Live from the Dawn, Jan 28 - Feb 8, in the Caribbean followed by a Disney Adventure

[Ken the cruiser]

Starting to get excited about going on our 11-day cruise on the Dawn, followed by 4 days at Disney World, and then a 4-day Bahamas cruise on the Disney Wish! Hopefully if all goes according to plan, I’ll be posting the highlights of our expanded adventure on this Live From thread.
 

We’ll be in a Club Balcony mini-suite on the Dawn. Also, thanks to getting double Latitudes points, which was a total surprise from our recent 38-day Jade cruise, we’ll be cruising at the Platinum level!

 

As always, you are welcome to follow along! But please don’t expect any food pictures. That’s just not my thing. However, I will be posting a variety of pictures of our adventures, both on and off the ship, as well as from our follow-on visit to Disney World and cruise on the new Disney Wish! 😁
 

Edited January 21, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[SplashOfWater]

Congrats on making it to Platinum! The extra 2 specialty meals and free bag of laundry are great perks. 

 

I hope you like the Dawn. We were on her a couple of months ago for a 14-day cruise. She doesn't have the observation/spinnaker lounge or great outdoors like the Jade but she's still a nice ship.

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks! We’re hoping to book the two free specialty meals using the app once we’re onboard, as it was too late to prebook early reservations at either Cagney's or LeBistro. But it will be nice having 3 free bags of laundry, to include the one we get with the Club Balcony cabin! 😁

[phabric]

I will be following along

[CruzinMel]

Ken!!!  I thoroughly enjoyed your last cruise - looking forward to reading about this one!!!

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, CruzinMel said:

Ken!!!  I thoroughly enjoyed your last cruise - looking forward to reading about this one!!!

Thanks! We did too as it was one of the most memorable itineraries from beginning to end that we have ever been on! We also enjoyed getting reacquainted with NCL and learning some of the more unique aspects of booking and subsequently going on a cruise with them. They offer a different experience, especially with their various dining options than say with Princess or Celebrity, but definitely fun to cruise with if the itinerary offers some unique ports to visit!
 

As far as this cruise goes, it served multiple purposes for us. We get to try another one of NCL’s smaller ships, get 3 Latitudes cruise pts per day, go to some fun Caribbean ports while still having 4 sea days spread throughout the cruise to relax, and it ends in Tampa making it an easy trip afterwards over to Disney World! 😁

 

[carohs]

Great itenerary! Following along

[f1rstxlas7]

Any questions about the Disney World leg of your journey? I know this is primarily a cruise forum, but I'm a WDW parks person so if I can lend a hand in planning for anyone then I always try to considering how much there is to consider. What are your plans for the parks? What resort/hotel will you be staying at? What are you looking forward to? Any specific food or restaurants you're targeting?

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, f1rstxlas7 said:

Any questions about the Disney World leg of your journey? I know this is primarily a cruise forum, but I'm a WDW parks person so if I can lend a hand in planning for anyone then I always try to considering how much there is to consider. What are your plans for the parks? What resort/hotel will you be staying at? What are you looking forward to? Any specific food or restaurants you're targeting?

Thank you, but our visit to DW is just part of an extended family and friends-planned weeklong party where our daughter, who has been a Disney connoisseur pretty much most of her life, is the mastermind behind this part of the adventure and has made detailed plans pretty much down to the hour for the entire week they'll be there with colored charts and everything! But thank you for the offer. 🙂

[Ken the cruiser]

Here are the NCL excursions we'll be going on. We decided to just walk around Key West as we've been there a few times before and have already seen Hemmingway's 6-toed cats. We also thought the "Let's Take a Selfie" excursions looked like interesting sight-seeing tours, so we booked a couple of those as well.

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[hmorrow]

18 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! We’re hoping to book the two free specialty meals using the app once we’re onboard, as it was too late to prebook early reservations at either Cagney's or LeBistro. But it will be nice having 3 free bags of laundry, to include the one we get with the Club Balcony cabin! 😁

We haven;t cruised on NCL in years. Previous ships- Norway, Skyward, and Sunward- tells you how long-lol.

Just booked a club balcony from Southampton to Lisbon. We get a bag of free laundry?

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, hmorrow said:

We haven;t cruised on NCL in years. Previous ships- Norway, Skyward, and Sunward- tells you how long-lol.

Just booked a club balcony from Southampton to Lisbon. We get a bag of free laundry?

Yes, plus a bottle of sparkling wine. At least that’s what we got on our recent Jade cruise where we also had a Club Balcony mini-suite booked.

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[padisneyfan]

I'm on this cruise and big Disney fan.    Only my 2nd NCL but have 25 plus DCL.   No WDW this trip . Also have club balcony suite.  Traveling with friends.  Looking forward to sunshine and warm weather.

 

.   

[CruzinMel]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here are the NCL excursions we'll be going on. We decided to just walk around Key West as we've been there a few times before and have already seen Hemmingway's 6-toed cats. We also thought the "Let's Take a Selfie" excursions looked like interesting sight-seeing tours, so we booked a couple of those as well.

 

 A note on Puerto Plata - take those pics fast, because they are all crowded the later it gets in the day.  We were there earlier this month and they were beautiful places.  That said, folks do their best to accommodate you.

Example - Dona Blanca's alley - but we still got cool pics.

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We're getting closer to our drive Friday morning to Tampa where we will stay overnight at a Hyatt hotel nearby and then hopefully check-in the next morning at the pier around 10:30 am. For those that would like to keep track of where the Dawn is at any particular time, just click on this link.

 

NORWEGIAN DAWN, Passenger (Cruise) Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9195169 - VesselFinder

 

Once the link comes up there will be a variety of information plus a picture that will look something like the below.

  

 

Just click on that picture, and it will give bring up another link which will show a more closeup picture of our location.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[odie1024]

Look forward to your comments as we get on the day you get off for 11 days and then stay on for the next 7. I have been on the Dawn before, BF is still fairly new to crusing but I think he is hooked. Have a great time.

[Ken the cruiser]

It's just about that time. All of our pre-cruise checklist items are done. It's now just a matter of waking up tomorrow morning and driving to Tampa where we will stay in a Hyatt hotel near the terminal until we check in at the pier Saturday morning! Yay!! 🕺💃

 

So, without further ado, let's get the party started!!

 

 

[NJLVW]

I am guessing you are staying at the fairly new Hyatt Place Downtown. About 1/2 mile from cruise port. I would love to know what you think and if there are any restaurants near by as we will be staying there next month.

We Love the Dawn. Really can't wait to be back on her. I will be following along with your live review. Thank you for doing this. 

Safe travels & enjoy your cruise!

Edited January 26, 2023 by NJLVW

[Ken the cruiser]

47 minutes ago, NJLVW said:

I am guessing you are staying at the fairly new Hyatt Place Downtown. About 1/2 mile from cruise port. I would love to know what you think and if there are any restaurants near by as we will be staying there next month.

We Love the Dawn. Really can't wait to be back on her. I will be following along with your live review. Thank you for doing this. 

Safe travels & enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for following along. Unfortunately, since we're driving we'll be staying at one a little farther away and probably eat dinner on the drive down. So I won't be of much help scoping out the restaurants in the local area near the pier. Sorry.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 1/23/2023 at 3:41 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We're getting closer to our drive Friday morning to Tampa where we will stay overnight at a Hyatt hotel nearby and then hopefully check-in the next morning at the pier around 10:30 am. For those that would like to keep track of where the Dawn is at any particular time, just click on this link.

 

NORWEGIAN DAWN, Passenger (Cruise) Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9195169 - VesselFinder

 

Once the link comes up there will be a variety of information plus a picture that will look something like the below.

  

 

Just click on that picture, and it will give bring up another link which will show a more closeup picture of our location.

 

 

I just checked and the "VesselFinder" link I provided above just gave the current Dawn position as of 2 days ago! So I'm switching to CruiseMapper to keep track of the Dawn's current location. It has always provided a pretty accurate service when I've used it in the past.

 

Same rules apply with regards to clicking on the initial "ship location" picture to get a more accurate reading on where the ship is by zooming in and out. Here's its link to keep track of the NCL Dawn location at any particular time.

 

Norwegian Dawn Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review | CruiseMapper

 

[ckmedsec]

Hi Ken, we are looking forward to your review since we are  going to be cruising on the Dawn in Europe this summer and your information on the ship will be very helpful.    Have a safe drive to Tampa and a wonderful cruise.

[Ken the cruiser]

35 minutes ago, ckmedsec said:

Hi Ken, we are looking forward to your review since we are  going to be cruising on the Dawn in Europe this summer and your information on the ship will be very helpful.    Have a safe drive to Tampa and a wonderful cruise.

Thanks! This will be our first time on the Dawn and only our 3rd NCL cruise; although our recent Jade B2B definitely introduced us to some of the more unique aspects of cruising on one of NCL’s smaller ships.
 

It will be interesting to see what the average age of the guests will be on the Dawn and if there will be very many children on board. On our Jade B2B the average age was 62 with only a handful of children. But then those were two 19-day cruises, so there was that … 😂

[www3traveler]

Have a wonderful time.

 

Have you been the Truman "Winter" Whitehouse in Key West.  If you are a history buff-- very interesting.

 

Noel Chaves from India will be your Restautant Manager.  Very nice man.

[Ken the cruiser]

38 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Have a wonderful time.

 

Have you been the Truman "Winter" Whitehouse in Key West.  If you are a history buff-- very interesting.

 

Noel Chaves from India will be your Restautant Manager.  Very nice man.

Thanks! As far as being to the Winter White House before, it doesn't ring a bell. Definitely sounds like an interesting place to visit! We'll definitely have to check it out! 

 

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! As far as being to the Winter White House before, it doesn't ring a bell. Definitely sounds like an interesting place to visit! We'll definitely have to check it out! 

 

You might want to check out The Key West Shipwreck Museum too.  Real priates and their treasures.  In the last few years according to the television Expedition Unknown (Discovery Channel), there have been a number of finds made in the last few years.