Jamaicamecrazy13 Posted November 29, 2006 #1 Share Posted November 29, 2006 We have cruised RCCL Grandeur and Sovereign, and Carnival Destiny, but never NCL. We chose the Dawn because we can drive to it. We were hoping to book 7-7-07 for our 5 year aniversary on the 12 of July, but that cruise is sold out. We are now planning to go later in July and were wondering if anyone can tell us how NCL measures up to the other lines /ships we've been on. It has been over five years since we have cruised too!!! We are so excited and looking forward to relaxation and great food. Any comments? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Haynes Posted November 29, 2006 #2 Share Posted November 29, 2006 While I have cruise Carnival, and it does things slightly differently than NCL, in my opinion a cruise is a cruise. They all do the same things, push drinks, sell excursions, take photos, have shows, feed and dine you. The main difference is NCL's freestyle dining, no set table or dinner mates. You choose when and where you wish to dine. NCL has optional formal nights, you choose whether to dress to the nines or dine resort casual. The Dawn is a very nice ship, fairly new. You'll enjoy NCL as much as any other major cruise line. Some love freestyle, some don't. I would rate Holland American and Princess a cut above NCL, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. But just a cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immargaret Posted November 29, 2006 #3 Share Posted November 29, 2006 We have cruised RCCL Grandeur and Sovereign, and Carnival Destiny, but never NCL. We chose the Dawn because we can drive to it. We were hoping to book 7-7-07 for our 5 year aniversary on the 12 of July, but that cruise is sold out. We are now planning to go later in July and were wondering if anyone can tell us how NCL measures up to the other lines /ships we've been on. It has been over five years since we have cruised too!!! We are so excited and looking forward to relaxation and great food. Any comments? :) The 7-7-07 DAWN cruise isn't sold out, there are cabins in every category available. I loved our 4th of July cruise on the DAWN this year, and can't wait to get back on the DAWN in Feb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphins Posted November 29, 2006 #4 Share Posted November 29, 2006 You might want to sail a few weeks earlier before the school vacations as there will be many children on board in July, not exactly conducive to a romantic anniversary cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i'llbesea-ingyou Posted November 29, 2006 #5 Share Posted November 29, 2006 We celebrated our 10th anniversary on the Dawn a few weeks ago and it was a wonderful experience. The food was terrific, the room was beautiful, the crew was fantastic and we had a wonderful time overall. You are going to love the Dawn! She is a beautiful ship and we can't wait to book our next cruise. Enjoy and happy almost 5 years!!!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish1c Posted November 29, 2006 #6 Share Posted November 29, 2006 I'll be going on the Dawn for the 1st time next month but have cruised other NCL ships & RCI's Majesty which is the sister to the Sovereign. I thought they were similar. Obviously freestyle is different & I like it sooooo much better. There are no signing waiters. I did miss the cold soups on RCI. The overall quality of the food was better on NCL, IMO, but the staff didn't seem to get it to the tables as fast. I could always tell it had been under a heat lamp. NCL has an amazing chocolate buffet. I also thought the individual staff members were friendlier & I was thrilled that there weren't as many silly games, group participation stunts & screaming CD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbCT605 Posted November 29, 2006 #7 Share Posted November 29, 2006 I did miss the cold soups on RCI.Good news -- it's been reported that the cold soups are back on the new menus.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silkhair1 Posted December 1, 2006 #8 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Good news -- it's been reported that the cold soups are back on the new menus.:) I noticed that too. I love the cold soups, but my DH thinks they are gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silkhair1 Posted December 1, 2006 #9 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Good news -- it's been reported that the cold soups are back on the new menus.:) I noticed that too. I love the cold soups, but my DH thinks they are gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatawonderfulworld Posted December 1, 2006 #10 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Good news -- it's been reported that the cold soups are back on the new menus.:) Op first: we took our first joint (DH w/me) cruise in October and chose the Dawn because we could take the LIRR train right to the ship...almost. We loved it...please do go to the specialty restaurants - there is a surcharge but the food is excellent. We also enjoyed the food in the main (no surcharge) restaurants - we went to every one except the Italian restaurant. BarbCT605 - I've read alot here about folks being happy that the cold soups returned. Do they mean with dinner? I had the cold soups for almost every lunch (and loved ever single one of them) just this past October. Can you shed some light on this for me? Thanks! Ciao, W A W W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbCT605 Posted December 1, 2006 #11 Share Posted December 1, 2006 BarbCT605 - I've read alot here about folks being happy that the cold soups returned. Do they mean with dinner? I had the cold soups for almost every lunch (and loved ever single one of them) just this past October. Can you shed some light on this for me? Thanks! Ciao, W A W W Yep -- cold soups at dinner. (Thanks to missjanet for posting the new menus.) I hardly ever had lunch in the dining rooms, so my frame of reference is definitely dinner. Actually, the only time DH & I have lunch in a dining room is at the Venetian after embarking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BeckyThane Posted December 1, 2006 #12 Share Posted December 1, 2006 BarbCT605 - I've read alot here about folks being happy that the cold soups returned. Do they mean with dinner? I had the cold soups for almost every lunch (and loved ever single one of them) just this past October. Can you shed some light on this for me? Thanks! This is not Barb, but... Cold soups... just four words... "Smoothie in a Bowl." YUM!!! I think they had cold soups at dinner most nights. I had lunch in the Garden Cafe one day and they had a cold soup there, too. Now I'm hungry. Darn. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missjanet Posted December 1, 2006 #13 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Those cold soups were addicting!! I ate lunch at the sit-down restaurants every day & I think that a couple of my favorite cold soups were served at lunch. My favorite was this peach soup with chunks of dried apricots in it - boy, was that good! Unfortunately, when I asked for the menus they only gave out the dinner menus. I wish I could have gotten the lunch menus, too, because there were some good things on them, like those soups. Please give them a try, even if you've never had anything like them before. Becky, I have to agree with you - "smoothie in a bowl" is the perfect description for them!! Janet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish1c Posted December 1, 2006 #14 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Cold soups... just four words... "Smoothie in a Bowl." YUM!!!. :p Hey Becky -- Does this mean you & Barb will still talk to me if I pour rum or vodka in my cold soup & drink it rather than eat it? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyL Posted December 1, 2006 #15 Share Posted December 1, 2006 To the OP: We have cruised out of NY on NCL Dawn, CCL Legend, and Celebrity Horizon/Zenith and really enjoyed them all. We find cruising out of NY, all 3 of these ships had the same passenger mix and any ship will have many kids in the summer. We especially love the Dawn for the Freestyle dining. We like dining with our own group(or just ourselves), going to any one of the 3 main dining rooms when we feel like it, and not having to wear formal attire to dinner. If you have the option, consider cruising when the schools are in session. Now that we are empty nesters, it's much more relaxing and romantic to travel without many kids on board. Our cruise in May, on the Dawn, was probably one of the best cruises we have ever been on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BeckyThane Posted December 1, 2006 #16 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Hey Becky -- Does this mean you & Barb will still talk to me if I pour rum or vodka in my cold soup & drink it rather than eat it? :D I don't care, so long as you share. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmk446 Posted December 1, 2006 #17 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Hi Becky! Go Navy! Beat Army! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda33 Posted December 1, 2006 #18 Share Posted December 1, 2006 The cruise in general was a very nice time on the Dawn....just as any other cruise line. Embarkation was a slice of heaven. The only thing very negative I would have to say is that the food does not measure up to other cruise lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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