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

[quercus alba]

17 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

After another very tasty dinner in Le Bistro, which is becoming our favorite specialty restaurant along with Cagney’s, we headed to the Stardust Theater to get good seats for the Tom Franek encore performance which was once again awesome!

 

 

We'll be taking our first cruise of more than 7 days later this year, and will definitely be looking to fold Le Bistro into the rotation at least once--but we usually only visit a given specialty restaurant once per cruise.

I was just wondering, with your multiple visits to Le Bistro, does the menu ever change?

Are there different or new items from day to day? 

[alwalaska]

On 1/30/2023 at 7:38 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

... 
Here’s another lesson we learned this evening, especially if you want to be seated at 5:15 pm in the Venetian MDR once the doors open. Make your MDR reservations ahead of time, even if it’s in the Bamboo restaurant when you first board the ship. Tonight when we arrived at 5:15, there were two lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without. The ones with reservations followed the arrow to the lower Deck 6 entrance and were seated immediately. There were at least 30 people in the line without a reservation and as you might imagine, it took a little while to get everyone seated. Just a heads up.

 

Have you seen if the other main dining room has a separate line for reservations that is well marked?  On a prior cruise, some people with reservations were jumping the line, but I felt awkward doing that.  Most of our reservations are in the other dining room because you can wear shorts.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, quercus alba said:

 

We'll be taking our first cruise of more than 7 days later this year, and will definitely be looking to fold Le Bistro into the rotation at least once--but we usually only visit a given specialty restaurant once per cruise.

I was just wondering, with your multiple visits to Le Bistro, does the menu ever change?

Are there different or new items from day to day? 

No, the menu doesn’t change from what I can tell. The first 2 times we went I had the Dover Sole. But this last time we both had the duck which was also awesome.

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

Have you seen if the other main dining room has a separate line for reservations that is well marked?  On a prior cruise, some people with reservations were jumping the line, but I felt awkward doing that.  Most of our reservations are in the other dining room because you can wear shorts.

We haven’t eaten at the Aqua MDR, but we were talking with a lady at lunch today while waiting for the Venetian to open their doors who had. She said there were no separate lines at the Aqua MDR, which she said was annoying, which also made us happy we made all of our MDR reservations at the Venetian. Some folks get in the  no reservation line before 4:15 pm with the doors usually opening around 5:15 pm. As far as shorts go, I could have sworn I saw some guy in shorts the other night in the Venetian, but don’t quote me on that.

[Ken the cruiser]

For those curious as to how many 110v plugs are in a Club Balcony on the Dawn, there is only one and it’s near the bathroom door. Sure glad we brought a 3 usb port adapter! 😁

 

 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

... how many 110v plugs are in a Club Balcony on the Dawn, there is only one and it’s near the bathroom door. Sure glad we brought a 3 usb port adapter! 😁 ...

Very practical info for anyone & everyone.  Isn't there another 110 volt outlet on the opposite side of the wall ??  Anyway, that 220 outlet always need a different 3 prong adapter to convert for 110 volt usage, not the regular 220v to 110v adapter that I typically carry on NCL cruise ... memo to myself if we are sailing the Dawn again (last on her in 2019).   That hair dryer is most likely on 220v power and might be another usable outlet under, if you can access or reach it - but, not useful unless the correct adapter is available.  

 

BTW, great pictures from shorex - thank you for the time & efforts.  Going to bookmark & look at them closer once I get a chance.  

[hmorrow]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No, the menu doesn’t change from what I can tell. The first 2 times we went I had the Dover Sole. But this last time we both had the duck which was also awesome.

Could I ask what you’re allowed in le bistro and Cagneys. Appetizer, soup or salad, main and dessert?

I want all the appetizers in le Bistro- lol

 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, hmorrow said:

Could I ask what you’re allowed in le bistro and Cagneys. Appetizer, soup or salad, main and dessert?

I want all the appetizers in le Bistro- lol

 

Yes, our understanding is that you get two starters (an appetizer, soup or salad, or if you prefer two appetizers), one main course and one dessert, unless you are using one of your two Platinum Latitudes coupons, if you’re at that level or higher. Then you get one starter (appetizer, soup or salad), one main course and one dessert. 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Very practical info for anyone & everyone.  Isn't there another 110 volt outlet on the opposite side of the wall ??  Anyway, that 220 outlet always need a different 3 prong adapter to convert for 110 volt usage, not the regular 220v to 110v adapter that I typically carry on NCL cruise ... memo to myself if we are sailing the Dawn again (last on her in 2019).   That hair dryer is most likely on 220v power and might be another usable outlet under, if you can access or reach it - but, not useful unless the correct adapter is available.  

 

BTW, great pictures from shorex - thank you for the time & efforts.  Going to bookmark & look at them closer once I get a chance.  

Unfortunately not. We looked in the closet which is on the other side of the wall, and we didn’t see any other outlets. We also traced the hair dryer cord under the counter top and it looked like it tapped into the 220 outlet next to the 110 outlet.

[Ken the cruiser]

When we went down for dinner at the Venetian MDR this evening, we got there a little early around 4:55 pm for our 5:15 pm reservation, as we wanted to get good seats for the 7 pm Elements production show in the Stardust Theater. And guess what, there wasn’t much of a line for the folks without reservations, which we thought was a little odd. But when we got down to the “reservations” desk, they were already open. Normally they open at 5:15 pm.
 

When we were being seated, the dining room was already filled at around 50%. Apparently, they got tired of having the long lines in the “no reservation” line and they opened the doors around 4:40 pm. But we were seated and were finished eating around 6:15 pm which gave us plenty of time to get to the theater before the doors opened at 6:30 pm.

As I mentioned the show tonight was Elements, which as usual, was an awesome show

 

 
and the theater was packed!

 

 
Then afterwards we headed to the Bliss Lounge to watch the hilarious Perfect Couple Game Show. But as we walked along the promenade to get there, avoiding the inside hallway traffic, I took another pretty picture of the full moon. 😁

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Tomorrow morning’s NCL excursion involves kayaking! This will definitely be a new adventure for us as we have never kayaked before! 😁

  

 

 

 

 

 

[quercus alba]

42 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Tomorrow morning’s NCL excursion involves kayaking! This will definitely be a new adventure for us as we have never kayaked before! 😁

 

It's easy and fun--you'll have a great time!

Don't forget your sunscreen.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at George Town, Grand Cayman! 

  

Edited February 6, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 10 - Feb 6 - George Town, Grand Cayman 

  

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We can now check kayaking off our list of things we haven’t done. Yes, the list is long, but now it’s one shorter! 😂

 

But no mistaking it, we had a great time! First we met in the theater with the other folks on a variety of Cayman Island tours. Once it was our turn to go, the boarding of the locally provided tender (max capacity 250) went pretty smoothly, except for the occasional slow down of boarding passengers due to rough seas.

  

 
After our 5 minute tender ride, we headed over to the bus which took us on a 15-minute ride to Camana Bay.

 

 

There we were met by our three very friendly tour guides and were split into two groups, with us very happily being in the first group to go kayaking. We were in those 2-person kayaks for about an hour.

  

  

Along the way I was able to take a few pictures. But since we were rowing most of the time, there wasn’t much time to take many.

 

  

 

 
Ever wonder what the orange algae you sea every once in awhile in the Caribbean looks like up close? In our case it was quite thick!

 

 

Then by chance I saw this bird in the bushes waiting to pounce on a fish.

 

 

 

Then the kayaking portion of the excursion was done. The second half of the tour included a walk over to a 5-story observation tower where we walked up the stairs to the top and our guide pointed out some highlights of Camana Bay. Then we had 45 minutes free time to walk around and see the sights. And as you know I can get squirreled easily if we see any wildlife! So I’ll save those pictures until the end. 😂

 
Views from the top of the observation tower.

 

 

 
This was the second group heading off on their hour of kayaking.

 

 

 

 

 
And now some of the wildlife we saw along our walk, like this little lizard with a curly tail. 😁

 

  
Of course, I had to take pictures of the only two elusive Camana Bay pigeons we saw on our walk. 😁

 

 
Then there were the variety of wild chickens roaming around.

 

 

 

 

 
Then I’m guessing maybe a gecko?

 

 
Then it was time to drive back to the pier to catch a tender back to the ship.

 

 

 

 
Couldn’t resist taking a picture of this unique looking glass bottom boat! 😁

 

 
The only other ship near us in port was the Disney Dream.

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Lindacruising]

Wow, thanks for this. We are on the cruise right after yours.

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re off! Next stop Tampa FL day after tomorrow!

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

After our final tasty dinner at Cagney’s, we headed to the Bliss Ultra Lounge to watch another hilarious game show called Knocked Out. 
  

 

Then it was time to head to the Stardust Theater to watch Devin Provenzano perform a tribute to Frank Sinatra with the Dawn Show Band.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 11 - Feb 7 - Sea Day

  

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

For those interested I just opened a Live From thread on the Disney forum if you would like to follow along on our upcoming Disney adventures plus a few other places over the next 11 days after we disembark the Dawn tomorrow morning and head to Orlando! 😁

 

 

 

[www3traveler]

Thank you for all your wonderful postings.  I hope that the rest of this adventure goes well for you.

[Ken the cruiser]

Today after a tasty lunch in the Venetian MDR, we were off to watch Deal or No Deal. I have to say even though we don’t buy ant cards, it’s always fun to watch! 😁

 

Then is was off to the Bliss Ultra Lounge to participate in the Fun and Strange Quiz Show. 

 

 
One thing we have to give credit to NCL for is they offer more game shows to go to in the evening and on sea days than any other line we cruise with, and most of them are also super funny!

 

But, here’s lesson learned from dinner in Cagney’s last night. First let me say since my DW only drinks water and hot chocolate on a cruise, both of which are not covered in the NCL FAS “free” beverage package, we pass on paying the $21 pp/day beverage gratuities charge when we book our cruise. Instead, as it was on this cruise, I’ll just buy 4 bottles of Moscato using OBC on our first night, and then have them bring me one of the bottles, either an open one or a new one each night at dinner, regardless of where we’re dining. 
 

However, since Cagney’s is up on Deck 13 midship, it usually takes them a good 10-15 minutes for them to bring me one of my pre-purchased bottles. So last night anticipating the wait and since we still had $8 of OBC to use up, I ordered a glass of very tasty German Riesling. And by the time I was finished with that glass, my last bottle of Moscato showed up!

 

Here’s the lesson learned. Make sure you ask for a receipt for that purchased glass of wine IF you do not have a beverage package because it will not be included on your receipt for your dinner, especially if you’re “paying” for the dinner using a pre-purchased dinner package or some other perk where the meal is free. When I noticed the $12 wine charge wasn’t included on the dinner bill, it brought back memories when we were recently on the Jade and my BIL noticed on his shipboard account an odd charge for 5 glasses of wine rather than just the one his DW had ordered at Cagney’s the previous night.
 

In my case last night it took me asking our server 3 times over a 15 minute period, after we had received our dinner bill, to have her print out the drink bill. She was not happy, as it took her out of her routine of serving other tables. I’m guessing since around 90% of the guests have the beverage package, a receipt is usually not requested when ordering glasses of wine, and the server subsequently posts those charges from memory, as she never wrote it down, if they learn later in a particular guest didn’t have free gratuities. In any event, we walked out with our $12 bill in hand and all is good, unlike the case of my BIL on the Jade when he saw the “5 glasses of wine” charge on disembarkation day!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Something tells me we’re about to get wet!! 😂

 

First rain storm we’ve seen all cruise. Perfect timing as we’re heading back home!

 

 

[Laszlo]

On 2/5/2023 at 5:52 PM, mking8288 said:

Very practical info for anyone & everyone.  Isn't there another 110 volt outlet on the opposite side of the wall ??  Anyway, that 220 outlet always need a different 3 prong adapter to convert for 110 volt usage, not the regular 220v to 110v adapter that I typically carry on NCL cruise ... memo to myself if we are sailing the Dawn again (last on her in 2019).   That hair dryer is most likely on 220v power and might be another usable outlet under, if you can access or reach it - but, not useful unless the correct adapter is available.  

 

BTW, great pictures from shorex - thank you for the time & efforts.  Going to bookmark & look at them closer once I get a chance.  

This adapters work great! Always bring at least one...   https://amzn.to/40ChRR6

[alwalaska]

32 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Something tells me we’re about to get wet!! 😂

 

First rain storm we’ve seen all cruise. Perfect timing as we’re heading back home!

 

 

Glad that was your first bad weather.  Hopefully it doesn't delay your return.  I'm ready to move from experiencing the cruise virtually through you to experiencing on my own in person. 🙂