Dawn Garden Villa review 1/6/13

ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

shopping

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The Dawn from the tender

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The Star

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Crown Princess

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ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

We went to the early show "Arte Diem" and were mesmerized. I am amazed that anyone can move the way these acrobats did...almost like they had no bones in their body! (I wouldn't be able to move for a week if I tried any of that:)). It is a show not to miss. We decided to head to Venetian for dinner after that, and again there was a line but they got us right in. My younger daughter had sequin shorts on and we hadn't even thought of it, but she wasn't allowed in (garden villa or not, they do draw the line...which is fine, she just went back up to room to change while we were seated and ordered drinks). I had fish again (I tend to stick with fish or steak...not big on trying new things). My mother had pork which she enjoyed and there were a few steaks ordered. Everyone seemed to like their food.

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We are kind of a boring crowd (except for girls) and head to bed fairly early. This is the "zoo keeper" according to Mickey.

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love all the animals

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maja651 · January 25, 2013

I am loving your review! We are thinking of booking the GV on the Dawn for this same itinerary in either 2014 or 2015. Do you have any pictures of the bedrooms and bathrooms?

Thanks in advance!

ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

I am loving your review! We are thinking of booking the GV on the Dawn for this same itinerary in either 2014 or 2015. Do you have any pictures of the bedrooms and bathrooms?

Thanks in advance!

It is awesome!! You should definitely do it if you can. I will post pictures at the end, but here are a few for you.

middle bedroom:

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master bedroom

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back bedroom

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ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

I am loving your review! We are thinking of booking the GV on the Dawn for this same itinerary in either 2014 or 2015. Do you have any pictures of the bedrooms and bathrooms?

Thanks in advance!

Master bathroom

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middle room dressing area

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middle bathroom (like mini suites):

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back bathroom

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ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

The day started out like every other...rainy! This was extreme rain for a while though...and very windy. Our captain was the only one of three ships who was able to dock today (stated one gave it a try but couldn't due to swells, and the other didn't even bother.) We pulled out our rain ponchos from the other day (but didn't end up needing them because like the other days, the sun came out after an hour or so.) My sister didn't want to wait for the girls to get up and moving, so she left on her own. She told us she rented a golf cart and drove around town by herself (said she just walked into port and was greeted by someone who rented it to her.) We got up and moving slowly, we were on vacation after all and since we had no excursions planned, we didn't have any schedule. I loved it! No rushing.

I walked down the pier (it is extremely long and my hubby, girls, and mother took the trolley...I walked since I hadn't been to gym yet!)

We just wanted to find a beach to lay in sun...and there it was. Senor Frog's. The beach was very rocky so you couldn't swim there, but there was a big pool. We ordered drinks in palm tree shaped glass (they were $17 each, so we only had one of them;)), and beer. Husband and daughters had chips and salsa that they said were good.

Senor Frog's from boat:

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the pier (trolley will bring you to port if you don't want to walk)

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my mother wanted shade, the rest of us didn't....

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my older daughter signed up for dolphin swim ($89 I think) she loved it!!! got to do it by herself too, so lots of one-on-one with dolphins.

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ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

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maja651 · January 25, 2013

It is awesome!! You should definitely do it if you can. I will post pictures at the end, but here are a few for you.]

Thanks!!! Can't wait to book this! :)

canehdn · January 25, 2013

your wonderful experience. Your review and photos are excellent and certainly looks looks like you all enjoyed yourselves. The Villa is just fantastic and I feel like I have experienced it through your review. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

Cdn in KS

ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

your wonderful experience. Your review and photos are excellent and certainly looks looks like you all enjoyed yourselves. The Villa is just fantastic and I feel like I have experienced it through your review. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

Cdn in KS

Thanks. I wish everyone could experience the villa. It is awesome and we are very lucky to have had a chance to stay in it. The first time we saw it in 2005, I never thought we would be able to afford it. It really is an option if you break it up among 2 or 3 couples and get it on an "off" time of year. I don't know how we will cruise in any other room from now on though;)

ksimpso3 · January 25, 2013

After my daughter's dolphin encounter, my mother and I decided to head to do a little shopping while husband and girls went to pool at Senor Frogs. My mother finally bought the Tanzanite ring she had been looking at since Roatan at Diamonds International (very costly but she wanted it). We looked around a little after that but didn't find too much worth buying, so headed back to the ship. We walked down the long pier. Crew members were dancing and singing as we returned to ship and were handing out cold towels and water...very nice.

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My husband and girls came back a little later with 2 couples they had met on the walk back. We had a nice time showing off the villa and mixing up drinks (had to use the alcohol up anyhow). We then showered and got ready for our dinner in Teppanyaki (it was the only reservation we made all week. Virginia told us we had one night in any specialty restaurant of our choice for free.) My mother wasn't too thrilled about trying it, but she liked it. The food was excellent, but the space was tight, and crammed in the back of another restaurant? It was a little strange. There are two grills with seating at each for 10. The other table had 4 kids total(all under 10 it seemed) and I was concerned about that as kids can get antsy at dinner especially later, but they were all very well behaved. I had surf and turf...excellent!

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pile of rice....yummy!

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our animal tonight

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

We listened to Duo Luna in Gatsby's for a while. They had quite a crowd and were very good. Our girls went to the White Hot party, but didn't have much to say about it. I have never been to one yet in all my NCL cruises so I can't say what the attraction is.

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

We docked in Cozumel next to the Norwegian Star. Our waiter from the Venetian told us he would be dancing at 3pm on the dock this afternoon to welcome back the NCL guests. (Unfortunately we missed him but there were still some crew singing outside when we returned.) We again had no plans (we usually do fairly active excursions when we cruise but my mother was with us and she said she just wanted to go to beaches and shop, which was fine too). Virginia mentioned Playa Mia beach to us, so we headed to the taxi area and got a van for the 6 of us. The driver said it would cost $25 per person for the beach (which included loungers, umbrellas, water toys), but since it was already 11:30 and we only wanted to spend a couple hours at the beach, we asked her if there were any free beaches. She said the SanFrancisco Beach Club was "free" but they required everyone to spend at least $10 on food or drinks. That was fine with us, and it was closer than Playa Mia, so we went there. (Taxi cost $32 to get there-which I thought was high to bring us about 5-10 miles from the dock, but there were 6 of us.) The SanFrancisco Beach club was nice, except for the people constantly walking around trying to get you to buy their jewelry,clothes, cigars, etc. We got loungers (again with shade for my mother and sister) and relaxed. The water felt good as the sun was hot. There were water trampolines and things like that to play on. My sister and I rented jetskis for $50 each for 30 minutes which was plenty long enough because you were restricted to a small area and the parasailing boats were coming and going, so dodging them and the other jetskis was kind of tricky. We finished just in time because some guys with women on the back came out on jetskis and were driving like maniacs...one guy even threw the woman off the back!! (I think the jetski owners came out to get them and made them come back in). We had hamburgers, nachos, chicken tenders, beers...all very good. We had mixed up some of our own drinks and brought off the ship with us (still had tequila, rum, and vodka to finish.) We stayed until about 2:15 then went got a van back to town (this time it only cost $28). We shopped in the port area for a while (hubby found the Hard Rock Cafe had Bud Light in glass bottles...he was happy as he stated the Bud Light in the aluminum bottles on the ship have a strange taste.) The shopping in Cozumel is the best, IMO, and that's where I got the souvenirs (pens, shirts,bags, etc) to bring home.

our captain backed us right in here:

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The Star pulling in next to us:

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Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and NCL Pearl docked further down:

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water toys:

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

here we go!!

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the Fury catamaran party boat was full!!

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Twin sisters side-by-side

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The family waving from garden villa upper balcony (I was on pier)

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

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Love the turquoise water

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The Star left before us

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Edited January 26, 2013 by ksimpso3

ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

We had decided earlier in the week that we wanted to have dinner one night on our patio and figure tonight would be good so we could relax after Cozumel. We watched the Star sail off in front of us, relaxed in our hottub, and then Mark brought us dinner. The garden villa has the menus for all the restaurants in the buffet drawer in dining room, so we all picked from wherever we wanted. (My husband got wings from Blue Lagoon and steak from the Venetian...it was nice that we could pick and choose like that). Mark and Edward set up table and brought the meals. It was good not to have to worry about showering and dressing to go to the dining rooms. I stuck with my predictable fish...very good. We didn't go to the show tonight either....too lazy!!

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the balcony looks so nice all lit up at night

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so does the pool deck

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our outdoor dining area

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kwbound · January 26, 2013

Thank you for taking the time to share!

ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

Today was our last day...very hard to believe it was almost over. Virginia invited us to a bridge tour this morning. We learned a lot about the workings of the boat, very interesting.

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the balconies of the suites on deck 10 are completely visible from the bridge!! watch what you do if you're staying there

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We then had a couple meet us in the villa. I had asked Virginia earlier in the week if there was anyone in one of the new suites on deck 12 that would be willing to "swap" rooms. She found a couple that was interested in seeing the villa and agreed to showing us their suite. I did like the room, and the balcony was big enough, I just didn't like the fact that people on deck 13 could look right down on it.

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

My sister went to the towel animal folding class...she had asked Mickey how he made such nice animals. He said it was just a couple basic moves to start with and suggested the class to her. I had planned on going to the international crew talent show, but the sun was shining and I was enjoying my last few hours of warmth before heading back to the cold. My husband and girls went to the Pearly King's pub to watch the Ravens/Broncos football game meanwhile. We met up for the 7pm Bollywood show. It is an amazing show, even my husband enjoyed it (not more than watching the end of the football game, but he didn't complain!) The farewell tribute by the officers and crew after was nice also. It was nice to be able to show them our appreciation for all they do. We grabbed a quick dinner in the buffet and then headed to the front desk to take care of an issue with our credit card. We got an NCL Bank of America card and used it as our method of payment, but Virginia said there was a limit placed on it due to possible fraudulent activity (we hadn't called them before we left to let them know we were on vacation). She let us use the phone at front desk to call BOA to get it sorted out. After 30 minutes on the phone, we didn't get anywhere and ended up having to give a second credit card for the balance. (We wanted to use it onboard for double points, but that didn't happen. Oh well.) We then went to pack...very sad time.

The girls went to the farewell party and had to say goodbye to their favorite bartender "Chips Ahoy" from Pearly Kings. They came in rather late but at least had their packing done.

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Virginia was always smiling

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ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

Sadly, we had to leave this wonderful ship. We had arranged 9:30 with Virginia. We kept all our bags with us...just easier for us. Mark met us in the villa promptly at 9:30 and escorted us to deck 7. Virginia met us there and we said our goodbyes. (Virginia was leaving that day also for 6 weeks home in Phillipines). We had a porter meet us there and escort us down to customs. We were though in minutes and out to our waiting limo (the final perk of the villa). Our bags followed in a town car. Off to Tampa airport to head back to New York:(

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GOODBYE DAWN!!

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I will post tons of pictures tomorrow. If there are any you want to see in particular, just ask.

ksimpso3 · January 26, 2013

We loved the Dawn. It was our first NCL cruise in 2005. It is odd, but the ship seemed smaller than I remember. I remember more seating in the grand atrium as well (but maybe I am just confusing all the ships??) Anyways, overall it was excellent. I do think some of the public restrooms need some attention (toilet seats looked dirty) and there were some areas in the villa that showed it's age (worn wood in some closet areas, etc), but nothing took away from our trip. Anyone who gets a chance to see the villa should (the concierge stated she will show it to people around 10 am on disembarkation day if there is interest). I am trying to decide which ship to choose next. I am thinking of the Gem from NYC as we can drive there but I'm not sure. Might like to try the Breakaway, but I don't know if I will like the bigger ship. Any suggestions??

Some villa pictures

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Middle bedroom-my sister slept of fold-out, it had memory foam mattress

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kitchen-3 fridges, microwave, upper cabinets with glasses,etc., coffee maker (pods replaced as used, milk and creamers supplied as well as sugar, splenda, etc).

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