Just back from the Dawn- Wonderful Voyage

[RIvacationgirl]

Hello everyone! My DH and I just returned from the Dawn. We left on 2/17. What a great trip! Second cruise ever, first was the Jewel last year. We are both 51 yrs. young ( born 5 days apart!).

 

First, I want to thank everyone who helped answer my questions over the last few months, and also for the many informational posts of others. I hope I can pay it forward- so ask me any questions, and I will give you a synopsis of the trip. I also have posted a review.

 

We left a very cold Tampa- 38 degrees on the 17th. Check-in was very smooth and quick. We put our 24 pack of water in a small carry-on size luggage and checked it in along with our 2 pieces of luggage with no problem. Did not have to haul around the water! We were given group #1 to board and were on the ship by noon. We went straight to the spa pass table on Deck 7 (thank you CC tip) and bought 2 passes, and a soda card for DH. Headed to the Venetian for a delightful lunch, and our room was ready by 1:30pm.

 

We were in a midship minisuite- 11080. It was very nice, a little different from the Jewel. A few less drawers, but instead a little make-up area with stool and mirror to prep. More than enough storage for the two of us, closet had some shelves within, along with 2 robes. We had a safe, fridge and coffeemaker. We had the added bonus of the promotion they had run when we purchased the cruise- bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries- yum! The room was very clean-( I am a nurse), and the room steward Fernando was very good. The balcony had 3 chairs, and we could faintly hear the poolside music when out which we liked. We did not have a smoke issue, our neighbors only smoked maybe 2-3 times on the whole cruise when we were out, and we just shut the sliders with no problem. As far as noise- we did hear a few chairs in the morning and early evening scraping, but this did not cause an issue. The position of the room was on the same deck as the spa which was great. We have booked this room again for a future cruise.

The spa pass was a very nice splurge. I am very fair, and I did not have to worry about sunscreen, hat... It was quiet, restful and we enjoyed the jacuzzi that you could lie down and lounge. My husband had injured his knee the previous week, and this was nice respite. I also went for two different spa treatments with Josephine, and she was very professional.We did go to the outdoor pool area a few times, and actually went to the lone aft whirlpool once(CC tip), had it all to ourselves but it was much too windy that day and we had to leave it or choke on the water splashing around!

Food was awesome! We enjoyed the 2 dining rooms, and we went to the buffet much more on this trip than the last cruise. The dining staff were great, and we also enjoyed Moderno twice, La Cucina twice and Cagneys once. Each were special in their own way. A LOW point was the service in the Blue Lagoon. We actually saw people leave due to the poor service. It was disorganized and not well run. However, the food was good, just poor service.

Casino was nice, staff good. Won $500 on our extra day at sea.

We enjoyed a martini tasting which was different than the Jewel, but still fun. They gave us SIX martinis( $15/pp) and they came in plastic martini shaped "glasses". It was a nice community event, and I can tell you EVERYONE was having a good time! Many places for 2 for 1 between 4-6pm each day on the ship. The English pub was a nice place to watch sports and they did have trivia events there.

I found that there was more entertainment on this ship than the Jewel, in addition to the shows in the theater, there was a number of other places to enjoy some live music which was nice.

As far as the ports- I will give a brief description, ask me any questions for more detail. Roatan- we only went for an hour of shopping at the port, we were not that impressed, we did not go to the beach areas. Belize we enjoyed the Altun Ha ruins and River Safari which I highly recommend. This was very informative and a great adventure. Well worth the money. Costa Maya- very beautiful port, with many shops, a community pool area, and you could view people who had purchased the dolphin experience. We tried Senor Frogs( CC tip)- I will say it was QUITE UNIQUE! A little risque! Cozumel- Plenty of shopping and we had a delicious ceviche there.

The UNEXPECTED TURN of the cruise came on the last day when we were shut out of Tampa due to fog. We were supposed to disembark at 8am, and we actually got off the ship at 5pm. I did a happy dance! This gave us an extra day at sea, and the crew made sure we had activities and plenty of food choices. I found this unexpected turn of events was handled extremely professionally considering we knew this was going to make the staff's work very difficult to prepare for the next passengers. Important point: We were not flying out until the next day, many people were unhappy cruisers because they were missing their flights. This is definitely something to think about when you are planning your flights beforehand- we tend to focus on booking a flight a day or two before embarkation to be safe if any flight delays, but sometimes there are delays getting back to consider!

In conclusion, it was a wonderful voyage. I thought there would be a lot of children on board, due to school vacation, but we did not find this was the case. The weather was warm in the Caribbean. It was a very restful, relaxing cruise on a wonderful ship. We are happily looking forward to our next trip on the Dawn in August to Bermuda!:D

[tammi0916]

Thanks for the review...so happy you like the ship. We are going on her the week before you to Bermuda - you get on when we get off! :(

 

This will be our first time on NCL so I am glad to hear such a great review!

 

Thanks,

Tammi

[vols_159]

leaving in 14 days! cant wait to board the dawn! do you remember any specials on the menus? or take any pictures of the MDR MENUS? and who was the CD and any entertainment? shows acts comedian?

[justcake]

Glad to hear that you had a great trip and enjoyed the ship. We will be with you on the August 2nd to Bermuda. You should join the roll call because right now there are only a couple people on it. Not what I'm used too; usually there are lots on the NCL roll calls.

[RIvacationgirl]

Thanks for the review...so happy you like the ship. We are going on her the week before you to Bermuda - you get on when we get off! :(

 

This will be our first time on NCL so I am glad to hear such a great review!

 

Thanks,

Tammi

 

I know you will enjoy the Dawn and NCL. Freestyle is a wonderful thing. I apologize to you for looking forward to the end of your trip!;)

[camz]

RIVacation - Thank you for your review. It is good to hear that the Dawn is still pleasing the passengers. No doubt you will have a great cruise on your upcoming Bermuda cruise. IMO Bermuda is the most beautiful place on earth!

[RIvacationgirl]

leaving in 14 days! cant wait to board the dawn! do you remember any specials on the menus? or take any pictures of the MDR MENUS? and who was the CD and any entertainment? shows acts comedian?

There was a variety of specials on the menus, my DH thinks they were in relation to each port. I cannot remember specifics. The buffet had a different theme each day, and between 12noon and 5pm there was always burgers, hot dogs, salads...too. On some days there was a BBQ by the pool, and at night VERY small buffet in the casino. REMEMBER, lobster night is the first night in the Venetian, which was delish! Blue Lagoon is 24/7.

I found the Caesar salad to be excellent in each dining spot. Cagney's the steak was cooked to perfection. LaCucina we enjoyed the lasagna, pork osso bucco, grilled shrimp, and spaghetti and meatballs. Moderno had a very different salad bar, which actually made us return. The meats were pork ribs, lamb, different beefs, chickens, chourizo and linguica. Loved it.

[RIvacationgirl]

leaving in 14 days! cant wait to board the dawn! do you remember any specials on the menus? or take any pictures of the MDR MENUS? and who was the CD and any entertainment? shows acts comedian?

The CD was Gio, very good. Many activities on the dailies, though I did not photograph. The entertainment included to name a few- a magic show, Dancing with the NCL Stars, Not so Newlywed Game, Jocka and Maria(acrobatic type show), Band on the Run- 70's music, Staff variety show as well as piano and singing in a variety of places each night. One night it was tribute to The Monkees, another Billy Joel/ Elton John, another Frank Sinatra. They also have the Second City show!

[lynninsc]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had such a good time despite the delay returning. We are sailing on Dawn next weekend and I cannot wait!!

[RIvacationgirl]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had such a good time despite the delay returning. We are sailing on Dawn next weekend and I cannot wait!!

 

Bon Voyage and smooth sailing!

[toberman]

Hello everyone! My DH and I just returned from the Dawn. We left on 2/17. What a great trip! Second cruise ever, first was the Jewel last year. We are both 51 yrs. young ( born 5 days apart!).

 

:D

 

Great review.. thanks. We will be on the Dawn for the first time this year.. and you make it sound special. Thanks again.:)

[marym933]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had such a good time despite the delay returning. We are sailing on Dawn next weekend and I cannot wait!!

 

Me too! If you haven't been to the roll call page yet, please stop by. We have over 700 posts with 80 cc members registered for the meet and greet!

[jdvmd]

Thanks for the great review!

[mommaof 3]

Love to read reviews of the Dawn,we have a 2 bedroom suite reserved just down the hall from yours next spring. Wish we could go sooner, but I'm finishing nursing school! And then I need to get all my ducks in a row...NCLEX, job... Glad to hear it wasn't noisy. Was your balcony open or a "cove" one, I think ours is a cove?

 

Also, we went to Bermuda last August, and it is hot and humid, but fabulous. I generally have a hard time with sun, but we did find that Horseshoe Beach has shade on the right side from cliffs in the afternoon. So, we spent the morning sightseeing and afternoon at the beach and no sunburn! Loved the perfumerie and the "dunking" in St. George and we did a free walking tour there also that was very informative. The gentlemen doing the dunking asked my husband to play the town drunk, so it was extraordinarily memorable and funny for us. They had a lot of fun with saying he was from New Jersey.

[chipq]

Thanks for sharing. I keep hoping for a cruise that keeps me out to sea for an extra day...or more. Welcome back

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[RIvacationgirl]

Love to read reviews of the Dawn,we have a 2 bedroom suite reserved just down the hall from yours next spring. Wish we could go sooner, but I'm finishing nursing school! And then I need to get all my ducks in a row...NCLEX, job... Glad to hear it wasn't noisy. Was your balcony open or a "cove" one, I think ours is a cove?

 

Also, we went to Bermuda last August, and it is hot and humid, but fabulous. I generally have a hard time with sun, but we did find that Horseshoe Beach has shade on the right side from cliffs in the afternoon. So, we spent the morning sightseeing and afternoon at the beach and no sunburn! Loved the perfumerie and the "dunking" in St. George and we did a free walking tour there also that was very informative. The gentlemen doing the dunking asked my husband to play the town drunk, so it was extraordinarily memorable and funny for us. They had a lot of fun with saying he was from New Jersey.

 

I am not sure what a cove balcony is, we just had a regular balcony. Thanks for the heads up info for Bermuda, it sounds beautiful.

 

Good luck on the NCLEX from a fellow RN!

[mtns2sea]

Thanks for the review. We are three weeks from sailing on the Dawn:)

[TryingCruising]

Thanks for sharing! We're on the Dawn next weekend. I cannot wait! :D

 

Did you find Altun Ha ruins enjoyable in Belize? We're still debating what to do there...

[RIvacationgirl]

Me too! If you haven't been to the roll call page yet, please stop by. We have over 700 posts with 80 cc members registered for the meet and greet!

Have a great trip!

[RIvacationgirl]

Thanks for sharing! We're on the Dawn next weekend. I cannot wait! :D

 

Did you find Altun Ha ruins enjoyable in Belize? We're still debating what to do there...

 

We had booked the excursion through the NCL site.These were the first ruins we have ever been to, so I have nothing to compare. For us, it was extremely interesting to learn about how old they are, and all of the Mayan culture and beliefs that went into the construction. It is a very unique place. You can climb them too if you want. It was an about an hour ride from the port, but the tour guide we had was talking and answering questions the ENTIRE time about Belize, so it went by very fast. The bus was clean and air conditioned. Just a note of caution-there is little to no time to go to the bathroom prior to getting on the bus, so either go right before you tender in, or try to be one of the first off the tender and head straight to the BR. When I went into the rest room, it was empty- BUT when I came out there was a long line. I had to catch up to my husband who had gone directly into the bus line and we went right onto the bus. There is a BR at the ruins.

I highly recommend the river safari that was combined with the ruins. This was an exciting boat ride- my husband and I felt this was a once in a lifetime adventure along the river.

[TryingCruising]

We had booked the excursion through the NCL site.These were the first ruins we have ever been to, so I have nothing to compare. For us, it was extremely interesting to learn about how old they are, and all of the Mayan culture and beliefs that went into the construction. It is a very unique place. You can climb them too if you want. It was an about an hour ride from the port, but the tour guide we had was talking and answering questions the ENTIRE time about Belize, so it went by very fast. The bus was clean and air conditioned. Just a note of caution-there is little to no time to go to the bathroom prior to getting on the bus, so either go right before you tender in, or try to be one of the first off the tender and head straight to the BR. When I went into the rest room, it was empty- BUT when I came out there was a long line. I had to catch up to my husband who had gone directly into the bus line and we went right onto the bus. There is a BR at the ruins.

I highly recommend the river safari that was combined with the ruins. This was an exciting boat ride- my husband and I felt this was a once in a lifetime adventure along the river.

 

Thanks!

 

We're thinking we'll do ruins in Belize and are also considering the full day river and Lamanai. Then another part of us is leaning towards no longer transport and just a beach day. We have one week left to make this decision!

[vols_159]

We had booked the excursion through the NCL site.These were the first ruins we have ever been to, so I have nothing to compare. For us, it was extremely interesting to learn about how old they are, and all of the Mayan culture and beliefs that went into the construction. It is a very unique place. You can climb them too if you want. It was an about an hour ride from the port, but the tour guide we had was talking and answering questions the ENTIRE time about Belize, so it went by very fast. The bus was clean and air conditioned. Just a note of caution-there is little to no time to go to the bathroom prior to getting on the bus, so either go right before you tender in, or try to be one of the first off the tender and head straight to the BR. When I went into the rest room, it was empty- BUT when I came out there was a long line. I had to catch up to my husband who had gone directly into the bus line and we went right onto the bus. There is a BR at the ruins.

I highly recommend the river safari that was combined with the ruins. This was an exciting boat ride- my husband and I felt this was a once in a lifetime adventure along the river.

 

 

Weve been looking at this excursion or the same one but the zoo i think you just sold me on the river safari! did it stop for lunch?

[figgifumi]

Can you tell me more about the spa pass? What facilities do you get to use? Which can you use as a couple vs those that are separated by male vs female? How much was it?thanks!

[Hockeylovinmom]

We've always had great cruises on the Dawn!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[RIvacationgirl]

Weve been looking at this excursion or the same one but the zoo i think you just sold me on the river safari! did it stop for lunch?

Yes, they stop after the ruins. They take you to this very little resort type area, where people are swimming. The restaurant is all open air but covered with a thatched roof. You get in a line, and they give you a plate of potato salad, rice and a Mexican type chicken. It was alright, not gourmet! There is a bar there too. There is seating, and a London couple from the NCL Star came and sat with us and we had a nice conversation.

I hope you enjoy the river safari as much as we did! ;)