Just Back From Dawn 4-16 Cruise

[LEET44]

Well to say we had a great cruise would not even come close to how much we enjoyed the last 10 days. I will post more when I get some sleep but some highlights were the ab penthouse 11560 Amber Suite.Cladio who made this cruise very special for us. When I hugged him and said goodbye it was like leaving a family member. Shoreguy I passed along your hello and he said he was sorry he missed you on your last trip. The weather was perfect I was told by many of the crew that our last sea day was the best they had seen in months It had to be in 80's till about 4:00 in the afternoon. The cruise director Matt I smile just thinking about him.The sharks last night around the ship yes I said sharks .The Captain who is just the nicest person to talk to besides giving us such a smooth ride..The people from our rollcall who I enjoyed talking to .Smellytoes and her dd I enjoyed the private island with you. All the great people I came across and talked to. And the crew the best crew you will ever meet. I am so sad it is over.I will post more after some rest. Lee

[chris209]

We just booked Penthouse AB suite 11520 for the June 17th cruise and would love to hear more about this cabin category! There are 4 of us- 2 adults and 16yo and 11 yo and looks like the AB suite has lots of room for all of us! Are there any special "perks" that come with this category? A few years ago we had a mini-suite on the Sun and received a free meal at one of the "pay" restaurants. Does this still happen?

Thanks for any info. We are really looking forward to the cruise!

[Smellytoes]

Lee, I miss you!!! I had a blast with you on the private island. We got to watch the sharks off our aft balcony then the dolphins put on a show for us. Anyone leaving for the Dawn in the near future is in for an amazing time.

[CarlNcl]

Curious if you have any noise complaints from the Pool area? Or anything?

 

I have not been high on the ship (i.e. deck 11), or that far forward. Any motion issues?

 

The layout of the AB is such that the Master bedroom backs up to the kids room, and not the hallway, correct? I.e. the kids room is a noise buffer between the master bedroom and the hallway noise.

[LEET44]

Smellytoes I miss you to .We saw the dolphins to. It really was so nice to meet and your dd ..We should plan a mother daughter cruise .What do you think? The suite is perfect for four. The kids have their own room and bathroom with shower It was great for us since my kids are young and they loved staying in there. My dd claimed the pull down bunk and my ds took over the pullout very comfortable.The master bathroom and bedroom gorgeous. You have also a living area dining area bar You will never want to go into any other cabin after you have been in this one.As far as noise never heard any only on my balcony and it was not often but as far as the bedrooms very quite.If your sitting in the living dining area you will hear hallway stuff but nothing that was a problem. With 800 kids on this cruise never once did I see any trouble Best behaved kids I have ever seen.I will post more later .I will give you some tips on the perks. Later Lee

[auntiegoose04]

I did not make it to the CC meeting unfortunetly. I forgot where you said it was, and it was not mentioned in the freestyle daily. We saw the dolphins too. We had so much fun, and my entire family absolutely LOVED Matt Baker. This was my first cruise so I don't have any other cruise director to compare him to, but we all thought he was amazing. Our kids at first stuck with each other, but eventually made friends. We all had the time of our lives and will defitnitely cruise again. I was wondering if anyone could help... my neice was upset that she didn't get contact information for one of her friends, and I was wondering if anyone could help me, ask their kids or something. His name was Dan, and he was Asian. She said she thought he was from out of the US but she couldn't remember. A screen name, or anything would be helpful. My computer is getting fixed tomorrow so I'm not sure when I'll be back on, but my neice may be on to check for replys about her friend. Just out of curiosity what was your favorite onboard show, island, excursion, or any other favorites of this cruise?

[matt690]

Im glad you all had fun. How was the food (the past few reviews have stated that people have been a little disappointed)? Is it known how long Matt Bakr will be onboard (will he be on in August)? Does anythign know who the hotel director will be in August? Last, how was the pool band and entertainment?

 

Thanks and welcome home!

 

-Matt

[shoreguy]

We just booked Penthouse AB suite 11520 for the June 17th cruise and would love to hear more about this cabin category! There are 4 of us- 2 adults and 16yo and 11 yo and looks like the AB suite has lots of room for all of us! Are there any special "perks" that come with this category? A few years ago we had a mini-suite on the Sun and received a free meal at one of the "pay" restaurants. Does this still happen?

Thanks for any info. We are really looking forward to the cruise!

 

I was in 11520 last Feb. and will be back in the same AB next Feb. It is the Diamond Suite. You will get the Royal treatment. Between the Butler and the Concierge there is almost nothing they will not do or arrange for you.

 

Perfect space for your family and a bathroom to die for for you. Some pictures on the link in my signature. Best overview of an AB is here

 

http://www.orcatekweb.com/Cabin-11550.htm

 

Embarkation

> 1 Bottle of Domestic Champagne

> 1 Floral Arrangement

> 1 Small Tray of Hors D'oeuvres

> 1 Fruit Basket*

> 1 Bottle of Spring Water

>

>

>

> Bath Amenities (L'Occitane)

> Cotton ball & Q-Tip

> Shampoo

> Conditioner

> Bath Gel

> Moisturizing Lotion

> Milk Facial Soap 1.7 oz (20% Shea butter)

> Verbena Soap 3.5 oz (20% Shea Butter)

> Bath salts, presented in container

> Loofah Mitt

> Shower Cap

> Sewing Kit

> Shoe Shine Mitt

>

>

>

>

> Other

> Butler Service

> Concierge Service

> DVD & CD Player

> DVD & CD Library

> Alarm Clock

> Bathroom Scale

> Bath Robes (Upgraded Robe)

> Feather Pillows

> Upgraded linen

> 24 hr Room Service (Suite menu)

> Full Breakfast Menu

> Turn Down Food Amenity-Formal Night

> In-Suite Dining

>

[~Jo~]

Just back from this cruise. We loved Matt Baker! You would never know this was his first week with NCL, we had a chance to talk with him on the second day of the cruise. He is a very pleasant 30 years "young" man full of energy, I think he signed on for 10 months. We really enjoyed the pool band, they were great. The food was so-so, hit or miss, but it does not ruin my vacation. If I wanted "haute cuisine", I would have paid top dollars for a deluxe cruise. We got just what we expected for the money we paid in the "food" dept. La Trattoria was delicious (a non-pay restaurant) Teppanyiaki was good, (a pay restaurant). For lunch, we often went to the New York deli. At night the garden cafe to the pasta station. The prime rib was offered a couple of times in main restaurant and it was delicious but the lobster was a big disapointment. We enjoyed the shows.

~Jo~

[DaytonGirl]

Hi ShoreGuy!

 

Thanks for the link. We have booked the 11010 location, which I am assuming is just as nice although I am a little concerned that it's under the nightclub.

 

I am very excited. I will have to look over this site every now and then for the next year!

[Hikini]

Glad you had a great time. I hope the post cruise blues are not horrible for you.

 

Hikini:D

[chris209]

Thanks for the info! Sounds good!

[cbr]

Hey everyone. Sorry I missed the Cruise Critic meeting but it was at the same time as the port talk and I wanted to find out about custom allowances, etc. for St. Thomas. We had a good time and the weather was fantastic but I was disappointed in the food. I agree - Matt Baker is a great Cruise Director and incredibly funny. The boat was really crowded so we encountered quite a few lines but all-in-all it was a positive experience. I'll be posting a full review sometime soon. There were an awful lot of children on the cruise but it wasn't a big deal except for a few occassions when teenage angst reared it's ugly head (some foul language in the laundry room and some racing around onboard). I wish I could have brought some of that nice weather back to Maine with me......maybe sometime in July.:) I missed the sharks (thank goodness - where were they??) but I did see the dolphins as our cabin was completely aft. Smellytoes...you must have been just two stories directly above us. Does anyone know the situation with the passenger who was airlifted? I witnessed a woman have a grand mal seizure in the Garden Cafe and it was really frightening. Apparently she was diabetic and her blood sugar had gotten extremely low. I saw her later on the ship though and she seemed to be doing fine. Looking forward to reading everyone else's reviews.

[~Jo~]

The person airlifted was not a passenger but a crew member with a burst (sp?) appendix.

~Jo~

[LEET44]

Jo I also thought the lobster in the main dining room was not to good but by then I had it 3 times at the specialty restaurants and each time it was great The best was the surf and turf at Le Bisro.We ate in every restaurant and we had a good meal each time . The buffet had such a wide variety that it was hard not to find something My dh had lunch everyday and always went to to the pasta station. I miss the cookies love those cookies.The buffet was great for us since the kids were hard to feed.. Well ds not really dd . Some nights I think our butler thought we were crazy with the things he had to bring for our ds for dinner but by 7:00 the kids were fed and at the kids crew and dh and I would get to eat alone .Did I enjoy the food? Yes Like I said the the meal at Le Bistro was terrific My dh had the porterhouse at Cagneys and he is still talking about it .Alot of people were talking about the porterhouse Can you imagine a steak being the topic of conversation. All the premium restaurants were good Even enjoyed Bamboo which I was not to sure about but thanks to Claudio who talked me into going I enjoyed another great meal. Jo were you at the meet and greet? I did not get to talk to everyone. Did talk to Matt the cd love him Did you see him in the pink tutu? I am going to start looking at next years Easter cruise I need to start planning or I will get very depressed. Lee

[LEET44]

This is so strange I asked three different people about the passenger and they all said it was a women going into labor. Also did you see the K-9 dogs at Tortola I think .All the days seem to blend together. Anyway this coming from passengers on the same deck as the passengers who were thrown off the ship and arrested for drugs.The dogs were on board sniffing around and I guess they found some. The sharks were swimming right along side of the ship One was pretty big.I was out on the pool deck waiting for dh to meet me for dinner when I heard shark and everyone was looking out crew officers everyone. They said they follow the ship sometimes .

[Smellytoes]

cbr: You weren't the guy on the balcony who was flashed by the lady in the motor boat and then mooned the motor boat were you??lol That was very funny but(t) you had to be there!

[Smellytoes]

That's funny that you guys weren't crazy about the lobster in the main dining room. Mine was excellent(all 3 of them)

[cbr]

Nope - it wasn't us that got mooned (although my DH would have loved that). We saw plenty of full moons at Orient Beach though. :) My husband said that the "clothing optional" part should be that he has the option of telling people who should and shouldn't wear clothes. :rolleyes: The weather today in Maine is about 47......sure miss those 85 degree days and equally warm water.

 

Well, I hope whoever it was that was airlifted is okay. I tend to believe that it was a crew member with appendicitis because we spoke to a waiter in Bamboo that evening and asked about it. He said whoever it was had a "50/50 chance of making it". We were watching the Texas Hold 'Em tournament in the casino at the time and the guy who was winning asked if it was a surgical emergency because he was a surgeon. The tournament director really never acknowledged him.

 

Wish I had seen those sharks (kind of). We did see dolphins twice (once on the ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda and once from the Dawn) and several large sea turtles on the water taxi from the boat terminal to St. Marteen. The good news is since I didn't think the food was as great as last time I only gained 2 pounds on a 10-day cruise!! We also took the stairs everywhere though.