DAWN Review 5/29/05 Sailing

[Dozen_or_so]

I found the reviews on this site the most helpful in planning my cruise, so I thought I'd give a little back. (I've been on a dozen or so cruises. First time on Dawn.) My wife and two children ages 5 and 7 went on this cruise.

 

Embarking was madness due to the Fleet Week activities. We were dropped off at the NY Pier about 11:00. We were on the ship before noon. I don't know if that timing will work on a non-Fleet Week, but it worked perfectly for us.

 

Our cabin was an inside cabin #9593. Being inside was not an issue, we basically just sleep, shower, and change there. The sleep part was a tad challenging due to noise. My travel agent misinformed me about the "blank space" on the floor plan next to our cabin. She told me it was a little open area with a picture on the wall; I wish. It was an access hallway for the crew and had MAJOR banging and rattling staring about 6:45 a.m. and ending about 11:00 p.m. I considered requesting a new cabin, but the loud electronic beeping noises from the cabin next to us at 1:00 a.m. and the though of moving all our inpacked stuff made me think otherwise. The beeping noises stopped after I called the main desk to complain (better than banging on their door in my underwear I thought), but I chose to keep the devil I knew rather than the one I didn't. We shifted our sleeping from 10:45 to 6:45 and all was well. Also, we had a white noise sound machine turned up so loud our cabin sounded like "the inside of a defective speaker," to paraphrase the late Hunter S. Thompson. I did enjoy the same cartoons everyday on the in-room television. They must have some kind of recording.

 

Dining was great. We never ate in a cover charge restaurant, as the food and service in the main dining rooms were excellent. We liked the Venetian best, as it was the most grand. The Aqua and Impressions were cozier and more intimate, if that is what you seek. The food in all three is the same. I was pleasantly surprised with the service. Before sailing, I was annoyed with the fixed gratuity concept, but I found most staff to be extremely pleasant and accomodating. All our waiters but one or two (out of about 20) were great. The Freestyle concept is very good (I had doubts about that too pre-cruise). Sit alone or with strangers; your choice.

 

We had spotty weather, so we didn't "camp out" at the pools as we normally would have. The kids loved the T-rex pools. Shipboard activities were O.K., although I did become annoyed at the constant selling. Most (not all) activities are thinly veiled attempts to part you with your money. I haven't cruised for several years, so maybe this has always been true. I don't remember it quite so much though.

 

The private island (Great Stirrup Key) is great. I got on the tender ticket line at about 7:30 a.m. and was number 200 or so, which put us on the first tender to the island. Got a nice umbrella toward the left, applied bug spray, and enjoyed the best weather day of the cruise. The barbeque is enjoyable, the sting rays were friendly, and the snorkeling was great. I brought mask & snorkel and rentred fins for $10. Go outside the rocks for best views. Returned to the ship about 2:30 after a minor wait.

 

We only went on two excursions; the Miami Duck tour, which was O.K. as a novelty for the kids (alright, and me too) to have the bus drive into Biscayne Bay and become a boat. Also, we went on the Seaworld Explorer in Nassau, which is a semi-submarine type glass bottom boat. (Visualize the gondola under a blimp only the gondola is under the boat.) We had about a 20 minute boat ride to the Explorer and then a half-hour tour "underwater." This is a great way for non-snorkelers to see under the ocean and was fun.

 

Nassau, in my opinion, is the usual shopping nonsense. Luckily (for my checkbook) most shops were closed for Bahamas Labor Day. Some passengers were very annoyed about that though.

 

Disembarking was a breeze. We were white tickets, which were next to last. That scared me, but they blasted through the colors rapidaly after the usual cast of missing non-citizens were located. We were in the car before 11:00 a.m.

 

Overall, a very enjoyable cruise. Good luck.

[judyf]

Thanks for posting. Sorry the weather wasn't better.

[Crishy]

I couldn't help but post. I too came off the 5/29 Dawn cruise but I wish I could say I had enjoyed myself as much as you did. The service was not good, they lost my laundry, dropped dishes on me and had nothing for the kids to do while in port when excursions were cancelled. The picture man was downright nasty and the smoking drove me crazy!

Next time, I will go back on Carnival which had a much more family-friendly atmosphere. Also, the additional line for gratuities under the required 15% threw us off the first couple of times. How obnoxious to force us to pay 15% for every transaction (regardless of how good the service is) and actually expect more.

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[NJcruiser21]

I was on the Dawn the week before you, crishy, and found smoking to only be evident when I was at/near the casino - other than that I didn't even notice it and I'm really sensitive to smoke because I really hate it. Sorry it was different on your cruise.

 

 

It's odd that the service was outstanding for others on your cruise but horrible for you? and they dropped dishes on you? love the first post...;)

 

I'm also glad you could'nt find the time before the cruise to come here and you would have found out about the 15% gratituity on drinks, yet you found the time to come here to complain about the cruise. again..love the first post. ;)

[shoreguy]

I couldn't help but post. I too came off the 5/29 Dawn cruise but I wish I could say I had enjoyed myself as much as you did. The service was not good, they lost my laundry, dropped dishes on me and had nothing for the kids to do while in port when excursions were cancelled. The picture man was downright nasty and the smoking drove me crazy!

Next time, I will go back on Carnival which had a much more family-friendly atmosphere. Also, the additional line for gratuities under the required 15% threw us off the first couple of times. How obnoxious to force us to pay 15% for every transaction (regardless of how good the service is) and actually expect more.

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Another one post wonder - why is this always the story :rolleyes:

[Cruisinbunnies]

Crishy,

Was the service bad everywhere, or only in the casino?....restaurants?.....room service?

I will be sailing the Dawn next year and would like to know exactly what made you not enjoy the cruise. To make generalizations really does not help me or anyone else on the board and it makes you look like a first post flamer.

There must have been something that you liked, such as the departure from NYC. I can't ever imagine that being bad!

[shoreguy]

Crishy,

Was the service bad everywhere, or only in the casino?....restaurants?.....room service?

I will be sailing the Dawn next year and would like to know exactly what made you not enjoy the cruise. To make generalizations really does not help me or anyone else on the board and it makes you look like a first post flamer.

There must have been something that you liked, such as the departure from NYC. I can't ever imagine that being bad!

 

Don't feed the trolls - one post registered today - and a post that holds no water.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

I couldn't help but post. I too came off the 5/29 Dawn cruise but I wish I could say I had enjoyed myself as much as you did. The service was not good, they lost my laundry, dropped dishes on me and had nothing for the kids to do while in port when excursions were cancelled. The picture man was downright nasty and the smoking drove me crazy!

Next time, I will go back on Carnival which had a much more family-friendly atmosphere. Also, the additional line for gratuities under the required 15% threw us off the first couple of times. How obnoxious to force us to pay 15% for every transaction (regardless of how good the service is) and actually expect more.

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

 

At least she did not say that the dawn was chessey and cheap like another poster said:confused:

[Cinnamon Seahorse]

Wow. There have been ports I've enjoyed more than others. Never has there been NOTHING to do in port, including Tortola on a Sunday. (Where I was able to make fun by sniffing flowers too close to the road, and still thank my speedy reflexes that were just a bit speedier than that car...).

 

I feel badly Flame Poster #1 was unable to view canceled excursions as bonus family bonding time. :rolleyes: And the shipboard credit for those should have more than covered the 15% gratuities.:)

 

I could launch into my "187 scary reasons not to cruise Carnival" speech, but some cruisers I'll happily let Carnival keep. Like the "gentleman" on one of our Norwegian Dream cruises who was seated at our table for tea and launched into lengthy, graphic details of his various gastric issues while we were attempting to eat. He commented he preferred Carnival and going to places like "Carbo San Lucas" and "Puerta Volare." :eek:

[TurboDan]

He commented he preferred Carnival and going to places like "Carbo San Lucas" and "Puerta Volare." :eek:

 

I don't know about Carnival, but the NCL Mexican Riviera cruise is on the top of my list for next year's vacation. ;)

[fkwok]

Crishy,

Was the service bad everywhere, or only in the casino?....restaurants?.....room service?

I will be sailing the Dawn next year and would like to know exactly what made you not enjoy the cruise. To make generalizations really does not help me or anyone else on the board and it makes you look like a first post flamer.

There must have been something that you liked, such as the departure from NYC. I can't ever imagine that being bad!

 

We sailed on the Dawn two years in a row around the same time each year. We found the service to be good to very good. Everyone was very friendly and extremely helpful. My daughter made lots of friends at all the places we ate at and our cabin stewards.

 

Don't let one bad review throw you off.

[Crishy]

This was my first posting here because I didn't seek out reviews of a ship that had so many positives from previous sailings. I had many friends who told me great things about this cruise, so I didn't seek out info, I went by word of mouth. I really do wish I had searched these boards previously. I probably would have found a cruise that was better suited for us. As for nothing to do in port, anyone on th Dawn last week will tell you that it was pouring in Cape Canaveral and most excursions got cancelled. We were told that the building at the port had nothing but concrete so it wasn't worth getting off the ship. Weather wasn't the fault of NCL, but bad service was.

 

When they lost my laundry, nothing was offered and I had to stand for hours waiting on Disembarkation day waiting for supervisors to approve $ taken off my bill for their mistake. Maybe had they owned up to their mistake when it happened and offered my a refund, I would have felt better, but I found that in amny instances, this staff was unhappy and not curteous. The restaurant satff was also clumsy and slow. Maybe there isjsut a general disorganization on this boat since it seemed like no one knew what was going on.

 

We found the smoking in many common areas, the smell was all over including near the elevators and restaurants. Maybe I'm hypersensistive to smoke but I have little kids and hated them being around it indoors.

 

And anyone who talks about needing bonding with their families doesn't have little kids indoors for three days in a row. I love my kids, but could have used a break, especially when the weather was bad. All I'm saying is that anyone who has little kids should carefully consider this ship. It is not friendly to strollers. (There are quirks to the elevators to the kids club and main dining area the Venetian) The charges for child group sitting while in port is NOT done on Carnival, it is free. Carnival also provides sitting for younger children (under 2) for a fee which is not an option on Dawn. I knew that going in but I had no idea I had to pay a fee while in port for my older kids.

 

As far as tipping, the 15% was bad enough, but I could deal with it. It was the EXTRA tip that was expected on top of this standard 15%. Reread my post, I talked about the extra line below the given 15% which threw us off.

 

The only positive was that the food was better than other cruises I've been on.

[nycglitter]

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in... well..because thats what I do...

 

 

We were on the Dawn 2 years in a row as well and found the service to be very good. We took my MIL & FIL on this trip and tried to warn them of what to expect. I think they had their doubts before the cruise, but after a few short hours on the Dawn they were believers.

 

Rarely do you need to wait for someone to ask you for a drink. Rarely do you get bad service in the restaurants.

 

Saying that we all have to remember, we all have good days and bad... so do the staff. Some have more personality than others, and I feel that people misinterperet that with good service..its just different. We found some wait staff wanted to joke and laugh, others treated it like fine dining and were serious, and a few (1-2) just did their job.

 

You get what you give. A smile goes a long way.

 

As for the 15% gratuity. If they didn't do it automaticly I am sure few would add a tip as they might feel the freestyle cruising tip at the end of the cruise would cover this. Well for $10 a day/pp how could it possibly.

 

Happy cruising to all,

 

Mark

[Cruisinbunnies]

We sailed on the Dawn two years in a row around the same time each year. We found the service to be good to very good. Everyone was very friendly and extremely helpful. My daughter made lots of friends at all the places we ate at and our cabin stewards.

 

Don't let one bad review throw you off.

Thanks for the posting. I know from following this board that the Dawn will be fabulous and so will the 2 days prior in NYC. I was only trying to make a point to the reviewer that their comments lacked merit and if they should post in the future that they should back up their claims with a proper explaination of what they liked and didn't like. This said reviewer has done that and I will now take that information and learn from it.

It sounds to me that she was on vacation with her kids and the weather was bad, thus she is stuck with her kids with nothing to entertain them :mad: when in fact if the weather was good, she would have had a better time and she would not have been so critical of the cruise:) . I am a parent and I can understand that sort of fustration. Bottom line, weather was bad, could have done the same thing at home and saved the money!

That being said, all of the reviewers who have said that the rooms are paper thin really don't worry me so much. I'm only in my room to S,S,S and S and I wear earplugs anyway (my DW is a noisy sleeper:( ), so the noise won't bother me.

I am new to cruising but not new to travel. The biggest factor which determines if you will have a good time or not is attitude. Barring a medical or nautical disaster, what could possibly ruin your vacation on a cruise?

I have yet to play a round of golf and not enjoy it. You know what they say, a bad round of golf still beats a good day at work! Attitude.

[Cinnamon Seahorse]

You'll have a great time, I have no doubt. What ship are you sailing? Have you done the Mexican Riviera before? If not, be aware that the ocean's a bit more active as you return north. :) Happy sailing, Carla