alwalaska

Thank you for the great review. I was wondering if Bamboo is only open at dinner time, or if it is an option for lunch at any time? Thanks.

Yup - currently lowly interior. 😏

Thank you for trying. I believe from reading @KeithJenner's posts in his main dining thread that because I only have one FAS meal, I will be charged for the 2nd fixed price meal that I plan on using because NCL does not recognize the Platinum benefit until you are on the ship. Has that changed since I last cruised? It has definitely been a while for me.

Thanks so much for the info. Just a quick check, was that booking online or calling customer service like mattie00 said?

I am platinum, but my reservation, both online and in the app have a note that says I can start booking dining reservations on the date that is 120 days out. Do I need to check with someone, or is that a normal web glitch that just fixes itself at 125 days? Also, my current plan for our upcoming Dawn trip is to book the following in order: Book Teppanyaki first with my one and only FAS offer. Book Cagney's next (I'll use Plat voucher 1) Wait and book Moderno on board (I don't want to have to pay for it since I want 2 fixed price locations) Book La Cucina for the Moderno night in case something goes wrong with booking once on board. Does this sound reasonable? If I book Moderno now and pay for it, does it become a refundable or non-refundable OBC when I cancel, or do I just get my money back?

With the new rules, do we still need to sign in right on time if we want a specific boarding time window, or did they go back to, just show up?

I'm curious as well. Or do they count 1) soup 2) salad 3) Entree 4) Dessert??

Please let everyone know what happens (which I know you will since you are so good at reviews), but I would plan on using the non-wine voucher at Palomar and you should be fine. Between the weird unclear wording on the web site, and the wording posted on the actual certificates (can't remember the poster), it sounds like the wine cert may have a problem being used there, but not the other one. I'm most disappointed in the can't use at the same place twice. We're picky eaters and sometimes just want something we are already familiar with. I guess that is why I am excited about the new Prima menus that don't change rather than the rotating ones. I don't deal well with unknowns. 😉

Yes, in unopened sealed containers. Also, I believe you only have to declare it if you exceed a specific $$ amount. I couldn't find the amount easily on the web site, but it is crazy high unless you are bringing jewelry or something. Here is a small portion about bringing food it. General Food The following are generally admissible if they are unopened and commercially packed. Many prepared foods that are unopened and commercially labeled are admissible (excluding meats and meat products). You may bring bakery items and most cheeses into the United States. As a general rule, condiments, vinegars, oils, packaged spices, honey, maple syrup, coffee, fish, tea, and baby formula are admissible. Because rice can often harbor insects, it is best to avoid bringing it into the United States, particularly if it is in loose burlap packaging. Foods in packaging that appears unsafe or contaminated may be refused entry.

Find a TA you can trust, it really matters. Plus, you can make a fake booking online (NCL or 3rd party), just to proceed to the final page and pay, find the ship name and cabin number, and come here and ask. Most people are happy to help. There is also a site with ship deck plans (I don't think I can list it here) where if you pay a small membership fee, you can see actual pictures of cabins based on category. Depending on the ship, I have some suite pictures from cabin tours I did with CC groups on prior sailings. They are all older ships, but can give some ideas. My email is annjunk at sbcglobal dot net if you want to see any.

We started with tape, upgraded to the clear luggage tag holders someone gave you the link to. Both worked, but I love the convenience of the holders and not having to take tape with me on vacation. One time we ended up borrowing a stapler from the hotel front desk and were putting them on in the lobby while waiting for our shuttle because I totally spaced off tape when packing. The idea for extra ones is great. Also, no one mentioned this, and I didn't know it on our first cruise, wait until you are headed to the port to put the luggage tags on. Don't fly with them on.

Thank you. I had the same question and that worked for me.

Can you please provide us with the sites you used to see your ship was at Amber Cove? I'm having a hard time finding information on where we will be docking at many of our ports. Thanks!

I'm new to the whole NCL credit card thing. We're currently booked in the cheapest interior (not guarantee) cabin on the Dawn in Feb. An upgrade to Oceanview price wise isn't too much extra. I just didn't like the Oceanview layout enough better to warrant paying for it right at the beginning. I should have 30,000 points in 8 weeks or less. Does anyone know what category of Oceanview I should pay to upgrade to so that I can use a point upgrade to get to a balcony? Is this even possible at this point? How long after the statement credits the points and I ask for them to be turned into an upgrade will it take? Thanks all!

Same to you. 🙂 We're not going until Feb, so if you have any information to share after your cruise, please post it to this thread. Like so many things, I think it is taking Cruise Critic a while to revive with new posts and information.

Thanks. I was looking at Dailies from different ships and itineraries and on several of them, one of the dining rooms started at 5pm. I just didn't know the ships well enough where I was looking to see if it was the more dressy or less dressy main dining room that opened early. When we have early ports the next day, we like to go to the early dinner and then the early show, but 5:30 doesn't usually work for that plan.

Thank you so much for taking the time to upload and post all of these. I have a couple of questions. Were you on a Southern Caribbean itinerary? It looks like there was only one showing in the theater each evening. Was this because the ship wasn't very full? Do you happen to remember what the earliest seating was for dinner in the more casual dining room? Thanks again!

Please come back here after and let us know what you find. I'm looking at the cable car. It looks like there is a really nice park at the top with different trails, a small house showing some historical things and other stuff all at the top. There was a video on YouTube where they showed walking through the park at the top. I used Bing image search on El Parque Nacional Isabel de Torres de la Provincia Puerto Plata and found a map and some information about it there and on Trip Advisor. I'm looking into an all day taxi option since I can't walk that full distance. It doesn't seem like they have what we think of as taxis that pick you up and then drop you somewhere and another taxi brings you back. Have a fun trip.

I know. I didn't understand the Bermuda shorts thing completely (I knew it was dressy, but that was all), but when I worked there, I realized just how common it was and how dressy it was considered. It was interesting walking to work in the morning and seeing the people dressed that way walking into offices with their brief cases and all. We're ones to follow rules and that is why I love sailing on NCL because we can have a sit-down dinner and hubby can wear his shorts and we aren't force to the buffet on formal night since there isn't one.

I just thought of another question. Does the Dawn still have Crepes in the evening? If so, are they easy to find?

I'm sorry that I didn't explain well what I meant. It covers well what is not allowed, it just doesn't talk about what is allowed.

Shorts will probably not work. The wording is quite vague in the recent dailies I found. It says shorts are allowed in all dining EXCEPT and Venetian is one of the except locations on the Dawn. I have seen women in dressy capris, but not shorts. I heard that a man in Bermuda shorts, with the socks and tie that match and all on a Bermuda itinerary who was turned away, so it all depends on who is at the check-in counter that night.

Thank you so much!! We are not port intensive on our Dawn cruise. I hope you enjoyed the Baltic itinerary. Ours was canceled twice and we gave up for now.

Like www3traveler said, no formal nights. Some ships actually have a "comedy club" type location, but the Dawn does not have this, but again like www3traveler said, one of the performers onboard is usually a comedian and typically does both a large main show and sometimes a smaller show in another location.

Thanks. I'm not worried about being bored, I just was wondering since some of the lounges on the Dawn do not seem very entertainment friendly. Also, I didn't know if post restart was still the same as pre-COVID cruising. One of my favorite lounges went away in a refurb to make room for more suites. Part of my questions are because I am trying to put together a photo scavenger hunt for our M&G group, but couldn't find enough recent photos to figure out what was still there and what wasn't.