Dawn Review - Just Back March 16

[ds521]

I’ll prepare you – this is a bit long, but here it goes……

 

I’ll preface this review by saying that we’re seasoned cruisers: 8 cruises/RCCL, 1/Princess, 1 Carnival, and now 1/NCL. We also have traveled extensively over the years. We flew to FLL 1 day prior to the cruise – we never risk going in the same day as the cruise leaves (more about that later). We took a shuttle (right outside baggage claim) from FLL to our hotel in Miami for $18 pp and that worked out great and saved us half the cost of a taxi. We got a great price on Priceline at the Miami Biscayne Bay Hilton ($75 night), and took a cab down to Bayside for the evening.

 

Embarkation: We pre-registered on NCL.com so it made embarkation very quick. We got to the port at 11 AM, and by 11:30 we were on the ship. Since the cabins weren’t ready, we scoped out the ship so we could get our bearings. The ship is beautiful and very classic in its décor. Our last few cruises have been on RCCL’s mega ships and we found the Dawn to be easier to maneuver because it's smaller. It was a little confusing though because not all public rooms are as open and as easy to find as they are on some of the larger ships. For instance, on RCCL, the Internet Café is an open and beautiful library type setting – you can’t miss it because it’s totally open on the deck. On the Dawn, however, the Internet Café is “hidden” behind what appears to be a regular cabin door – it is marked Internet Café but you really have to be looking for it. Once inside though – it’s a good sized room with many stations. Be advised: very slow and very expensive!

 

Cabins: When they say the cabins won’t be ready then – believe them. Not only is the cabin NOT ready, you cannot access the cabins because they close off the hallways to the cabins. After we had lunch in the Garden Café – which was pretty good, we decided to sit out by the pool and relax in the sun. By 1:30 the announcement was made that all cabins were ready, and by 3 PM our checked luggage was delivered. Our cabin was very pretty but we did feel that this balcony cabin was probably the smallest we'd ever stayed in and it did get cramped when we were trying to get ready for dinner even though it was just the 2 of us. We did like the bed though - it was closer to a king size than queen and the mattress was really comfy. There's plenty of storage and the size of the shower was larger than what we've had on RCCL, Princess, or Carnival. Our room stewards were wonderful and did a great job keeping things neat and stocked for us.

 

Dining: We had our first night's dinner at the Venetian and sat at a great table in the back of the room right near the read window of the ship. We had a great dinner as we watched the sun set - what a treat ;-) I don't know when we'll ever see a dining room as opulent and breathtaking as those on the Explorer class ships of RCCL, but the Venetian is truly a beautiful setting and we liked the fact that many of the restaurants on the ship allowed us to sit by windows - something not normally possible on larger ships.

 

On this cruise we didn't dine at any of the cover charge restaurants. We figured we'd try the ones included in the cruise price, and stay with those unless we hated the food. This was never the case though - we had a few dinners at the Venetian, Impressions, and Aqua. All were good, and we also enjoyed the meals at the Garden Cafe too. I'd say the food on the Dawn was almost as good as what we've had on the RCCL ships, but we really liked the freestyle concept better than having a set dinner time. My husband knew he'd like it since he didn't have to wear a suit and tie, but I wasn't so sure about the rest of it. As it turned out, I really liked the freedom of being able to go back to the cabin and relax until I felt like getting ready for dinner.

 

Entertainment: We felt the entertainment was usually pretty good and for the most part was pretty entertaining. We really liked the comedian, the magician - and the cruise director was great. There's plenty to do on the ship during sea days as well as days in port. We always enjoy the game shows - Not So Newlywed Game and the Quest were great, and so was the Liar's Club and all the rest of them. They also have some great musicians and bands on the ship - 60280 I think is the name of one of them and they are a really talented group. There were also a couple of nights when dancing under the stars was planned - one was a Country theme and another was a Tropical theme, and they had snack buffets during those.

 

Pool/Spa: We never had a problem getting lounge chairs but we usually headed for the most forward area of the ship on deck 13 and close to the spa there. We did really miss the atrium pools and spas on the RCCL ships though.

 

Casino: very big, very smokey, very busy

 

Drinks: WOW - the prices on NCL are higher than what even RCCL chargeS! Over $9 for a drink - yikes! It was so crazy standing in line at the Customer Service desk the last day of our cruise, listening to the tabs people ran up - people right in front of us .....over $1700!!! The couple next to us over $800!! I know that some of this is the service/tip charge, some the excursions, and even onboard purchases, but most of these people ran up bar tabs and at $9+ a drink, the tab totals fast! I've been reading these boards for years, and I agree with those of you out there that feel it should be ok to bring beverages on board if you want to. Even if there's a set limit to what's allowed it would make more sense than this. C'mon - like one of you said.....when you stay at the Hilton (which is where we stayed in Miami) - the CONCIERGE TOLD US WHERE WE COULD FIND A NICE SELECTION OF WINE, ETC. AT A LOCAL MARKET. Hotels do not tell you what you can and can't eat or drink in your room. Even NCL doesn't tell you not to bring snacks on board - but alcohol....where they make so much money.....that's what they try to prevent you from bringing on. I guess if their drink prices were nominal and in line with what is normally charged it wouldn't be as bad, but they are really taking advantage of people. Years ago, the cost of the cruise included every food item they prepared on the ship and every drink offered. Seems like we keep paying more, but getting less.

 

Booking excursions: Not hard but unlike RCCL, there's no interactive TV to do the booking - you actually have to go to deck 7 and drop your completed form off there.

 

Ports: We really did enjoy the itinerary on this cruise because we got to see a couple places we've never visited. We loved Samana - went to Caya Levantado ($33 on the NCL excursion) and it was just what we needed....peaceful, sunny, and just beautiful. If we had to do it again, we'd opt out of the trip into town which we did after returning from Caya. There's not much in town and the prices seemed high. There were quite a few craft and vendor stands in Caya and I bought a few neat things there. We really loved Tortola too - we took a shuttle at the pier for $6 pp ($12 round trip) to Cane Garden Bay Beach. The drivers made a few stops for pictures along the way and gave us some info about the island as well. We save quite a bit doing Tortola this way - the closest the ship had to an excursion was about $60 pp. That included a meal, but heck.....$48 pp for beach food? Anyway, this is such a gorgeous beach and the water was beautiful. Since we were just in St. Thomas last year and did some touring then, we decided to just do some shopping there. Great Stirrup Cay is a beautiful area but it really isn't big enough for the crowd that the ships bring - some of the older people were comparing it to the crowds Coney Island used to bring. We stayed for a couple of hours and then headed back to the peace and quiet of the ship.

 

Service: We wondered how the service would be since you're automatically charged $10 a day per passenger - would the crew work as hard to please passengers? Yeh....they sure did and without exception they were always friendly.

 

However......We had one glitch and that was with an assistant accountant at the service desk who would not give us the $75 per cabin credit our cruise receipt (we had and showed to him) stated we were to get. He said the proper paperwork hadn't been completed by the online booking agent we used. This really made us wonder about NCL's customer service. Maybe if it'd been a few hundred dollars even - but this was a huge promotion NCL had in February - and it was only $75! We did nothing wrong - it was between NCL and the booking agent, but the accountant on the Dawn instructed us that we'd have to take it up with the booking agend when we got home. With all the competition out there, you'd think they'd be jumping through hoops to keep our business.

 

Well.....we only felt sorry for ourselves for a couple of minutes.......until we met up with 2 women who really had a story.......

 

They were supposed to fly out of Canada but because of the snow storm, they decided to ride 18 hours by bus to NY and then fly into Miami from there. They got into Miami in plenty of time but one suitcase was an hour late getting in. They called NCL and were told that the ship would be informed and to go directly to the port which they did. Luckily - they though - the NCL Dawn was still there in port - still tied to the pier....waiting, they thought, for them to arrive. It was 3:45 - 15 minutes before departure. Unfortunately, they were not permitted to board the ship! They tried to contact someone who could get them onboard, but nope - NCL would not allow it! After everything they did to get there on time, they stood there and watched that ship leave the port without them! Fortunately, this was the year they decided to buy insurance (for the first time). They stayed in a hotel in Miami for one night, and then were flown to Tortola where they stayed in a hotel on Cane Garden Beach until the Dawn arrived. Luckily for them, they had credit cards so they could front the expense of all of this - they won't get their money back until the claim is filed and processed which may take awhile. Not everyone would be able to do this. We've been on several ships and had the capt. announce that departure would be delayed because passengers were held up at the airport. Sorry..... NCL - THAT is bad customer service! No matter how hard the average crew member works to please the passengers, this kind of horrible customer service is something the passenger will never forget. And when it comes time to book that next cruise, with so much competition out there - will these people cruise again with NCL after such a bad experience? Probably not.

 

NCL transfer back to FLL - $20 pp - make the reservation by Friday, and it's a breeze.

 

Debarkation: We were off the ship by 8:30, but NCL offers early debarkation for anyone who wants to carry their own luggage off the ship (rather than having it left outside the cabin the night before) and you could feasibly get off the ship by 7:30/7:45 at the latest. This is great for anyone wanting to take advantage of earlier flights home.

 

All in all, we had a great time - we found the Dawn to be a close 2nd to our RCCL cruises. If the price is right, we'd probably cruise them again even though we're still partial to RCCL. We do like that freestyle dining though - it's a great concept.

[JWestShuh]

Thanks for the review. We were originally booked for the Dawn but then I changed and went for the longer cruise on the Pearl last week. I think the Dawn will be our next trip! I am glad that you had a nice time. Stinks to be home doesn't it?

[CC Help Michell]

I enjoyed your nice, balanced review. You made a couple of points that I hope I can clarify a bit.

 

First, on the ladies left waiting on the pier who arrived 15 minutes before sailaway -- unfortunately cruiselines departing from US ports are now subject to new DHS restrictions. They cannot sail less than one hour after submitting their final manifest to the government. So it would have meant waiting an hour after the 2 ladies boarded (and a new manifest was submitted) before the ship could sail. There could be myriad reasons the ship literally couldn't wait other than "poor customer service." Captains on ALL lines sailing from the US are likely to be making those "we're waiting for passengers from the airport" announcements with much less frequency now, unless the number of passengers involved is large.

 

The ladies in question should have received some kind of email notification about this new, stringent check-in requirement. I do feel sorry for them -- so disappointing to have that happen. On the other hand, booking a same day flight from Canada in the middle of winter... well, it's a good thing they did purchase insurance this year, and I'm glad they were able to catch up to the Dawn!

 

Second, about cabins not being available (even for drop off of carry ons) until early afternoon -- because you self-disembarked early you didn't benefit from it, but the trade-off for that is that on disembarkation day you can stay in your cabin, have a nice breakfast, shower, etc. until your tag is called. NCL doesn't herd you into an overheated lounge with hundreds of others at 7 AM to wait a couple of hours for your color. But that means the cabins aren't all empty as early as on some other lines, and so they aren't available as early, either. You can imagine the hassle of letting "just a few" people onto each corridor to thread the maze of vacuums, sheets, carts, etc. to drop off carry ons (and distract the stewards from cleaning and cabin prep). It's much more efficient just to keep the floors closed until all cabins are ready.

 

I appreciate your thoughts about your cruise. We are really looking forward to the Dawn next April!

[Lydia B.]

MichelleP...when are you thinking in April. We thought we might try for the 11th. Lydia of Ohio

[DAGVBSB]

Thank you for your imformative review and it was well documented and fair. (unlike other reviews with negatives in them that get posted.)

 

 

I do have to agree with MichelleP about the ladies. It really was not NCL's fault and there was nothing that NCL could do to let the ladies on board in Miami. New rules passed by the Department of Homeland Security require that cruise ships turn in their ships passenger manifest at least one hour before sailing. Once that list is turned in, no one else can board in that port. That is obviously what happened in that situation.

[CC Help Michell]

MichelleP...when are you thinking in April. We thought we might try for the 11th. Lydia of Ohio

 

We're booked for April 4 -- it's my spring break week, which may make for a crowded ship, but it will be our first aft cabin, and a suite, too, so we're excited regardless! :)

[Sandyrella]

Thanks for the great review! We got off the ship the day you sailed and we loved her as well. I do agree with the drink prices! Very pricey....

 

With regards to the comments about the two ladies from Canada booking a same day flight and should know better, if they had the foresight to take an 18 hour bus trip to NY in an effort to get to Miami on time, I'm pretty sure they had intended to fly out at least the day before. I'm not sure where they were from but Montreal got hit on the Saturday (not Sunday, day of sailing) with what people around here are saying was the worst storm they have ever seen and trust me, we are no strangers to bad weather....glad we missed it. If they had a flight booked for Saturday, there was no way they were getting out of Montreal or Toronto on time. I agree that it is in no way the fault of NCL but the ladies did call NCL and were told that the ship would be informed of their situation. With some kind of advance warning, I wonder if something could have been done. I do feel for these ladies.....

 

We heard quite a few horror stories of families trying to get home from March Break last weekend and some were delayed 2-3 days due to this storm. Those trying to leave town had the same problem. Very disappointing when you've planned a big trip to getaway from it all.

[ds521]

I just think NCL could've allowed them to board - and really I don't think most passengers would've minded the delay.....what the heck....they're on the ship having fun and they're on vacation. They'll spend the next day and a half at sea anyhow, so who does it hurt to wait an hour even? And the fact that everyone and their brother was aware of the horrendous weather in the north, and all the delays it was causing - there should've been some kind of consideration of that fact. I understand the new regulations because of security but we just had this happen last year on RCCL, and we were 2 hours late leaving the port.

 

And we really didn't have any problem with getting to the cabin later than what we were accustomed to - it gave us time to have lunch, look around, and relax by the pool. It wasn't a big deal for us at all - but I did want people to know that getting on the ship early does not mean getting into their cabin early, because NCL isn't like some other lines in that respect.

 

Their disembarkation procedure is a good one and we especially thought the early release of passengers who want to carrry their own luggage off is a good idea.

[snorklinbarb]

Thanks for the great review.:D

 

Agree the ladies were just out of luck. It's a security issue and they can't bend the rules for anyone.

 

Just another reason to arrive the day before especially during the winter season.:eek:

[ds521]

It definitely makes you a believer in travel insurance and flying into your port city a day early no matter what time of year it is - especially with the airline dependablity what it is nowadays.

[disfan13]

Thanks for the review - we're on the Dawn later thsi year. Glad you enjoyed your trip. I do remember a LARGE bar bill at the end of the cruise ;) last time we sailed NCL. Too bad for those Ladies - I hope they didn't let it ruin their whole vacation. Though I am the nervous type and it probably would bother me throughout the trip.

[CC Help Michell]

It definitely makes you a believer in travel insurance and flying into your port city a day early no matter what time of year it is - especially with the airline dependablity what it is nowadays.

 

I agree with that! And that's actually the only point I was trying to make above. Airlines, and baggage, issues these days have just become so abominable that for peace of mind building a cushion into vacations is now a real necessity, to us.

 

For the last 10-12 years we've flown in a day early. This summer we've gone to 2 days on the outbound leg (well, a day and a half; we are scheduled to arrive at approx. 9 PM, then stay that night, be on land the next day and night, and sail the day after that). I wouldn't do that for a close destination with plenty of flights, such as Miami from Atlanta, where I'd stick to the day before... but we are flying into Seattle and then taking the early morning Amtrak train to Vancouver, so we built in an extra day to allow for a lot of delay potential. I acknowledge that I'm VERY risk averse (on top of all this, we also have travel insurance, every time), but my vacation time is the most precious time I spend every year, so anything that insures that it's restful and relaxing is something I'm willing to do! :)

 

I also wanted to add, when I read your reply above, that there are reasons other than passengers who might mind the delay not to postpone departure from a berth at a pier. For instance, the port might have had another ship incoming that required the berth -- and when the harbormaster says "leave," you go. Or, it's possible that by staying the ship might have triggered a new port fee -- which is a hefty dollar figure, from what I've read -- I believe I have heard it can be $10,000 or more for an 8 hour block of time in a berth (side note, that's the reason for some of the short port days on Caribbean itineraries as well -- the cruiseline pays a minimum port charge, then the ship gets back out to sea, opens the casino, and increases the revenues -- this thread has a lot of information from folks who are in a position to know -- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=13273141#post13273141).

 

I'm sure the two ladies were very upset (as I would have been in the same situation), but it almost certainly would not have been a cost-free "customer service" concession to let them board at such a late time, generating "only an hour's" delay.

[DAGVBSB]

I just think NCL could've allowed them to board - and really I don't think most passengers would've minded the delay.....what the heck....they're on the ship having fun and they're on vacation. They'll spend the next day and a half at sea anyhow, so who does it hurt to wait an hour even?

 

To be honest, I'm not sure that NCL had any choice in the matter. I'm not sure if the list has to be turned in an hour before the scheduled leave time or if they can postpone the list by postponing leave time. This is a fairly new rule (only been enforced since early this year.).

 

I understand what you are saying about waiting, but do you really want to bet whether or not passengers would have minded the delay???

 

I would bet that if they delayed the departure, we would be dealing with a "My cruise was ruined because we were forced to wait an hour extra to leave Miami" thread. (probably turn into a cruise from hell....lol) Trust me, I have been around these boards long enough to know what will pop up!

[AuntieBarb]

Thanks for the nice and fair review.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure that NCL had any choice in the matter. I'm not sure if the list has to be turned in an hour before the scheduled leave time or if they can postpone the list by postponing leave time. This is a fairly new rule (only been enforced since early this year.).

 

I'm aware of this rule and understand, but I've got to wonder if the rule would accommodate late arrivals for airfare booked through NCL. Ya think?

[njlandlubber]

MichelleP, thanks for the review and all the info. What online booking did you book your cruise with ? We received 2 $50 credits per our online booking agent and wonder if you were successful in getting the credits credited to you at the end of the cruise. Maybe given your info we need to call them and ask for some more documentation prior to our sailing... hmmm...

We haven't sailed in over 10 years, so "way back then" all drinks were included in your cruise price, so this is an eye opener hearing that you have to pay for your drinks. We're not big drinkers, but a few nice cool tropical drinks by the pool every day, and a nice glass of wine at dinner can certainly add up at the end of the week. do we have to pay for soda and water too ? geez, i'm getting concerned this "deal" that we got for the cruise will turn into not such a deal afterall at the end of the week ! And we booked NCL 'cause the idea of freestyle dining we thought would be fun, but didn't realize we had to wait in lines or pay an "entrance fee" to get into some of the restaurants. I know we'll have a great time but these are certainly eye openers i'm gladd to know about so we can "prepare" for some potentail "problems." thanks.

[ds521]

Actually the review was posted by me - ds521, but as to your question about the onboard credit, I called our online agent and told them about the problem. They instructed me to write an email with the information, and I've since gotten a response saying that it will take 6-8 wks to process the credit. In the future, if I was booking a cruise with an onboard credit, I'd make sure that the cruiseline had the confirmation before leaving for the trip.

 

We didn't have problems dining because we made reservations to those restaurants that took them, but the main restaurants don't take reservations, but there was never a line when we were there. Impressions - the Italian rest. is the one that you have to have reservations for if you want to eat before 9:30, but making reservations is really easy - either in the Garden Cafe at breakfast or call them directly from your cabin.

 

Water is free - as long as it's not bottled water, and so is ice tea in the Garden Cafe - most everything else outside of regular coffee has a charge. I think we paid $8 for a glass of wine, and that was the least expensive on the menu - and don't forget they automatically charge you 15% gratuity on top of that.

[Great1]

$10 per drink?!?! That's crazy

 

Drinks: WOW - the prices on NCL are higher than what even RCCL chargeS! Over $9 for a drink - yikes! It was so crazy standing in line at the Customer Service desk the last day of our cruise, listening to the tabs people ran up - people right in front of us .....over $1700!!! The couple next to us over $800!! I know that some of this is the service/tip charge, some the excursions, and even onboard purchases, but most of these people ran up bar tabs and at $9+ a drink, the tab totals fast! I've been reading these boards for years, and I agree with those of you out there that feel it should be ok to bring beverages on board if you want to. Even if there's a set limit to what's allowed it would make more sense than this. C'mon - like one of you said.....when you stay at the Hilton (which is where we stayed in Miami) - the CONCIERGE TOLD US WHERE WE COULD FIND A NICE SELECTION OF WINE, ETC. AT A LOCAL MARKET. Hotels do not tell you what you can and can't eat or drink in your room. Even NCL doesn't tell you not to bring snacks on board - but alcohol....where they make so much money.....that's what they try to prevent you from bringing on. I guess if their drink prices were nominal and in line with what is normally charged it wouldn't be as bad, but they are really taking advantage of people. Years ago, the cost of the cruise included every food item they prepared on the ship and every drink offered. Seems like we keep paying more, but getting less.

.

[njlandlubber]

yep, it seems the tab can really add up after a week... so you can bring snacks onboard ? what about soda/water/non-alchoholic beverages ? i read something on another thread about the "naughty room" and confiscating liquor from people's luggage.. But i'd like to save the $ for drinks on board and bring my own soda and water. will they check for that and take these ?

oh - what about toiletries/ammenities in the cabin ? and hairdryers ?

thanks everyone.... :) :cool: :D

[DrummerD]

you can bring soda and water on board with you. They will not take that. They are just looking for alcohol. Toiletries are pretty non-existent so if you value your soap, shampoo, etc.. you should bring your own. Hairdryer (at least in mini-suites) was very good according to my wife.

 

Note about drinks: if you get any special tropical drinks, make sure you tell them that you want it in a regular glass...and not the NCL take home glass. That will save you about $2 bucks a drink.

[njlandlubber]

Many THanks DrummerD ! Appreciate the info/advise. And, I'll pack a travel hairdryer - we're not staying in a suite. Really looking forward to the trip. thanks !

[ds521]

We didn't stay in a suite on the Dawn last week, but we had a very decent hairdryer in the cabin. I usually bring mine because I never know what to expect, but NCL hairdryers - on the Dawn at least - are the commercial type and they even had the defuser there if you needed to use it.

[WinnieinWA]

Thanks for the great review.:D

 

Agree the ladies were just out of luck. It's a security issue and they can't bend the rules for anyone.

 

Just another reason to arrive the day before especially during the winter season.:eek:

 

 

I agree with snorklin'barb on everything!:)

 

I believe the laws have changed since your last cruise that waited for latecomers.

 

Never fly in the day of a cruise in the winter..ever! Pay extra for travel protection........it is soooo worth it!

 

Thanis for a good review! I loved the Dawn in December.

[RareBird]

great review and thank you. we're also trying out Dawn in April after 4 cruises on RCI.

[beckster1100]

We sailed on the Dawn the first week of March, my first NCL cruise. I have sailed mostly RCCL (8x), but also Celebrity and Carnival. I agree that the ship was lovely, especially the rich woods, though I enjoy the artwork and general feel of the RCCL ships more I think.

 

Embarkation - We were not aware of deadlines to be on the ship, but thought we were fine arriving at the port around 1:30 for the 4 pm sailaway. It was, of course, my need to stop along the way to buy new sunglasses that slowed us down a tidge. We drove to the Port of Miami and I got in line with the luggage while my friend took the car to the parking garage. After I waited a (long) bit she returned frustrated and angry that after waiting to get into the garage, she found out the parking would be $140 and cash only. Since I was lugging all our stuff, she had taken only a credit card to pay for the parking in case it had to be paid in advance. They would not allow her to leave the car there while she came back to find me for the cash, so she had to park in a no parking zone and come looking for me. By the time we dug out the cash, she returned to the car, then to park the car, and hoofed it back to the security point, we were the LAST ones on the ship. I was sweating that one! Wish we'd known in advance about that parking policy! We've parked in Miami before. I believe this is a new cash only policy since whenever we last did that. Once we got to our room we could heave a sigh of relief and start to enjoy the vacation!

 

Snacks - we brought our own 12 pack of diet sprite in carry-on and a few snacks such as nuts, protein bars, etc. Not an issue at all. A case of beer might have been a different story!

 

Smoking - I'm a nonsmoker who is very sensitive to smoke so that I really cannot be around it. On some ships, this has created a problem for me (in particular on the Carnival cruise I took). The Dawn's smoking was well managed, I felt. We had only a couple of encounters with smokers smoking in non-smoking areas. In one case, they were simply unaware of the set-up and quickly moved to the opposite side of the deck when they discovered their mistake. In the other case, the man was smoking in the card room which was clearly nonsmoking, and he was rude and belligerant when advised by guests that it was nonsmoking. I did have to leave our game because of his smoke...but when a staff member came by they dealt quickly and directly with him in it. That is NOT always the case, so I did really appreciate that. I found Dawn's smoking arrangement to be very tolerable.

 

Dining - The freestyle dining was a new experience that did have advantages and disadvantages. We went to Cagney's Steakhouse on the first night and had excellent food and good service ($20 per person extra). It was not crowded that night. Subsequent nights, we found it difficult to get reservations for same-night dinner in any restaurant before 9:15 or 9:30. We called daily trying to make reservations for the next night in the Salsa mexican restaurant (none were accepted more than one day ahead)and finally did get in for the last night onboard. I found it burdensome to have to call every morning to multiple restaurants to plan for dinner. (Probably should have done this earlier every morning for the next night, but we slept in until 8 or so.) We also missed the social experience of meeting tablemates from all over the world, though we did enjoy greater flexibility about timing our meals (since most nights we did not have a reservation, but just waited for a table in the non-reservation restaurants at our own convenience). We did enjoy the food in every restaurant. I did not enjoy the number of babies and toddlers in the restaurants. Strollers were parked outside every restaurant.Dining later might have helped in this area. Roomservice breakfast was always ontime, but limited to cold cereal and breads, yogurt, fruit, beverages. No hot foods and no protein foods. I tried writing in scrambled eggs one morning but no dice! I have enjoyed full breakfast room service on other ships where I could eat in my pj's (I'm NOT a morning person!) They could improve this by offering perhaps hard-boiled eggs or cheese or cold meats.

 

Children - There were few school age children seen during our cruise; however, there were an inordinate number of babies/toddlers. I don't know if there was a reason for this on our cruise or if it is typical for NCL or if it was just coincidence. I love babies, but they did impact my enjoyment of a couple of meals. I heard other guests complain to staff about children in the restaurants also.

 

Entertainment - We thought the shows were excellent. I've always heard folks say that RCCL is the best, but these entertainers were solid and very enjoyable. We especially enjoyed the comedian. The Dawn's theater is the best of any I've been in on a ship. The way each row rises above the one in front makes it possible to see (even for a short person!) from virtually any seat on the main floor. (I did miss the drink cups on each seat. RCCL has some ships with tables in front of theater seats.. that's nice as well.)

 

Cabin - The inside cabin seemed smaller, though I'm not sure of the dimensions. The storage space was definitely less than the other ships I've been on. The bathroom was the absolute best I've seen on a ship with MUCH more shower space and a full size sink! Yay! We were midship deck 9 inside, very quiet (except for partying neighbors) - the walls seemed very thin between cabins - I could hear the man in the cabin next to us cough during the night as though he were just across the room :( and could easily understand his wife's comments to him. But we had none of the mechanical noises I've experienced on other ships on lower decks.

 

I had read that Dawn had a not-so-great record where Norovirus was concerned and was a little worried about that, but found it to be very clean and the staff very attentive to cleaning and requiring disinfecting of hands for every passenger returning from shore, and at entrance to each dining room. I presume they were as conscientious with staff. I didn't hear of anyone being sick.

 

Service - adequate and comparable with nice hotel or restaurant service in most cases, but not comparable to the service I've had on previous cruises. Gratuities are automatically added as a 'service charge'at $10/day per guest, so perhaps there is less incentive. Staff was always friendly. Anything we actually asked for was done graciously, but the initiative was not there to anticipate needs or look for what was needed in simple areas, such as replacing drinking glasses in the cabin when they were accidently left on the room service tray or filling the ice when making up the room. In the restaurants, there was not the attentiveness I've always had in cruiseship dining rooms. Food was well prepared and of good quality, but usually nobody checked back after delivering it to make sure all was well, correct any errors, or offer an alternative. In the Salsa, service was actually rather mediocre (it was the last night of the cruise, which may explain that). We were never given the opportunity to order a drink with dinner. After waiting a half hour or so for someone to come near our table, my friend left the restaurant and walked to the bar herself to buy drinks and brought them back to our table. This went totally unnoticed (or was ignored) by the staff. I also did feel a little rushed at the end of the meal to relinquish the table. Coffee was not automatically offered as it typically is with dessert. If you asked for it, it was available, but usually it seemed like more work than it was worth to obtain it.

 

Internet/cell phone - Beautiful internet cafe, but rather expensive. $3.95 fee to set up account, then .75 per minute. Cruise ship internet is always painfully slow and expensive to use, but this was quite a bit more than any RCCL I've been on (typically .50/min, unless it's gone up). There is a 110 plug (only ONE!) in the internet cafe for your laptop. It's hidden under the desk - ask the attendant to show you which desk! Used my AT&T phone for 3 minutes - cost was $2.49 /minute on cellular at sea (for those who are curious). I think that's about standard.

 

One thing I really did like on NCL that seemed different was the number of different things to do, such as lectures on topics like photography, astronomy (with a stargazing activity planned) and an acting workshop put on by the troupe onboard. I'd like to see more of that on ships - I'm tired of art auctions and bingo and don't like the casino. I've seen enough napkin folding as well!

 

Overall, was a very enjoyable and relaxing cruise. Some love the freestyle and I can see why the flexibility is appealing. However, I think I would prefer the usual cruise dining room experience with an optional specialty restaurant for one or two nights. I like getting to 'know' the waiters and other passengers at dinner.

 

I would be willing to cruise on this ship again. If I were looking at the same itinerary and same cost, I'd still choose RCCL. However, this cruise was less expensive (up front) than a comparable RCCL and a good value, in my opinion. (However, I think they could easily have made up the difference onboard with drinks, etc. for some folks.) I also missed the bathrobes and full breakfast roomservice, and the free coupons and gifts I get from RCCL as a platinum member.