dawn 4/20 Freestyle .5 or Fleecestyle

[bedfordmom]

Hi everyone

 

I just returned from the Dawn yesterday on the 4/20 cruise. This is my first review. I first have to preface my review by saying we had a good time but there were a couple of glitches here and there that I want to let people know about. This is just my opinion.

 

We arrived in the NY terminal around 10:30 as we were really freaked out about the pope's visit to New York. There was some confusion in the terminal as the weekend cruise was still embarking into the terminal as they did not have to go to customs. We checked in right away and decided not to use the lattitudes line as they wouldn't let my non Lattitudes friends go with us so we decided to stay with them. We waited comfortably in a waiting area until they called our number which was around 12:30. That was OK because the Venetian would be opening around that time. We entered the ship and were greeted with Champagne and smiling staff. My heart sunk a little because I knew that freestyle 2.0 had begun which probably meant that some of the free speciality resteraunts would now charge. I later found out that Impressions was now $10, even though it was not listed in the daillies with a charge until the next day, luckily Salsa was still free.

 

My friends and I went into the Venetian which was quickly booking up. It is interesting to note that the staff did not direct us to either the buffet or Venetian until we asked. We were immediately seated and had our first lunch which lasted two hours! I ordered taro chips and salsa and got five chips and then baby back ribs and only got three. I thought to myself, at least I won't gain weight on this cruise. My husband later joined us and told us that it was a madhouse in the buffet, ordered ribs and was immediately served, meanwhile my second order of ribs never arrived (maybe they were watching my weight as well). The good thing about a two hour lunch was that our cabins were ready to occupy when we finally finished lunch.

 

We unpacked and then went up to the sail a way bbq, it was great to see the statue of liberty and then under the verazano bridge.

 

That night we ate at Aqua, very busy but had no trouble getting a table for seven. I ate from the alternatives that night, salmon (OK); ceasar salad (good) and shrimp cocktail; the equivalent to canned tiny shrimp (bad). We went straight to the only show where we got snippets of the upcoming week, the magician was good, comedian was OK and dancers were pretty good.

 

Day II:

 

I still had not met my room steward but got a chance meeting with her when I accidently knocked the bathroom door off the slider. I asked her if she could report it; later in the morning, still not fixed, I cut my foot (actually punctured it); she had made the beds but not changed the towels still on the floor helped sop up the mess. I made a report to the desk who was more concerned about the door then my foot (they did give me bandaids and antibiotic creme. They made a report to get it fixed. The young man at the desk followed up with it with a call and later came to the room and shocked to see all the towels on the floor, at that moment the room steward happened to come by the opened room and heard me saying she had not changed the towels despite putting them on the floor or reporting the broken door which resulted in my injury. I think she got a reprimand for that because after that, we got towel animals and fresh towels every day. My foot is fine, little sore and black and blue but did not affect the cruise at all, did miss the M & G, sorry guys. The moral of the story is watch the pointy end on those doors

 

The rest of the day for me was slow, there were very few activities unlike my previous cruise on the Majesty. I did go to a smoothie tasting (free) and rushed off to a Asian cooking class. The sore foot didn't stop me. That was about the most stuff I did on one day. There was little of interest for me that afternoon. Unfortunately the weather was raw and windy so sitting out at the pool was not pleasant for me (though I saw lots of kids doing it) We tried to go to the movies but their times never coincided with our, there were some kiddie G movies at night and then R movies early, I think they need to rethink the times on the movies.

 

That evening we ate at Salsa and really enjoyed it. The portions were huge unlike the main dining room, so when my full rack of ribs arrived after a couple of hefty appetizers I was surprised, everyone one really enjoyed their meal.

 

To be continued-----

[pixiedustdawn]

Thanks Bedfordmom,

 

Hi Everyone,

We were also on the same cruise and we missed you at the M&G.

We ate at the buffet right before the mad rush came, then it just got too hectic for us. It was very windy, but beautiful as we were leaving New York Harbor. Going under the bridge it became especially windy.

 

The first night we ate at Impressions. As we sat down and waited for the pushcart of antipasti to arrive at our table, the wheel fell off and all the food went to the ground. I felt so bad for the guy pushing it, and also for all the wasted food. The first night at Impressions was free of charge. I have to say I didn't mind eating at the "free" restaurants and found good choices at the buffet. I loved the crepes for desert filled with ice cream, but didn't see alot of other desserts to die for. The guys at the buffet making the pastas, soups, etc were all so nice and accomodating. They had a lot of patience.

 

We did not have the best room stewards. It was disappointing. Our door also fell off while my daughter was in the bathroom. It landed on her. I reported it and it happened again. I actually wound up taping it myself. We also had a broken shower head, each time I got in the shower water shot out of the hose. We were given only one towel in our stateroom for the two of us. My DD and I are spoiled, we like one for our long hair and one for our body after a shower. We were told by the stateroom steward to use the towel animal. That still only gave us two. Everyday, instead of the stewards just cleaning the room, they would ask if we "really" needed our stateroom cleaned today. It became frustrating. We also had empty soap and shampoo dispensers in the shower and by the sink. I thought maybe it was because they were in the process of replacing the 2.0 soaps and shampoos soon after. That didn't happen. I also never got my 2.0 cookies at the end of the cruise either.

Other than that, I have to say every other crew member I came in contact with was fantastic. I even met my steward from the Gem. He now works on the 4th floor on the Dawn. Our M&G was very nice, but not alot of people which was a shame. The few of us that did show up got to ask questions of the crew and also made new friends. Go to your M&G's.

I enjoyed going to the movies since quite a few of the movies I never got to see back home. I also liked watching some of the movies that were on the two channels on T.V. I just wished the T.V. had more stations.

 

The gym was very nice. It was clean and the machines were in good order. I couldn't believe how many people actually work out on cruises. It was great to see that. I went to one of their seminars on burning fat, it was very informative. I tried walking on the treadmill, but found myself looking at the computer on it and seeing how many calories I burned. I then would head straight for the buffet to replace them.

 

Since it was the crews first cruise to Bermuda and 2.0 was kicking in, it was all so new to them. They did try very hard.

 

It was a chilly, rough ride to Bermuda, but it didn't stop people from going in the hot tubs. With the rough water the pool became a wave pool. The kids took advantage and had a blast.

 

 

I found the shows entertaining and my most favorite was "Bollywood". I was suprised to see it still on the ship since last I sailed. I was happy. It is not to be missed. Second city is always entertaining.

I did hear alot of complaints about the tenders in Hamilton and I am hoping by the time the cruise after us left that they had it all figured out.

Bermuda was great. We did the Trolley Train ride and found it relaxing and informative. We also took the bus to Horseshoe Bay which was beautiful. The bus leaves you off on top of a very high mountain, you have to walk down the mountain to get to the beach. We climbed the rocks and saw all the little alcoves of beaches along the shore. When we were leaving there is a guy that takes you up the mountain for a small fee. Otherwise, I don't think we could of made it back up. Buses are easy, clean, convenient and affordable. Just make sure you have a coverup, no "swimsuits only" allowed on the buses. The beach has shower and changing facilities.

The kids club doesn't close like it used to for lunch and dinner, they are now open all day. I believe that is part of the 2.0.

Well, we must of had a pretty good time, we are already planning another Bermuda cruise for July.

Dawn

[newmexicoNita]

Dawn,

 

I shouldn't be laughing, but I did find the first part of your review pretty funny, the door fell off, the guy with the broken wheel, etc. In spite of this you sound like you took everything in stride and had a good time. Good for you. As for not having the best cabin steward, it seems like this is more of a trend now days. I would say judging from our experiences with our last 5 or 6 cruises (various lines, including NCL) they are not up to par with the days gone by. Our one exception was HAL, but our friends didn't like their guy on the same cruise. I shouldn't say didn't like him, just wasn't impressed. Our steward on our Star cruise last fall was better than some we have had, but again, not like 5 or 10 years ago.

 

Nita

[CC Help Michell]

Wow, Pixiedustdaw -- I thought I was pretty much a "make the best of it, Pollyanna" cruiser. But I have to admit that a door falling off and landing on me, or having to take out my duct tape (yes I travel with it) to fix the shower head, or stewards asking me if my cabin REALLY needed cleaning that day <boggle> -- all of that might have left even me saying "OKAY! Time for the cruiseline to step it up a notch!" And, separately, I don't care if it's NCL, the QE2, or the local Motel 6 -- expecting two passengers/customers to share ONE bath towel is COMPLETELY unacceptable to me -- and not just unacceptable, that's sick-making and unsanitary. <:eek:>

 

I'm glad you had still had a vacation you enjoyed, but this type of report has me watching closely for Dawn reports before our final payment is due next January.

[ria926]

How was the weather?? was the water swimmable?? thanks

[Sparkylok6]

I was on the Dawn also for this cruise. We had a good time despite some petty issues. Even waiting in Hamilton with 800 other passengers for a tender didn't bother me. We were fortunate to get the Ferry back to the ship. I offered to the Captain of the Ferry to drive the ferry back to the ship for him. Honestly I felt really bad for him. He was taking abuse from some of the passengers and the tendering issues were not his fault by any means. And then of all things his ferry hit the ship when we were trying to Dock. He was beside himself about it. Fortunately nobody was injured. It was VERY windy and the sound was VERY choppy. Stuff happens and that is why they call them accidents, just really thankful that nobody was injured.

 

I am a witness to Dawn's Soap Dispensers - they were just "SHELLS" of soap dispensers. I couldn't believe it.

 

As far as the room stewards go, I think I had the best ones on the ship. They were awesome and we really enjoyed speaking to them. Our friends had the same stewards and weren't thrilled with them. I think a lot of it has to do with attitude. My family and I are very laid back happy people who like to laugh and we shared that with them. On Thursday after the Turn Down Service most of the stewards were going out in the Dockyard to see what it is about. I almost wanted to go and buy my guys a drink, but, it was their time off and they certainly don't need a passenger "hanging around" while they are out drinking. But I bet we would have had a lot of fun.

[greywillow]

I don't think anyone was expected to "share" a towel. The towels used to make towel animals are intended subsequently to be used in the bathroom, as the steward explained. They aren't permanent sculptures to be kept on exhibit.

[Toyz711]

i hated to have to take my towel animal apart, but, yes...that is what is expected. they give 2 towels for 2 people, if they make a towel animal..that's one of the towels.

sometimes, in the beginning of the cruise, they have enough towels to give you 2 plus the towel animals. by mid-week..they are washing as fast as they can to replace them. i don't get them replaced unless they are really wet, otherwise we re-use for a day.

[CC Help Michell]

I don't think anyone was expected to "share" a towel. The towels used to make towel animals are intended subsequently to be used in the bathroom, as the steward explained. They aren't permanent sculptures to be kept on exhibit.

 

Oh well, yes, that makes sense -- we've never had an issue with that because I don't care about towel animals and have always ripped 'em apart to use! (Why does it feel like I just admitted to bopping bunnies on the head or something? :D) )

[bedfordmom]

Day II Continued

 

Forgot to mention that myself and two friends went to the Martini Tasting@ 2pm that day. Had a great time doing that even though I discovered I didn't like martinis. The bartender was very entertaining, started off with four varieties and then added two more at the end for a total of six, not bad for $15. At night we saw a show called Band on the Run if you like 70s music.

 

Day III

 

Still cloudy and rocky, not NCL fault. Had breakfast at the buffet after working out (did that every day), at 8am the buffet wasn't bad but later on as I walked by around 10am, it was a zoo. Couldn't find anything to do so I went into the Jacazzi which was fun until I froze getting out. Lunch was in the Venetian. Again, there was little to do in the afternoon except to walk around the ship. At night we saw the Magician who was quite good.

 

Day IV-VI Bermuda

 

I was part of the tendering nightmare but only coming back to the ship later in the day. I got up early to work out, got my tendering tix and was on land by 10am. We immediately bought 3 day passes @28$, $14 for my kids, right at the ferry terminal and walked a block for the bus. We immeidately boarded the #3 bus to the Caves. We toured the caves ourselves in a small group. I liked the Fantasy Cave the best. We walked around the corner (very scarey with the roads) to Baileys ice cream, enjoyed snack and then continued onto St. George for shopping. At that point, we should have gone to Alexander Battery for sea glass but my kids ages 11 and 14 and DH were exhausted, so we took the bus back to Hamilton to wait 40 minutes for the tender. We got back and ate a snack at Blue Lagoon, one of many. The service at the Blue Lagoon was not up to par, the wait staff were miserable and even picked a fight with us when we informed them that they had brought out an extra fish, oh well. That night we went to the comedian Dave Heenan which was funny for the first minutes,

 

To be continued-----

[nlt46]

Wow!! I thought that I was going to read one review, but I hit the jack pot and got more. Thanks for taking the time to let us know. I think that I would like this cruise. Nancy

[bedfordmom]

Day 5

 

Unfortunately our privately booked tour Hartley's Helmut Diving was cancelled because of the high wind; (they cancel if the winds were more than 15 mph due to safety reasons; bumping head with helmut getting into water or seasickness); my children were greatly disapointed so we had to do plan B. We could not get into the NCL helmut diving as they were overbooked. The reason we booked ourselves is that we liked the time better and it was $14 cheaper. Just bad luck, if the winds were the following day, NCL's would have been cancelled.

 

So we took the bus to St. George then walked to Alexandra Battery. There were no buses there, we should have taken a cab but we enjoyed the 30 minute walk past beautiful farms and vistas. We came to the battery and collected tons of sea glass. We walked into town shopped more and had to wait an hour for the 2pm ferry.

 

A pleasant surprise was finding FREE internet in the little post office in the square. Also a shop next door was offering 5 free postcarrds and pen for just handing in their coupon. So of course we bought stuff in the store, sat down, wrote postcards and then mailed them in the post office. They stlil haven't come yet!

 

We took the ferry to Kings Wharf as the ship was moving there in the afternoon, got off there and jumped on a bus to Horshoe Beach. Absolutely magnificant, unfortunately it was freezing, oh well. Came back to the boat around 5pm, tried to shop at Dockyard but everything except craft mart and glass shop was closed. We ate at Venetian at night and watched Second City troupe. The results were mixed in my group, some liked it and others didn't.

 

Day 6-Kings wharf

 

We got up early, at at Venetian and took the bus to the Botanical Gardens. Most of the stuff was not in bloom; however, it was very pretty. The best part is that they had a very reasonable gift shop. We hopped back on the bus back to Horseshoweand enjoyed about three hours of sun and fun at the beach. We started getting nervous around 2pm about how we were all going to get back on the bus since there were about 500 NCL passengers, so we just took a cab for $40 for 7 of us (20$ each family) Spent the rest of the time shopping at the Dockyard.

 

Went to the bbq as we sailed off but was sorry I did because we had 7pm reserverations for my birthday at Cagneys for my birthday. That was our best meal. Great service and steaks, my DH much against my advice ordered the surf and turf and we found it was the same dried out lobster we had two days ago in the Venetian. He didn't matter since he finished up my DD x 2 12 ounce steak. The only problem was that we couldn't eat my birthday cake (rather a large piece of cake); they promised to deliver to the room but never arrived (didn't need it anyway) Earlier we had gone to the lattitudes party (rescheduled from the Weds night tender debaucle) where we had free wine, beer or rum drinks (though you had to seek out the waiters to get one or two). That night we went to Bollywood which was OK. We missed the Chocolate Buffet because we were still stuffed from Cagneys.

 

Day 7 On the ship, again little activities that interested us, seemed to be a long day with little sun and lots of wind and rocking. Ate one of my first meals at the buffet which I compared to Old Country Buffet but rather enjoyed my vegetable sushi and clear broth with vegetables. At night we went again to Salsa, this time the food wasn't as good. My ribs were much smaller 4 ribs instead of a rack and the deserts were diferent (no churros or pina colada icecream); maybe they were preparing for the charge next time.

 

Debarkation

 

That was not fun, 1/3 ship decided to walk off and wished they had staggered it better. While in line, one of the photographers offered lattitudes party pictures for free, I could only find one of part of my family and then he offered others for me free so I ended up with 12 pictures (most of them I would not have pay for)

 

So all in all it was a good cruise with:

 

Excellent

 

Specialty resteraunts x 3 (got up at 7am to book for next day)

Gorgeous Bermuda Beaches and transportation system

Overall good waitstaff

Didn't push the drinks this time

 

 

Bad

 

Changing Impressions to Pay

Tendering

Lack of ship boardactivites

Trying to get an iced tea in the dining rooms

 

THE END

[dukejr]

i hated to have to take my towel animal apart, but, yes...that is what is expected. they give 2 towels for 2 people, if they make a towel animal..that's one of the towels.

sometimes, in the beginning of the cruise, they have enough towels to give you 2 plus the towel animals. by mid-week..they are washing as fast as they can to replace them. i don't get them replaced unless they are really wet, otherwise we re-use for a day.

 

I think the towel issue is with your personal cabin steward, the towel animals were completely seperate. As a matter of fact the animals were kept sometimes and paired up with the new animal the next evening. My wife also likes two towels and has never had an issue in getting these when requested..

[Toyz711]

early in both of the last 2 cruise, i could keep 2 or more towel animals and have towels for both of us. new towels in the evening, if needed..

toward the middle of the cruise, my towel animals start disappearing ...they need the towels. each evening, when i got a new animal, the old one was gone. i had the big sting ray, it takes more towels...got only one towel on the rack.

in alaska, it's not a big problem..not that many people using the towels for other then the showerand then, usually, one a day. last cruise, to western carib..they must have had a shortage of towels by mid-week. when they are replacing towels twice a day, plus the towel animals.

i don't blame the room stewards, they get so many towels and have to spread them out to all the cabins on they list.

even with the beach towels, i noticed that several people were taking the bath towels off the ship..worried that if they lost the striped beach towels they would get charged, but not caring if they lost the white bath towels.

i think it's how busy the ship is and how many people are needing towels twice a day.

[kmch]

We missed the Chocolate Buffet because we were still stuffed from Cagneys.

 

 

You didn't miss much...we were greatly disappointed in chocolate buffet. Long lines and the desserts were nothing to scream about.

[Toyz711]

every time the chocolate buffet is talked about, i say the same thing...

the chocolate covered fruit..especially the strawberries...are great. otherwise, if you aren't a fan of dark chococlate, don't go. it's pretty to look at, but it's not milk chocolate, it's dark, semi-sweet to bitter chocolate.

better for you, health wise...:D

[pixiedustdawn]

every time the chocolate buffet is talked about, i say the same thing...

the chocolate covered fruit..especially the strawberries...are great. otherwise, if you aren't a fan of dark chococlate, don't go. it's pretty to look at, but it's not milk chocolate, it's dark, semi-sweet to bitter chocolate.

better for you, health wise...:D

I agree about the chocolate covered fruit. It was yummy. Otherwise, it seemed like they had the same cake over and over in different colors.

Dawn

[njdgs]

Thanks for sharing all of your thoughts on The Dawn.

 

I'll be sailing her on May 4th and had a question regarding how the disembarkation procedure went on your return. It's not that I'm looking forward to the end of my cruise, but I have someone driving in to pick me up and I'm wondering what would be a realistic time to have them try to arrive at the pier.

 

Believe me I won't be in a hurry to get off the ship and I know that our itinerary says 8am but I'd like the opinions of those of you who have done this recently.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Sparkylok6]

We chose Express Disembarkation and carried off our own luggage. Got in a very long line when they called that we could get off. We got in line at 8:30 and didn't get through customs until about 9:45. Alot of people chose this option.

[mbisson]

every time the chocolate buffet is talked about, i say the same thing...

the chocolate covered fruit..especially the strawberries...are great.

 

I think we've agreed about this b4! :D

[njdgs]

Thanks, Karen~

 

I don't think we'd choose to take off our own luggage. Does this mean that we'd disembark after those who carry their own and would have, in the case of your sailing, gotten off the ship after 945am?

 

Maybe it makes more sense to relax with an extra cup of coffee and be among the last ones to disembark. Does anyone have any idea what time the last passengers are off the ship?

[dukejr]

Thanks, Karen~

 

I don't think we'd choose to take off our own luggage. Does this mean that we'd disembark after those who carry their own and would have, in the case of your sailing, gotten off the ship after 945am?

 

Maybe it makes more sense to relax with an extra cup of coffee and be among the last ones to disembark. Does anyone have any idea what time the last passengers are off the ship?

 

My wife and I wait until between 10:30-11:30 then there are no lines or waiting. We have breakfast, coffee, and write our style cards before we leave..

[rainyfromsharon]

We were on the 4/20 sailing of the Dawn and chose red tags for a 10 am disembarkation. That was the first time that was not set aside for special travelers, in addition to regular passengers. We had a 4 hour ride back to Boston and wanted to leave early, but did not have a flight or other fixed-time transportation to catch.

 

It was after 10:45 am when they called red, and we were already mulling around the area between Dazzles and the Stardust theatre (on Deck 7 port side in the front of the ship) where there was a MUCH shorter line to disembark than at midship. We were off in a matter of minutes, went through customs quickly, got our luggage in the red area, and drove right out of the garage.

 

I do have to say that there is no checking of luggage tags, and I saw many folks who had colored tags that were after red picking up their luggage and leaving. That's the downside of the honor system, I guess.