Dawn Garden Villa cruise review from a Carnival point of view.

[bguppies]

The best thing to do is to post your own opinion and move on...no need to worry about, or even read what others have to say about it.

 

 

When you truely "don't mind others chiming in", then you'll have no problem with them telling you that (in their opinion) you are wrong, or labeling your words as "misconceptions". If you object to either, then you certainly DO mind.

 

Excellent point.

 

Taken and Thanks.

 

Now where the heck was I....

LOL

Edited April 20, 2014 by bguppies

[bguppies]

Now to our family dinner at Cagney's

 

I will preface this by saying my Brother had raved for years about how good his steak at Cagney's was on a previous cruise.

 

As he travels for business, 75% of the year and has eaten at nice, sit down restaurants, coast to coast, most nights of his year and probably more in any 6 months than I will dine out in my entire lifetime.

I took his recommendation very seriously. (plus our tastes are very similar)

And I was eagerly awaiting an incredible steak.

 

The dinner was free from John the concierge, for everyone in the Garden Villa. (From my research in here, seems to be a pretty standard move)

 

We were eating early, so the restaurant was not even half full.

Liked the restaurant and the wait staff was very attentive. (wait staff was great breakfast, lunch and dinner at Cagney's)

 

Needless to say, after the raves, Brother and I ordered steaks.

 

Salads arrived and were good.

 

Steaks arrived and were not good.

I had ordered medium.

Mine was well done. (thankfully not charcoal)

The steak was extremely chewy, not melt in your mouth like my brother had raved.

I cut a piece of mine off and put it on his plate and asked him to please try it.

He agreed it was awful and said his was poorly done also.

 

So we called the server, told him the steaks were bad and both asked for another.

 

Meanwhile everyone else who had ordered other various items, were finishing their meals. (everybody else seemed to enjoy their offerings)

 

Our 2nd steaks arrived, while everyone else was getting their deserts.

 

Again my steak was overdone and still not a great cut of meat.

My brother's was better cooked, but he still said nowhere near the quality he had experienced before.

 

By this point DW and most of the rest of the table was finishing their deserts, so I just got up, to the protestation of our server, who wanted to get me another steak. (which I appreciated his effort, but sorry but 2 shots was more than enough chances to get a steak correct in a steak house and I wasn't going to make DW wait for another to come, when she was completely finished with her meal.)

 

Plus, like I said, the dinner was free, so it wasn't that big of deal if I could find something else to eat.

Had I actually paid $30 for two bad steaks, it would have been more of a downer than simply a waste of time.

 

We went down a floor to the buffet and I found something tasty to fill the hole in my appetite that Cagney's could not that evening.

 

Again got back to the cabin at the end of the night and had another note on the bed to turn the clocks back, along with a towel animal.

 

Have to say at this point, I did like how NCL changes time to local time in each port on a cruise.

Especially liked how they handled the 2 hour time difference, spread over the first two nights, to not make it as jarring.

 

Meanwhile DW hated it, drove her crazy changing her phone each night.

She much preferred the Carnival way of staying on embarkation port time, throughout the cruise and it being up to you to figure out what local time was while in port.

 

So definitely, to each their own. (even in the same cabin. :))

 

The Daily's didn't arrive until after we went to sleep, as they scrambled to change to a sea day's activities, due to skipping Roatan.

 

Off to Easter dinner...

Will try to get back and add something tonight if I can.

 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter with their families.

[SeaShark]

Excellent point.

 

Taken and Thanks.

 

Now where the heck was I....

LOL

 

No problem...lol.

 

Please continue with your review...I am enjoying the good read.

 

Quite the opposite of your experience, I have sailed mainly on NCL...however, I have experienced the Carnival product three times. Needless to say, I have my opinion of the similarities/differences between the two lines.

 

I appreciate that you are sharing yours.

[Sauer-kraut]

Thanks for your review! I am enjoying it and I love the comparisons between your experiences on CCL and NCL. I think it is very balanced! Enjoy your Easter dinner, I'll check in tomorrow to see how this continues. :)

Edited April 20, 2014 by Sauer-kraut

[greatlakesgirl]

Loving your review, and enjoying the comparisons very much! :)

[puddles99]

I'm also enjoying your review - my first cruise was aboard the Dawn, so she holds a very special place in my heart. I also recently sailed in a GV (on the Gem) for the first (and likely the last) time, so appreciate your perspective on the experience.

 

Keep it coming! :)

[Cubechick]

Not changing ship's time to match local time would make me mental!

 

Of course I have only sailed NCL, so maybe I am used to it. ;)

 

Enjoying your review. :)

[david_sobe]

Good review

I agree with you that Cagneys for breakfast prepares the same food as the buffet and MDR. We had a debate about that here last month and people went through the roof because I pointed out the French toast was the same all over the ship including Cagneys or Epic club. You can also get the same fruit. muffins, etc at the buffet or MDR. However, the overall experience is better at Cagneys/Epic club for service and atmosphere. But as you stated except for the scrambled eggs that are real in Cagneys, I never saw that much difference. Thanks for sharing and for reminding me that I am not alone in my experience ;)

[Cubechick]

Good review

I agree with you that Cagneys for breakfast prepares the same food as the buffet and MDR. We had a debate about that here last month and people went through the roof because I pointed out the French toast was the same all over the ship including Cagneys or Epic club. You can also get the same fruit. muffins, etc at the buffet or MDR. However, the overall experience is better at Cagneys/Epic club for service and atmosphere. But as you stated except for the scrambled eggs that are real in Cagneys, I never saw that much difference. Thanks for sharing and for reminding me that I am not alone in my experience ;)

 

Well you can't get the crab cake Benedict (which I finally decided I don't care for, lol) or the nice breakfast steak (which appears to be tenderloin and preferable to the lunch steak) at the buffet. The Cagney's breakfast buffet also has variety not available in the regular buffet.

 

That said, DH and I pretty much split our breakfasts 50/50 between Cagney's and the buffet.

 

ETA DH reminded me of the fruitti de mare en brioche and the French press coffee in Cagney's...and the fact that your French toast is made to order in Cagney's.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Cubechick

[Love my butler]

Absolutely was aware.

 

That was the thing.

 

We did try Cagney's for breakfast one day. (I think it was our surprise 2nd sea day)

But we had to wait until they opened, later than the buffet. (as I already stated, I am a super early riser and DW works early hours and gets up by 7-ish.)

So timewise, the buffet hours worked better for us.

 

Found the food we had at Cagney's to be the same quality as the buffet, except waiting for it to be prepared and brought. (other than cold scrambled eggs one morning at the buffet. Had the buffet been bad, we would have tried Cagney's more.)

 

Whereas, we only once had trouble with seating in the buffet any day we went down there, thus never having to wait for our food.

Never had to "fight my way" in the buffet, so I think that made it a better option for us all week. (had it been an issue, we definitely would have waited the extra hour or so for Cagney's, but it wasn't)

 

Personally I think we just got lucky with our cruise being filled with late sleepers and our times at the buffet, breakfast and lunch, worked out where our schedule was off 95% of the other passengers.

 

Plus I think my early week disappointments at Cagney's and LaCucina for dinner, turned me off from the specialties for anything later in the week. (more on that coming)

 

Fair enough. As I said, different strokes. If you were happy in the buffet, more power to you. I personally hate buffets and really enjoy the superb service we usually get in Cagney's.

[Love my butler]

I believe that it is only on the smaller of the NCL ships (Sun, Spirit and Star) NCL have their muster drill outside - probably for a reason (all though I have no idea why)... The rest of the ships in the fleet (at least the Jewel class ships and larger) have their muster drill in different venues inside where people are asked to sit down.

 

Recently on the Epic in a haven suite, the muster was inside, but there was NOWHERE to sit.

[robinbtigger]

Have to say I never saw the CD Dan Dan the entire cruise.

 

Was he even there? I wonder if something happened to him or his family. We were on the sailing right after you and NCL called in Soozy from home to be our CD. She barely made it in time for our sailing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mitsugirly]

So glad to read your review and hear your thoughts about the 2 cruise lines in comparison. If you remember, I was in your shoes last year with NCL being the cruise line I'm normally with and trying Carnival for the first time. :D

 

I have learned over the years of doing ship reviews and port reviews that everyone has a different "like" and "dislike". Some are easy to please, others...well you can't please them no matter what. You can have a person on the same cruise as you or even on the same excursion and still have a different perspective of how their day went. That is life and that is what makes everyone different. Reviews are what YOU experienced and what YOUR feelings are. They are not good, bad, right or wrong. They belong to you and only you. Express yourself!!! :D

 

 

 

I do have to admit, now that you mentioned it, the muster drills are ridiculous! They seem to take forever no matter if you are outside or inside. It's terrible. I have never really thought about it until now. (Well, I think about it when we are actually there at the muster drill, but it just quickly fades out of my memory and I usually forget to mention it in my reviews...I think?). I can tell you that what "type" of cabin you have does not dictate if you go outside or inside. We "normally" book interiors and have been inside and outside. It just all depends on the area your cabin is located in.

 

 

I'm with you on the buffet. It doesn't bother me one bit to eat there and I love having a variety to pick from all the time. I also like being able to see my food prior to picking it as well. Then even more so of being able to go back for seconds if my taste buds really liked it. :D I'm not a fan of having to wait for my meal (especially when we have a little one), but usually try to do at least 2 or so MDR or specialty restaurants during a 7 day cruise.

 

 

I can't wait to hear the rest of your review. :)

[bguppies]

So glad to read your review and hear your thoughts about the 2 cruise lines in comparison. If you remember, I was in your shoes last year with NCL being the cruise line I'm normally with and trying Carnival for the first time. :D

 

I have learned over the years of doing ship reviews and port reviews that everyone has a different "like" and "dislike". Some are easy to please, others...well you can't please them no matter what. You can have a person on the same cruise as you or even on the same excursion and still have a different perspective of how their day went. That is life and that is what makes everyone different. Reviews are what YOU experienced and what YOUR feelings are. They are not good, bad, right or wrong. They belong to you and only you. Express yourself!!! :D

 

I do have to admit, now that you mentioned it, the muster drills are ridiculous! They seem to take forever no matter if you are outside or inside. It's terrible. I have never really thought about it until now. (Well, I think about it when we are actually there at the muster drill, but it just quickly fades out of my memory and I usually forget to mention it in my reviews...I think?). I can tell you that what "type" of cabin you have does not dictate if you go outside or inside. We "normally" book interiors and have been inside and outside. It just all depends on the area your cabin is located in.

 

 

I'm with you on the buffet. It doesn't bother me one bit to eat there and I love having a variety to pick from all the time. I also like being able to see my food prior to picking it as well. Then even more so of being able to go back for seconds if my taste buds really liked it. :D I'm not a fan of having to wait for my meal (especially when we have a little one), but usually try to do at least 2 or so MDR or specialty restaurants during a 7 day cruise.

 

 

I can't wait to hear the rest of your review. :)

 

Thanks Mitsugirly...

 

You know I always love your reviews and wish I could post the great pictures you always do..

 

I remember your review last year, coming from the exact oppsoite as us.

From exclusively NCL side, sailing on Carnival for the first time.

 

That review was a big help for us getting ready for this cruise.

 

Thanks to everybody for keeping up.

 

Will try to pop in and later and get going on the surprise sea day that was Roatan.

[PorkChopKid]

I have learned over the years of doing ship reviews and port reviews that everyone has a different "like" and "dislike". Some are easy to please, others...well you can't please them no matter what. You can have a person on the same cruise as you or even on the same excursion and still have a different perspective of how their day went. That is life and that is what makes everyone different. Reviews are what YOU experienced and what YOUR feelings are. They are not good, bad, right or wrong. They belong to you and only you. Express yourself!!! :D

Well said!! Couldn't agree with you more....

[mkad1109]

Thank you for your detailed review. The Dawn was our very first cruise in 2005 and we are going next February ten years later...Really enjoy your perspective on the ship even though we are in a lowly mini suite! Only once were we able to enjoy the wonder of a suite to the upsell fairy!:)

[BabsinTX]

Since you opt to dispute my post ---- How many elevators would be enough ??

 

Another poster said muster drills were held outside on the Star -- That is not true. I didn't say anything about the Dawn muster drills in my post.

 

You stated John D'Souza was the best in another post. Why didn't he get your issues taken care of ???

 

If I ask politely, the crew at the Blue Lagoon will assist me with whatever I ask for.

 

Searching for flaws can be productive or detrimental if you have an agenda to prove or disprove.

Brand bias can cloud judgement --- Do you agree ??

 

BGUPPIES: I'm really enjoying your review and look forward to any additional info you'll be posting about the Dawn. I'll be sailing on Princess for the first time in 2015 and you can bet I'll be comparing Princess to NCL on all sorts things: cabins, food, crew, entertainment, etc.

 

And I do the same thing with NCL. On the Epic we were constantly discussing how it compared to the Sun (my favorite ship). In our case, we still prefer the Sun, while others love the Epic. I guess you could say we are biased in favor of the Sun and at this point in our cruising experience we are biased toward NCL.

[newmexicoNita]

Absolutely was aware.

 

That was the thing.

 

We did try Cagney's for breakfast one day. (I think it was our surprise 2nd sea day)

But we had to wait until they opened, later than the buffet. (as I already stated, I am a super early riser and DW works early hours and gets up by 7-ish.)

So timewise, the buffet hours worked better for us.

 

Found the food we had at Cagney's to be the same quality as the buffet, except waiting for it to be prepared and brought. (other than cold scrambled eggs one morning at the buffet. Had the buffet been bad, we would have tried Cagney's more.)

 

Whereas, we only once had trouble with seating in the buffet any day we went down there, thus never having to wait for our food.

Never had to "fight my way" in the buffet, so I think that made it a better option for us all week. (had it been an issue, we definitely would have waited the extra hour or so for Cagney's, but it wasn't)

 

Personally I think we just got lucky with our cruise being filled with late sleepers and our times at the buffet, breakfast and lunch, worked out where our schedule was off 95% of the other passengers.

 

Plus I think my early week disappointments at Cagney's and LaCucina for dinner, turned me off from the specialties for anything later in the week. (more on that coming)

 

Bill

 

We have had VIP service 3 times. The first time we loved eating breakfast and lunch in Cagney's. The last time, on the Sun, it was in Il Agagio's. The novelty had worn off and we were not nearly as impressed. Of course we were not crazy over our concierge either. We have learned to miss the crowds at the buffet by eating pretty early or waiting until just before closing time. This works for lunch as well as breakfast and if the crowds look too bad we can always hit Blue Lagoon.

Edited April 21, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[newmexicoNita]

As you can see from our footnote, we've been on a bunch of cruises in the last 4-1/2 years. Most were on NCL, a bunch on CCL and one Princess and one Celebrity. People ask us all of the time what are the differences. I agree with you and have to say that they are more SIMILAR than DISSIMILAR. The things that are different tend to be VERY SUBJECTIVE. You see it all of the time here on Cruise Critic.... someone will say that food on "A" was better than on "B" and someone else will have the opposite opinion. Maybe it's the service on "A" compared to "B", etc, etc.

 

While on a cruise, I'll hear people complain about whatever cruise line we're cruising with and say that some other cruise line is better. When asked who did they cruise with on their FIRST cruise, more times than not it's the OTHER cruise line. Seems our first cruise is such an exciting experience that we end up measuring everyone else against it. It's hard for any cruise line to put the "WOW" into an individuals 2nd, 3rd, etc cruise.

 

I'm reminded of the couple we met on an NCL cruise who said that was their FIRST and LAST NCL cruise. When asked why the answer was "no organized bridge card games" and "no classes about the ports we were visiting"... We were FLOORED at the response. I guess how good or bad the experience will be comes down to an individuals expectations....

 

I suspect you and I are alike in that we search out lower cost cruises so we can cruise more often.... Enjoying your review, keep up the good work.

 

this just shows how subjective everything in life can be, certainly cruising. You mention the couple was upset because there was no organized Bridge; well, I am a huge Bridge lover, would gladly love a regular organized game like Princess, but I do not cruise to play Bridge and I would never choose a ship or stay away from a cruise line based on the things that bothered that couple. Obviously NCL was not for them.

 

So far, I think OP is doing a good job staying objective even though his loyalty to Carnival is coming through loud and clear. I also think the responses so far have been honest and sincere. Yes, most lines are more similar than different, but each has its own personality. I don't think he realizes how much he seems to favor Carnival, but that is ok. We all have a preference and some of us do not try to hide it. This is what makes CC so informative and fun to read.

 

I am enjoying reading this review as we will be on the Dawn for the first time next week.

 

Another thing, of course that must be remembered when reading any review based on sailing from early March until this week, Spring break does play a part. Lots of kids, big crowds, etc. makes extra work for the crew and longer waits with more irritants for adults.

Edited April 21, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[bguppies]

We have had VIP service 3 times. The first time we loved eating breakfast and lunch in Cagney's. The last time, on the Sun, it was in Il Agagio's. The novelty had worn off and we were not nearly as impressed. Of course we were not crazy over our concierge either. We have learned to miss the crowds at the buffet by eating pretty early or waiting until just before closing time. This works for lunch as well as breakfast and if the crowds look too bad we can always hit Blue Lagoon.

 

I will readily admit, that I think we got EXTRAORDINARILY lucky with the times we chose to hit the buffet each day, as we only had one day we had to even vaguely hunt for a seat or experience lines for food.

 

Considering how full the ship was with all the kids on spring break, we were fortunate.

 

I have no doubt that 5 people on our sailing, hitting the buffet during the week, we might be the only ones who got that lucky. (but I'll take it.)

[bguppies]

Woke up on our unscheduled sea day and this was the day we chose to try Cagney's breakfast. (so if it was truly great, we would go here the rest of the week, over the buffet)

 

Have to say from the Garden Villa, the walk down to Cagney's is a no brainer.

 

I tried some eggs.

 

DW tried the french toast.

 

We both thought the food was good, just not appreciably better than the buffet was the day before. (except the bacon was better, now that I think of it. Buffet bacon was never done well)

 

I'm not huge into enjoying a meal more with being served and waiting for it to arrive versus helping myself, so the service (although great) wasn't enough to sway me to Cagney's for breakfast.

 

Just a matter of convience the rest of the cruise. (which usually meant the buffet)

 

I think most mornings on sea days we would head down to Pearly Kings and play some Wii bowling while waiting for the morning trivia to start.

Was funny how as the week progressed we kind of had an unconventional bowling league started. :D

We did decent a couple of times during the week at various trivia games, but only SIL won a TV theme music trivia one evening.

 

The trivia, for the most part on NCL was much better attended, consistently, than on Carnival.

I have to say I enjoyed the entertainment staff on most of our Carnival cruises, more than I did the staff on the Dawn. (the newest guy, who it was just his 2nd week was the best)

But clearly, the most popular one, Romeo, just wasn't our cup of tea, as he drew a crowd of older cruisers to whichever event he was hosting and had them hooting and hollering.

Definitely a way personal preference thing..

 

Have to give Kudos to NCL here also for their movie offerings being in the main theater, versus, as Carnival does, having the movies in a lounge closer to the Spinnaker on the Dawn.

 

Also the movies they showed, were much fresher.

Saving Mr. Banks was this sea day at noon and Despicable Me 2 was another afternoon.

 

Watched a volleyball tournament at the basketball court (literally out the back door of the GV) and did a late music trivia.

 

Pretty much everybody else in our group was obsessed with Bingo.

Apprently they have some intresting deals throughout the week.

Never have gotten Bingo or will, but hey half of them thought trivia games were boring. To each their own. ;)

 

Have to say, for as huge as our cabin was with the Queen bed and the table for four, a plush chair, etc.. we still had a ton of room, so we definitely utilized the cabin much more this cruise, than any other cruise before.

A lot of lazy afternoons watching the sea out the floor to ceiling windows, in AC..

 

This night the entire group of 14 decided to have dinner at La Cucina.

I'm a nut for good Italian food, so I was very excited to try it out.

 

Now I will say at this point, that outside of the server at the Blue Lagoon that first early morning, every server at the various venues we tried, Cagney's, La Cucina, Aqua, and Blue Lagoon (later) were very good, to exceptional.

I very rarely have had poor servers on Carnival, but overall, I'd have to give the edge, servicewise, to NCL....

 

Now as for the food at La Cucina, I literally cannot remember what I ordered, it was that memorable.

 

Not bad, like the two steak at Cagney's, just decent Italian. (and it was only $15, so no biggie)

But as an Italian fan, who always manages to find the best, hole in the wall, AWESOME family place, wherever he moves, La Cucina was just a meal.

Everybody had a great time hanging for a long dinner and nobody got a bad dish.

 

Tried to get to the Tim kaminsky show, but somehow we got sidetracked and wound up back at the cabin again.

 

Again the dailys, a time change note and towel animal awaited us.

 

For some reason, no matter what time of day, we got back to the cabin, that Disney movie Frozen seemed to be on the TV.

 

Never saw it before the cruise, but I think I wound up seeing the movie, in 10 minute pieces all week, about 3 complete times.;)

 

So for all you parents out there, who's kids probably watch it daily....

"Let it go.....Let it go.... The Cold Never Bothered Me....."

I still can't get that song out of my head, 8 days after the cruise...:D

Edited April 21, 2014 by bguppies

[BuffetPantsPls]

The thing I found odd about the Muster Drill, coming from an inside cabin backround.

 

As an inside cabin person, you expect to be the ones getting stuck outside for muster drill.

Never bothered us before.

Hit or miss on Carnival over the years.

 

I was just astonished, after learning the rest of our group in suites on deck 12, did their muster drill in the lounge, that NCL would not have the people in the Garden Villa, who paid more than anyone else on the ship for that cruise, seated in a lounge for their muster drill.

It is two cabins, with 14 people max, isolated on deck 14 by themselves.

You could send them ANYWHERE on the ship for a muster drill.

Seemed extremely strange.

 

The muster drill being outside would not have even bothered me, other than being a minor inconvience, except the fact that NCL apparently makes no provisions for the elderly and impaired. (or those 3-4 crewmembers at our muster station were just poorly trained)

THAT bothered me.

 

Carnival is definitely ahead of NCL in taking care of those passengers.

Making sure they all get to do the muster drill in a lounge and NOT have to head outside and stand at all.

 

I just find it hard to believe with the Dawn being so small, that between the main theater, Spinnaker lounge, two main dining rooms and other seating areas througout the ship, that there are not enough places to seat all of the passengers for the drill.

 

to be fair, when the boat really does go down, I'm sure any sort of inconvenience will simply be an after thought =)

 

speakin of, what's with captains these days not going down with their ship

[FL Sunshine]

NCL's policy that elderly and impaired people must just line up and stand for whatever the duration of the muster drill is, then I definitely give the edge in muster drills to Carnival, big time. (hopefully it was just isolated, poorly trained staff).

 

I agree! Something I forgot to mention in my review of our cruise on March 23 is that NCL does not provide arm bands for children with cabin info muster drill station in case they get separated from their parents during

an emergency. When I asked a crew member about the arm bands they said to ask at guest services. They said NCL doesn't have those. I have sailed Carnival and RCCL and they both have the arm bands for children. I find NCL practice related to safety for children unacceptable and I explained my concerns to NCL.

[bguppies]

We were in GV 14000 the week before you and the 2nd elevator didn't work then either and they knew it. The elevators were an issue with the card getting up to deck 14 all week for us as well

 

Good to know.

 

Yeah Once we figured out later the first sea day and mentioned it to the Hotel Director, he said he'd look into it, but nothing ever happened.

 

When that elevator to the left of it went completely down, it was tough getting back to the GV..

 

Kind of strange only having basically two routes.

 

Used to if a hallway is blocked, you can always go down a bit then cut back over, etc..or take a different set of elevators and come from opposite direction.

[FL Sunshine]

e

Enjoying your review. Thank you! :)