Anyone back from the dawn

[mike brosky]

Looking for a little insight on this ship. Never been on an ncl ship before have been on carnival 3 times.how was the food the ports how where the shows etc etc any insight would be great thanks going out dec 9th

[marym933]

Read this thread from last week.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1736709

[Caliber1]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

[marym933]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

 

Jess, thanks for easing my mind! I am mostly a Carnival cruiser, too. My only NCL cruise was on the Pride of America, which is not like any other NCL ship.

 

I bet you could smell those awesome pretzel rolls, too!

[LEtue]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

 

I just booked my first NCL cruise today on the Dawn out of Tampa. Been wanting to try NCL for some time and that time is now :)

 

Sure glad we're not in an aft balcony because the smell of cinnamon rolls would have put me over the edge :eek:

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[shelly11]

I'm on the dawn for new years. Cant wait!

[mike brosky]

Read this thread from last week.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1736709

i read this thread all last week it was a great review

[mike brosky]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

thank you for your reply im glad i don't have a balcony lol

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Just did sixteen nights on the Dawn, and I love this ship.

 

Food was excellent, from the Venetian, to the Garden Cafe (buffet), to La Cucina, to Le Bistro. Crew everywhere were friendly and helpful.

 

Entertainment was excellent. Bollywood was an over-the-top extravaganza that proves NCL does entertainment better than anyone. Loved the bar singers/piano players, especially Ariel Jacobe. Jose and Patti had a huge following. We also had an awesome Celtic trio, but they left the ship for the season and were replaced by a fun Calypso band. Finally, Jump, the house band, were phenomenal. (Be sure and catch their ABBA night in the atrium.)

 

The Grand Atrium is a fun hub on the Dawn-class ships, and I prefer it to the atrium on the Jewel-class. That's on the plus side. On the negative side, it is too bad that there isn't a proper Spinnaker on these ships, but they do a good job of distracting you enough with so many other offerings that it isn't too big of a dissapointment.

 

Enjoy the Dawn! :D

[mike brosky]

Just did sixteen nights on the Dawn, and I love this ship.

 

Food was excellent, from the Venetian, to the Garden Cafe (buffet), to La Cucina, to Le Bistro. Crew everywhere were friendly and helpful.

 

Entertainment was excellent. Bollywood was an over-the-top extravaganza that proves NCL does entertainment better than anyone. Loved the bar singers/piano players, especially Ariel Jacobe. Jose and Patti had a huge following. We also had an awesome Celtic trio, but they left the ship for the season and were replaced by a fun Calypso band. Finally, Jump, the house band, were phenomenal. (Be sure and catch their ABBA night in the atrium.)

 

The Grand Atrium is a fun hub on the Dawn-class ships, and I prefer it to the atrium on the Jewel-class. That's on the plus side. On the negative side, it is too bad that there isn't a proper Spinnaker on these ships, but they do a good job of distracting you enough with so many other offerings that it isn't too big of a dissapointment.

 

Enjoy the Dawn! :D

what other music did the house band play not into abba thanks for your reveiw

[Caliber1]

Jess, thanks for easing my mind! I am mostly a Carnival cruiser, too. My only NCL cruise was on the Pride of America, which is not like any other NCL ship.

 

I bet you could smell those awesome pretzel rolls, too!

 

Mary, no worries. We have 12 with Carnival, so were nervous too. But the food and entertainment were awesome. had a "Gulf Seafood gumbo " at the buffett one day that would put most land based resteraunts to shame. ;)

 

thank you for your reply im glad i don't have a balcony lol

 

I'll take a fresh baked bread aroma over smoke any day. LOL;)

[irishclover]

When are you guys going? First time on the Dawn, will be there for new years!! cant wait!

[shelly11]

irishclover are you on the roll call for the new years cruise? We have a meet and greet planned.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1566032

[irishclover]

I am now :) thank you

how excited are you?!

[bob brown]

Just did sixteen nights on the Dawn, and I love this ship.

 

Food was excellent, from the Venetian, to the Garden Cafe (buffet), to La Cucina, to Le Bistro. Crew everywhere were friendly and helpful.

 

Entertainment was excellent. Bollywood was an over-the-top extravaganza that proves NCL does entertainment better than anyone. Loved the bar singers/piano players, especially Ariel Jacobe. Jose and Patti had a huge following. We also had an awesome Celtic trio, but they left the ship for the season and were replaced by a fun Calypso band. Finally, Jump, the house band, were phenomenal. (Be sure and catch their ABBA night in the atrium.)

 

The Grand Atrium is a fun hub on the Dawn-class ships, and I prefer it to the atrium on the Jewel-class. That's on the plus side. On the negative side, it is too bad that there isn't a proper Spinnaker on these ships, but they do a good job of distracting you enough with so many other offerings that it isn't too big of a dissapointment.

 

Enjoy the Dawn! :D

Have to agree with you on the phenomenal entertainment!

One thing about doing the 16 night cruise, especially a repo, was the tremendous variety--hardly any repeats that you would see on a B2B....

And we got to see almost a complete change of talent...we had a brief intro show from the departing cast, and then after a long rehearsal period, we got to see the new cast perform a couple of shows. The various guest entertainers were also good. Besides the "Jump" party band, the house orchestra in the Stardust was also very talented. They were amazing in how well they backed the various guest entertainers with little rehearsal....

[luvcruzing]

I thought the food was very good, too. I ate all my breakfasts and dinners in Venetian, and my lunches from the buffet which I brought back to my cabin. However, the breakfast chefs need to learn how to cook eggs. I asked if my whites would be cooked if I ordered my eggs over easy. I was told no, that I needed to order them over medium. (Just like at home, I thought - depends on the restaurant.) But, the whites on the eggs over medium were cooked to a brown crisp - totally inedible. I ordered them twice (after asking again if the whites would be cooked if I ordered the eggs over easy. I was told no, again.) Same result. I ended up ordering the Eggs Benedict after that.

[irishclover]

what kind of breakfast was in the mdr?

[jdvmd]

Love the Dawn! Have a great time!

[lr657]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

 

Jess, we were on this cruise with you and totally agree with your comments. This was our first NCL cruise and we also weren't sure what to expect. From the moment we stepped on the ship, we were impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the crew. We loved the freestyle concept and the numerous dining and entertainment choices on the ship. The ship was in great shape. Wouldn't hesitate to sail her again.

[RIvacationgirl]

Never sailed the Dawn but sailing on her twice next year. Very glad to hear the nice comments!:)

[luvcruzing]

what kind of breakfast was in the mdr?

 

An assortment of juices (orange, cranberry, tomato, etc.), fresh fruit, oatmeal, cold cereal, grits, pancakes, hash browns (really just small round disks), country fries (much better), any style eggs, pastries, Eggs Benedict, Salmon Eggs Benedict, bacon, ham, sausage, and hash is what I remember.

[GrandmaHofmann]

I just posted a lengthy review of the Roatan-Belize-Costa Maya-Cozumel cruise. Don't know if it is up yet but if not, soon will be.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I just posted a lengthy review of the Roatan-Belize-Costa Maya-Cozumel cruise. Don't know if it is up yet but if not, soon will be.

 

Yours isn't up yet, but someone named Madcap Minx just posted a scathing review. So I checked her record: 3 reviews, all whining all the itme.

 

Looking forward to another opinion from you!

[Half Pint Mini]

Mike,

 

Coming from a once die hard Carnival cruiser, we sailed on the Dawn last week and had an absolute awesome time. From reading here I thought the food in the main DR would be just okay. I think otherwise now. I thought the food in the buffett was actually pretty good too. Over alll I give NCL two thumbs up. The show Bollywood was okay, my wife thought it was good. Then we saw "Second City", I almost fell out of my chair, they were freakin hilarious. :D Super friendly crew, clean ship. Only problem I had was whenever we went out on our aft balcony, you could smell the bakery on the ship. Cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, fresh bread, etc. ;) Terrible I tell ya.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong, sailing from Tampa is a breeze too. Enjoy.

 

OMG...I'll be hungry all the time :eek: What deck was your aft cabin? We'll be on deck 8 and hear it may be noisy from the disco...any comment?

What was Bollywood about?

Was there a murder mystery lunch? We board February 3rd and am getting excited reading all the great reviews!!!

Thanks everybody ;)

[katke]

Hi Mike - I'll also be on the cruise on the 9th. Most of the reviews I read elsewhere made it sound like the food was the downfall, glad to hear people here liked it!