Dawn has put me off NCL

[declansdad]

I do not understand the comments about having to "book" in the main dinning room. What about all the ads saying "freestyle".

I could never book before I went on the cruise, I do not know where I will be every day yet???

we are doing our first Norw - on Dawn in March - very experienced cruisers, but hate having to run on a schedule every minute - that does not equate with vacation to me. And, do not expect to eat dinner in the buffet - only breakfast/lunch - I want to be waited on at dinner.

 

 

You can make reservations in any of the dining rooms or you can just show up and take your chance.

 

As far as being waited on, that will depend on your definition of being waited on.

[footballbabe3]

I've sailed numerous times with NCL, including four times on the Dawn and booked again for July. With regards to the pull tabs, I have seen folks win big. But then again, it is what it is - gambling! You win and you lose~

 

With regard to the dining rooms, we've never had a bad experience. The whole idea of a vacation for us is to relax and go with the flow. If we wanted to be free to attend a certain show, we made a reservation. Otherwise, we took what we got.

 

I've also been on the Carnival Ships. You can't compare that line with NCL or RC. If you were upset with the service and the food on the Dawn you will not be happy with Carnival.

 

I'm not so sure you are correct about this comment. Looks like Carnivals new Visa ship has stepped up the game. If they are smart they will see all the complaining about NCL and step up the game on all the ships. Who knows I guess I'll see Jan 2017

[motleyfan]

I'm not so sure you are correct about this comment. Looks like Carnivals new Visa ship has stepped up the game. If they are smart they will see all the complaining about NCL and step up the game on all the ships. Who knows I guess I'll see Jan 2017

 

I for one will be happy if all the whiners and complainers go to Carnival. Make room for people who don't take cruisin for granted like some of you have learned to do

[newmexicoNita]

I do not understand the comments about having to "book" in the main dinning room. What about all the ads saying "freestyle".

I could never book before I went on the cruise, I do not know where I will be every day yet???

we are doing our first Norw - on Dawn in March - very experienced cruisers, but hate having to run on a schedule every minute - that does not equate with vacation to me. And, do not expect to eat dinner in the buffet - only breakfast/lunch - I want to be waited on at dinner.

 

I have no idea why anyone would say they had to book the MDR unless there was a huge group of them. It is totally open dining. If you arrive at the busiest time of the evening you may have to wait a few minutes and if so, you will be given free champange. Even in the specialty dining rooms it is possible to just walk up and get seated. I don't suggest you try this unless you want to eat very early or very late, but people do it and have good luck.

From time to time people do post their comments and sometimes, if they have had, what they consider a really bad experience they are inclined to embellish (spelling)

[legion3]

I for one will be happy if all the whiners and complainers go to Carnival. Make room for people who don't take cruisin for granted like some of you have learned to do

 

You were asking about Carnival yesterday, so if they all go there and you go there, you will not come out ahead, but I doubt that's a consideration anyhow.

[legion3]

I for one will be happy if all the whiners and complainers go to Carnival. Make room for people who don't take cruisin for granted like some of you have learned to do

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REqGSqmP99s

 

 

Who is a complainer?

 

 

Edited August 14, 2015 by legion3

[declansdad]

I have no idea why anyone would say they had to book the MDR unless there was a huge group of them. It is totally open dining. If you arrive at the busiest time of the evening you may have to wait a few minutes and if so, you will be given free champange. Even in the specialty dining rooms it is possible to just walk up and get seated. I don't suggest you try this unless you want to eat very early or very late, but people do it and have good luck.

From time to time people do post their comments and sometimes, if they have had, what they consider a really bad experience they are inclined to embellish (spelling)

 

 

Last summer on the Dawn, the waits at the MDRs were very long, partially due to NCL had just started allowing reservations in the MDR and it wasn't communicated very well. There is also no where to wait near the MDRs on the Dawn other than in the hallway and stairwell by the entrance.

 

The specialty restaurants were pretty much booked solid so there was little chance you could walk up and be seated quickly.

[legion3]

Last summer on the Dawn, the waits at the MDRs were very long, partially due to NCL had just started allowing reservations in the MDR and it wasn't communicated very well. There is also no where to wait near the MDRs on the Dawn other than in the hallway and stairwell by the entrance.

 

The specialty restaurants were pretty much booked solid so there was little chance you could walk up and be seated quickly.

 

This was the way it was on the Dawn 3 years ago as well.

 

long lines and long waits. Before the UDP, can see that some things don't change.

[Buywhy]

We just booked a seven day to the western Caribbean and the port fees were $185 and the taxes were $118. They said there was a $101 head tax fee. Taxes were 37% of the cost of the cruise. Can anyone explain that?

Thanks

[scharris]

We have cruised several times on various cruise lines, twice on NCL including Getaway and Pearl and plan on sailing on the Dawn this winter. We have two children, and I have never to explain a "Pull Tab" as we have not experienced a "Pull Tab" on any cruise. My experience is that it was not an issue.

[dixieagle]

I am interested in knowing more about the Dawn. I am booked for November 29, which will be my second NCL cruise. Went on the Jewel last year and was greatly impressed and am considering the Jade for next year.

 

We're on that cruise too! It's just our second NCL cruise (formerly on the Spirit a few years back.)

[1smudslide]

Was on the Dawn a few weeks ago. All the service was excellent. Specialty and MDR both were very good. Had a blast.

[Sand and Seas]

Was on the Dawn a few weeks ago. All the service was excellent. Specialty and MDR both were very good. Had a blast.

 

So glad to hear that! We have cruised on Dawn several times and will be on her again in a few months. We have always enjoyed this ship.

[pizzalady1]

We just got off the Dawn on 9/18. The food was good in the MDR, Blue Lagoon and the buffet. We never had a wait at any of the venues and were able to easily find seats in the buffet. The only problem finding seats were at the shows in the Stardust and the Spinaker. We tried to get to the show venues about 1/2 hour before show time.

[newmexicoNita]

Last summer on the Dawn, the waits at the MDRs were very long, partially due to NCL had just started allowing reservations in the MDR and it wasn't communicated very well. There is also no where to wait near the MDRs on the Dawn other than in the hallway and stairwell by the entrance.

 

The specialty restaurants were pretty much booked solid so there was little chance you could walk up and be seated quickly.

 

Gee, we were on the Dawn apparently just before you and didn't have any major wait problems plus on the Pearl a few months ago. The nights we did have a wait, which was only a few times, we were given a glass of champange. We also never had problems with reservations in the specialty dining rooms. Yes, if we wanted to eat about 7:30 or 8 there was more of a wait. We generally eat about 6:30. There also seems to be some backup when the restaurant first open. I will be anxious to see how it goes when we sail next month. There will be 8 of us, but we rarely eat together. As for walking up to and getting seated in the speicaly dining rooms, we have never even thought of trying that.

[NLH Arizona]

Was on the Dawn a few weeks ago. All the service was excellent. Specialty and MDR both were very good. Had a blast.

Thanks for the update, I'll be on her in December.

[jakesnana]

Sailing on the Dawn in a few short weeks, so I'm glad to see comments from recent cruisers, which all seem to be positive.

 

We have a group of 40 people, but we have already made arrangements to dine as a group in the Aqua at 5:30 (on the sea days), so we should not have any wait times there. I figured the remainder of the nights, people will be disbursed all over the place (including the island) so wait times should be minimal.

[Cruzaholic41]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REqGSqmP99s

 

 

Who is a complainer?

 

 

 

Oh my goodness! What the crap was that?! :eek:

 

Not that I needed any more reason to be on a sabbatical from NCL right now, but the remote possibility of running into that guy just seals it.

[pokerpro5]

Like pizzalady, I sailed on the Dawn from 9/11 to 9/18, so I got off 6 days ago.

 

First off, while I know the OP is like 5 months old now, you simply need to avoid playing any of those "buy a ticket, possibly win a prize" games on NCL. It's not just the Dawn. Every NCL ship is like that. These games border on a scam, and should be avoided. The overall "return" to the players (money paid out versus coming in through ticket sales) is VERY low.

 

This includes Deal or No Deal, and pretty much everything else like that. It also includes the tournaments in the casino. For example, the blackjack tournament typically pays out LESS than 50% of the money taken in. BRUTAL. But the Deal or No Deal type games are substantially worse.

 

Regarding the food, if you are eating in the MDR in this day and age, you need to accept the possibility that the food won't be good. That's not just an NCL thing, but is constant across all comparable lines. If good food is important, buy the specialty dining packages and eat in those more often. That's what I do.

 

I will be posting my Dawn review shortly. I did not have any major issues on the ship, except for some problems on Day 1 which were all resolved by the day's end.

 

I found that the specialties (with the exception of Teppanyaki) were all WIDE OPEN for dinner starting at around 8pm.

 

Alain, the hotel director, was very visible and got actively involved in solving customer service issues. He seems good.

 

Dawn has very little regarding activities on board, but I knew that going in, and didn't really need them, as my cruise had 5 port days, and that was quite enough to keep me busy.

[SailorSam42]

I don't think it is temporary. This was our experience with both MDRs last summer and the food on the buffet was terrible.

 

When you consider the business model being operated, these things become completely understandable. The Berlitz "Complete Guide to Cruising" states: "How can cruise lines offer such low rates? Only because they hope you'll spend plenty on board". Obviously there would be no incentive to pay extra to eat in the speciality restaurants if the food was excellent in the "free to dine" venues. The bigger the difference in quality between the free and "extra charge" venues, the more profit the cruise line will make so clearly they want the differential to be as big as is reasonably possible. Hope I am not stating the obvious!

[Huckster1]

I've sailed numerous times with NCL, including four times on the Dawn and booked again for July. With regards to the pull tabs, I have seen folks win big. But then again, it is what it is - gambling! You win and you lose~

 

With regard to the dining rooms, we've never had a bad experience. The whole idea of a vacation for us is to relax and go with the flow. If we wanted to be free to attend a certain show, we made a reservation. Otherwise, we took what we got.

 

I've also been on the Carnival Ships. You can't compare that line with NCL or RC. If you were upset with the service and the food on the Dawn you will not be happy with Carnival.

 

Don't agree with you there - Many, many cruises on Princess, NCL, Carnival, RCL - food has gone down on ALL. NCL is no better than Carnival. None of these are any better than the other. Princess used to be our favorite, but the last 2 cruises on the Caribbean Princess the food was mediocre at best.