NCL Dawn Jan 15-25, 2012

[groo]

I'm Cruisin' Togethers husband and thought I'd get started on a sort of review. She'll come along behind me and note all my mistakes.

 

We got to the Port at about 10:15 and had to circle around because so many folks were waiting on rides that we couldn't see the porters who were picking up luggage. On the second pass we found a porter and tipped him well to ( hopefully ) assure that our luggage would be placed on the Dawn and NOT the Pearl which was docked nearest our drop off point. Yes our luggage made it to the ship just fine.

 

We went inside the port and found no lines at all. We were checked in eith ship cards in no time. Then we had to go take a seat and wait. They began boarding at about 11:30. We had a #1 boarding ticket, but there was no attempt to for a line. They just called for people with a #1 boarding pass to start boarding. This resulted in a mass of people trying to get through a small door at the same time. We made it through after a short struggle and were seated in the Venetian in no time.

 

At this point I'll just make a few observations and continue with port reviews later:

 

 

Food is subjective, but for us, it was great everywhere. The steak in the MDR was a grilled NY strip we ordered medium rare and it was cooked and seasoned perfectly. We tried the Bamboo specialty restaurant just to try it. We did have a couple of dinners in the Garden Cafe and found them great as well. We could do no wrong in selecting meal venues.

 

They started serving for us in the buffet on Friday, half-way through, and continued till disembarkation. We didn't really hear much about any illnesses, but there must have been some.

 

There was a helicopter evac on the first night of the cruise. It was late and the call for a stretcher crew woke me up, but that's the last I heard until someone told my wife she watched the evac from her balcony.

 

Barbados has an island wide no smoking policy.

 

As usual, the service on board was spectacular.

 

All of our excursions were privately arranged.

 

We had an inside cabin, #9067.

 

Lots of good movies on the television. ( Real Steel, The Help, The Green Lantern, Money Ball, Cowboys and Aliens, The Dolphin Tail, Crazy Stupid Love )

 

 

I'll come back tomorrow and continue. I wanted to go ahead and get started so I'll have to do the rest.

[jvsnana]

I also responded to your DW's post…so many of us love to read of others expierences from their cruises. Please don't give up on posting your review.:)

I remember my first post as a newbie on CC was a question about smoking and I was hammered:eek:, but here I am, still on CC hoping to get info from others with or without bias:p

So, that being said…I can't wait to hear about the private excursions you two did at each port:D:D:D

[smg53]

OP, I appreciate you taking the time to review your cruise and I hope you reconsider finishing it!

[aqualojoy]

I am looking forward to reading the rest of your review as well. Our family will be on the Dawn in March. It has been 17 years since our last NCL cruise and I enjoy reading everything I can about the Dawn. Planning and reading is a big part of my vacation experience. I have learned so much from cruise critic. Please Continue.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[jdvmd]

Please come back and tell us more.

[NW Pacific]

We were on the Dawn Jan 4-15, also had no problem with the selection of food! The entertainment was great, hope Greg the piano player will be on future cruises, he is so good to listen to. Our 11 day criuse was very enjoyable. Martini tastings were held on sea days. Hope the OP comes back.

[CruisinMaterial]

I was also on the January 4th through January 15th sailing and the food was great. I didn't have any problems with it at all.

 

As for being served on the cruise in the buffet, our voyage which was longer than the OP's didn't have any of that going on. The Washy-Washy Happy Happy girls were very effective on our trip! :)

 

OP: Glad you liked it and feel free to share more info if your time permits.

[kaylasnana]

I also am looking forward to more of your review. We are on this itinerary 3/18 and I'm especially looking forward to your review of the excursions.

[sandpiper08]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1557971 is his wife's review, great pictures. WE are sailing on the dawn 2/5/12...9 more days!!!

[Host Star]

thank you for posting your review.. we appreciate your support of Cruise Critic and all members who are considerate.. I know there are many who would like you to continue with your review.

 

some of those showing appreciation have been deleted only because the original deleted post was quoted in your response

[candydane]

Barbados has an island wide no smoking policy.

What does this mean? No smoking in buildings or do you mean no smoking ANYWHERE, even outdoors?

[NW Pacific]

Your Free Style Daily will indicate the Island has a no smoking policy. BUT, we saw smoking as usual, outside seating, on the street, etc.

[groo]

The wife sent me a text and said you guys really wanted me to keep going.

 

Thanks for the support. I don't mind someone disagreeing with me, as I said, food is subjective. I just wasn't in the mood for what felt like a personal attack this morning. I know I shouldn't feed the obvious trolls, but I let my guard down and made a knee-jerk decision. I'll continue my review when I get home tonight.

 

I won't read my wife's review so it'll be a different take on the same cruise.

 

Again, thanks for the support.

[groo]

What does this mean? No smoking in buildings or do you mean no smoking ANYWHERE, even outdoors?

 

 

The indication we got was no smoking anywhere period. We aren't smokers and didn't really pay attention as to whether it was enforced. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

[Jldevlin]

The wife sent me a text and said you guys really wanted me to keep going.

 

Thanks for the support. I don't mind someone disagreeing with me, as I said, food is subjective. I just wasn't in the mood for what felt like a personal attack this morning. I know I shouldn't feed the obvious trolls, but I let my guard down and made a knee-jerk decision. I'll continue my review when I get home tonight.

 

I won't read my wife's review so it'll be a different take on the same cruise.

 

Again, thanks for the support.

 

I was soooo looking forward to your review and then I read the ... ahem ...next post and said to my hubby ...this is why people dont post. Keep it up , we are all ready to hear what your experiences were ....

[jdvmd]

The wife sent me a text and said you guys really wanted me to keep going.

 

Thanks for the support. I don't mind someone disagreeing with me, as I said, food is subjective. I just wasn't in the mood for what felt like a personal attack this morning. I know I shouldn't feed the obvious trolls, but I let my guard down and made a knee-jerk decision. I'll continue my review when I get home tonight.

 

I won't read my wife's review so it'll be a different take on the same cruise.

 

Again, thanks for the support.

 

Yay!

[Shattered__minds]

We were on the same cruise with you (Dawn Jan 15-25), Looking forward to your take on this wonderful trip. Please keep it going.

~ Mike and Becky

[russianmom]

Yipee:)

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

And this wife says Thanks to you all for the support!!!!

[groo]

Samana

 

Having been to Samana a couple of times before, we had originally planned to go over to Cayo Levantado for the day. Then we realized it was whale season.

 

We did some research here and decided to book with Tour Samana with Terry. He advertised a trip to look for whales followed by a trip to a local beach. We had heard that NCL gets their tour groups tendered over before everyone else can leave the ship. Our tour was supposed to start fairly soon after we anchored and we worried we would be late getting to land to meet Terry. He said we should talk to the hotel director about getting off with the first tenders over to Samana. We met the HD at the CC Meet and Greet and were able to arrange early tenders.

 

The day we got there we had an early shower come up soon after reaching the island. The rain lasted for just a few minutes and then moved on. Terry met us and got us together with some others who were staying at a local hotel. We went to the dock where we were to board our boat for the trip. We saw a few nice looking boats there. Then our boat shows up....let's just say it was smaller than we expected.

 

 

We didn't count the number of passengers, but trying to remember, we put the estimate at about 29 people in what I describe as a large size bass boat. In fairness, I really enjoyed this excursion. Just want to warn others that the boats are smaller than you might think. We talked to a couple who did the whale excursion through the ship. They said their boat was small as well and they saw no whales.

 

To make it more interesting, the water that day was tending toward larger swells. At times it felt like riding a rollercoaster. Up the side of one swell and down the other. Some folks started getting queasy. The wife and I were grinning ear to ear and enjoying the ride.

 

I'm not sure if the whales were out that day, but it would be hard to see them if they were. Usually all we could see was the next swell. We didn't get out that far from shore, and I felt pretty comfortable the whole time. Our boat operators were smiling and seemed well in control.

 

They used radios to talk to other boats and see if anyone else was having luck, but it was not to be. No whales.

 

They ended up getting us to shore and we spent the rest of the day at Cayo Levantado. They kept listening to the radio and said we would go back out if anyone spotted whales, but most of our crew had had enough.

 

Some of the folks on our excursion didn't want to pay full price. They said they were told the boat would be a catamaran and that lunch would be included. The wife and I discussed it. Neither of us had heard anything about boat size or included meals. We heard that the beach would have food and drink available for purchase. Since Terry had delivered everything he had promised us, we paid as agreed. Can't control the weather or the whales.

 

We were billed nothing in advance and didn't pay until the end of the excursion. We did have a lot of fun and enjoyed this wet and wild adventure.

 

 

BTW: Cayo Levantado was beautiful. We found a spot on away from the main beach where we could sit in comfortable manicured grass under a shade tree and still have our feet in the sand. The wife had fun finding shells, rocks and sea glass in the sand. Food was available for purchase and there were chairs and tables located all over the place. Lots of shade and space to roam around and enjoy the day.

[Comet133]

I was in a group of four on the Dawn for the Jan 4 cruise. We had one of the best holidays ever, everything was wonderful. The staff worked so hard to ensure the ship was sparkling, and always had a lovely smile and a greeting when they saw us. We had a lovely chat with the Captain who was charming, and most of the senior crew. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone, and on a couple of nights when we were up really late with the ventriliquist Ken in the bar, the staff were busy shampooing carpets even in the early hours.

We liked all of the food we had, this included eating in the extra cost restaurants that we tried, the Teppanaki was not to my own taste but the others enjoyed it. The steak in Cagneys was one of the best I have ever eaten, we also ate in the Italian and French, as well as having the jazz brunch.

The thing that surprised us all was how each island was so different to each other. We were all Caribbean and cruise virgins, but we have already paid a deposit to go again sometime in the next couple of years, as we are from the UK it's a long way for us. Our favourite island was Dominica, purely because it was so naturally beautiful, really would have liked longer there, but really enjoyed the lush rainforest and our climb to the Emerald pool. It was the cheapest place to buy shirts with buttons and ladies dresses, as well as lots of other gifts like local jewellery. T-shirts were the cheapest in St Maarten, where you could get 3 for US$10 as was jewellery and diamonds, although the ship had some very similiar prices on some goods.

We never bothered to book any excursions from the ship, we just got off and took a local taxi tour, most charged between US$15 to $30 per person for an island trip lasting 3 - 4 hours. On most of the islands we asked to be dropped off at the beach for the afternoon, and the taxi drivers would ask us what time we would like to be picked up, and each time they arrived to take us back to the ship. In Tortola we ended up on a beach where we had some cocktails, they were very strong so we ended up with a fuzzy head and slurred speech for a bit! We spent some time on the beach in St Maarten where the planes land right over the top of your heads. In Antigua, we went to a beach by the helicopter shuttle where you can take a trip to fly over Montserrat, it was the most deserted beach we saw, only about 6 of us from our cruise ship. In Barbados we went to the historic area to see the changing of the guard at 12pm, and then to the museum as well as the Gay rum factory for a tasting tour. Look for Chris the man who looks like a rainbow in St Kitts, even his beard was a rainbow, he has a truck with beer refreshments in a crate at the back. Also check out the batik place, some beautiful hand made batik gifts to be had.

Once back on ship we always went on the top deck to watch the sunset, and listen to the bands playing. The Caribbean band are great fun and we had a few dancing sessions with Fernando by the pool before getting washed and changed for dinner. The shows we saw were good, the live music good, however the late night DJ is more for the younger crowd (20's), and I felt his music choices later at night were not for anyone over 40. We spent alot of time in the Pearly Kings Pub where most nights they had a quiz and the bar staff who were so friendly and attentive were constantly feeding you with things to snack on. All in all a great holiday.:)

[groo]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise Comet. I came really close to changing our booking for the Jan 4 date. We could have gotten it for the same price we paid for the 10 day.

 

Since ours was the 10 day cruise, we didn't stop in Dominica. Sounds good though. Agreed about getting off the ship and grabbing a taxi for the sight seeing trips. They were easy to find and very fun. They didn't collect until the end or near the end and most would agree to come back and get you if you wanted to stay at the beach for awhile.

[groo]

Tortola, BVI

 

We had no advance plans for Tortola and decided to just get off the ship and walk around for awhile. I had even started to think about going back over to Virgin Gorda to the Baths again. This was our third visit at Tortola and we had been to the Baths on both previous trips.

 

As we were walking past the market area, this guy comes over and says he has an open-air tour bus and charges $15 for a Best of Tortola tour. We take him up on the offer and hop on board. One of the passengers tried to talk the price down and was offered the opportunity to get back off the bus and let someone else use the seat. The passenger decided $15 wasn't so bad.

 

Our tour took us up and down winding mountain roads with stops along the way to enjoy scenic views overlooking beaches and communities around Tortola. Our tour driver used an intercom from the drivers seat to narrate the tour. We learned some history, civics and geography along the way. We also stopped at a rum brewery that looked like something straight from the days of pirates. Old barrels and blackened stone buildings. A sign said that pictures could be taken after making a rum purchase or for a fee of 2 dollars. The rum was selling for around 5 to 10 dollars for the smaller bottles. Not being a drinker, I was still tempted to buy a bottle just for the novelty.

 

We then stopped at a nearby beach ( Cane Garden Bay ) with food, drinks and shopping available. The beach was nice and we did get a strawberry daiquiri. I didn't say I was a teetotaler. I just have a drink very rarely. This seemed like the perfect occasion. After a short stop at the beach we headed back for the port.

 

This is where I was dragged through the shops while the wife looked for who knows what. I did manage to get a very good can of Ginger Ale though. Good Ginger Ale seems to be a British thing. The best I've had were bottled in the UK and South Africa. The rain managed to catch us during our shopping and we had to take cover under an awning and wait it out. Once the rain cleared we enjoyed ( at least one of us enjoyed ) a little more shopping and then the walk back to the beach.

 

We were glad to have taken this impromptu tour of Tortola. We had never seen much of the island before and open air bus gave us a good view as we rode the narrow roads around the hillsides.

 

Maybe next time we'll head over to Jost Van Dyke. We all know there'll be a next time.

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

Oh yes! There will be a next time:p

 

Good review!!