MITSUGIRLYS DAWN TO BERMUDA NOVEL (or review as some may call it)

[mitsugirly]

This was the best review !! I literally felt like I was there with you all! Thank you for taking the time to do it. I have been on the Dawn 4 times since Boston is a 15 minute drive from my house and you had pictures of things that I never saw lol.We also rented a Whaler and had a great time. Thanks again Kim!!

 

You are so lucky to be so close to a port. I can only dream of that. I would definitely get in a lot more cruising if I lived closer to a port that's for sure.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. I appreciate the comments.

 

Great review-thank you again for doing it! I'm going on the Dawn at the end of August and thanks to your review, now have some more ideas for Bermuda!

 

You should try to sail the Breeze before she leaves Miami-I recommend the 8-day southern Caribbean cruise. Or try the Magic when she moves to Port Canaveral-4 ports on a 7 day cruise vs 3 ports when sailing from Galveston. The Breeze is my favorite Carnival ship to date (sailing for the third time on her next Feb) and I think your family would have a blast!:D

 

Thanks and you are welcome, especially for more ideas. It never hurts to go loaded with things to do...even if you can't do them all. I learned that first hand this time around.

 

The Breeze is my #1 ship I'm wanting to try right now...and I'm not even going to mention part of it is because of Matt...just saying. :eek: ;) The only problem is, every cruise that I look at that I would be available is the 6 day cruise and I really don't want a 6 day cruise. :( The price of that 6 day cruise is more than most 7 day cruises.

 

I did read the dancing ships would include the Magic over to PC. I have a feeling I will end up on that one for sure. (Which is my second choice). I will just have to check out the ports that it goes to in order to make a decision. I'm good with either ship. :p We absolutely loved the Dream and think the Magic and Breeze would be a step up from that one.

[WinstonsMom]

Another great review - glad I remembered to look for it over here in NCL-Land (I normally live in Carnival World). Your experiences have given me ideas for our upcoming Splendor cruise in October, even though this will be our third cruise to Bermuda! Thanks again for the thorough job - I know it must have been a labor of love since it had to have been a tremendous amount of work. I hope you've decided you will keep your cruise back to Bermuda next year!

[mitsugirly]

Another great review - glad I remembered to look for it over here in NCL-Land (I normally live in Carnival World). Your experiences have given me ideas for our upcoming Splendor cruise in October' date=' even though this will be our third cruise to Bermuda! Thanks again for the thorough job - I know it must have been a labor of love since it had to have been a tremendous amount of work. I hope you've decided you will keep your cruise back to Bermuda next year![/quote']

 

 

Thanks for coming over to the other side. :D I appreciate the comments. I really wish they had a Carnival ship to Bermuda during the summer months and not just in early spring or fall. :( I would definitely be trying it.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise to Bermuda. Such a great place!

[mitsugirly]

My final thoughts of the Dawn.

 

Well where do I begin? I guess I’ll start with the statement that I find it hard to believe that any cruise is a bad cruise and I can make the best out of everything. Yes, things don’t go perfect every time and things are different among each ship and each cruise line, but it will never make me have a bad time.

So, now that this is stated…my thoughts of the Dawn.

I will start by saying that when I cruised the Star, the Dawn’s “sister” I had mixed feelings about the ship at the time. There were things about the ship that I just felt that were not up to the NCL “standard”. This went for the cleanliness, service, people and overall looks of the ship. I felt that it was not as “nice” as the other fleet that I had experienced. I have always remained by my statement that I thought the Star was my least favorite ship in the fleet and as you can see by my signature, I have sailed a majority of the fleet at this point.

Well, now there’s the Dawn. Almost similar to the Star and I felt that it had basically some of the same problems. There were a lot of broken things on the ship and you (well at least I) can see that she’s older and tired compared to the rest of the fleet, just like her sister. Did if effect my cruise? Nope, not at all. But, when it comes to opinions, this is just mine…she needs some TLC.

Now if you take a look at the fleet:

You will see that the Dawn is not the oldest ship. However, I have been on the older ships: Spirit, which I must comment is still one of my favorite smaller ships to date, Sun & Sky, which I was just on back in November and of course the Star. I felt that the other ships were in better shape than the Dawn. So this speaks volumes FOR ME.

Yes, I know that the Dawn is getting ready to go to dry dock and I hope they fix a lot of things and do some facelifts or upgrading on her. But who really knows at this point.

The good:

***edit*** I almost forgot one of the best things...our room. Deck 12, "newer" section where the old Spinnaker Lounge use to be. These rooms are by far the nicest! They are up to date with the decor, all neutral colors, dark wood in the rooms and beautiful. Even though the rooms are the same in size and design, you truly feel like you are in a different room. (We have the exact same room booked for the next if we keep it). ALSO...if you get a chance to book a sideways room like ours, DO IT. It seems even bigger and the layout is FABULOUS!!

 

The MDR and the food were excellent. I felt that the service (quickness) was way better than what I had experienced in recent cruises over the last few years and we ended up with the absolute best waiter in the Venetian one night. He went above and beyond any that I have ever experienced.

The entertainment was AWESOME. I think NCL has a great variety of entertainment and I enjoy just about all of the shows and the variations you’ll see each night. Elements was AWESOME. Second City-awesome. Magician-awesome. Welcome show…ehh, ok. The acrobats show-awesome.

Pati and Jose were awesome…every night in the atrium they had a party dedicating to a different theme and they are awesome together.

We enjoyed the buffet and there were a lot of variety to choose from with plenty of seating up and down the entire side, both port and starboard, but breakfast seating was horrid.

The Photo shop staff letting me charge my batteries daily, even though they gave me flack about it, I am still grateful with 1 employee going out of their way to actually ASK me if I needed it charged again.

You will never starve on NCL. Like seriously, there’s always something open…always. That’s the one thing that I missed about NCL when I was on Carnival. Carnival is definitely different with the times they have things open and it always seemed to never coincide with our schedules.

THE CASINO…need I say more? It treated me awesome, but I do have to say that it seemed a LOT smaller than most?

The kids buffet is just genius for families. They should have this concept on EVERY ship ever made. So easy for the kids to get their own food and a great place for the families to find a place to sit together.

The wonderful welcome back party on the last day before pulling out of port. I just love this party. The singing, the dancing and it makes you feel like it’s another sail away on the first day. It’s an awesome concept.

I noticed that dishes in the halls were removed a lot faster than in the past.

Getting off the ship was by far the easiest and fastest thing I have ever experienced!!! Like ever! To just be able to hand your customs form to the guy while ON the ship, ding yourself out and then go over and get your luggage and walk out. Wow. I wish it was like this at every port instead of waiting in long lines pulling your heavy luggage down.

 

 

The not so good:

I found that now, the ice cream station is only open during certain hours. When did this change? So disappointing.

We witnessed water leaks in the ceilings in the main hallways with buckets sitting on the floor.

Several bathrooms flooded over and over during the cruise and were unusable for various amounts of time.

All of the original locks were missing or broken on the public bathrooms. Some didn’t have locks at all…not even the little lock slider inside.

There were several public restrooms that were “Out of Order” from day 1 and never fixed the entire cruise.

Actual rust falling from the bathroom stalls from decay.

Several carpet “bumps” that could become a trip hazard in main hallways with heavy use and older carpet. (It did look like they have replaced the carpet in the hallways for all the rooms).

I felt that the quality of certain food items at Blue Lagoon have decreased…especially the artichoke dip. Then we had the issues with our order not being right (amount of wings we ordered a some missing fries) and the comment of “we can’t count” was just a lame excuse and not one you should be telling your customer. In my world, you just make it right.

The SOLD OUT ITEMS!!! Like seriously? Who orders your stuff? Sold out of just about everything I would normally buy or want and they are sold out on day 1. Something is just not right with this.

While our room steward did her job, she really did not go above and beyond like we have had in the past. She didn’t even learn our names. I am always so amazed at the staff that will learn your name by day 2 and greet you according to it, but it was obvious that she never did know our names. Not a biggie, just an observation. Only 1 screw up and that was she didn’t leave the right amount of bath towels once and another time she took our wet beach towels (3 of them) and only left us with 2 of them…I took it upon myself to find her cart in the hall prior to leaving into port one day and took back my towel on my own. Yes, she did let us get our baggies of ice filed for my cooler for the port, but I did have to ask or do it myself. I just wanted to add that on our Carnival cruise, they were on that shiznit and anticipating it before I even ask. They were wonderful.

The kids pool in the back closing at 6pm every day. Really?

I have always raved about the kids club on the NCL ships. Sakari had a great time, but I think this will be the first time she did not bring any “crafts” or “projects” back with her. This is weird and anyone that knows Sakari, drawing and crafts are her thing. She only came home with her “modeling” outfit that she had made one night and that was it. She did take it upon herself to draw some whales for the counselors back in our room one night and then take it to them as a gift. I think she was going through withdrawal. Just weird and an observation.

The lady on the pool deck with the water for sale that dumped the ice on the filthy deck and then proceeded to put the ice back in the bucket with the water…I’m just speechless with this.

The rude worker that yelled about us being on deck 4 to get off the ship. You didn’t have to be so nasty and if you don’t want anyone down there, you need to enforce it with EVERYONE. Then once up on the 7th deck getting off they try to direct you back down from where we came from and THEN proceed to argue with you. Not cool.

The nasty photo shop worker that kept snatching my pictures from me and then proceeded to mix the rest of them up. You just lost some sales from Kendra…and she ended up purchasing $263 of pictures, which could have been more, you moron! Get some people skills.

The White Hot Party-love this party and the concept, but having 1 ½ hours of the party for only the kids was just ridiculous. Obviously more time should be dedicated to the adults since (as you seen in the pictures) it was CROWDED during the adult party and only around 8 kids during the kids party. Like seriously! THEN the live band that was much too fast to even dance to and botched the songs just made it for a disappointing time. It’s one we always look forward to.

Asian Bamboo restaurant-we have always enjoyed this place, but it seemed different this time. The employee was not friendly and the service was beyond too slow. It should not take an hour for your food to come out after you order. The drinks were slow as well to the point where I almost ask if he remembered we had ordered them. I don’t know if the morale is gone now that they have made this a free restaurant or what the deal is. The food was good though…once we got it.

The absolutely positively slow service just trying to get a “soda” with your soda card was ridiculous and almost not even worth buying it at this point. This will be the first time that I have felt I did not get my money’s worth. The waits were forever long, you were skipped a lot because there were so many people waiting for drinks that they couldn’t keep up with who was next in line. Only having 1 bartender helping walk up customers and 1 bartender making drinks for the runners is just LUDICROUS!!! I suspect it’s due to the UBP.

When we thought we had lost the hubby’s room card and went to customer service to get a new one, they were to deactivate his old card (and assured us that they did) only for us to find out that it was not once we found it again. This is MAJOR…a major mistake on their part. Had someone actually found that card and ran up a bunch of charges….YIKES!

The nasty yellow beach towels are just unacceptable and gross. I don’t care what it is on them, they need thrown away and replaced. I know others have said it’s probably sun screen, which is fine, but once again…I sail with NCL a lot and have NEVER had this problem before. I’m pretty sure that everyone uses sun screen on each cruise. So, it would be on all of them…or the other ships have just had the sense to replace them as they are messed up.

All the complaints and changes over the last few months with “can you bring food back to your room or not” because of the issue of people putting plates in the hallways…well pick that crap up out of my room then. There’s absolutely no reason to have perishable food sitting on my desk in the room for almost 3 days before you remove it. That’s a given.

I’m telling ya, washy washy is dying. No more singing or dancing to it. You are lucky to find someone insisting you wash your hands anymore. Bring on the illnesses.

The long wait in a too small port area to get on the ship. I don’t think I have ever been to a port where there were so many people waiting and no seats, hardly any standing room and just plain crowded.

 

 

The neutral:

I’m going to call this the neutral because it will be all cheers for some and all groans and moans for others….smoking.

This ship probably had the MOST smoking areas I have ever seen on a ship…lately.

You could smoke on BOTH sides (port and starboard) on deck 7 with ashtrays lined all the way up and down there.

All of the port side on deck 12 by the pool was smoking. All of it. Not just a little section of 5 tables with no place to sit, the entire section! Now I did notice that it wasn’t just the tables along the walls either. They had the fixed ashtrays along the pools by the loungers as well.

I also noticed plenty of smoking along all the steps on the various layers heading up from the pool to the Bimimi bar as well. I don’t know if this is a smoking section on that side too, but nothing was said and there were plenty of people doing it.

Port side of Bimimi bar was all smoking.

You could smoke in the entire casino.

You could smoke in the cigar bar.

 

So my final thoughts. REMEMBER MY FINAL THOUGHTS. The Dawn is my least favorite ship in the fleet so far. She’s at the bottom of the list. Yes, we had a blast. No I would never say “don’t go on her she’s crap”, but compared to the OTHERS in the fleet, she’s just in the worse shape IMO!!!

Now I already have her booked for this same exact cruise for the same exact time to Bermuda next year. I booked this prior to leaving for Bermuda. I’m now faced with the decision as to whether or not I want to keep this booking or cancel and pay at least $600 more just to be able to give the Breakaway a try instead. Is it worth it to me? I’ll have to weigh the facts. I’m not sure. After all, I don’t exactly cruise just for the ship. As I have said plenty of times, I can have a great time on ANY ship! My other decision comes down to…trying to sail the entire fleet on NCL. Sailing the Dawn again kind of defeats the purpose as well and if you double that up with I didn’t really care for the ship, that’s kind of a double whammy. I have a lot of thinking and decisions to make now.

Edited June 26, 2015 by mitsugirly

[ala1017]

Love your final thoughts...I'm sure this has been asked...or posted somewhere but I'm gonna be real honest...I am SO lazy at the moment....SO lazy! When is the Dawn going into Dry dock again? I tried to google it but...I didn't see anything coming up. Is it soon?

[jethrojam]

Great, glad you shared that info with me and I now know I wasted my money. LOL So you are saying 8 of us could have only paid $15 total for the ride? There wasn't any tolls. :confused:

 

Ya the driving services everywhere will charge you for the toll the incur on the way back; there is no toll going into the airport just out. And im saying it would be $25 x2 cabs. Lol we all make mistakes ;)

[mitsugirly]

Love your final thoughts...I'm sure this has been asked...or posted somewhere but I'm gonna be real honest...I am SO lazy at the moment....SO lazy! When is the Dawn going into Dry dock again? I tried to google it but...I didn't see anything coming up. Is it soon?

 

She will be going to dry dock next May and IF I keep my cruise on her booked, we will be the first to sail on her after returning out of dry dock. (June 3). :D

 

 

Ya the driving services everywhere will charge you for the toll the incur on the way back; there is no toll going into the airport just out. And im saying it would be $25 x2 cabs. Lol we all make mistakes ;)

 

Oh ok. Well, $25 for 1 cab versus $30 is what my family paid. I'm only out $5 so not bad I guess. :p Oh well, glad I won casino money. :D

[mitsugirly]

BERMUDA:

Ah Bermuda. What took me so long to find you and experience you????

We had a fabulous time in Bermuda. I have heard for many years that once you experience Bermuda, you will never want to stop going there and it’s so different than the Caribbean. So true!

I just loved all of the rocks and landscaping along the beaches. It definitely made for a different experience than what you would normally get in most places in the Caribbean.

The beautiful soft pink sand beaches are gorgeous.

I think one of the main attractions, at least for me, is being able to go there and STAY for 3 days and being able to do multiple things. I read multiple comments all the time about how they wouldn’t like that part and I truly don’t understand. There’s so much to see and do there that even 3 days is not long enough. It basically felt as if you could go to 3 different ports by visiting the different areas, which are unique in their own way: St George, Hamilton and Sandys.

Something to offer in each place…actually TOO MUCH to offer in each place that it’s going to take quite a bit of cruising to experience it all…even after staying 3 days each time. I can’t wait to return again and find more things.

Having a really neat place to roam around at the dockyard, even if things weren’t open, made it pretty neat…even if you were just out walking around and seeing the sites. I liked this “port” compared to any ports you would find in the Caribbean. It’s so different.

The very colorful flowered pastel colors of the homes are just so beautiful and it really makes this seem like a dreamland.

Being able to come and go off the ship at any time for those 3 days is just magnificent. No worries of getting left behind while in port “parked” is just a great experience.

The very nice locals that was so helpful and anxious to tell you about their life there. I know how I read that it’s one of the most friendly places, but we experienced both ends of the spectrum with this and I have to say, IMO, it’s no different than places we have went to in the Caribbean. We have run into locals in ALL the ports we have been to that are extremely nice, polite, helpful and anxious to tell about their country/home life and so on. Then you have the “others”…rude and not helpful at all. To me, it’s the same everywhere…including at home!

My negatives: The public buses…I just found them to be rude, not on time and unpredictable. It really was much easier to take a taxi, but then again, that could get costly. You have to weigh the differences.

The ferry not running on a Sunday to places a lot of people want to visit…like St George. To be frank, it just sucked! That just meant everyone that planned on going to St George would all head there on the same day on Monday and it would be even more crowded. I guess this is what happens when you come in on a Sunday.

Also along those same lines is the public buses also stopping early on a Sunday. Sigh.

Nothing being open past 5pm in various areas and only 6pm at the dockyard. It made it really hard to do any shopping and donate any of my hard earned money to these shops when they closed so early. Very disappointing.

Knowing ahead of time that if you are paying cash…cash means COINS…very helpful to know. Just saying…

Bermuda is amazing…I will be back! I will be back with a more advanced plan and more knowledge next time of how things work. Hopefully things will go a little smoother next time. hehe

 

 

Bermuda is a MUST SEE AND DO!! Don't pass it up. :D

[herdingdogmom]

My final thoughts of the Dawn. Almost similar to the Star and I felt that it had basically some of the same problems. There were a lot of broken things on the ship and you (well at least I) can see that she’s older and tired compared to the rest of the fleet, just like her sister. Yes, I know that the Dawn is getting ready to go to dry dock and I hope they fix a lot of things and do some facelifts or upgrading on her.

 

Now I already have her booked for this same exact cruise for the same exact time to Bermuda next year. I’m now faced with the decision as to whether or not I want to keep this booking or cancel and pay at least $600 more just to be able to give the Breakaway a try instead.

 

We have also sailed on the Dawn and the Star. The Star was refurbished in March 2015. We sailed on her for the 3rd time in May 2015 and the ship looked fantastic. The same upgrades are likely scheduled for the Dawn next May. And I agree, that the rooms on Deck 12 are the best on those two ships. Our room on the Star had new carpet, drapes and linens.

 

All that being said, I'd still sail on the Breakaway vs. the Dawn next year. Mainly to sail out of NYC, but just as important is that your Dawn cruise is the first after the dry dock. The reviews for the Star on the first cruises after dry dock were not good. Many things in the interior of the ship were not finished and overall service was poor due to understaffing. The best description I read was " they just were not ready for us". So that's my 2 cents.

Edited June 27, 2015 by herdingdogmom

[ala1017]

She will be going to dry dock next May and IF I keep my cruise on her booked, we will be the first to sail on her after returning out of dry dock. (June 3). :D

 

 

Oh! First sail after a refurb...I would "Totally" do that! (You know I cant help myself now...the last few days I have really been doin up the "accent") I mean since you had no MAJOR complaints that I could tell...unless I just looked right past those...Save that $600 bucks for something frilly...lol...

[soaringfalcon]

Sigh. It's over. :(:(:(

 

Another fabulous review!!!!! Thank you so much. I hope that you're feeling a ton better!

 

Our BA trip was actually cheaper than the Dawn so keep checking prices and hopefully it will come down. Sailaway out of NYC is the best (IMO). The only drawback to me is making reservations for shows. I think Sakari would love the water park and ropes course. We all need a picture of her zip lining on board!

 

I agree with being docked for 3 days. I loved that concept and wish it was done at more places. Most ports feel so rushed.

 

And Oh Bermuda - I know I left a piece of my heart there.

[Crusin Karen]

CRUISE ON, KIM!!! Thanks for sharing this one with us and may there be lots more in the years to come!

[Loucat]

Thank you so much for your excellent pictures, effort, time and honest objective observations on your sailing.

We have sailed on Dawn twice and things seemed to have changed.

You present incredible reviews from which we all learn so much and never present bias.

Kudos from a fellow nurse!

[mitsugirly]

 

We have also sailed on the Dawn and the Star. The Star was refurbished in March 2015. We sailed on her for the 3rd time in May 2015 and the ship looked fantastic. The same upgrades are likely scheduled for the Dawn next May. And I agree, that the rooms on Deck 12 are the best on those two ships. Our room on the Star had new carpet, drapes and linens.

 

All that being said, I'd still sail on the Breakaway vs. the Dawn next year. Mainly to sail out of NYC, but just as important is that your Dawn cruise is the first after the dry dock. The reviews for the Star on the first cruises after dry dock were not good. Many things in the interior of the ship were not finished and overall service was poor due to understaffing. The best description I read was " they just were not ready for us". So that's my 2 cents.

 

I would think that a lot of the things would be better after the refurb as well, but then again everyone has different opinions and people see different things while on the very exact same cruise that someone else is on. When I was on the Star, there were people on it with me on the roll call that pretty much acted as if I was lying when I said the things that I seen. Maybe they just don't have the trained eye that I do (I blame it on the photography). Just like this Dawn cruise, I mentioned things wrong and others were like "The ship is in AWESOME shape". LOL

 

I don't think it's just the decor and run down though honestly. There's just something about it that doesn't compare to the others for some reason. I do know that a grand atrium is a "biggie" for me, but the atrium's on these 2 just don't cut it. Maybe it's the huge ugly arch that goes over the area. It's a total turn off. I'm just not sure and can't place my finger on it. I think the best thing about it is the kids pool area. LOL

 

I have to agree when others have said negative remarks about being the first on any ship after a refurb and also even the first on a newly built ship. Those reviews never seem to be good. :p

 

 

Oh! First sail after a refurb...I would "Totally" do that! (You know I cant help myself now...the last few days I have really been doin up the "accent") I mean since you had no MAJOR complaints that I could tell...unless I just looked right past those...Save that $600 bucks for something frilly...lol...

 

My "frilly" IS a cruise. Just saying...:p

[Medtech2]

I spotted Sakari down there. There was an extremely nice little family that decided to adopt her today. She just hung out with them the rest of the day and they didn't seem to mind. Sakari is a big social bug and will talk to anyone and make friends with everyone.

 

 

The hubs looks a little hot and Billy was getting his tanning his tats.

 

 

The views from up here were amazing. It's so weird to be down below and you are in your little area not realizing what's on the other side of the huge rocks that are protecting you. Once you are up on the rocks, you have a whole new perspective on things and it's an amazing feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, you got a pic of that long tailed bird here!

[dcipjr]

Another awesome review, Mitsugirly, one for the books! :D

 

I would definitely say, if at all possible, cruise the Breakaway next year. Having done both the Dawn and the Breakaway, the Breakaway's itinerary is far better.

 

You start by sailing down the Hudson River, with amazing views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, then you get 2 sea days to unwind on the way to Bermuda. Once you get there (earlier in the morning, by the way), your three days are right during midweek. You'll have the Harbour Nights festival in Hamilton on Wednesday night during most of the season, the ferries run to St. George all 3 days, and more stores are open. You head back on Friday evening, get a sea day, and you're home on Sunday.

 

The Breakaway is new, there's more to do on the ship, it's got a better itinerary ...and it comes at a price, but I'd say it's worth it. We're back to cruising out of NYC this year, and I can't wait!

[mitsugirly]

Sigh. It's over. :(:(:(

 

Another fabulous review!!!!! Thank you so much. I hope that you're feeling a ton better!

 

Our BA trip was actually cheaper than the Dawn so keep checking prices and hopefully it will come down. Sailaway out of NYC is the best (IMO). The only drawback to me is making reservations for shows. I think Sakari would love the water park and ropes course. We all need a picture of her zip lining on board!

 

I agree with being docked for 3 days. I loved that concept and wish it was done at more places. Most ports feel so rushed.

 

And Oh Bermuda - I know I left a piece of my heart there.

 

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate it.

 

I would love to find the BA cheaper. That would be a no-brainer for me then.

 

Yes, one of the main issues we had with the Getaway was the shows. I don't think we seen one of them due to not booking and they were "sold out" so to speak. It was a complete bummer and made me miss the smaller ships with no reservations needed. :(

 

But I like the concept of being there on a WEDNESDAY instead AND the fireworks. It would be awesome and a totally different experience for sure.

 

Sakari definitely like the waterpark on the GA, but she's too small for the ropes course or the zip line. Just not tall enough yet...maybe by then though. She was so upset on the GA that she had to do the baby course. I mean after all, she has already zip lined on a REAL zip line in the jungle in Roatan, by herself, at the age of 3. LOL The GA and BA has nothing on that.

 

 

 

CRUISE ON, KIM!!! Thanks for sharing this one with us and may there be lots more in the years to come!

 

 

Thanks Karen...I will definitely cruise on! :D

[mitsugirly]

Thank you so much for your excellent pictures, effort, time and honest objective observations on your sailing.

We have sailed on Dawn twice and things seemed to have changed.

You present incredible reviews from which we all learn so much and never present bias.

Kudos from a fellow nurse!

 

Hi fellow nurse and thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate it. :)

 

Hey, you got a pic of that long tailed bird here!

 

Yep, there were actually 2 of them in those pictures (the other one must be within another 6 picture segment during that portion of the review...it was a little better and closer up). :)

[mitsugirly]

Another awesome review, Mitsugirly, one for the books! :D

 

I would definitely say, if at all possible, cruise the Breakaway next year. Having done both the Dawn and the Breakaway, the Breakaway's itinerary is far better.

 

You start by sailing down the Hudson River, with amazing views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, then you get 2 sea days to unwind on the way to Bermuda. Once you get there (earlier in the morning, by the way), your three days are right during midweek. You'll have the Harbour Nights festival in Hamilton on Wednesday night during most of the season, the ferries run to St. George all 3 days, and more stores are open. You head back on Friday evening, get a sea day, and you're home on Sunday.

 

The Breakaway is new, there's more to do on the ship, it's got a better itinerary ...and it comes at a price, but I'd say it's worth it. We're back to cruising out of NYC this year, and I can't wait!

 

All excellent points and all I have been thinking about for many months. It's just that darn price! :p I know I would enjoy it more, both the ships and the days in port. I just gotta justify it and I'm just not sure that I can IF I can manage to talk the hubby into booking our other 2 special "dates" that will be coming up next year. That's a lot of cruising. LOL :D

[perfect match]

I loved your review, Kim, as usual. I will have to keep checking up on you to see what you decide to do next, because I'm sure I'll want to follow along wherever you decide to go. As for your decision about sailing again on the Dawn, I think if you give yourself some time and then go back and re-read what you've written, you will find you've already answered your question as to what you really want to do. The good thing about you is that no matter what you decide, you'll have a great time doing it, and that's the best part of all.

[mitsugirly]

HORSESHOE BAY: Definitely worth going to. Very easy to get to using the bus system there and back. It’s beautiful there (and even though I didn’t get to walk around as much as I wanted, we still enjoyed our day there). Beautiful pink sand and a huge beach to spread out on. The “baby bay” next to it made for a good place for little ones to hang out in. I wouldn’t really say much snorkeling, but there’s fish. It is a sandy bottom beach, but with the rocks around the edges, you will see fish, especially parrot fish eating them. Easy way for the kids to see these beautiful huge colorful fish. They are not scared of you and come up in very shallow water. The food is excellent there and I really didn’t think it was “too” expensive compared to other ports. Beware of the rocks, they are sharp and pointed and I can see how easy it would to get hurt on them. Decent pathways up the rocks (although somewhat difficult in certain areas) make for a nice way to get some excellent pictures of the area from above. Definitely do not miss. Also several little caves in the area to explore and get some awesome pictures. I can see why many of the cruisers flock to this place for the day. However, we have now experienced it and hopefully next time we come, we’ll make it to Warwick and work our way back spending most of our time along the way instead of rushing to Horseshoe. Already been there and done that so I’m moving on next time. I feel there are other beaches I would rather experience at this point.

TOBACCO BAY: Excellent day there. Even though it may be small, I highly recommend it. The snorkeling there was excellent and huge with different directions to go off in. It could make for a full day of some fun snorkeling for those that like to do this. I know I probably could have spent the entire day there if I didn’t have plans to see other beaches. The staff there was super friendly and helpful with directions when we were ready to go. I would definitely go back.

ST CATHERINES BEACH: Definitely a beautiful beach! Beautiful! With the fort beside it making an excellent backdrop for pictures, I just loved the way this place looked. The sand was gorgeous, the water so crystal clear and just a tad bit of fish over by the rocks by the fort. Definitely not the place to go for just snorkeling IMO. Not many people here makes for a nice secluded getaway. The only drawback is no facilities or concession stands, which looks to be in the making now. However, free lounge chairs to use at the moment is an added plus. There’s not too much shade here since it’s an all open beach, but with hardly anyone here, you can easily pull up a lounge chair along the back and use the trees for shade. The quick drop off at the water line was my only concern. The waves rushing in and then back out created this drop off that made me a little concerned with small children. I know this can happen probably anywhere and I don’t know if it’s prone to this place all the time or not. Just a warning for those traveling with younger children. Definitely worth a visit here…at least for a few hours IMO. Would I visit again? Maybe just to see if there’s any changes next time.

ANCHILLES BAY: Super small place here and directly right within feet of the water sits a bar with a friendly staff. The food was AWESOME with super huge hamburgers and crispy fries. Yes, a little expensive, but the cheaper drinks made up for it along with the great staff. The snorkeling was excellent and definitely fun with little nooks and crannies to explore off into different directions. Definitely worth the stop just to check out for the snorkeling and to spend a few hours there. It would be one that I would head back to for a quick stop when in St George on a full day hitting the beaches.

Using the St George HOHO bus is an excellent addition to this area and makes it so easy to get around to everything. For only $6 pp and kids are free, this bus that circles all of St George from beach to beach (and other various places) is just so worth it to save your legs for all the beaches and places you can visit during the day. I hope to use this again next time around and get even more use of the various places we can visit there. The staff was friendly and helpful and even took the time to stop and pull over so that we could see the turtles in the water. For the most part, it ran fairly quickly every time we used it. I would see a bus at least every 15 minutes or so. (Although another family claimed to have been waiting for over 1 hour when we arrived at the stop…we did not have that problem). Highly recommend this service and will definitely use again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

H2O-I would highly recommend them…even with the hiccups along the way, they treated us wonderful from start to finish. They compensated us for the things that happened and it only got better as the day went on. They showed us an excellent time and it was one of the best days ever. I would highly recommend doing both the jet skis and the motorboat rental. It just made our day! I also highly recommend doing BOTH in the order we did it in as well. The jet skis were a good way to get a feel for the place if you have never been to Bermuda before and topping it off by going off on your own after that made it even better. I told them when we left that we would be back and when we came back, we would be making a reservation with them. I plan on doing this…but, I would also like to see what the other areas offer as far as this same rental. Maybe we’ll check out renting in St George or Hamilton for a new experience? Who knows.

[ZonaCruiser]

Well...after following the Dawn reviews since scheduling our Jan 2016 cruise, I know the ship is worn. After reading all of your other captivating reviews, I knew you would provide a fair opinion. That said, I'm heartbroken to hear my worst nightmare is true!

 

We booked with the UBP including gratuity which I am excited about (I would never buy the deal as I would not drink that much).I guess I won't have to worry about drinking much either. I certainly hope NCL is following your reviews like the rest of us. Hoping they do something to improve their service! Surely they will do something about the plumbing/sewer situation before the scheduled drydock 10 months from now:eek:

 

If I cancel my cruise, I won't be able to book another until 2017 (due to cost). I'm seriously looking forward to the 4 ports and NOLA. I think I'll just keep following the reviews and see if it improves. I have 4 months before the final payment is due...

 

Thank you for the wonderful reviews you do! I'm anxious for your lesson on preparing your photos. Hopefully I can do a review some day and I need all the help I can get:D

[mitsugirly]

I loved your review, Kim, as usual. I will have to keep checking up on you to see what you decide to do next, because I'm sure I'll want to follow along wherever you decide to go. As for your decision about sailing again on the Dawn, I think if you give yourself some time and then go back and re-read what you've written, you will find you've already answered your question as to what you really want to do. The good thing about you is that no matter what you decide, you'll have a great time doing it, and that's the best part of all.

 

LOL, follow away. :D I have said this entire year that this would be a year of all "newness". I have started out pretty good. We did the Pride to places I have never been to yet...Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay and they were AWESOME! I'm so happy we did that cruise. Then now Bermuda...AWESOME again. My real goal was to continue this year with only new ports and make this one fabulous cruising year. My goal is REALLY to go to the ABC islands. That's my dream. However, they are a little more expensive and I am staring at an AWESOME price on the Jade, going to the same old ports again...but ports I find myself still wanting to go back to. So, it's a hard decision.

 

Well...after following the Dawn reviews since scheduling our Jan 2016 cruise, I know the ship is worn. After reading all of your other captivating reviews, I knew you would provide a fair opinion. That said, I'm heartbroken to hear my worst nightmare is true!

 

We booked with the UBP including gratuity which I am excited about (I would never buy the deal as I would not drink that much).I guess I won't have to worry about drinking much either. I certainly hope NCL is following your reviews like the rest of us. Hoping they do something to improve their service! Surely they will do something about the plumbing/sewer situation before the scheduled drydock 10 months from now:eek:

 

If I cancel my cruise, I won't be able to book another until 2017 (due to cost). I'm seriously looking forward to the 4 ports and NOLA. I think I'll just keep following the reviews and see if it improves. I have 4 months before the final payment is due...

 

Thank you for the wonderful reviews you do! I'm anxious for your lesson on preparing your photos. Hopefully I can do a review some day and I need all the help I can get:D

 

 

OH GOSH NO!!! :( See this is always my fear when doing a review. Please please please remember EVERYONE has a different experience and different expectations. Things I notice may not be noticed by a lot of others. Some could make a big deal of it and others could care less. It's all about how you look at things and live life. No cruise is a bad cruise...seriously. It's not "that" bad, but there are just things on it that need some TLC.

 

This is MY way of looking at things...and this is just me. I read TONS of reviews from every aspect of people...the cheerleaders to the people you just can't please. I form my own decision and I base none of my cruising or ports from either or. I like to experience it myself and form my own opinion. I know that I will have a good time no matter what. Please don't let this influence you on canceling your cruise. If I let people influence me, I would have never sailed with Carnival...and that's one of the best decisions I have made! Phooey on those that told me that I would regret it.

 

I do hope that people from NCL do wise up about improving the service. One bar tender in main places, especially the casino, is just NOT enough with this UBP. That will be one drawback if this continues. However, you are probably going to get that on any of the ships...since they all offered it. So look at it that way.

 

Go on your cruise and have the time of your life in the 4 ports you have been wanting to visit. THAT alone is worth it! If you have a 7 day cruise booked and there's 4 day of ports, you'll be plenty busy enough enjoying that. It could end up being the vacation of a lifetime because of what you might do in those ports. Think about it. Some of my most enjoyable and memorable cruises have been those on a ship I would never consider wanting to cruise on again...just staying. Don't make yourself wait until 2017. :)

[ZonaCruiser]

Oh, sweetie don't think my decision would be based solely on your opinion. Like I said, I'm following all Dawn reviews.

 

I will likely keep the cruise. Like you, I can have a good time despite my surroundings (and I have). That said, we only get to vacation once every 5-6 years. I would really like to enjoy my surroundings!

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for another wonderful review, Kim. I always enjoy hearing about what you and your family get up to and your beautiful pictures are just the icing on the cake! :) I haven't sailed Magic or Dream, but Breeze is my absolute favourite ship so far, so I have to put my vote in for Breeze for your next cruise. We did the 6 day and you are right, that is definitely not long enough, but we picked it because of wanting to be on a ship on our 25th anniversary. Happy decision making whatever you choose! :)

Heather

Edited June 27, 2015 by SenatorsFan