Just Off The Dawn - Two Thumbs Up

[hods93]

We were on the July 21 sailing on the Dawn to Bermuda. Let me start off by saying we were NCL cruisers and switched over to another cruise line for the last few years. We chose the Dawn this year because we are local to Boston and really wanted a short ride to the ship. So, I gave NCL a chance and we could not have had a better time! It was a family trip; myself, my husband, 23 year old son and 16 year old daughter.

 

Embarkation was a breeze - everything very organized. We arrived at the port at around 10:45 and essentially walked right into line and received our key card. Around 11:30 they began calling sections and it moved along quickly. We were seated and eating lunch by 12:15 at the Venetian.

 

We had two rooms on this cruise. Because it was a last minute trip, we booked two sail away ocean view rooms. I was happy with our room assignments, deck 5 mid ship. My son bid on a mini suite to upgrade and he actually got it - probably around a week from sailing. I was stunned because his bid was actually very low. The mid ship OV on 5 was fine for two of us. I never felt confined at all. His mini suite was very nice and I thought - large. All four of us could have been comfortable there. Four of us sat on his balcony with a bit of room to spare. The room stewards were good too.

 

I thought the ship was beautiful with the refurbishment. I had a friend who was on prior to the refurbishment and she said it was just OK. It all looked new, fresh and modern to me. All of the public spaces were exceptionally clean. There is a big emphasis on hand washing onboard which I think it great. We were always greeted with a couple of squirts from the sanitizer - all good.

 

As far as the dinners, we only ate at one specialty restaurant which was Le Bistro, it proved to be a bit disappointing. My son and husband ordered the steak which was overcooked by a lot. The manager could not have been more gracious and apologetic and because we were not on the meal program, removed those two meals from our bill. Other than Bamboo, which was excellent, we split our dinners between the Venetian and Aqua. Both were excellent and there was no complaints from any of us! The food came out hot and cooked perfectly. I found the waitstaff in both to be wonderful. It was also nice because I never got the sense anyone was rushing us. I think I would give the advantage to Aqua just because for my personal taste I liked the vibe in there more. We also ate breakfast in the Venetian every morning and again, it was super. We really did not go to the buffets at all - just to grab a slice of pizza here and there. We did eat (we did a lot of eating) at O'Sheehan's several times. I liked the pub atmosphere. We never had to wait for a table even at lunchtime. Everything in there was good including the wings! My daughter loved the nachos. I really like the Freestyle concept. We did make reservations for each night but on a couple of occasions I found myself changing the time because it did not work for us and that was never a problem. I also liked the more relaxed dress code. We always went in nice clothes as almost everyone I saw did - but we never felt pressure to be in a fancy dress or my husband in a suit. There was a dress code in Le Bistro.

 

Great experience in Bermuda. We were on the fence on what to do and at the last minute booked the mini bus tour through NCL. It was great and ended up being right around 6 hours although it didn't feel that long. Tour guide was wonderful. The next day we took the mini bus to Horseshoe Bay. We left early and when we arrived it was not too crowded but by the time we left we had people set up on all four sides of us about a foot away - which for me was not enjoyable. My suggestion would be to walk all the way to the left when you arrive and set up shop there. We spent most of the time swimming in the small grotto to the right of the beach. It was shallow and calm. The day we were there, the waves in the beach area were large. There were no jelly fish at all. We spent about 6 hours there. Spent a little time sitting on their patio having a drink. Unfortunately, as we were leaving to grab the mini bus back, a man either slipped or was jumping into the water off the large cliff, like many were, and he was injured. The lifeguards were great. The poor man left on a stretcher in an ambulance. Needless to say, we felt awful for him. I wish I knew how he was.

 

The last day in Bermuda we took the little train around and did shopping. We were going to go to Snorkel Bay but when we got there it was very crowded. There was another RCL ship docked that day.

 

We really didn't use the pool at all because unless you want to make 100 new friends, it really was too crowded. We did sit at the high tops at the pool almost daily just to stop for a drink. There are plenty of quieter places on other decks to sit out and read or do whatever. I liked the Bimini and found that not to be crowded.

 

Because it was summer, the ages went from newborn to 100. There were lots of kids onboard, teens too. My daughter tried the club for kids but since she was on the higher end of the 13-17 didn't really do much with them. The younger kids seemed to be enjoying the pools and water slides.

 

We did buy an internet package and had no trouble with the speed at all. It can be only used by one person at a time. My husband had to make a couple of business calls while we were in Bermuda so before we left he got a new thing from ATT (our carrier) which was a flat $10 for unlimited calls and data per day in Bermuda. TV is limited so be sure if you have a favorite program you DVR it at home. They had FOXNews, CNBC, MSNBC, some sports station (not ESPN), a lot of great movies but no NBC, CBS or ABC. It didn't bother me because we were rarely in our room.

 

As for entertainment, we went to the show the second night which was a musical revue type thing and it was good. My husband and daughter went to Second City and liked it. We all went to Elements. If you only go to one show - do not miss this. It was fantastic. Word of warning, arrive early because it was packed. I did spend some time in the casino and it is the first casino on a ship I actually won. I didn't win a lot but most of the trip I played with their money. So, in the end, I didn't loose anything. We took advantage of some of the smaller talks. We went to the presentation on the Dawn and I found it to be interesting. At the end of the presentation, the captain, hotel chief and chief engineer answered questions. I thought it was informative. My 16 year old even liked it.

 

Debarkation was another breeze. It is a little unclear but the day before you have to pick up your bag tags in the main lobby. We felt no pressure to leave our rooms at the crack of dawn and sit in a public area. We had a 9:35 time slot and we left our rooms around 8:30, ate and by 9:20 we were off. Many people did the self assist and they along with those who had to catch a flight were off a lot earlier. Unlike other cruises I have been on, they had an immigration officer on the debarkation deck to whom you handed your declaration paper and then proceeded to the check out. It was no stress and simple.

 

It was a terrific trip with perfect weather. We met some really great people. Really, I found absolutely nothing to dislike. I would repeat it again in a heartbeat. NCL has won me back!

 

If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to try to answer them.

[Beachiekeen]

Yay thanks for the review--we will

be on the Dawn in October. Just one question about Bermuda--what is the train you are referring to?

[hods93]

Yay thanks for the review--we will

be on the Dawn in October. Just one question about Bermuda--what is the train you are referring to?

 

When you walk off the ship there is a small train (like something you would see at Disney) that makes stops in the dockyard area. It stops directly outside of where you walk off. I think it maybe makes four stops. Really nice for those that have mobility issues and cannot make the walk around the area.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your feedback!

[BirdTravels]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Dawn last September and loved her new look and feel.

[elainemasey61]

We sailed in June with our 19yr son. We all had a blast and I would love to go back next year. My only complaint was our cabin- midship mini suite- it had virtually no storage, when the sofa was open for the bed- it folded out to be on the floor, making getting to the balcony difficult and the noise from above- my fault- as an experienced cruiser I should have given that more thought. Overall though a good time[emoji41]

 

 

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[All-ready2cruise]

Thank you for your review with all the great useful information, Bermuda is on my bucket list from Boston.

 

Cheers,

Connie

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[roberooski]

GREAT review! We just booked today, leaving in 19 days.....we're a little impulsive! LOL!

 

I'm looking into the "upgrade bidding" and I can't find a link or anything on the site. Anyone have a link? Just curious about it.

 

Thanks!

Robin

[All-ready2cruise]

GREAT review! We just booked today, leaving in 19 days.....we're a little impulsive! LOL!

 

I'm looking into the "upgrade bidding" and I can't find a link or anything on the site. Anyone have a link? Just curious about it.

 

Thanks!

Robin

 

Congrats on booking the cruise. AFAIK, you have to wait for NCL to send you a link. I just booked a cruise on the Sun last week and the next day (70 days out) I received an email for NCL advantage upgrade. So, I'd wait until tomorrow.. 24 hours and see if you get the email but also make sure you check on MYNCL too since some have said they don't get the emails.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

[Mike D.]

Thanks so much for the Dawn and port review. It is great to see the first hand, detailed impressions. I'm taking the September 15th cruise to Bermuda on the Dawn and, of course, looking forward to it.. I'm sorry about your Le Bistro experience. In general my specialty restaurant experience (Cagney's, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Moderno) on NCL has been excellent.

[hods93]

GREAT review! We just booked today, leaving in 19 days.....we're a little impulsive! LOL!

 

I'm looking into the "upgrade bidding" and I can't find a link or anything on the site. Anyone have a link? Just curious about it.

 

Thanks!

Robin

 

We booked about 20 days as well. We were scheduled to go to Disney and I happened to be poking around the NCL site and found a GREAT deal on this cruise. So glad we changed plans. We got an upgrade offer a couple of days after we booked. It showed up when we logged into the NCL account. As I said, son got what I thought was a great deal. I never thought it would be accepted! He was on the Breakaway last March and I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I bid on a balcony since we were in an OV and it was not accepted. Who knows the method NCL uses. I know you will have a fabulous time! Enjoy!!

[hods93]

Thanks so much for the Dawn and port review. It is great to see the first hand, detailed impressions. I'm taking the September 15th cruise to Bermuda on the Dawn and, of course, looking forward to it.. I'm sorry about your Le Bistro experience. In general my specialty restaurant experience (Cagney's, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Moderno) on NCL has been excellent.

 

Oh you are going to have a wonderful time!! Honestly, the bad meal was not a big deal to us. I could go to my neighborhood restaurant that I love and get a bad meal. Everyone has an off day and I would never judge based on one experience. We opted for the "free" dining because it was so good! Enjoy!

[roberooski]

We booked about 20 days as well. We were scheduled to go to Disney and I happened to be poking around the NCL site and found a GREAT deal on this cruise. So glad we changed plans. We got an upgrade offer a couple of days after we booked. It showed up when we logged into the NCL account. As I said, son got what I thought was a great deal. I never thought it would be accepted! He was on the Breakaway last March and I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I bid on a balcony since we were in an OV and it was not accepted. Who knows the method NCL uses. I know you will have a fabulous time! Enjoy!!

 

AWESOME! Thanks for the info!

[Queenie1001]

Thank you, for the review! :cool:

[sharona211]

Leaving on the Dawn on Friday and so happy to see your positive review! Glad your family had so much fun.

[Sand and Seas]

Leaving on the Dawn on Friday and so happy to see your positive review! Glad your family had so much fun.

Lucky you:D Don't miss Los Lobos Cantina. It was our favorite and it's only on the Dawn (so far!) Food was wonderful and staff was great. It's an ala-carte restaurant but prices were really decent. You can use a SDP meal here. We ended up there three times during our week cruise. It gets crowded by the end of the week when everyone starts hearing about it.