NCL Dawn March 28-April 4, 2009 Review

[Silc]

THAT would be fun! Maybe this year when I'm in my first balcony they will let me keep them. I am guessing they feel there's not enough room in my usual cabin. Oooooooooooooooor, perhaps I'll hide them ...

 

I love your "quote" below your signature line! It made me laugh out loud!

 

Silc

[Silc]

We had dinner reservations at 7:00 at Salsa's. Hmmm...Salsa's. It was...ok. While Impressions was my ABSOLUTE favorite, I'm afraid I have to say that Salsa'a was my LEAST favorite. Maybe it was what I ordered? But we all ordered different things, and the general consensus around the table was "Eh...not so much."

 

We started with our free Margarita's. They were very tart. Very, very tart. Kathryn and I asked for glasses with salted rims - which were promptly delivered. That made them a bit more drinkable. Not a lot, but a bit. Of course I drank it...

 

I can tell you that I ordered quesadillas, and they were pretty good. Actually my favorite part of the meal. We also enjoyed the chips, salsa, something else, and the queso cheese dip they brought out.

 

For dinner I ordered fajita's. Again, not my favorite meal on the ship. I didn't care for the seasoning, or even the cut of meat they used. And they brought me one tortilla at a time. I thought that was kind of odd. My boyfriend ordered the ribs. He said they were pretty good. I know they looked good splashed all over the front of his white shirt after he dropped one...This is the night he drops something? The night he's wearing a white shirt?

 

Our friends ordered the lobster tacos, and while they said they were ok, they also thought the cheese overpowered the lobster, and the dish was just too rich. They also ordered the Il Popo, and they said that that was very, very good. But again, one tortilla at a time. Just as odd when it happened to them as when it happened to me.

 

I think we might have skipped dessert that night? Oh no. I had the flan. Flan's right up there with cheese in my estimation. Again, it was good, but not the best flan I've ever had.

 

And finally, our waitress...at least I think she was our waitress...We never really found out who was taking care of us. Drinks were brought by one person, apps by another, main course by a third, and dessert by a fourth. Please believe me when I say that that didn't impact our dinner, just difficult to know who to ask when you needed something. That's all.

 

I had a hard time writing this portion of my review. I hate to be so negative about one meal. After all, it's one meal out of thousands I will eat in my life time. And it's not my intention to tell anyone to not go to Salsa's. It's purely my thoughts and opinions.

 

Speaking of dinner, looks like it's time to cook some. Where are those chefs when I need them?

 

Silc

[Mooder]

I love your "quote" below your signature line! It made me laugh out loud!

 

Silc

 

Thanks. I "stole" it from a fellow CC member when it made me laugh out loud.

[Silc]

While on cruise ships, he also cooks at home. That means I get to keep working on my review - if anyone's still reading after my Salsa's review!

 

Ok. Dinner was over, and tonight was the night I wanted to go see a show, and there was a particular party I wanted to attend later on as well.

 

Unfortunately, we hadn't quite lingered long enough over dinner tonight, so we had some time to kill. Word of advice...NEVER go back to the cabin after you've been...let's say enjoying yourself all day with wine tastings, cocktails on the balcony and here and there around the ship, and margarita's with dinner. NEVER! Here was the plan. Go to the cabin so Dan could change his shirt, head to the casino for a bit, and then go see Bollywood! I've been waiting all week to see this one show!

 

We went to the cabin, and Dan did change his shirt - NOW he puts the red one on! Go figure...He and I went down to the casino to mess around with the slots for a while, and then we planned to meet our friends on the balconies in about 30 minutes. Well 30 minutes later we got back to the cabin, and Michael had decided he was tired, and didn't have it in him to go to the show that night. Well that was all Dan needed to hear. Needless to say, Kathryn and I ditched them like yesterday's news!

 

By the time we arrived at the theatre, the show had already started. If you've ever been to a show on a cruise ship - any ship, any line - you KNOW you have to get there early to get a good seat. Heck to get ANY seat. Needless to say, by the time we got there, it was standing room only. So stood we did. It was worth it. It amazes me that anyone, male or female, has that kind of acrobatic talent. To have it on a ship is truly outstanding. I've told you before that I'm not a big show person on a cruise ship. I love shows on Broadway. I love to go to shows in Vegas. But cruise ships? There always seems to be something else going on that I would rather do, and midway through the show, I get very antsy. I didn't this time. When the people sitting on the stools in front of us left, I just kind of sank down into one totally transfixed. It was a good show, and I would recommend it.

 

Now, I don't know if this is the show that I'm not supposed to tell the ending to, or was that the final night's show? I won't say anything about the ending until someone can tell me the answer to that question. Ok?

 

My outfit for the evening was carefully planned. I even went out and bought a new skirt for this particular evening. Kathryn even changed before we went to the show. I'll give you a hint, we were dressed all in white!

 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it was the White Hot Party! Coka, you're my idol. I wanted to stay and play and dance just like you did. I wanted to finish my evening at the Blue Lagoon, and then hit the deck to watch the sun rise. I gave it a good go. We watched the "angels" come out and dance, and then I shook my (by now much larger) booty to a few songs - enjoying the annonymity of bieng on a dance floor all by myself with a bunch of people I didn't know (I told you many posts back that I am very shy and retiring!). But by the time they got to the flare bartender demonstration, I was toast. Kathryn said she hated to be a party pooper, but I looked at her and told her I'd poop right along with her!

 

Can I say poop on Cruise Critic?

 

Alas and alack, it was time to go back to the room, read the next day's Dallies, take a picture of our towel animal, and dream the dreams of the extremley content and exhausted! Actually, this was the night that my "real world" brain kicked in. I tossed. I turned. I flipped and flopped like a great big flounder. Finally I must have dozed off...

 

Silc

[CruisnGram]

Did everyone get dressed up? Or is business casual ok? I am planning on packing one dress and the rest casual/dressy casual dinner outfits. Should I save my dress for the night with the crew? I coordinated the M&G for our group, so I am hoping we get an invite. In fact, it's probably more like counting my chickens before they're hatched...

 

 

Of course there are no guarantee's, but at least on the Dawn, they seem to be very consistent with the CC member dinner. And if you are the one orgainizing the dinner, you will most likely be sitting with Hugo, the hotel director. He ranks way up there in seniority and is a charming, very sincere man. And it seems that they sit the M&G organizers with him. You will have a wonderful dinner including wine (on NCL of course) with good conversation. It was one of the highlights of our Dawn sailing.

 

Regarding your clothing, business casual is fine, as long as it's a nice outfit.

 

If you do dine with Hugo, please tell him hello from Joyce. He meets so many people I'm sure he won't remember the name, so just tell him that the lady that missed the ship in Boston last September says hello....believe me, he'll remember. LOL

 

Have a wonderful time!

 

CG

[Silc]

Suddenly, it was Friday. I'm not sure how that happened, but there it was. Our final day and night on the ship. To me, it always seems like there's so much anticipation, so much waiting, so much preparation. Then the day finally arrives, you board the ship, have as much fun as you can stand, and in what seems like a blink of an eye, it's almost over. Does that ever happen to you?

 

I was once again up and out on the balcony with my book around 7:30 Friday morning. We were still chugging right along having not reached our destination - NCL's private island GSC. I didn't know what to think about GSC. In doing my research on CC, other reviewers seemed to either love it, or hate it. There didn't seem to be too much in the middle. So I was excited to check it out for myself. We figured that if we loved it, we'd stay all day. If we hated it, we just head back to the ship and treat it as a sea day. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

 

Friday morning we decided to have breakfast in the Venetian. It truly is a beautiful setting to enjoy meals in. While it's lovely at night with all of the lights on, it's even more spectacular in the daylight when you can see the sea. We went up to the dining room a little after 9:30, which must have been everyone elses plan too! We were seated immediately. We got a very nice table over on the side about 3 rows back from the windows. While we weren't right on top of the water views, we sure could see it. It was lovely. Breakfast was very good. Crispy bacon, sausage, eggs cooked to order, silver dollar pancakes, cereal, fruit, yogurt, muffins, danish, french toast, hash brown, home fries...Of course we didn't eat all of that! Well, we ate a lot of it between the 4 of us! It was very good. Our service was prompt, if not warm, and we thouroughly enjoyed our meal.

 

While we were enjoying our breakfast, we arrived at GSC. Shona, our Cruise Director, came on and announced that we had arrived, and that as soon as they were ready to start loading the tenders, she'd be back on to let us know. No problem! We've got nothing but good food and time. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes later Shona came back on to let us know that the seas were a bit rough, and that they were going to reposition the ship in an effort to load the tenders safely. It's still all good. Once again, after another short amount of time went by, we got our next announcement from Shona that they were going to reposition the ship yet again, still in an effeort to make sure our tender boarding procedure was safe. And last, but not least, our Captain came on to let us know that they had repositioned the ship three times, and due to the choppy water, we weren't going to be able to go to the private island after all. Were we disappointed? A bit. It was going to be a new adventure for us, so we were sorry to miss it. Were we glad that the Captain put our safety first? You bet! It's his job to make those judgement calls. A few weeks ago, one of our fellow cc'ers, Radio, told the tale of his experience trying to board a tender to the private island in rough seas. While the story brought a little smile to my face, it also gave me a little chill down my spine. It sounded a bit scary!

 

Of course there were rumblings and grumblings around the dining room. "The seas look fine to me!" "What is that Captain thinking?" "I better get my money back!" And one of my favorites..."I'll never sail NCL again!"

 

Really? All of that becasue we weren't going to the private island? Oh well. To each his/her own.

 

I was happy. After all I LOVE a good sea day. And once again, this one didn't disappoint...

 

Silc

[Grandpaul]

I've had GSC canceled a couple times on cruises. Believe me, it's not a lot of fun boarding a tender in rough water. Much less riding in one. I love the "not going to sail NCL again" because they took your safety first. I hope they don't. And, as you say, sea days are very enjoyable.

[crusinmama22]

Great Review!

 

We will be on the Dawn Feb 2010 Presidents Week. This will be mine and my husband's first NCL cruise -- our adult kids 27 & 25 will be sailing with us also and they love NCL.

 

My daughter said I will really like the Dawn.

 

It is hard to find ships this size(2000 or so) going to where we want and we like 8-10 days but can't do more because we are teachers-- we travel Presidents Week and don't need 3000 + at each port.

 

Any way your review was great and we can't wait to sail.

[halos]

I've had GSC canceled a couple times on cruises. Believe me, it's not a lot of fun boarding a tender in rough water. Much less riding in one. I love the "not going to sail NCL again" because they took your safety first. I hope they don't. And, as you say, sea days are very enjoyable.

 

I agree!!

We missed out on GSC too...weather was really crappy that day so not only were the seas rough, but it was very cloudy. The Captain gave us the gift of a sea day...sailing into sunshine for us. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. :) This is one of my favorite things about cruising, the ability of the captain to give you sunshine :) How cool is that?? :)

[14ersco]

We watched the captain maneuver the ship from our balcony. The Dawn stayed anchored and the captain moved us around in a half circle. He tried facing east, south, and north. They also brought out one of the GSC tenders and circled the Dawn a couple times to determine which door/side might be the best to disembark. NCL even gave us a credit of about $15 for missing the port.

[Silc]

Well, all we saw was sea eventually. First we got a really good look at GSC. It looked like a pretty neat place. But I will admit, that it also looked pretty small. Especially for 2,000 people. I wondered, and eventually asked a crew member which was easier - when we were able to go to the private island, or when we were all on the ship all day. He smiled at me and said "It's all the same. We either work here, or work there. Here sometimes is easier. It's good either way." I thought that was a pretty good answer.

 

I knew, for at least one group of crew, there was some scrambling that had to be going on. It wasn't any longer then maybe 10 or 15 minutes that our Cruise Director, Shona, came on and gave us an updated itninerary for our unexpected fun day at sea. Great recovery on their part. Although I'm sure these ar "back pocket" kinds of things for them.

 

Now we needed a plan! What to do? Well, we decided to take care of the "things we have to get done today" stuff. Yes, as sad as it made us, we went down to reception and chose our colored tags for our luggage. Bummer! I will admit, and I think I'm on Comparison #10(?), that I like the way NCL handles this process. I love the fact that I get to choose what time I'm going to leave the ship, as opposed to someone telling me what time I have to leave. That was a nice touch.

 

So, with luggage tags chosen (We went with the dark blue - and it took four adults an inordinately long time to make that decision...), we decided to head up to our rooms, sit on the balcony, and decide what we wanted to do. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Actually, it was. There seemed to be only one place to be - The Bimini Bar! Of course, just like breakfast in the MDR that morning, it was everyone elses plan as well.

 

For some reason, I was the desginated table securer. Why not? So up I went. By the end of the week I actually discovered that if you take the elevator up to the 13th floor, it's one less flight of stairs you have to walk up to get to the Bimini. It may take me a while, but eventually I catch on! Anyway, I got up there, and by this time I would say it was about 12:00 or 12:30, maybe? Anyway, the joint was jumping! I stopped an chatted with some roll call friends, and then began my hunt in earnest.

 

Here's a tip - if you go around the corner from the bar, there are additional tables off to the side. You still get bar service, you can still hear the music, you still see the same water, and you still get the same sun.

 

Time to cook dinner. Sorry about that. I'm going to try very hard to get this finished up tonight!

 

Silc

[abbylynn]

We've missed GSC on our last two NCL cruises. On the Jewel in 2006, the decision was made early enough that we went to Nassau instead. Last week on the Dawn I was happy for the extra sea day. We were watching the Captain trying to maneuver while eating breakfast in Cagney's. When Shona came on again to say they were trying position #3, I looked at my DH and said 'watch they're going to cancel GSC.' He didn't believe me. Sure enough about 15 minutes later the Captain came on and announced the cancellation. We were in the Concierge Lounge in the Star Bar at that point getting ready to leave from breakfast. We had a perfect view of the scramble for lounge chairs by the pool. Even the waitstaff was chuckling over it. It was a pretty funny sight. Later that day I was walking down the hall from our cabin and saw a man carrying two chairs like the ones that are on the balcony of a mini-suite. He told the room steward, who was a bit ahead of us, that he couldn't find any chairs by the pool so he brought the ones from his balcony to the pool and was now returning them! :eek:

[Silc]

We've missed GSC on our last two NCL cruises. On the Jewel in 2006, the decision was made early enough that we went to Nassau instead. Last week on the Dawn I was happy for the extra sea day. We were watching the Captain trying to maneuver while eating breakfast in Cagney's. When Shona came on again to say they were trying position #3, I looked at my DH and said 'watch they're going to cancel GSC.' He didn't believe me. Sure enough about 15 minutes later the Captain came on and announced the cancellation. We were in the Concierge Lounge in the Star Bar at that point getting ready to leave from breakfast. We had a perfect view of the scramble for lounge chairs by the pool. Even the waitstaff was chuckling over it. It was a pretty funny sight. Later that day I was walking down the hall from our cabin and saw a man carrying two chairs like the ones that are on the balcony of a mini-suite. He told the room steward, who was a bit ahead of us, that he couldn't find any chairs by the pool so he brought the ones from his balcony to the pool and was now returning them! :eek:

 

I think watching him carry those chairs would have been one of those "Now I've seen it all moments!"

 

At least he brought them back...

 

S.

[Silc]

While I was able to find a table, all I could find was one chair to go along with it. I just figured I'd keep my eye out, and eventually I'd be able to snag 3 more.

 

I was well prepared for my time at the Bimini. I had brought my book, after all I had no idea how long it was going to take everyone else to join me, my sun block, and my helmet. I was finally going to get a beer helmet refill. I had kept it in the cabin all week knowing a day would come when I would need it again. Aside from using it for beer we also discovered that it made a much bigger ice bucket then the one provided in the room. It didn't insulate the ice as well as the ice bucket, but we were able to get more at one time.

 

I sat and chatted with people sitting at the tables around mine, read my book, kept re-slathering myself with sun block, and all in all, enjoyed myself tremendously. As people around my table were leaving, they asked me if I wanted their chairs? Yes I do. It pays to chat with people. Not only do you meet nice people, but you also get the chairs you need for the group that will be joining you! Thanks to everyone who donated a chair to my cause.

 

It wasn't too long before my boyfriend made it up to the table. We sat and chatted for a bit, and then soon after that our friends joined us as well. Once again our group was complete. We spent a couple of hours sitting up there. We would talk amongst ourselves, chat with complete strangers, get caught up with our roll call friends as they passed by, and other friends we had made throughout our journey.

 

Eventually, a table opened up by the railing that overlooks the pool, so we gathered our belongins, and made the big move. It was perfect timing as they were just starting the pool activities that they had scheduled for our unexpected sea day. We watched and laugh for a while, then with stomachs rumbling, and a desire to play a few final hands of black jack while looking out at the water, we sadly gave up our table to a new group, and went our separate ways.

 

Ahhh...What a day. Even the black jack Gods were kind that afternoon. I went to the buffet and grabbed some bread, deli meat, and cheese, and made an impropmtu sandwich. Returned to the black jack table, and then eventually, called it a day. It was one of the nicest final cruise days I've had in a long time.

 

Then it was time to get ready for dinner...

 

Silc

[Silc]

As usual, the four of us found ourselves sitting on our balconies watching the world, and sea life, go by. Throughout our time on our balconies we saw dolphins, a pod of whales (at least we think they were whales), and flying fish. I'd heard about flying fish, but I had never actually seen them before. Those little things can move!

 

It was about 4:00, and our reservations for dinner weren't until 7:30. We had made late reservations as we weren't sure what our day on GSC would hold. So the men decided they would hunt and gather for us one more time. We sat on our balconies and feasted on breads, meats, cheeses, fruits and olives. It was SO good! Don't know if it was because the food was so good, we were so hungry, or it was all of the sea air, or maybe a combination of all of those things, but those plates of food never stood a chance. And now, it's time for Comparison #11 - NCL has the best, and widest variety of bread I've ever had on any cruise line. My friend and I had about a half a bottle of champagne left, so we finished that off with our snack. Perfect!

 

Next up - showers and dinner.

 

Throughout the week we had a running discussion about where to go for our final night's dinner. The winner, hands down, and by a landslide, Impressions. It's always a risk to go back to the well too many times. Maybe our memories were faulty? Maybe our minds were playing tricks on us the first time we ate there. Maybe we had been so hungry that particular day (doubtful - we were on a cruise after all) that shoe leather would have tasted good to us that night. Well, we were willing to find out for ourselves.

 

We arrived at our destination a couple of minutes before 7:30. Impressions was packed! They were turning people without reservations away at the door. In all honesty it was the first time we had seen any pay restaurant that busy. Don't know if it was because everyone had discovered our little secret, if it was the last restaurant on their lists that they wanted to try, or if they were just tired of the MDR and buffet. Whatever the reason, I was very glad we had made a reservation.

 

We were once again seated at a semi-circular banquet table for four. Of course we could gaze at the water while we dined. Both my friend and I still had wine leftover from our dinner at Le Bistro (the night we upgraded our bottles of wine from house to the bottles of our choice for an additional charge), so we handed Ivy, our assistant waitress, our tickets, and off she went.

 

Let's see. What can I say about our second dinner at Impressions....

 

It was just as good as the first time. We definitely made the right choice for our final dinner on the ship. Whew! This time we already knew what we liked, so the decision making process was a little easier. It's not that we didn't order as much food, it's just that we already knew what we wanted. So once again they rolled over the Antipasti trolley, and we all made various selections. Next we progressed to the quick fried calamari. And our appetizer round was finished up with carpaccio - remembering to order olive oil and capers on the side. Everyone at the table ordered the Oso Buco that night. Half of us got it with the polenta, and the other half with the rissoto. It was soooo good. Just as good as the first time. There were also a couple of orders of pasta carbonara on the table as well - the small portion size - not the large ones. We ate, we drank, we laughed. While once again we found our waiter to be just ok, we were fortunate enough to have Ivy as our assistant again. She truly made our experience that much more special. Thank you, Ivy. Rest assured you were recognized on our Style cards! Of course our meal was finished up with capuccinos (I'm really going to have to learn how to spell that word!) cheese for Katherine and I, and desserts for the guys. Once again, we found ourselves stuffed to the gills, and in need of some serious motivation to leave the table. And while we didn't excede our dining time of over 3 hours from the first time, we were there for over 2 and a half. A very satisfying evening!

 

What to do next? We all knew that there was packing to be done, but none of us were anxious to accomplish that particular task. So off to the casino for us. We still had some coupons left in our books for Roulette, and craps. While I didn't play either one, they were used that evening. By the way, before dinner we went to the CAS desk to find out how many points we had eached earned. You have to do this on the last night before 9:00. I was pretty excited to see how many I had gathered throughout my week. I was very faithful to put my card in the slot machines I played, and to give it to the black jack dealers every time I sat down at a table. Needless to say I had visions of CAS room discounts on my next NCL cruise. It was not to be. I had managed to earn 2 points. 2! Obviously, as you can probably tell, while I love to gamble, I'm not a big gambler. Oh well. I certainly gave it a good effort! And after all of my efforts, I ended the week about even. As they say at the black jack tables, a push is better than a loss! While I always want to walk away a big winner, I'm also just as happy walking away a big break evener!

 

It was time to say our fond farewells to the casino, and go back to our rooms to begin the arduous task of packing. Yuck!

 

Silc

[Silc]

When we returned to our cabins, it was time to get the suitcases out from under the bed, get everything out of the drawers and closet, and start loading it all into the suitcases. As an aside, we were lucky that there was no flying for us. That meant we could bring as many, or as few, suitcases as we wanted. Of course we all opted for the as many as we wanted choice!

 

In the spirit of honesty that I have tried to maintain throughout this review, I will tell you that I hate packing to go home. And again, in all honesty, it's not just because vacation is over. I travel a lot for work, so it doesn't matter if it's vacation or duty, I always feel like I am leaving something behind. I become obssessive about it. I check and recheck every drawer, closet, shelf, etc. Over and over and over again. I drive myself crazy. And even with all of that checking, there are STILL times that I don't pack everything.

 

There is one benefit to packing to go home. You don't have to be quite as neat as when you are packing to go! As I was throwing things into my suitcase, I came to the realization that I had enough clothes that had never been worn during the week to be able to stay on the ship for another 3 or 4 days. It's been a long time since that's happened. I've made a real effort to streamline my cruise packing process. This time I went a bit overboard - if you'll excuse the expression!

 

With our packing done, I had two tasks left to accomplish before I could lay my head on my pillow for the evening. Task #1 - return my beer helmet to any bar, produce my receipt, and get my $5 deposit back. Check! Task #2 - stop by the lost and found desk and turn in the inch of gold that had been left behind by the previous residents of our room. I wanted to be one of the honest people that I had encountered during my vacation, and figured if I had left it behind, I'd want someone to turn it in. Hopefully they got it back. If it was you in room 9652 on the Dawn sometime before the week of 3/28/09, it has been turned into lost and found, and I hope you get it back!

 

With the suitcases sitting forlornley out by our doors, it was time for bed!

 

We were woken up by the announcement ding dong bright and early the next morning. We met on the balcony for the final time, gazed at the Port of Miami, and realized that it was over. Well almost!

 

It was about 7:45 when we met on the balconies, and we decided that we would get cleaned up, dressed (fortunately we had all remembered to leave clothes and other essentials out for just this purpose), and head up to the Venetian for one final breakfast.

 

We got to the dining room around 8:30, orderd our coffee, sampled the available danish, and ordered our breakfast. There is a slightly modified menu for breakfast on the final morning, but still plenty of choices to be found. It was a very enjoyable meal, and soon we discovered that we were the last of two tables left in the room.

 

Once again, we gathered our belongings, and made our way to the reception area, as I had a discrepency on my bill that I needed to discuss with someone. We then said our final goodbyes to people we ran into that we had spent time with throughout the week, and began following the "This way to get off the ship" signs. Soon we found ourselves in line on deck, waiting to disembark. Shona came on a couple of minutes later to let us know that there was a delay on the pier, and that it would be a little longer to get off the ship. What can I say? Things happen.

 

Once the line started moving again it was a pretty quick process to find ourselves outside in warm and humid Miami day. Two things that were different for me during this disembarkation process - which brings me to Comparison #12 and 13. First, we went through customs before we got our luggage. I've never had that experience before. And second, there were very few bags in our color. Don't know if people had already collected their bags, or if not that many people chose blue, but we collected our bags in record time. All in all, from getting into line, through the building, through cutoms, and gathering our luggage, it took about an hour. A little longer than I'm used to, but again, things happen.

 

We had pre-booked a shuttle to take us back to our car. We weren't sure what time we would get off the ship, and we didn't want to tie up our friend's morning waiting around for us. I don't know the name of the company that we used, or the cost as I didn't book it (if anyone is interested I can find out and let you know), but they arrived promptly, and we were soon begining our journey home.

 

On the road again...

 

We quickly found ourselves heading north on I-75. Little did we know that our exciting adventures were not over yet...We left Miami at 11:05 and zipped through the quiet Saturday morning traffic, and began our journey north. Imagine our surprise when stoping to get some gas, and grab a little lunch for the road that we actually had to PAY for our food! Welcome back to the real world! After we had been back on the road for a while, traffic began to slow - it always does that on I-75 northbound. Unfortunately a driver coming up behind us didn't realize the traffic was starting to slow. He was swerving between the two different lanes, and suddenly had to slam on his brakes. He bounced from the guard rail on the right to the left hand lanes, hitting others as he ping ponged his way through the traffic. Of course that created a chain reaction all around us. I don't know why, but for some reason we found ourselves in a protected pocket of other vehicles. Fortunately our car wasn't involved, and while I was calling 911, we kept our slow pace northbound. We all said a prayer of thanks for our safety, and for those who were involved in the accident.

 

And then, between napping and reading, we found oursleves home...

 

Silc

[Grandpaul]

Very good again Silc.

 

Two points;

You're absolutely right about NCL breads. I love the rolls thay have for dinner and they always taste exactly the same every cruise.

 

THe other point about leaving clothes to wear for leaving the ship. Correct again. On my first cruise I packed my shoes away and awoke the next morning with no shoes. That was an interesting morning. I haven't done it since. My DW thought I would keep the shoes I had on out of the bag and I thought she would do the same with my other pair.

[peg013]

Silc,

 

I've really enjoyed reading your tales. Great job!

 

We always remember to leave clothing out for the way home but on our last cruise I was using a small purse to carry my cigerettes and Sign and Sail card throughtout the cruise. While I was packing the last night (already had my cig's out of the purse) I decided that I'd just go ahead and pack the small purse and go back to using my larger one. Early on the last day when I was looking for my card I realized I packed it, still in the small purse. So I had to go have another made up before I could leave the ship! Duh! Won't do that again! (I hope, lol)

[Silc]

Very good again Silc.

 

Two points;

You're absolutely right about NCL breads. I love the rolls thay have for dinner and they always taste exactly the same every cruise.

 

THe other point about leaving clothes to wear for leaving the ship. Correct again. On my first cruise I packed my shoes away and awoke the next morning with no shoes. That was an interesting morning. I haven't done it since. My DW thought I would keep the shoes I had on out of the bag and I thought she would do the same with my other pair.

 

From other cruisers as well. I live in fear that it will happen to me next!

 

By the way - your avitar picture - was that a royal, straight flush on a cruise, or in a land based casino? Either way, lucky you! Hope it was a big pay-off for you!

 

Silc

[Grandpaul]

That was at Harrahs in Vegas if I remember correctly. I usually play crap but we just finished a tour to the Hoover Dam and I had my camera with me when I hit that on the way up to our room. They hate when you pull out a camera at the crap table.

[tomcom01]

Sarah you nailed it ! Glad you guys got home safe .

 

I see they removed our roll call , I guess 100 pages is not gonna happen ...:p

 

 

Regards, Tom

[Silc]

Sarah you nailed it ! Glad you guys got home safe .

 

I see they removed our roll call , I guess 100 pages is not gonna happen ...:p

 

 

Regards, Tom

 

It was nice to meet you two, and I enjoyed playing black jack with you too! Maybe we can do it again some day!

 

S.

[14ersco]

Sarah, great review. Still trying to get ours together. DS sure liked hanging with your group at Playa Rincon.

 

Last I saw our roll call is still there; at 88 pages.

[coka]

A standing ovation to Silc! Thank you so very much for taking the time to write throughout the week. You helped make my week go by faster and you seriously have me ecstatic about the Dawn. You truly know how to cruise and how to roll with the flow...even on I-75! I appreciated the comparisons you made, your style, and your humor. Please let us all know when you are cruising again.

 

coka

[Silc]

When we first started thinking about booking NCL, my first stop was the NCL Cruise Critics page. Thanks to everyone who patiently answerd my questions. While trying something new is good, it can also make you feel bit apprehensive as well. I never doubted that we would have a good time, and I was right. We had a very, very good time...

 

Were there things I would change? Yes. But I've always found things I would change no matter what cruise line I'm sailing on. At the risk of echoing what many before me have said on these boards "A cruise is what you make of it!" Live for the adventure of it all. Don't let the small things ruin your vacation. Do as much research on these boards as possible. Read the reviews for your ship. But once you have, remember the old adage about opinons! Join your roll call. You may make friends for life, or friends for the moment. Either way, it will only enhance your cruising experience.

 

I enjoyed my first "Freestyle" experience, and don't doubt that there will be another one in my future!

 

Thanks to all of the folks on my roll call who worked so hard to put excursions together for us all. I doubt our vacation would have been as good without all of your hard work. Thanks to the folks who opened your cabin doors to the rest of us. Getting a glimpse into the high-life only whetted my appetite for more! And thanks for the kindness and fun everyone brought to our roll call!

 

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my review. If I can answer any questions for anyone, please let me know.

 

See you on the seas!

 

Silc