Dawn Review March 24-31 Family of 5

[Speasda]

First, I want to say a big thank you to the cruise critic community, which has been so helpful to us as we planned for this year’s cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We travelled the week of March 24-31 and sailed to the Western Caribbean with our three kids (ages 9,7,5); this was our seventh cruise, but our first with Norwegian. We have been on Carnival, RCCL, and Princess (before kids)

 

Overall, our impressions of the Dawn were excellent. It is an old-ish ship, but has been refurbished nicely. We had two balcony rooms on Deck 9 with connecting doors. Rather than post a review the follows the daily happenings I am going to organize this by topics of interest.

 

I will stop now and tell you I have very few pictures and I did not keep the dailies. I read them extensively and I know there are recent postings available if you search for them. As for pictures, well photography is not my thing. I do think I have good information for you and will answer as many questions as I can. So here is Part I – Dining.

 

Dining: We were actually delighted with the food service and quality throughout the course of the trip. In our opinion, the food was better on the Dawn than on any of the Carnival or Royal Caribbean ships that we have been on in the recent past.

 

Dinner: We did Venetian the first night and there were a fair number of people in shorts. I guess that works since for some, luggage may not have been delivered yet. Sunday night is lobster night and they did not blink at our request for double lobster. I enjoyed the steak that was available as surf and turf.

 

After the first night we mostly dined at Aqua for dinner, as we enjoyed not dressing up quite as much for the meal. However, we did make sure to be there by 5:30 or earlier to avoid a wait to be seated. This dining room is kind of dark, with only a few windows, but this could be construed as intimate. We felt that the service was much better here than at the Venetian.

 

The highlights of main dining room menu are the lobster night, red snapper, and pork tenderloins. All the food was well prepared, but if we are honest, the menu is not very daring – it gets boring by the end of the cruise. So what do you do when the main dining room gets boring? Specialty Dining.

 

We tried Cagney’s and Bamboo. Cagney’s was by far the highlight for dinner; excellent service and food—it truly was well-done and worth the cover charge. We did this on the Belize night and had a 5:30 reservation. We were the only family in the dining room for an hour or so. Two of our kids ordered off of the normal kids menu and that was free. The server was quick to tell us that ordering off of the regular kids menu would take longer as someone would have to go to the buffet to get the food. My thought was so what – I counted on some normal kids meals to make the bill manageable. Wife and I each had the 10oz Filet and 2 shrimp cocktails. Excellent! My 7 yr old enjoyed the 5oz filet for $12.50. This a lot of food for him, but he ate every piece of it. If your kids like steak this is a good value. I would recommend Cagney’s highly.

 

Bamboo was so-so; the Chinese was OK, although we had some very nice sushi while there. I had the shrimp salad and calamari to start. These items were tasty. For an entrée I had the Orange Peel beef – not good. If this had been a land-based restaurant, I would have sent it back. Since, this was the last night of the cruise, I was not going to let it ruin the night. All the kids did regular kids menu, as we were really there for me to have Chinese and DW to have sushi. Skip this option, but if you are traveling with adults only, visit the Sake Bar for sushi. The adults we saw there were having a great time.

 

Breakfast: We went to the buffet every single morning. DS9 and DS7 were in a contest to see who could eat the most Fruitt Loops and Frosted Flakes. Being on vacation, I let them go at it.

 

Buffet has made to order waffles and omelets (also fried eggs if you like). There were also pancakes, French toast, hashbrowns, bacon, 2 types of sausage, eggs benedict, fruit, yogurt, baked beans, etc. Same thing every morning, without fail.

 

We could not get the kids to do the Venetian for breakfast, so we just did the buffet.

 

Lunch – When we ate lunch on the boat it was a mix of buffet, Blue Lagoon and the Bimini Bar & Grill. A note: on the sea days, they offer a nice BBQ option for lunch cooked and served poolside- kebobs and paella; both were excellent and the fare was far better than what was being served in the buffet.

 

Buffet always has burgers and dogs as well as several other options. Nothing exciting here, but there was consistently something for everyone.

 

Blue Lagoon – only went once, but the wings are as good as advertised. The “hot” is not very hot at all. Go for it. Chef Salad is premade and chick tenders are tasty. Nice all-day option, but nothing to get overly excited about.

 

Bimini Bar & Grill – This is the best Turkey burger I have had in a long time. Be patient and order one. The burgers, dogs, fries, and veggie burgers also got good reviews from the family.

 

Dessert – There were lots of good options here. The key lime pie was very good as was the chocolate cake – both were available in the buffet and main dining room. If you need a post-dinner snack go to the buffet and ask for some cookies. There is a sign saying they are available on request and the staff was very helpful. DS7 and I tried them all, several times. They always passed the test.

 

Sprinkles was good, but I wish it was open earlier. If DW and I are allowed a morning beverage on vacation, shouldn’t the kids get a morning ice cream cone? It was nice that there was an option that was available poolside, so the kids did not have to schlep inside the buffet to the soft serve machine.

 

Coffee – Bad, bad, bad. I have a caffeine addiction so I pressed through. I found the coffee maker in the room was better than in the buffet. The coffee at Cagney’s was the best – be sure to enjoy a cup when you go.

[ksimpso3]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Dawn. It was our first ship in the NCL lineup, and we love it. I agree that it is a bit older, and probably not as much to offer for younger kids (in terms of water slides, rock climbing walls, etc.), but it is one of our favorites. We sailed her again this past January (in the garden villa!!...that is awesome!:D) Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[Speasda]

Embarkation/Tampa: We arrived in Tampa the day before and stayed at the Homewood Suites (Westshore/Airport area). There is a free shuttle that is constantly running to the hotel. Look for the A-1 shuttle. The hotel was adequate as there was a small pool and a basic breakfast included. I would not want to stay there for vacation, but it was convenient for what we needed. The best thing about the hotel was its location, we were able to walk to the International Plaza mall, which has a variety of food options— ranging from a food court to prime steaks .

 

We arrived at the port around 12:15 and had an extremely smooth embarkation experience. Short lines, competent employees made for an easy entry, even with three kids. The lines look intimidating, but they move fast. If security here ran the airport we would all travel more. Very efficient and you keep your shoes on. They do x-ray your bag and will send you over to the table if you have wine. We paid the corkage fee for our wine. We also brought Coke products on board with us without a problem. We did not see anyone try to give soda to the porter, but there were cases of Coke and water going through the security line without a second look. After getting through the lines were able to go straight on board. We were greeted by the standard hand sanitizer who cheerfully chirped, “washy washy, happy happy”– I hate that girl.

[Speasda]

Staterooms: As stated earlier, our staterooms were updated and certainly adequate. The bathrooms were nicer and more spacious than expected, they made a good use of space in the design. The one comment of note that we have to share about the staterooms is that our room steward was horrible. This was such a shock to us, because on previous cruises, we have had nothing but excellent service in the room, without fail. It took almost four hours to get the connecting door opened between our stateroom and of seven days on the boat, our room was turned down at night only three days. Keep in mind that we were travelling with children and as Norwegian does changes time zones on their ships to maintain local port times throughout their itineraries, the kids were tired early., especially after a day at the beach. After the two days, we asked if we could be the first room turned down at night, but it still didn’t seem to make a difference. He was also terrible at replacing towels, and I just got in the habit of replacing them myself from either the carts or the storeroom.

 

The time change situation may not seem like a big deal, but if you have kids with you, inevitiably, it is a challenge. They set the ship’s time back one hour on the first night, and then the next night (at sea). That means the 7:00 show that you want to take the kids to is going to seem like 9:00 to them and it can be hard to adjust (at least for my crew). Same thing on the return trip, one hour change over the last two nights. Be aware and plan accordingly!

 

The other comment about the stateroom situation was the TV selection. I think it would be nice if there had been one channel dedicated for kids programming exclusively. Occasionally, there was an appropriate movie on, but not reliably. We’re not inside the cabin much during the day, but at night it would have been nice to have something as they were going to bed to help wind them down some.

 

Prior to disembarkation, we took a little self-guided tour of the suites on deck 11 and 12. We met a family who was staying in the Ruby Suite and they raved about the experience. Hello Wayne and Patty if you are reading. Loved the two-bedroom suites with balcony and have since booked one for a 2014 NCL cruise in the planning. I will warn you the balcony is small. It was the same size as our 9th floor balcony. The huge bathroom take up the space that could be a double sized balcony.

 

We also explored the SJ suites and the SJ with balcony (category escapes me). These were both very large and very nice. However, it was still all one room and if we can afford it would go for the second bedroom area.

 

Kids Club: Our kiddos are anti-kids club, so we don’t have anything to add here, unfortunately.

 

Fitness: The fitness area was nice, but small. If you are interested in working out in the morning, you can count on a wait for the cardio machines. It was also somewhat disappointing that the sauna and steam rooms were only available for an additional daily fee. A note: if you enter through the front door of the spa it does not open until 6am, but if you enter through the back doors by the kids pool, you can get in at least by 5:30am.

 

Bars, Pubs, etc.: We had some very nice evenings in Pearly King’s and Gatsby’s—we brought cards and played with the kids during “name that tune,” trivia and NCAA basketball. Nice atmosphere and good service all around. Pearly King’s has Newcastle and Stella on tap—a 23 oz. draught was $6.

 

I tried to visit the Star Bar a couple times and it was always set up as the Concierge Lounge. Being a non-suite guest on their first NCL cruise, I did not venture in.

 

Bar selection and pricing: Overall, pretty reasonable when you consider that you are a captive audience. Beer selection ranged from domestic light beers to major international varieties, such as Heineken, Newcastle, Stella, Corona. Prices were $5.50 for 16oz. domestic can and $5 for a 12oz “premium” beer. Best value was to buy a bucket of five beers and you get the sixth free. Morning drink specials were $4.25 and you could select from a screwdriver, mimosa and bloody mary. For the sake of “research” I tried all 3 and felt them to be very weak. When I ordered a Tanqueray and tonic I think the mix was fair.

 

Pools: The pools and hot tubs were great although (not a surprise) you did have to get out early to get chairs if you wanted to be in shouting distance of your kids swimming. Bar service was dependable and it was a nice touch when they walked around the pool deck bringing skewers of fruit. The “hot” tubs that allowed kids were cold, not warm, cold. I understand they don’t want the kids staying in too long so I get it.

 

Library: We checked out several board games for the kids, which was nice. They had chess, Monopoly, checkers and small selection of books and daily crosswords and suduku. The book collection appears to be made up of books left in the cabins by accident. Then again, cruisers generally bring their own books. There was enough tables and space to play cards or board games so I think the library served it’s real purpose of a quiet retreat.

 

 

 

Deck games: Our kids loved the large size chess and checkers games painted on the deck. They also played shuffleboard and used the golf enclosure. Golf net is included. There are a few bad clubs, but it was enough to enjoy while kids played chess. If you brought your clubs for an outing, this would be adequate for swing practice.

 

Casino- It was pretty dead in the casino on this trip, but to be fair, the boat was heavily dominate by families given the spring break timing. Table limits for blackjack were $10 - $100. Craps was $5 bet and the dealers had a better understanding of the game than on a lot of ships. I made my donation over 2 nights. The casino is also located so that you end up going through it many times over the week. Keep the kids moving and no one will bother you as you pass through.

[yoyocruiser]

Nice review. Thank you!! I too felt the food was very good on the Dawn (but it has been awhile). Just a word on the coffee--for some odd reason the room service coffee is wonderful. I ordered a pot every morning and then carried it out with me to WHEREVER we ate breakfast! Also, on the buffet lines there use to be two different types of coffee machines. One type made excellent coffee--I have no idea why--but it was wonderful. My advice to coffee lovers on NCL ships is to taste the coffee in a variety of locations and find the best. You will find it varies greatly. So wonderful you were able to take your three kids and have such a lovely time. You will always remember.:)

[houseflipper48]

Thanks for the review. We also will have connecting balcony cabins for our up coming cruise in December on the Dawn. Were you able to open up the divider on the balcony? Our TA could not confirm if that was something they could or would do. Also, can you tell me what you did at the ports? Thanks again:)

[Speasda]

Here is what we did at Ports:

 

Honduras: We docked at the port and it was very easy to get on and off the boat. We went to Little French Key for the day, and despite the overcast weather, this was the best excursion of the trip. Amazing place, wonderful service, superb food, fun for kids and adults alike, although I would highly recommend this for any families.

There is a limited amount of beach space, but there are lots of chairs and easy access to kayaks, animals and famous 12 foot water jump. It will take about 25 minutes to get there by the included van ride. The price might seem high at first (compared to other AI options in the Caribbean, but if you consider the cost of transportation is included, but gets more reasonable (still not cheap). The food was excellent – shrimp, lobster, filet, chicken, plantain chips and rice. Possibly our best meal of the trip. The biggest area to improve in is bar service. They have a waiter type person is really just a local high schooler and he was not impressive at all. I found it better to go visit the bar, which is small and overrun, but they are working hard back there. Beers after you use your tickets are $5 – try the local dark brew – Imperial.

I will be posting a full review on TripAdvisor as well for this excursion.

Belize: You have to tender to get to shore here—make sure you get up early to get your tickets. They say you get tickets as early as eight, but there were plenty of people lined up by 6:45. The tender situation is really rough—it takes forever if you don’t get an early ticket. We ended up cancelling our excursion for the day because we couldn’t get to the mainland in a timey manner. We stayed and played on the boat, had lunch at Blue Lagoon and then went to walk around port after lunch when the tender lines were gone. We went to MOHO chocolate and let the kids make chocolate bars. If you are considering taking a NCL sponsored excursion, I would do it at this port, since you will be guaranteed a tender to get you there on-time. Otherwise, the tender process will undoubtedly stress you out.

Also keep in mind that most excursions are a 45 minute drive from the port.

Costa Maya: We docked at port here, so no issues with getting off the ship. We booked a tour of the Mayan ruins at Chaccobbean through Native Choice. Great tour operation, well organized and good English speaking guides. Great opportunity to see some cool stuff and let the kids run around a bit. We did the half day tour from 9-12 and then came back to boat for lunch and pool. We briefly considered swimming at the port pool (which is very nice) and having lunch at Carlos n’Charlie’s, but after evaluating the ridiculous food and drink prices, wisely headed back to the ship. A plate of three tacos was $19.50. We could have overcome that as we are on vacation if the kids were up to, but they “demanded” a freshwater pool and this was a salt water pool. Looking back on it, we should have taken a taxi to Tropicante or elsewhere after the Mayan ruins tour.

Cozumel: There were seven boats in port that day, so we had an unusual situation but it worked out well. The ship docked from 730-9 and you could walk off during that time period. From 9-10am, the ship went out to sea and then anchored at 10am and provided tender transportation for the rest of the day. We were able to easily exit the Dawn around 830 and then headed to Nachi Cocom for the day. Awesome, awesome place. Freshwater pool, beautiful beach, great service, good food, cheap internet access. A winner. We headed back to the port around 3, did some shopping and hopped a tender back to the boat after only a short wait.

Shows: Again, keep in mind that we have young-ish kids, so that definitely impacts this review. We were a big fan of the magician, Justino- he was awesome- the first day at sea he does an afternoon magic show—not to be missed, especially if you have kids. Get there early, because it will fill up fast in the theater. By early I mean 3:45 for 4:15 show. The aisles were filled and was the sort of place that would give a fire marshal fits! If you have kids under age 12 or 14, I would not take them to the Second City show. It is not appropriate with either language or content. The aerial show was cool as well. Overall, the entertainment was very good. Did not consider Band on the Run or Bollywood, just did not strike me as interesting. A good book on my balcony or a trip to the pub to watch hoops was more exciting for me.

[Speasda]

Thanks for the review. We also will have connecting balcony cabins for our up coming cruise in December on the Dawn. Were you able to open up the divider on the balcony? Our TA could not confirm if that was something they could or would do. Also, can you tell me what you did at the ports? Thanks again:)

 

houseflipper48,

 

Great questions. I just posted information on our ports so that should address your question.

 

The balcony dividers could not be opened "for safety reasons". I thought that was a load of baloney, but after looking at them, I can see they would have flapped around and possibly resulted in a smash kid's finger. Also I could not figure out how they could be opened without blocking the door to cabin. This was frustrating at first, but we got over it quickly. I should also add there is child lock on the door that is high enough up my 9 yr old could not unlock it.

[Speasda]

Bueller? Bueller?

[Chrispyuno1]

I want to thank you for posting the review as well. I will be taking the Dawn on a 16 night escape on 11/1/13, & even though it will be my 8th cruise (7th on NCL) I still like to hear & read about things others happened to find out & experience.

 

Sounds like your cruise was just about perfect!!!

[vols_159]

Was on the cruise before you loved the dawn we did get to dock all day at Cozumel no tendering if you ever go back to costa maya ill suggest maya chan. Private all inclusive resort have to make reservation before hand tho excellent food beach free drinks loved it highlight of our cruise. Also look up Justino on Facebook!

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your fine review. :):)

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write and post this review.

 

Keith

[jdvmd]

Nice, thorough review! Thanks!