bookdoctor1 Posted July 7, 2006 #1 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Are the rooms all the same? Do they serve the same things? Which is the best? Which one do they use for "Formal Nite"? Thanks, Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnql Posted July 7, 2006 #2 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Here's how the dining venues break down on the Dawn: Included, no reservations required Aqua (main dining room) Impressions (main dining room) Venetian (main dining room) Garden Cafe Buffet Bimini Bar & Grill Blue Lagoon - 24/7 eatery Pearly Kings Pub - Fish & chips Ondeck BBQs Late night snacks served in the casino Room service - 24/7 Specialty Restaurants - included, reservations required La Trattoria - Italian Salsa - Tex-Mex Specialty Restaurants - surcharge, reservations required Bamboo - 3 eateries in 1 - Asian fusion restaurant / sushi / Teppanyaki Cagney's Steakhouse Le Bistro - French The three main dining rooms (Venetian, Aqua and Impressions) all serve more or less the same menu each night (with the menu changing each night). There's sometimes a slight difference in the accompanying sauce that's served with the entree. The main difference lies in the ambiance of each dining room. The Venetian is the largest, most opulent, and probably noisiest of the three. The other two are much smaller, with Aqua (if my memory isn't failing me) having an all-female wait staff. The decor also is quite different in all three. Which is the best? There's no set answer to that; it depends on personal taste. The alternative restaurants have a fixed menu throughout the cruise. There is no designated formal dining room on the Dawn. Formal night applies to all the dining rooms, so you'll see people running the gamut in terms of dress - from resort casual (probably at least half the pax) to suits, gowns and tuxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaLa Posted July 7, 2006 #3 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Last year Aqua was all female. This past May there were both male and female staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea-2 Posted July 7, 2006 #4 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Last year Aqua was all female. This past May there were both male and female staff. they were also in March & April ....they do change staff every 6 mos....house keeping and waitresses, waiters etc (so they told us ;) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneCruiser Posted July 8, 2006 #5 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Aqua, Impressions and Venetian are all the "Main Restaurants" and do not have a cover charge and do not take reservations. (except for large groups of 8 or more). They all serve basically the same thing each night. (varies from night to night) LaTrattatoria (Italian) and Salsa (Tex-mex) are specialty restaurants that require reservations but do not have a cover charge. The other "specialty restaurants" require reservations and have a cover charge. LeBistro (French) has a cover charge of $15 a person Cagneys (Steaks & whole Lobster) has a cover charge of $20 a person Bamboo (Asian) has a cover charge of $12.50 a person Sushi & Teppanyaki are ala carte pricing and require reservations. Since all formal nights on all NCL ships are OPTIONAL, no dining room is designated as the "formal" room. Only about 40% of the passengers will dress up on formal night and that will range from tuxes to shirt/tie. You can wear "resort casual" to ANY dining room on ANY night and not feel out of place. The joy of Freestyle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsea Posted July 8, 2006 #6 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Impressions is very nice. I loved this dining room and ate there every night on one of my Dawn sailings. The Venetian is slower than the moon(so big and busy). If you want to linger and do not want to see a show..go there! Aqua is smaller and popular and the staff is (female) most efficient!! Check it out and see for yourself Formal night is observed in each of these areas as well as the pay dining rooms. Only Blue Lagoon and the buffet would be casual of formal night. Don't make the mistake fo showing up at 7:30 if you are in a hurry. You must be a bit early or late if you cannot wait in line. You are going to love this ship. Even if you do not eat a t Le Bistro make sure you wander in and enjiy "The Bather" by Renoir and the other masterpieces there. Theya re worth over $32 million and must be seen. Bon Voyage!! Rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuckylucky Posted July 8, 2006 #7 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Are the rooms all the same? Do they serve the same things? Which is the best? Which one do they use for "Formal Nite"? Thanks, Vicki I'll try and describe them for you: Venetian- Deck 6/7 Aft: The largest and most ornate...garish to some...lots of gold/brass, huge cathedral ceiling...back of dining room offers best tables since they are lined up along floor-to-ceiling windows looking over the wake of the ship...a must for breakfast. It's a beautiful room...and yes, noisy. Chairs only at the tables (no booths). Impressions- Deck 6 Forward: Our favorite (ate dinner there the most)...much more intimate...subdued color scheme...burgundy and ivory...love this restaurant for its U-shaped booths (can accommodate six comfortably). This type of table was perfect for us since we had our 3yr. old with us and she was able to sit comfortably and bounce between us. Because of the layout of this room, it's a bit quieter (it runs very long and narrow). No cathedral ceilings. Aqua- Deck 6 Mid: Low ceilings...very modern in decor...glass pictures with the illusion of water in, of course, the color aqua! The ceilings have miniature white lights all over the place depicting a starry scene...despite its size in comparison to the Venetian, it's very loud in here (bad acoustics undoubtedly due to its square shape and low ceilings). It's rather dark in there so it also makes the space seem smaller than it really is. Also, this restaurant has banks of tables along the walls with shared booth seating running across. I point out the seating situation only because some people prefer the comfort of booth seating vs. chairs. This might be something pax need to consider if they have back problems or simply because they are more comfortable in a cushioned booth than an upright chair. The best? Totally personal preference...on a week-long cruise, I see no reason to try each of them out. I had read that Aqua was most CCers least favorite but I'm glad we ate there one night (Captain's Gala Dinner) because we actually found it to be a refreshing change. The optional formal night on my cruise (6/24-7/1) was the first at-sea evening (Sunday) and was, as the other posters said, completely optional. I know a lot of people weren't decked out...but I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the women of all ages dressed up as if attending a wedding...the men weren't really wearing suits but you didn't notice that because the women outshined them...LOL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneCruiser Posted July 8, 2006 #8 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Impressions is very nice. I loved this dining room and ate there every night on one of my Dawn sailings. Rita Impressions is my favorite of all the restaurants on the Dawn. Aqua is smaller and popular and the staff is (female) most efficient!! Check it out and see for yourself Rita There were many males working in Aqua on our recent cruise. In fact the Maitre'd, Edgar, is a male. We also had a male waiter who was very good. Formal night is observed in each of these areas as well as the pay dining rooms. Only Blue Lagoon and the buffet would be casual of formal night. Rita FORMAL NIGHT IS OPTIONAL IN ALL DINNING ROOMS ON ALL NIGHTS! You do not have to dress more than resort casual to enjoy any dining room on any night! (polo shirts and kahki pants) If you want to wear shorts, blue jeans or a t-shirt, the buffet and Blue Lagoon are your choices. I have always worn polo shirts to dinner on every night on every NCL cruise that I have taken and I have never had supper in either the Blue Lagoon or the buffet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookdoctor Posted July 8, 2006 #9 Share Posted July 8, 2006 You answered all my questions. You are all so very great to share what you know with us. Thanks again. Think we will try them all. Except for the buffet, I like to be waited upon on vacation, since I do all the waiting here at home. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneCruiser Posted July 8, 2006 #10 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Bookdoctor: Actually, the breakfast buffet is pretty good. It is a great way to get a quicker meal especially on port days when you may have shore excursions. If you do the sit down breakfast in Venetian, plan on at least an hour to and hour and half since they serve your meal in "courses" like at dinner. The Secrets in the Breakfast buffet. (shhhh, don't tell...) Go to the port side of the Buffet on Deck 12 (the area that is used for LaTrattatoria in the evenings.) The lines tend to be shorter and there are more places to sit. NOW the REAL SECRET: Go to the very back line, the last of the three lines. (you enter from near the aft elevators.) There won't be many people in this line BUT...they have two cooks on this line: one will make you fresh hot waffles and the other will make fresh omlets with whatever you like. (he also will make an egg however you like it...my daughter got sunny side up every day -- or "dipping eggs" as she calls them.). Another secret to the omlet guy: you can have your omlet either with the traditional whole egg OR he will make you an omlet out of just egg whites, for those of you watching your cholesteral.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsea Posted July 8, 2006 #11 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Sorry about that. We are talking NCL! Formal night is always optional. I love their policies. More than that I love that they willingly forged ahead with their new ideas despite tradition and risk. As for Aqua this dining venue was ALL female the last time I sailed the Dawn. I take it it is still predominately female? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneCruiser Posted July 8, 2006 #12 Share Posted July 8, 2006 As for Aqua this dining venue was ALL female the last time I sailed the Dawn. I take it it is still predominately female? No, Aqua was about 50/50 female, as was Impressions. Venetian was more heavily male I would say as was Cagney's. LaTrattatoria was almost all female however. I didn't eat in the other restaurants, so I can't say for those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmopolitan Posted July 9, 2006 #13 Share Posted July 9, 2006 You answered all my questions. You are all so very great to share what you know with us. Thanks again. Think we will try them all. Except for the buffet, I like to be waited upon on vacation, since I do all the waiting here at home. Vicki Vicki...I agree...I'm on vacation...WAIT ON ME;) NO buffet! You didn't say if you are traveling with children...if not, I would skip Aqua..a great spot if you have children with you! I agree with Keystone, Impressions is wonderful (always) but you must dine in Venetian at least, once! And, LeBistro - everyone must dine with the Masters once in their lifetime:) Though I have read on here that the "originals" will be moved to another ship:( not sure when?? Have a wonderful cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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