Seven Days on the Dawn and Christmas in New Orleans: A Review

[PaulInPGH]

We really appreciate the info you have provided. We will be driving to the NCL terminal and booked on the 15-22 Jan cruise. We plan to park in the terminal parking lot and would like to know the route the taxi took from the Hilton. Are there any signs or sea caps in the area. I also saw a post about a new service the Hilton started by delivering your baggage to the ship. Also, was there a laundry bag special on your cruise?

Any info will be helpful.

Thanks

 

I'm sorry, but I don't recall any specifics regarding the route of the cab between the Hilton and the port, other than it was very short. Someone else may be able to point out more specifics. If the Hilton is offering any services for cruise passengers we heard nothing about them from the hotel staff.

 

I believe there was a laundry service offered one night on the ship, I think for $20, but don't hold me to that. We didn't take advantage so I can't say with 100% certainty.

[PaulInPGH]

If you get a chance go to Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Incredible All-inclusive beach resort.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

 

I've read great things about Maya Chan, and it's definitely on my list for the next time we're in Costa Maya. Didn't book it this time because we already had an all-inclusive beach day scheduled for Cozumel.

 

Glad you seemed to enjoy the Dawn as much as we did.

[PaulInPGH]

We took a break from drinking and headed back to our cabin before dinner. Our luggage arrived without issue, and we got ourselves settled into our home for the week ahead.

 

We headed up to deck 13 for our 8:00 reservation at Cagney’s. This meal was absolutely unbelievable. Easily one of the most delicious steaks I’ve ever had, on a ship or on land. And I have had my share of steaks; I’ve done Capital Grill, Peter Lugers in New York, and others. The only steak that rivals the steak we had at Cagney’s was at Bobby Flay’s restaurant in New York. Seriously, if you like steak, do not miss Cagney’s.

 

I had the porterhouse, and my wife had the ribeye. The highlight for me was the sauce I chose, the port wine reduction. I am salivating just thinking about this meal. We also ordered the Oysters Rockefeller, which were also fantastic.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Cagney's oysters.

[PaulInPGH]

I regret to say that the steak looked so freaking good, we both neglected to snap a photo before diving right in.

 

I should point out now that this was, by far, our favorite cruise for food. If you enjoy eating, seriously, go online and book a cruise on the Dawn right now, because basically every dining option on the ship was absolutely on point. Although, I must admit that we went a little wild with the specialty dining, and we never had lunch or dinner in the MDR on this trip. So I can’t speak to quality there. But if it’s anything like the rest of the offerings, I’m confident it’s excellent.

[TheDougOut]

Cagney's oysters.

 

Charbroiled in New Orleans is a tough act to follow!

 

Could you do me a favor and get this on to the next page? Every time I open your thread I'm greeted with the loaded hot dog at the top and I'm freakin hungry.

 

Edit: never mind, I just rolled it over to the next page. :)

Edited December 30, 2016 by TheDougOut

[PaulInPGH]

We finished dinner just in time to head to the theater for the welcome show. There was the usual mix of performances by the singers and dancers, the onboard comedian, and the like. The show was enjoyable, if not remarkable. We did enjoy the Cruise Director, Dan France, and his seemingly dark sense of humor. He spent some time making fun of life vests, basically saying that a light and a whistle aren’t going to really help you if you end up in the ocean. This was pretty funny, especially coming so soon after his lengthy safety briefing during the muster drill.

 

Since I unfortunately woke up so early, and since we’re now getting old, we decided to call it a night after the welcome show, and we headed back to our cabin to enjoy some sitting on our balcony and then bed.

 

Coming soon, Cruise Day 2: A Bumpy Ride.

[PaulInPGH]

Charbroiled in New Orleans is a tough act to follow!

 

Could you do me a favor and get this on to the next page? Every time I open your thread I'm greeted with the loaded hot dog at the top and I'm freakin hungry.

 

Edit: never mind, I just rolled it over to the next page. :)

 

I think my wife actually preferred the oysters at Cagney's, but charbroiled New Orleans oysters are the pinnacle for me.

[TheDougOut]

I think my wife actually preferred the oysters at Cagney's...

 

 

Flag on the play!

 

 

Then again, if she's not a big fan of oysters I could see the Rockefeller appeal.

 

 

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[PaulInPGH]

Flag on the play!

 

 

Then again, if she's not a big fan of oysters I could see the Rockefeller appeal.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

She actually likes them raw, which is something I just can't bring myself to do. But then again, I have the diet of a 12 year old.

[PaulInPGH]

Day 3 (Cruise Day 2): A Rough Night and Some Much-Needed Relaxation

 

Our first day at sea got off to an auspicious start. I woke up around 3:00 A.M. feeling pretty seasick, which is unusual for me. I’ve never had a hint of sensitivity to motion on any of my previous cruises, but this first night definitely hit me hard.

 

The ship was definitely rocking, and when I opened our balcony door to check the conditions outside there was some pretty powerful wind. One thing about the Dawn is she really cuts through the ocean at a good clip. Sometimes on a cruise you can barely tell you’re moving, but that’s not the case on this speedster. I definitely felt more motion on this cruise than on any of my others, but luckily I only felt sick that first night.

 

I took a Dramamine pill, but I was never really able to get comfortable enough to fully get back to sleep. We eventually gave up on the concept of sleep, and we decided, since we were up earlier than expected, to try breakfast in the MDR.

 

Breakfast was decent; my wife enjoyed her omelet a bit more than I enjoyed my waffles, which tends to align with my thought that ships typically do better with savory, egg-based breakfasts than things like pancakes or waffles.

[PaulInPGH]

After breakfast we decided to head back to our cabin to relax. One of our favorite things to do on a cruise is relax outside with a book. On cruises passed, this typically meant finding some loungers in the crowded pool area, but now that we were spoiled balcony people, we just sat out on our veranda and enjoyed the sunny skies and soothing ocean sounds in private.

 

We’d intended to go to the CC meet and greet, which was scheduled for 11:00 that morning. Since I’d barely slept the night before though, I opted for a nice 90 minute nap instead. My wife went off to grab a small lunch snack, and I opened the balcony door and fell asleep to the sounds of the waves, which was a fantastic way to nap, let me tell you.

 

Still feeling pretty beat after my nap, we made a stop at the atrium café, where I picked up a very tasty double espresso. That gave me the energy I needed to continue lazing around for the rest of the afternoon.

[PaulInPGH]

We headed back to O’Sheehan’s for a quick bite. Today was the day I discovered the most excellent fish and chips, and the nearly equally delicious jerk wings. This would not be the last time we consumed either.

 

We finally ventured out to the pool deck and were able to grab a couple loungers out of the sun. We watched the battle of the sexes pool games and then enjoyed the reggae band, all while sipping on more fruity concoctions. The reggae band for this cruise was called Flavors, and they were very enjoyable. As a musician, I like when the bands consist of more than a guy or two playing a keyboard with a built-in rhythm track, and this band was a full four pieces.

[iluvthe-c]

Do you think the tequila bar would mix a margarita that's not on their menu if they have the ingredients? Did you have the UBP?

Aside from Flavors at the pool - was there a variety of live music? Good music on their playlist if it wasn't live?

We sail in 3 weeks and are ready to party by the pool!

[WYTinman]

But then again, I have the diet of a 12 year old.

 

 

Still feeling pretty beat after my nap, we made a stop at the atrium café, where I picked up a very tasty double espresso. That gave me the energy I needed to continue lazing around for the rest of the afternoon.

 

 

 

Paul, These are the best lines I've read in a review EVER.

 

You my friend know the right way to cruise.

 

I'm Dawn bound in a few days. Your review is making the wait worse.

 

Thank You

 

Mark

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Paul ~ following along & enjoying your review.:D I've been on the Dawn twice, once ending in New Orleans which has made me want to cruise from there. I'll be doing that in April 2018 but on Pearl then Triumph so look forward to tips about New Orleans.

I did try the beignets & got the powder all over the bus, the hotel room etc.:o

I love the food on NCL & the choices.

 

Happy New Year!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[hawk1972]

Enjoying your review.This will likely be our next cruise on NCL after Alaska.

[Still Dreaming]

Loving your review!

[PaulInPGH]

Do you think the tequila bar would mix a margarita that's not on their menu if they have the ingredients? Did you have the UBP?

Aside from Flavors at the pool - was there a variety of live music? Good music on their playlist if it wasn't live?

We sail in 3 weeks and are ready to party by the pool!

 

My guess is they would mix a drink for you, but we never attempted to venture off menu, so can't say for sure. I always go with the thought that it can never hurt to ask. I do know that they will make you guacamole at the bar, which is a pretty cool option if you don't want to do a full dinner.

 

Music was a little hit or miss. The "party band" had decent musicians, but they never played a song I recognized. I might just be out of touch with popular music, but it was a bit odd. Likewise, the piano bar style music at night, typically in Gatsby's, was kind of unremarkable, though we did enjoy the one night they did a tribute to the Eagles. I've enjoyed cruises more when there's an actual rock band onboard, but that's likely just a product of my musical preferences. The Dawn Show Band (the jazz band that plays the music for the shows in the theater) was particularly excellent, and they did a number of shows in the smaller Bliss lounge that were really enjoyable.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Paul, These are the best lines I've read in a review EVER.

 

You my friend know the right way to cruise.

 

I'm Dawn bound in a few days. Your review is making the wait worse.

 

Thank You

 

Mark

 

Thanks, Mark. I certainly know the feeling. I spent the weeks before our cruise basically reading CC 24/7--Dawn reviews, random other reviews, anything to get me in the spirit. I'm sure you'll have an awesome time.

[PaulInPGH]

Next on our agenda for the day was another of our favorite cruise activities: playing trivia. Today was music trivia—more specifically, TV themed music trivia. We won music trivia on both of our last two cruises, so we were eager to see if we could make it three in a row.

 

Luckily, my wife is an unstoppable force when it comes to music knowledge. Relate it to TV or movies especially and she can’t be beat. She came through again (I added literally one correct answer she didn’t know), and we won music trivia for our third cruise in a row. On our Getaway cruise, this earned us a free NCL coffee mug, but this time we collected signatures on participation cards, which you could then redeem for prizes on the last day of the cruise, depending on how many signatures you collected over the course of the cruise. It seemed a little bit of a hassle, but the hunt for additional signatures did add some spice to events throughout the week.

 

Flush with victory, we headed back up to O’Sheehan’s where we enjoyed a couple drinks while listening to the piano music from down below in the atrium.

[PaulInPGH]

We killed time until dinner, which was to be at Los Lobos. The food here was crazy good. This first night, we actually filled up on appetizers. No worries though, we went back two more times throughout the week to try more menu items. I fell in love with the empanadas, and my wife went ape over the guacamole, and we both loved the queso fundido—amazingly melty cheese with chorizo on yummy hot tortillas. If you like Mexican food, Los Lobos will absolutely blow you away.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Guacamole.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Queso Fundido.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Empanadas.