bus so that we might "learn something" and he might "earn something"...lol. I can't imagine that any tour guide could do a better job, we learned about the water-collecting roofs, the flora and fauna of the island, the various churches and cemeteries, he stopped at scenic vistas so that we could take pics, etc... I'm pretty sure that everyone on the bus tipped him on the way out, we gave him $2 each. We had hesitated to go to Horseshoe Bay because we'd heard it was touristy and crowded, and, yes, I suppose it was, but I can honestly say that it was the most beautiful, clean, accomodating, comfortable beach I've ever been to. We rented an umbrella and two sand chairs for about $35 (after you get your deposit back when you return them) and had one of our best beach days ever. Yes, there were tons of people, but somehow it did not matter. It is a huge beach and we never felt crowded. Afterwards we showered (how convenient!) and took the bus to Hamilton where we bought some rum at Goslings (which was delivered to our cabin on the last night for us), had a couple of rum swizzles overlooking the harbour, and caught the ferry back to the ship by around 5:30 or so. The other days we enjoyed the beautiful views surrounding the ship and the relative peace and quiet of a partly empty cruiseship.

Tipping: We know that the restaurant servers and room steward are part of the tip pool, but having worked for tips at various stages of our lives, we always tip a little more. We always left $2 on the bed in the morning for our steward and then $2 again in the evening for turndown. Our servers usually had $5 left for them after each meal. DH and I disagreed somewhat on what to tip our concierge and butler. As we didn't ask much of her beyond her usual duties (no reservations for restaurants, spa, shore excursions, etc...), we left $50 for the concierge, Virginia. For our butler, who we tried not to bother too much (just asked for limes, ice, 1 evening meal and 1 lunch delivered), we left $130. I hope those were appropriate amounts. Our butler always did anything we asked, but we always got a weird vibe from her somehow. I'm not sure why, we really tried not to ask that much of her.

If I had to complain: OK, I'm looking for things to be nitpicky about as overall I really didn't have any complaints. The lap pool in the thermal suite was kept a bit too warm for swimming laps. Similarly, despite fiddling with the temp. side of our shower faucet, I could never get a truly cool shower, only quite warm to very hot. The male server at Gatsby's for the martini tastings (actually the only employee who I wouldn't give a thumbs up) didn't know what the charge was for the tasting and it wasn't in the Freestyle Daily, when he came back to take our cards for pre-payment, he still couldn't tell us and just expected us to give him our cards, kind of annoying, but no biggie. That's really about it that I can think of right now.

Disembarkation/last day of vacation: We packed and had our bags out the night before with their "VIP" tags on them. I got up to watch one last sunrise from the balcony and it was a beauty! We had some coffee and "1st breakfast" in the suite, showered, packed up our last few things and were out of the suite by 8am. We had one last fabulous breakfast in Cagney's followed by our daily walk around the cruise deck. With VIP escort we were off the ship in the blink of an eye (like the first day with the ugly line at the buffet, I felt kind of guilty walking past the long lines, but then I remembered how much we paid for one week's vacation). We took the Silverline busses back to the airport, checked our bags for our flights home, and then bought a day pass for public tran so we could enjoy the day in Boston before our 4:30 flights. What a gorgeous city! And so easy to get around!! We'd been there once before and hope to go back again soon when we can spend more time. We spent much of the day wandering around the Public Gardens, Boston Common, and neighboring Beacon Hill neighborhood, caught a bite at the Quincy Market (chowder and a lobster roll...yum), and headed back to the airport. With connecting flights and an 1 1/2 hour drive home from the airport, we arrived home near midnight thoroughly exhausted, but having had the trip of a lifetime.

If anyone has specific questions, I'll do my best to help. I'm not good about taking pictures, I'm afraid, so I don't have any of the suite, etc... If I think of anything else, I'll add on later as this is already way too long.

ee

Your review was wonderful and sounded like the perfect "just the two of us" getaway. We were on 10 for our spring Dawn cruise and we too think it is the perfect spot.

Thank you for sharing.

As we take a "no elevator" approach, it's nice being centrally located floor-wise. We never get bothered about waiting for an elevator, and despite eating and drinking nearly every waking moment for a solid week, I only gained about two pounds.;) If I must go back from the sweet,suite life I think that I could still be perfectly happy with one of the two mini-suites between the penthouses on 10, but other than that I think I'm more or less spoiled for life!

ee

Sounds as if you had a wonderful time. Can you tell me more about the spa? I'm thinking of buying the pass.

As we take a "no elevator" approach, it's nice being centrally located floor-wise. We never get bothered about waiting for an elevator, and despite eating and drinking nearly every waking moment for a solid week, I only gained about two pounds.;) If I must go back from the sweet,suite life I think that I could still be perfectly happy with one of the two mini-suites between the penthouses on 10, but other than that I think I'm more or less spoiled for life!

ee

LOL We have the "no elevator" approach as well. This way we can have an extra shrimp cocktail from Cagney's! I'm afraid we're addicted to suite life now. We have 2 scheduled for next year, but the wait is killing me.

Sounds as if you had a wonderful time. Can you tell me more about the spa? I'm thinking of buying the pass.

We really liked having the five day pass. Even if you buy the whole 7-day pass, you can realistically only use it 6 days anyway since it's open for tours on the first day and closed altogether on disembarkation day. We chose not to have the pass on Monday which was the full day in Bermuda when we went ashore. As I mentioned before, you do have to tell them at purchase which days you won't be using. 5 day=$89, 7 day=$119

To me, the facility is more aesthetically pleasing than the one on the Jewel, dimly lit, all in blue and green tones, very soothing. I really liked having a lap pool, but it is small enough that really only two people can do laps at the same time and that's even a bit tight. Actually though, there was only one time that there was anyone in the pool with me. One drawback vs. the Jewel's spa is that there are no heated tile loungers, but for a (very) warm weather cruise that really didn't matter to me. There are comfy padded chaise loungers in the main, shared area and there are padded chairs in the separate men's and women's relaxation areas that seem to have just a tiny bit of "aromatherapy" in them. Most of the time the doors were open to the shared area so that dissipated pretty quickly, but I'm sure that you could close them if you wish. Also, in the shared area there is always ice water, chilled OJ, and a nice assortment of teas with hot water available.

In the main area, in addition to the lap pool, there are several "tropical showers" (just a big shower head), a really hot jacuzzi and a thalassotherapy pool which seemed to be slightly less hot. I prefer the thalassotherapy, but DH likes the jacuzzi. One tiny complaint that I had was that both were so full that it wasn't possible for me to sit on the benches and keep my head above water, esp. on days when there was ocean motion. I'm 5' 5", so it's not like I'm totally short. This, of course, was not a problem for DH who is 6' 2".

I did not use the dry sauna...I'm wimpy about heat, and somehow I never found the steam room or plunge pools in the ladies' side. DH said they were there in the men's and he enjoyed them very much.

Overall, we'd said that we weren't going to splurge on the pass until we saw it, and now we're glad we did. It's 18 and over, usually fairly empty, and on a busy ship it was a nice respite from the crowds, noise, (and for me) the intense heat and sun. I hope this helps, if you have other specific questions, just let me know.

ee

What a nice review! And I am so glad that you enjoyed Boston, it is a wonderful city, and yes--easy to navigate. I think its wonderful you took advantage of that last day! Also, kudos for using public transportation--indeed the silver line is great--they are use to people having a lot of luggage so it is the rare public venue where the luggage is not that big of a drawback. It's too bad you have to change lines--that is always confusing when I am on the port board and trying to explain it to people. But you are right--it actually is very convenient.

Thank you also for providing some information of which I was unaware--I did not know there was a five day pass--that is great because as you said it is unlikely you would utilize it every day.

You may not be able to help me with this as you were on Deck 10. We are sailing in September and have an aft suite--but on Deck 8--the outside suite. At the time i booked it was the only one left. I know that since the drydock the dance club is now beneath on Deck 7 and earlier in the summer there were a lot of complaints about the noise. I am wondering if you heard anything about this. I am also wondering your sense about how late the clubs/lounges were open and loud--I'm hoping that in September things will likely be more calm and quiet--and for instance, instead of the dancing going until 2 or 2:30, perhaps it winds down at 12:30 or 1:00?? Or perhaps this is wishful thinking. Even if the noise is bad, we are usually out and about at night (may be dancing ourselves)!! However if it continues until 3AM that would really be hard. I am just trying to adjust my expectations and be as prepared as possible so that it doesn't derail my cruise--LOL. I can't wait for an aft balcony and it sounds like just the perfect thing for DH and I.

Thanks again!! :)

Wonderful detailed review !

Thank you.

Awesome review, makes me even more anxious for our first NCL cruise. We also love aft suites.

Wonderful review, and thank you so much for the complete description of the spa. I will take a look on embarkation day, but I'm fairly sure I'll buy that five-day pass.

What a great review, I'm even more excited now, as our cruise is in September to Bermuda in a penthouse aft suite on deck 10!!! We are definitely getting the spa pass as well sounds like a great quite get away on the ship - love that its adults only.

We really liked having the five day pass. Even if you buy the whole 7-day pass, you can realistically only use it 6 days anyway since it's open for tours on the first day and closed altogether on disembarkation day. We chose not to have the pass on Monday which was the full day in Bermuda when we went ashore. As I mentioned before, you do have to tell them at purchase which days you won't be using. 5 day=$89, 7 day=$119

 

To me, the facility is more aesthetically pleasing than the one on the Jewel, dimly lit, all in blue and green tones, very soothing. I really liked having a lap pool, but it is small enough that really only two people can do laps at the same time and that's even a bit tight. Actually though, there was only one time that there was anyone in the pool with me. One drawback vs. the Jewel's spa is that there are no heated tile loungers, but for a (very) warm weather cruise that really didn't matter to me. There are comfy padded chaise loungers in the main, shared area and there are padded chairs in the separate men's and women's relaxation areas that seem to have just a tiny bit of "aromatherapy" in them. Most of the time the doors were open to the shared area so that dissipated pretty quickly, but I'm sure that you could close them if you wish. Also, in the shared area there is always ice water, chilled OJ, and a nice assortment of teas with hot water available.

 

In the main area, in addition to the lap pool, there are several "tropical showers" (just a big shower head), a really hot jacuzzi and a thalassotherapy pool which seemed to be slightly less hot. I prefer the thalassotherapy, but DH likes the jacuzzi. One tiny complaint that I had was that both were so full that it wasn't possible for me to sit on the benches and keep my head above water, esp. on days when there was ocean motion. I'm 5' 5", so it's not like I'm totally short. This, of course, was not a problem for DH who is 6' 2".

 

I did not use the dry sauna...I'm wimpy about heat, and somehow I never found the steam room or plunge pools in the ladies' side. DH said they were there in the men's and he enjoyed them very much.

 

Overall, we'd said that we weren't going to splurge on the pass until we saw it, and now we're glad we did. It's 18 and over, usually fairly empty, and on a busy ship it was a nice respite from the crowds, noise, (and for me) the intense heat and sun. I hope this helps, if you have other specific questions, just let me know.

 

ee

I have read that you can also get a pass for 3 days (sea days) for 60pp? :)

Tipping: We know that the restaurant servers and room steward are part of the tip pool, but having worked for tips at various stages of our lives, we always tip a little more. We always left $2 on the bed in the morning for our steward and then $2 again in the evening for turndown. Our servers usually had $5 left for them after each meal. DH and I disagreed somewhat on what to tip our concierge and butler. As we didn't ask much of her beyond her usual duties (no reservations for restaurants, spa, shore excursions, etc...), we left $50 for the concierge, Virginia. For our butler, who we tried not to bother too much (just asked for limes, ice, 1 evening meal and 1 lunch delivered), we left $130. I hope those were appropriate amounts. Our butler always did anything we asked, but we always got a weird vibe from her somehow. I'm not sure why, we really tried not to ask that much of her.

Hi,

I have to make a comment about the Butler Leila. We had her back in late july and she we felt that she was put out for two things we asked. We did not leave a big tip because we did not use her after the first night we got the vibe of "bothering her". Actually if looks could kill, she would give us nastly looks. We did not ask for one solid thing and when we asked for a small favor, we felt we were putting her out. We never got ice, in fact, my son had to sneek into the "employee only kitchen" to get ice after several atrempts of asking everyone. I get the feeling lately that if you do not tip some in the beginning that one will get poor service. I have been on 8 NCL cruises and we never had a butler before and believe me we are not demanding my any means.... we did not get the service that we had heard from others staying in suites.... I wanted to see what type of service that someone provides before tips and then if they provide good service then I tip, not the other way around...

Lisa

Thanks for the review! We have an aft facing suite on the 9-9-11 sailing to Bermuda. I am now a suite whore!:rolleyes: I can't wait, especially after dealing with Irene.

Question: Does Boston's pier have a separate waiting room for suite passengers like New York does?

Thanks

Paul

Thank you for your review --- we too were on this same trip -- loved it -- Love the suite life -- we were in the Garden Villa ---

To reply to several questions:

We did not notice noise from the Spinnaker Lounge, but we were several floors up, and honestly I was usually out like a light before midnight.

There is a special lounge to which you will be escorted after you finishing checking in. There is OJ, water, coffee, and some light snacks like finger sandwiches and bundt cake, etc... We did not have to wait long there.

Maybe we should have tipped at the beginning...I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt quite right about Leila's attitude. She did anything that we asked (with rare exception, we had plenty of ice and we went through a bunch of it), but we always felt like we were being a bother to her just when she already had too much on her plate. I guess that's one reason why we may just go back to a minisuite next time. I sure would miss Cagney's though!!

It is awesome being in an aft penthouse on 10 when you have the spa pass because it's just down the hall, up one flight, and around the corner. I know a lot of the newer ships have "spa suites", but this is about as close as you can get.

If I missed anything, I'll do another post. I'm glad to help as I received a lot of invaluable info from others before our cruises!

ee

I'm not sure about the 3 day pass cost, but I'm pretty sure that a 3 day spa pass is available.

ee

We were on the same ship but had a mini-suite instead of a real suite. We had no problems avoiding the long lines on embarkation lunch day and debarkation breakfast day. Just went to the Venetian and enjoyed nice relaxing meals. Just throwing it out there in case others are interested in the dawn but don't want to book a suite!

Totally agree with the horseshoe bay beach review!

Thank you for a wonderful, informative review.

We were on the same ship but had a mini-suite instead of a real suite. We had no problems avoiding the long lines on embarkation lunch day and debarkation breakfast day. Just went to the Venetian and enjoyed nice relaxing meals. Just throwing it out there in case others are interested in the dawn but don't want to book a suite!

 

That's a really good point. On our previous cruise on the Jewel in a minisuite, that's exactly what we did. There were very few ppl. in the Venetian, and we had a nice meal in a peaceful setting. I'm telling you though...maybe we saw the peak of the chaos, but the buffet line was just crazy looking when we walked through.

ee

ee, thanks for a great thread. You've inspired me to start one about our cruise the following week.

so the mini-suite does not have the perks of a true suite, correct?

That is correct.

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to detail your trip. We are booked in an Aft Suite July 2012. Although you didn't have any photos you offer a great description of your suite. Which cabin were you in? We will be traveling with our soon to be 5 year old son and are hopeful we will have a pull out for him. But in all honesty, we will all likely be in the same bed come the next morning.

Just curious about one of the other posts regarding a mini suite. What is the difference between the aft suites and the mini suites, that you know.

Again, thank you for your review!