Review of the Dawn to Bermuda: July 18-25

[Sandyshore]

First time I’ve written a review for CC. Here goes…

 

Embarkation: This was a mother/daughter cruise – my 3rd time on NCL, DD’s first, and about my 10th overall. I’m early 50’s, DD is mid 20’s. We drove from Queens and had a heckuva time getting to the pier due to a triathlon on the Henry Hudson Pkwy that morning – who knew?? After many detours, we finally arrived at the pier, about 11:15. With 3 ships in port it was very congested with cars arriving as well as picking up people who had just disembarked, so pulling the car over far enough to unload the bags wasn’t easy, but once we managed to do that, it wasn’t too hard to find a porter.

 

Once inside the terminal, I was thrilled to find NO line getting through security, and no need to even mention that I was Latitudes. We walked right through and were at a check-in station immediately. We were given #6 and headed back to wait for boarding. This was about 11:30. While we waited, we made reservations for Teppanyaki for that night. At noon they announced boarding for VIPs and #1s and 2s…and within about 10 minutes, they called our number. So easy! We headed straight to the Venetian for a nice, calm lunch. The DR was almost empty when we arrived. One note about the food: DD ordered the turkey club sandwich and asked if it were smoked turkey, which she doesn’t like. The server said it was not, and sure enough, when the sandwich came, it was smoked. DD couldn’t eat it and asked the server about ordering something else. She insisted (nicely) it wasn’t smoked turkey, returned to the kitchen to get another turkey club sandwich, and came back a few moments later saying “it’s smoked turkey.” I guess it’s good that now she knows for the next passenger who asks. So my DD ordered something different and it was fine.

 

Our cabin was ready about 2pm (the main doors that led to the cabins were still closed, but we saw people exiting them and figured we would see if our cabin was ready, and it was). So we dropped off our carry-ons and headed out to explore the ship. I was expecting it to look more worn based on what I’d read here, but the only real sign of wear was in the vinyl seats of the Blue Lagoon, which had some tears. Otherwise, Dawn is in great condition and really beautiful.

 

The muster drill was the fastest one I’ve ever experienced. No need to take the lifejackets to the muster station anymore, which is a pleasure. We watched the crew demonstrate the use of the jackets, and then we were on our way.

 

Sailaway was great – we were blessed with perfect weather leaving NYC and throughout the cruise. Once we’d passed under the Verrezano Bridge, we checked the cabin and our luggage was there so we unpacked. There was plenty of hanging space, but I would have liked another drawer; there were only 3. There are additional shelves inside the closet, but once your clothes are hanging, it’s difficult to get to those shelves w/o knocking things off the hangers. I always cruise with an over-the-door shoe holder but this time the brackets didn’t fit the top of the bathroom door, so I had to resort to my handy duct tape to hold it up…and needed to keep reinforcing it every few days.

 

Cabin: We didn’t meet our stewards until late the 2nd day – John and Mark. They called us by name whenever we saw them, left us a few towel animals, and took care of our requests like emptying the fridge so we could store our cokes and providing extra towels. I found the mattress too hard for my back and asked John if he could put a foam egg crate on it, which he did and it helped tremendously. We left post-it notes on the mirror for them if we needed something and they didn’t happen to be in the hallway.

 

A word about our cabin location: We were in 10202, very near the aft elevators. Loved the location – a quick walk up to the buffet/fitness center/Internet café. And an easy walk forward to get to the theatre or Spinnaker lounge. I was worried about noise, being that close to the elevators, but we never heard a sound from people walking by, other than the last night when a group of drunk teens got rowdy just outside our door. We were below the spa, and every morning there were pretty loud scraping sounds coming from above, enough to wake me, but it was 8 or 9am, so not an ungodly hour, for sure. I guess they were moving tables around, perhaps in the massage rooms.

 

Entertainment: It was a mix. The Jean Ann Ryan Company performed 3 times. We didn’t love the first two but were blown away by the final, Bollywood, which was similar to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Dave Heenan the comic was very funny; his late-nite adult show in the Spinnaker was hysterical plus he performed in the farewell show, and we even saw him in one of the lounges along with Ariel Jacobe doing some “shtick.” He sings too! The magician, Greg Gleason, was amusing and he had some nice illusions, but most of his stuff was “prop tricks” – if you’ve seen a few magic shows, you’ll have seen these before. He also offered a memory seminar on the last sea day. And of course, you could buy DVDs of both Heenan’s and Gleason’s work. 2nd City Comedy Troupe was highly disappointing. We found their improv in the Spinnaker to be seriously UNfunny, and even when they presented rehearsed skits in the Stardust Theater, it just didn’t make us laugh…and really, we are not a tough audience. The non-professional stuff in the Spinnaker was some of the best I’ve seen: the Newlywed Game, Dancing with the Stars, and The Quest were all highly entertaining. Matt Baker, the CD, is a showman in his own right; it took a couple days for his style to grow on us, but by the end, we were enjoying his humor and really did have a *good* time. If you go to the final night’s variety show, be sure to stay for Fountains – you won’t regret it.

 

Food: We ate twice in Cagney’s and twice in Teppanyaki. Food was terrific for the most part, except in Cagney’s one night when DD tried the Salmon Oscar w/crab legs and the salmon was very bland. The Caesar salads were wonderful. We never made it to Aqua for dinner, just the Venetian when we weren’t at a specialty. Had no trouble getting reservations for the specialties. Also, never had to wait for the MDR, but we timed it so we were not arriving either just when a show ended, or when we expected people to be dining before the next show. Our strategy worked. We always got a table for 2, except of course, in Teppanyaki. There were no 2-for-1 specials the entire cruise. I LOVED the salmon dish in the MDR and ordered it all 3 times, each time with different side dishes. That’s on the “always available” menu. Didn’t care for the choices on the Daily Specials section. We celebrated my birthday on board and our PCC had arranged for a card to be presented to the maitre d’ for a birthday cake that came with a song from the wait staff. Very nice.

 

We ate breakfast almost exclusively in the Garden Café. It was crowded, but we were always able to find a table. Unless you’re willing to wait for eggs or waffles made-to-order, you’re pretty much going to have a lukewarm breakfast. It’s just not possible to go through the line and gets scrambled eggs or French toast or pancakes, find a table, go back for juice or water or coffee, and then sit down to a hot meal. There’s also cereal, lots of fruit (which was delicious), hard boiled eggs, bacon, oatmeal, wonderful danish and cinnamon buns, and other choices I’m forgetting. I ate breakfast once in Aqua and did get to enjoy a hot breakfast and much better coffee than what I got in the Café. We tried the Blue Lagoon only once for breakfast and the French toast was pretty awful – could barely cut through it with a knife. But at the buffet it was good.

 

We never got back to the MDR for lunch after embarkation day – its hours were too limited. Lunch in the Café had plenty to choose from: burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, and a daily-changing assortment of hot dishes. Again, not having the convenience of trays, you do spend some time collecting the items you want and then sit down to a lukewarm meal, but that’s just the way it is. The soft-serve machines are open pretty much anytime the Café is during lunch, dinner, and late-night, but it wasn’t self-serve. You told the crew member if you wanted a dish or a cone and he/she dispensed it for you. Depending on who was doing the dispensing, some of the cones contained about 2 tablespoons of ice cream. There were sprinkles and chocolate syrup available too.

 

Sorry, but a comment about smoke: I loved walking on Deck 7 under the shade of the lifeboats, however I was disappointed that there was no area where there was a break from smokers on that promenade. I expected smoking to be allowed perhaps on the port side and not the starboard, but the reality is, smoking is allowed on any open deck, and that meant it was hard to enjoy much of the walk without smelling it, and I am very sensitive to smoke. Along the same line, there were times when I could not be on my balcony because my neighbor was both a cigar and cigarette smoker. Of course it was his right to smoke on his balcony; just bad luck for me, especially when we were docked in Bermuda and there was no ocean breeze to carry away the smoke.

 

Kids: It being summer, we knew there would be lots of kids on board, and I think the count was close to 800. We were never bothered by them (except on that last night). We didn’t hang out at the pool at all. We saw the kids at their T-Rex pool and they were having a great time. The special kid-sized area at the Garden Café is simply adorable. There were lots of really little ones in strollers. I never had the courage to cruise when my kids were that little. The teenagers tended to congregate on the stairs and around the elevators, but that wasn’t a problem, they moved when they needed to.

 

Extras: We bought the Internet package of 100 minutes to send a daily recap back to DH and DS, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t do it again. The speed is SO slow, it’s like watching your minutes roll down the drain while you wait for pages to load. 50 would have been enough and we didn’t need to do daily emails. Didn’t use the Spa, didn’t play bingo, didn’t go to Art Auctions, no casino use, and didn’t buy any photos, so we didn’t get hit with a lot of extra costs other than the Internet and the specialties and a few drinks. BTW, we never felt the pressure to pose for photos this cruise. The opportunities were plentiful, but the photographers weren’t obnoxious about it. Every crew member we encountered was polite and friendly and always smiled or said hello when passing in the corridors.

 

Bermuda: in a word, beautiful. We bought the 3-day bus/ferry pass and took the bus twice to the beaches. Went straight to Horseshoe Bay our first day. Second day we went one stop further to Warwick Long and made the walk back to Horseshoe as I had learned here on CC. It was HOT, and tiring, but the views were simply gorgeous and we got great pictures. Horseshoe Bay was very crowded, but off to the left (as you face the water) there was plenty of room. HAL’s Veendam was in port the entire time we were; the Caribbean Princess was there one day. We rented chairs, and on the 2nd day rented an umbrella too because we need sun protection. Thank you, kind man from NJ on the Veendam, who helped us secure our umbrella in the sand! I observed the sea of umbrellas when the winds picked up, and I’m convinced the round ones hold better than the square ones! We took advantage of the van that offers rides from the beach back up the hill for $2 pp. There was a “Special” bus waiting at the stop and neither day did it wait until it was completely full before returning to King’s Wharf, so we used that. Also, it was around 5:30 when the locals are using the city buses to commute. There’s a great little stand across the street from the bus stop where we got flavored snow cones – so refreshing on a hot day. Had to finish them before boarding the bus.

3rd day in port we took the ferry to Hamilton and shopped for a few hours. We thought about exploring the shops in the Dockyard, but it was brutally hot in the sun so we headed back to the ship by ferry and relaxed on the balcony.

 

Disembarkation: We took “lime” for the last of the times offered, and I’m glad we did. Had breakfast in the Café and were out of our cabin by 9. We found chairs on Deck 8 in the atrium and read while we waited for what felt like a long time, but we realized that was because SO MANY people opted to walk off “early” with their own luggage, it took forever for them to get off the ship. Their line snaked around Deck 7. Once they had cleared the exit, the rest of the colors were called quickly. I’d say we were off the ship about 10:15. By then it was easy to spot our luggage in the terminal and there was no wait to get through Customs. We pulled our luggage right out and crossed the street where it was very easy for my DH to pull to the side of 12th Avenue and wait for us.

 

All-in-all, a great cruise. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I saved the Dailies, so if anyone has questions...ask away. :D

[UandMe4Ever]

First time I’ve written a review for CC. Here goes…

 

Embarkation: This was a mother/daughter cruise – my 3rd time on NCL, DD’s first, and about my 10th overall. I’m early 50’s, DD is mid 20’s. We drove from Queens and had a heckuva time getting to the pier due to a triathlon on the Henry Hudson Pkwy that morning – who knew?? After many detours, we finally arrived at the pier, about 11:15. With 3 ships in port it was very congested with cars arriving as well as picking up people who had just disembarked, so pulling the car over far enough to unload the bags wasn’t easy, but once we managed to do that, it wasn’t too hard to find a porter.

 

Once inside the terminal, I was thrilled to find NO line getting through security, and no need to even mention that I was Latitudes. We walked right through and were at a check-in station immediately. We were given #6 and headed back to wait for boarding. This was about 11:30. While we waited, we made reservations for Teppanyaki for that night. At noon they announced boarding for VIPs and #1s and 2s…and within about 10 minutes, they called our number. So easy! We headed straight to the Venetian for a nice, calm lunch. The DR was almost empty when we arrived. One note about the food: DD ordered the turkey club sandwich and asked if it were smoked turkey, which she doesn’t like. The server said it was not, and sure enough, when the sandwich came, it was smoked. DD couldn’t eat it and asked the server about ordering something else. She insisted (nicely) it wasn’t smoked turkey, returned to the kitchen to get another turkey club sandwich, and came back a few moments later saying “it’s smoked turkey.” I guess it’s good that now she knows for the next passenger who asks. So my DD ordered something different and it was fine.

 

Our cabin was ready about 2pm (the main doors that led to the cabins were still closed, but we saw people exiting them and figured we would see if our cabin was ready, and it was). So we dropped off our carry-ons and headed out to explore the ship. I was expecting it to look more worn based on what I’d read here, but the only real sign of wear was in the vinyl seats of the Blue Lagoon, which had some tears. Otherwise, Dawn is in great condition and really beautiful.

 

The muster drill was the fastest one I’ve ever experienced. No need to take the lifejackets to the muster station anymore, which is a pleasure. We watched the crew demonstrate the use of the jackets, and then we were on our way.

 

Sailaway was great – we were blessed with perfect weather leaving NYC and throughout the cruise. Once we’d passed under the Verrezano Bridge, we checked the cabin and our luggage was there so we unpacked. There was plenty of hanging space, but I would have liked another drawer; there were only 3. There are additional shelves inside the closet, but once your clothes are hanging, it’s difficult to get to those shelves w/o knocking things off the hangers. I always cruise with an over-the-door shoe holder but this time the brackets didn’t fit the top of the bathroom door, so I had to resort to my handy duct tape to hold it up…and needed to keep reinforcing it every few days.

 

Cabin: We didn’t meet our stewards until late the 2nd day – John and Mark. They called us by name whenever we saw them, left us a few towel animals, and took care of our requests like emptying the fridge so we could store our cokes and providing extra towels. I found the mattress too hard for my back and asked John if he could put a foam egg crate on it, which he did and it helped tremendously. We left post-it notes on the mirror for them if we needed something and they didn’t happen to be in the hallway.

 

A word about our cabin location: We were in 10202, very near the aft elevators. Loved the location – a quick walk up to the buffet/fitness center/Internet café. And an easy walk forward to get to the theatre or Spinnaker lounge. I was worried about noise, being that close to the elevators, but we never heard a sound from people walking by, other than the last night when a group of drunk teens got rowdy just outside our door. We were below the spa, and every morning there were pretty loud scraping sounds coming from above, enough to wake me, but it was 8 or 9am, so not an ungodly hour, for sure. I guess they were moving tables around, perhaps in the massage rooms.

 

Entertainment: It was a mix. The Jean Ann Ryan Company performed 3 times. We didn’t love the first two but were blown away by the final, Bollywood, which was similar to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Dave Heenan the comic was very funny; his late-nite adult show in the Spinnaker was hysterical plus he performed in the farewell show, and we even saw him in one of the lounges along with Ariel Jacobe doing some “shtick.” He sings too! The magician, Greg Gleason, was amusing and he had some nice illusions, but most of his stuff was “prop tricks” – if you’ve seen a few magic shows, you’ll have seen these before. He also offered a memory seminar on the last sea day. And of course, you could buy DVDs of both Heenan’s and Gleason’s work. 2nd City Comedy Troupe was highly disappointing. We found their improv in the Spinnaker to be seriously UNfunny, and even when they presented rehearsed skits in the Stardust Theater, it just didn’t make us laugh…and really, we are not a tough audience. The non-professional stuff in the Spinnaker was some of the best I’ve seen: the Newlywed Game, Dancing with the Stars, and The Quest were all highly entertaining. Matt Baker, the CD, is a showman in his own right; it took a couple days for his style to grow on us, but by the end, we were enjoying his humor and really did have a *good* time. If you go to the final night’s variety show, be sure to stay for Fountains – you won’t regret it.

 

Food: We ate twice in Cagney’s and twice in Teppanyaki. Food was terrific for the most part, except in Cagney’s one night when DD tried the Salmon Oscar w/crab legs and the salmon was very bland. The Caesar salads were wonderful. We never made it to Aqua for dinner, just the Venetian when we weren’t at a specialty. Had no trouble getting reservations for the specialties. Also, never had to wait for the MDR, but we timed it so we were not arriving either just when a show ended, or when we expected people to be dining before the next show. Our strategy worked. We always got a table for 2, except of course, in Teppanyaki. There were no 2-for-1 specials the entire cruise. I LOVED the salmon dish in the MDR and ordered it all 3 times, each time with different side dishes. That’s on the “always available” menu. Didn’t care for the choices on the Daily Specials section. We celebrated my birthday on board and our PCC had arranged for a card to be presented to the maitre d’ for a birthday cake that came with a song from the wait staff. Very nice.

 

We ate breakfast almost exclusively in the Garden Café. It was crowded, but we were always able to find a table. Unless you’re willing to wait for eggs or waffles made-to-order, you’re pretty much going to have a lukewarm breakfast. It’s just not possible to go through the line and gets scrambled eggs or French toast or pancakes, find a table, go back for juice or water or coffee, and then sit down to a hot meal. There’s also cereal, lots of fruit (which was delicious), hard boiled eggs, bacon, oatmeal, wonderful danish and cinnamon buns, and other choices I’m forgetting. I ate breakfast once in Aqua and did get to enjoy a hot breakfast and much better coffee than what I got in the Café. We tried the Blue Lagoon only once for breakfast and the French toast was pretty awful – could barely cut through it with a knife. But at the buffet it was good.

 

We never got back to the MDR for lunch after embarkation day – its hours were too limited. Lunch in the Café had plenty to choose from: burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, and a daily-changing assortment of hot dishes. Again, not having the convenience of trays, you do spend some time collecting the items you want and then sit down to a lukewarm meal, but that’s just the way it is. The soft-serve machines are open pretty much anytime the Café is during lunch, dinner, and late-night, but it wasn’t self-serve. You told the crew member if you wanted a dish or a cone and he/she dispensed it for you. Depending on who was doing the dispensing, some of the cones contained about 2 tablespoons of ice cream. There were sprinkles and chocolate syrup available too.

 

Sorry, but a comment about smoke: I loved walking on Deck 7 under the shade of the lifeboats, however I was disappointed that there was no area where there was a break from smokers on that promenade. I expected smoking to be allowed perhaps on the port side and not the starboard, but the reality is, smoking is allowed on any open deck, and that meant it was hard to enjoy much of the walk without smelling it, and I am very sensitive to smoke. Along the same line, there were times when I could not be on my balcony because my neighbor was both a cigar and cigarette smoker. Of course it was his right to smoke on his balcony; just bad luck for me, especially when we were docked in Bermuda and there was no ocean breeze to carry away the smoke.

 

Kids: It being summer, we knew there would be lots of kids on board, and I think the count was close to 800. We were never bothered by them (except on that last night). We didn’t hang out at the pool at all. We saw the kids at their T-Rex pool and they were having a great time. The special kid-sized area at the Garden Café is simply adorable. There were lots of really little ones in strollers. I never had the courage to cruise when my kids were that little. The teenagers tended to congregate on the stairs and around the elevators, but that wasn’t a problem, they moved when they needed to.

 

Extras: We bought the Internet package of 100 minutes to send a daily recap back to DH and DS, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t do it again. The speed is SO slow, it’s like watching your minutes roll down the drain while you wait for pages to load. 50 would have been enough and we didn’t need to do daily emails. Didn’t use the Spa, didn’t play bingo, didn’t go to Art Auctions, no casino use, and didn’t buy any photos, so we didn’t get hit with a lot of extra costs other than the Internet and the specialties and a few drinks. BTW, we never felt the pressure to pose for photos this cruise. The opportunities were plentiful, but the photographers weren’t obnoxious about it. Every crew member we encountered was polite and friendly and always smiled or said hello when passing in the corridors.

 

Bermuda: in a word, beautiful. We bought the 3-day bus/ferry pass and took the bus twice to the beaches. Went straight to Horseshoe Bay our first day. Second day we went one stop further to Warwick Long and made the walk back to Horseshoe as I had learned here on CC. It was HOT, and tiring, but the views were simply gorgeous and we got great pictures. Horseshoe Bay was very crowded, but off to the left (as you face the water) there was plenty of room. HAL’s Veendam was in port the entire time we were; the Caribbean Princess was there one day. We rented chairs, and on the 2nd day rented an umbrella too because we need sun protection. Thank you, kind man from NJ on the Veendam, who helped us secure our umbrella in the sand! I observed the sea of umbrellas when the winds picked up, and I’m convinced the round ones hold better than the square ones! We took advantage of the van that offers rides from the beach back up the hill for $2 pp. There was a “Special” bus waiting at the stop and neither day did it wait until it was completely full before returning to King’s Wharf, so we used that. Also, it was around 5:30 when the locals are using the city buses to commute. There’s a great little stand across the street from the bus stop where we got flavored snow cones – so refreshing on a hot day. Had to finish them before boarding the bus.

3rd day in port we took the ferry to Hamilton and shopped for a few hours. We thought about exploring the shops in the Dockyard, but it was brutally hot in the sun so we headed back to the ship by ferry and relaxed on the balcony.

 

Disembarkation: We took “lime” for the last of the times offered, and I’m glad we did. Had breakfast in the Café and were out of our cabin by 9. We found chairs on Deck 8 in the atrium and read while we waited for what felt like a long time, but we realized that was because SO MANY people opted to walk off “early” with their own luggage, it took forever for them to get off the ship. Their line snaked around Deck 7. Once they had cleared the exit, the rest of the colors were called quickly. I’d say we were off the ship about 10:15. By then it was easy to spot our luggage in the terminal and there was no wait to get through Customs. We pulled our luggage right out and crossed the street where it was very easy for my DH to pull to the side of 12th Avenue and wait for us.

 

All-in-all, a great cruise. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I saved the Dailies, so if anyone has questions...ask away. :D

Hi: What a nice review! Sounds so fair and impartial. We are so looking forward to leaving on 8/29!! Love Bermuda so much! We have a fair idea of what we may do the 3 days there!

 

We probably will do most dining in the Venetian D.R. unless we decide to go to LeBistro as an ''anniversary dinner" one night. (We probably will).

 

Glad you had a good cruise with your DD. Happy Birthday (belated) and many more.

 

Safe sails always!

[Sandyshore]

Hi: What a nice review! Sounds so fair and impartial. We are so looking forward to leaving on 8/29!! Love Bermuda so much! We have a fair idea of what we may do the 3 days there!

 

We probably will do most dining in the Venetian D.R. unless we decide to go to LeBistro as an ''anniversary dinner" one night. (We probably will).

 

Glad you had a good cruise with your DD. Happy Birthday (belated) and many more.

 

Safe sails always!

 

Thank you! And Happy Anniversary to you -- enjoy!

[stegosaurus1]

Venetian, next time go to Aqua. Servers are better there, food is warmer, a sight distance is much more interesting. Also breakfast in Blue Lagoon is a nice experience, eggs to order, the only reason I ever eat in the Venetian is the salmon eggs Benedict. Had you ever been on the Dawn before? Prioe to the Epic highgrading the staff, this ship had the best crew in the fleet. Hope your daughter had a nice time>Barb:D

[Sandyshore]

Venetian, next time go to Aqua. Servers are better there, food is warmer, a sight distance is much more interesting. Also breakfast in Blue Lagoon is a nice experience, eggs to order, the only reason I ever eat in the Venetian is the salmon eggs Benedict. Had you ever been on the Dawn before? Prioe to the Epic highgrading the staff, this ship had the best crew in the fleet. Hope your daughter had a nice time>Barb:D

 

I ate in Aqua only once, for breakfast on the day Venetian was having its Big Band Brunch. Found the room less appealing visually than Venetian; felt kind of closed in, low ceilings. Would have gone to either MDR more often for breakfast, but they didn't stay open long enough for my schedule (and nowhere near long enough for how late my DD liked to sleep LOL). This was my first time on the Dawn. Was very impressed with the crew.

[dvond]

Since you ate in the MDR some nights what was the dress code for men?

 

I heard there is none for the nights while docked at Bermuda, can u wear shorts?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I know there is one formal night that is more causual than other cruises but cannot find the rest anywhere?

 

 

 

Also I heard about comp drinks in the casino, anhyone know the deal there as I am a moderate gambler I usually play with around $200 at crap and $100 or so at Blackjack? Again any help would be great

[Sandyshore]

Since you ate in the MDR some nights what was the dress code for men? I heard there is none for the nights while docked at Bermuda, can u wear shorts? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I know there is one formal night that is more causual than other cruises but cannot find the rest anywhere?

 

Also I heard about comp drinks in the casino, anhyone know the deal there as I am a moderate gambler I usually play with around $200 at crap and $100 or so at Blackjack? Again any help would be great

 

The dress code is the same in all restaurants on all nights -- resort casual is always acceptable. That includes jeans. The only no-no is shorts after 5pm. That applies even when docked in Bermuda. But you CAN wear shorts if you want to eat at the buffet or the Blue Lagoon. The no-shorts rule doesn't apply there. There was never any "formal" night. People can choose to dress up whenever they want, or not.

 

Can't help with the comp drinks question - sorry.

[kayhil3]

Since you ate in the MDR some nights what was the dress code for men?

 

I heard there is none for the nights while docked at Bermuda, can u wear shorts?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I know there is one formal night that is more causual than other cruises but cannot find the rest anywhere?

 

 

 

Also I heard about comp drinks in the casino, anhyone know the deal there as I am a moderate gambler I usually play with around $200 at crap and $100 or so at Blackjack? Again any help would be great

When the casino opens get a players card and when you reach 1500 points your drinks in the casino are free. Then the next time you book a cruise on NCL call the casino at seas reservation number to see what they will give you based on your rate of play. Either a 17% discount or a comp room. This will give you a free drink card immediately on that cruise, VIP boarding and treats in your room. Have fun and good luck.

[markf]

what time were the shows the first 3 nights??? I assume they ahd each show 2x a night.

It sounds like Dave Heenan is a fixture on the Dawn---he seems to always be there

[Sandyshore]

what time were the shows the first 3 nights??? I assume they had each show 2x a night.

It sounds like Dave Heenan is a fixture on the Dawn---he seems to always be there

 

There were always 2 shows, 7:30 and 9:30pm, with the exception of one night, Wed. our first full day in Bermuda, when there was only the 9:30 show. They must know from experience that they don't need 2 shows that night. The theatre wasn't close to full. People had to be just beat after their day in port.

 

I loved Dave. What a character :rolleyes:

[AllBoys2002]

Sounds like you had a great trip!!! I too love Bermuda, cant wait to get back there.

[DENNICH]

We ate twice in Cagney’s and twice in Teppanyaki. Food was terrific for the most part, except in Cagney’s one night when DD tried the Salmon Oscar w/crab legs and the salmon was very bland. The Caesar salads were wonderful. We never made it to Aqua for dinner, just the Venetian when we weren’t at a specialty. Had no trouble getting reservations for the specialties.

Thanks for the great review and glad to hear you had such a great time. When you reserved for the specialty restaurants did you make your reservations that same day or did you book earlier in the cruise? If you could only go back to Cagney's or Teppanyaki on your next cruise which one would you choose and why?

 

Thanks in advance for your reply and I really appreciate your informative report of your cruise.

 

Denise

[Sandyshore]

Thanks for the great review and glad to hear you had such a great time. When you reserved for the specialty restaurants did you make your reservations that same day or did you book earlier in the cruise? If you could only go back to Cagney's or Teppanyaki on your next cruise which one would you choose and why?

 

Thanks in advance for your reply and I really appreciate your informative report of your cruise.

 

Denise

 

Glad you found the review helpful. I figured I should write it right away before I forget the details!

Our reservations were made same day all 4 times. One of the Cagney's days, I think we called around 5 and asked for a 6:30 res and it was no problem. Could have just walked up to the restaurant to be seated. Neither night at Cagney's was full when we went.

Teppanyaki is a different story because it has such limited seating. I think it's a max of 20 people, with 10 each placed around 2 grills. They have 3 seatings each night...5pm (maybe it was 5:30, not sure), 7:15, and 9. They were also open for lunch on sea days, same cover charge of $25pp. We took advantage of the res table at the pier to reserve for the first night. We wanted to go again the last night at sea and could only get the 9pm seating when we called earlier in the day. (There was also a table set up in the atrium on sea days where they had all the specialty menus available to examine, and you could reserve a place.)

 

Which would I choose? That's a tough one -- totally different atmospheres. Cagney's is quiet, elegant, white-glove-type service. Would be great for a romantic dinner, an anniversary celebration. Teppanyaki is a hoot! The chef puts on a show, and if you have a fun group of people around the table, everyone gets in on it and nobody's a stranger by the end of the meal. Food was wonderful in both places. I think I'd go with Teppanyaki. It's a fun night and feels like more than "just dinner." LOL I feel like I just answered an essay question in school :D

[CadeM]

Thanks for the great and helpful review. I have a question, you said that they had a dinner reservation table in the port before you got on the ship? That is new and great I always thought they should. Were you able to book just the 1st night dinner at that table or more then 1 night? Could you book any of the specialty restaurants at that table? Thanks so much for your help I leave on Sunday.

[Sandyshore]

Thanks for the great and helpful review. I have a question, you said that they had a dinner reservation table in the port before you got on the ship? That is new and great I always thought they should. Were you able to book just the 1st night dinner at that table or more then 1 night? Could you book any of the specialty restaurants at that table? Thanks so much for your help I leave on Sunday.

 

They had a table set up with menus from all the specialty restaurants so you could check them out while waiting to board and reserve for any of them. We asked about Teppanyaki, the staff person made a call to check availability and she offered us the 7:15 seating which was perfect for us. I don't know if you could book beyond that first night's dinner -- didn't ask. There was also a table of spa services with a big crowd around it but I didn't explore that one.

 

Have a great trip!! LOL how could you not? :D

[njhorseman]

Thanks for the great and helpful review. I have a question, you said that they had a dinner reservation table in the port before you got on the ship? That is new and great I always thought they should. Were you able to book just the 1st night dinner at that table or more then 1 night? Could you book any of the specialty restaurants at that table? Thanks so much for your help I leave on Sunday.

 

They had a table set up with menus from all the specialty restaurants so you could check them out while waiting to board and reserve for any of them. We asked about Teppanyaki, the staff person made a call to check availability and she offered us the 7:15 seating which was perfect for us. I don't know if you could book beyond that first night's dinner -- didn't ask. There was also a table of spa services with a big crowd around it but I didn't explore that one.

 

Have a great trip!! LOL how could you not? :D

 

We were on the same cruise. We booked a Tuesday night reservation in LeBistro at the table located on the pier before the Sunday embarkation.

 

Sandyshore...we were just down the hall in 10208. That fight between the drunken teenagers at 2am on Saturday...or really Sunday am was a real doozy, wasn't it? Sounded like someone was being murdered.

[Sandyshore]

Sandyshore...we were just down the hall in 10208. That fight between the drunken teenagers at 2am on Saturday...or really Sunday am was a real doozy, wasn't it? Sounded like someone was being murdered.

 

Yeah really! The noise woke me up at 2am, first I heard loud voices and then some thumping. In my sleep haze, thought it was the sound of the crew moving out our luggage. I threw on a robe, opened the door, and a kid was on the floor covering his head with his arms. I called security, but before I'd hung up the phone, they'd all scrambled out of there. :confused:

[UandMe4Ever]

There were always 2 shows, 7:30 and 9:30pm, with the exception of one night, Wed. our first full day in Bermuda, when there was only the 9:30 show. They must know from experience that they don't need 2 shows that night. The theatre wasn't close to full. People had to be just beat after their day in port.

 

I loved Dave. What a character :rolleyes:

Hi: On the other 2 docked nights, was there also 1 show each night at 9:30? or did they have other things to do? Thanks a lot!

[Sandyshore]

Hi: On the other 2 docked nights, was there also 1 show each night at 9:30? or did they have other things to do? Thanks a lot!

 

The Stardust Theatre show was presented twice on all but Wed nite, at 7:30 and 9:30.

Wed was 9:30 only, Jean Ann Ryan company (South Beach Rave).

Thurs was 7:30 & 9:30, Greg Gleason the magician.

Fri was 7:30 and 9:30, Jean Ann Ryan co w/another show, Bollywood (their best IMO). Technically, Friday was a port day, but the ship sailed at 5pm, so it wasn't a "docked night."

There was also late night entertainment in the Spinnaker which was anything from music to dancing to comedy to the game shows.

[UandMe4Ever]

The Stardust Theatre show was presented twice on all but Wed nite, at 7:30 and 9:30.

Wed was 9:30 only, Jean Ann Ryan company (South Beach Rave).

Thurs was 7:30 & 9:30, Greg Gleason the magician.

Fri was 7:30 and 9:30, Jean Ann Ryan co w/another show, Bollywood (their best IMO). Technically, Friday was a port day, but the ship sailed at 5pm, so it wasn't a "docked night."

There was also late night entertainment in the Spinnaker which was anything from music to dancing to comedy to the game shows.

Thanks again! Haven't seen Bollywood, so we'll probably catch that one on Friday night! Unless the magician is great we usually pass! Wednesday night, we'll do Harbour Nights in Hamilton. If we get back early enough, we may try to catch the 9:30 show.

 

I can't wait !!!

[markf]

Surprised to see that they had him while docked in Bermuda--it used to be that there could not be professional enetertainment while docked in the port of Bermuda.

 

Is Harbor night worth going to???

[CadeM]

sandyshore and njhorseman thank you so much for the restaurant info that is good news for us. Now one of us will have to make reservations while the other books the spa.

 

Uandme4ever could you tell me what the festival in hamilton you mentioned is all about?

[Sandyshore]

Surprised to see that they had him while docked in Bermuda--it used to be that there could not be professional enetertainment while docked in the port of Bermuda.

 

Is Harbor night worth going to???

 

Yup, I remember that restriction when we were docked in Bermuda in 1996 & '97....no shows those nights. Guess the rules have changed.

 

I'm sure somebody will answer your question about Harbor night.

[UandMe4Ever]

sandyshore and njhorseman thank you so much for the restaurant info that is good news for us. Now one of us will have to make reservations while the other books the spa.

 

Uandme4ever could you tell me what the festival in hamilton you mentioned is all about?

"]Hi: We've never been there, but what I've been reading on the boards is that it is a cool street festival, with costumed Goobe?(sp) dancers singing and dancing up on Front street. Sounds like a happy time and interesting to see! There are vendors, places to eat, things to see/buy. I understand it's fun for a couple of hours! It starts on Front Street at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday Nights!

 

We'll take Ferry from Dockyard on 9/1 and check it out. I think it should be fun and something different we've not done in Bermuda. We'll be buying the 2 day Pass for $20 p/p....plenty of back and forth opportunities to see and do whatever :-)

 

Hope you go![/b]

[nadasguys]

First time I’ve written a review for CC. Here goes…

 

Embarkation: This was a mother/daughter cruise – my 3rd time on NCL, DD’s first, and about my 10th overall. I’m early 50’s, DD is mid 20’s. We drove from Queens and had a heckuva time getting to the pier due to a triathlon on the Henry Hudson Pkwy that morning – who knew?? After many detours, we finally arrived at the pier, about 11:15. With 3 ships in port it was very congested with cars arriving as well as picking up people who had just disembarked, so pulling the car over far enough to unload the bags wasn’t easy, but once we managed to do that, it wasn’t too hard to find a porter.

 

Once inside the terminal, I was thrilled to find NO line getting through security, and no need to even mention that I was Latitudes. We walked right through and were at a check-in station immediately. We were given #6 and headed back to wait for boarding. This was about 11:30. While we waited, we made reservations for Teppanyaki for that night. At noon they announced boarding for VIPs and #1s and 2s…and within about 10 minutes, they called our number. So easy! We headed straight to the Venetian for a nice, calm lunch. The DR was almost empty when we arrived. One note about the food: DD ordered the turkey club sandwich and asked if it were smoked turkey, which she doesn’t like. The server said it was not, and sure enough, when the sandwich came, it was smoked. DD couldn’t eat it and asked the server about ordering something else. She insisted (nicely) it wasn’t smoked turkey, returned to the kitchen to get another turkey club sandwich, and came back a few moments later saying “it’s smoked turkey.” I guess it’s good that now she knows for the next passenger who asks. So my DD ordered something different and it was fine.

 

Our cabin was ready about 2pm (the main doors that led to the cabins were still closed, but we saw people exiting them and figured we would see if our cabin was ready, and it was). So we dropped off our carry-ons and headed out to explore the ship. I was expecting it to look more worn based on what I’d read here, but the only real sign of wear was in the vinyl seats of the Blue Lagoon, which had some tears. Otherwise, Dawn is in great condition and really beautiful.

 

The muster drill was the fastest one I’ve ever experienced. No need to take the lifejackets to the muster station anymore, which is a pleasure. We watched the crew demonstrate the use of the jackets, and then we were on our way.

 

Sailaway was great – we were blessed with perfect weather leaving NYC and throughout the cruise. Once we’d passed under the Verrezano Bridge, we checked the cabin and our luggage was there so we unpacked. There was plenty of hanging space, but I would have liked another drawer; there were only 3. There are additional shelves inside the closet, but once your clothes are hanging, it’s difficult to get to those shelves w/o knocking things off the hangers. I always cruise with an over-the-door shoe holder but this time the brackets didn’t fit the top of the bathroom door, so I had to resort to my handy duct tape to hold it up…and needed to keep reinforcing it every few days.

 

Cabin: We didn’t meet our stewards until late the 2nd day – John and Mark. They called us by name whenever we saw them, left us a few towel animals, and took care of our requests like emptying the fridge so we could store our cokes and providing extra towels. I found the mattress too hard for my back and asked John if he could put a foam egg crate on it, which he did and it helped tremendously. We left post-it notes on the mirror for them if we needed something and they didn’t happen to be in the hallway.

 

A word about our cabin location: We were in 10202, very near the aft elevators. Loved the location – a quick walk up to the buffet/fitness center/Internet café. And an easy walk forward to get to the theatre or Spinnaker lounge. I was worried about noise, being that close to the elevators, but we never heard a sound from people walking by, other than the last night when a group of drunk teens got rowdy just outside our door. We were below the spa, and every morning there were pretty loud scraping sounds coming from above, enough to wake me, but it was 8 or 9am, so not an ungodly hour, for sure. I guess they were moving tables around, perhaps in the massage rooms.

 

Entertainment: It was a mix. The Jean Ann Ryan Company performed 3 times. We didn’t love the first two but were blown away by the final, Bollywood, which was similar to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Dave Heenan the comic was very funny; his late-nite adult show in the Spinnaker was hysterical plus he performed in the farewell show, and we even saw him in one of the lounges along with Ariel Jacobe doing some “shtick.” He sings too! The magician, Greg Gleason, was amusing and he had some nice illusions, but most of his stuff was “prop tricks” – if you’ve seen a few magic shows, you’ll have seen these before. He also offered a memory seminar on the last sea day. And of course, you could buy DVDs of both Heenan’s and Gleason’s work. 2nd City Comedy Troupe was highly disappointing. We found their improv in the Spinnaker to be seriously UNfunny, and even when they presented rehearsed skits in the Stardust Theater, it just didn’t make us laugh…and really, we are not a tough audience. The non-professional stuff in the Spinnaker was some of the best I’ve seen: the Newlywed Game, Dancing with the Stars, and The Quest were all highly entertaining. Matt Baker, the CD, is a showman in his own right; it took a couple days for his style to grow on us, but by the end, we were enjoying his humor and really did have a *good* time. If you go to the final night’s variety show, be sure to stay for Fountains – you won’t regret it.

 

Food: We ate twice in Cagney’s and twice in Teppanyaki. Food was terrific for the most part, except in Cagney’s one night when DD tried the Salmon Oscar w/crab legs and the salmon was very bland. The Caesar salads were wonderful. We never made it to Aqua for dinner, just the Venetian when we weren’t at a specialty. Had no trouble getting reservations for the specialties. Also, never had to wait for the MDR, but we timed it so we were not arriving either just when a show ended, or when we expected people to be dining before the next show. Our strategy worked. We always got a table for 2, except of course, in Teppanyaki. There were no 2-for-1 specials the entire cruise. I LOVED the salmon dish in the MDR and ordered it all 3 times, each time with different side dishes. That’s on the “always available” menu. Didn’t care for the choices on the Daily Specials section. We celebrated my birthday on board and our PCC had arranged for a card to be presented to the maitre d’ for a birthday cake that came with a song from the wait staff. Very nice.

 

We ate breakfast almost exclusively in the Garden Café. It was crowded, but we were always able to find a table. Unless you’re willing to wait for eggs or waffles made-to-order, you’re pretty much going to have a lukewarm breakfast. It’s just not possible to go through the line and gets scrambled eggs or French toast or pancakes, find a table, go back for juice or water or coffee, and then sit down to a hot meal. There’s also cereal, lots of fruit (which was delicious), hard boiled eggs, bacon, oatmeal, wonderful danish and cinnamon buns, and other choices I’m forgetting. I ate breakfast once in Aqua and did get to enjoy a hot breakfast and much better coffee than what I got in the Café. We tried the Blue Lagoon only once for breakfast and the French toast was pretty awful – could barely cut through it with a knife. But at the buffet it was good.

 

We never got back to the MDR for lunch after embarkation day – its hours were too limited. Lunch in the Café had plenty to choose from: burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, and a daily-changing assortment of hot dishes. Again, not having the convenience of trays, you do spend some time collecting the items you want and then sit down to a lukewarm meal, but that’s just the way it is. The soft-serve machines are open pretty much anytime the Café is during lunch, dinner, and late-night, but it wasn’t self-serve. You told the crew member if you wanted a dish or a cone and he/she dispensed it for you. Depending on who was doing the dispensing, some of the cones contained about 2 tablespoons of ice cream. There were sprinkles and chocolate syrup available too.

 

Sorry, but a comment about smoke: I loved walking on Deck 7 under the shade of the lifeboats, however I was disappointed that there was no area where there was a break from smokers on that promenade. I expected smoking to be allowed perhaps on the port side and not the starboard, but the reality is, smoking is allowed on any open deck, and that meant it was hard to enjoy much of the walk without smelling it, and I am very sensitive to smoke. Along the same line, there were times when I could not be on my balcony because my neighbor was both a cigar and cigarette smoker. Of course it was his right to smoke on his balcony; just bad luck for me, especially when we were docked in Bermuda and there was no ocean breeze to carry away the smoke.

 

Kids: It being summer, we knew there would be lots of kids on board, and I think the count was close to 800. We were never bothered by them (except on that last night). We didn’t hang out at the pool at all. We saw the kids at their T-Rex pool and they were having a great time. The special kid-sized area at the Garden Café is simply adorable. There were lots of really little ones in strollers. I never had the courage to cruise when my kids were that little. The teenagers tended to congregate on the stairs and around the elevators, but that wasn’t a problem, they moved when they needed to.

 

Extras: We bought the Internet package of 100 minutes to send a daily recap back to DH and DS, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t do it again. The speed is SO slow, it’s like watching your minutes roll down the drain while you wait for pages to load. 50 would have been enough and we didn’t need to do daily emails. Didn’t use the Spa, didn’t play bingo, didn’t go to Art Auctions, no casino use, and didn’t buy any photos, so we didn’t get hit with a lot of extra costs other than the Internet and the specialties and a few drinks. BTW, we never felt the pressure to pose for photos this cruise. The opportunities were plentiful, but the photographers weren’t obnoxious about it. Every crew member we encountered was polite and friendly and always smiled or said hello when passing in the corridors.

 

Bermuda: in a word, beautiful. We bought the 3-day bus/ferry pass and took the bus twice to the beaches. Went straight to Horseshoe Bay our first day. Second day we went one stop further to Warwick Long and made the walk back to Horseshoe as I had learned here on CC. It was HOT, and tiring, but the views were simply gorgeous and we got great pictures. Horseshoe Bay was very crowded, but off to the left (as you face the water) there was plenty of room. HAL’s Veendam was in port the entire time we were; the Caribbean Princess was there one day. We rented chairs, and on the 2nd day rented an umbrella too because we need sun protection. Thank you, kind man from NJ on the Veendam, who helped us secure our umbrella in the sand! I observed the sea of umbrellas when the winds picked up, and I’m convinced the round ones hold better than the square ones! We took advantage of the van that offers rides from the beach back up the hill for $2 pp. There was a “Special” bus waiting at the stop and neither day did it wait until it was completely full before returning to King’s Wharf, so we used that. Also, it was around 5:30 when the locals are using the city buses to commute. There’s a great little stand across the street from the bus stop where we got flavored snow cones – so refreshing on a hot day. Had to finish them before boarding the bus.

3rd day in port we took the ferry to Hamilton and shopped for a few hours. We thought about exploring the shops in the Dockyard, but it was brutally hot in the sun so we headed back to the ship by ferry and relaxed on the balcony.

 

Disembarkation: We took “lime” for the last of the times offered, and I’m glad we did. Had breakfast in the Café and were out of our cabin by 9. We found chairs on Deck 8 in the atrium and read while we waited for what felt like a long time, but we realized that was because SO MANY people opted to walk off “early” with their own luggage, it took forever for them to get off the ship. Their line snaked around Deck 7. Once they had cleared the exit, the rest of the colors were called quickly. I’d say we were off the ship about 10:15. By then it was easy to spot our luggage in the terminal and there was no wait to get through Customs. We pulled our luggage right out and crossed the street where it was very easy for my DH to pull to the side of 12th Avenue and wait for us.

 

All-in-all, a great cruise. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I saved the Dailies, so if anyone has questions...ask away. :D

Thanks for the awesome review! We are sailing on the Dawn 8/22 so I really appreciate all the info you shared. You stated that you saved the "Daily" program, do they by any chance list anything having to do with the "teen club"? If so, would you be willing to share any of the info with me? I have 2 boys that would be real happy to hear about that. You can e-mail if you prefer. nadaguys@aol.com Thanks in advance