Dawn Review 1/12/14 - First Time with NCL

[mpcaruth]

The shows were very well done and overall they were enjoyable. The Tim Kaminski shows were very funny, as were the Second City shows. They weren't top caliper, but for a cruise ship, we really liked them. I didn't see many of the other shows because we were always stuck at dinner. We did see part of the Bollywood show, and although it was well done....we all thought it was quite odd that none of the leads were Indian! My Mom, sister and I did the Murder Mystery luncheon on the last sea day. It was $20 a person and it was okay. It wasn't really the best murder mystery, but it was something nice to do together that day. The chicken they served for that meal was incredibly flavorful and moist...so yay for the chicken! :)

 

Our next port was Belize. I booked a tour independently through cavetubing.bz with Vitalino. It was another excellent adventure for the four of us that went. It cost a fraction of what they were charging for the ship tour and it included (a delicious!) lunch. We were picked up at the port gate by our driver and walked a short distance to our van.

 

The day was overcast and it was going to rain most of the day. I'm glad that it was on this day, because what better day to rain than the one where you go to the rain forest? Overall, I have an A++++ to this company and loved the tour. I'm not usually a worrier, I like being away from the crowds and I love planning excursions. However, one thing about this excursion that scared the $% our of me is that on the way there, they kidded around about how the speed limits were "suggestions", how there's no police to check speed etc. No problem. I've been in Jamaica and other countries where they drive like crazy people. I've been in cars that pass other cars on bends, go too fast etc. Live like the locals, right? Well, the ride there scared the bejeezus out of me! We were going seriously fast (my Dad estimated 85 at least) on a one lane each way road, in a light rain. I couldn't wait for that part to be over. The drive was an hour long and it was a long, long hour for this Mommy!

 

However, once we go there, it was all forgotten because we had an AMAZING time. First, we trekked about 35 minutes through the rain forest. The guides were amazing at showing us the flora and fauna of the area. If you do this trek, bring HEAVY soled shoes. The rocks they warn you about on the path are no joke. I rented water shoes from them and they were too thin soled. So you've been warned!

 

 

 

 

The craziest part of the hike was that they found a tarantula and got her out of her hole for people to hold. I HATE spiders. Hate them, so how in the world did I think it was a good idea for me to HOLD one?? I don't know...but it was a bucket list sort of thing. Of course, the moment they put it down on my arm....it started running up my arm! Eeek! Thankfully, he blocked it and then it just sat there. My big proud moment:

 

 

Dad's turn:

 

 

HEY! We did this excursion with you guys! Glad you enjoyed it. I am going to be starting my picture review of the Jewel cruise later today, and I think I have some photos of your family. I saw the tarantula going up your arm, and am amazed that you did not fling it across the forest!

[aimathy]

Thanks everyone, for letting me know you liked the review!

 

che5904 - I'm not a cruise ship expert...but I think that the Dawn was a fairly similar size to the Freedom of the Seas (RCCL) and the Liberty (Carnival), which are the two boats I'm thinking most of the comparisons. I know none are "mega ships" but I'm not really sure in terms of size overall. We knew that the Dawn was missing some of the bells and whistles of those other two boats, like mini golf, ice skating, cupcake cafe etc. These are amenities that we used most days and I know it's not fair to blame the Dawn for things we already knew she didn't have! But NOW we realize that it does make a difference for us to have some of those amenities and now we know for the future.

The things that did some more frequent on the other boats, that we enjoyed more than NCL were things like sing a longs most nights (Piano Bar of any sort), dancing to contemporary dance music (a disco area....most music offered at night on NCL seemed very "dated"), live newer music on decks by pool or in venues, the Punchliner had multiple comedy shows every night at more than one time so you could work it in around your dinner, on deck movies, a martini and wine bar that felt trendy and young...not just a smoky lounge, contests/games by the pool in the evening, kids dancing parties etc. Those are just some I can think of now. I know that a very huge factor may be the age of the other guests that week...but every place just seemed blah and not lively. No matter where we roamed, there seemed not to be a place to even just sit and people watch with a drink, unless it was a smoky lounge with outdated music. Again, this is all SO subjective....my "dated" or "boring" might be someone else's awesome time, so that's just what we were feeling!

 

Kenlyn - Thank you! She is usually quite cute....except when she's being sassy. :)

 

buffaloboaters - I did not go to the front desk. To be honest, I was worried that I would get the room attendant in trouble! I know that's silly, but I feel awful knowing how little they make and then thinking about what would happen. Granted, I know nothing changes if you don't complain, but I know now for the next time not to let it go. That being said, most of those things just seemed like things that should be fixed in an overall room renovation. It wasn't just the sheets.

 

mpcaruth - Cool! Which family were you? We had such a fun time on that excursion. I have a picture of the tarantula starting to run up my arm and my face is pretty funny.....I posted my nicer pic though. Lol. I am REALLY surprised I didn't fling it because I hate spiders!! But some sort of once-in-a-lifetime-thing came over me and I just did it. NOW I think, what the heck? They poked it from out of the ground with a stick!! It wasn't even a trained tarantula! :) I hope your cruise on the Jewel was great!

[aimathy]

KCinBama - If you send me your info or an email address I can get your mailing address and send them to you. I don't have the time, unfortunately, to scan them all on our little one page at a time scanner....so if you'd like them I can mail them to you. Thanks!

[mpcaruth]

 

mpcaruth - Cool! Which family were you? We had such a fun time on that excursion. I have a picture of the tarantula starting to run up my arm and my face is pretty funny.....I posted my nicer pic though. Lol. I am REALLY surprised I didn't fling it because I hate spiders!! But some sort of once-in-a-lifetime-thing came over me and I just did it. NOW I think, what the heck? They poked it from out of the ground with a stick!! It wasn't even a trained tarantula! :) I hope your cruise on the Jewel was great!

 

We are the family of 4 with the two tweens. And we had a nice cruise on the Jewel - not our favorite, but still very nice!

 

 

Here's a picture with you and your daughter in it:

[KCinBAMA]

KCinBama - If you send me your info or an email address I can get your mailing address and send them to you. I don't have the time, unfortunately, to scan them all on our little one page at a time scanner....so if you'd like them I can mail them to you. Thanks!

 

That would be great. I'll scan them and post them so everybody can see. You can mail them to my work address:

 

ADTRAN

Attn: ACES/KURT

901 Explorer Blvd

Huntsville, AL 35806

[aimathy]

mpcaruth- I remember your family and it was fun to see us in your second picture. :) We had a great time on that excursion. I hope you did too!

 

KCinBama - Thanks! I'm glad you can post them for everyone. That is perfect. I will send them out, hopefully by the end of this week. Thank you!

[LrgPizza]

That was truly a fantastic, unbiased, thorough review! One of the more well-done I've read in a long while. Thanks so much for sharing.

[MNBluffBuffs]

Thanks for the great review. We can't wait to head out in March.:D

[bjcruiser]

Great review so far. I really like that you posted pics of the the kid pool area. Actually all of your pics are great!!!

[Molokai-Chuck]

aimathy ... great review!!!

On your tour at Roatan, the "Little French Key" .... was that a ship booked tour, or did you book it on your own? How much was it, and did it provide transport to/from the site?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck

[Barb Nahoumi]

So I'm going to try to mix some of the bad with the good. It makes it more palatable when something not as great is followed by something wonderful, right?

 

The room. Here's where I know people will disagree. This is just my lowly opinion. I know that many of you get awesome amazing rooms (I saw them with my own eyes as I passed open doors around the ship). I am very certain that you will say "I have NEVER had that problem on NCL!". Well, you're right...because you probably never had a two person inside room on NCL! :D Since my very wonderful, amazing parent paid for my daughter and I to join them on this trip, we had an inside room. I have been on many cruises and have only had a balcony once, on my honeymoon. I know my way around an inside stateroom! And this is another area that I felt like NCL really paled in comparison to comparable rooms on other cruise lines.

 

Our room felt very worn and very old. Was it horrific or unlivable? Of course not. Do they update rooms often on most ships? No. I know that. But this room just felt like they could care less if your room was nice or not. I know we were low men on the totem pole....but really, it was hard not to notice how used the rooms really felt. I don't want to drone on about what was wrong, but the quick list would be hairs in the shower, on vanity and on floor upon arrival; chipped vanity and shower, crusted dirt/debris all around base of shower frame, chipped wood on desk, streaks of dried crusty dirt on desk, taped together remote, stained sheets, tv that faced the floor instead of forward, missing hooks on wall, stained toilet seat.

 

I know, I know. Impossible right? It's not. I have pictures for all of these things, but don't think that posting 15 or more pictures of this will make the point any clearer. I'll post a few so you know I'm not making this up, but long story short, this room just felt like an afterthought. One day I'll make it to the big leagues and get the robes and butler and balcony....but in the meantime, it doesn't feel very good to hand over your hard earned money and then feel like you got the bottom of the barrel. As I said before, we've sailed in very similar rooms on other ships and did not have this problem. I know (again) that the NCL purists will jump in and say "oh get over a few hairs and some stains"....but really, if this were YOUR room for the week, would you think it was great? Probably not. And, yes, it could've been worse. I get that and we slept well, got showered and changed in our rooms with no issue, so overall, it was ok. Here are some of the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

I think you get the point! Our room attendant was good, not great. He smiled and said hello when we saw him, but that was about it. My sister's attendant was extremely nice and always went out of her way to say hello to the girls and ask how their day went. Most of the rooms attendants in the hallways were very pleasant and friendly.

 

My parents had a balcony. Balconies are definitely lovely! It was fun to go in and watch the world go by and we especially loved it in the ports, to watch people getting back on the ship. Another downside for all of us non-smokers, was that you can smoke on the balconies still and most of the time you were smelling smoke from someone else. Again, that doesn't bother some people and some are smokers themselves and love that as a perk....but it wasn't our cup of tea, as they say.

 

I definitely would have asked the cabin steward for new bedding. That stain looked nasty.

[aimathy]

Chuck - We booked it privately. The cruise line did not go there. You can just google Little French Key and get their website. The package we got was $88 per person and did include transportation to and from their place. Children under 11 were 50% off and they did not charge us for the 3 year old. You could pay more if you wanted to add scuba diving, zip lining or a small amount more for a trip out to go snorkeling. We didn't do any of that though. You could also pay less and not have it be all inclusive, but to be honest, I think they charged $22 per plate for that lunch and the drinks were around $8 or $9 if I remember correctly, so even if you just had lunch and a few drinks (not even alcoholic) it paid off to do the all inclusive. Don't think twice about booking it....it was wonderful and we didn't meet anyone that day that had as many good things to say about their excursions as we did!

 

And I would've asked him to change our sheet, but I couldn't find him before bedtime and by the time we got into the room I just wanted to get DD to bed. Thankfully it was at the foot of the bed, so it wasn't the end of the world...

[sfollenius]

So awesome thank you so much, sorry for your troubles. We have cruised NCL, Carnival, Holland America, this will be our first time with NCL. We are sailing the Dawn in April same itinerary, we are a family of five and for money reasons have two inside rooms. We usually get OV or Balconies, but this time opted for inside. We do have Little French Key booked unsure about our other excursions right now but you gave alot of great ideas.

 

Scott

[aimathy]

Glad I could help, Scott. Have fun!

[legion3]

We never ate dinner in the MDR for our entire trip. We had several specialty resturant's already planned and booked, but the few times we checked out the menu it really didn't wow us and did not seem interesting enough to stand or wait in the constant mob waiting to be seated at the times we cruised by both aqua and venetian.

 

Sometimes we would go by and the desk was not so busy but at other times WOW, the lines were out and around and beyond.

 

One of the things we have to plan around is how much extra we will spend on dining with NCL vs other lines as we also rarely if ever do buffets.

Edited January 23, 2014 by legion3

[aimathy]

legion3 - That "wow" line was every single night on our trip. No kidding. Again, it must've been a mix of our timing, the clientele, people not booking specialty restaurants....but boy was it frustrating. We had two little children with us, so while 5 was too early for dinner (just getting back from ports etc), waiting until the crowd subsided at 8 was just way too late. For some people, especially those without kids, I'm sure the leisurely wait is bearable, but seriously, even when I'm at home and my very favorite restaurant has an hour and a half wait...we go somewhere else. With 7 in our group, going to a specialty restaurant every night was just too expensive. We DID wonder a bit if the first two nights they KNOW it's going to be a zoo....and then people will pay up to go the the specialty places and they'll make more money. I hope that's not the case, but they sure can't handle the crowds at dinner time in the MDRs.

[che5904]

legion3 - That "wow" line was every single night on our trip. No kidding. Again, it must've been a mix of our timing, the clientele, people not booking specialty restaurants....but boy was it frustrating. We had two little children with us, so while 5 was too early for dinner (just getting back from ports etc), waiting until the crowd subsided at 8 was just way too late. For some people, especially those without kids, I'm sure the leisurely wait is bearable, but seriously, even when I'm at home and my very favorite restaurant has an hour and a half wait...we go somewhere else. With 7 in our group, going to a specialty restaurant every night was just too expensive. We DID wonder a bit if the first two nights they KNOW it's going to be a zoo....and then people will pay up to go the the specialty places and they'll make more money. I hope that's not the case, but they sure can't handle the crowds at dinner time in the MDRs.

 

I'm probably not thinking that NCL set out to anger their passengers so they would have to pay for specialty dining when they built the ship :rolleyes:

 

When we were on the Dawn and the Star (sister ship) we had no issues with lines or getting seated promptly and always went to dinner early when the restaurant opened or at least before 6pm.

 

The ships capacity is 2224, the 2 MDR's hold 772 passengers. That is equivalent to less than 3 seatings. That's not counting how many dining seats are available in buffet and/or specialty restaurants.

 

So I would think that it had more to do with timing and possibly even demographics than NCL trying to sway you to pay. The ports on this itinerary leave port at 5pm, therefore by the time everyone gets back on board, changes and is ready for dinner that would be around 6, the time you chose to go for dinner. Not saying you were wrong in choosing that time, but even if 2/3 or 3/4 of the ship passengers had the same thought process as you, there would be too many for the first seating.

 

So what I am saying is I can understand how this time frame to eat with this itinerary wouldn't work for you and because of the size of your group and the children you didn't have a lot of options, which is too bad.

 

I'm sure freestyle isn't for everyone.

[aimathy]

che- I can agree with you to some degree. However, most ships depart each port around those times, and most people, young/old/single/married/parents etc tend to go back, get ready and then pursue dinner options. The MDRs on the Dawn that week were packed solid from 5:30-8 every single night. If you got a beeper at 7:30, then maybe you'd get a table around 30 mins....but that was still a 30 minute wait at 7:30! So in general, unless you ate before 5:30 or after 8 pm, you had a 45 - 90 minute wait. ("at least a 50 minute wait" is what the typical response was from them at the podium each night...but it was always more than that anyway.) Who really eats dinner before 5:30 and after 8, given the choice? The woman even told us "it's like this every sailing on the first two nights". So they KNOW it's a problem...why not fix it somehow? (Not to mention, for us, it wound up being all the nights, not two.)

 

We were under the impression that "Freestyle" dining meant that you could eat dinner when you liked. We basically ate when they told us we could! Instead, our whole night revolved around what time we could get in the restaurant, how long we had to wait, what show were we going to miss..... Whether I had kids or not, I still didn't like missing shows due to the unpredictability of the timing. We'd get a beeper at 6, thinking we'd eat and then see the 8:30 show. Twice, we got one at 6, we weren't called until 7:30. By the time we ate, we missed a good portion of the show both nights.

 

Again, I know some people love this arrangement, and I know that it must not be like this on every ship and every sailing. But as I said in my review....this was OUR vacation week. So it didn't really matter that it's not "usually" like that. For us (and the entire ship) it WAS like that. It just seems like there should be a way for them to correct this. Even if it's something that happens every few cruises, if there had been another solution, they would've had a lot less unhappy customers AND they wouldn't saved a fortune on their "free glass of sparkling wine or soda" coupons! :)

[legion3]

I doubt they have anything sinister planned or plotted, its just the way the system works or doesn't work depending on factors.

 

On Carnival they have both fixed and my time dining but on the ships we have been on, they used either different MDR's or the upper section for one type and the lower for the other. But there were lines for the My time or whatever CCl calls it.

 

One part of a conversation we overheard about the MDR on the Dawn was, "what time do you want to eat? Since its been taking over 2 1/2 hours." They were discussing that evenings show at 9 and were afraid to miss it.

 

Of course set dining could also take 2+ hours as well.

[mrs.cool]

We've always been on RCCL, and we LIKE the set dining times. We've met some great dinner partners, and ended up doing shore excursions with them even! We also like getting dressed up for dinner. The "free-style dining" is the main reason I have looked into NCL!

So why am I on the Dawn this Sunday? We liked the ports. We've done the Caribbean so many times we've "been there, done that" and were looking for someplace new, and this cruise has 3 out of 4 stops we've never been to.

So we figured the dining would be something we'd be willing to compromise on. Well...it sounds like it might be a bigger deal than we thought. The only hope I have is that we've always had "second seating" for dinner, which is 8:30. So hopefully that time will still work for our cruise next week.

[che5904]

Again, I know some people love this arrangement, and I know that it must not be like this on every ship and every sailing. But as I said in my review....this was OUR vacation week. So it didn't really matter that it's not "usually" like that. For us (and the entire ship) it WAS like that. It just seems like there should be a way for them to correct this. Even if it's something that happens every few cruises, if there had been another solution, they would've had a lot less unhappy customers AND they wouldn't saved a fortune on their "free glass of sparkling wine or soda" coupons! :)

 

Oh I understood this was all based on your experience, the only thing I disagreed with was your reasoning that NCL was trying to do this to get people to book specialties.

 

Well at least I know I won't have the issue on the first night, since we always do the sailaway BBQ then. :)

 

And since we are on the same time zone as home, we will strive for between 5:00 and 5:30 (which is the time we eat dinner on normal nights). The only night that may be a problem would be the day we have the 7 hour excursion and will therefore be back onboard right in time to sail. hmmm maybe that's the night I should book my one specialty restaurant.

 

Thanks problem solved for me ;)

[Perfect Stranger]

Your daughter is so cute!

 

Your review was very fair and balanced. I have considered sailing on NCL but will rethink it as I would be upset to wait over an hour to get a table too!

[Quincella]

Your review was very well done. Thanks for taking the time to post it!

 

I am one of those who has never had the same experiences as you on any ship (NCL or otherwise), and NCL is my preferred line for many reasons. But if I'd had that kind of grime in my room I would not have taken it nearly as well as you seem to have taken it! That's seriously unacceptable.

 

I'd have been a bit ticked off about the Kids Club thing, too. Wow.

 

I'm booked on the Dawn for the first time in March, and while I'm definitely looking forward to it (it's a cruise, after all!) for some reason I'm not looking forward to the ship itself. Maybe it's because it's been years since I've been on an "older" ship. I don't know. People do seem to love her, though. I hope I get a taste of what they see instead of some of the unfortunate experiences you had.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Hi Aimathy,

 

Thank you for posting your review with the great pictures.

 

Sorry that the dining hours were crowded with long waits. We did experience this on one cruise, so we chose to eat at the buffet, rather than face a wait. That worked out well, and we arrived at the show with some time to spare.

 

Sometimes when cruising with kids, the buffet or Blue Lagoon are quicker options.

 

Fortunately last April, we were in a suite so our concierge, Virginia, was able to make reservations at the MDR for us.

[newmexicoNita]

We've always been on RCCL, and we LIKE the set dining times. We've met some great dinner partners, and ended up doing shore excursions with them even! We also like getting dressed up for dinner. The "free-style dining" is the main reason I have looked into NCL!

So why am I on the Dawn this Sunday? We liked the ports. We've done the Caribbean so many times we've "been there, done that" and were looking for someplace new, and this cruise has 3 out of 4 stops we've never been to.

So we figured the dining would be something we'd be willing to compromise on. Well...it sounds like it might be a bigger deal than we thought. The only hope I have is that we've always had "second seating" for dinner, which is 8:30. So hopefully that time will still work for our cruise next week.

 

mrscool, please let us know how your cruise goes. I am sure you will. I have a couple of suggestions if you really like to get to know others: 1-ask for a table for 4 or 6. That way you can meet others and 2-if you have not yet signed up for roll call it isn't too late. That is another way to get to know people. We actually prefer the freestyle for many reasons, but I think you know that. Having the same table mates for 7 nights or more can be a wonderful experience or a nightmare.