Late review of the Dawn Nov 15

[pathubia]

Better late then never:

 

MY husband and I took this cruise in January. We loved it so much we booked it again as soon as we got home. We talked about it so much in glowing terms, ten more people from Boston decided to join us.

 

Four of us drove to New Orleans and the other eight flew in. Four of us stayed at the Prytania Park Hotel in the Garden District. We love this hotel and it offers free parking (even when you are on your cruise). The rooms were very nice. They do have some loft rooms which shared with my daughter and her best friend.

 

We took a taxi to the cruiseport, I had requested a large van to pick us up at 10 am, there were 6 of us plus a lot of luggage. A 6 passenger van came to pick us up which was a bit squishy with our luggage, but we made the best of it. The taxi ride is a set fee of 8 dollars per person. So for a 5 minute ride (its less than 2 miles) it cost $48. But whatever we got there nice and early. I have heard horror stories about embarking in New Orleans, we had no problem, the taxi driver dropped us off, we grabbed a porter and headed in to check in. There were two lines set up, there was a wedding party in one line and we were sent to another line. They checked that we had our passports and tickets and sent us in.

 

We were in a suite, so when we got to the next “check in” spot, we told the woman we were in a suite and she put us in the first row of chairs and gave us our health forms to fill out. By the time we filled them out, she called us to go and do the check in process with the credit cards and have our pictures taken. As soon as this was done, we were escorted to the Priorty waiting area. There we met Patrick, the concierge, he gave us our package of room keys, dailies and specialty restaurant info. We were also able to book Teppanyki for Monday night right then.

 

This six of us took over a corner, ate some sweets, drank some juice and coffee and waited for the “All aboard”. As soon as the ship was cleared for boarding, we were called by deck, there were about 10 of us for deck 12, we were called first. We lost our escort somewhere after the escalator, so we just got in the line. I think the only passengers in front of us were with people in wheelchairs, it was a short wait, and it was our 5th time on the Dawn, so we knew where to go.

 

We went directly to our suite, family suite, no balcony, 12032. It was a handicapped accessible suite. The bathroom was roomy, no bathtub just a large shower area with a fold down shower chair. It was my first suite without a balcony and I didn’t miss it at all.

 

We went to most of the shows, Showtime, Band on the Run, David DaVinci the illusionist, Rex Haven-comedian, Elements, Jose and Patti’s Neil Diamond Tribute…..I think we only missed the show on the first night (we were too busy in Pearly Kings rooting on the Patriots).

 

This was our third cruise with Dingo Dave the Cruise Director and he is a lot of fun.

 

We also went to the shows in the Spinnaker, Not So Newlywed, Perfect Couple…and Second City, let me tell you, this group of Second City was the best out of my 5 cruises, they were very very funny. I had never gone to “the Quest” it’s an adult scavenger hunt. My daughter had done it before on a cruise and knew what to expect, what a fun time….it’s a lot of fun.

We had the Ultimate Beverage Package, they only time we waited for drinks was at the casino bar, took forever to get drinks there.

 

We had the Ultimate Dining Package, we ate at LeBistro, Cagneys, Moderno, LaCuccina and Teppanyki, the other two nights we ate at the buffet had great meals in all, LeBistro was very crowded the night we were there and it took the server about a half hour to take our order but the food was great. The only meal that was just so so was LaCuccina, it was ok, but not great.

Very happy we purchased the unlimited internet package, we had two 22 year old girls with us and we used over 2000 minutes.

 

Jose and Patti play in the atrium on most nights, its very had to get a seat. I was really happy that we could listen to them while having dinner in Moderno.

 

I went in the hot tubs a couple of times, not a huge fan of hot tubs, and I don’t understand why people like to stay in them for hours. I only went in the pool once when we got back from one of the ports, not sure which and it rained for about 10 minutes.

 

Which brings me to the weather, we had great weather all week, it was hot, but not unbearable. It poured off and on the last sea day. Which made it easy for me to go to bingo twice and deal or no deal once, LOL!!

 

Cozumel: My daughter and her friend wanted to go parasailing. When we got to the port, we walked up to Jimmy Buffett’s Margerittaville. They called the parasailing guy and he came for them after about a half hour. It was $60 each and they had a great time. Jimmy Buffets doesn’t have a beach, but you can jump in the water and swim, they have the big water floatee things, trampolines and the things you see on Wipe-Out. We stayed there a couple of hours, had a few drinks and nachos. We left there around 1pm and met up with some of our group at Senor Frogs. We had a great time there singing, dancing and doing shots. It was a great day.

 

Roatan: We were supposed to tender at this port, when I woke up we were docked. Seems we beat the other ship and got to dock. We booked Maya Key through the cruise line. It was beautiful. We got to go in the monkey cage and hold a giant parrot. It is an animal rescue and they have some great animals there. We had lunch there and swam. We headed back on the catamaran around 2. My friend, my daughter and my daughters friend all wanted to zip line, so they did the Monkey La La Zip line that went across the water, they got to go twice for $30 each. They had fun. We stopped at Money LaLa for a couple of beers before we headed back to the ship. I felt terrible for the people on the Jade, they were tendering and they were only using lifeboats to tender, some people were in line over an hour to get back to the ship.

 

Belize: Last time here my husband and I went to Goffs Caye. The girls didn’t want to snorkel and I really didn’t want to do much here, so we just shopped and then sat at a bar and danced and sang and had a great time.

 

Costa Maya: Best Day Ever!! All twelve of us went to Maya Chan!! We couldn’t snorkel due to cloudy water, and it was kind of mucky, but since the waiters bring your drinks to you in the water, it was no big deal. We all had fun and when we got back to the port, we all jumped into the pool at the port, swam up to the bar and had drinks.

 

We got back to New Orleans alittle later then I expected. I woke up at 7 am and was surprised that we were still rolling down the river….

Once the ship was cleared we headed up to the Star Bar and waited to be escorted off the ship. Not sure of the exact times, but we were back at our hotel by 1030 am. This time we took two taxis.

[mickev99]

Thanks for the review! So what did you think of Goff's Caye when you went last time? I have read such wonderful things about it so we booked it, but I just keep seeing how tiny the island is and wonder if I made a mistake. We really just want to snorkel and hang on the beach (don't care about chairs). The main reason we did this one was because I read reviews that you could swim out to snorkel from the beach.

[pathubia]

Thanks for the review! So what did you think of Goff's Caye when you went last time? I have read such wonderful things about it so we booked it, but I just keep seeing how tiny the island is and wonder if I made a mistake. We really just want to snorkel and hang on the beach (don't care about chairs). The main reason we did this one was because I read reviews that you could swim out to snorkel from the beach.

 

I loved Goffs Caye. They were easy to find at the pier, then they took us out by catamaran to the island. Some people chose to stay on the island, while the others went snorkeling. It is very small (they do have a mens and ladies room). They brought those of us that were snorkeling back on the boat and we geared up, jumped in (I actually bellyflopped, lol) and snorkeled back to the island. We were all split up into groups of 6 (I think) and we each had a guide. Our guide dove down and grabbed a lobster and kept diving and pointing out fish to us. The only down side was that it was pretty rocky getting out of the water.

 

They had a yummy lunch you could buy, two lobster tails for $12 or so or chicken, not sure how much that was, we both got the lobster tails.

 

I would have done this again, but my daughter and her friend didn't want to snorkel, so we hung out at the pier.

[mypleasure]

Many thanks for this. Some very useful tips.

[lbrandon]

Thanks for the review. We're in the family suite without balcony in March and were a little worried if we'd miss the balcony.

[SaveFarris]

We went directly to our suite, family suite, no balcony, 12032. It was a handicapped accessible suite. The bathroom was roomy, no bathtub just a large shower area with a fold down shower chair. It was my first suite without a balcony and I didn’t miss it at all.

 

First time I ever cruised was in the Star version of that room. The best part is if you want that balcony feel, just walk 20 feet down the hall and voilà!: You're on the Lido.

[pathubia]

First time I ever cruised was in the Star version of that room. The best part is if you want that balcony feel, just walk 20 feet down the hall and voilà!: You're on the Lido.

 

I did a cabin crawl in January, we were in a family suite with a balcony, but when I saw the one without the balcony, I said SOLD!! I do love having a balcony, but as I cruise I spend less and less time out there. Being on deck 12 is a plus, so close to the pool and if you want privacy, just find a quiet spot on deck 13.

[lostone65]

Great review, thank you! We are on her in February. We loved the Star so we know we will love the Dawn!

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

 

Keith