Just Back from Bermuda on the Dawn

[glenellen1]

Got back into NYC this morning.

 

Beautiful ship, wonderful crew, crap weather.

 

Anybody that has any questions feel free to ask.

 

Gail

[emsiam]

Got back into NYC this morning.

 

Beautiful ship, wonderful crew, crap weather.

 

Anybody that has any questions feel free to ask.

 

Gail

 

so sorry you had bad weather what type of stateroom did you have?? did you go to the casino at all? and what is a must to see in bermuda?? thanks

 

Jan

[emsiam]

so sorry you had bad weather what type of stateroom did you have?? did you go to the casino at all? and what is a must to see in bermuda?? thanks

 

Jan

 

 

ps also do you have any pics or dailys that you can post??

[tcrny]

So sorry to hear about the weather on your cruise - it has been horrible everywhere. I hope you enjoyed your cruise so much that it made up for the weather. We leave on the Dawn for Bermuda 7/12 but who knows how long this rain is going to hang around.

 

Just wondering if you know whether Dawn has a coffee card to purchase (i.e. for specialty coffees, and whether they had the teen passport available - I heard it was a coupon booklet to purchase smoothies throughout the cruise. I've read you can only purchase onboard and not online anymore.

 

How were the menus in Venetian and Aqua - did you eat there and did you prefer one over the other?

 

Thanks so much and welcome back.

[glenellen1]

Jan,

 

We were in the Aft Penthouse Suite 10226. Really beautiful room. Great service. The room comes with a butler and concierge services if you need anything. Also our room stewards made towel animals for us every night. One night they hung a monkey from the curtains!

 

Went to the casino once and I felt it was yucky. Lots of smoke and people who looked like they had been sitting there since breakfast. Played 5 slot machines, lost and went to bed.

 

Since the weather was not great excursions were cancelled until Friday. We went to Horseshoe Bay -- which was gorgeous but packed. And they only give you three hours. It is much better if you go on your own via the bus. The one thing I can truly recommend to you is the Bermuda bus/ferry pass. It costs $12 per day for a bus & ferry pass (available right in the terminal at the ship) and we went across the street to the ferry terminal, boarded it and were in beautiful St. Georges in 35 minutes. We then took the bus to Hamilton (very busy city) and took the ferrry from Hamilton back to the Dockyard (15 minutes).

 

Overall Bermuda is a beautiful island and the people there go out of their way to help you. Not stuffy British at all.

 

I have pictures and most of the daily's - if you want I can email them to you (since I don't know how to post).

 

Let me know if you have any more questions -- happy to answer anything!

 

Gail

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Sorry to hear about the bad weather though I'm glad you had a good cruise!:D We we're on the Dawn 6/7 and if anyone is looking for some pics and/or review they are in my signature under Previous Cruises!;)

[glenellen1]

Cathy,

 

I did not hear/see anything about either specialty coffee/smoothie cards. I just looked at my Daily's (I kept most of them) and didn't see anything either. I know most of the teens had soda cards.

 

As for dining I heard horror stories before boarding so we chose to stick to the "fee" restaurants. I am glad we did. Whenever we walked by Aqua or Venetian at around 6:00there were miserable people going in ("had to wait an hour for a table") or coming out ("food was inedible", "same thing every night"). Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Salsa were wonderful. Impressions I wasn't impressed with at all.

 

Any other questions let me know.

 

Gail

[mriz]

The guy in this disabled sailboat in the north atlantic would agree on the weather being not too pleasant last week. I'm sure he was happy the Dawn was in the area.

[glenellen1]

We had drinks with the Captain the night after it happened and he told us that he was told people got so scared when he shut down the Dawn's engines (in order to get to the lifeboat the guy was on) that they started dressing in layers and got their life vests. They thought the ship was sinking!

[Harleycat]

Jan,

 

We were in the Aft Penthouse Suite 10226. Really beautiful room. Great service. The room comes with a butler and concierge services if you need anything. Also our room stewards made towel animals for us every night. One night they hung a monkey from the curtains!

 

Went to the casino once and I felt it was yucky. Lots of smoke and people who looked like they had been sitting there since breakfast. Played 5 slot machines, lost and went to bed.

 

Since the weather was not great excursions were cancelled until Friday. We went to Horseshoe Bay -- which was gorgeous but packed. And they only give you three hours. It is much better if you go on your own via the bus. The one thing I can truly recommend to you is the Bermuda bus/ferry pass. It costs $12 per day for a bus & ferry pass (available right in the terminal at the ship) and we went across the street to the ferry terminal, boarded it and were in beautiful St. Georges in 35 minutes. We then took the bus to Hamilton (very busy city) and took the ferrry from Hamilton back to the Dockyard (15 minutes).

 

Overall Bermuda is a beautiful island and the people there go out of their way to help you. Not stuffy British at all.

 

I have pictures and most of the daily's - if you want I can email them to you (since I don't know how to post).

 

Let me know if you have any more questions -- happy to answer anything!

 

Gail

 

So, how was my cabin? I hope you left it in good shape for us. I'd love some pictures of the cabin and the aft view if you have them. My e-mail is my name here at aol.

 

Thanks!

[emsiam]

Jan,

 

We were in the Aft Penthouse Suite 10226. Really beautiful room. Great service. The room comes with a butler and concierge services if you need anything. Also our room stewards made towel animals for us every night. One night they hung a monkey from the curtains!

 

Went to the casino once and I felt it was yucky. Lots of smoke and people who looked like they had been sitting there since breakfast. Played 5 slot machines, lost and went to bed.

 

Since the weather was not great excursions were cancelled until Friday. We went to Horseshoe Bay -- which was gorgeous but packed. And they only give you three hours. It is much better if you go on your own via the bus. The one thing I can truly recommend to you is the Bermuda bus/ferry pass. It costs $12 per day for a bus & ferry pass (available right in the terminal at the ship) and we went across the street to the ferry terminal, boarded it and were in beautiful St. Georges in 35 minutes. We then took the bus to Hamilton (very busy city) and took the ferrry from Hamilton back to the Dockyard (15 minutes).

 

Overall Bermuda is a beautiful island and the people there go out of their way to help you. Not stuffy British at all.

 

I have pictures and most of the daily's - if you want I can email them to you (since I don't know how to post).

 

Let me know if you have any more questions -- happy to answer anything!

 

Gail

 

 

i would love you to email them to me emsiam@comcast.net

we have aft 10730 booked for our trip that is just a few rooms down from yours was the large balcony great?? what was the best place to eat thanks i am just full of questions sorry

 

Jan

[glenellen1]

Jan,

 

The large balcony was just great. Two chaise loungers with a table in the middle. You can even sunbath off it (which is great because the chair hogs stake their claim at about 6:00 a.m. each morning).

 

Do you have a suite? If so you must, I mean must, take advantage of eating breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. No cost - included in your suite price. But when everyone else is fighting it out at the "free" restaurants, you can walk in to Cagney's and get a delicious sit-down breakfast and lunch. Even on Embarkment and Disembarkment days.

 

Will email the pictures that I have now. Please excuse the ones with my DH and I in them, but the beach, room is beautiful!

 

Please, keep coming with questions. I don't mind a bit.

 

Gail

[MNmomof4]

Gail,

 

I'm thinking of cruising in Jan on the Dawn and I am curious what restaurants are free. I keep reading horror stories about the same menu for the whole week....some type of trial thing

[mrsbojamp]

Gail, I was on the Dawn last year and just loved the singers Jose and Patti. Did you see them, and if so, do you know if they will still be there in 3 weeks?

[watchdiva]

We should start an "I love 10226 on the Dawn" club:D. I don't know what it is about that particular suite but everyone seems to agree that it's fantastic!

 

The balcony is huge and being tucked into the "corner" so to speak gives sweeping views not just directly off the stern but partially to the side as well.

 

emsiam your cabin is an AFT BA and you will find you have a fairly large balcony, as deep as the balcony of the penthouses just not as wide. As far the "best" restaurant, that will depend upon what you like to eat. We prefer Cagney's over the other restaurants (we've big beef eaters) and on several cruises we've eaten there 3-4 times during a 9 day cruise.

 

glenellen - glad that you enjoyed your cruise. As a suite pax, you can ask the concierge to book you tables in any restaurant (including the MDRs) and you certainly would have had no problem.

 

We have 10226 booked again for 2010.........

[franncos]

Was it Rocky Sailing? ALso how about the wait times for dinner? Any info on either question would be helpfull.

 

Thanks

[AJC721]

It was truly a crappy weather week BUT a fabulous cruise. We were in the GV. Thank God we were b/c I would have climbed the walls with the bad weather. What a room!!! :D:D:D I want that kind of life. If you ever have the chance to go in a suite DO IT! I loved being pampered and spoiled. Patrick our Butler was very sweet and caring. Aushuman the concerierge was a trip. He went above and beyond for us. I'm sure he does that for all his guests. A really down to earth funny guy. Garfield our cabin steward really has tons of patience. He was in and out all day trying to make up the rooms. We were very lazy everyday. Not in a rush for anything. A very nice man. There is a lot to do but i was really looking forward to the sun. I would rate this cruise as 4 stars in total. The food was HORRIBLE!!! We did eat in the Venetian one of the main dining rooms. The apps were good but the entrees were bad. We ordered the seafood dish very bland the pork tenderloin was like eating leather and the chicken way to mushy. Cagneys was very good but if you order lobster you have to pay an additional $10 over the cover charge. That is obscene. Make it one price and stop nickle and diming everything. Salsa was good. The lobster tacos were great. Impressions certainly did NOT make any impression with us. The pasta was so soft. No one really enjoyed dinner. It was like having a frozen dinner. Last year on the Gem the Italian restaurant did not have a cover charge. Now there is a cover charge. The food was sub-par. The best restaurant that didn't disappoint us was Bamboo. We took the suggestions of the waiter and he was right on the money with the selections. NCL really needs to get it together with the food. The buffet was dirty and nothing that made one say "Oh I have to get that again". The staff was great and super friendly. The ship was very clean and the shows were really entertaining! There was always something going on.

[peg013]

Gail, I was on the Dawn last year and just loved the singers Jose and Patti. Did you see them, and if so, do you know if they will still be there in 3 weeks?

 

Patti told us on our May 31 cruise they would be there until June 28th and then they would be back for the Canadian cruises through December sometime, so you will miss them this time. They are the greatest!

[Gingee]

Like the other poster mentioned, was it just light rain or were you in rocky rainy weather? Please elaborate.

[NYY]

Like the other poster mentioned, was it just light rain or were you in rocky rainy weather? Please elaborate.

 

I was on this cruise. The weather went from cloudy to heavy torrential downpours. The trip down was very rocky. The trip back started calm on Friday Night and went back to very rocky the rest of the way back.

[glenellen1]

The only "free" restaurants are Blue Lagoon, Bimini Grill, Garden Cafe, Aqua, Venetian and room service. Everyone else charges a per person cover charge.

[CruisnGram]

The only "free" restaurants are Blue Lagoon, Bimini Grill, Garden Cafe, Aqua, Venetian and room service. Everyone else charges a per person cover charge.

 

That's correct. 6 included venues which is at least as many as all other cruiselines offer, more then many. Great isn't it?

 

CG

[glenellen1]

I used Ravi to book everything. He is a great asset to NCL. Came and checked on us at least twice a day. Love him!

[Harleycat]

I used Ravi to book everything. He is a great asset to NCL. Came and checked on us at least twice a day. Love him!

 

Your posts are making it very difficult to have to wait until October to sail.;)

[Mooder]

Cathy,

 

I did not hear/see anything about either specialty coffee/smoothie cards. I just looked at my Daily's (I kept most of them) and didn't see anything either. I know most of the teens had soda cards.

 

As for dining I heard horror stories before boarding so we chose to stick to the "fee" restaurants. I am glad we did. Whenever we walked by Aqua or Venetian at around 6:00there were miserable people going in ("had to wait an hour for a table") or coming out ("food was inedible", "same thing every night"). Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Salsa were wonderful. Impressions I wasn't impressed with at all.

 

Any other questions let me know.

 

Gail

 

Hi Gail, glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise too despite the weather.

 

We ate in both MDRs and had very good experiences. We had a fabulous lunch the first day in Venetian, as good as any specialty restaurant. We had 2 dinners in the Venetian. The first I had prime rib which was amazing and the Rock Shrimp appetizer is terrific - it is served in the same style as escargot but with small rock shrimp. My sister had the lobster and shrimp and loved it. I also think that service in the Venetian was improved over our last cruise on the Dawn. The second night in the Venetian was the officer's dinner so you can imagine how great the service was, but the food was excellent as well! We had one dinner in Aqua. I had the chicken and loved it. My sister had the seafood, I believe (my memory is foggy this morning). Robyn ate with us that night as well, so she can tell you about her meal, but she was equally happy. Bottom line is that it was an awesome meal and our waitress, Raluca, was supurb - she belongs in Cagney's based on quality of service. What a treat to have her in the MDR. From what I heard Aqua was the most difficult to get into, but we had a reservation so we had no problem. We never saw more than a 5 minute wait at the Venetian, and since the Aqua is so much smaller this is really no surprise, but we heard of 45 minute waits.