Review of NCL Dawn August 24, 2018 Boston to Bermuda with pictures

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Hello all,

 

Here is my first review with photos. Please bear with me if I encounter any tech difficulties.

 

This was our third time on the Dawn. Our second time on the Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. My DH and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary sans kid!

 

I booked the cruise after our Holland America cruise was cancelled. I was happy to be able to use an expiring NCL cruise next certificate. I originally booked an inside, upgraded to an outside guarantee when the rates dropped, and then noticed that the rates dropped again (after final payment!) and was able to get a balcony at no additional cost. NCL contact agents were very pleasant when changing our reservations.

 

Thanks, NCL!

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Like many people on this cruise, we drove to the port. We arrived around 12:30 and tried to park in the nearby garage, but it was full. So we parked at the box open-air lot which still had plenty of spots for $25 per day, paid when we drove in.

 

We waited behind just a few people for the security and check-in lines. We were onboard the Dawn within 15 minutes.

 

The first stop was to the Venetian for lunch.

 

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I'll include some food photos in this thread. I did not take pictures of all our meals, but I'll share what I have.

Here's my tuna sandwich. It normally comes with chips, but I asked for waffle fries (which were disappointingly limp).

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Here is my husband's fish & chips. He also ordered it later in the week. So, it was good! And the regular fries were delicious.

 

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

This is just perfect! We go in six days! Thank you.

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This is just perfect! We go in six days! Thank you.

 

I hope you have as lovely I time as we had. The weather was a little hot for some days, but the seas were so calm that I was amazed.

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Here is my husband's key lime parfait. He said it was very good.

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And, since it was our very first lunch, I was still thinking about calories and ordered the fruit plate. All week, the fruit at the restaurants and buffet was fresh and cold.

 

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The Venetian was refreshed during Dawn's dry dock. The chairs were all recovered, but they are still awkwardly heavy to move around. Also, there has been much discussed about the artwork. I think the idea may have been to make it appear more contemporary since the Venetian is a very traditional dining room. I'll let you be the judge on the artwork.

 

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We ate two lunches, one dinner, and our disembarkation breakfast at the Venetian. The service was consistently very good. Hot food was hot, and cold food was cold. Here's a picture of the general atmosphere.

 

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We decided to go for a walk along the promenade deck after lunch. One of my favorite things about the Dawn is the promenade which goes all the way around the exterior of the ship without obstacles.

 

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Here is a view of Boston's cruise terminal looking to the right and left from about midship on the promenade deck.

 

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At some point around 2:00 an announcement was made that the cabins were ready. We headed there to drop off our carry-on and hang out until the muster drill.

Our cabin was located across the hall from an access door to the top level of the atrium. This made getting to O'Sheehan's very quick. But it also meant that we could faintly hear the atrium music from our cabin. It was not loud enough to keep me awake.

 

If you recall, we traveled without our kid. So, I had bought the 250 min wifi plan to keep in touch. Sometimes the connection was 1-2 bars in our cabin. But I did get better reception by walking across the hall to the atrium which was comfortable and rarely used by other guests.

 

Regarding the wifi, buying the 250 min package before getting on board meant that I paid $105 without a connection fee of $3.99. It also meant that I did not get the 30 min of bonus time for Gold latitudes members.

 

Be careful to logout after every use because the minutes will just vanish. On the 5th day, I had logged out, but the poor wifi reception did not register it. The Internet manager reinstated most of my remaining minutes after I told her the problem. Again - very good service from the crew!

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Some pictures of our cabin 9666 which is a standard balcony cabin. It has plenty of storage for clothing.

 

 

 

A little blurry

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Our balcony had the standard NCL furniture of two chairs and a tiny table. It's as wide as the room, but not very deep. Just large enough for two people to sit comfortably.

 

I noticed that there were some rust spots. One day two in Bermuda, the rust spots were painted with primer. And the balcony floor had paint chips on it which stayed there until I asked our cabin steward to clean the floor - which he did promptly with a smile.

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Back in the cabin there is a table which can be moved around and two stools which were good for sitting or using as an ottoman in front of the couch.

You may notice the 2 bottles of water and bottle of sparkling white wine on the table. This was part of our Gold Latitudes treats. The wine could fit in the fridge with a little arranging. It was not worth drinking, however, and I would have preferred more water.

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The cabin tours ends with bathroom pictures. The bathroom is a good size for a cruise ship. In particular, the shower is a larger rectangle than we have had on other ships.

[vacation44]

Yeah, another Bermuda review! Thank you for taking the time to write it and I am enjoying it so far.

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Yeah, another Bermuda review! Thank you for taking the time to write it and I am enjoying it so far.

You're welcome! I have read so many reviews to help prepare for our cruise. I hope this helps someone else.

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Eventually, it was time for the muster drill. This was the only time that I heard the loud, cabin announcement PA used. Other announcements later in the week (like for bingo) were difficult for me to hear while we were in the cabin.

 

Our muster station M was in the Aqua restaurant. Here is one of the crew dressed for muster leaning on a stack of menus.

 

Like the Venetian, the decor in the Aqua has been refreshed during Dawn's drydock. Here's one of the chandeliers which is one of the few items with a blueish hue in the dining room.

 

During the week, we ate at Aqua five times for dinner. We had very good experiences. Because we bought a Sailaway rate on the room, we did not have the dining package or drink package. Old school, we paid out of pocket for our drinks. When I ran the dollar amounts for the room package vs. the Sailaway rate plus out of pocket costs, this was the most cost efficient for us. But I do not care where our cabin is located. If location is a concern for you, it may be worth it to pay to pick your cabin.

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Food in the Aqua was very good. There was one meal that I did not like - Vegetarian Pad Thai. It was removed and replaced with a sympathetic smile. Really, the service was very consistent all week. Dinner was served at a reasonable pace.

 

Here is chicken parmesan. My husband enjoyed it all.

 

And here is the classic (offered every night) strip steak. I ordered it medium, but it was more medium well. When my husband ordered it later in the week, he said medium rare and it was perfectly medium. Your experience may vary.

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One more note about Aqua seating. We were seated immediately 5 out of 6 times that we talked to the hostess. One time, it was a special out to dinner night for their teen club. The hostess called the Venetian, and we were seated immediately there.

On the first night at Aqua we were seated at a table for two next to the hostess desk. This was not comfortable for us because it is a main traffic area. Diners were walking by us frequently. On other nights we asked for a table away from that area and were always accommodated.

 

We ate at Bamboo for one dinner. This is a complimentary restaurant. When we tried to walk-up Saturday evening, there was no availability. So we made a reservation for the next night at 7:30. This was very good quality Chinese food. We enjoyed the pot stickers, sweet and sour pork, mixed fried rice, and Peking style shrimp and chicken. I had coconut tapioca pudding for dessert. It was tasty and not overly sweet. Sorry no pictures of that meal. I forgot my camera in the cabin.

 

We tried to eat at Cagney's but the only dining still available was 9:45 pm. This is a bit late for us. I suggest if you have your heart set on a specific, special restaurant that you make a reservation before you board.

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After dinner, we went to the atrium to listen to some music. Musical entertainment was disappointing for us. When compared to our previous experience on the Dawn and other recent cruises like RCCL and MSC, we felt like the musical performances were lacking. Of course this is subjective, but I am reporting our opinion.

 

We did, however, enjoy several shows in the Stardust Theater during the week. Our favorites included the juggling comedian, the comedian, Elements (wow - do not miss this!), and the magician PJ Wen. Really, there were several times, I thought, "How did he do that?" He was funny, and we both enjoyed the show tremendously.

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For all evenings except the final evening, we had a towel animal in our cabin. Here is our collection.

 

You can see the time change notice on the first night. Bermuda time is one hour back from eastern time.

 

Elephant

 

Frog

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Dinosaur

 

Penguin - he was the only one who fell apart when I moved him.

 

Mouse