Norwegian Dawn Questions

[teacher424]

I have quite a few questions, would appreciate any responses.

 

1. Taking the 7/24 cruise. Documents say check in doesn't start until 2:00. Is this true, or can we get there earlier? How early is good?

 

2. We will be dropped off at the pier by family. Where is the best place to be dropped off if there is traffic to get to the pier? Across the street?

 

3. What does a taxi cost to get from port canaveral to kennedy space center roundtrip? Better to taxi it, or take excursion? I know it depends on how many people are in taxi as well. Are there taxis at Kennedy Space Center to take us back, or do we need to call to get a ride back?

 

4. What do taxis cost from port of miami to south beach area if we just want to go to beach and walk around?

 

5. What is the best snorkleing excursion on the cruise? I was thinking athol island in bahamas. Any others that are good? We've been snorkeling in st. thomas and aruba, either off a boat or beach is good.

[NJcruiser21]

You're going to LOVE the Dawn. Its such a beautiful ship!

 

 

1) I got there at 11:30ish and we sat in traffic (expected) but I'd rather get there earlier and wait around in the pier and getting on the ship asap. We were on at 12:45.

 

2) I've read suggestions of being dropped off across the street and saw some people doing that. If you can manage the luggage, then I'd do it and miss waiting in line with all the other cars. I think we waited 20 minutes in the line of cars which wasn't too bad.

 

3) I'd do the excursion on your own to save some money - just give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship just in case. Don't know the specifics though since I went to IOA.

 

4) We did the hopper through NCL and it cost 18 a person and it ran every 10 minutes between the port, south beach, and bayside mall. It was really convienent but a cab would have been cheaper (that cost $6 a person roundtrip I believe - nycglitter could answer that better since they took a cab!)

 

5) I did snorkeling at GSC and it was neat and I got to see some cool fish but it wasn't as I expected - my advice is to skip that one.

 

6) HAVE A GREAT TIME!

[Tomct]

We try to arrive by 11:00 am, and we seem to beat the traffic. Of course it depends on what else is going on at the pier and in the city. We'd rather do our waiting at the pier, than in the car, allowing us to be among the first to board, and accordingly begin our cruse around 12/12:30 vs. 2/2:30. While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug for Venetian Restaurant for lunch, as soon as you get on board and get your bearings. You'll have plenty of time after your terrific lunch in a quiet environment, filled with a waitstaff ready to serve you. My standard lunch is Shrimp Scampi, and it may not be available any other day. You'll have time to walk around to check out the ship prior to the 3:30 lifeboat drill.

 

Where was I?

 

Port Canaveral - We've gone on our own to Disney, and prefer that over the ship's excursion. Plenty of standard rental facilities nearby.

 

Miami - We too took the shuttle to South Beach for a swim and sightseeing, and then a stop at Bayside Mall for a mid-afternoon drink and snack at Bubba Gump's. We got hooked on Lava Flow drinks in Hawaii, and BG's are great, as well as their other frozen drinks. The mall is a nice open air mall with some chain stores, and is a short cab ride over the bridge to the pier if you are not comfortable waitng for the shuttle bus to arrive. The fare with tip was under $10 if I recall.

 

Snorkeling - I'm a novice at best, and was advised to bring dog biscuits and a can of processed cheese with us to GSC. Since I was with my young grandkids, we did not venture out too far, but I carried out the dog treats in my bathing suit pocket, and before I was chest high, I was in a school of fish. I learned to put them in a ziplock bag pretty quickly, which happened to be what I brought them in. They liked the cheese equally well! Because of the swarm, we didn't get too much variety, but those who went out further, seemed very pleased. They actually have a guide that will lead the way periodically. I think they feed the fish too.

[fkwok]

I have quite a few questions, would appreciate any responses.

 

1. Taking the 7/24 cruise. Documents say check in doesn't start until 2:00. Is this true, or can we get there earlier? How early is good?

 

2. We will be dropped off at the pier by family. Where is the best place to be dropped off if there is traffic to get to the pier? Across the street?

 

3. What does a taxi cost to get from port canaveral to kennedy space center roundtrip? Better to taxi it, or take excursion? I know it depends on how many people are in taxi as well. Are there taxis at Kennedy Space Center to take us back, or do we need to call to get a ride back?

 

4. What do taxis cost from port of miami to south beach area if we just want to go to beach and walk around?

 

5. What is the best snorkleing excursion on the cruise? I was thinking athol island in bahamas. Any others that are good? We've been snorkeling in st. thomas and aruba, either off a boat or beach is good.

 

 

When we went the last two years, we usually arrived at 1 pm and we had our car service drop us off on 12th avenue and 48th street. We then crossed 12th avenue and avoided the teamsterswho wanted to liberate our luggage for a handsome tip. We took the elevators to the 2nd floor and proceeded to the check in area. We were in our cabins by 2:30 pm. I would strongly recommend taking your bags with you. That way you can start uppacking and head right up to the pool. People have waited till 8 pm to have their bags delivered to their cabins.

 

Have a great trip!

[Cosmopolitan]

Check out the following:

 

http://www.worldshipny.com/2005nycarrdep.html - 3 ships will be in port on your departure date. Departing all at the same time.

You will, most likely, be better off being dropped off across the street from the terminal. That loop can take a loooong time when the piers are crowded. You will certainly be able to tell as you drive down.

NCL now has seating and snacks in the terminal at NY. So, if you arrive early enough, you will have a seat while you wait to embark.

 

Good news is....you are the only ship arriving back to NY so disembarking should be fine.

[shoreguy]

What Time ?

 

Keep in mind the Dawn as been doing an overnight in Nassau for the last couple months departing at noon and returning early. Here she is at 7:45 am today.

 

Starting in July according to the online itineraries it will return to the a 7am to 2 pm stop in Nassau. If that happens the ship will not get back until 10:00-10:30 instead of the current 8:00-8:30.

 

That is why your docs indicate a 2 pm start of embarkation. On average that should in fact be the real time. On a good day it might start at 1 pm.

 

Your decision as to how long you want to wait at the pier :)

[BarbCT605]

Nice pic shoreguy -- what a beautiful sight first thing in the morning:D

[shoreguy]

Nice pic shoreguy -- what a beautiful sight first thing in the morning:D

 

And what a morning it is - you get the best Sunday of the year to cruise out of NYC.

 

Enjoy

[BarbCT605]

:D Yesssssss!

[shoreguy]

:D Yesssssss!

 

Your ship has come in :cool: 8:15 am

[NJcruiser21]

Barb,

 

HAVE A GOOD TIME! :D

[2Cruise4Ever]

I watched her come in, too. My kids sat on my lap (one on each leg :eek: ) and watched her with me. We went through the whole physics of it: how does a ship move in the water? How does she turn? How does she back up, etc? It was so much fun watching her come in and getting really excited about it all.

 

 

7 more days!!!!:D

[shoreguy]

:D Yesssssss!

 

The southbound Henry Hudson is clear time to head for the ship :)

[jeannep]

Teacher,

 

2 years ago we took a taxi to NASA from the Dawn. It was $25 each way plus tip and you can fit at least 4 or more in the van. The tickets to get in were about $33 each. The savings doing it yourself as opposed to NCL is not much unless you have alot of people to fit in the van. There was only 2 of us so we only saved about $7 each. We liked going by ourselves because we did not have to spend 7 hours on the tour. That is the timing NCL put in its brochure. The only thing we didn't like was when we called the taxi company to come and pick us up from NASA it took them almost 1 hour to get there.

 

Enjoy!

Jeanne

[teacher424]

thank you so much for all the advice!