Dawn July 4-11 Review

[Anngeojes]

Just got off the dawn Boston to Bermuda cruise. Below is a quick review, feel free to ask questions:

 

Our Party:

4 adults (80,80, 51, 51) and 1 teen (15yrs)…all have done multiple (7)RCL and (2)Celebrity cruises….our first time on NCL

 

The Ship:

Obviously, an older ship, the crew was always doing something to clean her up. I must say it was one of the more confusing ships to navigate. i loved the promenade deck, walking a few laps was a great way to prepare for dinner.

 

Hurricane Arthur:

We left the day the hurricane was hitting boston. The captain left the dock around 5:30pm, but stayed close to boston until the hurricane passed by. As a result, we arrived in Bermuda at 7pm Sunday instead of 11am. As compensation, the captain kept the ship in bermuda until 6am Wednesday instead of 5:30 pm Tuesday. Given the circumstances, it was a great move, nobody we talked to had a problem.

 

Even though we waited out the storm, the first night and next morning were pretty bumpy (12-15 ft seas), but the rest of the week was great.

 

Deck Chairs:

Clearly, the dawn does not have enough deck chairs for everyone on the ship. If you wanted to sit by the pool, you needed to be out by 7:30am, if you wanted anything in the sun you needed to be out by 9:30m. The one thing that shocked me was that there were only 7 chairs on the entire promenade deck. We figured that if we struck out on the top decks, we could at least sit outside on deck seven. On the second sea day, there were dozens of people looking for chairs, many of which ended up sitting at on the deck. We were kind of shocked that the cruise line can't address this.

 

 

Entertainment:

Great shows, some of the best we have seen on a ship. The production show was great, the comedian, Rod Long was really funny. Second City wasn't for everyone, but we thoroughly enjoyed all their shows. Elements and the magic show weren't as good, but still very solid entertainment. Also enjoyed battle of the sexes, love and marriage and dancing with the stars. Dancing with the stars was particularly entertaining as NCL incorporated the comedian in the show, very funny.

 

Food:

Surprisingly enough, the food and service in the main dining rooms was far better than in the specialty restaurants. We ate at venetian once for dinner, once for lunch and once for breakfast, all were excellent. We ate at Aqua three times for dinner, Eduardo our waiter, was by far the best server on the cruise. La Cucina was good, but the food was luke warm and the service uneven. Bamboo was awful, the service was terrible and most of the food served was cold (i think we caught them on a bad night, the staff seemed to be yelling at each other). Based on the bamboo and la cucina experience, we chose to stay with Aqua and venetian the rest of the cruise. I heard Cagney's was good, did not want to take a chance.

 

The buffet was interesting. The food was ok, but it was challenging to navigate and every time we went, I felt like we were constantly bumping into people. Embarkation day was a nightmare, most mornings felt like the southeast expressway at 7:30am in boston.

 

We tried the Blue Lagoon for lunch, essentially the same food as the buffet (burgers, dogs, etc.) but the service was lacking. We never received our appetizers and had to ask for silverware.

 

They say you can eat whenever you want, which seemed to work if you at at 6pm like us, but several times we saw big lines trying to eat between 7-8 in the main dining rooms. The good specialty restaurants (carneys/lacucina) seemed to book up early on sea days.

 

Passengers:

An eclectic mix of people. Everything from old people on scooters to kids/teenagers (800+). I have never been on a cruise with so many people drinking early in the morning or kids running around so late at night. We did not let the crazy behavior bother us, but there was a fair amount of poor behavior from both adults on children on this cruise.

 

The Room:

We booked two family balcony rooms (9218,9220) supposedly 203 sq feet each. The rooms were quite small and poorly designed, especially for three people. Once we opened the third bed we could not get to the balcony. If you were in the bathroom, you needed to be an acrobat to shower, shave and change with the door closed. The shelves in the closet required some tough yoga moves to get at your clothes.

 

I am sure it would be easier for two people, but would not recommend this room for a family.

 

Bermuda:

Loved Bermuda, we bought the 2 day bus pass. Went to horseshoe bay and hamilton on day one and St George's and the Crystal Caves on day 2, all were great. Also visited the shopping area and museum at the dockyard, both were worth the time.

 

Overall:

NCl Freestyle cruising was fun, but I am not sure we will try it again soon. We loved the entertainment, but the uneven service and small rooms left a bad taste.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review and trip report. Glad you enjoyed your time in Bermuda.

 

Keith

[Love my butler]

Your experience in Bamboo was typical. Horrid service and food every time I have tried it.

 

Your BL experience was also pretty typical. Most of the servers working there just don't seem to care.

 

I don't care for Rod Long, but maybe you have to be drunk to enjoy him.

 

Was the magician that young guy who comes out in blue jeans and does cheap tricks? Really low brow entertainment. Seems like NCL is cutting the entertainment budget.

[Anngeojes]

I will admit Rod Long started slow, but he had some good material. He also hosted the "losers lounge" at dancing with the stars, his interviews with the contestants after the lost were priceless.

 

I forget the magicians name, but he was probably in his 40's with an assistant named elizabeth…standard magic, but very entertaining.

[dexddd]

Thanks for the review. Interesting to hear the BL service is still as bad as we had it in 2012. When we went on the BA though this year, O'Sheehans had great service every time.

 

Bamboo - the place was around a 1/3 full when we went on the Dawn and service really poor.

 

Also interesting to hear about your take on the people. We went in June at the time and it really felt like we were on a spring break cruise but overall everyone was well behaved and we met some really nice CC people.

Edited July 12, 2014 by dexddd

[Lisa63]

Thank you for your review. We just booked Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda for next summer. We've done the route many times, mainly on the former Norwegian Majesty, and we look forward to returning.

 

Interesting about the deck chairs. I have read this before and would have hoped it would have been addressed by now.

[jonsmom]

Thank you for your review. We just booked Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda for next summer. We've done the route many times, mainly on the former Norwegian Majesty, and we look forward to returning.

 

Interesting about the deck chairs. I have read this before and would have hoped it would have been addressed by now.

 

Hi Lisa - we are also considering booking for next August. We havent been since the Majesty days either.

 

My husband loves Bermuda & the idea of not flying so since he will be the BIG 5-0 next year thinking of surprising him.

 

To the OP - where did you buy your bus passes? From everything I have read you have to go to Hamilton to buy which makes no sense. The point of the pass is to be able to have unlimited bus & ferry yet you have to buy a ticket to buy passes.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[NanaBet]

I also have just returned from the July 4-11 Bermuda cruise to the Dawn. I have a very different view of our trip. We sail this time every year from Boston starting with the Majesty, then the Spirit and this our third time on the Dawn.

 

Due to the hurricane our departure wasn't until 5:30p.m This allowed us to then sail close to Cape Cod to let the brunt of the storm pass by us. Per the Captain at our meet and greet, the waves were 5-7'. Those were the highest we encountered. We were mid ship and honestly didn't find the movement bad at all.

 

With so far as the children on this ship, our shipmates and I commented over and over again how the parents kept the children on a short leash to say it nicely. In years past we've been pushed and tripped by children running wild on the ship. Not once did this happen. Hubby and I are both in our early 60's and our shipmates are in their mid 60's and we all felt the same.

 

The staff was amazing as usual. We dined at Cagney's, Teppanyaki and LaCuchina and had great service and wonderful meals. We ate at both the Venetian and Aqua on the other night and no complaints at all with that. Yes, there were wait times, but nothing that we couldn't handle. We ate both breakfast and lunch at the Garden Cafe. We found the varieties on both port and starboard side of the Cafe to be of good quality. We may have had to search a bit for a table for four however we always found one or two.

 

The entertainment was extremely good. We loved Twice as Nice and the Great Ideas group. We thought the comedian was extremely funny.

The dance group and singers do a great job as well. We were very disappointed with The Second City. Although a different group of comics, they repeated basically the same skits that we've seen on the last two cruises. I don't think I'd go see them again on our next cruise.

 

Embarkation and disembarking were handled very smoothly. I also comment the Cruise Director Arman and his staff for an amazing job! He and his crew were the friendliest group of folks that we've encountered thus far. Each and every one of them were gracious, friendly and also providing assistance when asked.

 

Once again, it was an amazing trip and we've already booked again for next July!

[negc]

Hi Lisa - we are also considering booking for next August. We havent been since the Majesty days either.

 

My husband loves Bermuda & the idea of not flying so since he will be the BIG 5-0 next year thinking of surprising him.

 

To the OP - where did you buy your bus passes? From everything I have read you have to go to Hamilton to buy which makes no sense. The point of the pass is to be able to have unlimited bus & ferry yet you have to buy a ticket to buy passes.

The unlimited bus and ferry passes are available at booths in the Royal Dockyard. I believe that I read that they may even be for sale onboard the ship but need confirmation of that. Certainly no need to go to Hamilton to purchase them.

[ShelleyQT]

Did they have the show "Elements?"

 

What time was the show on the last night?

 

Thanks!

Shelley

[jonsmom]

The unlimited bus and ferry passes are available at booths in the Royal Dockyard. I believe that I read that they may even be for sale onboard the ship but need confirmation of that. Certainly no need to go to Hamilton to purchase them.

 

Thank you!

[Anngeojes]

we bought the bus passes at the shore excursion desk on the ship, $25 for two days. They were also available as you got off the ship, same price, cash only.

[Anngeojes]

they do have elements, it was on day six. The day six and seven shows were at 6:30 and 9:00

[jonsmom]

we bought the bus passes at the shore excursion desk on the ship, $25 for two days. They were also available as you got off the ship, same price, cash only.

 

Thanks!

[Highboy90]

If my upcoming cruise aboard the Dawn next week falls between the two reviews mentioned, I'll be happy. :D Thanks for sharing folks.

[declansdad]

If my upcoming cruise aboard the Dawn next week falls between the two reviews mentioned, I'll be happy. :D Thanks for sharing folks.

 

We too just got off that cruise and my review would be closer to the OPs. I thought the food was ok but I have had better on other lines. The main shows were on par with others I have seen, Rod Long was entertaining but Second City were the best shows on the cruise.

 

The staff, for the most part, were very friendly but some of the servers never smiled and seemed to not enjoy their jobs.

 

That being said, we would cruise with NCL again but it wouldn't be our first choice and we would need a much bigger cabin if our son came along.

[emcelh]

OP, you mentioned that the buffet was a "nightmare" on embarkation day. Was the MDR not open for lunch or did you choose the buffet instead? I 've always found the buffet to be a nightmare on embarkation day too so we don't go there unless we have to.

[Anngeojes]

Yes, we chose the buffet (poor research on my part!)……there was not much signage on what was open, but I do believe the Venetian was open and definitely would have been a better choice. Next time I would opt for a suite, it looked like Cagney's was never crowded for Breakfast or Lunch.

[1smudslide]

Is Blue Lagoon switching to O'Sheehans. I'll be on 9/5 and wondering if I should plan a prime rib night there. It was very good on the BA.

[declansdad]

Is Blue Lagoon switching to O'Sheehans. I'll be on 9/5 and wondering if I should plan a prime rib night there. It was very good on the BA.

 

 

It was still the Blue Lagoon last week. It was one of the better spots to eat but it has a very limited menu.

[untailored bostonian]

Yes, we chose the buffet (poor research on my part!)……there was not much signage on what was open, but I do believe the Venetian was open and definitely would have been a better choice. Next time I would opt for a suite, it looked like Cagney's was never crowded for Breakfast or Lunch.

 

If you can afford the upgrade to a suite, Cagney's is a great perk.

[Safeandsound]

We had lunch in Venetian on embarkation day and it was great. They try to steer everyone to the garden cafe on deck 12 but dont be fooled, go to the Venetian as it is a much better choice. We had an aft suite on deck 10 and it rocked the nation. We only went to Cagneys a few times for breakfast and lunch because we were with a group of 15 but every time DW and I went Cagneys was good and never busy at all.

 

We ate as a group of 15, at two tables every night at Venetian. It took them the entire week to figure out we were all together. The service was pretty slow most nights and almost every night one table was finishing their deserts before the other got their entrees.

 

All and all a great cruise though.

 

S&S

[jonsmom]

We had lunch in Venetian on embarkation day and it was great. They try to steer everyone to the garden cafe on deck 12 but dont be fooled, go to the Venetian as it is a much better choice. We had an aft suite on deck 10 and it rocked the nation. We only went to Cagneys a few times for breakfast and lunch because we were with a group of 15 but every time DW and I went Cagneys was good and never busy at all.

 

We ate as a group of 15, at two tables every night at Venetian. It took them the entire week to figure out we were all together. The service was pretty slow most nights and almost every night one table was finishing their deserts before the other got their entrees.

 

All and all a great cruise though.

 

S&S

 

S&S - is Cagney's free for breakfast & lunch?

[Barb Nahoumi]

S&S - is Cagney's free for breakfast & lunch?

 

If you're in a full suite.

 

We also do the MDR on embarkation day, when not in suites. It avoids having to jockey for tables in the buffet.