KDebreuil

I was just on the Dawn Aug 15-24. We chose the cruise for the itinerary, not the ship. The ship was sold out, but rarely felt very crowded. The ship lacks a forward viewing lounge, or a "great outdoors" space. The midship elevators are always busy, so use the stairs, or forward or aft elevators. We had a lot of short port days on our cruise, so everyone was arriving back at the last minute. Do not be late, we did leave passengers behind in at least 2 ports. I was not able to meet a 'dietary specialist' and had to ask everynight for pre-orders. The dietary person has been nice on previous cruises as they were able to make suggestions and knew of having things like gluten free english muffins on board (the Spirit had these, the Dawn did not). The sundeck was nice, and there were always chairs available. Overall, the Dawn was not one of our favorite ships. Our favorites are the Jewel class ships. Although it is 'close' in design to the Jewel-class ships, it is missing some places, and is harder to navigate than the Jewel class ships. The crew were still friendly, and seemed to go out of their way to try to remember individual guests and make a connection. Feel free to ask me any specific questions, and I'll do my best to answer.

Ship - Dawn Deck - 10 Stateroom # - 10107 Stateroom Category – inside Starboard or Port Side - starboard Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No This room is a unique layout. The door to the stateroom is wider than most. It opens to the foot of the bed. The bathroom is to the right, and desk/closet is to the left. The TV nook is on the right after the bathroom area. The beds need to stay together as there is not space to separate them without blocking access to the bathroom or closet. Room was very quiet. This room has many north American outlets. 5 north American, 1 eu, and no UK outlets.

I'm sorry to hear that your expectations of travelling as a large group were not met. I am very happy with the result of my BOGO airfare from Canada to Europe. This was a deal that convinced me to allow my only child to bring a friend with her, as the airfare was cheaper. Our flight times to get to Stockholm are right in-line with what I would have booked myself. And the same can be said for the return trip. We asked for a couple of days extra at each end, and that was accommodated and went smoothly. But I'm really happy for the included baggage. I know that it's not always included, but on all of our flights this time we are allowed 1 free checked bag each. As we are in Europe for 2 weeks, that is awesome! And it's an additional saving for me. Sometimes you take a chance on a deal, and it works out better than you hoped. Sometimes it causes issues. I hope you have better luck next time.

Starlink was active on the Breakaway when I was on it in March in the Caribbean. I don't use internet too much when I'm vacation. I had some issues connecting to work services as the GeoIP services change depending on what land-based station the signal comes back to. I feel it's better than the traditional service.

My WiFi experience on ships has been mixed. In March I was on the NCL Breakaway, which has StarLink, and was fine. Until other ships have been changed over, I expect crappy internet service. There is limited specialty dining availability to pre-book, so many people will be booking that as soon as they get on-board. I plan ahead, and I've never had a problem with the specialty dining availability. I can't comment on the excursions, as I usually book independent excursions, and don't use the cruise line. We've done 3 cruises with NCL making the flight arrangements. All 3 times the flight choices have been ones that I would have made myself. I have not had any connections less than 75 minutes. I fly from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, so my flight options are pretty bad to start with. I suggest getting into your departure port a day or two ahead of time so that you can explore it, and enjoy it, so if you are having NCL do your airfare, make sure to ask for a deviation so that they plan for your flights to arrive on different days. Regarding flights, keep in mind if you are trying to go East to West, you can likely make it the same day. But going West to East, you either need to be a day or two sooner, or expect an overnight / red-eye flight. For my European cruise in August, I'll need 2 connections, both layovers are about 2 hours long. On our return we only have 1 connection, and the layover is about 3 hours.

Many newer ships use azipods for their propulsion. They are pods with the propeller mounted to them that can rotate 360 degrees allowing the ship to directly the thrust any direction. The front can be moved sideways by using thrusters that are mounted sideways in the hull. The Spirit does not have azipods, it has traditional propeller and rudder arrangement, so if they need to move the back of the ship sideways, they need the help of tugboats.

I did this once in 2019. The ncl website was accessible without using internet minutes, so I was able to login to the ncl website and check in without using any minutes. That was 4 years ago on the Jewel. Generally I've found that the ncl website is fully accessible when on board.

I see in the program that the 'Sail and Sustain' cocktail is only available at the Great Outdoors bar. Do the other bars specialize in certain types of drinks? I'm familiar with Magnum's (whiskey), Shaker's (Martinis) and Sugarcane (Mojitos) that they have on some other ships. On the Jewel ships I was able to get an old fashioned with a proper big ice cube in Magnum's, but no big ice cubes to be found anywhere else. Also, I think I see Starbucks vending machine's in the photos. I'm assuming that those are not included in the Starbucks, nor Premium package. Can anyone confirm that?

You mentioned 'no kids' in the Spice H2O area. Do they seem to strict about the 18+ for that area? My 17 year old daughter is traveling with us, and due to still recovering from knee surgery can't really run around. Would she be able to use the hot tubs, and padded loungers in Spice H2O, or are they checking ID or something?

That's all good advice, but be careful as on this cruise Ketchikan is only on the southbound leg, and it's the last port. So it isn't helpful for supplies, but still good for keepsakes.

On the Breakaway in late March this year, the Latitudes cocktail party had no sale pitch. It was held in the Manhattan room, and they had the band playing. In-between a couple songs they introduced all the officers, and thanked the guests, and then the band went back to playing. I haven't seen a lot of consistency, even when sailing on the same ship they have been different.

The only recent change I'm aware of is around the discharge of waste water. Perhaps the storage and treatment capabilities of the ship are not enough to satisfy the new requirements Canada put in this year? https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/enhanced-environmental-measures-2023-cruise-season-ssb-no-08-2023

On our trips, we've also had luck using 1 dining package for 4 items from the sushi bar and sharing them.

The spirit is sailing around the outside of Vancouver island both ways. It might be due to time management as the passage inside is slower, and may be due to new environmental regulations from the Canadian government.

We make a stop at De Dutch everytime that we cruise out of Vancouver. We drop off our luggage and head over behind the convention center. It's a nice breakfast, and we enjoy the view of the seaplane base. It's easier to be patient in the security and check-in lines after a good breakfast.