Just back from Dawn - any ?

[RIvacationgirl]

Hi we are on the August 8th sailing and are thinking of booking the spa pass. Do you know what the price was for the weekly pass and was there a discount for couples? If you could post the dailies that would be great. We are trying to figure out dinner times and I am wondering about the show schedule. I know from reading these boards that the dailies change from week to week for many things but does the show schedule usually stay the same? This is our first cruise and we are really excited. Thanks for your offer to answer questions it really helps newbies like me.

 

When we sailed the Dawn, there was not a discount for couples for the spa pass.

[jenesaisquoi]

How many formal (Norwegian's Night Out Party) nights were there on the Dawn? Which night(s) were they?

[declansdad]

There is a thread about lobsters being a thing in the past for NCL.

 

To my taste ship board lobster was never that good. Small tails or spiny lobsters, which to a Bostonian just is not lobster. RIP.:(

 

 

On the 2 Carnival and 1 Disney cruise we had lobster from the Bay of Fundy. For a Maritimer, that's the best.

 

They offered lobster tail at Tepenyaki but I have had better.

[meglet]

There was only one dress up or not and it was Saturday on the Dawn.

[mdc1009]

What was Second City? I know they have a Presumed Murdered Luncheon. Any information about that? Times and price? TIA!

[meglet]

There's another thread on CC just about the luncheon. On our sailing, it was called NCLIS and you had to reserve it the first sea day in the Atrium between 10:30 and 11. It took place in LaCucina the last sea day and the cost was $20 pp. We didn't go to it.

 

The Second City night time performance was EXACTLY the same as the last two years. We got up and left after the second sketch. Fortunately, I had read here on CC that the performance was the same, so we sat up on the second level at the end of a row so we wouldn't inconvenience any other passengers when we left.

[jenesaisquoi]

There was only one dress up or not and it was Saturday on the Dawn.

 

Thanks!!

[NH Cruisers]

What did you do with your three days in Bermuda? We're still weighing our options as we've never been before. Definitely plan to see Horseshoe Bay even though I know about the crowds and we want to get a rum swizzle at the Swizzle Inn but otherwise, totally open to suggestions. Our sons, 21 & 18, may or may not be with us (they enjoy sleeping in a lot).

I have been to Bermuda several times. We like to site see and do all the touristy stuff like most cruising folks do. This last cruise we took, at the end of May into June, we decided to go into that museum just off the ship that has the custom house on the hill. For $12 pp we had a really good time. We watched the dolphins swiming around jumping, I could sit and relax for quite a while looking at them. There were two 8 week old dolphins raising hell. It was worth the $12 to me. The museum and fort have a lot of interesting information and things to see. Some good photo ops too. I wish we knew to go there on our prior trips.

[NH Cruisers]

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Tim Kaminsky will be our comedian...He was filming a movie in Canada in May and he is on a different ship now....

Tim is awsome. Although... If you are afraid of being made a spectacle of, you best sit in the balcony. You'll have a decent chance of being picked to go on stage sitting below.

[NanaBet]

We were on the July 4 cruise. No, there is no lobster in the MDR any more. Instead they have a lobster/linquine special in the Garden Cafe on the last night out. It wasn't worth it.

 

We also had Armen as our cruise director. After sailing many, many times on NCL I have to say that he and his crew were by far the friendliest and most entertaining group so far. They were always present and willing to lend a hand if needed as well.

 

Second City was a big disappointment. Their first show as a repeat from last year and the year before. I'd never go again.

 

We love St. Georges and wish the ships were still able to dock there. We take the ferry over and then go to Tobacco Bay. While we enjoyed Horseshoe Bay, we love Tobacco Bay. There are less people and it's a more relaxed place to be.

 

Thanks for the tips on the Museum. We've never done that but will definitely put that on next year's trip plan.

[Mmg8142]

Armen/Armin? was the cruise director. We really go on vacation for the peace and quiet, so I have no impression of him.

 

From the dailies

 

Suspend your disbelief with the magic of world class thrillusionist David DaVinci, as he introduces you to his augmented reality. In this production, fiction is real, and deception is enjoyed. Prepare to be mystified by mind boggling illusions and jaw dropping magic, seamlessly fused with exotic parrots that materialize from thin air and perform their own artful demonstrations of dexterity. You'll laugh, you'll cheer, your jaw will hit the floor as David DaVinci presents his interpretation of the age old art of magic and illusions.

 

My coworkers went on the 7/4 sailing and said to make sure you don't sit in the balcony for these type shows because you are able to see how it's all done. Unless that's something you'd like to see that is!

[GradUT]

Meglet,

Thanks for offering to answer questions. We are considering a cruise out of N.O. over the Christmas holidays with our two kids who are both in their mid-20's. We have cruised most recently on Princess and HAL, but have never cruised on NCL. We will have 3 sea days on this Western Caribbean cruise. Could you answer the following questions, please?

 

1. How many pools are there? Do they get crowded on sea days? Will we encounter chair hogs?

 

2. What activities (games, trivia, dance lessons, etc.) did they have? Were there lots of things to do on sea days or not so much?

 

3. Does this ship have one of those large screens, generally by the pool, that plays movies, sports, etc. all day long?

 

4. Could you make reservations for the MDR if you did the Anytime Dining option? (We were able to do this on HAL and it worked great for us.)

 

5. Since you cruised during the summer, I assume there were a lot of kids on board (as I assume there will be at Christmas.) Were they "overrunning" the ship or did they pretty much stay in the kids clubs?

 

6. This is probably the largest ship we've ever cruised on. Did it seem crowded?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to answer these questions.

[meglet]

Hi GradUT

 

1. There is the T Rex pool for the little ones and the main pools are kind of an odd combination. There's a rectangular one with 2 nearby hot tubs and the band stage. Then behind the band stage, there's a small rectangular one with another two hot tubs. On sea days, the area was very crowded and I've always tried to avoid it. Yes, there are chair hogs. You may want to google search for pictures of the Dawn's pool area to see there are loungers right around the pool and then tables and chairs. Loungers also are on levels built up from the pool deck and can be found all around the deck above the pool. Depends on whether you like to be close to the pool to take a quick dip. On deck 13, there is a so called "quiet area" with another good sized, rectangular if I remember, hot tub.

 

2. On my cruise, there was a lot to do on sea days. Probably will be different over Christmas time. You might want to search cruise critic to see if anyone can post the dailies. Here's just a small number of things from the first sea day - and these are just the free activities. Wii, country line dance, morning trivia, golf pro clinic, bridge, art history class, golf putting, salsa dance class, cooking demonstration, towel folding show, Name that Tune. For a fee, there are other fitness activities, Bingo, Deal or No Deal, casino tournaments.

 

3. There is no large screen outside.

 

4. I have heard that NCL now offers reservations in the main dining rooms, but we didn't use that, so maybe someone else can confirm that for you.

 

5. Yes, there are kids all over. The buffet is a madhouse. I teach and while I like my students very much, when I go on vacation, I try to avoid yelling and screaming as much as possible. We spend a LOT of time on our balcony and over the years have gone from balcony to mini suite, to this year aft suite. Would it be possible for you and the "boys" to book an aft suite and aft balcony next to each other? Or a mini suite and inside across the hall? It would just give you a private outdoor space if you're looking for some quiet. There are two balcony cabins on deck 10 aft BETWEEN the suites that have ginormous balconies.

 

6. Yes, the ship does seem crowded sometimes, but you can plan to avoid it. My number one suggestion is to avoid the buffet. If you can swing a suite, you could have breakfast and lunch at Cagney's which is lovely and mostly quiet. If you have a balcony, you can avoid the crowds at the pool. Some of the pay restaurants are quite good, less crowding there too. But you could also ask the main dining room maitre d' when they tend to get the biggest crowd and plan to eat earlier or later.

 

I've never cruised at Christmas, so it might be good to search cruise critic for cruising at Christmas and see if you can find any reviews particular to that.

 

Happy sailings!

[declansdad]

We used reservation for the Venetian and Aqua and it made life better for us but there were many unhappy people waiting to get seated because they weren't aware it could be done.

 

Personally I think the system doesn't work and I think it should all be reservations or simply use the traditional two seating method. Part of the issue is that there is no room outside the entrances for the MDRs for people to wait. Both of the check-in areas are facing the stairs.

 

We didn't notice chairhogs on our sea days but we couldn't find a seat in the mornings either. They were all full and people weren't leaving. Just another reason to always book a cabin with a balcony.

[negc]

We used reservation for the Venetian and Aqua and it made life better for us but there were many unhappy people waiting to get seated because they weren't aware it could be done.

 

Personally I think the system doesn't work and I think it should all be reservations or simply use the traditional two seating method. Part of the issue is that there is no room outside the entrances for the MDRs for people to wait. Both of the check-in areas are facing the stairs.

 

We didn't notice chairhogs on our sea days but we couldn't find a seat in the mornings either. They were all full and people weren't leaving. Just another reason to always book a cabin with a balcony.

 

And yet My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean which allows guest to just show up or to make reservations seems to work out well in our experience. I would think that those unhappy people who weren't aware that they could make reservations could have resolved the problem by making them for the remainder of their cruise. I am just hopeful that the digital signage that purports to show just how crowded each dining venue is at any given time, works better than it did when we cruised on the Norwegian Spirit a few years back.

[Darthdaddy]

On past Dawn cruise to Bermuda the musical entertainment was exceptional...multiple wonderful ads.

Josie & Patti were a husband/wife act that drew huge crowds night after night. Are they currently on the Dawn?

Thanks.

[mdc1009]

And where do you make reservations? On board? Of so, when? Where? I mean for dinner in the main dining room.

Edited August 4, 2014 by mdc1009
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[meglet]

Jose and Patti must be on vacation or a different ship. There was a couple that performed in the Atrium every night though.

[declansdad]

And where do you make reservations? On board? Of so, when? Where? I mean for dinner in the main dining room.

 

 

Before the cruise they can be done online through the My NCL site. I think that's were is was, we simply had one couple make reservations for 6 people. On board they were done at one of the guest services desks.

[GradUT]

Meglet, THANK YOU so much for all of your good information/advice. My spouse would love to get a balcony, but I'm the thrifty one in the family and I'm having a hard time justifying the expense. But you give a lot of good reasons to do so.

[PathfinderEss]

Glad you had a good cruise, welcome back.

[kingoftheicedragons]

We'll be sailing on the Dawn in September. We're new to NCL (and a bit disappointed about the new no lobster thing, and I wouldn't go to an upcharge restaurant to get it), so my questions may be minor and may be known to several here, but I'm going to ask them anyway.

 

1. My wife likes crepes, and I think I read that they were available on NCL, can you confirm that the Dawn has these, and where?

2. My wife also likes smoked salmon for breakfast. Does NCL/Dawn have this?

3. We normally don't like adding on upcharge restaurants when we cruise but because this cruise is so close to our anniversary, I'm thinking of it. We'd probably only go to the one of the cheaper ones for $15 or 20, would you recommend it?

[meglet]

Sorry I don't know about salmon. We had an aft suite and ate breakfast in Cagney's in the morning and they had salmon there. Maybe if you search CC for NCL breakfast menu, you'll find something.

 

Dawn offers crepes in the evenings in the buffet - all the way aft on the starboard side I believe. If she likes chocolate crepes, see if they'll use some of the chocolate from the fruit and marshmallow skewers area next to the crepe station. I think it was better chocolate than the Smuckers they used at the crepe station.

 

I think you'd enjoy Le Bistro to celebrate your anniversary. Menu is available on NCL's webiste.

[crystalaziza]

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Tim Kaminsky will be our comedian...He was filming a movie in Canada in May and he is on a different ship now....

 

I'm with you on Tim !!!!!!!!! Saw him on the Pride of America in 2012. He was wonderful and very kind. Would love to see him when we go on the 14 day in November. I wish there were a way to track him!!!!!!!

[meglet]

You probably already thought of this, but does Tim have a facebook page? The comedian on our sailing mentioned his. You might be able to track Tim's performance whereabouts on social media.