Bragstarr/robin

[Jeanne S]

How was your Dawn Cruise. Am finaly going again April 17th - this time with 8 family members the oldest 80/youngest almost two.

 

My friend Chris from our Serenade of the Seas Cruise is sialing on the Dawn March 20th in a AF, her father's friend and her daughter and her friend. We will also be AF - 3 in a row. Hope they remove the balcony partitions on this ship.

 

What is going on with the ship being in Dry Dock and the Private Island Closed?

 

Did you go the Carribean? What restaurants on the Dawn?

 

Jeanne

[Suesan Jean]

:)Hi Jeanne S! I am also going on the Dawn on April 17th, come join our Roll Call! There are quite a few Cruise Critic's going, we hope to have a good turn out at our get-to-gether.

I will be traveling with my DH and DD. We will be celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary. I do hope we have good weather, an ocean like "glass" to travel through, well behaved kind and considerate fellow passengers, a GREAT crew, AND I hope that "Great Stirrup Cay" is up and running....

I think that Dawn went into dry dock to fix the "azipod" (sp?) and probably normal routine maintenance. The last I heard/read, Great Stirrup Cay was NOT being stopped at.

I think if you ask, the balcony partions can be removed, but I am not sure. "Shoreguy" is the one that would now. Maybe he will read this posting and answer you.

TTFN

 

Suesan:):):)

[Jeanne S]

Hi Suesan.

[Jeanne S]

My sister lives in Yorktown Heights and my niece and her family are from South Poughkeepsie. My parents are celebrating their 80th birthdays and 55 wedding anniversary. My sister and I are 53/49; nieces/nephew 30/28/32 and kids, 4/2.

 

 

I really loved the Dawn two years ago – my sister and I are the family experts for this cruise. Am happy to hear we won’t be stopping at Stirrup Cay as that was too long on day. In 2003 we spent a full in Nassau (9-6) and left Stirrup at 3pm, having arrived on the first and returned on the last Tender. That was plenty of time. There is nothing much to in do Nassau at 7am and leaving so early did not seem like such a great thing. Are we to stay overnight in Nassau or go to Freeport? I understand that Freeport has really come up in the last few years – Radisson is sailing there in May.

 

You will love the Dawn. The staff is very friendly and we had a nice mix of passengers. The food was very good. You don’t have to dine in all those fee restaurants as the cuisine was better we thought in the Main DR. We ate everywhere but La Trattoria. The best steak and lobster was not in Cagney’s but Impressions. President’s night is very special. The one specialist restaurant we will go to is Bamboo – probably the Teppanki and the regular restaurant. Last time the first night was half price and it was empty that first evening.

 

We first booked this over a year ago and cannot believe how the princes have taken off! It is always nice to be a good deal at sea.

 

Jeanne

[Suesan Jean]

:) Hi! I too booked this cruise last year in March (it seemed sooooo far away then!!) I had booked us an "AF Mini-Suite", the price I got was quite good too, quite a bit less then the list/catalog price. I was very happy with my choice. But, at the end of last year, I started to read reviews on the Dawn from people who had "AB" cabins,the more I read, the MORE I WANTED ONE!!! I called the "Re-accomodations" department at the end of January (before the NCL change in HOW they "upgrade") gave my name and phone number, on February 1st, I got a call from NCL asking me if I would still like to upgrade to an "AB", I said "SURE!! And HOW much???" The upgrade price was not that bad, so I grabbed it!! I am delighted with our opportunity to experience a "AB" at a price FAR LESS then the list price and way better then NCL's "Sale of Sails" price......!!

What are you going to do in Nassau? Are they any nice "free" beaches in Nassau? I am sooo confused on what to do on port days. My DH is like, "What? We have to get off the ship?? I thought the SHIP was the vacation!?" (this will be my first cruise in 33 years and my DH and DD's FIRST cruise ever!!!)

What are you going to do in Port Canaveral and Miami? My DH wants to stay on the ship. He wants to go to beaches in Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay if it is offered. And I have a beach to go to in Freeport if we stop there instead. OY!!!

TTFN

 

Suesan:):):)

[shoreguy]

Hey you two get over on your rollcall :p

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=3282015#post3282015

 

And yes the can open the partitions between the balconies. Not sure I would want to. I like getting up in the AM with the draps open. I am not ready for vistors knocking on the glass :eek:

[Suesan Jean]

I KNEW you would answer the partition question Shoreguy!! Now, how about this, do you go to beaches? Do you know of ANY nice, free, safe, beautiful beaches in Nassau and Freeport that are not to far away from the ports we will be "parking/docking" at???? THANKS Shoreguy!!:)

TTFN

 

Suesan:):):)

 

P.S. Shoreguy, next year on our February cruise, we are stoping in Houndauris (sp?) right? I read (on these boards) that it is "a dump, not safe and frightening".... Is that true??? YIKES!!!:eek:

[shoreguy]

I KNEW you would answer the partition question Shoreguy!! Now, how about this, do you go to beaches? Do you know of ANY nice, free, safe, beautiful beaches in Nassau and Freeport that are not to far away from the ports we will be "parking/docking" at???? THANKS Shoreguy!!:)

TTFN

 

Suesan:):):)

 

P.S. Shoreguy, next year on our February cruise, we are stoping in Houndauris (sp?) right? I read (on these boards) that it is "a dump, not safe and frightening".... Is that true??? YIKES!!!:eek:

 

I am not the beach expert. Believe or not I spend as little time as posible on them.

 

Roatan is not a dump. I have been there once. Very poor but beautiful. There are some great things to do. Go to port of call boards. The Zip line adventure gets great reviews. We did a beach day. There is a great day spa you can book privately. Excellent island for anyone who dives.

 

Now if you asked me about Jamacia. that is an island where some of the locals can drive you crazy. If I get off the ship I will make a run for Jimmy Buffets or perhaps book a private tour.

[Jeanne S]

Thanks both of you. Shore Guy, thanks for the info - we are a close family emotionally but geographically aprat most of the time so we are looking foward to the closeness.

 

I stayed at Cable Beach in the 70's and 80's and loved it - a much nicer beach than Paradise Island. When we went on the Dawn in 03 one of the Cable Beach Hotels allowed passengers full use of the facilities.

 

In Port Canaveral we may go to Cocoa Beach. In Miami I would like to go to south beach but may not be able to this time. Last time in Miami we went on the everglades air boat ride and wild animal show. I still have the phorto of my posing with a baby alligator - the highlight! The Catamarran ride looks good also.

 

The glass bottom boat in Nassau was a bust - we were very dissapointed. I am interested in the trips to the semi deserted islands and atolls which have beautiful beaches - there are several. I just printed out the new tour guide and will study it this weekend and get back to you.

 

That is wonderful that you have the suite!!! Butler service and the concerige will make a big fuss over you.

[Jeanne S]

St. Lucia was sort of as you described - poor but beautiful. We sailed into Margoit Bay the site of the 1954 film Dr. Doolittle with Rex Harrison and everywhere you looked were breataking views. And those twin peaks......

[Jeanne S]

Bump

[bragstarr]

Jeanne, so sorry--just found this thread, came back from the cruise and haven't been on CC much, got caught up in everyday life and going to Disney in a week or so, so my mind has been elsewhere. Cruise was great, got treated very nicely by NCL as CCers. The ship is really lovely. There's a thread somewhere on the boards here where all of us from the 2/20 cruise posted and added our comments. If I can find it I'll post a link to it. Honestly, though, there were only two things on Dawn I found I liked better than RCL--the fact I got to leave right out of NYC and go south, and the convenience (at times) of the Freestyle dining. That being said, I also missed being at a set dinner table at a set time, meeting and bonding with people at the table, and also bonding with my waiters. I just found a certain spark on RCL that was missing on NCL, NCL is DEFINITELY more laid back. Not a lot of poolside ******** except for BBQs and parties--no horse racing, sexy legs, and that stuff.

 

By the time you read this I'm sure you've read the updated threads--she's out of dry dock and moving quickly again, and going to the private island. We did not make it there, and got to Port Canaveral 3 hours late due to the azipod, and I did have some issues with that.

 

Restaurants: we ate in all 3 main restaurants. I found Versailles, which is the largest and most cruise-ship like, to have the slowest service, although beautiful. My favorite was Impressions--lovely room and great service. Aqua was hit or miss--one night great service, one night slow. If you can eat later on you definitely do better with being better attended to. There were just 3 or us and we never had trouble being seated; it was Presidents' week, a lot of little kids and teens aboard and I think people either ate very early or at the buffets. We ate in Teppanyaki and that was wonderful, well worth the $12 pp surcharge we paid, we liked the seafood there better than the steak. Also ate in Salsa which was no surcharge together with some other CC people and was really good, beautiful atmosphere, and treated like royalty because we set it up through the food & beverage manager after our CC party. If I were to go back we agreed we'd definitely do Cagney's. Everyone raved about it and it really looks like a nice steakhouse. When you board the first day they do reservations for half price at the specialty restaurants, if you can eat there the first night. I didn't do it because it was Prime Rib night in the main restaurants, thought I'd lose out on that and I regret it. They did half price at the specialties the second night out too but that was Lobster night in the main restaurants and I didn't want to miss that! And then I had Teppanyaki and the Presidents' Dinner and Salsa, yada, yada, yada, never made it there!

 

Any more specific ???? Sorry for the delay....

 

Robin

[bragstarr]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=143651&highlight=2%2F20

[cantwaitt]

The best steak and lobster was not in Cagney’s but Impressions.

My in-laws' duck in Aqua was much better than their duck in the Japanese pay-extra restaurant.

 

I'll never pay extra again on an NCL ship.