Dawn Review 1/13-1/20 Pictures, Dailies, Menus

[darbs7]

Thank you for all the info.

 

We leave for the Dawn in 3 weeks. We have sailed the last two years on the Pearl...believe it or not we have only eaten in the main dining room once and we grabbed a snack at the buffet once.

 

Next cruise give the pay restaurants a try...it is the only reason we won't switch from NCL. The cruise is so cheap that we just plan an extra $100 a piece and eat at speciality restaurants all week.

 

Cagney's dinner is so great, we usually eat the chinese and italian twice. We also eat Le Bistro once or twice and Moderno once. We may try main dining once this cruise...we have 5 of the 7 nights booked right now (Cagneys, Moderno, Chinese, Le Cucina, and Le Bistro)...not sure what we are doing with the other two nights. We love the quiet atmosphere and the personal service and fresh cooked to order food.

[clean1owner]

Great review - thanks for posting the menus, and Daily letters... Loved the photos too.

 

Can you tell me does the ship change its time to the various ports? Or does one need to keep track of local port times on their own?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

 

 

When your Cabin Steward turns down the beds in the evening, he leaves a card on the towel animal to remind you when to change your watch.

[babsroth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babsroth

Great review - thanks for posting the menus, and Daily letters... Loved the photos too.

 

Can you tell me does the ship change its time to the various ports? Or does one need to keep track of local port times on their own?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

 

 

Reply by clean1owner:

When your Cabin Steward turns down the beds in the evening, he leaves a card on the towel animal to remind you when to change your watch.

 

 

 

 

Thank yoU!

[fuggles]

Great review! I'll be on the Dawn in May and can't wait!

 

Could someone tell me what the check marks on some of the items the menus are? I thought at first they were vegetarian dishes, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Thanks!

 

At the bottom of the menu it said the check marks were "healthier choices"

[awaywego0000]

We live in Somersworth NH just over the border.....going on the repo April 21 on the Dawn. Our first time on NCL! Very excited....can't come soon enough with all the snow and cold!

 

Enjoying the reviews of NCL Dawn. Thanks!

 

We live in Amherst NH....have to wait until 2014 for our Dawn cruise. I enjoy reading these reviews. Dreaming about our vacation helps me to get through the winter. Take good care of the ship and enjoy your cruise!!!!

[Loucat]

Thanks for the haeds up on Maya Chan. My wife sez she found a site that said the sand was sticky, like peanut butter. Would anyone be able to give a quick review? Already booked a beach getaway with NCL as I couldn't find anything else listed that caught my eye. The NCL beach getaway looked like a 4, but needed something to do in Costa Maya.

We have been there twice and will go again. Not sure why the sand was like peanut butter:confused:

Based on winds, you can have eel grass, but there is always someone raking it off the beach.

You reserve palapas based on the size of your group. All are set up so that you have your own chairs, lounge and a fair sense of privacy. It is peaceful yet they also have snorkeling out to the reef; fun games for kids with a pinata, floating chairs- so you do what you want.

It is safe, clean and the staff make your day. The food is tasty and you can eat all that you want. Massages are available for an hour or half hour.

I hate to leave there!

They also have drinks of all kinds and you can have all you want.

Free wifi at the bar; clean restrooms and I highly recommend it.

The only downside is the trip; as someone else posted, the ride to and from is rocky due to ruts in the road. Small annoyance for such a great all inclusive.

[caseythegr]

We live in Amherst NH....have to wait until 2014 for our Dawn cruise. I enjoy reading these reviews. Dreaming about our vacation helps me to get through the winter. Take good care of the ship and enjoy your cruise!!!!

 

We're in Milford and leave on the Dawn in 4 weeks! I can't wait to get out of this cold!

[wvfrogg]

We're in Milford and leave on the Dawn in 4 weeks! I can't wait to get out of this cold!

 

I am sooooo ready for some sunshine, great food, happy faces and "washy washy"!! Walking the dog with boots, hats, gloves and dodging the ice has been less than a good time this past week in Chicago. (I wear the boots, hats and gloves - not my dog!)

 

Yep, I am ready for a cruise!!

[Love2CruiseMore]

Calvin, I have one more question for you. Do you know when the Chef's table/dinner was held? I didn't see anything listed in all the dailies that you posted. Thank you so much for all of your time and effort in posting and answering all of our questions!!!

[mtns2sea]

Thanks so much for taking the time and provide this review of your trip on the Dawn...

 

I am all new to this forum and it will be our very first cruise ever on March 24th aboard the Dawn with your same itinerary..I was very fortunate to have come across this review, as it has been very insightful for what we can expect.

 

-Looking forward to learning more in preparation for our trip from expert members like yourself :)

 

Hi vg247, you should join us on the Dawn 3/24/13 roll call. I'm new here as we'll, so I don't know how to post a link.

 

Thanks for the great review clean1owner!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[et1770]

A very informative review. Great Pictures! I'm really looking at doing a Dawn cruise next winter.

[JLDSMD]

Disembarkation Day :(:(

 

 

 

We received Priority Disembarkation tags on the last night. I think it was another perk for hosting the Meet & Greet. Meeting time was 8:40 in the Spinnaker. This gave us time to have a nice breakfast in Cagney's. Same as always, it was great.

 

When our time came to leave, we were able to walk off with no lines. Our bags were closest to the exit, and grouped by cabin number. This was the fastest, most efficient disembarkation process I have ever experienced.

 

 

 

First, thanks for the review. We sail March 3rd.

 

Regarding disembarkation, what time did you actually get off the ship? We're sailing in a SJ Suite, so we'll have priority disembarkation. Our concern is when we were supposed to get off the Star back in November in New Orleans, it was a disaster and took an extra 2+ hours. We were thinking of doing "easy walk off" this time. We have a flight out of Orlando at 2:45, so we still have to drive up there after getting off the ship.

 

Granted it was the Star's first time coming into NOLA, so that may have had an issue with the disembarkation, and the Dawn has been going in/out of Tampa for a few months now, so I would hope it would run smoothly.

 

Thanks.

[sara_m]

great review!! my first cruise was on the dawn in 2007. This brings back a lot of good memories!!

[clean1owner]

Calvin, I have one more question for you. Do you know when the Chef's table/dinner was held? I didn't see anything listed in all the dailies that you posted. Thank you so much for all of your time and effort in posting and answering all of our questions!!!

 

 

I don't remember seeing anything about it. Sorry

[clean1owner]

First, thanks for the review. We sail March 3rd.

 

Regarding disembarkation, what time did you actually get off the ship? We're sailing in a SJ Suite, so we'll have priority disembarkation. Our concern is when we were supposed to get off the Star back in November in New Orleans, it was a disaster and took an extra 2+ hours. We were thinking of doing "easy walk off" this time. We have a flight out of Orlando at 2:45, so we still have to drive up there after getting off the ship.

 

Granted it was the Star's first time coming into NOLA, so that may have had an issue with the disembarkation, and the Dawn has been going in/out of Tampa for a few months now, so I would hope it would run smoothly.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Meeting time was 8:40 in the Spinnaker. We were off the ship by 9:00

[sometimes sailor]

Thank you for posting. We leave on the 17th of Fe., first time on NCL!!!!

 

 

Hope the ship can recuperate from our visit! :D

[sometimes sailor]

Thanks to the OP for the great review. Getting way too excited for a break from the winter weather and seven great days on the DAWN.

 

Photos were great and looked like a fantastic family get away.

[hammsz]

Thanks to the OP for the great review. Getting way too excited for a break from the winter weather and seven great days on the DAWN.

 

Photos were great and looked like a fantastic family get away.

 

thanks for the love

[frediver]

Thanks for the great review and images.

I have a couple of questions:

Do you recall if Dawn has anything like an Afternoon Tea Service? It is more traditional but

we have found it to be like a Daily Meet n' Greet.

I see you mentioned having Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's, what is the upcharge for those meals ?

 

Thanks again for all the great info.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for the great review and images.

I have a couple of questions:

Do you recall if Dawn has anything like an Afternoon Tea Service? It is more traditional but

we have found it to be like a Daily Meet n' Greet.

I see you mentioned having Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's, what is the upcharge for those meals ?

 

Thanks again for all the great info.

 

Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's is complimentary for full suite guests. It is reserved for only those occupying suites.

[ksimpso3]

First, thanks for the review. We sail March 3rd.

 

Regarding disembarkation, what time did you actually get off the ship? We're sailing in a SJ Suite, so we'll have priority disembarkation. Our concern is when we were supposed to get off the Star back in November in New Orleans, it was a disaster and took an extra 2+ hours. We were thinking of doing "easy walk off" this time. We have a flight out of Orlando at 2:45, so we still have to drive up there after getting off the ship.

 

Granted it was the Star's first time coming into NOLA, so that may have had an issue with the disembarkation, and the Dawn has been going in/out of Tampa for a few months now, so I would hope it would run smoothly.

 

Thanks.

We had our butler meet us at 9:30 (to let our daughters sleep in a little) since we had a 12:55 flight from Tampa. We were brought right down to meet concierge, a porter helped us with bags and brought us down an elevator. We were through customs in less than half hour. That's were suite perk came in handy...looked like a long line the other way, but not sure how long that took.

[frediver]

Sorry I'm a bit confused, in your opening post you state cabins 11533/35 inside, did you and your wife also book a suite, which one ?

[clean1owner]

Sorry I'm a bit confused, in your opening post you state cabins 11533/35 inside, did you and your wife also book a suite, which one ?

 

 

We did not book a suite.

 

We received an invitation to Cagneys from the Concierge. I think it was because we hosted the CC Meet & Greet.

[sometimes sailor]

Great review this will be our first time on NCL and the Dawn all this info is wonderful keep it coming :)

 

. .. . and already branding the Blue Dot!

 

Awesome.:D