5/1/05 Dawn Review--CHUNKS!

[greenie]

CHUNK #1

There’s so much I want to cover and so many questions I want to answer, that I decided the only way to do it (and get at least some of it posted in time for next week’s cruisers) is to do it by “chunks.” I know that some parts of this review will be colored by the fact that we were in an Owner’s Suite and so got a lot of perks. And that some aspects of the cruise were maybe a little easier as a result. But most aspects of the review—like food, restaurants, shows, activities, etc—are the same for everyone. Just with different preferences, tastes and points of view. OK, so here we go …

 

Embarkation I have to start slightly before arriving at the NYC terminal. The BF (henceforth known as Joe) and I had booked a car service to send a sedan to bring us from central NJ to the terminal. We’d requested a 10:30 AM pick-up. At about 9:50 AM, I went outside to move my car from a choice up-front parking space to a space way far away. (I did not want to hog a good space if my car was just going to sit for a week. Kinda like poolside lounge-chair hogs, but that’s later in the story, hee.) As I walked back to the entrance of the building, a car drove slowly by me. A black car. A long shiny black car. A long, shiny, black stretch limo car! Wow! Wonder who THAT’S for. Back in my apartment, I told Joe about it. “You don’t think … well, that can’t be for US, can it?” “Nah”, he said, “I doubt it. Besides it’s 40 minutes early.” It had left anyway so whatever. 20 minutes later I looked out my bedroom door and there it was, looming in the parking lot right outside. A gleaming black behemoth, quietly purring.

 

Joe went outside and came back in with the report that he’d spoken with “Frank” (the driver), and it was indeed for us! They had a pick-up booked after they dropped us off and a stretch limo had been requested by the return fare.

 

Unbelievable ride! I was almost embarrassed, I mean come on. I hate stretch limos, they’re stoopid and they guzzle gas. I will admit it. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was brand new and had a long curving gray leather couch up one side and across the front, in addition to the “regular” gray leather benchseat we shared. A TV, bar, stereo, all kinds of buttons and controls. Awesome.

 

What a great way to start our adventure!

 

We left at 10:25 and were dropped off at the pier about 11:15 or so, can’t remember. The road to the drop-off wasn’t that bad—it was crowded, but things were moving. We never had to sit in one place really. Once dropped off, we stood there in the throng of people—mostly those coming off the Dawn and spilling out of the elevators with pier workers pushing those rolling luggage things stacked with bags and suitcases.

 

We were totally confused as to what to do. Neither of us had ever been to the NYC pier. We didn’t know where to go exactly, had too much luggage to handle ourselves, and could find no free porters. After a good 20 minutes we finally found a free porter and basically asked him what to do! I suggested to NCL on the final comment card that they consider having at least 1 rep outside to point people in the right direction. As I look at it now, I realize that having done it once, I’d have no problem the next time. But for first-timers to the pier, I think that is very needed. It was stressful.

 

For first-timers: What you do is get a porter to load your luggage on one of those dollies. Give him your luggage tags or fill out some he will give you (along with a pen, so that’s handy) Right there, where you get dropped off, are 2 freight elevators. People will be coming out of them on a regular basis. You squeeze on one and then turn around because at level 2 the doors on the opposite side open and out you go into the main terminal. There was an NCL rep straight ahead, not too far inside. We stopped and asked where the VIP waiting area was because we think we’re supposed to go there. He said that our tickets would be stamped “VIP” and if they aren’t, then we don’t get to use that waiting area. I told him that we had a suite and had been told we could. That we had e-documents and there was no indication of VIP. He basically repeated what he’d said and, slightly impatiently pointed the way (straight back) to where the signs for VIP were. Told us to talk to someone there. Now mind you, we were very polite about the whole thing, not pushy or aggressive. He wasn’t real nice and didn’t know much, I don’t think. Straight back, past the restrooms on the right, are steps on the left going to the upper level with signs pointing up the stairs saying “Latitudes Members” and “VIP”. I went up there to check (Joe stayed downstairs with out kazillion pieces of carry-on luggage in case it was a no-go. There was an all-business lady standing at the top. I asked her the same thing and said we didn’t have a stamp, but I think we are supposed to be allowed here. She said—kind of snottily—“Well, we tell by the CABIN NUMBERS whether you can be here.” Ew. She looked at our tickets, saw the cabin number, and suddenly became all nice and sweet and helpful. Again I say, EW. But fine, we were “allowed in” so I called down to Joe who hauled all the kazillion pieces of carry-on up the stairs, God bless his work-horse self!

 

A nice area—coffee, muffins, rolls, people walking around with trays of muffins and sandwiches. Same as downstairs I believe. We sat there awhile. Suddenly this guy walks up to me and says “Greenie??” I said, “Yes!” He says with a big grin, “It’s Andy!!” (SamTheBooKitty from our roll-call) He introduced his wonderful GF Adrienne and the 4 of us sat around chatting. It was so nice to have already met 2 people and know at the CC meeting we’d know someone!

 

Around 12:15 (Andy, that about right?) we were told to go downstairs to begin our check-in. The VIP line was a long one, but we moved along at a good pace. I already reported on the mess-up with the person who (supposedly) checked us in. She did not know what she was doing, it became clear. Then when we got to the next step, final entrance person told us we didn’t have the proper papers from the first person and for several minutes refused to believe us when we insisted the only paper we were given and told we needed was the one we had. We finally got that straightened out and onto the Dawn we went!

 

Stay tuned for Part 2—Joe’s Owner’s Suite Birthday Surprise!

[greenie]

The Owner’s Suite

 

Once onboard there were NCL staff at various places (by elevators, around corners, etc) to direct you to where your cabin is. We went up to the 9th Deck and walked down the mile of colorful hallway to the very bow of the ship. That is, BTW, how we got regular exercise—that baby is one looooong ship and we hiked the length of it many times every day to get back and forth to/from our cabin. We were happy for the exercise, too. But if you have trouble walking a lot, I suggest you book midship.

 

As we approached our cabin #9506, our 2 stewards Myelin and Noah were in the hall. They greeted us, introduced themselves and welcomed us aboard. As a side note: they were wonderful stewards. They kept that suite spotless and welcoming and were very sweet and friendly. They worked very hard and I’d like to send kudos their way.

 

I took my keycard out and put it in the door, telling Joe he had to go in first. He had a little BD surprise in the cabin. He went in and I followed (so excited!). At first what he saw were the lovely BD decorations I had ordered—balloons, streamers, a big cake, confetti. Then he actually noticed his surroundings and “WOW!!!!” was his reaction. “WOW!!!” was his second reaction. We hugged and danced around, then excitedly explored. We were so impressed and so excited to get to spend a week there! Again, WOW!!!

 

The décor was gorgeous—opulent (and I mean in lovely taste), rich colors, kind of jewel tones, lots of beautiful gleaming wood. Modern furniture, but comfortable. There was a balcony straight ahead with a table and 4 chairs. This side balcony was accessed by way of 2 sets of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. One set straight ahead from the entrance off the living area, one set to the right off the dining area. There was a small but beautifully appointed powder room by the door to the suite. A big plasma TV, flowers, chilling French champagne, a plate of treats … on and on. Our bar set-up was waiting for us on the dining table. We had a bar area with a variety of beverage nice (crystal?) glasses, drawers, shelves, and a refrigerator packed with soda and Pellegrino water (all of which were, as it turned out, unlimited).

 

On into the bedroom. In the entryway of the bedroom was a sitting area with a desk (and a laptop on it) and a beautiful chair with a matching footstool. The bed was a kingsize football field covered in GORGEOUS furnishings and lovely richly colored artwork on the wall. There was a mirrored thing on the ceiling over the bed—that sounds tacky but believe me it was beautiful. Squares of mirror surrounded by a border of amber tiles that were backlit. Incredible. And only kinky if you wanted it to be, hehe. A big picture window next to a door (behind which was the bulkhead door). We opened the door, then the big heavy bulkhead and went out on the front balcony (the sort you see in the Webcam). There were two cushioned loungechairs with blue & white beach towels folded on them.

The bathroom … oh the bathroom … I loved that bathroom. To the right as you enter is a walk-in closet with a vanity (with mirror and blowdryer, glass jars of cotton balls and q-tips, 3 small drawers for toiletries or what have you. The 2 safes were in there, as was one long clothing rod with fold-down things to be used as shelves if you wanted (but if you folded them down you couldn’t really hang clothes). Also a folded-up pants presser. There were 3 medium drawers under the safe and 2 other open surfaces to put things. It may sound like a lot of clothing storage space, but other than the clothing rod, the drawer space was limited. Not a complaint—just a critique. We did find a bunch of shelves/drawers in the living room (like in the bar area and another wall thingie). I stored our cameras, phones, CDs, etc out there—it wasn’t too convenient storing clothing out there though. There was no real “dresser” type furniture—the bedroom had 2 bedtables with a lower shelf and one drawer each.

 

Back to the bathroom. On the left when you come in is the toilet with a glass door. Next is the whirlpool bath with a plasma screen TV on the wall at one end and a window that looks out to the smaller balcony. I used that tub several times and so did Joe (not at the same time, though, it wasn’t big enough). There was a nice long counter with 2 sinks and a basket of L’Occitane soap, lotion, shampoo, etc etc that I basically emptied everyday that stuff is WONDERFUL. I hope they didn’t think I was too much of a pig … I just couldn’t get enough of it!

 

The shower was AWESOME. And definitely big enough for 2. It had a big adjustable showerhead plus another of the sort you can lift out of its holder. Plus 2 jets (?) or sprayers about hip-height (for someone 5’ 4” at least) that you could turn on or off as desired. What an experience a shower was in that suite—we both took a lot of showers too!

 

I think that covers the suite … any questions let me know.

 

[greenie]

For all the loyal few waiting for the next chunk to drop!

 

The Food, The Meals, and Where We Ate Them

 

I decided to bypass the subjects of concierge and butler. Partly because we had a not-so-great experience with the butler initially assigned to our suite and I don’t want to dwell on that. It doesn’t matter any more because having a butler turned out to be a superior experience for us from Wednesday on (our wonderful concierge realized things could be a lot better in that area and he gave us the best—Corina!). I also figured more people would be interested in reading review info about, well, the food. Meals. Eats. And where the eats were ate.

 

Room Service

We ordered room service several times and loved it. Being in a suite, I realize we were able to order from a more extensive menu, but since that’s all I experienced, that’s what I can comment on. We never did order from any of the specialty restaurants. I kind of forgot about that, but that’s probably because for a 7-day cruise we had plenty of other options to keep us more than happy.

 

I wish I could answer the question of whether you still pay the surcharge for orders from a specialty restaurant, but I can’t. It is my guess, though, that we would not have been charged if we had let our concierge know we were planning on doing that and if we had indicated we’d appreciate not having to pay extra. It would have seemed to me to be a bit greedy and cheap to do that so I would not have. I look at it as, if you don’t wanna pay the $15, don’t order the food. I realize many will disagree, and I respect a different take on it, but that’s how it would be for me. Then again, I’m one of those poor fools that bring it to a cashier’s attention when I’ve been given too much change, so what do I know!

 

Anyway, we had room service breakfast 3 times. You fill out your breakfast order and hang it on your door by 4:00 am. The poor butlers, I guess they have to get up at 4:00 in the morning to wander the hallways looking for any possible last-minute breakfast menus on the suites’ doorknobs …

Joe being the plan-food-ahead-as-much-as-possible type, we had our breakfast order out hanging on the doorknob by the time we went to dinner the night before. Two of those 3 times, I ordered Eggs Benedict (thank you to the person(s) who posted the tip that you could order things not on the butler room service menu)! THEY WERE GOOD, too. And of course, low in fat and calories. The food was always hot when it was supposed to be.

 

TIP: They have THE most delicious hash browns! They have them at the breakfast buffet, or if you have a suite/butler, just write ‘em in on your breakfast order.

 

The only time we ordered dinner to be served in our room was on Monday night, “lobster night” as it’s known. I was not feeling well—I had a migraine and felt mildly seasick but I was darned if I was going to miss out on the lobster! I love lobster! The only thing disappointing about the meal was the fact that it was brought to us all at once and as a result some things didn’t stay at their best (like the drawn butter). You might ask, “Well, did you ASK to have it served by course?” The answer is no. This was our first experience with a butler, we weren’t really sure what we could/should expect yet and, as the butler hadn’t done too much to take care of us up to that point, we didn’t really think about asking until it was too late.

 

The lobster was terrific. Sweet, tender, juicy … yummmmmmmmm. I had read often on these boards that they are small so order at least 3. I ordered 3 and actually couldn’t finish the 3rd one. So I don’t know—I tend to get semi-filled up just having an appetizer, so maybe that’s why. But I loved the lobster! Again: YUM.

 

On Wednesday evening Joe and I had a few people over for drinks. I’d remembered Shoreguy’s tip about talking to the butler (by this point, Corina) about putting together some party snacks from the room service menu, it’s free that way and the selection is pretty good. Corina brought us wonderful food platters—little sandwiches, crudites and spinach dip (really good, too), cheeses and crackers. We were thinking of having pizza too, cut up into small pieces. Corina did not bring that before the party because it would get cold (see? A great butler!) and asked me just to give her a call after people had arrived and when we were ready. It ended up we didn’t need it—the platters were fantastic and enough in themselves. I took pictures and will post them when I get the pics all sorted. The table and coffee table looked quite lovely and very festive.

 

Restaurants

Let me say up front, that our takes on the restaurants/menus are probably not going to be the norm. Joe does not eat any meat or any seafood. I eat poultry, but no other meat. I love shellfish and like tuna and mild white fish (like sole or haddock) and that’s about it for seafood. So our options were sometimes fairly limited. This is true on any cruise line because the menus tend to have only a handful of entrée selections.

 

Le Bistro

We went to Le Bistro on embarkation night—decided to use the 50% offer (first 2 nights). Carlos our concierge made all our dinner reservations for us and we always seemed to be sitting at a table in a great location, so I’m figuring it was due to him that we were. (Thank you, Carlos!) Le Bistro is kind of small—smaller than I imagined anyway. It is really pretty, intimate, and elegant in an un-snobby way. I loved it. Do you know (I am still thrilled about this!), I was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO a Monet painting! And directly across from a Renoir! Two of my favorite artists! OMG, I had goosebumps then, and I have them now just thinking about it. I know not everyone cares that much. When I pointed them out to Joe, he turned his head to look at them, said (and meant), “That’s cool!” and then back to his dinner his attentions went. But I kept looking at the two pieces of incredible art and inwardly sighing throughout my meal.

 

The asparagus with hollandaise sauce: delicious.

 

Cream of mushroom soup: awesome (and very thick/rich)

 

Onion Soup: Joe decided to be wild & crazy and ordered it (knowing it had beef stock in it) and he said it was very good,

 

Bread: OK, nothing special

 

Vegetarian selection: Joe loved it, I tried it and wished I’d gotten that too

 

Chicken with prawn mousse: The thick slices of chicken were plentiful—way more than I could eat—and very tender and juicy. But the shrimp mousse in the middle I didn’t like. I was afraid I wouldn’t, but I ordered it anyway because that was the only thing on the menu (other than what Joe ordered) that was something I eat. It was just my own taste thing—I think the dish was probably prepared really well and other people will love it. I just don’t like anything that tastes like shrimp unless it’s a shrimp. You know what I mean? It’s just a taste quirk of mine. Like, I love the flavor of clams, but ICK clams themselves are nasty to me, so baked stuffed clams and clam chowder are good, clams in their shells I don’t even want to look at too closely. Hey! We all have our oddities!

 

We ordered an Australian chardonnay (forget the name)—it was terrific. I want to find out what it was and buy it again (it was about $22 on the menu, if anyone wants to be extremely nice and look into it for me when you look at a wine menu ).

 

The service was excellent. Carlos stopped by our table to check on us, as he did every night that he knew where we were. I thought that was pretty cool. Had 2 or 3 officer/manager types stop by briefly too or just walk thru the restaurant smiling/nodding at people.

 

Joe and I ordered the chocolate fondue for dessert. There was no way I was NOT going to order that. The ship could have been sinking and I would have ordered it.

 

I suggested that we share one. Joe looked at me like I was insane (which I guess I was, for a moment there) and ordered one for each of us. Good thing, because I would have stuck my dessert fork in his hand if he'd tried to eat any of my half!

 

That stuff was heaven. That's all it was--a slice of heaven. I wished so much I could find a way to stick my head in the bowl and be polite about it--I wanted to lick that bowl clean of every last drop! But I restrained myself.

 

Kind of sorry I did, now ...

 

 

 

I write way too much detail, I’m sorry. I can’t seem to be brief! I’ll have to stop now and pick up later—more to come on restaurants. From Blah Blah Blah Greenie.

[greenie]

kerBLAM * (chunk dropping …)

Salsas

 

We ate at Salsas twice. The first time, on Wednesday, we weren’t all that hungry as we’d just had people over and had snacked on party treats. But this was a cruise, we had had our concierge make us reservations, this was a cruise (did I say that already) and so, you know-- you eat. Even when you aren’t as hungry as you should be before you take in yet more calories—you eat another meal, another snack. That’s the way of things and don’t you forget it.

 

We were given a lovely table by the windows, the last in the row so we had some privacy and quiet, which was kind of nice. Salsas is really pretty. The ceilings are gorgeous stain-glass (I think that would be what it’s called), and the restaurant circles the opening to the atrium the floor below. You can people watch from some tables, or watch the ocean from others. The trio that plays at the Atrium in the evening stands on kind of a balcony between the 2 levels. I liked their music—sometimes a bit Wedding Band-y but a lot of old popular tunes (my generation mostly) and very often done sounding amazingly like the originals, vocally.

 

We had 2 great servers—I wish I could remember their names, but I raved about them in a comment card and we left them an additional tip. Our waitress took our drink orders (I had a frozen Margie, Joe ordered a beer), and left us alone for a few minutes to decide what we’d like to eat. We decided to order a bunch of little stuff. The waitress was a bit distressed by this--they seem to equate ingesting small amounts of food with having only a small amount of fun. Or a comment on the food quality. We assured her neither was true, pled our case for a few moments until she (kind of) accepted our limited appetite and enlisted her help in satisfying what hunger we did feel with foods we could eat. Oh, and we had to promise that we’d come back another time and order entrees. She drove a hard bargain but we caved.

 

We ordered the hot tapas—3 out of the 6 or so items were vegetarian/no seafood so she doubled up on those and brought us a platter for 2. We also ordered the jalepeno poppers, Joe had a spicy tomato-type soup and we had, of course, the tortilla chips with salsa. The salsa comes as a serving dish made up of 3 really small little bowls—one for salsa (the consistency almost of tomato paste, not chunky, but VERY tasty), one for corn, one for sweet onions. If you use the spoon and put a little of each on a tortilla chip—AH! Delicioso!

 

TIP: Order extra salsa—there isn’t much in that serving thing.

 

The poppers were very good, Joe loved the soup, and yummy yum for the tapas. We weren’t sure what everything was, but they were all completely tasty (even though they had been well-explained to us a few minutes earlier).

 

We went back to Salsas a second time—on Friday night when we had begun our bronco-riding way back to NY. My stomach was not in good shape, Joe was tired and needed a nap. But you know the rules. It was a cruise. You have to eat. We had reservations.

 

I ordered 2 margaritas in a row, each with an extra shot of Cuervo on the side to add to it and give it a kick, which I figured I might as well have. You never know, maybe it would help my stomach. I must be brilliant because they did help! Mucho! We had the poppers again. I ordered vegetable quesadilla, which I thought was only somewhat satisfactory. A little dry, not much in it. Just “eh” in general. We asked about getting a burrito for Joe, but substituting the beef for whatever the vegies are that they put in the vegie quesadilla. The waiter said that the beef is premixed with the rest of the filling, but suggested the … um.. oh now I forgot. Those other common Mexican entrée things. Not tacos … oh well. Maybe you know what I mean. He really liked his entrée. All in all, once again a very good meal. This time the waiter was not particularly friendly, which is OK, just not extra-tip worthy. So his loss too! He did suddenly turn really chatty and friendly towards the end. Which of course segued into how important it is for us to fill out the comment cards. We agree with that and did fill them out, We just said nothing about him specifically one way or the other. The service had been prompt and good, so we said so.

 

We liked Salsas—you will too.

[shoreguy]

Put a pile of chunks together you get the whole story :D

[nycglitter]

Greenie - What can I say? Your posts are the BEST! I will have to do the owner's suite next time. Sounds decadent! Glad you enjoyed yourself! We are getting very excited, only 9 days left!

 

 

BTW, how did the Samthebookitty know who you were before you boarded the ship?

[judyf]

Grennie as you can tell we're addicted to your chucks! Love them, owners suite sounds really great. I can dream about it through your reviews of it. LOL

[tommy2811]

Bravo!!!

 

no questions,

 

just BRAVO:D

[greenie]

The Blue Lagoon

 

The Blue Lagoon is a place where you can get stuff 24 hours, you can get yourself and/or your kids a quick, lunch or supper without having to spend an hour or 2 doing so. It serves a purpose and is a convenience. It may even have a number of great food items on it’s menu—we couldn’t eat most of what they offered, so I can’t report on much of it. It doesn’t have any ambiance to speak of, but it’s not meant to. You have to walk through it lengthwise to get to the Galleria and that end of the ship, so there’s always movement, always a certain amount of noisiness. An odd location, but the Dawn has a number of quirks that way and is just part of her set-up.

 

I was more interested in this casual, quick-snack, quick-meal place than Joe. If we weren’t going to be eating in one of the “real” restaurants, he wanted to go to the buffet. For an afternoon snack, he wanted to go to the buffet. On our way going to real restaurants, he wanted to go to the buffet. As soon as we stepped foot onboard on Sunday, he wanted to go check out the buffet. He would deny this, but don’t listen to him: he would happily live in a 1-room 15-story walk-up with no windows as long as it was furnished with a buffet.

 

I wanted to try the potato skins and the fish ‘n chips. There really was nothing much on the menu for Joe, as far as I can remember, except mac & cheese and tomato soup. We ended up going twice—once for take-out (potato skins), once for my lunch (fish & chips) before going on to the buffet for his lunch (a mound of every possible non-meat, non-seafood item on the buffet until the edges of his plate started to bend downwards).

 

Blue Lagoon Potato Skins:

These are billed as potato skins stuffed with cheddar cheese, bacon, and sour cream. But they’re not potato skins. I don’t know why they call them that--that’s like calling that pale limp thing I got for breakfast a bagel! What they are, are wedges of browned potato (with no skins in sight, at least on our order) sprinkled with a teaspoonful of shredded cheese, topped off with a dollop of sour cream. We ate a few of them, but didn’t finish them. We were disappointed!

 

Later in the week we decided to do the lunch-for-Greenie-at-Blue-Lagoon (and then continue on to the Adventures-of-Joe-at-the-Buffet). When you go to the Blue Lagoon to eat, you are supposed to seat yourself at any table that is free (or becomes free). There is no sign telling you to do that, but we asked and that’s how it works.

 

We experienced (and saw) several problems with how they have set up the process of getting food as well as beverages to people. There was a very unhappy woman and her young daughter next to us and I had a problem with the drink thing too. When the lady next to me finally got her child’s soda, she said. “I’m sorry, but we’re finished with our lunch now and I would like to be credited for that drink. We ordered it with our food.” The waitress looked confused, but I felt the woman’s pain—I hate that too. I was so thirsty, I had requested that I get my Sprite very first thing and before my food, please. My food would be salty (fish ‘n chips) and I wouldn’t enjoy it until I first quenched my thirst—not a strange or difficult request, right?! Well, by the time I got my drink, Joe was half thru his soup and my lunch was cold, and we’d had to get up, find what looked to be a supervisor and ask him if I could PLEASE get a drink and PLEASE have a HOT replacement dish of fish & chips. By the time I’d gotten everything, of course, Joe was finished with his soup and dreaming of the buffet. * sigh * Kind of frustrating.

 

WE think we figured out the problem—even though there are soda machines at Blue Lagoon, they have to take the order first to the bar in the lounge down the hallway a bit, so it can be written up and charged to the customer’s onboard account. They were busy and the lounge was to so * voila * a crummy system is born! I hope they find a way to fix that.

 

TIP: Get any beverage you may want first, before sitting down to eat at the Blue Lagoon.

 

But the fish & chips were VERY GOOD! Yum. (I did not order them as they were listed, ie, with vinegar. I got tarter sauce and the waitress said that hardly anyone ever gets it with vinegar.) The batter was nice and crisp and slightly greasy just as it should be—the fish was tender and good. The portion was 3 long-shaped pieces. I was pleased with the meal, just not the service.

 

Perhaps it was a bad day …

[greenie]

Greenie - What can I say? Your posts are the BEST! I will have to do the owner's suite next time. Sounds decadent! Glad you enjoyed yourself! We are getting very excited, only 9 days left!

 

 

BTW, how did the Samthebookitty know who you were before you boarded the ship?

 

I had wondered that too and asked him.

 

Joe had gotten up to go get us both a cup of coffee while I sat with our 523 pieces of carry-on luggage. After he'd walked half-way to the coffee table I called out "Joe! Don't forget to get (something or other)!"

 

Apparently once he heard me call out Joe's name it figured good chance it was called out by Greenie cuz he knew Greenie's BF was named Joe. Sam had, as it turned out, great deductive skills! :)

[judyf]

Woooo Hoooo another chuck early this morning. I printed it out to read later when I get a chance. Will check back later.

 

Thanks for posting!!!

[2Cruise4Ever]

Greenie ~ I have to ask: how in the world do you remember all of these details???? I think I'm going to keep a journal for our cruise. I know that the cc members absolutely EAT UP all the little details of everyone's experiences. So, I'll post as much as I can. I love your "Chunks." What a great idea. Keeps people coming back for more. Kind of like what Stephen King did with The Green Mile. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment when I finished the one before it. (But, I digress)

 

 

Anyway, keep 'em coming, girlfriend. I can't wait to see your pictures.

 

Whaaaaaahhhh Whoooooooo!!!!! ~ 30 days left and counting!!!

[greenie]

Greenie ~ I have to ask: how in the world do you remember all of these details???? I think I'm going to keep a journal for our cruise. I know that the cc members absolutely EAT UP all the little details of everyone's experiences. So, I'll post as much as I can. I love your "Chunks." What a great idea. Keeps people coming back for more. Kind of like what Stephen King did with The Green Mile. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment when I finished the one before it. (But, I digress)

 

 

Anyway, keep 'em coming, girlfriend. I can't wait to see your pictures.

 

Whaaaaaahhhh Whoooooooo!!!!! ~ 30 days left and counting!!!

 

You know, 2Cruise, I have no idea how I am remembering so many details! I must just sort of go into a "Dawn Trance" when I start writing these things. Funny thing is, Joe bought "us" (but I was put in charge of it) a beautiful leather-bound trip diary thingie. After about Monday night, I stopped writing in it--kept forgetting. I guess the memories are there in my brain just waiting to be shared!

 

Listen, being compared to Stephen King in any small way is totally cool & flattering--I love his stories. So thank you :)

[Zeno]

Greenie:

GREAT "chunks" - so much detail - just what I love !

[2Cruise4Ever]

You know, 2Cruise, I have no idea how I am remembering so many details! I must just sort of go into a "Dawn Trance" when I start writing these things. Funny thing is, Joe bought "us" (but I was put in charge of it) a beautiful leather-bound trip diary thingie. After about Monday night, I stopped writing in it--kept forgetting. I guess the memories are there in my brain just waiting to be shared!

 

Listen, being compared to Stephen King in any small way is totally cool & flattering--I love his stories. So thank you :)

 

You are very welcome. I love Stephen King, too. You hold my attention as much as he does, so you must have some kinda somethin' :cool:

 

Hmmmmm...... maybe you should consider a career in writing? Maybe you could be a "Professional Cruise Critic!!!!!"

 

2Cruise4Ever <------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the next "Chunk"

[greenie]

You are very welcome. I love Stephen King, too. You hold my attention as much as he does, so you must have some kinda somethin' :cool:

 

Hmmmmm...... maybe you should consider a career in writing? Maybe you could be a "Professional Cruise Critic!!!!!"

 

2Cruise4Ever <------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the next "Chunk"

 

 

Now yer tawkin' my kinda FANTASY, girl ... :D Wait, I know! Shoreguy must have some contacts! SHOREGUY ...! Yoo hoo! Oh, SHOOOOREGUY!

[Suesan Jean]

:) Greenie, You are just TOOOO CUTE!!! You are making me laugh.......!!!:) :) Keep those "Chunks" coming!!

 

Suesan

[shoreguy]

Now yer tawkin' my kinda FANTASY, girl ... :D Wait, I know! Shoreguy must have some contacts! SHOREGUY ...! Yoo hoo! Oh, SHOOOOREGUY!

 

I don't know - anyone who uses "chunks" to describe a cruise concerns me. Might be a better word for the "wave" cruise :eek: :o

[greenie]

Never mind, suffice to say:

 

 

LOL!

[neverthought]

Greenie just love your reviews, so to the point and informative. Thank You

[seahorse]

Greenie, The "chunks" thing has been bothering me too;) Is it a NJ thing?

 

Your reviews are great, but every time I see the C word it makes me want to............:o

[greenie]

Greenie, The "chunks" thing has been bothering me too;) Is it a NJ thing?

 

Your reviews are great, but every time I see the C word it makes me want to............:o

 

You're right. It does sound kinda gross ... but only because YOU PEOPLE have gross minds! :D I never thought of that word as a piece of regurgitation until you peeps started with that! LOL

 

OK, so how about if I call 'em HUNKS from now on? That brings to mind a far more pleasant image... whaddya think, Ann? ;) Will that be better?

[Cinnamon Seahorse]

My husband and I have Owner's Suite (10006?) on the Dawn booked for our 25th Anniversary next March, so it was fabulous to get some low-down on it.

 

Sorry to hear that Blue Lagoon was a disappointment--I've seen their menu and it looked like a decent selection.

 

Did you ever visit Pearly King's Pub? Our first full day (at sea) is St. Patrick's Day, and we're wondering if that might be a good place to celebrate green beer, er, I meant St. Pat's Day. My husband is part-Irish, as is my cousin's wife.

 

Shoreguy--so far there are the four of us, but we'd love to have you and your sense of humor along. Maybe we can't sneak a BBQ on board, but what about making smores with the flames from the fondue pots in Le Bistro?

 

Thanks again for your posts, Greenie. I usually keep a journal on cruises and make a couple notes daily, but spaced out on our cruise in December. I'm just now trying to put my scrapbook together--I'm using the daily activities sheet to jog my memory.

 

I'm so ready for the Dawn Owner's Suite, and now I have more knowledge. Yeah! Carla

[bobby'sgirl]

As I'm new here, it didn't know what chunks were.....thought I might read a negative review....instead sometime delightful!!!

Makes me want to cruise even more.

[seahorse]

You're right. It does sound kinda gross ... but only because YOU PEOPLE have gross minds! :D I never thought of that word as a piece of regurgitation until you peeps started with that! LOL

 

OK, so how about if I call 'em HUNKS from now on? That brings to mind a far more pleasant image... whaddya think, Ann? ;) Will that be better?

 

A much better feeling:D More like eye candy.