Dawn to Bermuda review 10/23 sailing

[jakesnana]

Review of the Dawn Boston to Bermuda 10/23 (last Bermuda sailing this season).

 

ABOUT US – My husband and I are 67 and 58 respectively. We have sailed 50+ times on 8 different cruise lines. This cruise made us Platinum on NCL, we are Emerald on RCCL and Platinum on CCL, with sailings on Princess, MSC, Premier and Chandris in our history. For this sailing, I was the group leader for 40 people.

 

EMBARKATION – This was a mixed bag. We got through easily enough because we are Gold status, but the line for others was quite long and the port is not necessarily set up to accommodate large crowds. There was not enough seating for everyone who was waiting. If Boston is going to continue to be a cruise port, they need to upgrade their facilities.

Once onboard, the cabins were not ready yet, but we were allowed to leave our carry-ons in the cabin until they were ready. This was appreciated, but I prefer the option of having a bell captain station, as other NCL ships have. Our cabin was quite a distance from the atrium and I felt as if I were “getting in the way” of the stewards while they were trying to get the cabins ready.

We went to the Venetian for lunch and were quickly seated. The dining room was not very crowded yet, but that would change within ½ hour. Service was good and going to the MDR for lunch on embarkation day is MUCH nicer than dealing with the crowds in the Garden Café.

 

SHIP – I first visited the Dawn in NYC in 2002, when she was brand new. At the time, she was extremely innovative. I hadn’t been back since. While the ship was in O.K. shape and extremely clean, she will benefit greatly from her scheduled dry dock in May, 2016. The ship rode very well during what some would consider “rough seas”. We had 12 ft. waves and 35 mph winds (enough to close some of the outside decks) sailing in both directions, but it didn’t feel as bad as I had expected, given the conditions. They did have the proverbial “barf bags” around the ship, but I didn’t see any indication of people having extreme problems and the dining rooms seemed to be well attended every night.

 

CABIN – We had a category BD balcony cabin, aft on deck 9. The cabin itself was a decent size, however, the storage was lacking. There was enough for the 2 of us, however, our cabin COULD accommodate 3 people and I’m not sure where you would put all of the “things” that 3 people would bring. There was only 1 closet, which had shelving built into the side of it (this made the shelving hard to reach once clothes were hung in the closet). I am used to dealing with 2 full closets, one for hanging and one with shelves. I LOVED the bathroom, with its full sized shower and glass sliding door. The water closet was adequate for my husband and I, however, I don’t know how a larger sized person would manage in there.

 

STAFF – The staff were AMAZING. Dingo Dave was our CD and he was EVERYWHERE, always interacting with people. He is very approachable and seems to REALLY love his job.

Our steward was Wayan and we couldn’t have asked for a better cabin steward. My husband was ill for several days of the cruise and Wayan showed extreme flexibility dealing with our comings and goings, and still managed to provide wonderful cabin service.

We had assigned tables in the Aqua, since we were traveling with a large group. The service in the Aqua was hit or miss. Our server, Toni, was AMAZING. However, some in our group had a different server and he was not as wonderful. If you plan on sailing on the Dawn, I would recommend dining in the Aqua and request Toni as your server. You will not be disappointed.

 

FOOD – This is such a subjective topic, but I will do my best. The first thing I will say is that the absence of Shrimp Cocktail as an appetizer was commented on by many people in my group. Also, the fact that Lobster Tail was never offered as any entrée at all during the cruise was also mentioned. NCL did have seafood options available each evening, but these items were noticeably missed.

MDR - I am a steak and potatoes type of person and the Striploin steak was wonderful each evening, as was the Prime Rib on the night I got it. The salads were always fresh and chilled. Many in our group enjoyed the soups, also served at the appropriate temperature. Throughout our large party, many people tried different items and it didn’t appear anyone was disappointed in their selection, the presentation or the food itself.

Garden Café – The food was O.K. and the lines were not too long and seemed to move quickly. I missed the Pasta bar from the newer/larger NCL ships. The soft serve ice cream closed at 9:30 PM, much to the disappointment of my husband. Also, decaf tea must be made of gold, as it was VERY hard to come by for my husband. We didn’t eat here too often, mainly to make a breakfast plate for my husband to take back to the cabin or coffee/tea during the day.

Blue Lagoon – I LOVE the option of having a 24 hour bistro available, however, on that note let me just say that I went to the Blue Lagoon on Monday at 6:15 AM to get a breakfast plate (we were trying to catch the first ferry to Hamilton at 7:30 AM) and found that it was closed until the chef arrived at 6:30. HUH!!! What is the purpose of having a 24 hr. bistro if it closes  When this venue is turned into an O’Sheehans’ in May, it will be much nicer with a larger menu, but that still didn’t stop us from enjoying many a breakfast and lunch there. Service was always wonderful, even when it was extremely crowded. The option of serving yourself to coffee/tea to go was great. I would like to interject here that I tried to get my husband a cup of soup to go (one of his bad spells and he was in the cabin) and I was told they could not give me soup to go, as it was a safety risk. Again, HUH!! You’ll let me make a hot cup of coffee or tea to go, but not hot soup. Go figure.

Modernos – This was the only specially restaurant we dined at this time. I had invited my guest speaker and his traveling companions to join us for dinner. I had been hoping for a quiet, relaxing dinner to visit with my guest and spend time with him and his companions, but that was not to be. Modernos is located upstairs from the atrium and there was music and singing there, which made it impossible to have a conversation. My bad for not checking out where it was located when I made the reservations, but I wouldn’t think that a cover charge restaurant would be in such a location. I was told that it is being relocated to the Star Bar during the dry dock in May, which will be much better. The staff did go out of their way to accommodate my large group of 10 people, making up a special table for us. Also, one of my guests has a sensitivity to garlic (Brazilian food is HEAVY in garlic) so the cooks made him some special dishes which were garlic free. For the most part, the service was good, but I don’t think they were expecting such a large crowd (although I made reservations in advance). They ran out of different types of meat consistently and by the time my husband was able to get some filet mignon, it was well done (not to his liking). In the future I think I would go with Le Bistro rather than Modernos.

 

ENTERTAINMENT – We have seen Band on the Run and Elements before, so we didn’t feel the need to go again, although both are WONDERFUL productions. The duo Jose and Patti in the Atrium were great and we went there on several occasions in the evening.

 

CASINO – This is one of my favorite things to do on a cruise and I enjoyed having the casino open at 9 PM while in Bermuda. On this sailing, the Blackjack tables were VERY tough on both my husband and myself, but the dealers were always personable and genuinely felt bad about always winning. One thing I did notice was that we were NEVER offered a drink from the pit boss or casino host, which is unusual for us. When we play, we frequently play for the dealers and this usually translates to an offer of a drink from time to time (we don’t do it for the drinks, my husband can’t even drink alcohol). It wasn’t a deal breaker, just noticed. We did redeem ourselves in the casino on the last day, as my husband won the Blackjack tournament and I came in second.

 

BERMUDA – This was our 3rd time in Bermuda and we always love going there. The island is extremely clean and the people friendly and helpful. We took advantage of our only full day there to travel via public transportation to the Crystal Caves, the Swizzle Inn and the Aquarium. This was a lot of fun, but made for a very long day. We left the ship at 7:15 AM and didn’t get back until 5:30 PM. Would I do it again? I’m not sure. It took a lot out of my husband and was part of the reason he spent several days holed up in the cabin.

 

I would definitely do this cruise again and I think the Dawn will be even better after it’s dry dock. If you have any questions on something I haven’t covered, please feel free to ask away.

Edited November 3, 2015 by jakesnana

[my_crib_too]

I enjoyed reading your review. Thank you for taking the time.

 

bruce...

[Niffernay]

Thanks so much for the review. We leave on the Dawn from New Orleans in exactly a month from today! :D

[Oakman58]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review, I enjoyed reading it. We sailed on the Dawn back in February and had a great time.

[pathubia]

Thanks for posting!! I am on the Dawn for the 5th time next Sunday!! I can't wait.

 

So glad that Dingo Dave is back!! Bobby was good on our last cruise, but I prefer Dingo Dave.

 

Was David Devinchy on your cruise, I enjoy him and have heard that he is on the ship and heard that he is off the ship...

 

Thanks!!

[krazy4kruisin]

Thank you for the review. I am taking this exact cruise in 2016 for my DH 60th birthday. This will be our first visit to Boston & Bermuda. Looking forward to it.