DAWN review 8/5/06

[Dario M]

Hello everyone and as many of you know ive been waiting for this cruise a LONG time and now that its (sadly) come and gone i have to write my review. It is going to be relatviley long but i ask that you please take the time to read it if you have it and i will put the most important tips in bold if you dont have time to read it all. All in all it was a GREAT cruise and ill recap it day by day.

 

Day 1 (embarkation)

Saturday morning after a night of NO sleep (from excietment of course) we left our house at around 10:30 TIP: when you wake up check the bridge cam to see if she is already in port that way you know what kind of time you have| I live about 20 minutes away from the dock and stoped at our local liqur store first for some onboard cocktails.....NEXT TIP:if you are going to smuggle alchohol keep it in brown paper bags and put it in your shoes (preferably sneakrs) one bottle per shoe| once we set out for the dock we got there about 30 minutes later with some traffic. The traffic with the pier was pretty bad but it was isolated inside the pier. Stop at the pier the ship is in and drop your luggage with a porter. make sure they know what boat you are on. My family brought a case of water with a luggage tag on it and it was lost BUT NCL more than made up for it (more detail on that later) Parking is expenisve but oh so easy, just tell them your ship and theyll put you in the parking lot next to your ships berth. Take the escalator into the ship terminal. Now this is one of my BIGGEST complaints. The new york city pier looks and smells HORRIBLE. The pier staff werent very nice ethier. We were given 3 diffrent times that we were told we would get on the ship.....the entire time a large clock in big bold print saying WILL BEGIN BOARDING AT: and had the hands pointoing to the time. Of course this was the actual time we got on board and much earlier than we were told. Checking in was a relative breeze. TIP: Have everything out (tickets ID e.t.c) and check in will be smooth as silk| We got our room keyes and the big moment was finally here. As we walked through the sliding glass doors we looked through the atrium in amazment..........and acidentally clogged traffic (oops) Now many many many people i could tell were VERY confused as to what they should do first (shore excursions, dinner reservations, lunch E.T.C) Okay time for massive dinner reservations TIP: Go directly to the restuarant(s) you want to make reservations in, so SO easy| If you haven booked your shore excursions online now is also a good time to do so. Once we had a moment to breathe we realized how hungry we were and went to the garden cafe for lunch.........MISTAKE TIP: go to the venitian for lunch or wait for the pool barbeque| Not that the buffet isnt good the rest of the week just his one day it is unorganized small, and not very good tasting. Dont let this turn you off the buffet is great the rest of the week. My family and i just basically roamed the ship until the rooms were ready and the muster drill announcment was made. The muster drill is 10 minutes. Dont sweat it it is no big deal just make sure you attend. We than went back up to the pool deck th watch us sail out to sea. DONT MISS THIS. We latter returned to our room and being 3 of us we needed to pull out the couch "bed" (*cough* slab of rock) Honestly the sofa bed is possibly the hardest thing you will ever sleep on and the hardest thing to put togther. Lukily your room steward will but the bed togther for you, pack it up each morning and put it toghter and turn it down each night (service :)) Our luggage came but no case of bottled water. Well it didnt turn up for the rest of the day but reception got right on that (again more on that later) Dinner in the venitain was exxcelent that night. Get a double order of the shrimp cocktail (eggroll shrimp) and the cappucino that is included with your meal is an amazing touch. That is when my family parted ways. My parents going off doing whatever it is they do and i (being 16) went up to the teen club. Parents with teens EVERYONE goes to this first dance so make sure your kids go to. This is where i made and everyone else made thier new best friends for the week. No matter what a night with your firneds is never complite with out a 2 AM trip to the Blue Lagoon:) (woo okay day one was the longest but if your still reading...thank you and i promise the next days will be shorter)

 

Day 2 (day at sea)

 

Today we had our first day at sea and unfortanetly the weather wasnt GREAT it was quite windy and a little bit clouldy but what can you do right. Okay this next paragraph is possibly the most importnat thing i will have to say this entire review so its all going in bold. If you are reading these boards you are offically a cruise critic member. Be sure to hold a cruise critic meet and greet no matter WHAT boat you are sailing on always always have these because the higher cruise staff know this is one of the most popular cruise message boards. 99.9% of the time your most important officers will be there to meet with you. At our meeting (special props to spc4ls gal for setting this all up) the cruise director(darin), hotel director (hugo), food and beverage director (tony), and a few other members of the cruise staff showed. Okay SUPER SUPER IMPORTNAT GET EACH ONE OF THESE OFFICERS CARDS WITH THIER PRIVATE EXTENSION YOU WILL SEE THIS IS POSSIBLY THE HANDIEST THING YOU WILL HAVE ALL CRUISE. Now after out meeting my family realized that our water had still not shown up so we went down to the front desk. We kindly approached the desk as we had before but instead of them hadning us a form we handed them hugo's card. They immediatly asked for a detailed description of the water and how many bottles there were. About an hour later there was a knock on our cabin door. On the other side of our door there was a first class officer holding a case of thier own evian water with an extra 4 bottles as thier apology. The officer apologized profusley and we thanked him profusley as he filled our fridge with the water for us. This is where NCL REALLY REALLY shined through. We never expected such over and beyond service it was really a nice touch. Dinner that night was at cagneys. 20 dollars is a little expensive but the steak is AMAZING. The fillet mingion is literally butter in you mouth and the t-bone is also amazing.

 

Day 3 (bermuda)

 

Today my family had an excursion planned. The restless native catamaran cruise. It was alot of fun and gave you some great time to snorkel and enjoy the beach. After we returned from the excursion we had lunch on the boat and my parents than left to bermuda again to shop whie i stayed on the boat. There were a few pool games and other activites planned and those were pretty neat. Dinner that night was the venition and it was an excellent chefs menu. The show that night was the south beach rave. I only stayed for 5 minutes of it and left with my friends but my parents said it was quite good.....have to take thier word for it.

 

Day 4 (at sea)

 

Today we had a BEAUTIFULL day of lounging in the sun on the pool deck. We attended bingo TIP:go to bingo at least once. they give away very large amounts of money and there are so many ways to win. ingrid and her staff were quite funny and a fun group to have bingo with. Lunch in the garden cafe was very nice and we tried the deli for the first time. It was actually quite good. NOT a new york deli but they can make a descent sanwhich. As long as im on the topic of food and beverage i might as well say this TIP: try a blue hawaian one day for a frozen drink. they are delicios and i only discovered them the last day of the cruise :(| We retired to our room and watched a beautifull sunset from our balcony and ordered some room serivce hours d' ovuers (spelling?) they were quite good and got there in good timing. At about this point in the cruise you'll also be use to or 15 sq foot bathroom as well:D. Dinner tonight was at impressions. The food was a little bland a couple of nights and needed salt desperatly. But as a cook u do learn that under salting isnt always bad becasue its very easy to ruin food with too much salt. I alos highly reccomend you try the souff'le of the day every day for dessert, they are all amazing. The show that night was second city. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY (yes 3 times) reccomend you see this show it is HILARIOUS. the improv isnt as good as the written skits but they are still extremly funny. The show incorporates a litle of everything including cruise humor which was also very funny.

 

Day 5 (Great stirrup cay=cancelled)

 

Unfourtently today we were awoken not to sandy beaches and sunshine but to heavy rain and the captains grim announcment of the cancellation of great stirrup cay. This was kind of a let down for my family and I considering we were REALLY looking forward to this stop. Instead we just continued onto nassua and ended up spending 24 hours there. The weather was a little nicer there and the sun was shining we took a cab to a beach and relaxed there. TIP: Aparently all the cab drivers have diffrent ideas of the beaches. Just ask to be taked to the paradise island beach. If you dont u may be dropped off at a beach that may require up to a mile walk to get to civilization lol| once you are there though you can rent jet ski's bannan boats E.T.C. IT is a whole lot of fun. Also, gambling at the atlantis is a must at night. Dinner tonight was in le bistro. I had the escargot, and the fillet mignion with foigr roe (spelling again) Both of these were absolutley amazing and a cafe au lait and the fondue for dessert. Now i must say after all ive herd about the fondue i was slightly let down. The fondue left a grity after taste and was over all not very pleasing to the pallet. However the fruit was fresh and delicious. Tonights show was the magician and he really wasnt that great (sry to those who really liked him but he seemed lackluster to me)

 

Day 6 (nassau and day at sea)

 

Today my parents went shopping in nassau and came back with.......NOTHING...great. the boat left dock a little late due to some passengers who forgot the all abord time. It was a little rude that they just laughed it off like it was nothing meanwhile they dleayed the boat an extra hour. The sun stayed out for us and made for a beautiful pool day. One complaint though ONE POOL IS NOT ENOUGHT FOR A SHIP THIS SIZE. It truly isnt and although the stadium seating was neat. It truly was chair hog city. Dinner tonight was the captains galla and the second optional formal night. Tonight lobster was served. I had a double order of the tails. It was slightly tough but hey, lobster is lobster. Ethier way the lobster was very easy and pleasing to the pallet. Tonight the show was bollywood and i did not get a chance to see this show but i have herd it was very very good and not to be missed (so much for that)

 

Day 7 (at sea)

 

well it was our last day as one big drunk norwiegen family. Unfourtanetly the weather clouded up and it began to rain. It was alright htough as people found things to do inside TIP: really check the freestyle daily to see whats going on, all kinds of very intresting things| I relaxed in the spinnaker lounge with my friend and it was a great way to kill time. Tonight we decided to eat in aqua, the only dinning room we hadnt eatin in. The decor was very very nice but the menu wasnt very impressive for the freestyle menu and i just ended up ordering a steak from the always available menu (which was quite good) The two shows that night were the crew show and the guest talent show. they were both very good.

 

Last day (disembarkation)

 

Well after all the dreading it finally came. The last few hours with the norweign dawn. This morning we had a big breakfast in the venitian. I found all my friends and said good bye to them. Again, if travelling with teens make sure they keep in touch so far its only been 13 hours off the boat and im already talking to my friends from the boat. My advice is fo the express disebark. You have to carry your own luggage. But its worth getting off before you can get too cought in the moment and too depressed to leave the ship. We tipped our cabin stweard 20 dollars and left him the half bottle of whisky we had left over in our cabin for him (sure he liked that) Getting up the parking lot was also very easy and getting ou car out was just as quick. Driving down the westside highway, it was tough to look back and wave good bye to the ship we had grown so attached to but this vacation will remain in our memorys forever. We left her just as found her, sitting in her berth ready and waiting to take her next family of passengers on thier vacation of a lifetime.:o

 

I hope you all found my review very informative and if you have any specific questions please dont hesitat to ask.....now if you excuse me i have to stop my house from rocking back in forth

 

(P.S if your still reading this.....thanks for sticking with me LOL)

[wants2fly]

Great review. Thank you for posting it so quickly and also for all of the tips. I might use some of them for my up coming cruise ( not until December, and I can not wait )

 

How is the new Cruise Director?

 

Thanks again!

 

Wants2fly

[Dario M]

Great review. Thank you for posting it so quickly and also for all of the tips. I might use some of them for my up coming cruise ( not until December, and I can not wait )

 

How is the new Cruise Director?

 

Thanks again!

 

Wants2fly

 

Darin is pretty good, he's pretty upbeat about everything and has a good sense of humor. but good luck seeing him around (i mean just in the halls or whatever not at the functions)

[spcl4cs_gal]

Glad to see that you made it back home safe and sound after our really stressful cruise on the Dawn. LOL I think the only stressful thing was the daily progressive daily trivia at Pearly King's...wow were some of those questions tough or what??

 

It was a nice week away from real life, even with the grumpy onboard credit desk person (from Peru). She just never seemed happy to be working there. The food was not as bad as I have read about but I would definitely suggest the filet mignon at Cagney's for a meal. I haven't tasted steak that good in a long time. Two thumbs up to Anil who made eating there an enjoyable experience. For those of you who will be sailing in the next two months Anil will be home in India so unfortunately you will miss him. The only other places I ate at were the Venetian and Aqua...tried to get a reservation for Le Bistro but it filled up early so didn't get in there at all.

 

The entertainment was enjoyable and I especially liked Second City. The engagement skit with the constant interruptions was a riot. Gleason Magic was good as well. The Quest was held near the end of the week around 10:45pm but I never attended.

 

Bermuda is a very pretty island...lots of green. Three of us hired a taxi at Dockyard ($33) and went shopping in Hamilton. Be sure to pick up your Horton rum cakes here at A.S. Cooper. Took the ferry back to Dockyard ($4) in time for departure. It was very hot here the day we were there so don't forget the sunscreen and water.

 

This was my fourth trip to Nassau. If the beach is what you are looking for, Paradise Island is where you need to go...but beware of jellyfish. I rented a jetski at Cabbage Beach/Paradise Beach ($60 for 30 minutes) and bounced around on the waves for awhile. Whatever you do, take plenty of water and a towel with you if you are heading to Paradise Beach. The walk back to the taxis can be rough if you don't. I also took the Thriller Powerboat excursion and if you like speed, this is one to include in your stay in Nassau. A word of advice...if you like to get soaked, sit at the rear of the boat.

 

Getting to the airport yesterday was a bit scarey...my flight left at 3:05 and the shuttle never got us to JFK until 2:15! Thankfully the line at security wasn't all that long. Be sure to check all liquids because they do check. I had a cake of soap in my carry-on and they even took that. The little bottles of pink sand from Bermuda confused them at first until they realized they weren't booze. :D

 

A big hello to all of the CC members who were onboard the Dawn last week! Hope you all got home safe and sound.

[Dario M]

haha, i dont think anyone is going to read this big thing plus sry for some grammer errors (example i said "ask to be taked to...." o well it was late)

[ILoveScotland]

First, my apologies for not making the meet and greet. DH really wasn't up for it, and so I just stayed with him.

 

That said, I have to say that we have a mixed review of the week beginning with the behavior of many (most?) of the children. We love children, but we found lots and lots of the children on board unsupervised and unruly. We were with friends who have cruised a lot, and they said they'd never seen such undisciplined children. They were running up and down and around and almost knocked my husband who is 84 and uses a walker over without stopping to apologize.

 

On the other hand the teenagers were courteous and always very considerate when we were in the hallways and elevators. Except for one day we didn't spend any time on the pool deck so don't know how that was.

 

I agree that eating in the Venetian on embarkation day is the way to go. We managed to get to the buffet early but found the food there better later in the week.

 

I know I'm sounding negative, and the truth is we had a great time, but unlike Dario my filet at Cagney's was the worst steak I've ever had. It had no flavor. In fact I was disappointed with most of the food and the service in the restaurants until the last night when we ate in Impressions and had a great meal with great service.

 

We sat through the South Beach Rave, and my initial impression was good. But as I thought about it I decided it was just a lot of loud music and dancing to Latin Rhythms with little variety. I was a teenager during the 50s and am still a rocker at heart, so the level of sound wasn't the problem. It was that there was no variety to the show IMHO. The only other show I saw was Bollywood and thought it was absolutely fantastic.

 

We didn't get off the ship in Bermuda even though we'd never been there. Instead we enjoyed the pool and pool deck that had maybe 20 people.

 

I found all three sea days just great and loved both sailing out of New York harbor and the thrill of coming back in under the Verazano Narrows Bridge. DH pointed out the general area of Brooklyn where he grew up. And then seeing the Statue of Liberty just as immigrants would have seen it 100+ years ago gave me goose bumps.

 

We were both disappointed that we didn't get to go to Stirrup Cay. I had booked parasailing which I've wanted to do for a long time. I got off in Nassau that first day, and the two of us did the Sea and See excursion on Thursday morning. We liked Nassau, and I'd like to return for a longer visit.

 

We had the wonderful fortune to be given an upgrade the week before the cruise from a BA to one of the Owner's Suites for a pittance. I think we paid about 1/4 - 1/3 the going rate. Now talk about sweet! The perks were just wonderful, and the forward and starboard balconies were great. We stood on the forward balcony during sailaway as did our friends who got the same upgrade and were on the port side of the ship and then the people with the middle forward cabins. We all had champagne compliments of NCL and toasted each other as we headed down the Hudson. We are Latitude members so had a reception hosted by the Captain, and then by being in the suite we got to attend a cocktail party hosted by him as well. This is not how we usually travel, so we just enjoyed ourselves and the service that came with the suite.

 

We got to Newark Airport early yesterday and had a long wait. But we'd followed the guidelines provided by NCL and also that we'd heard on CNN and got through security with no problems.

 

Now we're back to reality. And ready for our transatlantic in November.

[LEET44]

Nice review. I can't believe you are only 16.

[Dario M]

Nice review. I can't believe you are only 16.

 

Thank you:D

[Dario M]

uh oh dbl post, had to edit it

[mississauga]

Great review, Dario ! Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts ( and so promptly too!) Thanks also to apcl4cs_gal for your additional comments.

[mack0217]

Dario

 

Are you going to post a link of your pictures from Dawn?

[Dario M]

Dario

 

Are you going to post a link of your pictures from Dawn?

 

unfourtenetly i dont have a camera, all my pictures are on my phone and are low quality

 

SRY guys :(