With a new day comes a new Dawn ..... and the Suite life 6/1/12- 6/8/12

[Zimomiller]

As the Dawn Turns -- Friday 6/1/12

 

When we last checked in, it was Friday afternoon, post boarding, post cabin photo tour, pre mustard drill time on the Dawn.

 

Time for a correction: In my previous post I mentioned that I took photos from deck thirteen looking down on the port side SD balconies for suites 12520, 12522, 12524, 12526, 12528. The actual suite numbers in order were 12520, 12522, 12526, 12528 and 12530. There is no 12524.

 

Just before the mustard drill our 7 full size luggage bags started showing up outside of our door. One of the many suite perks is that you get priority luggage tags and they really work. Just like last year on the POA we had all our luggage unpacked and bags stowed before we left port. Mom was tired but happy.

 

The mustard drill was probably the shortest we can remember. We traipsed down to the Stardust Theater, grabbed seats a few rows from the door and waited a very short period of time before the announcements were made. Heck, there was hardly any time for me to annoy my family while I took our mandatory mustard drill photos. Just like that we were free to go. I bolted. So did my son but he managed to trip and land face first on the steps much to the delight of his sisters and a few fellow cruisers including me. Heh heh.

 

Caesar our Butler stopped by the room to say Hi again and see if we needed anything. A good sign. He would come in handy a few time during the week. My first request was a bowl of fresh lemons as I need to drink a few ounces of lemon juice daily. I think he thought I was nuts. But I will do anything to prevent a return of kidney stones,

 

The Dawn was stationed starboard side to the dock facing forward (west) when we boarded which meant that when we left port we backed out.

 

And then "as the Dawn turned" on a dime we headed out to sea. It was a bright cool day to start with and it became dawn right chilly as we left port. Unfortunately, this was a sign of things to come.

 

After watching the Port of Boston slip away I wandered the decks for a while observing many of my fellow cruiser's leaving port rituals, most of which included copious amounts of alcohol and happy dances.

 

I went back to the suite, grabbed my twin 19 year olds, their passports and my ID and we went to guest services to fill out the forms that allowed them to drink beer and wine on board. I knew we would be getting a lot of complimentary wine so I wanted everyone to be ready. Seems kind of silly in retrospect as unless they were trying to buy it for themselves, no one gave a darn what they were drinking. ( Note: This was a perfect time to go as the registration desk was devoid of passengers with issues)

 

I started my own pre dinner ritual for this cruise by changing for dinner at 6 (the wife insists on slacks and shirts for the boys at dinner) and then heading down to my favorite bar for the cruise, Gatsby's, where I was greeted by a bartendress that made me feel right at home by the name of Magdalena. After a few dirty Grey Goose martinis and a cigar in the cigar lounge I met the family at 7 PM at our first cruise dinner at Cagney's .

 

Note: I set up dinner reservations as close to 7PM as I could get every evening. Virginia had all our confirms for the week in a letter waiting for us when we returned to our suite after dinner. The schedule for the week was:

 

Friday Cagney's 7

Saturday Le Bistro 6:45

Sunday Teppanyaki 7:15

Monday Sushi 7

Tuesday La Cucina 7

Wednesday Cagney's 7

Thursday Le Bistro 7

 

Yeah, we were in a dining rut repeating our favs, but hey with 10 free dinners at Le Bistro and $750 of OBC to spend, dining was a great place to start spending.

 

Cagney's on boarding day has become a tradition for family on NCL. I am always stunned at how empty all the specialty restaurants are on boarding day. Only Teppanyaki with it's very small capacity was even close to capacity.

 

NCL has a coupon that we got on Facebook that granted you a bottle of house wine for every 2 cruisers that made specialty dining ressies. (Note: They actually had a full page version of this coupon in the daily at boarding) We ended up upgrading to a nice White Zin and a Pinot Noir. Needless to say dinner was great and a bit hazy as no one drank the red except me.

 

I was surprised that my son passed on lobster tail add on at dinner. I began to worry about him.

 

The service was attentive and the food terrific as expected, my 10 oz filet a perfect medium rare complimented by all my sides of shrooms, creamed spinach, ug rotten potatoes and bernaise sauce. Somehow we all managed to find a dessert to finish our dinner with before we departed.

 

Post dinner the family headed to the suite to relax while I headed to my fortress of solitude (aka cigar lounge) to enjoy post dinner libations and a cigar or two before wandering through the casino to see what was happening.

 

I have a hard and fast rule that I never gamble on the first day of a cruise as I have found being tired from a travel day plays havoc with the mental sharpness needed to play BJ and craps. OK, so my travel day was only a 13 minute cab ride, today it was the alcohol that kept me a silent observer in the casino.

 

Upon my return to our suite, I stopped worrying about my son as there were several empty plates on the table with lobster shells devoid of lobster. (I think 5) Apparently he remembered a cruise on the Jewel 5 years ago when I had the Butler bring us half a dozen lobster tails for a pre dinner appetizer. He called Caesar and had his lobstahs for dessert on the Dawn.

 

Yup, the suite life was well underway.

 

Apparently I missed the drama and jousting between the 3 kids as they determined who got which of the 2 double beds, one that was a couch by day and the other that became a wall. These sleeping arrangements changed nightly the first few nights before settling into a comfortable compromise after a few Sumo matches.....

 

I must say that we were all very comfortable on the beds in the suite. The California King that Mom and I shared was huge and left plenty of room for us and our three labs. I was really glad the labs were not with us though.

 

Little did I know that I would regret those thoughts later in the week.

 

Tomorrow - A day at sea with wind & waves & rain <repeat>

[Chesneygirl]

I've been looking forward to this review all week!

Can't wait for the next installment!! :)

[McDebbie]

Nice 1st day review! I had no idea about getting the lobster tails in the suite, will remember that for October!

[Zimomiller]

A day at sea in the wind and rain and waves on the Dawn - 6/2/12

 

To say that Saturday on the Dawn was a rainout is fairly accurate.

 

Outdoor activities were just not possible, especially for anyone that wanted to catch some rays and enjoy the weather.

 

If you wanted to be pelted with rain and constantly buffeted by the wind, anywhere on deck or the balconies was the place for you.

 

It would have been a good day to have an aft facing balcony. The seas were not particularly rough, just lots of swells and waves that made walking about a bit more difficulty for our sober fellow passengers. ( I find that alcohol makes it much easier to get about in heavy seas.)

 

Everyone in our cabin but myself decided to sleep in. As bad as the weather was it sure was nice to have the wall of floor to ceiling windows in our suite. You could make an instant assessment of what was going on outside by rolling over and barely opening your eyes.

 

I got up at 9 and headed for my first breakfast at Cagney's. The suite perk of having Cagney's available for dining for breakfast and lunch for suite guests is one of my favorites. I really dislike the hustle, bustle and chaos that the buffets can bring. The service was polite and leisurely as expected and it was a great start for my day.

 

At 10:30 I headed to the Star Bar where our meet and greet was scheduled. We had a decent turn out and the captain, hotel director and all the important department heads were there promptly to make introductions and chat with us. A very nice effort on their parts considering they have very busy schedules. There were no earth shattering revelations or questions asked. Probably the most disappointing information was that the weather was going to suck all the way to Bermuda and not clear until late Sunday am.

 

Upon my return to our suite I discovered a bunch of lazy derelicts still asleep.

 

The second thing I noticed was that our a/c was still not working correctly. The room was still too warm considering we had the a/c at it's lowest setting from the minute we occupied the room. Apparently our request for service the previous day was unsuccessful. I found our room steward and then Virginia our concierge and lodged further complaints for them to follow up on.

 

The rest of the day for me was spent wandering and exploring the Dawns decks, taking frequent breaks to visit the bar and the cigar lounge punctuated by a few sessions of BJ in the casino. The family eventually arose, vacated the suite for cleaning and made their merry way to lunch and whatever else they decided to do for the day.

 

Dinner that evening was at Le Bistro, one of our favorites on NCL.

 

We all arrived promptly at 6:45 and enjoyed our first wonderful free meal with complimentary wine. One of the Platinum perks is a dinner for 2 and a free bottle of wine at Le Bistro.

 

The French onion soup is one of my favorites but their mushroom soup is a close rival. I believe everyone but my eldest daughter dined on very well prepared filets. Then dessert. If you have never had the chocolate fondue in Le Bistro, we highly recommend it. We received 2 orders for 2 to share and I had their wonderful creme brulee.

 

Upon return to our room we found a note that someone had been there to work on the a/c. Unfortunately it was very easy to see that nothing had changed. There was a cold draft departing the a/c vents in the ceiling but 0 air pressure. I would have to follow up on this tomorrow once again.

 

We found that we could cool off our cabin quickly by opening the balcony door and then the door to the hall, but that was a nuisance and did not help at night, although we did sleep with the balcony door open both of the first 2 nights.

 

Our family has never been all that entertainment focused on cruises but our sailing on the Epic in August 2010 was very different considering all the many great entertainment venues that are on the Epic. This changed what we look forward to on a cruise and I must say that the general post cruise consensus in our tribe was that the entertainment was lacking on the Dawn. Others may disagree of course as this is very subjective.

 

After a few cigars and martinis and many hands of BJ in the casino I eventually returned to a rather subdued suite full of occupants focused on watching DVDs and reading books. We are just not party animals and it shows.

 

Tomorrow would be another day full of excitement and things to do as Bermuda lay waiting and we had a private tour guide scheduled to be there upon our arrival.

[david_sobe]

Great start

Cant wait for the rest

I did check out your suite pictures that are very nice. It appears the suite was just updated or something because everything looked new.

[Zimomiller]

Great start

Cant wait for the rest

I did check out your suite pictures that are very nice. It appears the suite was just updated or something because everything looked new.

 

Last fall the Dawn completed a conversion of the Spinnaker lounge to an area with family suites and conference rooms. They are still brand spanking new

[helen haywood]

Please come back and finish your review! I've so enjoyed your writing style. I am thinking about trying a suite on Dawn next year and am particularly interested in what you have to say. Please?

[medicalma'am]

Agree 110%! Please come back!

[jdvmd]

Great reading! Keep it comiing!

[david_sobe]

We dont want to sound pushy......but dont leave us hanging ;)

[Zimomiller]

We dont want to sound pushy......but dont leave us hanging ;)

 

Sorry for the delay.

 

I have been quite busy since our return and unable to devote time to recollecting and writing my review with the appropriate amount of detail and effort that I have been accustomed to.

 

My next installment will follow shortly.

[Zimomiller]

Bermuda here we come 6/3/12

 

We went to sleep every evening leaving the floor to ceiling windows in our suite unblocked by draperies in the hope that the arrival of light would awaken us. Hah, fat chance.

 

My stomach woke me up promptly Sunday at 8:45 am. Apparently it was well aware the Cagney's was open and waiting for us to arrive for breakfast. The suite was full of light but there was no other evidence of life or movement beyond my own.

 

After a quick shower I made a feeble attempt to see if any other members of the snooze cruise bunch wanted to join me. They did not, which was made evident by their total lack of response other than to roll over or grunt.

 

I expected Cagney's to be a hot bed of activity when I arrived at 9:15 as we were due to arrive in Bermuda in a couple hours. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not busy and I dined in a quiet unrushed peace.

 

Afterwards I took a quick walk around the pool deck to see what was up and there was a bit of activity but it was still rather quiet as the sky was a bit overcast but at least there was no rain.

 

I returned to the suite to play the bad guy and I made as much noise and accidentally rolled a few people out of bed. Heh heh.

 

Eventually everyone crawled to the bathroom and got ready while I packed up the days supplies to take with us ashore as we were going exploring.

 

I took time to contact Virginia our concierge to again to point out that our air conditioning was not functioning at an appropriate and comfortable level. She assured me that she would have someone there to work on it after we left for the afternoon.

 

We hung out on our balcony as the Dawn came into port. We docked port side to the dock which gave us a birds eye view of the docking and dockside activities. This has always been one of the most exciting times on any cruise for me.

 

Promptly at noon I pulled out my cell phone to call Colin Jennings to see where he was in proximity to the Dawn. We had come across his name here on CC when reviewing previous cruise reviews and I had contacted him via email to arrange for him to meet us at noon to take us on a 5 hour island tour. He was about 15 minutes away. ( I learned this trick years ago on cruises and it has paid dividends ever since, especially when we sailed the Mediterranean on the Jade and the POA in Hawaii) )

 

I imitated a Border Collie as I herded the family out of the suite and grabbed the day bag I had packed with all the goodies I could anticipate we would need and off we went to shore.

 

We sauntered down the dock enjoying the feel of land beneath our feet again and found a bench in the taxi pick up zone to wait at.

 

A few minutes later we met Colin, staked out our spaces in his van and we were off.

 

I highly recommend Colin for a Bermuda tour. We had a great time with him. He is easy to talk to, unrushed and a very proud Bermudan. We spent the next 5 hours on a leisurely road tour from one end of Bermuda to the other and back. We stopped at many different historic and scenic sights for pictures, quick tours as well as a bit of narration. Colin has a spacious, modern, clean van that accommodated the 5 of us with ease. The price paid for this tour was $300, and we were very satisfied. (No tip asked for or expected)

 

The weather was much improved and downright sunny and glorious all afternoon.

 

We returned to the dockyard a little after 530 and made our way back to the Dawn.

 

As we approached the building on the dock that we had to pass through and show our IDs we heard a lot of loud music that was coming from the other side of the building near the Dawn.

 

As we walked out on the other side of the building we were greeted by the ship's entertainment staff line dancing to popular music, handing out cold wet hand cloths, ice water to drink and exchanging towels.

 

It was quite unique, fun and energizing to say the least!

 

We returned to the ship and hung out in the suite and on our balcony. It was great fun to watch the reactions of our fellow returning passengers as they encountered the dockside festivities on their return. It was so cute to watch people join in the fun and dance along as well. I will upload my pics and videos soon.

 

Upon our return I found a note from the maintenance staff indicating that they had taken the ceiling down and worked on the A/C and successfully repaired the problem. This was finally confirmed in the next few hours as Mom complained loudly that she was too cold and for someone to turn the A/C back up.

 

AHHHH, it was finally feeling like a normal cruise. If I don't get bitched out a few times a day on a cruise because Mom is cold I know that the A/C is not working or that we need to take Mom to the infirmary.(My son and I have sailed in a separate cabin from the girls many times so that we can turn it into a meat locker temperature wise)

 

I quickly showered and dressed in slacks and a nice shirt per the wife's orders and headed off to Gatsby's for some libations and then the cigar bar for a quick cigar with my drinks. Dinner was at Teppenyaki at 715 and I was looking forward to it.

 

The family arrived promptly at the entrance to the Asian, Sushi and Teppenyaki restaurants which was located one deck directly above my bar and cigar haven. It is always a surprise when they arrive on time for dinner as they invariably take a few misguided detours on the trek to dinner.

 

We have dined in the Teppenyaki restaurants on the Jewel, Jade, Epic, Pride and now the Dawn. We were not disappointed as the service was quick and efficient and the chef fun and attentive. I asked for a sushi menu and ordered a rainbow roll as an appetizer as we waited for our dinner event to begin. A few of our fellow diners remarked that they did not know that they could do that and also ordered some sushi apps.

 

I ordered a combo of Filet and Lobster for dinner, even though it was not a listed option. The menu never offers this but I have been successful with this order every time.

 

We had a great time and dined in an unrushed fashion while enjoying the chef's antics.

 

When the Chef was done serving he asked if he could do anything else for us.

 

Not being shy, I said "MORE LOBSTAH" in my recently acquired Bawston drawl.

 

He called out to the wait staff and suddenly there were another 4 lobstah tails being cut up and cooked in front of us. My son and I and one of our new found friends at dinner polished off the extras quickly.

 

I staggered away from dinner in my lobstah coma and headed down to the bar for another drink or 2 and a good cigar while the family returned to the suite to watch DVDs and read.

 

We are a quiet group. The beds in our suite got a work out this cruise, but not in the way they probably were accustomed to......

 

The casino and shops are closed while in port so I spent the remainder of my evening roaming the decks, making sure I was well hydrated and testing the smoke removal capacity of the cigar bar where I met a bunch of the casino staff enjoying drinks and cigars before they headed off to the island for a night of revelry. They were thrilled to point out that the Dawn and her Bermuda itinerary allowed them 2 days off each week. Obviously a great luxury that they fully took advantage of.

 

Tomorrow we planned to find a beach to hang at and soak up the local sun, fun and sights.

 

I have no idea when I returned to our suite to crash.

 

It just didn't matter.

 

That is one of the many reasons it is so much fun to cruise.

[Chesneygirl]

Thank you so much for this next installment!! :)

I am looking forward to the next one....

[Zimomiller]

Here is the link to the Webshots gallery containing our pictures and videos from our Bermuda tour 6/3/12

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/583045338dUVRdu

[jvsnana]

As the Dawn Turns -- Friday 6/1/12

 

I was surprised that my son passed on lobster tail add on at dinner. I began to worry about him.

 

 

Upon my return to our suite, I stopped worrying about my son as there were several empty plates on the table with lobster shells devoid of lobster. (I think 5) Apparently he remembered a cruise on the Jewel 5 years ago when I had the Butler bring us half a dozen lobster tails for a pre dinner appetizer. He called Caesar and had his lobstahs for dessert on the Dawn.

 

Ok…gotta ask…were the lobsters from Cagney's and was there a cost associated with them?

[Zimomiller]

Ok…gotta ask…were the lobsters from Cagney's and was there a cost associated with them?

 

It was lobster night in the main dining room. The butler just went to the main dining room and brought back a plate full of tails. No cost, covered in the tip at the end of the week.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

It was lobster night in the main dining room. The butler just went to the main dining room and brought back a plate full of tails. No cost, covered in the tip at the end of the week.

Great information and idea ;) Now is there a normal night of the week that is Lobster night in the Main Dining Room. Such as is it night 2 or is it the Formal or NOT night? And isn't that normally night 2?

[Zimomiller]

Great information and idea ;) Now is there a normal night of the week that is Lobster night in the Main Dining Room. Such as is it night 2 or is it the Formal or NOT night? And isn't that normally night 2?

 

I believe the night for lobster in the main dining rooms fleetwide is now the first night of the cruise.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I believe the night for lobster in the main dining rooms fleetwide is now the first night of the cruise.

Thanks so much, it has been two years since we were on the Pearl and for our 7 day cruise there was no Lobster night :( But this might work out perfect since our tradition with NCL has always been to to Teppanyaki the very first night, so this could just enhance the evening ;)

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying the review of your cruise. Look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Edited July 3, 2012 by PathfinderEss

[jvsnana]

It was lobster night in the main dining room. The butler just went to the main dining room and brought back a plate full of tails. No cost, covered in the tip at the end of the week.

Great tip…thanks:) It's amazing how much we glean from CC and folks who post reviews like you! A new tradition is born:p

[San888]

New to the cruise scene, really enjoying this post.

 

As we will be sailing July 20th on our first cruise can't tell you how much this is helping me understand the process.

 

Can't wait to the next post!!!

[helen haywood]

Please come back! I want to hear more!

[nathand95]

Your review is awesome! I like that your review is actually funny, unlike many others who try so hard to be funny, but just aren't. Oh well! I keep reading it in a Boston accent too! I can't wait to read the rest!

 

Quick question: You mentioned that your kids could drink when they are 19. Where they limited on what they could drink, or could they drink anything? I'll be 18 when I sail next and I just want to know what I can expect. (My parents will sign off on any papers they need to.)

[Zimomiller]

Your review is awesome! I like that your review is actually funny, unlike many others who try so hard to be funny, but just aren't. Oh well! I keep reading it in a Boston accent too! I can't wait to read the rest!

 

Quick question: You mentioned that your kids could drink when they are 19. Where they limited on what they could drink, or could they drink anything? I'll be 18 when I sail next and I just want to know what I can expect. (My parents will sign off on any papers they need to.)

 

Thanks, I keep trying to type in a Bahstun accent buht it is hard.

 

NCL allows guests 19-20 to buy and consume beer and wine on board if a parent has signed an authorization form. At age 18 you will still need to rely on Mom and Dad to supply your alcohol, unless you are sailing from an internationalPort where the drinking age is younger.