The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Review of the Norwegian Dawn 6/15/08

[Sooners]

Great Review!

 

My daughter had the same complaint on not being able to check herself out of the kids club. RCCL lets her do this. I like to know where she is, so when she is ready to leave she checks out and comes to let me know. I think this is why she doesn't like going to the club as much on NCL.

 

The soda card worked really well for my kids on the Pearl. I'm not sure how many locations sell it but I purchased them from the bar tender in Spinnaker. I gave him a nice tip for the kids and everytime he saw them he had a drink waiting for them.

 

I'm going to have to do this sailing one of these days!!!

[Ginny, not Hermione]

If you don't HAVE to catch a charter bus or plane, or limo, CHILL. :D

 

On my last cruise into NY the lines went around the ship! DH and I slept late, went for a sit down meal, went for a final walk around the ship, said goodbyes to some of the crew, went back to the room, watched TV and generally took our sweet time. (I am NEVER that anxious for a vacation to end)

 

Why the rush if you have a car?

 

DH and I took a cab to Penn Station and the LIRR home. When we walked off the ship we got a cab immediatly, no line. If you don't HAVE TO RUSH, I suggest you just take your time and relax.

[ZoneHPH]

If you don't HAVE to catch a charter bus or plane, or limo, CHILL. :D

 

On my last cruise into NY the lines went around the ship! DH and I slept late, went for a sit down meal, went for a final walk around the ship, said goodbyes to some of the crew, went back to the room, watched TV and generally took our sweet time. (I am NEVER that anxious for a vacation to end)

 

Why the rush if you have a car?

 

DH and I took a cab to Penn Station and the LIRR home. When we walked off the ship we got a cab immediatly, no line. If you don't HAVE TO RUSH, I suggest you just take your time and relax.

 

hey, ginny. i'm with you. but then again...look where we live. just part of the culture (i won't even talk about the insane line that forms at the Trader Joe's in Union Square.) but how awesome is it to see your luggage pretty much all by itself...and essentially having your pick of all the taxis.

[musicgirl63]

12 yr. olds should be allowed to sign themselves in and out. That is ridiculous. Perhaps the suggestion of giving the parents the option to do this is a better one.

 

That being said, 12 yr. olds do not belong in the teen crowd. While it might seem like a good idea no matter how "mature" a child may be, there is a reason to not allow them to "play together". I have taught music for 20 years grades k-12 and there is a huge difference between a 12 and 17 yr old. Also remember that some 17 yr. olds may be close to 18, my ds will be 18 in Sept.

 

Sometimes the activities are more on the mature side or even the conversations that the kids have. Lots of info a 12 yr old doesn't need to be listening in on. The older kids will probably also have more freedom late at night (some had way too much) It even became an issue with our 17 yr old who is almost 18. A bunch in his group were planning on staying out all night. Whether or not the parents knew, I don't know. But he was not a happy camper when we told him no. Just imagine a 12 yr old trying to do all the things a 17 yr. is doing......Most teens have a difficult time making good choices, a 12 yr. old has even less and would be more likely to follow the group bad or good.

 

disembarkment-definitely 2 thumbs down. I refuse to stand in line to get OFF the ship! We sat in Salsa and watched everyone and waved goodbye to people we had met along the way.

[Mammaof2girls]

disembarkment-definitely 2 thumbs down. I refuse to stand in line to get OFF the ship! We sat in Salsa and watched everyone and waved goodbye to people we had met along the way.

A very newbie question about this.

 

So if disembarkment is a PITA, then what are your other options? You don't need to stand in line, etc.?? I was curious, cuz I'm just learning what embarkation and disembarkement is. LOL Sorry for the ignorant question, but I would really love to know (in case we do go on our first cruise this Aug!). Thanks!

[ZoneHPH]

A very newbie question about this.

 

So if disembarkment is a PITA, then what are your other options? You don't need to stand in line, etc.?? I was curious, cuz I'm just learning what embarkation and disembarkement is. LOL Sorry for the ignorant question, but I would really love to know (in case we do go on our first cruise this Aug!). Thanks!

 

not sure where you are in NJ...but i guess no matter where you live in the state, i can't see you being in a rush to disembark (officially signing off the ship).

 

pardon for me taking it back to square one.

 

embarkation: when you officially sign on to the ship as a passenger

disembarkation: when you officially sign off the ship as a passenger

 

many moons ago cruiselines assigned your time for disembarkation once you arrived in port. with freestyle cruising, you can select when you want to leave.

 

many of us were on last week's Dawn cruise. and several of us are avid CC posters...so it probably looks like a ton of people b?tching and moaning about disembarkation. i wouldn't say it was a total fiasco. but the process can certainly be streamlined.

 

the ONLY reason it was a PITA is because, my inaccurate calculation of 75% of the pax opted for "express disembarkation". express does not mean "fast" in this case. express should be defined as "you don't spend time hunting for your luggage in the terminal because you are carrying it with you off the ship."

 

that's where the lack of understanding was. and i'll say it again...on a ship with people from the NY Metro area...if they can save 2 seconds...they'll do it.

 

everyone of us from our CC Roll Call, June 15 sailing will urge you to pick the last time slot to disembark the ship. for as long as the Dawn sails out of NYC...express disembarkation will be a fiasco. not because of the process, but because of the pax.

[Mammaof2girls]

not sure where you are in NJ...but i guess no matter where you live in the state, i can't see you being in a rush to disembark (officially signing off the ship).

 

pardon for me taking it back to square one.

 

embarkation: when you officially sign on to the ship as a passenger

disembarkation: when you officially sign off the ship as a passenger

 

many moons ago cruiselines assigned your time for disembarkation once you arrived in port. with freestyle cruising, you can select when you want to leave.

 

many of us were on last week's Dawn cruise. and several of us are avid CC posters...so it probably looks like a ton of people b?tching and moaning about disembarkation. i wouldn't say it was a total fiasco. but the process can certainly be streamlined.

 

the ONLY reason it was a PITA is because, my inaccurate calculation of 75% of the pax opted for "express disembarkation". express does not mean "fast" in this case. express should be defined as "you don't spend time hunting for your luggage in the terminal because you are carrying it with you off the ship."

 

that's where the lack of understanding was. and i'll say it again...on a ship with people from the NY Metro area...if they can save 2 seconds...they'll do it.

 

everyone of us from our CC Roll Call, June 15 sailing will urge you to pick the last time slot to disembark the ship. for as long as the Dawn sails out of NYC...express disembarkation will be a fiasco. not because of the process, but because of the pax.

Thank you so much for explaining it to me, seeing I'm so new at all this stuff...and all the words and terminology. LOL

 

The part I highlighed from your post: I appreciate that piece of advice. That's what I was looking for. I wasn't sure what to do, how to do it, or how to choose. I will pick the last time slot to disembark. Thank you. :)

P.S. When do you "choose" time slots?? (gosh, sorry for these "ignorant" questions. hehe)

I just got off the phone w/ NCL...and we can save even more $$ since my hubby is in the union....a savings of over $300. Woo Hoo! Now to talk to my hubby and see if we can swing this only cuz we need to pay it in full!!!

Thanks again so much! :) This board is wonderful and I"m so glad I found it. You pple are the bomb!!! :)

[ZoneHPH]

Thank you so much for explaining it to me, seeing I'm so new at all this stuff...and all the words and terminology. LOL

 

The part I highlighed from your post: I appreciate that piece of advice. That's what I was looking for. I wasn't sure what to do, how to do it, or how to choose. I will pick the last time slot to disembark. Thank you. :)

P.S. When do you "choose" time slots?? (gosh, sorry for these "ignorant" questions. hehe)

I just got off the phone w/ NCL...and we can save even more $$ since my hubby is in the union....a savings of over $300. Woo Hoo! Now to talk to my hubby and see if we can swing this only cuz we need to pay it in full!!!

Thanks again so much! :) This board is wonderful and I"m so glad I found it. You pple are the bomb!!! :)

 

the night before you arrive back to NYC. to the right of the reception desk...there is a wall unit with pamphlets and other flyers. you will clearly see the colored disembarkation luggage tags. they will only put them out the day before.

[Zeno]

A very newbie question about this.

 

So if disembarkment is a PITA, then what are your other options? You don't need to stand in line, etc.?? I was curious, cuz I'm just learning what embarkation and disembarkement is. LOL Sorry for the ignorant question, but I would really love to know (in case we do go on our first cruise this Aug!). Thanks!

 

Best way to avoid a disembarkation rush - leave the ship as LATE as you can. Do not try to rush off with everyone else. Have a relaxing breakfast and wait in your cabin as long as you can before disembarking. We have done this on all three of our NCL cruises and never ended up in a long line of cattle herding off the ship. We just stroll off. Generally you select a disembarkation colour and leave when the colour is called - we just get "as late" a colour as we can. (BTW if you want to take your luggage off with you (we usually do because we have small rolling suitcases) you absolutely DO NOT need to do express disembarkation. Or you can leave them outside the door the night before).

[Mammaof2girls]

Best way to avoid a disembarkation rush - leave the ship as LATE as you can. Do not try to rush off with everyone else. Have a relaxing breakfast and wait in your cabin as long as you can before disembarking. We have done this on all three of our NCL cruises and never ended up in a long line of cattle herding off the ship. We just stroll off. Generally you select a disembarkation colour and leave when the colour is called - we just get "as late" a colour as we can. (BTW if you want to take your luggage off with you (we usually do because we have small rolling suitcases) you absolutely DO NOT need to do express disembarkation. Or you can leave them outside the door the night before).

haha, you had me laughing on that one where I bolded. LOL I can certainly picture that...and NO THANKS (especially with my husband's lack of patience!!! LOL) I will be sure we choose the LATEST "color" to disembark. Why rush off, right? ;)

 

Thanks for the tip about if we want to take our luggage w/ us. :)

[musicgirl63]

A very newbie question about this.

 

So if disembarkment is a PITA, then what are your other options? You don't need to stand in line, etc.?? I was curious, cuz I'm just learning what embarkation and disembarkement is. LOL Sorry for the ignorant question, but I would really love to know (in case we do go on our first cruise this Aug!). Thanks!

 

No ignorant questions....ask away.

 

As someone else mentioned, they need to limit the amount of passengers using the express disembarkment. When there are too many people trying to do the same thing, it won't go smooth. For instance, people didn't know where the end of the line was, of course some would "push" their way in front of someone which makes others crabby. People in express take all their own luggage, this can be a PITA when you are in line forever, dropping things, impatient kids....

 

How do they limit express? I don't know. People who don't need to catch a flight or a bus or a train (anything that has a specific time designated) should really allow those who need to get out, go first. This is of course not including the VIP rooms, hey they paid big bucks to get off the ship! Some people just want to get off the ship as soon as possible and don't care if others need to catch a flight. I don't know how you teach patience to that many people!!!

 

They also have a color system in place but didn't use it, probably because they were behind schedule. So instead of 1 color being called with 100 people getting into line, they called 3 colors with 300 people getting into line. The people will still end up getting off the ship about the same time, but it is less chaotic and less frustration. BTW, you pick your own color.

 

Some people don't want the hassle of packing early to get the luggage outside their door the night before. That's fine. If they aren't in a hurry, there should be a time for those who want to carry all their own luggage off, but who aren't in a hurry to get off the ship. Did that make sense????:confused:

 

Were we in a line at some point and time? Yes, but we weren't in a line that wrapped around the ship! We were in the last group called and started to get in line, because of the number of people trying to be in the same place, we sat back down and waited. Our train didn't leave until 3:45pm. We were not in a hurry.

 

Now not trying to compare apples to oranges here, but here is a different lines way of doing disembarkment. DCL has 2 times that you exit the ship (or at least it was this way on our last cruise) Before people pop their tops about the numbers....yes I know there are fewer people on board than let's say the Dawn. Hence the first sentence of the paragraph.

 

Anyway, DCL has traditional dining with a number of set times. According to your dining time, you were assigned a sit down breakfast time. After breakfast, you disembarked. For instance, if I had the late seating of 8:30, our breakfast was around 8am. Then we were suppose to leave.

 

Well what if you had an early flight? yes, you could leave earlier.

 

What if I didn't want to do the sit down breakfast? You didn't have to, they have areas open for a "quickie" breakfast. But quite honestly, one more meal that I can sit down and be served and not have to "pay for", is worth it!!

 

What if you had an early breakfast and wanted to "hang a bit" or your ride wasn't coming until later? Sure, hang out in one of the lounge areas. That's what we did last time. We had an earlier bk time but our pick up wasn't until later. We sat around with good friends that we had met on board and visited until it was time to go.

 

On Princess, we were assigned colors based on our room numbers (if I remember correctly). If you needed to catch a flight or really NEEDED to get off earlier, you had to arrange this prior to the cruise with flight info in pre-cruise documentation or arrange it on it while on the cruise before the last day.

 

I guess I'm one of those people that always believe that if things aren't going smoothly, there must be a better way to solve the problem. Some times a little creativity goes a long way!!!

[ZoneHPH]

all good points, musicgirl. but i am 100% convinced that it's the culture of this port. i agree there should be conditions on express disembarkment.

 

the other bottle neck was customs. now i'm not sure how things have changed since my Spirit cruise last August. but once the Spirit arrived in port, Customs officials set up inside the observation lounge to check people through customs. what a neat method! they would board the ship and passengers would simply bring their keycards, identification, and customs declaration forms. once they were done a stick was placed on the back of the keycard, indicating you have cleared customs. once you were done with customs THEN YOU COULD do as you pleased (have breakfast, get ready to disembark..etc). there was also express disembarkation, but with the Customs procedure being done right away, all people had to do was leave the ship.

 

i liked how that procedure worked last year. but things could have changed.

[musicgirl63]

all good points, musicgirl. but i am 100% convinced that it's the culture of this port. i agree there should be conditions on express disembarkment.

 

the other bottle neck was customs. now i'm not sure how things have changed since my Spirit cruise last August. but once the Spirit arrived in port, Customs officials set up inside the observation lounge to check people through customs. what a neat method! they would board the ship and passengers would simply bring their keycards, identification, and customs declaration forms. once they were done a stick was placed on the back of the keycard, indicating you have cleared customs. once you were done with customs THEN YOU COULD do as you pleased (have breakfast, get ready to disembark..etc). there was also express disembarkation, but with the Customs procedure being done right away, all people had to do was leave the ship.

 

i liked how that procedure worked last year. but things could have changed.

 

Totally not disagreeing with your earlier experience, but isn't clearing customs a combination of who is coming into the country AND what you maybe carrying into the country...illegal drugs......

 

Because if they check you through customs before you leave the ship, how do they know "what" you have in a carry on? Not that they actually checked our carry ons, but I have cruised where they randomly checked carry ons.

 

For those doing express check out, do they have random checks of the luggage or have a trained dog that people walk by????

 

Sorry for straying from your review eyesofbrown!!!

[musicgirl63]

the 2nd sea day was pretty calm from what i remember (but if you read any of the several jun 15 reviews...i probably wasn't in any condition to judge the seas...i made my own motion.)

 

 

LMAO!!!!! You were referring to drinking right?;)

[Zeno]

Some people don't want the hassle of packing early to get the luggage outside their door the night before. That's fine. If they aren't in a hurry, there should be a time for those who want to carry all their own luggage off, but who aren't in a hurry to get off the ship. Did that make sense????

 

On all three of my NCL cruises we got the "latest" colour that we could and carried our own luggage off - there is no need for a specific time for people who wish to do that. NCL does not care if you prefer to carry off your own luggage (at ANY time in the disembarkation process)(as long as YOU CAN CARRY if off on your own). So - we did not have to pack early and leave our luggage outside the door and since we were not in a hurry to get off the ship, we had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and some relaxing in our cabin before we had to leave. I don't know why some people want to rush off the ship in a huge crowd as soon as they can (unless of course they have an early flight). Since so many people do this, I think perhaps that NCL should consider limiting EARLY disembarkation to those who really do NEED to get off early.

[ZoneHPH]

Because if they check you through customs before you leave the ship, how do they know "what" you have in a carry on? Not that they actually checked our carry ons, but I have cruised where they randomly checked carry ons.

 

i can tell you that with 2000 people disembarking a ship...they'll do some random checks...but no way is Customs going to be as thorough as they would like to be.

 

i'm sure many have exceeded their tobacco allowance...*coughs*

[electricron]

No ignorant questions....ask away.

I guess I'm one of those people that always believe that if things aren't going smoothly, there must be a better way to solve the problem. Some times a little creativity goes a long way!!!

 

There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you got a question, I'll bet many others do. But........many questions have been asked and answered before, often just a few posts away from yours. And that is stupid, only because it would be far better for everyone to answer the same question in the same thread.

 

A little creativity does go a long way, like doing something earlier or later than everyone else. For example, I be the first to get off the ship, there would be a far smaller line if you're the last.

[newmexicoNita]

I asked if there was something I could sign to allow him to leave when he wants and was affirmatively told that no,t here wasn't anything and if he wanted to participate, we would need to sign him in and out. It might be the person in charge of the Kid's area. Again, he really enjoyed the Kid's club and had fun. He didn't think he would and pouted for awhile until we actually made him go. Then he was making sure that he got back in time for the evening activities.

 

Oh, another thing for the kid's program, they seem to move them around quite a bit from the Kid's program to one of the conference rooms on the other side of the ship. Check with them when signing in to see where they will be when you pick them up.

Gee, to bad they can't allow 12 year olds to sign themselves in and out. I guess the program has to have a cut off somewhere. You would think a release from a parent would work.

 

Nita

[musicgirl63]

There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you got a question, I'll bet many others do. But........many questions have been asked and answered before, often just a few posts away from yours. And that is stupid, only because it would be far better for everyone to answer the same question in the same thread.

 

A little creativity does go a long way, like doing something earlier or later than everyone else. For example, I be the first to get off the ship, there would be a far smaller line if you're the last.

 

 

Let alone less chaos with the taxis and so forth....leave as late as possible!!!

[Sea Hound]

I asked if there was something I could sign to allow him to leave when he wants and was affirmatively told that no,t here wasn't anything and if he wanted to participate, we would need to sign him in and out. It might be the person in charge of the Kid's area. Again, he really enjoyed the Kid's club and had fun. He didn't think he would and pouted for awhile until we actually made him go. Then he was making sure that he got back in time for the evening activities.

 

Oh, another thing for the kid's program, they seem to move them around quite a bit from the Kid's program to one of the conference rooms on the other side of the ship. Check with them when signing in to see where they will be when you pick them up.

 

On the Spirit week before last, 11 y/o DD could've been allowed to sign herself out of the Kind's Crew (I don't remember if she could sign herself in). We opted to not use this option but it was definitely there.

[eyesofbrown]

First let me say, I enjoyed your review.

 

Since we are new to NCL, not cruising, been cruising since 1979 (honeymoon), now we go with our adult kids 25 & 27.

 

Both my kids have sailed with NCL, so we booked under them to get the perks.

 

What can I expect ?

 

We also have booked a mini suite, anything special come with that ?

 

What about the meet and greet -- do you mean the CC meet and greet ?

 

Find out about raffel tickets ?, How to sit with the captain ?

 

Any info you could supply would be great.

 

Thanks for your help, that is why I really love these boards.

 

The minisuite is similar in benefits to the Balconies. You do get fresh fruit and you also get to make reservations 48 hours ahead on Specialty restaurants. Those were the only benefits I can remember.

 

And yes, I mean the CC Meet and Greet. We signed up to sit with an executive officer. They called it a raffle but no tickets were given. We were then chosen to sit with him and received a letter in our stateroom. I think this was random.

[eyesofbrown]

So what did the captain have for dinner?

 

LOL I don't remember. But I do know he declined any wine and dessert. He was a very interesting gentleman and I am glad we had this opportunity. My oldest daughter ate with the executive housekeeper. She was totally charmed by him. Overall, as mentioned, this was a great experience. We actually had done the Mystery dinner the same day, so had back to back dinners. Luckily, the dinner with the captain was much more leisurely.

[eyesofbrown]

Thanks for your review. I found it interesting cuz we may be going on our first cruise this Aug. If we do book it, it'll be on the Dawn out of NYC to Bermuda.....like what you did. But you mentioned getting sick. I'm a bit worried about that. Did the waters happen to be more rockier when you were on it? I'm worried about my 2 girls (ages 3 and 6). Not sure if they will get seasick, but is there anything for kids that will help them? (I'm also worried about me...but I know I can at least take Dramamine or something like that).

 

Thanks!

 

As mentioned before, I am not usually sea sick and I was for this trip. Some <coughs and looks at Zone and musicgrl> might blame it on me discovering Jaegermeister on board. (Again, a big hurrah!) But Carnival had Jaeger so I can't blame it on this. It might have been the fact that we were in an aft balcony cabin and this might have more motion. My kids who had the cabin in the middle did not experience any seasickness at all.

[eyesofbrown]

Again, I think it might depend on what Pier you end up returning to. I think some are better equipped to handle disembarkation. I know when we disembarked in NY before and to a different pier, there was an option for self embarkation through Carnival, and there was not this chaos. Also, as I exited the ship, I noticed there didn't seem to be as many chairs in the waiting area in Pier 92 as we had in Pier 88. Many people were standing, waiting to embark on the ship.

 

Also, a good way to limit the number of self embarkation, if NCL chose to do so, is to assign a color and have a limited amount of that color available, similar to what they did with regular embarkation. When we chose our color, we noticed several other colors already taken.

 

lol And we say musicgrl up in Salsa and waved at her. When we saw how bad the line was, we tried to move back down the hallway to go sit down and was stuck in the line, with people on both sides of the hallway. We gave up and waited in line.

 

Just my 2 cents. :)

[eyesofbrown]

It might have been the fact that we were in an aft balcony cabin and this might have more motion. My kids who had the cabin in the middle did not experience any seasickness at all.

 

I need to make a correction. We were in a FORWARD starboard balcony cabin on the 10th deck. Sorry for the confusion. Oh, and it was near the elevator and we rarely, if ever, heard anyone getting on or off the elevator. The rooms are very quiet.