Just Back From the Dawn (4/25-5/3)!!!

[Guest]

First of all, rather than being a day by day breakdown, this is going to be a summary of overall impressions we had on our trip:

 

1) We were two 30+ single females traveling with my friend's 14 year old son

2) If you're going to depart from NYC and are taking your car, do yourself a favor and take the Weehauken Ferry ($7/day/parking + $5/one way/fee + 2 blocks walk vs. $24/day parking in NYC)

3) Stay in the Hyatt in Jersey City. We got a $60 room rate through Priceline which included views of the Manhattan skyline as well as picture perfect shots of the ships coming into port the morning of departure!

4) I've departed 2 previous times from NYPST and found that it's actually better to arrive later (1ish) than earlier (11ish)

5) THE SHIP IS IMMACULATE!!!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[cherylatwork]

mmmbuttery

You were right about bringing the rain with you. At least we had some sunshine in the Bahama's The ship is absolutely gorgeous, and we had a great time despite the weather!

 

Cheryl

 

Carnival Inspiration 4/01

NCL Majesty 7/02

NCL Dawn 4/04

[Guest]

Sorry . . . wasn't done . . .

 

6) We stayed in the bowels of the ship (cabin 5577) and it was great - quiet and motionless the entire trip.

7) DO NOT MISS ANY ENTERTAINMENT OR SHOW THAT INCLUDES PAUL (THE CRUISE DIRECTOR) AND/OR MIKE (THE ASST CRUISE DIRECTOR). Usually the cruise staff make no impression on me, but Paul and Mike were great - so fun, personable and goofy - LOVED THEM!!!

8) We were less than impressed by our first day's meals on the ship, but it soon did a 180 - you must make reservations at Teppanyaki, order chocolate mousse through room service, have the poolside BBQ and get the fish n' chips.

9) If you're going to Universal be sure to get the express pass - AMAZING!!!

10) Be sure to get up a 1/2 hour early to claim your tender tickets for the private island.

11) NY still doesn't have disembarking quite right, so be sure to be able to deal with the hassle when you get off the ship.

 

PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS - I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER!!!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[Guest]

Cherylatwork, I told you I'm just so happy the crappy weather was the first half of the trip - the last half turned out AMAZIMG!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[arlenep]

Hi, got a question for ya, I was on the Dawn, just two weeks ago, and Ricky was the cruise director, and I thought he was fabulous, he was everywhere, and a lot of fun, Mike was the assist C.D, and I understand that that was just his second week. Anyway, where did Ricky go, do they usually change directors so frequently?? Just curious, but I had the time of my life, and I thought the ship was wonderful also.

 

Arlene

[Guest]

Great, first question and I have no idea Didn't realize that Paul and Mike were both new?!?!?! I would have never known . . . does anyone else have an idea?

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[legalcruiser]

I am interested in taking the ferry but was concerned about how often the ferry runs. I won't get stuck will I?

[Guest]

Hi legalcruiser - check out their website http://www.nywaterway.com/. The trip takes about 10 minutes and they run about every 20 minutes. Hope this helps!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[zimmerjulie]

mmmbuttery & cherylatwork,

glad you two had great times aboard your cruise!!!

Julie

[Guest]

Thank you zimmerjulie . . . no joke, it was the best cruise we've ever been on. The ship was gorgeous, the staff was great, the food was wonderful, the activities and entertainment couldn't be beat . . . absolutely loved every minute of it!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[Tomct]

Arlenep: I heard that Ricky was headed to an Alaskan cruise, but I'm not familiar with NCL's Alaska option(s). He was our CD on the 4/18 cruise, and I had the same comments about him being everywhere, and has unlimited energy. His reviews were not so good, so he was much better than what we expected. Paul B gets great reviews!!

 

Tom/Connecticut

 

 

[uneamie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mmmbuttery:

2) If you're going to depart from NYC and are taking your car, do yourself a favor and take the Weehauken Ferry ($7/day/parking + $5/one way/fee + 2 blocks walk vs. $24/day parking in NYC)

3) Stay in the Hyatt in Jersey City. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

As for the "ferry" do you think it will be OK to do the "ferry" in January and walk to the port in the cold??? The ferry sounds like it would be a lot less of a hassel, no traffic to deal with etc.

 

Also, The Hyatt Hotel. Is that near the "ferry" dock? Where exactly is it? Thanks

 

 

<p align="center">

Countdown - Dawn 11 day cruise

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Home Lines - 5/1988

Disney Wonder - 10/1998

Carnival Triumph - 7/2002

Carnival Legend - 10/2003

NCL - Dawn - 1/2005

</P>

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Hi uneamie - I would think taking the ferry during the winter shouldn't be too bad if you can deal with the cold. My only concern would be if there's snow on the ground and you have lots of luggage. The Hyatt in Jersey City was about 5 miles and a 15 minute drive from the ferry pier. Hope this helps!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[tigerkiss]

Hi mmmbuttery, I am so glad to hear you had a great cruise. I will be going on the Dawn for the first time June 6. One question I have is about the onboard account?? I have heard they autho 250.00pp on your credit card but then I called NCL and one lady told me only 170 for the tips and then called again cause I was a little unsure the 2nd lady said only 100pp. So maybe you help us understand that process a little better..

Thanks

Linda

 

 Until First Cruise

 

[Guest]

Hi tigerkiss - They charge $10 per person per day which is distributed to the stewards and the wait staff (for the bartenders they automatically add 15% to the bill). You can adjust accordingly at the end of the cruise depending on the service. Hope this helps!

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[tigerkiss]

Hi..Thanks. I was actually talking about the onboard account. When they set that up how much do they charge on your credit card?

 

Linda

 

 Until First Cruise

 

[jodon2]

mmmbuttery, what time did they let you get on the ship? What is a good time to get to the pier.

Joe

 

 

 

TIME TILL WE CRUISE

 

 

Perth Amboy ferry

USS Chicago CG 11

USS Bainbridge DLGN, Celebrity Zenith

Jenna Nicole.

DAWN: 05-16-2004

 

 

 

[Guest]

Hi Tigerkiss . . . sorry, I thought I was confused by the question. Basically, everything you pay for on the ship gets charged to your cabin card (the only thing you can really pay cash for is the gambling). You can settle your account prior to disembarking though.

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!

 

[Guest]

Hey Joe K - I've departed from the New York port three times now and although you can get to the pier early (I've gotten there as early as 11AM) I actually found it was less stressful to arrive a little later (like around 1PM). The previous cruisers have all left the ship and rather than sitting in a stand-still line, they whip you through embarkation.

 

mmm

 till Lala and I whoop it up on the Norwegian Dawn!