Just back from the Dawn- Wonderful Voyage

[RIvacationgirl]

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!

The spa pass was $119/pp. There is a separate entrance for the men and women which led into the locker rooms. There are showers, toiletries, hair dryers, bathrooms, lockers, and sauna as well as plenty of towels. They give you a robe when you check in each time. The locker rooms led out into the common spa pool area or into a separate male area or female area for reading and relaxing where you had to be "dry"- no wet bathing suits. This area had the panoramic glass views as well as in the common spa area.

The pool area had showers, a lap pool( 3-4 ft), a whirlpool, and the lounging jacuzzi. There was tea, coffee, ice water. There were loungers which faced the panoramic windows. The whole place was a quiet zone, and there are signs posted. We never found it to be busy, especially mid-afternoon on port days. We enjoyed this area very much, as we like to read, relax and sleep!:)

[jeannep]

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. There was no standup comedian on board which was very disappointing to us. We usually are not Second City fans, but their show in the theater was terrific. We didn't get to their unscripted show in Spinaker. There was a magic show and the guy was somewhat funny.

 

Enjoy!!!(we did)

Jeanne

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[RIvacationgirl]

Nice review.

Thanks!

[macimoo1]

Thanks for your review, we were the sad ones on shore in Tampa waiting for the Dawn to get back to pick us up! The fog delay really messed up a lot of plans. We were at the port for 7 hours waiting for the port to open. We toured the Navy museum ship and shopped the port stores. A lot of people went to the aquarium. We had good luck with service in the blue lagoon but thought the buffet was disappointing, isn't it funny how things change week to week? We also had a great time and bought a cruise certificate for next winter while onboard. We were really unhappy that they had lobster night when we didn't even get aboard til 7pm. We felt they should have changed this to another night when more could enjoy. Thanks again!

[RIvacationgirl]

Thanks for your review, we were the sad ones on shore in Tampa waiting for the Dawn to get back to pick us up! The fog delay really messed up a lot of plans. We were at the port for 7 hours waiting for the port to open. We toured the Navy museum ship and shopped the port stores. A lot of people went to the aquarium. We had good luck with service in the blue lagoon but thought the buffet was disappointing, isn't it funny how things change week to week? We also had a great time and bought a cruise certificate for next winter while onboard. We were really unhappy that they had lobster night when we didn't even get aboard til 7pm. We felt they should have changed this to another night when more could enjoy. Thanks again!

 

We felt very bad for you and the others waiting to board the ship. As the last day progressed, my DH and I were wondering how things might change to accommodate the late boarding, and when you would actually get onto the ship. We thought many people would end up not even going to dinner as usual because of the delay. It is too bad the first night remained the lobster night, but maybe it had to be served right away for freshness? :confused: Did you end up getting to Roatan on time?

Glad to hear it was a great trip after all, we bought an OBC too!

[macimoo1]

We were late to Roatan (11) but they extended our stay to 7pm. I don't hold anything against NCL for the fog in Tampa, I felt they handled it as best they could. We wouldn't have went to the pier on time but we had to check out of hotel at 11 am and really had no where else to go. We were updated by text by NCL. My only sore spot was truly the whole decent dinner thing. By the time everyone was aboard they were already making muster drill announcements so going to a main dining room seemed unlikely. The buffet the first night was very limited. The lobster may have been needed to be cooked that night but they could have extended the main dining room hours or made some announcements encouraging cruisers to come to the dining rooms instead of pushing everyone to the buffet. We went to Maya Key in Roatan and LOVED it, what a beautiful place!

[GeneD]

Hi, I was wondering if the aft elevators go all the way down to the venetian dining room? In the deck plans it looks like the only way to get into the venetian is to go down a staircase. Some of our group are not the best stair climbers.

Thanks for any help in this matter.

[NewEnglandNANA]

Great Review, Love the info on the spa pass, I so want to get one this time!

[ch27088]

Thank you for your review RIvacationgirl. One thing I have to comment on is why do folks make their flight reservations so that they arrive the day of embarkation and then the day of dembarkation. It is just to risky and your review proves that as well. DH and I are going on a cruise in November out of New Orleans. We live in Alabama and will be driving. We plan on leaving Alabama on Saturday, staying overnight in New Orleans, and then wake up all rested and get on the ship the next day. I don't plan on missing my ship because of poor planning. If you are driving quite a distance, or flying in from another state, arrive a day or two before you depart on the cruise ship. The same for leaving, this way you are not worried about anything if you get stuck in traffic, plane delay, or ship delay.

[cruiser1955a]

Hi, I was wondering if the aft elevators go all the way down to the venetian dining room? In the deck plans it looks like the only way to get into the venetian is to go down a staircase. Some of our group are not the best stair climbers.

Thanks for any help in this matter.

 

There are 4 elevators that will take you to the entrance level (half-way between 2 decks), where you can walk down half a flight of stairs into the dining room. One of those elevators will take HC passengers down to the dining room level. You may have to get out of one elevator at the main entrance level, then get in another to take you all the way down. I can't remember whether it was the port side, or starboard side elevator, but it wasn't one of the 2 middle elevators. We did this several times with my wheel-chair bound dad. The Venetian cheese cake was beckoning him !

[RIvacationgirl]

Hi, I was wondering if the aft elevators go all the way down to the venetian dining room? In the deck plans it looks like the only way to get into the venetian is to go down a staircase. Some of our group are not the best stair climbers.

Thanks for any help in this matter.

My husband had hurt his knee before the trip, and we used the elevator that was on the restaurant level. The thing is someone will need to go up the stairs to check in with the host. I hope this will help.

[RIvacationgirl]

Thank you for your review RIvacationgirl. One thing I have to comment on is why do folks make their flight reservations so that they arrive the day of embarkation and then the day of dembarkation. It is just to risky and your review proves that as well. DH and I are going on a cruise in November out of New Orleans. We live in Alabama and will be driving. We plan on leaving Alabama on Saturday, staying overnight in New Orleans, and then wake up all rested and get on the ship the next day. I don't plan on missing my ship because of poor planning. If you are driving quite a distance, or flying in from another state, arrive a day or two before you depart on the cruise ship. The same for leaving, this way you are not worried about anything if you get stuck in traffic, plane delay, or ship delay.

As only a second time cruiser, we always focused on flying to the cruise area at least a day early. Thankfully my DH wanted to spend some time with my parents in Tampa, so we flew back home a day after getting back port. As I said, this was an eye opener for MANY people that day. I can say we were able to enjoy our extended stay on the ship much better than those who were rearranging travel plans!

[RIvacationgirl]

We were late to Roatan (11) but they extended our stay to 7pm. I don't hold anything against NCL for the fog in Tampa, I felt they handled it as best they could. We wouldn't have went to the pier on time but we had to check out of hotel at 11 am and really had no where else to go. We were updated by text by NCL. My only sore spot was truly the whole decent dinner thing. By the time everyone was aboard they were already making muster drill announcements so going to a main dining room seemed unlikely. The buffet the first night was very limited. The lobster may have been needed to be cooked that night but they could have extended the main dining room hours or made some announcements encouraging cruisers to come to the dining rooms instead of pushing everyone to the buffet. We went to Maya Key in Roatan and LOVED it, what a beautiful place!

I hope next time you sail you will have a smoother beginning of your trip. If I ever get a chance to return to Roatan, I will check out Maya Key. Glad to hear you had enough time to enjoy it there!

[macimoo1]

Thanks RIvacationgirl! I was checking out ships for next january already!

[GeneD]

For your timely reply. Bummer about going up the stairs to check in. One would think that the dining room station would be at the bottom of the stairs.

[clean1owner]

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?

 

 

Check out my Dawn Review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1773237 I posted pictures of each evenings MDR menu.