Our Review of the Dawn-6/17-6/24

[CaptainChoppers]

First we would like to thank everyone on this site for all your help with our questions regarding our cruise on the Dawn. This was our 2nd cruise, the first being about 18 years ago. We booked an AE Penthouse Suite for our 25th Wedding Anniversary thru NCL Casinos at Sea.

 

To begin our review, we just want to say that we had the time of our lives! The Dawn is a beautiful ship; clean, big and comfortable. Here are some of our comments regarding this cruise:

 

Embarkation: We drove from NJ, which normally would take about 20 minutes, but with 3 ships in port that day, it took us about 1 1/2 hours. But this is understandable beacuse of all the traffic coming in and getting out of the terminal. Once we parked out car, we were directed to the VIP line and were greeted by our concierge, Claudio. What a nice and helpful person he was. (More about Claudio later). We were on the ship about 12:30PM and were able to go directly to our room.

 

Cabin: Our Suite was incredible! It was in the Aft Section of the ship. We were able to use our balcony quite a bit because there was not much of a breeze. For the entire cruise, we hardly felt any motion from the ship moving. In fact, the ship practically rocked us to sleep at night. The seas were so calm. We had chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us on the table, along with chilled champagne and a bottle of wine that was part of the Anniversary Package that we ordered for our 25th Anniversary. On our anniversary, the stewards decorated our room with balloons and streamers. We were also given a cake and another bottle of wine. Each night around 5:30PM there was a platter of little hor'deuves waiting for us to gooble down. We were totally happy with all the perks that came booking the Penthouse.

 

Concierge and Butler: As we stated previously, Claudio was the best! He was able to get us dinner reservations when we needed them and was very helpful with any questions we had. Our butler, Huda, was also very friendly and helpful.

 

Food: We know that there have been very different opinions regarding the food on NCL; however, we thought the food was excellent. We tried just about every food place there was on the ship. Our favorite was Cagneys. The food was perfect; DH has surf and turf and I had the chicken dinner, along with a bowl of delicious French Onion Soup. We also

tried Le Bistro (dinner there was part of our Anniversary package). Again, the food was very good. We were given a bottle of champagne and another anniversary cake. When they bought out the cake, the waiters and host sang "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to DH and myself! We ate at the buffet a few times for breakfast and werre always full when we left. Let me say that every restaurant or eatery that we ate at, we always had the friendliest staff. We also ordered room service a couple of times. On the first morning, we ordered Eggs Benedict. They were the best we've had in a long time.

 

Ports: Our favorite stop on this cruise was by far Great Stirrup Cay. What a great island! They had a BBQ (which we didn't go to because we spent most of the day in the beautiful ocean). There were also servers coming around to get your drinks, as well as a couple of bars you could walk to. They also had a nice marketplace for souveniers. They had a place to rent rafts and snorkel gear and were very reasonable with their prices. We spent the whole day on this island; we wished that there was another day here instead of going to Nassau. We took one of the last tenders back to the ship. We didn't want to leave! Note: Another perk we had was getting on the first tender to the island. We were able to get chairs and an umbrella. However, we did notice that by the time the third tender came in, people were walking around looking for someplace to sit close to the water.

 

Bermuda was fine. We decided to got to Hamilton for some shopping before hitting the beach. We would up also touring the Old Navel Yard so we didn't get to the beach. Instead, we went back to the ship and went by the pool.

 

Pool: To us, the size of the pool was fine. All we did was get wet when it got too hot. We had no problem getting chairs because DH is an early riser and after he got his coffee for the morning, he was able to get us a couple of chairs. This was usually around 8:30AM to 9:00AM. But we did notice that alot of chairs had towels on them. But Security seemed to be cutting down on the "Chair Hogs" buy removing them after a certain amount of time. We saw a couple of people arguing with Security to please remove the towels because people were not using the chairs. They did remove them. I got the Soda Card as soon as we got by the pool on the first day. However, for me, it wasn't worth it. I wound up drinking more canned soda than the fountain soda that was free with the card, so next trip I'll skip the Soda Card.

 

Casino: This was, for us, the most amazing part of the cruise. DH had an incredible lucky streak with dollar slot machine and a five dollar slot machine. He wound up winning enough money to pay for this cruise, our next cruise (which we are looking to take this December) and possibly another cruise next year! We go to Atlantic City alot and go to Las Vegas once a year, but we never had the kind of luck that DH had on this cruise. The staff in the casino were very friendly, especially Karen and Gabino! A special thanks to them for all their kindness. By the way, when you book your cruise thru Casino At Sea, all your drinks are free in the casino for the entire cruise. This was something we found out the first night at the casino.

 

Entertainment: I didn't get to see any of the shows at night because DH was too busy winning money at the casino!:D :) However, we did play bingo one day which was alot of fun.

 

Debarkation: We were two hours late arriving into NY, but that was OK with us. It just meant another two hours to enjoy the ship. Another perk was that we were one of the first ones off of the ship after customs cleared us. We were off the ship withing 5 minutes and were back home in NJ in 20 minutes.

 

Our final thoughts: Our cruise on the Dawn was even more wonderful that we imagined it would be, with the friendliest crew and excellent food. It was just what we were looking for, a relaxing and fun-filled week away from the stress of our jobs! Will we cruise NCL again? You bet! Will we cruise the Dawn again? We are already looking at a December cruise on the Dawn.:)

[bookdoctor]

Thank-you so very much for the great review. I am glad someone has finally written they had a good time on the Dawn and enjoyed the food. We leave July 15th for our cruise, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. So we are really looking forward to it. Glad you had such a good time. What did you think of the dockyard? Were the stores nice and did they have lots of nice things to buy just not the tourist junk? Thanks again Vicki

[Zeno]

Sounds like you had a lovely time! And what amazing luck in the Casino!

[CaptainChoppers]

Hi Vicki:

 

The Royal Navel Shipyards were different from your typical strawmarket shops because its an historical site. Their shops were located indoors in a shopping mall. They had jewelry, art shops, a Haagen-Daas ice cream parlor (which had great ice cream!) and a restaurant called Beethovans. They also had a general store with food that you could buy and bring onboard the ship. We bought junk food to support our junk food habit:D .

Separated from the mall in some of the historic buildings were a pottery shop, a glass-blowing shop (which we visited, but there was no demonstration of the glass-blowing at that time). Still they had some nice pieces of glass. We also went to the Museum. It was $10 a person and basically you toured on your own. One word of advice: make sure you have walking shoes on as it is a long walk and over rough terain. The museum is located on top of a very steep hill, but it is very interesting to walk thru it. Also, the view once you are at the top is breathtaking! You can get a really good look at the island, the ocean and the Dawn. There is also a beach called Snorkle Park right in the Museum area. So if you want to hit the beach after your tour without traveling a distance, you can do so. Unfortunately, we did not find out about it until we saw it and we did not bring our bathing suits. It may be a good idea for you to do so because it got very hot walking the Shipyards and you may want to cool off in the ocean. In the Museum they have a dolphin show, but we missed that, but did see some of them up close in the water. For an additional price, you can actually go into the water with the dolphins!

We hope this helps and let us know if you need any other information on the Dawn.

We know you will have a great time!

Jayne

[steve1era]

Ditto on "thanks" for the great review. We are sailing on the Dawn on 1/7/07 (first time on NCL; third cruise ever) and we are lokking forward tremendously to our cruise. It's nice to hear some positive comments, especially about the food. We have read practically everything there is to read about the Dawn, and our expectation is for a fantastic trip (despite a few negative reviews). Thanks again.:)

Steve1era

[bookdoctor]

Thanks Jayne, you answered all my questions. We plan on taking a dip in the ocean at the snorkle park after we explore the dockyard. Thanks again. Vicki

[ILoveScotland]

Jayne, thanks for the review. DH and I are on this cruise leaving NYC on August 5th.

 

The question has to do with your driving from NJ to the port. We will be going to NJ a few days early to visit DD who lives in Barnardsville, and she's going to drive us to the Port of NY on Saturday morning. You said that what would normally have been a 20 minute drive took an hour and a half which we will take to heart and leave early in the morning.

 

DH lived in NJ and worked in NYC all his working life, and I lived in the city for three years in the 80s and before I met him. I'll be the navigator and perhaps the driver as I'm the one who actually knows the city best.

 

So, my question is: What route did you take to the port...which tunnel, turns once in Manhattan, etc. I have directions, but hearing some specifics from someone who's recently made the trip will be really helpful.

 

Beth

[CaptainChoppers]

Beth, The Lincoln Tunnel is the closest crossing to the pier.

It doesn't matter which tube you take. When you exit the tunnel follow the sign for 42nd st, which means you will bear to your left. once you bear left stay in one of the center lanes. You will only travel a few blocks and the road ends at 42nd st. make the left on to 42nd and continue a few blocks until you reach the river 12th ave, make a right.

Once on 12th ave. for a block or two get in the left lane because once you pass the pier you will make a u-turn to get on the pier.

One warning when on 12th ave. be patient and stay in the left lane. If you try to jump in the center or right lane and then get back in the left lane the N.Y.P.D. will NOT let you back in that lane.

We were about a 1/2 block before the u-turn and I let a car merge in front of me, but when we got to the u-turn the traffic officer made this guy get out of the lane and go straight.

We had to see at least a half a dozen cars re-routed by the police.

From the tunnel to the pier would normally take maybe five minutes on this day it took us almost an hour.While in traffic just keep thinking Dawn,Dawn,Dawn.

Have a great cruise.

[LindaLa]

We live in the town next to Bernardsville. We take Route 78 to the NJ Turnpike and just follow the signs to the Lincoln Tunnel. A previous post tells you how to get to the Pier from the Tunnel. We have driven to the Pier for our last 3 cruises. It is so convenient. We had a wonderful time on our Dawn Cruise in the May.

[ILoveScotland]

Jayne and LindaLa, thanks for the great directions. Jayne, you gave exactly the kind of information neither the NY Port Authority nor Mapquest provide when you talk about which lane to get in and stay in, too.

 

LindaLa, assuming no traffic delays (and that's a terrible assumption I know) about how long should it take us to get from Bernardsville (and yes, I know it's Be, not Ba--I live near a little mountain community called Barnardsville, and I'm always mis-stating myself)? I'd like to get to the pier at 11:00 a.m.

[LindaLa]

Without any traffic it will only take about 45 minutes. On Saturday mornings there is usually no traffic at the tunnel. I also just read the directions to the Pier from the tunnel. I don't remember making a U-turn off of 12th. I think we took 10th Ave. down to about 51st or 52nd street, made a left and then just drove straight up to the Pier. I will check with my husband to see if he remembers how we went.

[LindaLa]

We got on to 10th Ave from 42nd St. We went to either 52nd or 53rd and made a left. (There is a Terminal sign on a light pole for the left.) It takes you straight across 12th and into the pier area. It was really easy and we didn't have to make any u-turns.

[sweetpea-2]

Nice review...I also love the Dawn and had no complaints (except they need new mattresses )...... hope to go on her again but might not be able to......wow, what great luck in the Casino...think we only came out $650.00 or $700.00 ahead and had the best luck on the dollar machines......

[nyflush]

Nice review:)

 

We were on 06/24 Dawn cruise im so surprised to see so many nice things said about the Concierge and Butler we were in an AB and had a BA i must say we received the worst service from those two the butler was just ok never smiled but did his job didnt talk was like pulling teeth:D as for Claudio I think he was just over worked he came to our room the first day then never called us back i had to call the reception desk and tell them i left him 6 message but the girl Lisa there knew that and found him for us but i will write more on that in my review and congrats on the casio the workers there are awsome!

[nyflush]

Thank-you so very much for the great review. I am glad someone has finally written they had a good time on the Dawn and enjoyed the food. We leave July 15th for our cruise, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. So we are really looking forward to it. Glad you had such a good time. What did you think of the dockyard? Were the stores nice and did they have lots of nice things to buy just not the tourist junk? Thanks again Vicki

 

Vicki The food on the Dawn was good to great im sure you will find something you like to love:) The dawn is a beautiful ship and the cruise director was so much fun try not to miss bollywood.

 

Have a great cruise

[Welove2cruise2]

CaptainChoppers: thanks for the great review! We love the Dawn!:D

[chris209]

I think the AB's have a different butler- we were in an AB on June 17th and agree that we were very disappointed with the butler but otherwise had a great cruise. Claudio definitely was very busy but always took care of any requests promptly and was definitely more pleasant and more helpful than the butler

[nyflush]

I think the AB's have a different butler- we were in an AB on June 17th and agree that we were very disappointed with the butler but otherwise had a great cruise. Claudio definitely was very busy but always took care of any requests promptly and was definitely more pleasant and more helpful than the butler

 

Yes Claudio was pleasant but we only met him the first day and spoke to him twice on the phone just couldnt get in touch with him, the few times we did see him he was with the same family so we didnt well couldnt really use him for reservations and he didnt call us back for the first day and a half so it messed up our excursions. As for the butler yes disappointing but he did his job just without a smile or more than two words. The room steward Edgar was great! I was just surprised i have heard great things about Claudio visits in restaurants ect.. we couldnt even get him on the phone:(