Some Dawn Thoughts

[SaveFarris]

Will book teppanyaki as soon as we board, have a 2bed family suite, so hope having butler service,they can book that for us. (tried online, but no success).

 

If you're in a suite, you can call the concierge and they can book you for teppanyaki (and all the other restaurants) before you board.

[rvsullivan]

If you're in a suite, you can call the concierge and they can book you for teppanyaki (and all the other restaurants) before you board.

 

Pre Concierge cannot pre book Teppanyaki. Only on the ship or the Concierge at the pier while you're waiting to board. Pre concierge will put in the request but it will still have to be booked after you arrive. Too few seats at Teppanyaki for pre booking.

[ILoveScotland]

skeptic555, thanks for good information. I was on the Dawn in 2006 when she was still fairly new but know not to expect her to be as she was then.

 

My husband and I are on the January 10th sailing with a couple of nights pre-cruise in New Orleans.

 

A couple of questions: We have booked La Cucina for one night but otherwise plan to eat in the main dining rooms. My philosophy is I don't want to pay extra for dining - just me. Did you eat in a main dining restaurant at all, and if so, how was it?

 

Second, we have booked a tour in Belize but have decided to go ashore in Cozumel and just walk around the town, have lunch, do some shopping which will be more looking than buying. We have decided just to go into the small port area of Roatan for a look around and then spend the day on the ship.

 

Now there is the issue of Costa Maya. We haven't booked a tour and but would like to see Mayan ruins. You said you booked a VIP tour. Was that through NCL or a private company? I'm not interested in going on a bus that holds a gazillion people, and neither is my husband, but a smaller van would be good. If we don't book a tour, what did you see in port, namely a cafe or two, a few shops, etc.

 

Thanks for your answers.

[skeptic555]

I went one night to Aqua, and one to Venetian. Enjoyed them both - I will say the quality of the food was significantly better than in the Garden Cafe (buffett) - no surprise, I suppose.

 

I was quite happy with the menu selections (posted outside during the day for decision making purposes). One night I had the chateaubriad, the other I doubled up with the braised veal plus the gnocchi. While not off the charts or anything, all three were an easy thumbs up. Daughter had the chicken parm both nights (certain dishes seemed to show up more than once) and also approved.

 

The VIP tour was booked thru NCL, and it was to Chaccoben. I think the cost was around $125. There is a non VIP version as well for less money, but I really thought the efficiency and personal attention of the VIP was worth the extra cost. There were 8 of us in the van, plus the guide and the driver. Our driver was Mayan, and full of strong opinions (and pride) (and great information). Suffice to say no one on our bus will ever confuse the Mayans with the Aztecs... or the Spaniards. The ruins themselves were more expansive than I expected, and we really enjoyed the entire deal. If there are multiple times offered, go with the earliest - one benefit of the VIP is the relative quiet and privacy at the ruins. If you go later, the place will be quite busy.

 

Costa Maya is a pier stop, and at the end of the pier is a shopping mall type area with stores, kiosks, bars, even a pool. I can't imagine there would be anything NOT represented, but be advised that the vendors here are more aggressive here than any other ports we visited. They are not rude, but they are insistent. If you've cruised in the past, this is nothing new. Beyond this area, which is clearly still being developed, nothing else was within walking distance.

 

We also did a few nights in NOLA pre-cruise. Cab to the port was easy, and a fixed price.

[ILoveScotland]

I went one night to Aqua, and one to Venetian. Enjoyed them both - I will say the quality of the food was significantly better than in the Garden Cafe (buffett) - no surprise, I suppose.

 

I was quite happy with the menu selections (posted outside during the day for decision making purposes). One night I had the chateaubriad, the other I doubled up with the braised veal plus the gnocchi. While not off the charts or anything, all three were an easy thumbs up. Daughter had the chicken parm both nights (certain dishes seemed to show up more than once) and also approved.

 

The VIP tour was booked thru NCL, and it was to Chaccoben. I think the cost was around $125. There is a non VIP version as well for less money, but I really thought the efficiency and personal attention of the VIP was worth the extra cost. There were 8 of us in the van, plus the guide and the driver. Our driver was Mayan, and full of strong opinions (and pride) (and great information). Suffice to say no one on our bus will ever confuse the Mayans with the Aztecs... or the Spaniards. The ruins themselves were more expansive than I expected, and we really enjoyed the entire deal. If there are multiple times offered, go with the earliest - one benefit of the VIP is the relative quiet and privacy at the ruins. If you go later, the place will be quite busy.

 

Costa Maya is a pier stop, and at the end of the pier is a shopping mall type area with stores, kiosks, bars, even a pool. I can't imagine there would be anything NOT represented, but be advised that the vendors here are more aggressive here than any other ports we visited. They are not rude, but they are insistent. If you've cruised in the past, this is nothing new. Beyond this area, which is clearly still being developed, nothing else was within walking distance.

 

We also did a few nights in NOLA pre-cruise. Cab to the port was easy, and a fixed price.

 

Thank you so much for all the good information. I've found a private tour that also goes to Chaccoben and have e-mailed the company about costs and number of people per tour. It has good reviews on Tripadvisor.

 

I also found a comment on another thread that said it's a $2 cab ride into the small town near the port and that there are more traditional/native shops, etc. Since we leave in a week my husband and I need to get busy with decisions!

[smokey11]

Hi thanks so much for your review!

 

I have a question. Was the Maya Key excursion in Roatan through NCL? I am still trying to find an excursion for Roatan and Belize for my Jan 17th cruise.

Edited January 1, 2016 by smokey11

[skeptic555]

 

I have a question. Was the Maya Key excursion in Roatan through NCL?

 

Yep. At the risk of paying far too much, we always book via the ship. While not an issue with Maya Key, the stress and worry of getting back to the ship on time, breaking down, negotiating on the pier etc etc does not say "relaxing cruise vacation" to me!

[rvsullivan]

Thank you so much for all the good information. I've found a private tour that also goes to Chaccoben and have e-mailed the company about costs and number of people per tour. It has good reviews on Tripadvisor.

 

I also found a comment on another thread that said it's a $2 cab ride into the small town near the port and that there are more traditional/native shops, etc. Since we leave in a week my husband and I need to get busy with decisions!

 

We've been 5 or 6 times now and were just there 3 weeks ago. You do not want to spend much time at the pier area of Costa Maya, it is a $2 per person cab ride to town, about 5 minutes. Much better selection for products and bars/restaurants and a "real" beach. For the cost of a drink you can sit on the sand and people watch. And the beach vendors are much more passive than around the pier.

[lmaccaro]

We were on the same cruise. 2 hour wait to embark, 2 hour wait to debark. Ship isn't really being taken care of. Started trying to book specialty restaurants as soon as we got on board, and had to continually fight for trying to get the times and restaurants we wanted. Never did get into Teppanyaki. Cagneys was great, but couldn't get in there a second time. Despite the specialty restaurants being constantly "full", when we dined there or just cruised by, they were dead empty. Super frustrating.

 

Several staff members were rude to us, or just ignored us. For example, one of our cabins wasn't prepped for us before we arrived (water bottle open, no towels), the cabin steward accused us of losing or stealing our towels the first day (?). LOL. Thank goodness for the free drinks package so we could drown our disappointment. There were also some fantastic staff, NCL just doesn't seem to do anything about the poor ones.

 

Belize was a mess, almost missed our tour, had to really work to get off the ship in time.

 

If you are in NOLA, use Uber. Less than half the price of a cab to/from the airport (and the cabbies complain that set prices are already too low).

Edited January 1, 2016 by lmaccaro

[SherriM]

Lots of great information which I am taking screenshots of! :D

We will be going in Feb and the Dawn will have had her make-over!

 

This is our first time on the NCL and the first time not booking a suite. We booked a mid-ship Balcony room through the NLC website. Does anyone have experience whether they will offer us an upgrade for consideration?

 

Loving all the tips and questions! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks!

[pathubia]

Lots of great information which I am taking screenshots of! :D

We will be going in Feb and the Dawn will have had her make-over!

 

This is our first time on the NCL and the first time not booking a suite. We booked a mid-ship Balcony room through the NLC website. Does anyone have experience whether they will offer us an upgrade for consideration?

 

Loving all the tips and questions! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks!

 

If they ship has a lot of unsold suites available, they offer upsells starting at about a month out. We had booked a balcony, did an upsell to a family suite with balcony for $800, then a week before the cruise we did an additional upsell to the Deluxe Owners Suite for $200 more.

 

We are cruising on the Dawn again in October. We booked a family suite without a balcony, doesn't look like there will be many upsells, the suites are all sold out at this time.

[SherriM]

If they ship has a lot of unsold suites available, they offer upsells starting at about a month out. We had booked a balcony, did an upsell to a family suite with balcony for $800, then a week before the cruise we did an additional upsell to the Deluxe Owners Suite for $200 more.

 

We are cruising on the Dawn again in October. We booked a family suite without a balcony, doesn't look like there will be many upsells, the suites are all sold out at this time.

 

Good to know, thank you!

What is the laundry situation on the Dawn? We'll be on HAL in September and get free laundry and free dry cleaning included with our suite but haven't read what the set up is on NCL.

Thanks!