Dining on the Dawn - options

[ILoveScotland]

I've been trying to research the dining options on my upcoming Dawn cruise. I haven't cruised on NCL for 9 years when there were few specialty options that I recall. I've looked at the website but am still confused a bit about what's free and what's a specialty restaurant that has an additional cost. Also, I've tried getting information about dining packages, but the website doesn't have that information, either. So, a few questions:

 

1. Where can we eat for "free" including snacks during non meal time?

 

2. What are the specialty restaurants? Are they worth the extra cost? I'm willing to pay if they really are significantly better or offer options not available elsewhere.

 

3. How do the dining packages work?

 

4. What experiences pro and con have people had with specialty dining?

 

Thanks.

[pathubia]

Aqua and Venetian are the free restaurants.

 

The buffet.

 

Blue Lagoon is open 24/7.

 

On our Nov 15 sailing we had the Unlimited Dining Package and ate at Moderno, Teppanyki, Cagneys, LaCuccina, and LeBistro, We never ate at Aqua or Venetian this cruise, but we have in the past and they were both very good.

 

We are platinum level which also gave us one free dinner at Le Bistro with a free bottle of wine.

 

All of our specialty dining experiences have been great. At Cagneys my friends steak was a little undercooked (she had asked for medium rare, and it came very rare), the Maitre D, noticed she was picking at he, he came right over and offered to get her another, but she was ok with what she had eaten.

[ILoveScotland]

Just had a look at website. What is Bamboo? It's listed as free as well. So is Bimini's Grill.

[pathubia]

Bamboo is a Chinese restaurant, we didn't eat there this cruise, we did last cruise in Jan and it was very good.

 

Bimini Grill is at the Bimini Bar on the 13th deck, its burgers and hot dogs.

 

They also have a grill at the Topsiders Bar next to the pool that is open during sea days for lunch.

[kjquilts]

Bamboo (Asian fusion) is also complimentary as is the Bimini Grill located by the pool. We loved Bamboo, had one lunch and two dinners there. Sometimes there are barbeques on the pool deck and there are usually snacks in the casino later in the evening.

 

This link takes you directly to a master page on NCL website showing "What's On Board" on the Dawn. You can then choose from Dining, Bars and Lounges, etc.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/dawn/whats-on-board

 

If you sign into your NCL account and look at Explore and Plan for your cruise you will find the various Dining Packages offered. On our 14 Day Dawn cruise we purchased the 3 day dining package. There are various packages available but the included dining options are fine for us so for 14 days 5 specialty dining meals were enough. We had both our Platinum perk meals at Le Bistro and it was our favorite of the specialty dining restaurants. For our purchased Specialty Dining we all loved Teppanyaki, enjoyed La Cucina and surprisingly for us this time Cagney's was our least favorite.

 

[ILoveScotland]

Bamboo (Asian fusion) is also complimentary as is the Bimini Grill located by the pool. We loved Bamboo, had one lunch and two dinners there. Sometimes there are barbeques on the pool deck and there are usually snacks in the casino later in the evening.

 

This link takes you directly to a master page on NCL website showing "What's On Board" on the Dawn. You can then choose from Dining, Bars and Lounges, etc.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/dawn/whats-on-board

 

If you sign into your NCL account and look at Explore and Plan for your cruise you will find the various Dining Packages offered. On our 14 Day Dawn cruise we purchased the 3 day dining package. There are various packages available but the included dining options are fine for us so for 14 days 5 specialty dining meals were enough. We had both our Platinum perk meals at Le Bistro and it was our favorite of the specialty dining restaurants. For our purchased Specialty Dining we all loved Teppanyaki, enjoyed La Cucina and surprisingly for us this time Cagney's was our least favorite.

 

 

Thanks. I'm doing more research but find CCers sometimes more helpful. This is my 15th cruise but my husband's first, and he's not at all sure what he thinks of the idea. I'm looking at options that I think will increase his pleasure, and fine dining is something I think he'd like. However, we are retirees on fixed income so also need to consider budget. I will give him the options for specialty dining and let him decide if he wants a package or just dine at one of them. I could care less and am happy with all the free options.

 

We do have the UBC as it was a perk when we booked. I know we'll use that.

[mickev99]

I am sailing on December 20th and am a crazy person when it comes to researching.

 

Bamboo is also complimentary. They are open for dinner and I am seeing that they are sometimes open for lunch. They also have cookouts by the pool some days.

 

Room service is $7.95 per order except for a few breakfast items in the morning (I think before 10am). Also pizza delivery for $5 anywhere on the ship.

[pathubia]

Thanks. I'm doing more research but find CCers sometimes more helpful. This is my 15th cruise but my husband's first, and he's not at all sure what he thinks of the idea. I'm looking at options that I think will increase his pleasure, and fine dining is something I think he'd like. However, we are retirees on fixed income so also need to consider budget. I will give him the options for specialty dining and let him decide if he wants a package or just dine at one of them. I could care less and am happy with all the free options.

 

We do have the UBC as it was a perk when we booked. I know we'll use that.

 

If your husband like meat he will love Moderno, they serve chicken wrapped in bacon, lamb, sausages and a bunch of different kinds of meat....There is a big salad bar with two soups, we had seafood chowder and another kind of soup, but I don't remember what it was.

 

The only restaurant I found just ok was LaCuccina, it was good, but not "Wow, that was great".

 

We all loved our food in LeBistro, cant remember what we all got, yummy French onion soup, my husband got escargot (not a fan) that he loved, my daughter had the fruit/chocolate fondue for dessert which was delicious and shared by all of us.

 

At Cagneys, we all had some kind of beef, we were all happy with it, with the exception of my friend who thought hers was too rare....

 

Teppanyki was a fun meal along with a great show by the chef. He was a lot of fun and made us all have a great time. The food there was delicious, I think that between the 6 of us we covered all of the combos, I had shrimp and filet and it was so good my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Not a fan of the desserts there.....

[mickev99]

For those who have cruised on the Dawn recently, do you know if the Sushi bar is open for lunch?

[pathubia]

For those who have cruised on the Dawn recently, do you know if the Sushi bar is open for lunch?

 

I will check my "dailies" when I get home!!

[pathubia]

For those who have cruised on the Dawn recently, do you know if the Sushi bar is open for lunch?

 

I don't have the dailies for Sunday or Monday, Bamboo is not listed being open for lunch the rest of the week.

[partigus]

Just got off Dawn Thanksgiving week.

 

We had UDP so we mainly ate in the specialty restaurants.

 

We boarded to late to get to Cagneys on embarkation day, so we did enjoy the buffet then. They had a nice roast strip loin (roast version of a NY Strip steak as Prime Rib is to a Rib Eye steak)

 

Le Bistro and Cagney were both very good. While we enjoyed La Cucina and Moderno- they're a step lower in our books. Tempanyaki was kinda in between. Relatively large servings of the protein including lobster and Fillet . I ordered the Fillet and Shrimp- quite good, but I noticed later that someone else ordered the seafood plate (lobster, scallops, and calamari) and had Fillet substituted for the calamari... much better way to go!

 

We never ate in Bambo-- but walking through on the way to the Tempanyaki room the food looked and smelled very well done. The sushi bar has the cool conveyor belt with the dishes of sushi passing by. None of these were open for lunch on our trip.

 

Some of these places create some great areas on the ship. There are 2 multi level open spaces on the ship- the "grand atrium" from deck 7 all the way up to 13 (really open on 7-9, after that basically a large glass elevator shaft) and another area on 6 and 7. On Six is Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Gatsby's Bar...with the casino just forward and open above to Bambo. This was my favorite lounge location.

On 7, just aft of bamboo is the Grand Atrium with the Java Bar (not just coffee!) and on the other side of the guest services are is the Pearly Kings Pub and all the way aft is the relocated Spinnakers lounge.

 

I know people hatters relocation, but frankly, the daytime actives in here were not so great, I was ok with he location (especially since we had one of the rooms on deck 12 with the floor to ceiling windows!)

 

We ate in The Venetion the last night- prime rib was very good, and daughters roast chicken as good as she had had in Cagneys.

[pathubia]

Just got off Dawn Thanksgiving week.

 

We had UDP so we mainly ate in the specialty restaurants.

 

We boarded to late to get to Cagneys on embarkation day, so we did enjoy the buffet then. They had a nice roast strip loin (roast version of a NY Strip steak as Prime Rib is to a Rib Eye steak)

 

Le Bistro and Cagney were both very good. While we enjoyed La Cucina and Moderno- they're a step lower in our books. Tempanyaki was kinda in between. Relatively large servings of the protein including lobster and Fillet . I ordered the Fillet and Shrimp- quite good, but I noticed later that someone else ordered the seafood plate (lobster, scallops, and calamari) and had Fillet substituted for the calamari... much better way to go!

 

We never ate in Bambo-- but walking through on the way to the Tempanyaki room the food looked and smelled very well done. The sushi bar has the cool conveyor belt with the dishes of sushi passing by. None of these were open for lunch on our trip.

 

Some of these places create some great areas on the ship. There are 2 multi level open spaces on the ship- the "grand atrium" from deck 7 all the way up to 13 (really open on 7-9, after that basically a large glass elevator shaft) and another area on 6 and 7. On Six is Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Gatsby's Bar...with the casino just forward and open above to Bambo. This was my favorite lounge location.

On 7, just aft of bamboo is the Grand Atrium with the Java Bar (not just coffee!) and on the other side of the guest services are is the Pearly Kings Pub and all the way aft is the relocated Spinnakers lounge.

 

I know people hatters relocation, but frankly, the daytime actives in here were not so great, I was ok with he location (especially since we had one of the rooms on deck 12 with the floor to ceiling windows!)

 

We ate in The Venetion the last night- prime rib was very good, and daughters roast chicken as good as she had had in Cagneys.

 

We were.in 12032 the week before you. I wasn't sure I would like the suite without a balcony, but we didn't miss it at all.

 

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[partigus]

Forgot to mention- we had access to Cagney for Breakfast and lunch. Missed only had lunch there the 2 sea days, but was very nice. Ate breakfast there everyday except one when we had a somewhat early excursion. On the day we ate in the buffet. Also very good- actually had a few things I enjoyed missing from the Cagneys menu-For dinner the buffet had a lot of options. there are three stations each port and starboard. Seldom were all 6 in operation (even with 2900 people on board) They were often prepping one or two stations for the next meal. The sides are similar, but different- for instance, one side had a pasta station and the other an indian food station (daily) The buffet also had some nice things laid out between lunch and dinner (we hit this a couple of times to hold us over from missing lunch at port and getting to dinner...fruit, cheese, etc. The kids would often hit the soft serve here in the evening. I also noted the late night snacks looked pretty good (they had chicken wings that at least looked much better than the ones I tried at Blue Lagoon)

 

The buffet was not nearly as poorly laid out as I'd read about. even with a full ship it wasn't hard to navigate (other than recognizing that there is different food in different bays- just take a minute and "walk a lap". Also- don't want to give away ALL the secrets, but if you're just looking for a beer, soda, or glass of wine the "bar" at the entrance to the buffet is steps away from the pool and MUCH quicker (during times the bar is staffed)

[partigus]

also forgot...the Grand Atrium starts on deck 7, on deck 8 over looking are Moderna and Blue Lagoon, and on 9 is the internet cafe. Heard from the CD (Dingo Dave) that during dry dock, Internet cafe is going away (as everyone uses their own devices now) and Modernos is being moved to a place where diners don't have to listed to Jose and Patty during their meal

[pathubia]

Moderno is moving to the star bar opposite Cagneys. Pearly kings will be a wine bar and Moderno will be a pub. That's what we were told at the meet and greet...

 

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[partigus]

That makes sense- the Star Bar was totally empty at night and used by Patrick as his day office. Moderns will be great there. Having the pub in the large space offered by the current Modernos is also goo=d and the having the tucked away Pearly kings as a wine bar is nice as well.....Do you know what they are doing with the Internet Cafe space?

[tnbuilder64]

How was dining in the Main Dining Rooms? Has anyone had a problem with the ultimate beverage pkg? My 1st cruise on Norwegian.

[pathubia]

also forgot...the Grand Atrium starts on deck 7, on deck 8 over looking are Moderna and Blue Lagoon, and on 9 is the internet cafe. Heard from the CD (Dingo Dave) that during dry dock, Internet cafe is going away (as everyone uses their own devices now) and Modernos is being moved to a place where diners don't have to listed to Jose and Patty during their meal

 

One of my favorite parts of Moderno was having a "reserved" seat for Jose and Patti!! Honestly, there was so much to do, I was only able to see them twice this cruise.

[partigus]

How was dining in the Main Dining Rooms? Has anyone had a problem with the ultimate beverage pkg? My 1st cruise on Norwegian.

 

I mentioned the one meal we had in the MDR was very good...not sure what you mean by "problems" with the UBP- please elaborate and I'll try to help.

[partigus]

I mentioned the one meal we had in the MDR was very good...not sure what you mean by "problems" with the UBP- please elaborate and I'll try to help.

 

While I enjoyed Jose and Patty- it was from the lounge...for dinner I prefer a quite setting. Seems there will be just as much atrium seeing, with Modernos now up where the Star tBar was (and that was a wasted space... There was NEVERmore than one other couple up there (and that have it pertained off so only the starboard half was on...not sure why people don't go up there- its a great space with a view of the pool deck and ocean...given that- will be a great place for Moderno

[partigus]

thinking of that- especially if they keep the "bar " section open as a walk up bar- will be really neat space between Cagney and Modernos!

[mickev99]

Recent cruisers, do you remember what was open for lunch on embarkation day? On Royal Carib it was just the buffet which was a madhouse. Hoping the mdr and blue lagoon are options. I am not in a suite so Cagney's isn't an option.

[pathubia]

Recent cruisers, do you remember what was open for lunch on embarkation day? On Royal Carib it was just the buffet which was a madhouse. Hoping the mdr and blue lagoon are options. I am not in a suite so Cagney's isn't an option.

 

I am not positive, but I think The Venetian may be open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

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[pathubia]

While I enjoyed Jose and Patty- it was from the lounge...for dinner I prefer a quite setting. Seems there will be just as much atrium seeing, with Modernos now up where the Star tBar was (and that was a wasted space... There was NEVERmore than one other couple up there (and that have it pertained off so only the starboard half was on...not sure why people don't go up there- its a great space with a view of the pool deck and ocean...given that- will be a great place for Moderno

 

I know what you mean, the Star Bar is in a great spot. I have never gone in there for a drink, just to meet with the concierge and for private events (meet and greets, suite get togethers)

 

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