My review of the Dawn 6/1-8

[oldtownjns]

Background: I (43 yo married female) traveled with my husband (42) and soon to be five year old daughter. My husband and I have been on two Celebrity cruises (Summit and Mercury) and enjoyed both of those immensely. This itinerary met our needs and time constraints and New York was an easy drive for us (Alexandria, VA). We chose to make a weekend of it in New York so we arrived there on Friday.

Embarkation: This was terrific. We were in an AB suite so we had priority embarkation. Our cabin was ready when we boarded (I think around noon) and we proceeded to the Venetian Dining Room for lunch.

Cabin: Our cabin (11030) was beautiful. It was far more spacious than the sky suites we’ve had on Celebrity. I have no complaints about the cabin or it’s maintenance. It was immaculate.

Service: Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the overall service onboard. There were exceptions to that: Anca, the concierge was wonderful as were our cabin stewards Jerry and Pedro. The counselors in the kids club couldn’t have been any better and our daughter adored them. I can’t say anyone else met the standards we were used to on Celebrity. Our butler, Jeffrey, was pleasant enough but seemed to do the minimum he needed to do to get tipped.

Food: This is where I’d say Celebrity beats NCL hands down. We ate at Le Bistro (when our daughter was in the kids club), Salsa (twice), Impressions (twice), Bamboo, and Aqua. Le Bistro was a huge disappointment. Maybe we are used to really good restaurants here in the DC area, but I expected a good meal and they didn’t deliver. For instance, we brought three bottles of wine onboard and paid the $15 corking fee. One bottle was an expensive Brunello from 1995. When they decantered the bottle, they poured the entire bottle into the decanter. I’m not a sommelier, and I know that the bottle is bound to have sediment and to leave the last bit in there. The assistant matre’d (who also id’d himself as the sommelier), didn’t have a clue.

The first meal at Salsa was good, the second not so good. Bamboo was good as was the sushi bar, Impressions was fair. I’d honestly say the meal I ate at Aqua was close to the best dinner I had (which doesn’t say much for the “specialty” restaurants).

We were lucky to be able to have breakfast and lunch at Cagney’s (which is a lovely perk for suite guests) as the in suite breakfast was cold the few times we tried it.

Children’s Activities: This was perhaps the best thing NCL has to offer. My daughter adored her experiences in the kid’s club and we couldn’t drag her away from the T-Rex pool. This would be the number one reason I”d go back to NCL.

Entertainment: I’d say the entertainment was quite good although I only went to the magic show and the Bollywood night.

The positives of Freestyle: loved the open dining, although we did make reservations a few nights;

The negatives of Freestyle: I was appalled at what some people consider proper attire. I saw bathing suit bottoms in specialty restaurants (there was a woman wearing a swim mini one night in Salsa), and lots of shorts in Le Bistro. My favorite was the guy wearing the football jersey and jeans on formal night in Impressions. Tacky, tacky, tacky---that’s all I can say. It dumbs down the whole cruise experience and would be the one reason I wouldn’t return to NCL.

Overall, it was a good cruise. If I hadn’t been on Celebrity before, I’d probably have thought it better. We’ll probably try Disney next or maybe revisit Celebrity. My husband wants to do something more premium like Crystal or Seaborne, but my daughter’s not ready for that yet.

[Gypsea]

Celebrity is #1 according to Conde Nast Traveler for a reason. Until the new Solstice comes out their ships have had a 2 to 1 guest to staff ratio. That's all going to change with the dawn of their mega-build. This accounts for the better service and dining experiences throughout the fleet and their high marks. I love Celebrity but also NCL. They represent two different things to me. NCL has more "going on". Their entertainment and activities are more varied and available to the guests. I love the things they have pioneered as the smallest cruise line of the big three (Carnival who owns almost all the others, RC/Celebrity and NCL). They made everyone step back and take a look at the new innovations that none of the others thought of first. I love them for their originality alone.

 

You cannot expect the service to match Celebrity though it wouldn't be fair. Particularly with the "freestyle" concept it is harder for the staff to learn your preferences etc. Having sailed many RC cruises in the past few years I have to say that even though RC owns Celebrity they cannot quite compare either. Their ships are too large with so many passengers the service is just not equal. Every line seems to have a niche and that's what I like about all the choices.

 

In the mass market (excluding the premium lines you mention)if you want a more elegant cruise line you are looking for Celeb, NCL is casual. The formal nights are optional...as you now know firsthand. Though it is sad how some take this to a whole new depth. Hey, what did you think of the art in Le Bistro. Is Renoir's "The Bather" still there? You didn't mention it.

 

I am sorry your agent did not explain the differences to you so you would have a better idea of what to expect. Still, overall it seems you enjoyed this ship and she is far from the newest in this fleet.

 

I always say, "so many ships, so little time"!!!

 

Maybe I'll see you on the Solstice!

 

Thanks for your review.

[Cosmopolitan]

 

Appreciate your review..thanks.

Good that you were satisfied with your cabin:)

 

Le Bistro...we've ALWAYS enjoyed the food and service..you ONLY mentioned the wine...what about the food and service?

 

Salsa's and Impressions??...twice each...we'd pass on those meals any day...Le Bistro and Cagneys are our choice...no matter what the cost.

 

Acqua...we've tried it twice...never again!

Bamboo...yuk!

 

In suite breakfast cold..never happened to us:confused:

 

Childrens activities...cannot comment...we always enjoyed our children on our vacations.. and wanted them with us....didn't send them to kid's clubs. To each his own!

 

Bathing suit bottoms and shorts at dinner...we've never seen that on NCL cruises:eek:

 

Enjoy your Disney/Celebrity....hope they haven't changed much with the times:)

[oldtownjns]

Cosmopolitan, you seem rather hostile. I was reporting fact, not interpretation.

 

The food in Le Bistro was fine, but I can get a much better dinner at any of the three French restaurants within walking distance of my house. The service was also good, but nothing to compare to Celebrity. As I mentioned, if this was my first cruise and I had nothing to compare it to, I would have probably rated it better.

 

With a young child with us, we didn't think it fair to take her to Cagney's for dinner and make her sit that long or take the chance of ruining dinner for other diners.

 

Just for the record, my daughter was in the kids club for two hours on Monday morning, two hours on Tuesday morning, the kids dinner on Thursday, and two hours on Saturday morning. The morning times my husband and I used the gym and the Thursday evening was our dinner at Le Bistro. Do not imply that I dropped my child off and left her there. In fact, when we went to pick her up, she wanted to stay longer as the facility, the counselors, and the other children were a lot of fun. I am a stay at home mother and have always been. I spend ALL of my time with my child, except when she is in school. My husband and I have never gone on a vacation without her nor do we intend to. I have spent maybe 20 nights in five years away from her and that's because I was in the hospital twice and my father was in a coma dying in Florida. Do not imply otherwise.

 

I am an honest Catholic woman and do not lie. There was a woman in Salsa in a swim mini and plenty of men in Le Bistro in shorts. They were NOT Bermuda shorts either. I made comment to the F&B manager at the Captain's cocktail party and he said they are trying "not to offend people". He didn't like it himself (including the woman who chose to wear jeans to the Captain's cocktail party on formal night) but was following orders. Read some of the other recent posts about shorts in the specialty restaurants. It's not just me reporting this.

 

Thank you to Gypsea for her gracious reply. Yes, our travel agent did warn us that we probably wouldn't get the same service on NCL but we thought we'd still give it a try.

 

I did rate this a 4 star cruise so obviously I didnt think it bad. Just because I didn't give it 5+ stars doesn't make me an NCL hater. It's probably just not for us.

[ErinsMommy]

Childrens activities...cannot comment...we always enjoyed our children on our vacations.. and wanted them with us....didn't send them to kid's clubs. To each his own!

 

Cosmopolitan, I usually appreciate your posts. I too was offended with this post. My daughter is always with us on vacation. We enjoy spending time with her and don't leave her home. I don't feel the need to defend myself for sending her to kids camp. She has an awesome time, and begs to go! There are pizza parties, princess dress up, pirate night, pj night. She's with us all day, every day on the ship and at port. Kids camp is for HER, not US. There are so many fun things to do for her and it's a shame you didn't let your children experience it.

 

Oh well, to each his own !!!

[oldtownjns]

God bless you, Erin. Thank you for your post.

[pictonite]

Thanks for your review! We also sail both Celebrity and NCL. WE have loved Celebrity for its dining and its classy ships. We took a cruise this year with NCL on the Pearl - a different style of ship, but beautiful! We enjoyed the anytime dining, and found the "free" dining experiences to be quite pleasant. We really enjoyed Cagneys - the ambience was great. You're right, however - the experiences with both cruise lines are different. However, we found that NCL has great itineraries, and their suites are terrific.

By the way - there has been a spate of nasty responses to reviews and questions on this Board. Don't think we are all that way!

Again, thank you for your review!

[gagirl789]

Thanks for the review! I have always wanted to try Celebrity. I have heard that the food is great.

 

I enjoy learning about other lines. We have been on HAL as well.

 

I try to ignore rude posters.

[ErinsMommy]

God bless you, Erin. Thank you for your post.

 

 

I too am a stay at home mom. You shouldn't have to defend yourself for sending your child to kids camp.

 

We were on the 6/8 sailing of the Dawn and had a great time!

 

Chrissy

[catlady461]

Loved reading your review. We went on the 5/11 Dawn cruise and actually loved it considering it was our 2nd cruise on NCL even though we have sailed 5 times on RCCL and once on Celebrity.

We ate most of our meals at the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed Impressions twice; Cagneys once and LeBistro once. Bamboo was something we did not enjoy.

Although we have enjoyed food on RCCL; Celebrity was another story. The cruise we took the food was terrible.

I can understand the differences in others taste in food but I have never found a problem with NCLs food.

[Evilmille]

Loved reading your review. We went on the 5/11 Dawn cruise and actually loved it considering it was our 2nd cruise on NCL even though we have sailed 5 times on RCCL and once on Celebrity.

We ate most of our meals at the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed Impressions twice; Cagneys once and LeBistro once. Bamboo was something we did not enjoy.

Although we have enjoyed food on RCCL; Celebrity was another story. The cruise we took the food was terrible.

I can understand the differences in others taste in food but I have never found a problem with NCLs food.

 

I also was on the 6/1 cruise to bermuda staying in an AB suite. I agree with the OP. Jeffrey was certainly lacking and a disappointment. We stopped using him after a few days. Too much trouble. But the rest of the cruise was great. We probably crossed paths. I spent alot of time in the casino.

[debshomespun]

Loved reading your review. We went on the 5/11 Dawn cruise and actually loved it considering it was our 2nd cruise on NCL even though we have sailed 5 times on RCCL and once on Celebrity.

We ate most of our meals at the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed Impressions twice; Cagneys once and LeBistro once. Bamboo was something we did not enjoy.

Although we have enjoyed food on RCCL; Celebrity was another story. The cruise we took the food was terrible.

I can understand the differences in others taste in food but I have never found a problem with NCLs food.

 

How was the weather on this cruise? We are looking at booking May/2009 on the Dawn, and wasn't sure what the weather was like in Bermuda. Nice hot sunny days to enjoy at the beach?

 

How were the seas? Very rough, or somewhat calm? I know with the Atlantic, it can be hit or miss each day. Thanks for your comments!

[watchdiva]

I also was on the 6/1 cruise to bermuda staying in an AB suite. I agree with the OP. Jeffrey was certainly lacking and a disappointment. We stopped using him after a few days. Too much trouble. But the rest of the cruise was great. We probably crossed paths. I spent alot of time in the casino.

 

Sorry that you had a problem with your butler - what did Anca say when you told her. She's extremely pro-active and I'm surprised that she didn't offer to arrange for one of the butlers covering another floor to assume Jeffrey's duties for the balance of the cruise.......

 

We were on the 6/8 cruise and had the great fortune to have Anoop as our butler who was beyond outstanding! 'Gotta love getting those mid-afternoon snack deliveries of sandwiches, coffee and fantastic desserts every day at 5 PM! Anoop knew from the second day that we were dessert fanatics and every day delivered a selection of them to our cabin when he brought our mid-afternoon sandwiches and coffee. After the first delivery when I told him how much I loved the deep chocolate brownies, he had sure that they were on the dessert tray every day for the rest of the cruise..........

[Evilmille]

Sorry that you had a problem with your butler - what did Anca say when you told her. She's extremely pro-active and I'm surprised that she didn't offer to arrange for one of the butlers covering another floor to assume Jeffrey's duties for the balance of the cruise.......

 

We were on the 6/8 cruise and had the great fortune to have Anoop as our butler who was beyond outstanding! 'Gotta love getting those mid-afternoon snack deliveries of sandwiches, coffee and fantastic desserts every day at 5 PM! Anoop knew from the second day that we were dessert fanatics and every day delivered a selection of them to our cabin when he brought our mid-afternoon sandwiches and coffee. After the first delivery when I told him how much I loved the deep chocolate brownies, he had sure that they were on the dessert tray every day for the rest of the cruise..........

 

Jeffrey did none of these things. He wanted to charge us extra for appetizers from the free resturants. When we insisted there should be no charge, he went to Anca and she called us. I didn't get the impression that she was unhappy with Jeffrey. After the 3rd day we stopped using him. Everything was an argument. We had to beg for our snacks. He also insisted that on the first day there is no fruit or snacks which I know not to be true because of this board. So as far as butler service, it was dismal. The rest of the trip was outstanding though. If I knew then what I know now, I would have asked for a new butler. Oh well.