NCL Dawn review with baby (1 year old)

[Gigsjp]

Just for background, those traveling were myself 27, my wife 27, and our baby girl who turned 1 during the cruise. I have sailed on Princess, RCCL, Norwegian, Celebrity, and for a flashback – Dolphin.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the Pier sometime around 12-12:30 and noticed that there were still a large amount of passengers disembarking from previous cruise. This continued for at least another hour, but as soon as the last passengers were off, embarking began and we were on the ship in no time.

 

The Dawn: After getting to know the ship and touring all rooms we were impressed. The Dawn is a big ship, but there are many nooks and crannies to hide and get away from the crowds. We never felt that we were among 2800 other passengers. The ship was extremely clean and I thought for the most part was easy to get around. More about dining rooms and show rooms upcoming.

 

Our Room: We were in a balcony stateroom port side on deck 9. The room wasn’t tiny or large. With the pack n play crib set up basically all the time and asking the stewards to remove some tables and chairs we didn’t need there was just enough room for us to get around and for Emma, our baby to stretch her legs out. The balcony was also just about the right size for my wife and I to enjoy while Emma napped or went to bed early at night. Bathroom was bigger than what I am used to experiencing on a cruise. It was certainly nice to have an actual door on my shower, rather than a tiny curtain. Our cabin stewards always did a good job of cleaning and always went out of their way to say goodnight to Emma when we were coming back from dinner or a show.

 

Sailing South: Sailing down to Port Canaveral and between GSC and Miami, our weather and the seas were absolutely perfect. There was a very nice sunrise on the first morning that we got to experience right from our balcony, a great start to the day.

 

Food and Dining: Since we were traveling with a baby, we mostly limited our restaurant meals to dinner and our morning and lunch at the Garden Café. For the most part the Garden Café was good for breakfast and adequate for lunch. During breakfast we found the freshly made waffles to be the best. Tables were always promptly cleaned and staff was always around to offer to help with coffee, high chairs, etc. We also, since we ate dinner very early, took advantage of the late night snacks which consisted of sandwiches, some hot snacks, hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit, cheeses, cookies, cakes, etc.

 

As far as dinner is concerned we only dined in 2 restaurants, Aqua and Salsa. We found the service to be attentive and just the right pace in Aqua. We thought Aqua was perfect for us, since the wait staff in there loved our little Emma an kept her well entertained during dinner. We never felt rushed or felt that we had been sitting at dinner forever. Food was good, just about what you expect on a cruise. Our favorites were the soufflés, highly recommended! Service was, for the most part, excellent and crew was always extremely friendly and responded well to any and all requests. We particularly enjoyed Salsa and went back for a second time since there were many different items on the menu.

 

Ports: We chose to visit nearby Cocoa Village while in Port Canaveral which was very nice. Mostly little shops, but also nice waterfront park for kids (and babies!) to enjoy.

 

Great Stirrup Cay was a beautiful day, but a little too hot for the baby to be out on the beach. We stayed for under an hour and headed back to a very empty ship. Emma was able to enjoy the kiddie pool all to herself!

 

In Miami, we visited the Bayside Market which is very close to the ship. Basically just an outdoor shopping mall. Good if you just want to get off the ship and stretch those legs.

 

Entertainment: Our experience with entertainment was somewhat limited due to our baby’s sleeping schedule, but we did manage to see a couple of shows.

 

South Beach Rave was a decent song and dance show. The Stardust Lounge is a great theater to see a show in. Stadium type seating means that there basically is not a bad seat in the house.

 

Second City was the best of show that we saw. Very funny and much different than most cruise entertainment that we have previously experienced.

 

The crew talent show was pretty good too. Some great voices among the staff.

 

Paul Baya was our cruise director and I thought that he did an adequate job.

 

The Storm: I know that you all have heard enough about this part, but here’s my take. Friday afternoon was rough (about 20’ waves) but we were still able to go about as usual. During a walk outside on the promenade the captain came on and warned us that it would get worse during the night (approx 40’ waves) due to the storm and high winds that we would encounter. We had dinner at Aqua at 6:00 and then headed to the Stardust for Bollywood. By the time we sat down, the seas were getting pretty crazy. My wife and I looked at each other and decided to head back to the room. I can’t imagine how they performed that night. You could hear the waves crashing into the hull due to the location of the theater. While docked in Charleston I overheard one of the performers say that he was getting applause for being able to stand up straight!

 

When we got back to the room it was only getting worse. It was time for our baby to sleep, so we just figured we might as well try too. But, I think we knew that wasn’t going to happen. The noises were just amazing. Creaking and clanging and twisting were heard from this point on. As others have stated, it was literally like being on a roller coaster. As the ship was going over a wave you would have that slightly weightless feeling and after a while you came to expect a thump (which I presumed was us hitting the next wave) following this thump, the whole ship would vibrate and we were literally bouncing (slightly) up and down in our beds. When the ship started listing back and forth, my wife and I were literally sliding on the mattress about a foot back and forth, back and forth. Every once and a while you would hear something breaking in other rooms. Around midnight the captain came on again to update us. We were told that the weather had been worse then expected and that we had changed course more north in order to head into the wind. He also assured us that we were 100% safe. Ironic and funny moment of the night came about 5 minutes later when the captain came back on to tell us that he had notified the Coast Guard in SC about our situation. I really could not believe my ears. Around this time we also received a letter under our door stating that we would be receiving a 25% credit towards a future cruise with NCL due to the problems with weather and itinerary.

 

The night seemed to last forever, since there was little sleeping going except for our baby who slept through the night, thank God. Next time we received an update was around 6AM. The captain came on to update us and let us know that conditions were improving slightly and we would be attempting to change course in a few moments. He advised everyone to sit if they were standing because we would be making a turn to the port side. Apparently somewhere around this time is when the wave hit. My wife and I could not remember any different feeling than the battering that we had felt all night, but soon after there was a “Code Alpha” call over the PA. We didn’t know what it was at the time, but apparently this was because of the damage and water situation on decks 9 and 10 forward.

 

Through a series of announcements without any mentioning of damage, we were told that we were changing course again due to the rough seas and would be getting more information soon. Eventually we were told about the damage and then were told that were changing course to head towards SC until another decision would be made. After a conference call with Miami, the captain came on again around 1PM and told us we would be heading into Charleston to fix the damage. We sailed into Charleston around 5:30PM.

We sailed out around midnight. During our time in Charleston we received another letter stating that we would be receiving a 50% credit for our cruise and an equal amount in a voucher good towards a future cruise ( and also open bar after 5PM) . Seas were still rough on Sunday, approximately 20’ again, but I think we were just used to it by then.

 

Summary: This was our first cruise with our baby and it definitely was a much different experience. Our days started earlier and ended earlier so we got to experience our cruise in a much different way. Despite the storm, we had a great time, ate a lot of good food, and what made our cruise was the staff. As others have previously commented, the Dawn crew is almost overly friendly and always are going out of there way to say hello, carry a tray, or just make sure you are satisfied. I feel no need to get into the itinerary change and all the other complaints, because I think those subjects have been sufficiently covered in all of the other *interesting* threads.

[EmJakeBubbie]

tnx f/the honest e-report - njoy'd your webshots, as well. heard on the a.m. news several (many?) cruisers have "rushed" to their lawyers....it sounds to me as though NCL is to be applauded for the compensation(s) and for returning "all hands" back to dry land!

luv NCL "Freestyle", even tho I have "status" on other lines....just irks me to read negative stuff about any sailing as a vacation is what one makes of it, yes? always and all ways ....cruisers are well advised to read the "fine print" in the back of the brochure, as well, on their cruise contract:cool: p.s. you have a one-year old *star* on your hands ;) kudos on your little one:)

[EmJakeBubbie]

misery luvs company, so it is said...you saw the pix on the Grandeur????