Our Dawn 1/29/17 Review-Mostly Good...

[bedfordmom]

Having suite perks I wonder if they would have delivered your pound cake gratis from OSheehans. During our Oct repo I asked and received my Reuben en ensuite

 

 

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[watchdiva]

Many NCL ships will offer VIP perks to the person who organizes the M&G. It is never a "given" that perks will be extended but they may be.

 

 

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[Rmel3620]

We had a great time on the Dawn as well. I wish the M&G would have been a little more mingling and less questioning. I felt like some of the questions didn't need to be asked in a group setting. Had a great time in the slot pull!

 

 

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[Putangie63]

Did you set up anything with the dawn in advance for the slot pull?

 

 

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[cruisecrazypat]

We were with YOU!!!

 

Agree that cruise was 90% fantastic. My main gripe was the loss of Harvest Caye. This was our 2nd cruise on Dawn in 10 months. Both trips geared to get to Harvest Caye. Trip 1 not ready. Trip 2, who knows.

 

Dave is one of our smoking friends. Please say Hi.

 

Our room (Obstructed View Deck 8) was fine. It was a sideways cabin. Only downfall, you loose the 'desk drawer' and accessing the safe in closet was a little tight. Rarely saw cabin steward, but he did a great job.

 

This category room does NOT have a coffee maker which I would have enjoyed.

 

GREAT JOB on the Meet N Greet. I won can cozies.

[cheaperts]

Did you set up anything with the dawn in advance for the slot pull?

 

 

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No but we talked the casino host the first evening of the cruise and told her we had 20-30 coming, asked nicely for a bottle of bubbly and she gladly agreed and even assigned a slot attendant to assist if needed during the event

[cheaperts]

We had a great time on the Dawn as well. I wish the M&G would have been a little more mingling and less questioning. I felt like some of the questions didn't need to be asked in a group setting. Had a great time in the slot pull!

 

 

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yeah, dominated by the Q&A rather than meetin and mingling....oh well!

[cheaperts]

Enjoying your review, keep it going. What was your group's favorites from O'Sheehan's? Was you ever able to sneak any food from there? How was the entertainment?

 

 

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O'Sheehan's- the burger is really good, the MIL lioked the bangers and mash, wife liked the fish and chips, I enjoyed the fajitas, but they are not your typical fajitas, atleast not from our home turf, but tastey none the less.

 

Entertainment- We enjoyed the newly wed/no so newly wed show, we walked out 2/3 thru burn the floor it was ok but in fairness we had seen it on another cruise. Other than those we entertained ourselves all week

[shadowmeboy]

No but we talked the casino host the first evening of the cruise and told her we had 20-30 coming, asked nicely for a bottle of bubbly and she gladly agreed and even assigned a slot attendant to assist if needed during the event

 

 

How much was everyone's buy in? How much was the bet?

 

 

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[cheaperts]

How much was everyone's buy in? How much was the bet?

 

 

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15.00 per player, 3.00 max bet, 5 spins per player

[shadowmeboy]

15.00 per player, 3.00 max bet, 5 spins per player

 

 

Thank you for the information.

 

 

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[cheaperts]

Ok, where did I leave off....

 

2nd Morning, 1st Port- Cozumel

 

We have been to Cozumel many times, it's Mexico, Touristy Mexico. MIL and Dave did their own thing this day, Zip Lining arranged through the ship and they loved it.

 

After having breakfast in Moderno we made our way to deck 4 to venture out and find some sand and cerveza. Feeling lazy we hoped on a pedi cab right off the gangway and let the gentle man peddle us to the end of the pier. Couple of bucks for his 2 minutes of work and we headed up the escalator to trudge through the mall. If you've never cruised into Cozumel, when you come off the pier you are forced to go through an extensive shopping complex to get out to taxis or other shopping like the straw market. Once we escaped the tourist trap we grabbed a cab and asked him to take us to Mr. Sancho's beach club. 18.00 fare from the Mall and a 20 minute ride-prices are published at the cab stand for the common destintions fyi.

 

We had been to Mr. Sancho's before, they offer a 55.00 all inclusive option, food drinks chair pool etc, or an ala carte option, you get a chair on the beach and that's it. But the food is reasonable, drinks are cheap, they have wifi so you can torture your friends with facebook posts. We were there 4 hours and spent 24.00.

The water was pretty cool but we braved it several times. There is a fish spa on the property and the wife had done it before and insisted that I do it this time. OMG...so weird! Put your feet in a fish tank and let hundreds of fish eat the stuff off your feet, kind of a piranha pedicure! Tickles so intently. 20.00 gets you 20 minutes of fish eating your toe jam, and then the staff dries and rubs/exfoliates your feet. Everyone should try it once.

 

After feeding the fish we looked around the little straw market at Mr. Sancho's we grabbed a cab back to the pier. There is a fair sized market area just out side of "The Mall" and the wife wanted some Mexican glassware so we wandered the stalls for probably 2 hours, we find the salesmen/saleswomen and the haggling very entertaining (but I'm getting soft in my old age, these folks need the dollar we haggle over more than me) Didn't find glasses she liked but I scored a new hammock for my boat dock! We decided we had had enough and wanted to get back to the ship. Drag back through the mall, down the escalators and grab another pedi cab to the gangway.

Always feels good to get back to the ship...

Edited February 9, 2017 by cheaperts

[cheaperts]

Day 2 Cozumel cont...

 

Back on board we went to the cabin and dropped our stuff. Chocolate covered strawberrys had been left by the food fairy, I do like those!

 

We decided to go up to the pool deck and get in a hot tub so we headed out via the buffet, grabbed a little snack and then on to the hot tubs. They were packed! we squeezed into a tub with 5 women and a couple of men, all of whom were, shall we say, limbered up. Well, we joined in! In no time we were the "Party Tub!" We had a blast for the next 45 minutes or hour, the poor bar waitress was waiting on our tub almost exclusively! She finally just brought buckets of beer! We had a birthday girl so we sang loud and proud for her, and everything deserved high fives!

 

Soon enough tipsy tub time was over and we headed back to the stateroom to clean up, sober up and get ready for dinner, reservations at 7 for Le Bistro! We meet MIL and Dave at Gatsby's for a cocktail first (we had pepsi) and soon it was time to head into Le Bistro. Sorry no food porn, and I can't tell you want everyone had, but all 4 of us were stuffed and thrilled with the food and the service. I've decided Le Bistro is the best restaurant on the ship hands down. We waddled out fat and happy and decided to see what photos we had in our folder, mehh, not much yet, oh well. Knowing we had a big day coming up we headed to the cabin to crash, we needed to be well rested for our favorite port on the cruise and our favorite activity, Scuba Diving in Roatan......

[cheaperts]

We were with YOU!!!

 

Agree that cruise was 90% fantastic. My main gripe was the loss of Harvest Caye. This was our 2nd cruise on Dawn in 10 months. Both trips geared to get to Harvest Caye. Trip 1 not ready. Trip 2, who knows.

 

Dave is one of our smoking friends. Please say Hi.

 

Our room (Obstructed View Deck 8) was fine. It was a sideways cabin. Only downfall, you loose the 'desk drawer' and accessing the safe in closet was a little tight. Rarely saw cabin steward, but he did a great job.

 

This category room does NOT have a coffee maker which I would have enjoyed.

 

GREAT JOB on the Meet N Greet. I won can cozies.

 

Treasure that Koozie, those are limited edition collectors items! We have started to get spoiled to balconys, we really like sitting out there drinking coffee in the mornings and watching people come back to the ship around all aboard time, always watching for the "pier runners!"

[blc1975]

We went via Texas, right at 10 hour drive to the port

 

Tulsa here, too....cruising on the 12th. I was thinking it would be about 10 hours...thanks for that!

[apmecruise]

Love your review!!

 

 

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[cheaperts]

Day 3, Roatan Honduras

 

 

We fell in love with Roatan the first time we went there. It looks like a tropical island should, lush, rugged hills, windy roads, and some of the best snorkeling and scuba in the world. We had scheduled dives for all 4 of us with a dive shop in the West End area so we had a quick breakfast and got off the ship as soon as it was cleared. Roatan has the requisite tourist plaza at the pier but it's not large and we headed out the back gate to find our driver waiting for us and one other couple who were diving. The driver had to run down a side street and retrieve the van, so while we waited Marge chatted up the locals

She does love a man in uniform!

 

The van came, we piled in, and 20 minutes of hills, curves, beautiful scenery and squalid Caribbean poverty later, we arrived at the funky little slice of heaven that is the West End. Now Marge and I have dove numerous times but are not certified-yet. MIL has never scuba'd, and Dave had once long ago. So we had arranged 4 discovery dives, just enough training to do a 30-45 minute shallow dive and see if you like it. WE LOVE IT! I so highly recommend everyone give it a try, it is an amazing feeling being weightless swimming around the bottom of the sea! We did our little mini class at the dive shop, jumped on a dive boat to go around the corner to a bay for in water training. Well, it was windy, rough, visibility was not good underwater in the shallow bay and ultimately the MIL said NOPE! and she bailed! The 3 of us fought through the poor conditions for the training and soon we set off for the open water and the reef with the boat captain and our dive mater, a young lady in her early 20's from Montana.

 

A 10 minute boat ride and we were tied up in the dive zone. Geared up we all did our best Jacques Cousteau back roll into the water and then followed the dive mater down to the bottom. The open water was much better visibility and almost no current. Marge and I cruised right along like pros, Dave did his impression of a hot air balloon....The dive master had to retrieve him several times and keep him down. Here is Dave

 

And Marge

 

And finally yours truely

 

We had a great dive we saw Sting Rays

[cheaperts]

Day 3 Roatan cont...

 

we left off...under the sea.

 

Our dive was amazing, we saw lots of fish including a lion fish-poisonous!

 

and the rare and seldom seen Caribbean Tirefish

 

sad, isn't it?

 

All too soon our time and air was used up, so we had to surface and go back to the boat. Drained mentally and physically we rinsed off the salt water on the pier, tiped the dive master and captain and wandered down the street for a drink and a snack at one of the water front bar/cafes. Time was short and we had to jump back in the van to head for the ship. The pier and security in Roatan are easy and we were back on board in a flash. Going into the cabin to drop our stuff we found a note on the bed saying we would not be going to Harvest Caye but rather Belize City the next day. I know many people were dissapointed but not me, I felt trapped by the private port, I want options, I want to be free style, not captive wallet! Plus we had been to Belize city several times and we knew our way around the port and straw markets. Sat on the balcony to see if anyone was gonna run for the ship, nope they all got on in good time!

 

We rested a little and then cleaned up for the evening. We were meeting MIL and Dave in Venetian MDR for dinner. 6:45, we expected to possibly wait but we were seated right away, greeted by our server and she took very good care of us. Food was good and pretty prompt (not Le Bistro but hey it was free!)

 

After dinner we had no firm plan, a drink, a little music and people watching, hey let's go to the casino! 30 minutes and 300.00 later we left the black jack table :mad: (don't even start me on that craps table!!!) But Marge fared better on the slots and we stayed entertained for another hour on a few bucks each. Dog tired we finally headed for the cabin knowing that Belize would be an easy, down tempo day for us

[Love2travel4]

Ok, where did I leave off....

 

2nd Morning, 1st Port- Cozumel

 

We have been to Cozumel many times, it's Mexico, Touristy Mexico. MIL and Dave did their own thing this day, Zip Lining arranged through the ship and they loved it.

 

After having breakfast in Moderno we made our way to deck 4 to venture out and find some sand and cerveza. Feeling lazy we hoped on a pedi cab right off the gangway and let the gentle man peddle us to the end of the pier. Couple of bucks for his 2 minutes of work and we headed up the escalator to trudge through the mall. If you've never cruised into Cozumel, when you come off the pier you are forced to go through an extensive shopping complex to get out to taxis or other shopping like the straw market. Once we escaped the tourist trap we grabbed a cab and asked him to take us to Mr. Sancho's beach club. 18.00 fare from the Mall and a 20 minute ride-prices are published at the cab stand for the common destintions fyi.

 

We had been to Mr. Sancho's before, they offer a 55.00 all inclusive option, food drinks chair pool etc, or an ala carte option, you get a chair on the beach and that's it. But the food is reasonable, drinks are cheap, they have wifi so you can torture your friends with facebook posts. We were there 4 hours and spent 24.00.

The water was pretty cool but we braved it several times. There is a fish spa on the property and the wife had done it before and insisted that I do it this time. OMG...so weird! Put your feet in a fish tank and let hundreds of fish eat the stuff off your feet, kind of a piranha pedicure! Tickles so intently. 20.00 gets you 20 minutes of fish eating your toe jam, and then the staff dries and rubs/exfoliates your feet. Everyone should try it once.

 

After feeding the fish we looked around the little straw market at Mr. Sancho's we grabbed a cab back to the pier. There is a fair sized market area just out side of "The Mall" and the wife wanted some Mexican glassware so we wandered the stalls for probably 2 hours, we find the salesmen/saleswomen and the haggling very entertaining (but I'm getting soft in my old age, these folks need the dollar we haggle over more than me) Didn't find glasses she liked but I scored a new hammock for my boat dock! We decided we had had enough and wanted to get back to the ship. Drag back through the mall, down the escalators and grab another pedi cab to the gangway.

Always feels good to get back to the ship...

 

 

Thank you for this info. I am interested in Me. sanchos BUT not the all inclusive option, we don't drink! It was $12pp for the chair and free wifi? I have also always wanted to try the fish pedi! Thanks for the info and pics.

[cheaperts]

Thank you for this info. I am interested in Me. sanchos BUT not the all inclusive option, we don't drink! It was $12pp for the chair and free wifi? I have also always wanted to try the fish pedi! Thanks for the info and pics.

 

you pay nothing for your chair and the wifi as long as you are a customer, our 24.00 was 4 cokes, some guacamole and a big plate of chicken nachos. The wifi didn't work on the beach but if you went up under the big covered area by the bar the signal was good. The have bathrooms, showers and a pool as well. If you want an umbrella on the ala carte side I think it is like 10.00, but we didn't need it.

[cheaperts]

Day 4

Next Stop- Belize City

 

Knowing that we had no big plans, just some shopping and finding a bar with wifi so I could handle a small issue with the business back home, we got around slowly, had a leisurely breakfast in Moderno, then got our bag together to go ashore. Belize City is a tender port, the ship anchors 5 miles out and tender boats come and haul the passengers to land. By the time we got to the tenders it was open tendering meaning anyone could jump on, no numbers needed. We like the open air tenders and usually sit up top if we can.

 

A 10 minute ride and we were at the pier, Belize City pier is a giant tourist shopping trap. We wandered down till we found the Wet Lizard bar offering a cold drink and free wifi. We sat down and I broke out my laptop to handle the issues at home.

 

I must say, I find it fascinating that technology allowed me to control a computer in Tulsa from Belize and output films so the staff could print some rush t-shirts, while talking to my secretary over a facebook phone call, crazy, just crazy.

 

30 minutes and a diet coke each, the work was done, we paid our 4.00 tab and headed out for Marge's favorite excursion-Shopping.

So many knock off designer bags...so little time....

We went out the gate to the straw market around the corner where you get real feel of Belize, along with the real smells. We even found the Belize version of Wal Mart! We went back inside the tourist area, and Marge touched every purse and piece of luggage in 15 different stores, only to buy a little cell phone holder-THAT'S IT! Oh well we had fun, laughed and watched the locals and the tourists.

 

Oh, wait, I didn't tell you what MIL & Dave were up to: because we didn't know, they were somewhere in Belize getting in to trouble like teenagers.

 

By 1:00 we had our fill of Belize so we jumped on a tender and headed for the ship, planning to go lounge on the pool deck and try to recreate the party hot tub. Getting back to the ship and up to the cabin, I open the balcony curtain to find 2 guys looking at me from outside ?!?

 

They descended down a deck which is when I grabbed the camera and got a picture, I asked if they brought varnish but they didn't get the joke or understand English. Looking them over I only saw white paint which they proceeded to roll on to the side of the ship....well maybe next cruise they will get that railing....

[cheaperts]

Day 4 Belize Cont....

 

Changing into our bathing suits and grabbing our beach towels, we headed to the pool deck-via the buffet for a snack-and find 2 chairs, lay out a bit and then go for a hot tub. The band was rocking out, very good but really loud! The party tub wasn't happening so after a nice soak we gathered ourselves up and trudged back to the cabin.

 

I love taking naps in the afternoon on the ship! So after a cat nap we got up and went down to deck 8 to see if MIL and Dave made it back. MIL was home and we decided to go to Aqua for dinner 630ish. Marge and I checked our picture folder, starting to get few good ones, had a cocktail at Gatsby's and then it was time to meet for dinner. Well, no one was excited by the menu, we didn't want the buffet so I suggested Los Lobos having read good reviews here on Cruise Critic about it. When we got to Los Lobos Roel the concierge was there having brought some VIP in for dinner, he spoke to the hostess and she seated us right away.

 

The menu had a nice selection of apps and entrees, it is ala carte, but the prices were very reasonable, as cheap or cheaper than typical Tex Mex at home (at least for us) I knew we had to have the Guacamole from all the rave reviews here, so we ordered it and the gentleman brought his trolley to our table, asked how we wanted it, hot or not etc and then made it while we watched-It was so good, probably best I've ever had. And only 6.00!

Most of the entrees were 9 or 10 dollars, ala carte sides 2.00 or so. Marge and I ordered a chicken quesadilla and 2 tamales, we couldn't eat it all and even with the Guacamole on our bill the meal only cost us 18.00 or so dollars. Everything we had was delicious

 

Dave ordered Flan and said it was good, he convinced the MIL to try it, she was not a fan!

[Love2travel4]

you pay nothing for your chair and the wifi as long as you are a customer, our 24.00 was 4 cokes, some guacamole and a big plate of chicken nachos. The wifi didn't work on the beach but if you went up under the big covered area by the bar the signal was good. The have bathrooms, showers and a pool as well. If you want an umbrella on the ala carte side I think it is like 10.00, but we didn't need it.

 

Thank you so much! I think we may try it out.

[keegob]

Loving your review. Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

 

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[cheaperts]

Loving your review. Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

 

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My pleasure, trying to get back to it this evening, amazing the weekend is busier than the work week!