Dawn Repo 2016 Picture Review

[AKR2011]

There were hundreds of flamingos, but because we weren't able to get out, this was all I could capture of them:

 

We did a planned stopped at Cadushy Distillery to try their yummy liqueurs and learn how they're made. They made a bunch of different ones to represent different Caribbean Islands, and they were yummy.

 

The distillery had this really cool sign pointing to different places and their distance from the island:

 

They were sampling the Bonaire variety and explaining how they make it using cactus. The bar let you sample any of the others, and I actually bought the Aruba kind (it is orange-flavored and quite yummy). You can get a mixed drink for just $5 too. A nice plus.

 

I wish we were able to stop and get out, but we drove past the famous salt flats:

 

We also saw the old slave huts:

 

I cannot imagine staying in one of these tiny huts. It was an unbelievable experience to get inside and think about living in one. I was glad that we had at least a few minutes to take in this stop.

[AKR2011]

While at the Salt Flats, we were able to take in that amazing ocean:

 

Man, it is gorgeous! I need to take up Scuba or Snorkeling next time. I was feeling like I missed out. There is so much beautiful coral too:

 

And we didn't have enough shots of US, so a beach shot seemed necessary:

 

After the slave huts, we learned that our tour was over :( I asked about the lighthouse, and she pointed it out on her map and said it was too far. I was confused why the tour I booked was not the one that we received. I need to ask more questions next time. This was the second tour on this trip that we were unhappy with, and I blame myself for not getting more details. I seriously cannot wait to book another cruise and do the excursions differently.

 

We walked around the island a bit after the tour so I could get my ornament and pin. We also grabbed some yummy gelato not too far from port. It was only $3.50 for two scoops, and if you bought it, you could use their fast wifi too. That gelato was SO GOOD. I had dark chocolate mixed with mint, and it was absolutely perfect. Just what I wanted on a hot day.

 

When we got back to the ship, it was time for 80s Name That Tune Trivia. Now I am an 80s child. I LOVE Journey, Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Gibson, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson etc. The songs in this trivia - with the exception on Madonna and Bananarama - were all one hit wonders. Some of them I don't think anyone had heard of. Out of 40 points (points for both songs and artists), I think we had 11. No one was doing well. Oh well.

 

We had a late reservation for Bamboo and didn't want to eat during tonight's activities, so we stopped by to change it to the next night. After TV Theme Song Trivia (Much better results on this one), we headed to The Venetian instead. I don't remember what we ate, but I know it was pretty good. We were definitely hungry at that point.

 

That night Dan hosted "The Weakest Think" in Bliss. Alex and I were both chosen to play and had fun with Dan's banter. In the end, it came down to me and one other person. It was rigged in her favor. All of my answers were really horrible puns that he made up. I laughed it off. Everyone won a t-shirt and water bottle, and the winner also won a bottle of champagne. Because I played along nicely with Dan's jokes in the last round, I won a bottle too :D

 

Tonight's shows were George Solomon at 7:00 and a hypnotist at 9:00. We actually skipped both. We were at dinner during the first one, and we have seen a lot of hypnotists in the past. Instead, we stayed in Bliss for some Karaoke. Always a good time. I tried to bring in the 21st Century with some Taylor Swift! They need some updates though. Rachel Platten's Fight Song would seriously make my day, but it's all good. I just love being there to support everyone and sing a little myself. The liquor was flowing, so I was able to ward off my nerves a bit. Thanks again, Beverage Package ;)

 

We forgot to change our room sign from "Do Not Disturb" to "Turn Down," so no Towel Animal tonight, but that's alright. In the end, it was a nice day, just not quite the tour we had planned on.

 

***

I need to head back out, but I will do my best to post more tomorrow.

[Arzeena]

I'm glad that we're not the only ones :) There is so much other great entertainment on board that it never bothered us. I was especially surprised when they had a matinee and people were really fighting for seats. I was outside doing the Bean Bag toss when people were going in, and it was crazy! :eek:

 

I don't understand that Jose and Patti craze either! I do agree that it is a matter of what you like and don't like.... and I don't like!

[Arzeena]

Same here--I enjoyed the Neil Diamond Show with them and otherwise they were OK. I was on the same cruise and I am loving your review! it's like reliving it again

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Same here!

[Smellytoes]

How come I can't see the pictures? What am I doing wrong::confused:

[hladygirl]

How come I can't see the pictures? What am I doing wrong::confused:

 

I can't see them either

[AKR2011]

*I'm trying Mozilla instead of Chrome. Maybe that will help people see the pictures??? I am confused :confused:*

 

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Weekends are my busier time at work, and I need to start saving for that next one. Panama Canal 2019 perhaps???

 

Day 8:

 

Today we were in Curacao! I was determined to make the most of our day and had rented a car through Avis. We had breakfast at the Venetian, and then headed out to find our car. Finding Avis was easy, but they seemed to have issues with their computer being down. It took awhile to get our car, despite the fact that I had all of the paperwork with me. They also charged me more than they should have. I booked through a Groupon deal for $50.14 total. They charged me almost $70 :eek:

 

The entire reason that we rented a car was to hike up to the top of Cristoffel National Park. That is the highest peak on the island and is almost an hour west of port. When I looked into excursions and tours, nothing seemed to go there. You also have to begin hiking before 11am. The car seemed the best option, although we had never done it before.

 

There is only one road that goes west, and there was a map in the car, so we figured that we didn't need to pay an extra $9 for the GPS. So off we went. Alex asked me which road to go on, and I asked him what road we were on. Oops. There are NO ROAD SIGNS. The signs that we do see are all in Dutch. We were fine with converting miles to kilometers in our heads to find the right speed, but finding the right road proved to be an issue. Finally we found that one highway, and all was good.

 

We kept getting passed on the road, despite doing 90 at times. Man, these people drive fast! When we arrived at the park, it was actually really simple to get going. The front desk told us that we needed to get started, because it was 10:45. We drove to the trail head (they gave us a map to get there), and started hiking at 11:01. So yes, we broke the rules a little. Nalgenes in hand, we began to hike up the trail.

 

This was definitely a difficult trail. Most of the trail looked like this:

 

It was thin, windy, and very steep the entire way up. Alex is a birder, and I tend to be a bit slower, so we actually work well as a hiking team. I go ahead while he looks at birds. Then every 20-30 minutes or so, I drink some water, and he is caught up. We chat about cool things we saw, then continue this way. However, I was running out of water quickly on this hike, and everyone was coming down and telling us to go back. It simply is not safe to hike in the heat there. I went as far as I thought I should, with about a quarter of my water left. I had made it 3/4 of the way up and was quite proud:

Alex made it almost to the top himself. At the point I turned around, the trail became climbing rather than hiking, and he was nervous about possibly falling. While he was climbing, I took a semi-leisurely walk down and enjoyed the beauty of the forest. the island is beautiful, and there was lots to see. I'm not a birder, but I did stop to enjoy them a few times. I went back to the car, turned on the AC, and drank the last of my water. 15 minutes later, Alex was back, out of water, and feeling winded from the climb.

[AKR2011]

Here's another photo of that gorgeous view from the mountaintop:

 

 

After the hike, we drove to a roadside stand to grab drinks and refresh a little. The wanted to visit Hato Caves. It was pretty easy to drive there from the park, east, then north following the road to the airport. We arrived and saw another couple from our San Juan excursion. They were on a private tour of the island and by themselves. The four of us did the Hato Caves tour together. It was only $8 for the tour, and when we arrived to go in, there were about 50 people coming out. We were lucky to be in such a small group. Our tour guide was great and gave a little leniency with taking photos. There are many places where you cannot take pictures at all, but then there are some that they're only allowed in small tour groups - and that was us! Many of the rocks made awesome faces:

And I just loved the look of these icicle-looking rocks:

 

Any pictures we attempted to get of ourselves were really dark (flash was not allowed):

 

It was a nice tour, and definitely a plus to be in a small group. We were happy about this. It took about 45 minutes to go through, and then we were ready to find some food!

[AKR2011]

At lunch, the goal was local food away from port. We were headed back towards there after to see the Blue Curacao Factory, so we wanted to find food sooner rather than later. This place looked interesting, so we decided to give it a try:

 

Shawarma Station makes Israeli Food, and it was wuite good! The owner moved to the island from Syria and spent some time talking about starting over on the island and being away from his family. He had a rough life, but was happy to share his culture with us. We wanted to try a variety of things, and the only thing I said that I didn't want was beans. He interpreted that unfortunately as me wanting more American Food. No, not exactly. Alex ended up with a nice plats full of different Israeli Food and I had some yummy chicken...and french fries. I laughed it off, but we honestly just shared everything:

 

There were actually no beans in any of the food. So strange that my plate was lacking all the other good things, but that's okay. It was a ton of food anyway, and there was no way that we could finish it all. Prices needed to be converted to American, and I was able to use my debit card. With tip, this meal was under $30 :eek:

 

Bellies full, it was time to get to the Blue Curacao Distillery. It wasn't easy to find, and traffic was getting crazy as it was late in the day. A nice local offered to have us follow him in his car when we finally stopped for directions - so nice these people are! Then, we ere excited to see this:

[AKR2011]

At some point in college, I got hooked on this drink called a Funky Cold Medina, and it was bright blue. That was my first encounter with Blue Curacao, a yummy orange liqueur. Since then, I have enjoyed many blue drinks. I had to pose with the sign:

 

There was an interpretive exhibit area that taught you the history and how the liqueur is made:

 

The window messed up my shot of Alex behind the bar. He was not as into this part of the day, but was still having a good time:

 

I really like this sign. It made me think of all the beverages I was consuming on the ship:

 

These were all of the drinks that the bar made special:

 

My bartender at home got me hooked on Red Devils awhile back, so I was excited to try one here! the bartender was surprised that I knew the drink and made me a nice strong one for $8:

 

I was still finishing my drink when I realized that they really were trying to close up. Alex bought me a bottle, and we headed back to the car. There are no laws against drinking in the car, so I drank as he drove back. We made sure to get good directions from the cashier, so it was easy to return the car. Then I did my usual shopping, and we both had a little Internet time. There was really fast, free Wifi in port. That was a nice touch!

[AKR2011]

Back on the ship, we showered and changed quickly for Sing-Along Night With the Crew! We did this with Richard on The Sun and had a blast! I was not going to miss it. They pass out songbooks, and you sing to a bunch of classics. Lots of crew participate, and it is simply a fun, silly time. The atrium was full of people on all levels:

 

At the end, there is a big Balloon Drop, where everyone tries to keep them in the air:

 

I captured a small video but am not sure if you will be able to see it: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/MGCDYk5mRrpmdKZAe7DthSYFUkWtTzyo5NthwIKP29z?v=grid&ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy

 

I am still learning how to post photos and stuff on here, so I do apologize!

 

After the sing-along, we had a late dinner at Bamboo. I thought it was just okay. I was surprised by how busy it is and how hard it is to get a reservation. It was alright, but nothing special. A nice change, though. We missed the show, "Showdown," because dinner ran late. Instead, we walked a few laps and grabbed some drinks at Gatsby's. Honestly, it was a long, hot day, and we were exhausted anyway. Back at the room, Muzleena must have felt bad for missing our towel animal the night before. She left us two tonight:

[AKR2011]

Day 9:

 

Today we were in Aruba! I booked a private tour featuring the highlights of the island, and it left at 8:30. Therefore, we went up to the Garden Cafe for a quick breakfast. There we found runny eggs and hard biscuits with gravy :( We munched on other things instead and got off the ship quickly. It was easy to find our tour in the terminal. I had booked through Shore Trips, and it was $39 for 3.5 hours. Not bad. Our first stop was the Casabari Rock Formations:

 

There were super cool, and you could climb up high. It was like a big playground for kids and adults alike:

 

I wish this one wasn't so blurry. So cool so climb to the top of one rock and see others on a different one:

 

[AKR2011]

Next up was Alto Vista Chapel. I didn't get any photos there as people were praying, and I didn't think that was appropriate. We only spent about 15 minutes here, and that was fine by me. Natural Bridge was next:

 

Part of the bridge washed away awhile back, but half is still there. It is a beautiful spot:

 

Here is what is used to look like:

 

Lots of people made rock towers for good luck, and I thought they looked cool:

 

We need another obligatory beach shot:

[AKR2011]

Although this tour was very much stop-and-go like Bonaire, we were able to have plenty of time at all of the stop. We also hit everything that we were supposed to. I had been wanting to see a lighthouse (there was one in Curacao but it was too far), and finally we arrived at one! California Lighthouse:

 

The California was a ship that wrecked, and the lighthouse was built after in its memory. The sun was not on our side for photos, so Alex insisted that I go to the back and he would shoot me from there:

 

I may be short, but man, this picture makes me look 2 inches tall! Oh well. I had to find a bathroom, and there is a restaurant there, so that's where I ended up. They charged you a dollar, but Natural Bridge was charging $3, so that seemed like a bargain. I really hate paying just to pee, but I'm not sure how the locals feel about going behind a rock. I also found a cute miniature lighthouse by the bathroom and asked another tourist to get my picture there:

 

Next up was the Aloe Vera Museum. The tour here was brief, but we learned about how they extract the liquid from the plant:

 

We then toured the factory where its made and learned about all of their different products. You can't take pictures there, so I don't have any to share. We then had some time to shop in the store before heading back.

 

The tour ended up being a little over four hours, and I thought it was nice. We took a longer way back, and our guide talked about all of the development on the island. They are growing a lot, and it was nice to see many new things popping up all over the island. We shopped a bit around the island for my souvenirs and then headed back.

 

Back on the ship, we went back to our room to find this:

 

They were still trying to make up for that sewage smell! It was a nice treat. We ate these, grabbed some cheese and bread from the Garden Cafe, and headed to 4:00 Trivia. Afterwards, Alex relaxd at the room, and I grabbed a drink and continued by book.

 

Dinner was at the Venetian, and it was yummy as usual. I think breakfast was really the only poor meal we had there. We enjoyed some drinks and played some Settlers of Catan at O'Sheehan's for a bit. Then it was Cabaret Night at Bliss. The Production Cast was singing Broadway tunes, and they were SO GOOD. They do not get enough credit for their voices in the main shows. These talented singers put on a great show that we really enjoyed. Then we headed to the 9:00 show at the Stardust.

 

Tonight Second City was performing. Honestly, we have seen their shows before, and these jokes were the same. Still, I laugh at the jokes about the buffet, the announcements, and those loud toilets that aren't actually so bad anymore. We had a good time. Then it was time for one more drink at Gatsby's and bed. We arrived to find a new friend AND notice of an extra hour of sleep:

 

I need to close this down for the night and will try to continue more tomorrow. This was the point of the cruise that I was really excited for another sea day. Tomorrow would be a great day to relax...

[bluesea777]

How come I can't see the pictures? What am I doing wrong::confused:

 

I cannot see the pictures either.

[James_Elmore]

I see pictures fine BTW

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[ALS1214]

Loving the review! I am om the Dawn for a Bermuda cruise in July. This will be my 3rd on the Dawn but my first since the refurb so I am excited.

We have had toilet issues ( not flushing) on each trip. but thankfully it will flush in a bit and no flooding. I think I have only heard of this issue on the Dawn Sad that they could not fix it with the refurb.

What room or floor where you on. I am on the 9th. I stay in the same room since we have had good luck with it.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

*I'm trying Mozilla instead of Chrome. Maybe that will help people see the pictures??? I am confused :confused:*

 

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Weekends are my busier time at work, and I need to start saving for that next one. Panama Canal 2019 perhaps???

 

Day 8:

 

Today we were in Curacao! I was determined to make the most of our day and had rented a car through Avis. We had breakfast at the Venetian, and then headed out to find our car. Finding Avis was easy, but they seemed to have issues with their computer being down. It took awhile to get our car, despite the fact that I had all of the paperwork with me. They also charged me more than they should have. I booked through a Groupon deal for $50.14 total. They charged me almost $70 :eek:

 

The entire reason that we rented a car was to hike up to the top of Cristoffel National Park. That is the highest peak on the island and is almost an hour west of port. When I looked into excursions and tours, nothing seemed to go there. You also have to begin hiking before 11am. The car seemed the best option, although we had never done it before.

 

There is only one road that goes west, and there was a map in the car, so we figured that we didn't need to pay an extra $9 for the GPS. So off we went. Alex asked me which road to go on, and I asked him what road we were on. Oops. There are NO ROAD SIGNS. The signs that we do see are all in Dutch. We were fine with converting miles to kilometers in our heads to find the right speed, but finding the right road proved to be an issue. Finally we found that one highway, and all was good.

 

We kept getting passed on the road, despite doing 90 at times. Man, these people drive fast! When we arrived at the park, it was actually really simple to get going. The front desk told us that we needed to get started, because it was 10:45. We drove to the trail head (they gave us a map to get there), and started hiking at 11:01. So yes, we broke the rules a little. Nalgenes in hand, we began to hike up the trail.

 

This was definitely a difficult trail. Most of the trail looked like this:

 

 

It was thin, windy, and very steep the entire way up. Alex is a birder, and I tend to be a bit slower, so we actually work well as a hiking team. I go ahead while he looks at birds. Then every 20-30 minutes or so, I drink some water, and he is caught up. We chat about cool things we saw, then continue this way. However, I was running out of water quickly on this hike, and everyone was coming down and telling us to go back. It simply is not safe to hike in the heat there. I went as far as I thought I should, with about a quarter of my water left. I had made it 3/4 of the way up and was quite proud:

 

Alex made it almost to the top himself. At the point I turned around, the trail became climbing rather than hiking, and he was nervous about possibly falling. While he was climbing, I took a semi-leisurely walk down and enjoyed the beauty of the forest. the island is beautiful, and there was lots to see. I'm not a birder, but I did stop to enjoy them a few times. I went back to the car, turned on the AC, and drank the last of my water. 15 minutes later, Alex was back, out of water, and feeling winded from the climb.

I love your review and writing style, unfortunately I too was NOT able to see any of your pictures till this post. I tried on Internet Explorer, Chrome and my IPad that usually shows every picture :confused: Is there anyway to post all the pictures from the beginning. Like you I have been really interested in good picture reviews since the remodel. We were on the Dawn a few years ago and will be returning in March.

 

Thanks :)

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review.