Thanksgiving on the Dawn: SDYC Addict Tries NCL Suite Life for 1st Time

[jdvmd]

thanks very much - I keep meaning to wrap up, but work gets in the way. lots of little things, like I don't know if anyone else had this problem but our steward never changed the time on the clocks in the cabin - either moving them back or foward (maybe its a practice I just didn't know about). Every other line I have been on, does that. So for most of the trip, unless we changed, we were on a different time than our cabin. Only an issue for the early morning excursion . . . before we had any caffeine and thought we had another hour to sleep on that first day after the change .. OOPS!

 

You had a clock in your cabin? We have never had this. The phones usually have the time listed and that has been changed but not by the cabin steward.

[WaldosPepper]

You had a clock in your cabin? We have never had this. The phones usually have the time listed and that has been changed but not by the cabin steward.

 

Suites have clocks. ;)

[frequent traveler]

I wanted to follow up on the gym and thermal spa facilities. I was amazed by both the range of the equipment in the gym and the full utilization. Unlike my local gym most people were working hard the entire time (no social hour) and every piece of cardio equipment was being used. It was a little bit unsettling to have a fellow passenger lurking behind you "waiting" on a bike but since I only used for 30 minutes I figured I wasn't violating an unwritten rule, was I? I did feel a bit like a monkey in the zoo might feel as the little kids going to and from the slide would look at the exercising adults like we were a puzzling exhibit.

 

I only saw one violation of the adults only rule- a 10 yr old or so girl was flitting around rather annoyingly for about 10 minutes then was gone in the middle of one of my gym visits. Unlike other ships, where the adults only or adult supervision in gym rule is not followed or enforced, it was on Dawn on this trip and the gym was very pleasant as a result.

 

I also enjoyed the atmosphere and physical space of the changing room and spa. My treatment room was larger than some land based hotels, had a hard wood floor(or laminate resembling) and windows (outward facing to ocean) with shades allowing for as much or little light as I chose. Table was comfortable. For some , robes might have been a bit too thin but they were just fine for me. I am rather picky on cleanliness and the room appeared immaculate (I check sinks, corners, under the table, even around fixtures while therapist is out of room- i've cancelled or switched treatments if I'm uncertain on sanity(not mine, my family thinks that's always an issue:rolleyes:). The spa was able to accommodate my requirement for a nut free massage oil but with no choices and no scents.

 

Only suggestion would be to put something on floor under cut out so that when you are face down on massage table there is something besides wood floor or therapist's feet to view. I've seen a low bowl with flowers or sand and sea shells.

 

We had dinner one night with a couple who were complaining about the $119 per person fee for the pass (50 women and 50 men only) to the spa suite. They thought it wasn't right to charge for it. However with a limited amount of space, the fee means you are ensured an adults only area. I would like to say quiet- but notwithstanding the signs, a few times, it was not quiet. Again the space was very clean. Occasionally the towels ran out, but were restocked quickly. There were a limited number of full chaise lounges but during my preferred times I never had to wait. It was not a 24 hr facility, but that wasnt an issue. I wish the area was not at the very back of the ship but the view was totally unobstructed. With a cup of tea and my iPad it was a great indoors space.

 

The ladies changing area again was larger than some land based spas with various amenities. I really liked the sample scrubbing salts by the sinks. My hands were very smooth by cruise. Because lockers are made available to spa treatments and spa pass holders, there is a risk of not getting a locker. On our first sea day, I got the last available locker at 10 am. There were no more than 6 other women in the spa suite at the time so I assume the rest were either in the gym (which was full) or in spa treatments. Unless there are also locker hogs?

 

Finally, neither my husband nor I experienced hard sales efforts in our spa treatments. So we rate this part of our voyage very high