DAWN REVIEW 5-17-08 very very long

[Angelbysea]

We just got back today from Bermuda on the DAWN and we had an amazing time despite a few windy days and rain in Bermuda and about two kinda rough sea nights, but nothing unbearable. We've sailed on the RC Explorer 2 yrs ago to Bermuda and loved it, I don't want to compare the 2 ships because of the different class, Explorer was much larger, but I have to be honest and tell you there were alot of things I liked better with NCL and would most definately sail again on NCL and the DAWN.

 

Embarktion; Everyone was extremely friendly, we arrived at the terminal at 10 am and we boarded the Dawn at 12:15. We were greeted with champagne or orange juice (for non drinkers) which I though was very nice, we were directed to deck 12 for lunch at the Garden Cafe, there was a good selection of food and something for everyone, lots of fresh plentiful fruit. After lunch we went to our cabin on deck 10 , we got the anniversary package, our chocolate covered strawberries and champagne were in the room. We had balcony cabin and it was a bit smaller than what I expected, but after 2 days you didnt seem to notice anymore, the only negative thing I can say about our cabin was very dusty shelves and lots of stains on the carpet, we requested a small rug be placed over the stained areas and they accomodated, the dust I cleaned myself, not a huge deal, our balcony was very sandy and needed to be cleaned which it was very well on our first port day in Bermuda, but I understand the week before our cruise they encountered very rough seas and bad weather so our balcony took a whipping. There were new white robes in our cabin and the bed was extremely comfortable with crisp white sheets and very very comfortable pillows, we slept like babies and the turn down service was like that of a five star hotel complete with towel animals and chocolates, each night we had a fresh fruit bowl and the ice bucket was always filled, our mini bar was stocked as well, wine, liquors, soda, snacks. The bathroom was roomy and spotless, the water pressure was awesome hot was hot and cold was cold, there was even little tolietries, soap and shampoo for our use.

 

Passing the statue of Liberty was beautiful .

 

Day 1, we had dinner at Cagneys, well worth the 20.00 pp, excellent shrimp cocktail and filet migon, we had the bananas foster. We explored the ship, played a bit in the casino, I got the casino players card and all drinks in the casino were free if you showed the card, you have to earn 25 points before you can redeem them towards your cruise 1 point = $1.00, by the time the week was over I was up to 21 points, but they will stay good for 18 months and Im sure I will be cruising again next year so I will still have them, I really liked the casino, there is a Monopoly slot machine that was very good to me and kept me playing quite a long time, but I did give some back towards the end on another machine. There was a main casino host that had an attitude and in fact she was the only person that we did encounter with a snippy attitude when I requested to know how many points I had on my card, she very bluntly told me that I didnt need to ask her to that and I can check myself in the machine, she didnt say it nicely, just a rude feeling from her. Everyone else that we encountered on the ship was extremely friendly and helpful, we had particulary great service in Cagneys and in the Venitian Dining room.

 

Day 2, very rough seas today, my husband felt queezy and I had to go buy him the wrist bands, he stayed in bed most of the day, ordered room service for lunch, great greek salad and turkey sandwiches, awesome chcoclate cake and great coffee. At night DH was feeling better and we dined at LeBistro, small portions, but very very tasty and the chcocolate fondue for two is worth going there alone for. We saw a Magic show which was very good.

 

Day 3, Lost and hour at sea, beautiful day, breakfast at the Garden cafe, very good omlets and waffles, later in the day we went to the cake and champagne anniversary get together, had a souvenier picture taken, it was very nice, that was part of the anniversary package.

 

Day 3 Docked at Kings Wharf, very very windy, took the Ferry over to Hamilton, we shopped, had a great burger in Dorothys a local cafe, took in the sights. Dinner we ate at the Venetian, very very good and tasty, at night we went dancing and absolutely loved the music of Patti and Jose and married couple that just joined the Dawn this week for a six month gig, they were an awesome talented couple and we wanted to hear them sing every chance we got, they took requests and were just aot of fun.

 

Day 4 Took an early bus, (btw buying a 3 day bus/ferry pass is the way to go, 28.00pp) to horseshoe bay beach , it was very windy but very nice, I love that beach, when we came back we had fish and chips at the Blue Lagoon, awesome! The BL was one of the hotspots on the ship for a quick bite and snacks, awesome wonton soup and spicy chcicken wings, we had dinner at the Aqua, fresh carved turkey was very good.

 

Day 5, Up very early and went into St. George, very quaint and pictureque town, I think here is where you get a real local feel of the island, we walked through town and visited beautiful old churches and took in beauiful views and great shopping, the Ferry ride there was a beautful boat ride, we headed back to the ship about 2pm and lounged at the pool and hot tubs, at night we had dinner again in the Venetian, excellent lobster and seafood over linguni, beautiful sunset tonight, perfect weather day.

 

Day 6, Just enjoyed a the last day at sea, played bingo, very expensive, i think I would pass on that next time, it was 49.00 (a machine they give you with lots of cards, I forgot how many) for about 4 or 5 games, the jackpot was $1500.00, dined at the Venetian again, great prime rib. At night we listened to Jose and Patti again and had a wonderful time.

 

The Oasis pool was beautiful, the Fittness Center WOW, nicer than most fittness centers I had belonged too, spotless and state of the art equipment, I loved working out in there, they have everything!! The indoor pool was beautiful, there was a 20.00 per day charge to use it or a 70.00 week pass. We enjoyed the movie theater, the Library and Internet cafe.

 

I was not impressed with the chocolate buffet, it was just ok to me and I was kinda suprised that they never did an on deck party with food and all the carved fruits and ice sculptures and BBQ, we were expecting that having had that before and done incredibly, on RC , but we understand there are differences and thats cool. The frozen drinks were awesome and plentiful.

 

The photographers were lots of fun and we had a blast checking our pictures everyday, I was a bit upset though with 1 of the photograhers, earlier in the cruise we purchased an 8 x 10 for 25.00, I asked how much a 5 x 7 of the same pic would cost and the young lady told me 12.99, I said ok cool, at the end of the cruise I will decide which ones we want to make more copies of, so when the time came I bought another 8 x 10 and wanted a 5 x 7 made and the gentleman told me that 5 x 7 would cost me 30.00, when I told him what the girl quoted me, he said no it would be 30.00, so a 5 x7 was more than the 8 x 10 I bought ???? make sense??? I chalked it up to it being the final night of the cruise and they were way to busy to want to be bothered with making copies, I did not bother anymore after that and just bought the 8 x 10.

 

Our ship did make a stop at sea to do a search and rescue, the captain anounced that someone saw a body floating, we later heard that a body was actually seen by a few people and an attempt to recover it was made but they couldnt find it and we continued on to Bermuda after notifying the authorities. We also heard from one of the crew members that Mindy came ashore after 2 days after she went overboard on long island beach, we have not read this in the news, but thats what a crew member told us, that whole story was incredibly sad, personally I do not believe her husband had anything to do with it, you cant just push someone off those balconies, they would have to be lifted up and thrown over, and her husband was not in the room with her when it happend, I just do not know what she was thinking or doing.

 

All in all we had a wonderful time and look forward to crusing again, its addictive!!! I hope my review is helpful to those deciding to take a Bermuda cruise on the Dawn, DO IT, you will not be disapointed.

[coffeebean]

We were on the same cruise with you. DH and I had a great time too. We also loved listenening to Jose and Patti but didn't really "discover" them until two nights before the end of the cruise. They are an awesome addition to Dawn's entertainment and their placement midship deck 7 can't be beat.

 

Welcome home. We are already planning another cruise on Dawn's sister ship, Star for this October.

[AFAMILY]

We were on this sailing as well and really enjoyed Patti and Jose (pronounced like Josie). I'd like to add that the the comedian Peter Sasso was terrific. Very funny. Check him out. He does several performances during the week.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[Dolphins]

Glad you all enjoyed the Dawn despite the weather. We look forward to boarding her for the 5th time in October and going to Bermuda again.

[musicgirl63]

Thanks for the review.

 

Did you have to tender at all? Had you expected to tender?

[coffeebean]

We were on this sailing as well and really enjoyed Patti and Jose (pronounced like Josie). I'd like to add that the the comedian Peter Sasso was terrific. Very funny. Check him out. He does several performances during the week.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

 

We also enjoyed Peter Sasso very much. His juggling while firing off quips was great.

[coffeebean]

No tendering on this sailing. We remained at Dockyard the entire three days.

[unboringuy]

We just got back from that sailing, as well. For some reason the board shows the OP's message as yesterday, but the cruise ended today (Sunday, May 25) so I assume it is a glitch with the board.

 

This was our first sailing aboard NCL since the mid 90s. We found the Dawn to be a very nice and nicely maintained ship, despite being six years old (which in today's environment, is beginning to be long in the tooth).

 

We had a category AF mini-suite on deck 11. We found the minis to be quite small (about 250 sq. ft. including small balcony) when compared to Princess (350 sq. ft.). We really didn't use the balcony much, but really enjoy leaving the sliding door open and hearing the waves at night while we sleep. Our cabin was immediately below Impressions (a section of the Garden Cafe) and I don't know what they were doing in there but they were making quite a racket between 2 and 3 a.m. our last two nights. I don't think the additional cost of the mini over a balcony is worth it. Next time I'd go with the balcony. All the minis are on deck 11, which has a fully covered balcony and thus provides quite a bit of privacy. Smokers, unfortunately, diminish the pleasure of balconies when they are near you.

 

The casino, as expected, was VERY smoky. I only spent about 3 hours total in there. Blackjack rules favor the house (they hit soft 17) and the payouts on video poker are bad. The crap table, however, has 3x, 4x and 5x odds, and that is good compared to other ships. For those that care, free drinks are given to those that sign up for the player's card.

 

Freestyle 2.0 obviously has not been fully implemented. We did get the welcome champagne, and the bed had a nice duvet on it. But the bed itself was horrible, and the linens had not yet been upgraded. We got no toiletries, but we did get the upgraded robe (soft velour with terry inside vs. waffle robe). The bowl of fruit never got replenished, and although you could always get fresh fruit at the buffet, it was difficult to get pears

and bananas.

 

According to the tent card in our cabin, we had a steward and a stewardess. I don't know if NCL's practice is for the stewards not to interact with passengers, but our stewards never introduced themselves to us (which we are used to on Princess, Celebrity, RCCL and even Carnival).

 

We enjoyed the Jean Ann Ryan Company, and particularly Band on the Run. We liked South Beach less, and did not go to Bollywood. We enjoyed the art auctions, as we typically do, and attended (and made purchases).

 

We found the food in the main dining rooms to be good, but not great. We found the selection and variety in the main dining rooms and the buffet to be limited and repetitive, particularly in the buffet, where there was very little change in the items served. Cagney's was very good. The chocolate covered strawberries in our cabin, which we got for being Silver Latitudes, were very good. But we had to ask for them; we shouldn't have had to.

 

The fitness center was very good, as expected on a ship of this class. Spinning classes were $30 for four classes. Steiner (who runs the fitness center and spa) has now imposes a mandatory gratuity of 18% on all services. They make that clear in their spa, but you only find it out on fitness classes when they bring you your bill after the first class. Not a big deal, but Steiner in general just rubs me the wrong way and I've never been very happy with the way they run things. I usually tip $10 for the spinning classes, so they ended up shorting the instructors (I know, I could have given more, but I was still a little miffed about not being notified about the mandatory service charge up front). I wish the lines would run the spas and fitness centers themselves. Princess tried this when the Diamond debuted, but I guess it didn't work out and Steiner now has that concession.

 

Unlike the OP, I found the seas to be very calm. Apparently the prior week's cruise enjoyed some 40 foot squalls, but I understand our worst didn't exceed 10 feet. And at times the seas were as smooth as glass.

 

Gleason, the magician, did not impress us. But at the end of the week he gave a memory workshop, and I attended. It was very interesting...so much so that I (along with many other passengers) purchased his DVD package.

 

Bermuda was wonderful. One day the weather was not great; in fact it stormed quite a bit one afternoon. Being docked at the dockyard, you really need to get out to Hamilton, St. George, and the beaches on the south part of the island. 2 and 3 day transportation passes are available for $20 and $28, respectively, and allow unlimited use of the ferries and buses. Excellent value (but please note, some were disappointed when they could not board a scheduled ferry because it was full, and they had to wait at least an hour for the next one).

 

I recommend Horseshoe Beach very much. It is beautiful. Just be careful not to get stung by the Man of Wars. They are very prevalent.

 

Dining room service was hit or miss. Sometimes it was great, and other times it wasn't very good. In the Venetian we recommend seeking out Julia Vlad. She is a very nice and attentive waitress. She served us a couple of times early in the week, and thereafter always smiled at us, said hello, and engaged us, even though she was not our server. NCL, take note!

 

In sum, enjoyable cruise. But we think compared to Princess we would give Princess the nod.

[AFAMILY]

No tendering on this sailing. We remained at Dockyard the entire three days.

 

Here's the view from our balcony, cabin 11622......anyone going on this cruise will LOVE Bermuda!....Have fun! :)

 

 

[islandersx4]

AFamily, Thank you for the detailed review...what is so special about the indoor pool that requires $20.00 per day charge? We sail next February and I am curious about all things Dawn.

[AFAMILY]

AFamily, Thank you for the detailed review...what is so special about the indoor pool that requires $20.00 per day charge? We sail next February and I am curious about all things Dawn.

 

 

Actually the review is by Angelbysea....but to answer your question....the spa pool is adults only and is very relaxing and quiet......well worth the cost AND no chair hogging.

 

We love the Dawn too and will probably book this cruise again for next year.

 

Have fun on your cruise! :)

[Cosmopolitan]

Angelbysea ~ Enjoyable review:) I am missing the Dawn - still my favorite ship!

[Dolphins]

You said your mini-suite on deck 11 was below Impressions. I don't believe that's possible since Impressions is on deck 6?

[NJ04SS]

Glad you loved the Dawn, as well we did!! Glad you didn't have the 47 foot waves we did:p!!

[jeffs55]

I love the spa area on Dawn. But due to the rough seas on our 5/11 sailing the

only time the pool/hot tub etc were filled were the 3 days we were in port.

And one of those days the spa was filled with these very loud Russian speaking folks who shouted

at each other the whole time I was there and kind of spoiled the experience.

[coffeebean]

AFamily, Thank you for the detailed review...what is so special about the indoor pool that requires $20.00 per day charge? We sail next February and I am curious about all things Dawn.

 

The spa area is FOR ADULTS ONLY. That's reason enough for us to pay for the weekly pass. The pass is $20 per day OR $75 for the week OR $140 per couple for the week. It is worth every penny. The spa has male and female steam rooms, suanas, together whirlpools, thelasso pool, male and female quiet rooms, and just a lot of privacy you don't get at the outdoor main pools. The Dawn and Star have a lap pool which is my favorite in the spa.

[coffeebean]

I love the spa area on Dawn. But due to the rough seas on our 5/11 sailing the only time the pool/hot tub etc were filled were the 3 days we were in port.

And one of those days the spa was filled with these very loud Russian speaking folks who shouted

at each other the whole time I was there and kind of spoiled the experience.

 

That is too bad about the rough seas. Was the spa offering money back to those who purchased a weekly pass??? I surely would hope so.

[islandersx4]

The spa area is FOR ADULTS ONLY. That's reason enough for us to pay for the weekly pass. The pass is $20 per day OR $75 for the week OR $140 per couple for the week. It is worth every penny. The spa has male and female steam rooms, suanas, together whirlpools, thelasso pool, male and female quiet rooms, and just a lot of privacy you don't get at the outdoor main pools. The Dawn and Star have a lap pool which is my favorite in the spa.

 

Is there exposure to the sun...or is it truly indoors?

[gja360]

Thank you for the review! I am getting very excited about my first NCL cruise on June 22nd...hopefully we get good weather!

[chrisbd1]

Is there exposure to the sun...or is it truly indoors?

Truly indoors.

[coffeebean]

Is there exposure to the sun...or is it truly indoors?

 

The spa areas on the ships are all indoors. The Dawn spa is located aft and has views of the wake as you relax on the padded loungers. The spa on the Jewel class ships is located in the front of the ship with views of the bow. The suanas and steam rooms on the Gem and Pearl are located on exterior walls with ceiling to floor windows. That is a great experience...to be sitting in a sauna or steam room with the ocean to gaze at.

[unboringuy]

oooppsss...I meant La Trattoria, not Impressions. Sorry Dolphins!

[unboringuy]

AFAMILY, you must have been next door to us. Did you hear that scraping and banging on the ceiling between 2 and 3 a.m. on the last two nights?

[richard1s]

I was on the 5/11 Dawn sailing and had the same reaction to the young woman at the casino desk; she always had this attidude that answering your question was an annoyance to whatever busy work she was doing and that you were some kind of numbskull for even asking in the first place.

[Angelbysea]

Richard, EXACTLY....thank you!