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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Hello everyone
We just returned from the Norwegian Cruise Line Dawn`s 10 day sailing from NYC to the Caribbean 2/5/04 to 2/15/04 This was a last minute cruise, no planning what so ever, so whatever came, came :-) This was the 11th. cruise for my husband and I. Both 50+, well he is anyway :-) We have cruised Carnival. Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and the Scotia Prince. This was our first NCL cruise, our first Freestyle, our first 10 day cruise and our first mini-suite. Lots of first. This cruise was sold out. Passenger mix was roughly 60 or so % seniors (our age and then some) Young marrieds, lots of babies, and few teens. 2000+ passengers, about 50 children. I will share some thoughts and perhaps try to answer some questions posted on this forum. The speedy, for those not interested in reading further: The Good: Food Entertainment Service Dining choices Accommodations Debarkation Spa lap pool Quiet places to read Hot chocolate handed out in the street when embarkation took forever. The Bad: Bad communications/ PA announcements. No signs in stairway, halls, elevators, indicating where to disembark in case you missed the announcement. No biggie here, just call the reception desk, takes one minute. Bad Children in the adult Jacuzzis. Children in the Oasis Pool splashing and running on the outside of the pool where people like to sit and wet their feet. The Oasis Pool is a deep one, hence the kiddies who could not swim just splashed people`s books, and those who could swim, where getting dangerously tossed around like sea foam, banging into the walls of the swimming pool when the sea conditions were rough, really scary, but they loved it, ha, kids. Finally, someone from the bar staff complained to his superior, who immediately ordered them out. It worked for a short time at least. I then noticed they emptied the pool water out of the footsie area and the water just came to the level of the swimming pool :-( I really enjoyed the pool being deep where I could not touch bottom. (Obviously I am a shorty) We have to sacrifice for the safety of the kiddies. The Ugly: Embarkation.......2 1/2 hours in the cold.....OY!!!! But to the credit of NCL, (See above "The Good." The details: First impression of this ship was a Wow! Beautiful ship, clean, lovely colors, tasteful lounges, pretty paintings, nice carpeting, some whimsical but it all works well together. I loved the Andy Warhol paintings. The paintings were used in a unique way, so that wherever you were, you knew if it was mid-ship, forward, or aft by the paintings. The mini-suite This was a lovely cabin, deck 11 #11032. We were under the reading room. What could be quieter? I would really call this a Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Veranda, but for NCL, it is a mini-suite. No doubt it was a lovely large suite. Nice colors, comfortable queen size bed with a Duvet, a full size sleeper sofa separated by drapes if needed, refrigerator, table with 2 chairs, coffee table, large closet with plenty of shelves, two night stands on each side of the bed with no drawers, just 2 open shelves. There was a narrow table by the door with a shelf that came in handy for items needed to be grabbed on your way out. On the outside of the bathroom you have the dresser/vanity with mirror and a blower, a real nice heavy duty one I may add. Instead of a chair to sit, they have a round hassock. When the ocean is rough, you can lose your footing and wind up on the floor if you are not careful, since I am clumsy by nature, I had lots of near misses when I tried to sit down and got tossed a few times, but that`s me, can`t walk and chew gum at the same time, lol. Here you also have 2 drawers, not enough for me, although lots of shelf space in the closet, but I prefer drawer space. Above the small refrigerator was the safe where you use your own combination numbers to open. The balcony was large enough for 2 chairs and a table. The bathroom was great. We had our first bathtub at sea :-O It was great when I came in one day beat and exhausted from a long day at the beach and shopping and took a bubble bath while honey took a nap. Ahh nothing like rolling around a bath tub while rolling around the sea, a sea at sea. It was heaven. Of course, after that, I had no energy left in me and called room service for dinner.....what a marshmallow, ha. The bathroom was a good size with a separated head. Hmm, I would prefer an open head, since it would look roomier without the wall separating, but some newlyweds may frown upon this and disagree. The one sink had a very high faucet, and space on the sides for your toiletries and a shelf at eye level for more junk. They had a nice shell shaped glass dish with body lotion, oatmeal soap, shower cap and shoe polish cloth. The bathtub/shower had a dispenser with liquid soap and shampoo. We fell in love with the shower. Really nice hand held type that can be adjusted from a soft wide spray to a narrow hard one. It also appears to have a thermostat inside to keep the temperature you chose steady. The temperature gauge was right on the faucets. The bathtub had a sliding door, no "Love me Tender" shower curtains.....yay! Dining venues This is the fun part. With freestyle, you eat when you want, and where you want. The Dawn has 10 dining options. I was really curious as to how this worked, so I will try to answer questions I had "before" I cruised on the Dawn. What I always wanted to know about Freestyle but was afraid to ask ;-) Restaurants NO FEE Garden Cafe (lido) Buffet Also Includes: Vegetarian Buffet New York Deli- Sandwiches, salads, soups. Lunch Barbeque on pool deck (weather permitting) Ribs, steaks, Italian sausages, franks, hamburgers, salads and all the trimmings of a BBQ. Children`s Buffet LOL, the cutest thing you ever saw. I was flabbergasted. They have their own section of the buffet with the same tables and chairs of the adults scaled down to size. The buffet line is also scaled down to size, ha! They have all the kiddie favorites available. Pizza, fish sticks, franks, burgers, Mac and cheese, french fries, brownies, etc. Just adorable! Bimini Above the pool deck. Great for quick snacks. Hamburgers, franks, french fries, steak sandwiches and drinks are offered here. (Drinks you pay for of course) Blue Lagoon Snacks, fish n chips, chili, noodle bowls, burgers, crab cakes, sandwiches, salads, cheese fries, etc, all made to order. This is open 24 hours. Main Restaurants Aqua Impressions Venetian Sit down dinners are served here, the Venetian is also open for lunch. It is the largest and nicest, IMHO of the three. Salsa`s- Tex-Mex Trattoria- Italian Although these two are free, you must make reservations in advance. You can do it up to one day in advance. Cover-charge restaurants Le Bistro- French, pay $12.50 p/p Cagney`s Steak House- pay $17.50 p/p (this is only the cover, other items are A La Carte so it comes out to more, did not eat there, so not sure if this is true) Asian Fusion Cuisine Bamboo restaurant pay $10.00 cover charge. Sushi Bar "A La Carte" pricing, also, but special all you can eat $10.00 Teppanyaki Cooking Just For You, A La Carte Pricing. The above cover charge restaurants require reservations. We liked Salsa`s but not love it. The service was great. Simona and staff were wonderful. I liked Bimini, went there once for a burger. My favorite was Blue Lagoon. Good fish n chips and great burgers. You had a long wait, since everything is prepared fresh when you order. La Trattoria was a wonderful experience. The room is lovely and the service is superb. The food was excellent, well at least that day, YMMV The Aqua is a lovely room that reminds one of the sea, of course, hence the name. Nice blues make this a comfy, serene environment. The Impressions was nice, but not as nice as the Venetian, also smaller. Venetian, beautiful, lovely ambiance, nice paintings, lots of light from the outside and great service. The nightly menu was about the same in all the 3 restaurants. We had no complaints about the food. Heck if you didn`t find something to your liking with so many options, I don`t what to tell you. Yes, there was one lady who found everything bad, too salty, not salty enough, too raw, too tough, too sweet, too bland, etc. Bang Zoom, right in the kisser......to the moon Alice. Really though, if you don`t like something go for something else.....gee. Room service Breakfast was Continental. Cereal, coffee, juices, pastries, danishes, toast, jam, muffins. I tried to wiggle myself into omelets one day, but to no avail. I know they have made exeptions in the past, but perhaps they were too busy, the ship was sold out on this cruise. 24 hour room service You could order roast beef, turkey, ham and cheese sandwiches, soup, veggie platters, fruit platters, pizza, burgers, franks, brownies, cookies, milk, juices, coffee and ice tea. You can also order items for a fee, like Caviar, Crudites, etc, if you want to entertain in your suite. They charge per tray. The only entertaining we did in our suite was entertain the cabin stewards with our 2 Beanie Babies. I dressed them for the occation. When it rained, I put shower caps on them. When it got cold, I put hats and scarves on them that I knitted. Budi and Roselle looked forward to seeing my beanie cat and teddy bear every night. They even have their own reading glasses and book for their night time reading pleasure, hahaha. Okay, I know, I`m nuts, what can I say. Have no kids, these are my babies. Roselle would pose them on top of her towel animal creations to amuse us. Quick tips and things to look for to enhance your cruise just a little more. Mid week laundry special. $19.95 for all you can fit in the laundry bag, not bad if you want to take clean clothes home, just roll them tight. Free tote bag from participating Del Sol stores. Take the coupon you receive in your Stateroom and present it at the Del Sol store and you get the bag with Norwegian and Del Sol logo. They magically change colors in the sun light. (Naturally, this is only if your itinerary goes to places where Del Sol is sold) Save the tiny Diamond wannabee they give you and take to any Diamonds International to have appraised. If it turns out to be real, you have a $1,000 diamond :-O Mine was a wannabee Pool deck massages for $1.00 a minute. Worth it. I loved every second. Port day specials at the Mandara Spa. Choose from 3 different treatments for a low price. (foot and ankle massage, head massage, hand, etc.) We both used the Mandara Spa and enjoyed it.This is the most I have ever used a Spa on any ship. I loved it. I did buy the nail polish since I wanted to touch up the pedicure and manicure I had done if I needed it. It was $8.00. In Barbados the same color, different brand was $12.00, yikes! It turned out I didn`t need the touch up, since the polish stayed perfect for the remainder of the cruise, great job. Besides the Pacific Princess, Love Boat, this is my second favorite cruise to date (perhaps renewing our vows on our 30th anniversary has something to do with it VBG) but it is my husband`s number one. In closing, we loved this cruise and freestyle..will do it again in a New York minute. Thanks for reading this far. A very special "Thank You" from my husband and I goes out to my TA Lori Cunningham and Jennifer, who made this cruise possible on such short notice. Hugs Coqui |
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Great review! The DAWN continues to get great reviews, even from
experienced cruisers on other lines. NCL must be doing something right with this ship. Good to hear! Ernie "Coqui" wrote in message ... Hello everyone We just returned from the Norwegian Cruise Line Dawn`s 10 day sailing from NYC to the Caribbean 2/5/04 to 2/15/04 |
#3
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Thanks Coqui. Nice review. Shame the Dawn goes out of NY. No flying for
me. SUNNY........Just thinking of going thru security makes me exhausted S'nd I XXX |
#4
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Thank you so very much for such a great review.
Only 46 days to go!!!! Shaz Can't stand the wait!!!! |
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
"villa deauville" wrote in message ... Thanks Coqui. Nice review. Shame the Dawn goes out of NY. No flying for me. You know... you guys in Florida got about 7000 ships that leave from there year round... and those of us up in NY... we've got 1. And you're saying it's a shame that it goes out of NYC? That's not being very nice. --Tom SUNNY........Just thinking of going thru security makes me exhausted S'nd I XXX |
#6
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Gotta get you on her one of these months...
Ken's got August. We've gotta work on Ben too. --Tom "CupCaked" wrote in message ... Loved reading your review. Thanks for posting it. Looks like the naysayers who wondered if this ship could maintain full occupancy through the cold winter months out of New York is doing just fine. Karen http://www.cupcaked.com (...and leave off the "potatoes" to e-mail) |
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
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#8
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 02:11:35 GMT, "Tom & Linda"
wrote: You know... you guys in Florida got about 7000 ships that leave from there year round... and those of us up in NY... we've got 1. And you're saying it's a shame that it goes out of NYC? That's not being very nice. I didn't like losing the Dawn to anyone but I have to admit that NYC deserves more ships. The Not So Fine Art Of Google - Go To Top Of Thread http://makeashorterlink.com/?E29A321E6 |
#9
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
Aw Tom. I was referring to the fact as long as the Dawn is berthed in NY
I wont have the opportunity to sail on her. SUNNY........agrees with you. We do have a great choice of ships S'nd I XXX |
#10
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BACK from DAWN, NCL 10 day NYC to Caribbean Cruise/Review
She also takes on passengers in Port Canaveral.
--Tom "villa deauville" wrote in message ... Aw Tom. I was referring to the fact as long as the Dawn is berthed in NY I wont have the opportunity to sail on her. SUNNY........agrees with you. We do have a great choice of ships S'nd I XXX |
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