Norweigan Dawn ?

[Eagle1]

Hi,

We have taken 4 cruises, 2 0n RCI and on 2 Celeberty. we are thinking of takeing one on the Dawn next Oct. out of NYC. We have not experianced free style cruiseing and really enjoy meeting new freinds. We have had only positive experiances on our cruises eating with the same people every night and we are wondering what it will be like eating with different people every night, do you get to interact or does everyone keep to themselves. It will be our 30th anniversary and we raelly enjoy meeting and makeing new freinds. Also what is the Ship like and how is the food and the entertainment,and how would you compare it to RCI and Celeb. Thanks for any Input.

 

Go Eagles !

[KarlaC]

Typically with the freestyle dining, you don't eat with different people every night. When we went, each dinner consisted of my BF and myself at a table. I am sure you could request to eat with others that would be willing to accept table mates.

 

I enjoyed the food and entertainment on the Dawn. The specialty restaurants were well worth the cover charge and the food in the dining room was also very good. As for entertainment, the shows were very good. The show the first night (which is a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Weber) was excellent as was Bollywood. I would also recommend you stop by the various lounges. One had a gentleman playing an acoustic guitar and the other had a wonderful piano player.

I am sorry I cannot provide you with a comparison to Celebrity or RC, but we definitely had a great time on our cruise.

I would suggest you really think about the freestyle dining. It is a very different way of meeting people. A lot of people tended to keep to themselves on our cruise, but there were also passenger who would chat with you while lounging by the pool.

[willysgrandma]

You don't have to eat with anyone - you can request a table just for those in your party and if one is available, you'll get it.

 

We were a party of 4 and I wanted to be seated at a larger table to meet others, but our travel companions didn't want to.

 

Celebrity happend to be my favorite line to cruise - my NCL cruise on the POA was my first with NCL and it was okay but didn't match up with Celebrity. HOWEVER - we absolutely hate formal nights on ship and we specifically chose NCL because you do not have to dress formally for dinner and in that respect, it was great. I wish more cruise lines would implement this policy.

[Tomct]

We've only cruised FreeStyle, and from our perspective, everyone in the restaurants seem to stay to themselves. It's not unlike any public restaurant you might frequent. You are greeted at the door, and asked how many in your party, and seated accordingly. You may make "location" requests if so desired.

 

You may also request to be seated with others. Our only experience with that was when a couple joined our party of four one morning for breakfast. It turned out they had made such a request, as they enjoyed such experiences. Unfortunately it took us by surprise, and actually interrupted some detailed planning we were discussing involving dinner plans and reservations for the next couple of days, and our related shore excursions. If asked, we probably would have approved it, but it did present an awkward situation. My recommendation would be to make sure your host or hostess checked with the table before seating you.

 

Outside the restaurants, I've found everyone to be very friendly and open to others. In our three cruises I have not really noticed anyone reaching out to establish anything other than a casual acquaintance, and then again, neither was I.

 

We found the entertainment outstanding, and the 1,000 seat theater outstanding. We just couldn't believe it was in the middle of a ship, in the middle of the ocean. One recommendation would be to make some regular stops at Spinnakers Lounge, where there is most always some quality entertainment going on. Between game shows, bingo, live music, comedians, and DJ's, I'm sure you can find something to suit your interest. As for meeting people, Spinnakers has tiered seating, with tables, chairs, and sofas, and a large bar setting in the rear, as you enter, where it would appear to be a good spot to interact with new faces.

[Lefty1]

i too am thinking of dawn next year - do u mean the theater is in center of ship - my husband would love that as we went on carnival miracle - theater was in front of ship and for some reason my husband did not like the movement - is it true the gym is in the back of the ship? usually most ships have the gym in the front of the ship - when u are on a thred mill u can overlook water but from back of ship, doesn't it make u dizzy as ship is moving in other direction?

freestyle dining - not too familiar with - is there a main dining room also and if u want do u still have assigned table and time if u would rather eat there or do u just show up at a restaurant and wait to be seated? if u wanted to eat around 6:30 7:00, then how long would u say u would wait to be seated?

as it is a toss up between voyager or dawn next year, i am leaning toward dawn as it is 7 day cruise as oppose to voyager only 5 to bermuda.

[Tomct]

Lefty1:

 

The theater is actually in the front of the ship, my reference was rather general, meaning more middle from top to bottom. As for movement, nothing seems to bother me, but I do understand some folks do complain about feeling it in the theater during rough waters.

 

The gym? Is that where people work out? I heard about those people!! Actually it is in the rear, but not sure if you can see out the back when working out. I've seen references to the lounges in the back of the spa where you can relax and enjoy the aft view. On our three cruises, I've visited the spa once, a walk thru on the last day of the Star, where I also stopped just outside where there was an ice cream bar within view. Seemed a bit contradictory, but I think it doubled as a health bar inside, but had some part time hours for ice cream

 

We love the FreeStyle, and usually eat where they take reservations. We are in the habit of eating early, hitting the early show, and following that with lounge time. We've never really had to wait at the large open restaurants, so have not had any experience hitting them at prime time. As for sitting at the same table each night, you can make that request through the hostess, and would recommend you do that as soon as you can once on board. If it were us, we would choose the Venetian, but Impressions and Aqua have their fans as well. Once you do that, I understand you can still opt for one of the other "reservation only" restaurants, just make sure you notify the restaurant you will not be there that particular night.

[bnbcruisers]

We have sailed on carnival 4times and dawn once we are also looking into the OCT 30 Dawn cruise out of NYC in 05. One of the resturants is a Hibachi style Japanese where you sit with a party of 8 - 12. This was as close to sitting with others as we got. If you did this early in the cruise and found some people you liked having diner with, you could always plan the next night's meal then. Or link up with others at the cruise critics get-together.

 

Bill

 

PS there is a movie theater near mid ship

[swoosh2005]

i too am thinking of dawn next year - do u mean the theater is in center of ship - my husband would love that as we went on carnival miracle - theater was in front of ship and for some reason my husband did not like the movement - is it true the gym is in the back of the ship? usually most ships have the gym in the front of the ship - when u are on a thred mill u can overlook water but from back of ship, doesn't it make u dizzy as ship is moving in other direction?

QUOTE]

 

the best for you to do is to go to the website

http://www.ncl.com

go to fleet

go to Dawn

go to deck plans

you may then see where everything is located!

Denise

[shoreguy]

i too am thinking of dawn next year - do u mean the theater is in center of ship - my husband would love that as we went on carnival miracle - theater was in front of ship and for some reason my husband did not like the movement - is it true the gym is in the back of the ship? usually most ships have the gym in the front of the ship - when u are on a thred mill u can overlook water but from back of ship, doesn't it make u dizzy as ship is moving in other direction?

QUOTE]

 

the best for you to do is to go to the website

http://www.ncl.com

go to fleet

go to Dawn

go to deck plans

you may then see where everything is located!

Denise

 

Or you could just click the link below :)

 

http://www.ncl.com/fleet/03/deckplans.htm

[dolfinmusic]

Hi Eagle! Which date were you looking into? We are booked on the Dawn sailing Oct 2 for my first time on NCL! Can't wait!

 

Terri