Dawn Review Jan. 31st, the Suite Life

[AdoptAtty]

The Suite Life

NCL Dawn Jan 31 - Feb 7, 2009

We booked our Eastern Caribbean Cruise in October 2008. It was a great deal. Category G, obstructed view, cabins 8608 and 8610, $369pp, which came to $1178 a couple with taxes, fuel supplement and insurance. We received a $200 OBC and our friends $100. (I had sailed with NCL before.) Once the fuel supplement was dropped, we received an additional $154 in OBC, yeah! I booked on the phone with NCL, good experience. Shortly thereafter discovered the CC Boards and talk of upgrades and the upgrade fairy. Twice I had called NCL myself about upgrades... no real deals were available. However, while on the road to pick up my girlfriend she called about a great deal ($75pp) to move up to a balcony room, but they only had one. After several phone calls and discussions of several options we landed a deal. We ended up on Deck 10, forward, 10006 and 10002, connecting AA Owner’s Suite and AC Penthouse cabins! Was it cheap? No! I would say it was discounted about 60%. Was it worth it? Oh yeah!

We are all late 40's - 50's, and have cruised together before. Everyone has their own opinions, these are mine. You might disagree. Keep in mind I’ve camped in the Everglades many a weekend in a tent, visited remote areas of Viet Nam with sporadic electricity and no AC and stayed in some very fine, top rated resorts and have loved them all. I also love good food. It can be from a local dive or the finest restaurant a city has to offer... done both. I enjoy a cocktail now and then, more so when I’m cruising, and love good red wine. I’ve never cruised in an interior cabin, but have cruised in obstructed view, ocean view, balcony, run of the mill suite and now a large suite. This was my 2nd NCL cruise. I’ve also cruised Carnival, Princess, Holland and Royal Caribbean.

Pre-cruise

We drove to Miami with our friends. Airfare was not great, and the flight schedules weren’t what we wanted either. Friday night before our cruise, we stayed at the Downtown Miami Hilton after wining a one night stay in a Junior Suite at a charity auction. The normal room rate would have been $439. We did not pay that! I actually learned about some great deals on the CC boards but we decided to use the certificate.

I’m not sure I would recommend the Downtown Hilton. We did have a nice suite, with great views of Miami, including the Port and our ship on Saturday morning! The room was very clean and the beds comfortable. My guess is that the room would typically be overpriced. Service for dinner was horrible. We ended up in the bar, ordering off the bar menu. We woke Saturday morning to the sight of our ship in port!! Breakfast at the Hilton left something to be desired.

Port of Miami

Locating the Port was quite easy. I am familiar with Miami having grown up there. The hotel was close to the Port. It was only 10 am when we arrived. We dropped off luggage with the porters and then parked the car.

We decided after a little research to park at the port and split the cost. We assumed it was probably as safe or safer than some of the private lots and it certainly would be more convenient. The parking garage, C, was very close to the cruise terminal. It was $140 prepaid for the week. The convenience of having the car right there was great, especially after one of us realized prescription sun glasses were left in the car.

Embarkation

We were in line, waiting for NCL to open the building by 10:15. At about 10:40 they opened and we started the process of checking in. Once inside, there was a special check in for suite holders. It was just a small room with a couple couches and chairs, coffee, tea, coffee cake and some little sandwiches. We were the second group they assisted and were out of there, thru security and to a waiting area by noon. Our concierge, Ryan, stopped by to say hello and we were able to give him our dining requests for the week, which he took care of. One great perk of the suite life.

The wait was not long, and in less than 30 minutes we were being escorted on the ship by one of the butlers. It seems they take suite holders on first. We were offered champagne as we boarded. It was a nice touch. A young woman then asked if we would like to check our carry on bags until the rooms were ready. She escorted us to Dazzle’s where we checked our bags. It was very easy.

The specialty restaurants already had samples of their food out for tasting. After a few minutes of exploration we headed up to Cagny’s for lunch. Breakfast and Lunch are available here, without additional charge, for full suite holders. We had a nice glass of wine and enjoyed lunch and the views of Miami.

At some point my girlfriend and I stopped at a rest room, while there we happened to run into someone from our CC Board. It was funny. My girlfriend said my name, and this person recognized it. She took us to say hello to the CC group wedding party. It was really nice to finally meet some of the people I had been communicating with.

Cabins were ready promptly at 2 pm and we found our luggage waiting there for us. We were so excited to see our cabins!

Cabins - Penthouse 10002 and Owner’s Suite 10006

Our original cabins were side by side, but not connecting, mid ship. We knew they would be obstructed view, but figured it such a good deal we couldn’t pass it up. We ended up upgrading to a Penthouse and Owner’s Suite on deck 10, forward. The Suite Life!

When we opened the cabin door we were all pleasantly surprised! The owner’s suite is quite impressive and the Penthouse was quite nice. We must have spent a good half hour just exploring everything in the suite. The suite had lots of beautiful wood paneling. At the entryway was a beautiful, wood paneled half bathroom. Once you walked into the suite you were standing in the living room/dining room area which was good sized. We had two sets of sliding glass doors off the living room that lead out to our side balcony with a table and four chairs. The living room had a sofa, which I have to say is quite hard. There was also a comfortable sitting char, an ottoman and a lounge chair. The TV had a built in CD and DVD player, and we were stocked with a selection of CD’s and a book to order DVD’s from our butler. The dining alcove had a nice wooden dining table with 4 chairs. We also had a beautiful bar with nice glassware including champagne glasses, wine glasses, martini glasses, high ball and old fashioned glasses and brandy snifters. We were given an alcohol menu to select our three bottles of liquor and our butler, Ravi, asked what types of bottled water and sodas we would like for the week and took our orders for "snacks." At 5:30 each evening Ravi delivered something yummy... cheese and crackers and grapes, pretzels, nuts and dried fruit, chips and salsa, veggies and dip, and chocolate covered strawberries. We also had a nice fruit bowl filled with the items we had requested. The bar area included a mini refrigerator and a very nice espresso/cappuccino maker. A nice bottle of champagne was on ice, waiting for us. Who could eat or drink all this stuff? Not us.

The bed room and master bath was separated from the living room with sliding glass doors and curtains. We had a comfortable King sized bed, a desk with an NCL lap top computer provided and a sitting chair. A TV was built into the wall in front of the bed. Our second deck was off the bed room, on the front of the ship and had two lounge chairs and a small table. It was separated from our friends’ deck, but we could see them and talk to them from our deck. This deck not only had a regular door, but what appeared to be a water tight bulkhead door with a wheel you turned to tighten down the hatches. This came in handy when we were moving as it was quite windy and without the down tightened, the air whistled as it came thru the tiny open spaces.

The bathroom and dressing room were incredible. The bathroom was bright and sunny with two windows and blue tile. It included a bath tub with Jacuzzi, a walk in shower and separate water closet and two sinks. The dressing room is all beautiful wood paneling, with two safes, two areas to hang clothes, and lots and lots of drawer and cubby space. It also included a mirror and sitting area for make up, a hair dryer and a pants press.

Our friends were in the connecting Penthouse suite. We had a tiny, private, interior hall connecting our two rooms. Their penthouse was lovely, just smaller, and with a Queen bed and one bathroom. The color scheme was bright and cheerful. They had a small table and chairs and a sitting area with a love seat and a chair. They also had a cappuccino maker.

By now it was time for the life boat drill, which occurred without a hitch.

We were having so much fun enjoying the suite that we all decided to skip the sail away party and have our own on our balcony, with music playing we were sipping champagne from lovely champagne glasses.

All was well until we sailed past Fisher Island and the tip of South Beach and into the open water. It was about then the seas started to get a bit rough. By about 5:30 pm the ship was rocking, and I don’t mean we were having a party! Several crew members commented that they had never seen it so rough sailing out of Miami. Thank goodness I had thought ahead and filled a prescription for Transermscope patches! I didn’t think we would need them, boy was I wrong. All four of us ended up sea sick, as were many others on the ship. When I finally ventured out, the ship was somewhat quiet and sea sickness bags were placed every where. In a little while the Captain announced we would be out of the rough seas in a couple hours. Those were a long couple hours!

By about 8:30 we were all feeling well enough to eat something. Ravi, our butler, brought us soup and baked potatoes and we were on the road to recovery eating our first dinner at our dining room table. It wasn’t exactly as we had planned, but we were enjoying the good life.

We decided to pass on the Saturday night entertainment. We enjoyed the suite and walking around the ship.

Somewhere in here Ravi brought us a couple movies we had requested, a lovely fruit bowl, the three bottles of liquor we had requested (they come with the suite), some mixers, soda, bottled waters, and either he or Garfield brought us a couple pillows from ordered from the pillow menu.

Sunday @ Sea

I decided to try out the cappuccino maker Sunday morning. It was so easy, drop in a pod and push a button. We had little creamers in the suite that we used to steam for the cappuccino, but we soon learned to order a carton of milk from room service and that we could get a glass of half and half from the buffet.

This was our first breakfast on the ship and we decided to try Cagny’s. They have a nice menu as well as a small buffet with fruit, juice, smoked salmon (nova), prosciuto, muffins, danish and some other items. You can also get a good cup of coffee here served in a French press. I particularly enjoyed the Challah bread French toast (Challah is an egg bread) and the eggs benedict and crab cake benedict. They also serve a nice steak and eggs breakfast.

Our Meet and Greet was at 10:30, in the Star Bar, right next to Cagny’s. Thanks Kathy for setting this up! It was really nice to meet people I had been communicating with for weeks prior to the trip. Several of the ship’s staff came to speak to us and I was impressed with what appeared to be their sincere attitude to make this a wonderful cruise.

I’m not sure what we did all day except enjoy ourselves and relax. We did make a visit to the Casino, we were all signed up for Casino at Sea and received our coupon books... played our $20 for slots with $10, took a spin for a free cruise and just kind of checked it all out.

The first sea night is the optional formal night and the night they serve lobster in the main dining room. We decided to try dinner in the Venetian. We all decided to try the scallop appetizer. Maybe I’m just spoiled with good seafood growing up in Florida, but those had to be the smallest scallops I have ever seen! I think there were 3 or 4 to a plate and it was almost comical, they were so small. I was happy to find out I could just order the lobster, in fact my waiter offered to bring me two. I found out that means two halves of a somewhat small lobster tail. Unfortunately, the lobster was terribly over cooked. Perhaps that is a function of preparing so many lobster at one time. I’m not sure. I had lobster one other time on the ship, in Cagny’s, and while I wouldn’t say it was over cooked, it was completely lacking in flavor. The beef wellington was better.

That evening we went to see the Band on the Run show, which I think we all found enjoyable. Having a suite also allows you to have reserved seating for the shows which was nice. There was Ryan saving balcony seats for us.

Before we retired for the evening we decided on our breakfast order and placed the card on the door.

Monday - Samara

Since we were planing to get off the ship early this morning, we had arranged for Ravi, our incredible butler, to bring us breakfast in the suite. There he was, impeccably dressed, prompt, extremely personable, and with everything we had requested. Breakfast was consistently good. Our favorites included eggs benedict, crab cake benedict, omelets and crisp bacon.

We met our concierge, Ryan, for priority tendering and were off the ship early without a hitch. We had made private tour arrangements with Catherine, who owns Casa Dorato a bed and breakfast in Los Galerias (not sure of that spelling). As promised, our taxi driver was waiting with a sign. He loaded us up for the interesting ride, on some pretty horrible roads. Our driver spoke limited English, but we were able to communicate with him without issue. We passed towns that were obviously impoverished. We arrived at the beach in Los Galerias and were met by Catherine’s husband, Roberto. After a few minutes he loaded us up into a boat and sent us on our way to Playa Rincon. As promised, he came a little while later with another boat load of people. Our CC Roll Call had 3 different groups that had arranged this trip, so it was nice to see "friends" at the beach. The beach was beautiful and I was so glad we decided to do this trip, as opposed to my idea of staying on the ship that day. Roberto had suggested we eat at a particular restaurant. We had fresh pina coladas made in a scooped out pineapple... yummy! We also had lunch of wonderful large prawns (shrimp) and lobster tail cooked over a wood fire grill. The fish also looked great, we just didn’t select that! Our boat trip back to Las Galerias was fairly rough but we were like a boat full of little kids, laughing all the way. Roberto instructed our cab driver to take us by Casa Dorato so we could see the B&B and meet Catherine. As we were leaving the B&B Catherine instructed our driver to take us to the local grocery (Super Marcado, I believe) to pick up local products including rum, coffee, vanilla and cigars. I’m already wishing I had purchased more coffee! We ended up with 3 pounds of coffee, 2 small bottles of rum, 2 - 8 oz bottles of vanilla and 4 boxes of 10 little cigars. Our total was about $43 US. Catherine and Roberto do a wonderful job of arranging these tours. I feel confident you would not be disappointed if you worked with them and the beach at Playa Rincon is beautiful.

We understand from ship personnel, that two people missed the boat in Samana. They had not reboarded by the time we left St. Thomas. I’m not sure if they ever did. I can only imagine the difficulty they experienced trying to get out of Samana and back to the ship. A word to the wise... don’t miss the ship!

We went to dinner at Salsa’s this night. It was a pleasant atmosphere and we had some good margaritas. Isn’t everything better with a good margarita? I think we got a little carried away with the chips and dip and then the appetizers. I had the tuna which was quite spicy. I didn’t particularly care for it. By the time the il popo came for dinner my girlfriend and I were looking at one another like, what are we going to do with all this food! The boys had a burrito and lobster tacos. The burrito was described as good, but not outstanding and I think the lobster tacos were a hit. The best I can describe the il popo is a cross between shish kabob and fajitas. It was very good and a lot of food - meats, vegetables and pineapple on this strange somewhat bell shaped cast iron device with tortillas, beans, rice, guacamole and some other fixings. There was no way the two of us could eat all this!

We stopped in to see the Tribute to The Beatles in Spinnakers... the DH is a big Beatles fan. I enjoyed it, but I think he was a bit disappointed. I’m sure they were doing their best, but there was a little improvisation going on with the words to the songs. I don’t believe English is the first language for the band members, so I think there was a little difficulty there. We then went upstairs to the Star Bar on Deck 13, right by Cagny’s. It was a more elegant atmosphere and Allen Roman was doing a tribute to The Eagles. We enjoyed a cocktail, the music and the atmosphere.

 

Tuesday - St. Thomas, USVI

We enjoyed another room service breakfast on our deck before we set out for our day on St. Thomas. We were docked at the West Indian Terminal which is right next to the Havensight mall. After we walked around the mall we left the cruise terminal area and crossed the street to Al Cohen’s Discount Liquor store. This is where we ended up purchasing most of our liquor on our way back to the ship. I had done my homework and had my local liquor prices in hand to compare, as well as the prices available on the ship.

I found a nice van taxi and negotiated with the driver for an island tour which included the places we had wanted to visit: the north side of the island, a stop at St. Thomas Dairy (Rte 35/Magens Bay Road) for milkshakes and the top of the island for banana daiquiris, a great view and a little shopping. Our agreement was to finish our tour in town so we could do a little shopping, have a bit to eat and then take a cab back to the ship. I think we could have skipped the in town shopping and lunch at Cuzzins. The shopping area was crowded and consisted mostly of liquor stores, jewelry stores and souvenir shops. Had we known, we would have spent more time somewhere else, perhaps at Megan’s Bay which was unbelievably beautiful.

Part of our CC "family" had a wedding to celebrate this day! Congratulations Danielle and Brian. I believe they went to St. John with friends and family for the ceremony on the beach. The photos are beautiful!!

 

This was the night of our VIP cocktail party with the Captain, with what appeared to be a completely open bar.

We had a wonderful dinner at the Asian restaurant, Bamboo. Anil, the Maitre d’hotel, was exceptional and our waitress was very friendly. I think we were all surprised at the quality of the food. Everyone received a tiny dish of edamame beans (soy beans), which could have been served with a tiny bit more salt. I ordered the hot and sour soup, which I thought was perfect. It had just the right amount of heat. Someone else ordered the egg drop soup, which was also yummy. If you aren’t into spicy, try this. It was a bit unusual, it had corn in it, almost like a corn chowder - egg drop combo, but it worked well together. Then came the ribs... I had read about the ribs on the CC Boards, but I was still surprised at how yummy they were. I shared with my table... and our waitress was nice enough to bring a second order, which was also quickly enjoyed by all of us. The crab wontons were ok, but nothing to write home about. But the ribs... I’m still thinking about those ribs! The gentlemen each ordered a scallop dish which was good. I had the spicy fish, which was wonderful. I was afraid it would be too hot, so I had the sauce on the side. It was not at all too hot. I would recommend the dish. My girlfriend ordered a beef dish and a noodle dish and I think we could have fed the entire table with those two orders. I don’t think you will leave here hungry.

Then came deserts... we couldn’t decide... a sampling of creme brulees (ginger, green tea and red bean), green tea ice cream with a dense chocolate cake, coconut tapioca pudding, a banana pancake with caramelized bananas and coconut ice cream or mushi Japanese ice cream (they looked kind of like little colorful pork buns ... without the pork, full of flavorful ice cream)... so we ordered ALL of them! My favorites were the red bean creme brulee and the banana pancake with coconut ice cream, followed by the mushi ice cream. My girlfriend loved the green tea ice cream. I could live without it.

Wednesday - Tortola, BVI

Once again, we had a room service breakfast on the deck served by our wonderful butler, Ravi. Did I mention that we loved him?

Our plan for the day was a visit to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. We took a cab to the ferry terminal, but it is a short walk if you aren’t in a hurry. We ended up using Smith’s ferry, because the times worked a little better for us. We were able to take an 8:50am ferry over and a 2:15 ferry back. Once there we took a "taxi" to the Baths and paid our $3 per person to enter. We explored the Baths and went past where most people stop to enjoy themselves, exploring and enjoying the views and a few areas we found without other people. We came back to the area where most people snorkel and stayed there until we decided we were hungry and went up to the Top of the Baths for lunch. The conch strips were tender and had good flavor. They also made some yummy fruit based cocktails.

When we got back to Tortola we had just enough time to make a quick stop at Sunny Caribbee Spice Shop (http://www.sunnycaribbee.com, 119 Main Street, Road Town) kind of in between the ferry terminal and the ship. I found a pair of sea glass earrings and a few little spices, and some jerk seasoning. The walk back to the ship took about 10 minutes.

We enjoyed an Italian dinner at Impressions this night. The Maitre d’hotel, Jenenia (I hope I got that correct), came over to our table and we enjoyed speaking with her. She really went the extra mile to ensure our service was excellent. There were so many choices from the menu that looked appealing. I tried the antipasto cart, which of everything there was a bit disappointing, but maybe was very interesting for people who have never experienced true Italian antipasto. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad... just everything else was better. We had ordered two individual pizzas, the men had something with lots of meat and the ladies had Sierra Nevada... artichokes, black olives, arugula, mozzarella and Bresaola (air cured beef)... I can’t remember, maybe it also had some pesto. Anyway, our pizza was fabulous. I would pay the Impressions cover just to have the pizza! We also enjoyed two bottles of Tomassi Amarone wine we had brought on board with us for this dinner. I ordered a pasta course of Fettuccini Alfredo. I was surprised that the pasta itself was wonderful, but it seemed the dish had sat under a warming light with the sauce on it or something like that. It was just so-so. My entre was Veal Marsala, and I had substituted the polenta for the potatoes. It was more than I could eat and was tasty. For desert I made a great choice, the Ricotta Cheesecake!

So far my favorite list includes: hot and sour soup, ribs, Sierra Nevada pizza and the ricotta cheese cake! Oh yeah!

We at so much I couldn’t imagine going to the chocoholic buffet. My friends decided to go and reported a wonderful chocolate cheesecake!

Let’s just say the slots were good to the DH this night.

Thursday - @ Sea

After three port visits back to back we were happy to have a relaxing day at Sea. We decided to have a breakfast in one of the main dining rooms, Venetian. Jenenia, the Maitre d’hotel from Impressions was working at the Venetian this morning. These people work really hard! She remembered us and came to check on us several times.

At 1 pm we all made it to the swing dancing class.

We decided on a light lunch and went to the Blue Lagoon. I had to try the tomato soup and wings after reading all the reviews. We did not have any issues with service and the soup and wings were both good. While at lunch, the Captain announced that due to weather, we would not be stopping at Great Stirrup Cay, but would instead go to Nassau. Our group was happy with this decision, and considering how chilly it was on Nassau Friday morning, I’m guessing this was a good call. I would not have wanted to be at the beach on a chilly morning.

Today was Margarita Madness, so of course, we had to indulge. $4.95 Margaritas at the Salsa bar.

Our dinner this evening was at Cagny’s. It was somewhat disappointing. The service was excellent, our waiter repeatedly checked on us and asked if there was anything he could do to make our dinner more enjoyable. The Maitre d’hotel, Humberto was his name I believe, was also very personable and provided excellent service. Cagny’s is just crowded and somewhat noisy... too many tables jammed into a tiny space, with an open kitchen area. The food was what was most disappointing, at least for me. Had it been exceptional, I’m sure I would not have minded the crowded space. Two of us ordered the surf and turf, which carried an additional fee of $10 to the cover charge, making our dinner $30 per person. The filet was only about an inch thick and the lobster, which was cooked nicely and looked nice, had no flavor. Maybe I am spoiled having an abundance of fresh lobster in Florida, I’m not sure, but it was very disappointing. I have heard others say the filet is wonderful, so maybe you would be better off to order a filet and not the surf and turf. I ordered the lobster bisque and found it to be good. Cagny’s did add an item to the all time favorite dish... the kahluah coffee creme brulee. It was wonderful! Not too sweet at all, just perfect! Our waiter also did an amazing job at preparing the Bananas Foster. It was exceptional.

Now my favorite list includes: hot and sour soup, ribs, Sierra Nevada pizza, ricotta cheese cake and kaluah coffee creme brulee.

We stopped in at the casino, at Rock Night and the ladies decided to walk up and check out the White Hot Party.

Friday - Nassau

We had our room service breakfast inside our cabin. It was a bit chilly and breezy outside on the balcony.

Once we were off the ship we were bombarded with people wanting to give us tours, rent us scooters, braid our hair and give us a horse and buggy ride... We decided to walk around the shops for a little while and then find someone to give us a private tour. We ended up with "Big Bubba," who was very knowledgeable and friendly. (Dave "Bubba" Curry, taxi #985, 242-364-6627, cell 556-9213) We drove around some of the island, visited a Fort and the Queen’s staircase and went to Atlantis for an interesting tour by "Bubba." After our tour we were perfectly happy to come back to our suite, put our feet up, order a little lunch from room service and watch a movie.

Our original dinner reservations were at Le Bistro, but we all enjoyed Bamboo so much that we decided to cancel Le Bistro and return to Bamboo for a casual, yummy dinner. We had enough time before dinner to have a cocktail and enjoy a little pre-dinner music and dancing at Dazzle’s. We were not disappointed in our second dinner at Bamboo.

After dinner we all headed back to the casino to try our luck with the slots and we watched some Karaoke.

Dining

Did I say I love good food? I might be considered picky because I like good food, but I am not a food snob... love to go under the bridge to Paradise Island in the Bahamas and eat as the locals do at one of those shacks, it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, just good. I also eat many different things... raw oysters, escargot, foie gras, but you can keep plain ole’ liver and other organ meats, the really weird stuff like fresh still beating frog heart, oh and parsnips... other than that, I’ll probably try it. (The one thing I do know how to say in Vietnamese is "No dog meat.")

After reading and rereading the boards I was still a bit confused about reservations. I was relieved to know I could rely on our concierge, Ryan, to make all of our dinner reservations for us. That wouldn’t be worth the extra money for a suite, but it sure was nice.

Before we left we had decided to try all the specialty restaurants we could, and do the "optional formal night" in one of the Main dining rooms. Because the DH’s weren’t into sushi, we knew we would not do a "sushi only" meal. We ended up not trying Le Bistro, so I can’t comment on that from personal experience.

Venitian - seats 472 persons, Deck 6, no cover charge

We had one dinner and one breakfast here.

We sat by the back windows for our dinner which was nice. I think it might be nicer at lunch or breakfast, when it is daylight. I ordered a scallop appetizer, and the beef wellington and lobster for my main course. The scallop appetizer was not bad, but honestly I’ve never seen scallops so small in my whole life. I do not believe they were as large as an eraser tip on one of those fat pencils some children use when they are learning to write. The beef wellington was decent, the meat was tender. Unfortunately the lobster tails were highly over cooked. We did not have desert because we were in a hurry to see a show. The service was good. We had let our waiter know about our plans to go to the show and he made sure we were out in time.

Our breakfast was fine, the service was a bit disorganized. The maitre d’hotel from Impressions was working in Venitian this morning and she went out of her way to make sure we were taken care of.

Aqua - seats 344persons, Deck 6, no cover

This is the smaller of the two main dining rooms. We did not eat here

Cagney’s - Deck 13, seats 132 persons, $20 pp cover charge for dinner. Serves breakfast and lunch for suite holders.

We ate breakfast at Cagny’s twice. The service was very good. I particularly enjoyed the French Toast made with Challah (egg) bread and the Crab Cake Benedict and Eggs Benedict. We were in the room adjacent to the Star Bar, which has many widows and is full of natural light.

We ate lunch here after embarkation. The service was little bit disorganized this afternoon, but the food was good.

We ate one dinner here, and other than the deserts and the service, it was a bit disappointing. The lobster bisque was good. I ordered a filet medium and lobster tail for dinner. I was surprised to see the filet as it was only about an inch thick. It was certainly acceptable, but nothing I could cut with a fork. The lobster tail was appropriately cooked, but completely flavorless. I ate about 1/4 of each and gave the rest to my dinner companions. The deserts were another story. I thought our waiter did a fabulous job of preparing the bananas foster and the kaluah coffee creme brulee was one of my all time favorites on this ship. Our waiter did an excellent job and the maitre d’hotel was very attentive.

LeBistro - Deck 6, seats 90 persons, French, cover $15pp

We did not dine at this restaurant.

Salsa - deck 8, Tex Mex Tapas, seats 112 persons, cover $10pp

We started off dinner on a great note, good margaritas! We also enjoyed the chips and salsa. For dinner I shared the il popo, which was beef, chicken, pineapple, red pepper and onion cooked on a strange contraption, almost like kabobs, and served with tortillas, cheese, salsa, guacamole and beans. The two of us weren’t able to eat all of it. The men had a burrito and the lobster tacos. I understand they were both good, maybe the tacos being better than the average burrito.

Impressions of Italy - Deck 6, seats 198 persons, Italian, $10pp

I was surprised to find one of my favorites in this restaurants, the pizza. It was so good our butler brought one to us the following evening, along with my favorite desert from Impressions, the ricotta cheesecake. I particularly liked the Sierra Nevada pizza which had artichoke hearts, black olives, mozzarella, mushrooms, pesto, bresaola and arugula.

I had Fettuccine Alfredo for my pasta course. The pasta itself was excellent, but the sauce was a bit disappointing. It also seemed as if the pasta has sat with the sauce on it longer than it should have, and was not immediately served.

My main course was Veal Marsala and I had the polenta substituted for the potatoes. The veal was very good as was the polenta. I tried the lobster ravioli someone else ordered and was disappointed in it. It certainly was not what I was expecting as one of their featured dishes.

Another of my ship board favorites was the Torta di Ricotta, a baked ricotta cheesecake with pine nut Florentine (much like pine nut brittle).

The maitre d’hotel, Jenenia, did an excellent job and was very personable.

 

Bamboo - A Taste of Asian - Deck 7, seats 112 persons, $15pp

Bamboo was a pleasant surprise, so much so this was the only restaurant we had dinner at two different nights. In addition to Bamboo, there is also the sushi bar and teppanyaki room which we did not try. Sushi was available as either an appetizer or entree at Bamboo.

All four of us agreed that the spare ribs appetizer was outstanding! The first dinner I was the only one to order them. I shared them with our group and our waiter was kind enough to bring me a second order, which I also shared. For our second dinner, everyone ordered their own appetizer of ribs! I also particularly enjoyed the hot and sour soup. My friends enjoyed the egg drop soup, which was a bit unusual, almost like a corn chowder. I would rate the crab wantons average and the spring roll good.

Garden Cafe (Buffet) - Deck 12

We ate one lunch here and the first night when everyone was not feeling well I got a few things to bring back to the cabin. Both times I had a little pasta with sauce from the pasta station. They seemed to have a good selection of items and what I ate was good.

Blue Lagoon - Deck 7, just off the Atrium

While I’ve read a lot of complaints about service, the one meal we had there had decent service. The tomato soup and the wings were good as I had read.

Bimini Bar & Grill - pool side, Deck 14

We never ate here

 

Wine

Did I mention I like good, red wine? I typically bring several bottles on a cruise and I typically drink wine with every dinner while cruising. When I bring wine it assures me I will have something I really like a couple nights and it also saves money. When you look at paying a corkage fee on a lower priced wine, it doesn’t usually make sense... unless of course, it is something you just have to have and they don’t offer it on the ship. With higher end wines, it is typically cheaper to pay the corkage fee, although I’ve seen some reasonably priced higher end wines on ships. However, I’ve found that sometimes the lines don’t seem to store their high end wines appropriately and have paid a pretty penny for something not as good as it should be. You also typically have no idea what vintage you are ordering... if that is important to you in making your wine selection. NCL has a $15 a bottle corkage fee.

I found the wine list on board to be reasonable and while I’ve seen what I consider to be better selections, I’ve seen worse. Here are just a couple of the selections I noticed:

Stag’s Leap Viogner $50

Caymus Conendrum $43 ($9.50/glass)

Rubicon $120

Caymus $80

Franciscon Magnificant $72

Jordan $68

Neibaum Coppola Claret $34 (in FL I can purchase for $16 in the store)

Columbia Crest Grand Estate $25

On the higher end stuff I always find it interesting that there is typically no vintage provided.

We also brought a few small bottles of water and those tiny, half cans of soda and had no issue. I had already left the house and didn’t know we would be staying in a suite where they provide the water and soda for you. Many people have said there is no reason to bring bottled water. I just like the convenience of my little bottles. I keep one by the sink, one by the bed and throw one in my bag when I go off the ship.

We did enjoy cocktails more than once! I don’t drink beer, so I can’t really comment on the selection.

Summary

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this cruise. I’m sure being in an AA Suite didn’t hurt and Ravi, our butler was just wonderful... whatever we wanted, he took care of it. Our concierge Ryan was right there to help with dinner, shows, and debarkation. Our cabin steward, Garfield, was quiet but very kind and attentive. We never saw him in our suite, but he managed to keep it clean and fresh.

I was surprised by the ship. It was immaculate and I did not notice her age. There were so many things on the ship I never even got to see. The options for places to go and things to see seemed endless. While I was a bit disappointed in a few things in the restaurants, I am impressed that there were so many items I found really outstanding.

This was a wonderful cruise! And we met wonderful people from the CC Board.

 

[cpcanuck]

Thank you for your well-written and thorough review! It sounds like you had a great time on a great ship! I so look forward to being on the Dawn in about 33 days...but whose counting right? :)

 

cpcanuck

 

edit: I forgot to ask...do you have copies of the recent Freestyle Dailies for the Dawn? Any chance you are able to scan them and post here? Thanks!

[preschool teacher]

another thanks from me....i have a few new ideas on what to do and where to eat.....i go on 3/7.........

[coka]

Thank you very much for writing, especially about the dining experiences. I will be on her in April and I am already hungry for some of things you wrote about! Did you get to the pool areas during the day? What did you think of the stadium-type pool area? I remember seeing it on a 2 day cruise-to-nowhere and wondered how it was when passengers were using it.

 

coka

[Salsera718]

Hi there...I too love thhe Dawn and have sailed her in every type of cabin except the OS and te GV,,,I've been on Deck 4 0 LOVED 4001 and all in between to an AB PH ...I too LOVE RAVI...he is awesome!!!

 

COKA...I am thinking of going on the GEM NYE 2010? I started a thread but no posters but me....wanna go?

 

Enjoy the Dawn in April..I will be on her for 3 nites 4/30 - 5/1 - 5/2...I was going to stay for the 7 niter that follows but I am going on the Spiirit from Boston on 5/29 instead for 7 nites...

 

Keep in touch...nice review by the poster...DAWN... GEM...SPIRIT...decisions...decisions...

[coka]

Salsera, email me at quest4coka@aol

I have yours at work.

I head out next Friday for Southbeach and the Pearl...woohoo!

 

coka

[NJLVW]

What a wonderful review. Makes me wish it were time for me to go. We will be cruising on the Dawn in just a few weeks. I can't wait. Thank you for sharing.

[kewbrook]

Adoptatty, thanks for your great review. Gosh, I guess you are a foodie! I can't remember everything I ate during that week. Did you take notes or write it down in a journal each night??:confused:

 

You have brought back so many good memories from that week. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting you and the rest of your group. Tell, Kitty I said hi.

 

Coka, the week of our cruise was quite cool and there were very few people sitting near the pool during sea days. Even on shore days the only warmish day was our day in Samana and, like Adoptatty, we were at Playa Rincon. One word of caution that I would add is that if you book with Casa Dorado you need to be aware that they use small boats to take you to the beach. It can be exhilirating in rough seas but if you are the person sitting in front it can be brutal on the back and other bones.

 

Our room was one of the inside sideways rooms. Room 10151. Adoptatty graciously showed many of us her suite after the meet and greet. It was a great room, I showed them our IS room for a comparison. :eek: Really no comparison other than our steward kept our room nice and clean also.

 

Thanks again Adoptatty.

[Sailaway Girl]

Excellent review!!! I too enjoyed the "suite life" the week before you. We didn't have Ravi who I heard from Candace the Lattitudes hostess was the best but had Richie. As we have had a suite on NCL before, we knew our butler Richie needed work. We used him once or twice for breakfast and once for late lunch but really enjoyed Cagneys for breakfast and some lunches. Like you , we did not really enjoy it as much for dinner.

We also enjoyed those treats each night and the cappuchino machine in the cabin. For Valentines day my husband got me 2 chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva at $8.00 a piece. To think I could have had them every day on board for free!!!

We really enjoyed the ocean view from our bathtub and the TV over the tub and that great shower with all of the jets hitting us at once. Having that suite made us spend more time in the cabin using all the great comforts it came with.

Ryan took good care of us getting us off the ship and making our dining reservations. Tipped him way more than our butler for the great service he provided.

 

Problem with the "suite life" - we now have to make our own coffee each morning, make our own beds and re-use our towels. This was our 5th time onthe Dawn an we are already booked on the Dawn for October to Bermuda.

Thanks for bringing us back to spoiled life if just for a few minutes.

[AdoptAtty]

kewbrook, you are making me miss our CC group... we had such a good group. Thanks for organizing us. I enjoyed meeting everyone. Don't get me wrong, I really LOVED the Suite, but Kew I could deal with your inside cabin. I think it would be a different cruise experience, but it wasn't a bad cabin. (I hope that doesn't come across sounding snotty.)

 

This is funny, but I don't think we saw the pool! Maybe we did that first day, I guess I mostly remember the stadium seating viewed from Cagny's. We never went to a pool or a hot tub. I think that is because our cabin was so wonderful.

 

Ryan, our concierge was great, but Ravi... oh my, I just love him. I don't meant this inappropriately, but he even smelled good!

[kewbrook]

Aodptatty I could never think you were coming across as snotty! Our room was perfectly fine. We go the IS cabin and cruise frequently. That said I could be perfectly fine with your suite :D..

[Ericktina]

We love the Asian restaurant too--we think people avoid it thinking it is a "Chinese" restaurant --is is nothing like that. We can never understand all the fuss about Cagney's !! Terrific for breakfast--otherwise nothing special at ALL--and sometimes actually REALLY awful--both service and food very hit or miss--lacking in the ambience, service and quality of Le Bistro. We know Cagney's is the most popular restaurant on NCL ships--to us it can not compare to Le Bistro--and the Bimini is our favorite hangout--you missed our two favorites!! But Ravi--dear Ravi--is the BEST--how wonderful that you met him. Wishing you many more wonderful cruises--a nice review--made me homesick!!

[LRY229]

We were also on this cruise with AdoptAtty & Kewbrook (we were the family with the wedding). It was so nice meeting everyone - we were even in the customs line with Kewbrook & her hubby. And saw Andi & Larry several times - I think Danielle & Brian spent the day with them at Virgin Gorda.

 

We had a penthouse suite on deck 11 - Ritchie was our butler. Eric was our room steward - we enjoyed chatting with both of them. We used Ritchie alot. Always had coffee in the am and he even brought us a big order of burgers & BLTs (yum) when we were watching the superbowl. no matter when you called he was always there. We only had Ryan make resv for us once or twice. The night of the wedding, he had made our reservation for Teppanyaki and they brought Danielle & Brian and cake and sang "Let me call you sweetheart" - that was very nice of Ryan to set that up.

 

I have to agree the food was hit or miss - the buffet seemed to have the same thing everyday at breakfast & lunch. Breakfast I can understand, but we usually just ate the pasta for lunch. We ate in Salsas, Bamboo, Cagneys ,Teppenyaki (sp?) and sushi and once in Aqua. Danielle & Brian ate at the italian restaurant and liked it. I hate to say, but Salsa was my favorite. I'm sorry, I wasn't impressed with Aqua at all. We did enjoy a few breakfasts in Cagneys - I think Brian & Danielle ate there every morning.

 

This was our first cruise with NCL but I'm sure it won't be our last.

[LRY229]

This is funny, but I don't think we saw the pool! Maybe we did that first day, I guess I mostly remember the stadium seating viewed from Cagny's. We never went to a pool or a hot tub. I think that is because our cabin was so wonderful.

 

I have to agree with this - we only walked by it. We decided that when we have a nicer room & balcony we spend alot more time in the room. I normally book an inside so that I can cruise more often and hardly spend any time in the room. My last two cruises have been suites and we've not ever wanted to leave the room.

[RILIPAUL]

Loved reading your review. Felt like I was experiencing the suite life with you. Will take your food reviews under careful consideration for our Dawn trip to Bermuda this June in a humble balcony cabin. Thanks for the wine advise too......I am taking notes there was so much great information.

[AdoptAtty]

Ericktina, thanks for sharing your food thoughts... will try LeBistro when I do the Alaskan cruise in May! They also have Soho, which was not on the Dawn and I'm not sure if their Italian is the same. Guess I will find out. Nice to hear you loved Ravi as well! I had not read about him, only one of the other Butlers, before we cruised. I was not at all disappointed.

 

Iry229, it sure was fun, wasn't it? Enjoyed meeting all of you.

[NYHartChapp]

Great review...thanks. Ditto on the request for dailies.

[AdoptAtty]

I actually have the dailies, and NO idea how to scan and post them here! Probably something my daughters could do. I can try to answer specific questions.

[morman11]

How did you get in touch with Catherine we are leaving on Saturday this is our first NCL cruise

[noreddye]

We were in the OS on our Dec 08 cruise. Ravi was so great, he always had a smile on his face and he was just a pleasure to be around. We did have a different concierge and room stewards.

 

The OS is so amazing. When we walked into the cabin we were amazed...it is such a beautiful and large room. I am glad you had a wonderful time on your cruise and that you were spoiled by the "suite" life.

[Lydia B.]

Wow what a nice review...this really took you some time and we all sure appreciate it.

I keep thinking I am going to put up a poll as to how many folks actually make it to Stirrup Cay...we have missed it twice, hope to be able to go this time...but it sure seems like the ships have to bypass it a lot due to weather.

Quick question...did you tender at any ports? Also at the Baths did you have any problems getting a seat at the restaurant, Top of The Baths? I tried making reservations via the net, but never got a reply. Thanks again, leaving in about 7 weeks, and can't wait...I am bookmarking your review so that I can remember some of the yummy things to order. Lydia of Ohio

[angeljt]

Excellent review of your cruise and the suite life! Thank you... Glad you enjoyed your time on the Dawn.

[BusterAugusta]

We love the Asian restaurant too--we think people avoid it thinking it is a "Chinese" restaurant --is is nothing like that. We can never understand all the fuss about Cagney's !! Terrific for breakfast--otherwise nothing special at ALL--and sometimes actually REALLY awful--both service and food very hit or miss--lacking in the ambience, service and quality of Le Bistro. We know Cagney's is the most popular restaurant on NCL ships--to us it can not compare to Le Bistro--and the Bimini is our favorite hangout--you missed our two favorites!! But Ravi--dear Ravi--is the BEST--how wonderful that you met him. Wishing you many more wonderful cruises--a nice review--made me homesick!!

 

We were on the Dawn with Kewbrook and AddoptAddy the first week of Feb., and enjoyed the ship very much. We mostly ate dinners at the main dining rooms and thought the food was between "very good" and "fabulous"! We also spent the extra money to go to Cagney's hoping for a great steak, quiet atmosphere and fabulous service. We were so disappointed! The steak they served every day at the Venetian was better than the ones we had at Cagneys. And the noise!! We could hardly hear each other talking! The lobster tail that my friend ordered was barely cooked and had no taste at all. Even the bananas foster we had for dessert didn't compare to desserts at the regular dining rooms. Don't waste your money going to Cagneys - it sounds like we should have tried one of the other specialty restaurants, but we were so turned off by Cagneys that we weren't sure we wanted to.

[smokie36]

we are staying in this room in oct. any photos or special advice about the room. thanks

[angeljt]

we are staying in this room in oct. any photos or special advice about the room. thanks

I have pics of 9506 on the Dawn, which is one deck below and the mirror image. There are also pics of 10004 in the Gem album.

You'll have to poke around since I have a lot of Dawn pics. 9506 would be in the 2003 and 2005 folder for the Dawn.

Have a great time. You're going to love the suite!