The Dawn has changed

[tallyho8]

I just finished my 3rd cruise on the Dawn. Previously I had a 7 day cruise out of New Orleans just like the one I just finished and a 14 day cruise from Boston to New Orleans.

 

I had no problems with my first two cruises on the Dawn but this cruise seemed like it had a completely different crew serving food with little experience.

 

When we ate at the main dining room or in the Blue Lagoon for breakfast, lunch or dinner, there was not even one time when they got our order correct. Many times we got items we did not order and most times we did not get all that we ordered.

 

It was usually small things but things that were very irritating such as not getting your toast with the fried eggs that you ordered and then you had to wait until your eggs got cold before they brought your toast or eat your eggs without toast which I do not like to do.

 

We are platinum so we had a couple of meals in the specialty restaurants where we received better service but were slightly disappointed to see that we are now limited to getting only one appetizer and one dessert unless you want to pay for another one but at least most of the portions were large enough that we did not leave hungry.

 

We enjoyed their shows even though we had seen them twice before and the bartenders seemed experienced enough and we only saw one that was a little rude.

 

We had our grandson with us and never saw the room steward the first day and that night had to call guest services to get a 3rd set of washcloths and towels and to have someone make up his sofa bed. The next day was a sea day and we wanted to use the balcony but it was blocked by the sofa bed so we could not get to it. We did not see our room steward again that day and still had no ice. We called room service to get the sofa bed converted back to a sofa but they never came to do it so we went the day without being able to go on our balcony or having any place to sit in our room except for on the bed.

 

The next day the room steward came to us and apologized saying that he was previously off duty but we wondered why they did not replace him with another room steward while he was off.

 

We have cruised Norwegian many times before and will still cruise Norwegian many more times but I think we will pick some different ships in the future.

[riddle]

There is always a box in Customer Relations where you can leave a note for the hotel manager. I have done it several times and have always had extremely prompt responses and problems fixed immediately.

[casofilia]

There is always a box in Customer Relations where you can leave a note for the hotel manager. I have done it several times and have always had extremely prompt responses and problems fixed immediately.

 

You were very lucky or had very simple requests. I have never received the courtesy of a call from the Hotel Manager to any note I have put in that box.

 

Mike

[bonvoyagie]

On my last cruise (Pearl AK 2012) I learned that below the hotel manager are several other layers of sub management - people the HD will go through to get the right dept. One of those is the Housekeeping Manager He is in charge of the room stewards - yes I met him at the CC M&G. I also met him later the same day at the suite reception. He really wanted to know about our room steward - did he introduce himself - was he attending to our needs etc.

 

Yes I know I was in a suite - but he also stressed at the M&G that if we had any problems with the stewards, see him - he gave us his card - BTW the HD was also there and also encouraged us to seek out the proper dept head and if they could not solve the problem they would get him involved.

 

I too am surprised that there was not a substitute steward esp on the first few days of a cruise - turnaround day is usually all hands on deck - no one gets the day off :D

[Sparkygirl]

We had this experience on the Dawn last year and our room steward was not available the first day to being on quarantine for illness. They sent a very inexperienced assistant steward and after that we just closed the sofa ourselves the next morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sail7seas]

I'm so disappointed to read this.

I sailed Dawn last summer for the first time ever on NCL after over 90+ cruises on other lines and the ship/crew really exceeded my expectations.

 

My friends with whom I sailed last summer and I likely will sail her again but when I read this, I get discouraged.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Keith

[coka]

Sometimes a cruise can be off...that is for sure! I am sorry this happened to you and I too wonder why there was no replacement for your steward. I write to let you know that the Dawn couch bed can be pushed in 1/3 of the space so you can get to the balcony while the remaining 2/3 of the bed is still out. I discovered this when sailing as the third passenger myself in the couch bed of a balcony cabin. I hope future sailings are not the same as this sailing. Some of my family are sailing her in April.

 

coka

Edited February 16, 2016 by coka

[david_sobe]

The Dawn could be a training ship. I had a similar experience on Epic. First time outstanding service everywhere. 3 years later the Breakaway was just about to sail and most of the experienced crew left Epic for Breakaway. We also has waiters that were confused even after writing things down. You just roll with the changes. It did not bother us too bad but it was a HUGE change in service.

[mypleasure]

I was on the 24th Jan sailing. The suggestion that this is now a training ship could be spot on.

 

This was undoubtedly, by a very long way, the worst cruise I have been on. Service in restaurants was good, but then we had UDP and dined in speciality every night. In the buffet I had the misfortune to hear an officer yelling at a young man who was clearing tables. This sort of thing is unacceptable in front of guests. It should be dealt with in private and hopefully in a supportive manner. Rubbed me the wrong way but I used to make my living teaching and training. Saw a bartender being run ragged by sheer volume of work. Two others seemed to not know what to do so stood there watching with wide eyes like deer caught in headlamps.

 

Training would be the answer to a lot of the service issues and why some of the more experienced staff seemed stressed and not as friendly as I have known NCL staff to be. The other reason would be that the ship was said to have 2400 pax on board and it seemed most has UBP. It was rare to see anyone sign for a drink. Sadly I think this was the main reason we didn't enjoy the cruise much.

 

I'm sailing again on May 1st and will see if it has changed at all when I get there.

[sail7seas]

I hope others who have recently sailed Dawn or will soon make some comments here. I'd be so disappointed to return there for my second cruise and find the service was not what I experienced last summer. Service is very important to me. :o

[bellevuemountain]

I was on the 24th Jan sailing. The suggestion that this is now a training ship could be spot on.

 

This was undoubtedly, by a very long way, the worst cruise I have been on. Service in restaurants was good, but then we had UDP and dined in speciality every night. In the buffet I had the misfortune to hear an officer yelling at a young man who was clearing tables. This sort of thing is unacceptable in front of guests. It should be dealt with in private and hopefully in a supportive manner. Rubbed me the wrong way but I used to make my living teaching and training. Saw a bartender being run ragged by sheer volume of work. Two others seemed to not know what to do so stood there watching with wide eyes like deer caught in headlamps.

 

Training would be the answer to a lot of the service issues and why some of the more experienced staff seemed stressed and not as friendly as I have known NCL staff to be. The other reason would be that the ship was said to have 2400 pax on board and it seemed most has UBP. It was rare to see anyone sign for a drink. Sadly I think this was the main reason we didn't enjoy the cruise much.

 

I'm sailing again on May 1st and will see if it has changed at all when I get there.

 

I was not on the Dawn but was on a 21 day cruise on the Epic. I also noticed a huge difference in service since my last cruise, same observations as you stated. Thanks for the feedback!

[coffeegirrrl]

We'll be on Dawn this Sunday 2/21, I'm probably a little too easy to please (Restaurant Manager here - just don't be rude and I'll probably understand) but will leave an update when we return. ;D

[ntara]

Sorry to hear about your experiences on the Dawn. We sailed on her to Bermuda and had a great time.

 

However, I just got off the Breakaway after 14 days. This was our 5th cruise with NCL (2nd on the Breakaway) and unfortunately we had many service issues that took away from the pleasant cruise experiences we have enjoyed on NCL in the past. I don't know if this is the result of the company going public in the last 18 months, but we are going to look to other cruise lines for our next cruise vacation. Having previously sailed with RCCL, Celebrity and Princess, we know there are many choices out there. I hope NCL gets their act together, but for now we work too hard for our money and vacation time is precious....not retired yet!

[donnar78]

I was on 1/24 sailing..I thought for the most part service was good. Did have the server in Venetian bring us the wrong order and a few people not smiling but for the most part everyone was friendly and service was great. guess we all have our good and bad days???

[Sand and Seas]

Our son just got back from sailing on the Dawn for the 3rd time. He enjoyed it and didn't have any issues or notice any less service than other times he has sailed on her. He said the food was still good and he had a good cabin steward. Each cruise can be different depending on what is important to each of us. He often dines in the buffet or Blue Lagoon, so he didn't really notice any service issues that someone else may have had.

[mvjcruise]

I was on the Dawn from Feb 7-14. I can honestly say it was an excellent cruise. I have never filled out a card to praise a crew member until this cruise. And I filled out 3 cruise hero cards on this cruise.

[haply]

We sailed the Dawn last Thanksgiving and had a great time. Our room steward was really good. Very friendly. Our rooms were cleaned very well every day, towel animals every night, etc. The buffet was the best out of any cruise line that I have been on, and the buffet staff were really good. The restaurant staff were nice but not "white-glove". Bar staff were mostly nice. We had a great time and plan on going this Thanksgiving!

[lostone65]

We just got off the Dawn yesterday. All in all a good cruise but we did notice a big reduction in bar staff. Additionally the everyone smiling and chatting crew is no longer a norm but instead an exception. Service was mostly good but not the same as we have come to expect. We chatted with a couple bartenders who have been with NCL for over 20 years and they confirmed that staff has been cut and its. Ever been this bad. I personally think FDR has created a bad environment for the crew.

The officers were not as visible and the crew was mostly disinterested. We are very polite cruisers. Always say please and thank you, give extra tips and tend to have fun no matter what. It was disappointing but still a good cruise as we found a special bar waiter and bartender and our cabin steward was excellent!

[mypleasure]

We just got off the Dawn yesterday. All in all a good cruise but we did notice a big reduction in bar staff. Additionally the everyone smiling and chatting crew is no longer a norm but instead an exception. Service was mostly good but not the same as we have come to expect. We chatted with a couple bartenders who have been with NCL for over 20 years and they confirmed that staff has been cut and its. Ever been this bad. I personally think FDR has created a bad environment for the crew.

The officers were not as visible and the crew was mostly disinterested. We are very polite cruisers. Always say please and thank you, give extra tips and tend to have fun no matter what. It was disappointing but still a good cruise as we found a special bar waiter and bartender and our cabin steward was excellent!

 

This is very consistent with how I found things to be and how my sister and I felt when we sailed on 24th January 2016. It in no way compared with my experience of N.Star June 2015 or N.Spirit Jan 2015 or any of the 15 other sailings since 2008. It seemed to me like the vibe from the crew was different to any of my previous experiences on other ships. It may be down to their being a lot of new crew on board and they need to settle in to the job itself and life on board. I am sailing on the Dawn again on 1st May 2016 and have another cruise already booked for 2017.

 

I am encouraged that there have been some postings from people who didn't find there to be any service issues on their sailings. Then again maybe they have a different expectation. My expectation is based on my previous experiences on other ships in the NCL fleet. I class myself as being a patient, polite, cheerful, happy sort of person who is generally unconcerned about having to wait a few minutes some times when things are busy. I do not consider myself high-maintenance, demanding or entitled in any way. I have always enjoyed my on board experience and the people who bring my food and drink have always been a big part of making that experience good.

 

I will continue to look forward to the May 1st cruise and intend to enjoy every moment of it.

[tallyho8]

I'm the OP and I'm glad to see that not everyone had as bad an experience on the Dawn as I had on the 2-7-16 cruise.

 

Remember, I have sailed on the Dawn 21 days previously and been very happy with everything aboard and only this time were there any instances to mar my cruise.

 

I sail on Norwegian about half of my cruises and will continue to do so but since I live around New Orleans and since the Dawn has now been in New Orleans for so long, I sure would like to see a different ship here for a change.

 

Previously I have sailed on the Spirit, Star and Jewel out of New Orleans when they changed every year and I can't understand why they want to leave the Dawn here for 6 or more years.

[lostone65]

We sailed the Star out of NOLA December 2012 and loved her. That is why we wanted to try the Dawn. Plus living in Washington state NOLA is easier for us to get to than Miami. However we are booked on the Escape for 2/18/17 out of Miami.