Trip review/report on Dawn July 5-12

[dolphinlover2]

For those of you interested, here's a link to my trip report/review for my recent cruise (July 5-12) on the Norwegian Dawn.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=56504.

 

It very long, but helpful for first-time cruisers and first timers on Norwegian.

[Zeno]

Excellent report BTW

 

You actually had 5 suggestions. I disagree with 4&5. I agreed with the first 3.

I disagreed with

[dolphinlover2]

Thanks Zeno...I forgot about the 5th one added after I finished. I will try to fix.

[flowerchild]

I agree about the Sherry Pepper Sauce, it was vile.

[Skyhawk61]

Wow - great review (I'm not finished reading it, (I'm at work - shhhh don't tell my boss)). I'll be on the Dawn on August 16, and I'm sure your review will come in handy!

[snorklinbarb]

Did you have 2 dispensers in the shower? One was the "body soap" and the other is shampoo (and supposedly conditioner combo).

 

I assume you're requesting bar soap and separate bottles of shampoo & conditioner?

 

None of your list is that important to me. However, I can understand where a pub crawl group of 100 could be disruptive in certain locations.:eek:

[missdenise]

No soap in the shower??

 

eliminate the $25 minimum Seabucks redemption policy—not everyone is rich enough to go on another cruise within 18 months—setting the redemption limit to none or a lower amount may be generate a little less revenue for NCL, but would foster greater good will with the passengers to make them feel that at least they got something back for all the money they “donated”. After all, Vegas casinos apply credit to bills for much less than $25,

 

Can you explain this - what is a Seabuck ?

[peg013]

I checked disagree with all, BUT I disagree with 1 thru 3 and really don't care about 4 & 5.

 

The shampoo and soap are in separate dispensers in the shower. If they were not filled all you had to do is tell your Room Steward and they would be filled.

 

The only public place to smoke indoors is the casino and Cigar Bar (hidden on Deck 6, I believe). To restrict smoking to the bar area only of the casino would take away one of the only two places to smoke indoors and would make the bar unuseable for anyone that doesn't smoke.

 

While I agree that to have the pub crawl during a tournament in the casino was poor planning, way too many people enjoy the pub crawl to cancel it.

 

FYI, Sprinkles Ice Cream Bar is right next to the Topsider's Bar by the Oasis Pool. It's name is Sprinkles but there are no sprinkles there, LOL. Just hand dipped Ice cream. You have to go to the ice cream place in the Garden Cafe if you want sprinkles.

 

FYI, another "included" place to eat is the Bimini Bar and Grill.

 

It sounds like you enjoyed your cruise. I am glad you did. The Dawn and Bermuda are two of my most favorite things.

[Studebaker59]

We were on the Dawn (our fourth time) in May. Our AF bathroom always had bar soap. For the shower, we had a liquid soap dispenser, plus the one next to it was filled with a shampoo/conditioner combination.

[CanadianTwosome]

I said I agreed to all, even though I'm not sure what Seabucks are... your suggestion sounded good to me!

 

I participated in the Pub Crawls on the Star and loved them, but there sure weren't 100 people! That's a LOT of people to be moving in a group and no doubt being encouraged to be 'enthusiastic' (we were). I really missed the pub crawls when we were on the Pearl (I was told that they'd had one too many 'incidents' with excessive drinking), so I wouldn't want to see them cancelled, but I do agree that there should be some sort of plan to ensure they don't have a negative impact on other passengers. Our pub crawls did not go to the casino, and I don't really see how it's even a good location for that sort of thing - there are no tables for just sitting and socializing, so everyone must have had to mill around the bar itself, and clearly the noise level was an issue as well.

 

Still in the casino, I completely agree that they need a non-smoking section. I agree with others that eliminating smoking there completely or even isolating it to just the bar area wouldn't work - and smokers don't want to have to leave their games to smoke at the bar. Having designated non-smoking slots and tables would definitely be a great idea, though - and everyone is still welcome to play in all areas; smokers can decide to refrain while in the non-smoking areas, or non-smokers can accept the smoke in the smoking-allowed areas. Sounds like a win-win to me.

 

I think people may be misunderstanding your suggestion about toiletries... or perhaps I am. The lack of separate shampoo and conditioner has come up in the past, and more than one person has been disappointed to find the existing set up when they've gone expecting to be find two different products. Fortunately for me I always pack my own because I'm picky and more often than not hotel conditioner bottles contained less than I'd like because I had really long hair until very recently. I categorize this suggestion in the 'never enough information' box; while a lot of information is provided, it can sometimes be difficult to find just what you're looking for, and it falls short in some areas; this is one of them.

[kayhil3]

Thank You for a great review of your trip. We will be on the Dawn in a few weeks in a balconey room as well. Do you have any pictures of the room you can share. I was wondering if there is a space between the sofa and the bed, as my mom will be using it.

[riddle]

You "earn" Seabucks as a type of comp when you play in the casino. On your last night you can find out how many Seabucks you have. If you have $25 or more they take it off your final bill. If you have less than that you can apply it to a future cruise within 18 months.

 

2 cruises ago I got $33 off our bill; the last cruise I did not get anything. That was 16 months ago so I will ask that amount to be transferred to my account when I get onboard Sunday!

[DocJohnB]

Couldn't answer in the poll. But here are my votes.

 

1) Agree to the point that it should be unobtrusive to other passengers. One hundred pub crawlers having a good time could ruin a "moment".

 

2) Tend to agree. The only time I am in the casino is to watch my wife spend a $20 bill. On some vessels this is as much as I can take from a non-smokers point of view. I think cruiselines need to work harder to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers (don't ask me how . . not a clue).

 

3. Disagree

 

4. As I do not spend money in the casino, this is a non-issue for me.

 

5. Strongly disagree. Sodas, like wine, alcohol, etc., are revenue generators. Makes no difference what the setting. If you are going to have Diet Coke with your dinner, you need to pay for it, just as I need to pay for my Merlot.

[DocJohnB]

The shampoo and soap are in separate dispensers in the shower.

 

Have to agree with that part of your statement.

 

If they were not filled all you had to do is tell your Room Steward and they would be filled.

 

But this part becomes the rub. The dispensers should NEVER be empty, NEVER. The room stewards do the rooms twice a day. A quick check will ascertain that it is OK or needs filling. That is part of his/her job . . you should not have to ask for it.

 

Of course, if they are not doing their job, one can't be shy.

 

As I only have about 57 hairs on my head, this is another non-issue with me. However my wife would absolutely agree with Canadian Twosome. She brings her own.

[peg013]

But this part becomes the rub. The dispensers should NEVER be empty, NEVER. The room stewards do the rooms twice a day. A quick check will ascertain that it is OK or needs filling. That is part of his/her job . . you should not have to ask for it.

 

Of course, if they are not doing their job, one can't be shy.

 

As I only have about 57 hairs on my head, this is another non-issue with me. However my wife would absolutely agree with Canadian Twosome. She brings her own.

 

I agree with both your points. I've never had to ask but was just suggesting if somehow it was empty all you have to do is ask. And I bring my own also.

[dolphinlover2]

No soap in the shower??

 

 

Can you explain this - what is a Seabuck ?

 

Yes, there was liquid soap. I think the problem was that the dispensers were not labelled (or they fell off) so I assumed both were soap. From the other posts here, I now know that one was shampoo/conditioner combo which would have been fine with me. So make sure you know what's in what if the dispensers are not labelled.

 

A seabuck is credit you get at a casino based on the amount you play. They can't tell you how it's calculated, but you give your card to the dealer when you play at the tables and you insert it in the slots. At the end of the cruise, you can find out how many seabucks you have that can be applied as credit towards your bill. However, the NCL policy is that they don't redeem any seabucks unless it totals at least $25. You can accumulate them from one cruise to the next, but the seabucks expire in 18 months so you would have to go on another cruise within 18 months or else it's forfeited.

[dolphinlover2]

 

FYI, Sprinkles Ice Cream Bar is right next to the Topsider's Bar by the Oasis Pool. It's name is Sprinkles but there are no sprinkles there, LOL. Just hand dipped Ice cream. You have to go to the ice cream place in the Garden Cafe if you want sprinkles.

 

FYI, another "included" place to eat is the Bimini Bar and Grill.

 

 

Sorry I missed Sprinkles Ice Cream Bar...don't know how that happened. I did see the Bimini Bar and Grill but it was closed on a rainy day since it's outdoors.

[dolphinlover2]

 

I participated in the Pub Crawls on the Star and loved them, but there sure weren't 100 people! That's a LOT of people to be moving in a group and no doubt being encouraged to be 'enthusiastic' (we were). I really missed the pub crawls when we were on the Pearl (I was told that they'd had one too many 'incidents' with excessive drinking), so I wouldn't want to see them cancelled, but I do agree that there should be some sort of plan to ensure they don't have a negative impact on other passengers. Our pub crawls did not go to the casino, and I don't really see how it's even a good location for that sort of thing - there are no tables for just sitting and socializing, so everyone must have had to mill around the bar itself, and clearly the noise level was an issue as well.

 

I think people may be misunderstanding your suggestion about toiletries... or perhaps I am. The lack of separate shampoo and conditioner has come up in the past, and more than one person has been disappointed to find the existing set up when they've gone expecting to be find two different products. Fortunately for me I always pack my own because I'm picky and more often than not hotel conditioner bottles contained less than I'd like because I had really long hair until very recently. I categorize this suggestion in the 'never enough information' box; while a lot of information is provided, it can sometimes be difficult to find just what you're looking for, and it falls short in some areas; this is one of them.

 

Yes, better organization of the pub crawls would solve the problem. There is no room in the Dawn casino to sit around and socialize so the people were standing around all over making noise and having fun at the expense of the serious players in the casino.

 

Not to belabor the point of toiletries, it turned out that our dispensers in the shower were not labelled at all so I had no way of knowing whether they were both soaps or whether the shampoo was combined with conditioner. Better labelling is in order--there was also something wrong with the shower turning knobs although we figured it out by trial and error.

[dolphinlover2]

Thank You for a great review of your trip. We will be on the Dawn in a few weeks in a balconey room as well. Do you have any pictures of the room you can share. I was wondering if there is a space between the sofa and the bed, as my mom will be using it.

 

Have fun on the Dawn! There is really very little space between the sofa and bed when the sofa is opened. When the sofabed is in use, it will be hard for you to open the balcony door to go out. See this link for pictures of the rooms since I don't have mine ready yet. The only difference between my pictures and the one on the NCL site is that we had our bed separated into 2 twin beds and they have changed the covering to white duvets instead of the colorful bedspread.

 

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/staterooms.html?shipCode=DAWN

[nycruiser80]

Hey I loved your review! Was done wonderfully and I felt like I was back on the Dawn. I sailed her twice and enjoyed and I love Bermuda. A Bermuda cruise is nice because like you said you are able to stay in port for multiple days. Unfortunately there are not many cruises that do this usually you are in and out in a day. It really is not that bad though you get an overview of the area. Glad you had a great time. Until the next cruise!

[lobsterlover]

Thanks for taking the time to write an excellent review. Will be on the Dawn in late October, and find your information very helpful.

 

L. L.

[dolphinlover2]

Thanks for taking the time to write an excellent review. Will be on the Dawn in late October, and find your information very helpful.

 

L. L.

 

Thanks and I hope you have a wonderful cruise with great weather every day and fun times on shore too!

[dolphinlover2]

Hey I loved your review! Was done wonderfully and I felt like I was back on the Dawn. I sailed her twice and enjoyed and I love Bermuda. A Bermuda cruise is nice because like you said you are able to stay in port for multiple days. Unfortunately there are not many cruises that do this usually you are in and out in a day. It really is not that bad though you get an overview of the area. Glad you had a great time. Until the next cruise!

 

Thanks! I found in talking to alot of people that they like going from port to port each day. I prefer more than a day in each port so you can see the area at night too. If you've been on others that stay multiple days, please let us know.