Impressions of Norwegian Dawn

IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

We apologize to all in advance that these notes are simply
that-notes-but we have no time to smooth them out into a proper text
or formal review format due to the pressures of work and currently
complicated family matters that we must cope with. They still convey
our impressions, despite the lack of prosaic flow!

SAILING PARTICULARS:
Names: Margaret Caldwell-Ott (Peg) and Derek Ott
Booking Number: 2543808
Travel Agent: Lori Cunningham, Skyscraper Tours
Cruise Number: 1420031228
Sailing Date: December 28, 2003
Disembarkation Date: January 4, 2004
Cabin Number 8560

BASIS FOR COMPARISON: (Previous Voyages 1993-Date)
Celebrity Cruises: 12
Premier Cruises: 6
Holland America: 1
Regal Cruises: 1
Peg has an additional 15 voyages made with her parents between 1958
and 1978, one of which was on NCL's S/S Sunward in August 1972.

THE WEATHER: A+
Could not have been better! Calm seas and beautiful sunshine! Most
unusual for the North Atlantic at this time of year, which Captain
Niklas Peterstam, Master, pointed out to us on more than one occasion!
Yes, Sir, we certainly do appreciate how very lucky we were with the
weather on this particular voyage!!

THE SHIP: A+
Simply gorgeous! She is too new (slightly over one year old) to have a
personality all her own overall, but each room on board certainly does
have character, and we came away from the voyage with a lot of warmth
toward this vessel. Maintenance is strong, although not as visible as
on other ships we have sailed. Artwork is everywhere on board, most of
it labeled, but not all of it, especially that in the bars.

THE CABIN: A
Easy to spot on the pictures and postcards-we were the first cabin
forward of the lifeboats on the port side. Identical in size and
layout to many that we have had before, especially on the similarly
sized Celebrity vessels-Millennium and Summit. We liked the darker
wood paneling of this cabin better! Nice "sea-life" pictures on the
walls that we wish we could have taken home!
Yes, there was a small refrigerator, but no mini-bar. Curious, since
the fridge is obviously set up to be a mini-bar!
Storage space was ample, but we were missing a closet and a set of
drawers in comparison to what we are used to. Still, we managed to
store everything to keep the space relatively neat and tidy. Extra
shelf space on either side of the bed and above the little desk were
most helpful! Wall hooks adjacent to the bathroom only (2) and inside
the bathroom door (4) only.
Hair Dryer was in the cabin on the vanity instead of in the bathroom.
But, it was more powerful than what we have had before and it worked
very well-Peg did not have to use her hair dryer brought from home at
all.
Cabin insulation was excellent-but of course we had lifeboats on one
side and people (2 young girls and their mother) on the other. We
could not hear them, and our music did not disturb them.
Air controls included settings for both A/C and heat. We usually left
the balcony door open and enjoyed the fresh air!
We took advantage of the little wheel outside of the cabin door that
indicates to the Steward when the room needs to be made up, turned
down or is ready for us to occupy. Nice touch! There is a little mail
slot behind the wheel, which frequently had an envelope/invitation for
us!

CABIN BALCONY: A+
Same size as what we have had before, but the furniture was more
substantial with aluminum supports rather than just plastic. Small
table and two chairs-no lounger. Plenty of space and protected from
the wind to dry our snorkeling gear, especially the wet suits (Yes,
they do make them in our XXL and XXXL sizes-and we used them for every
swim on this voyage)

CABIN BATHROOM: A+
The bathroom was perfect-shower stall with sliding door on one side,
toilet with sliding door on the other and sink and mirror in the
center. The close-up mirror within the larger mirror was a nice
touch! Plenty of space for toiletries, although limited Kleenex supply
that was never replaced once it ran out. Peg kept a spare roll of TP
next to her side of the bed to soothe her nightly runny nose.

CABIN SERVICE: C
We only met our assistant steward, and he was very friendly and nice.
The actual cabin steward was totally invisible-we never even met him.
Neither of our stewards could ever figure out how to arrange the bed
properly for two people each requiring their own bedding, given
Derek's propensity as a "cover-thief" (comfy comforters with cover
provided for each of us). Peg's extra comforter was invariably left in
a heap on the floor or on the small couch next to the bed each day.
Bedspread was left on the floor of the closet for the entire
voyage-never appeared on the bed beyond the first day. Towel animals
were cute, especially the stingray, which we took a photo of. Pillow
chocolates invariably left next to the bed or handed to us by the
assistant cabin steward-they were never on the pillows. No ashtrays
provided-we had to snitch two from the Spinnaker Lounge on the first
day. Ice bucket was well insulated and refreshed twice each day. We
ate our breakfast in the Lido daily since there are no hot breakfast
items available on the Room Service breakfast menu. Coffee and Juice
tray invariably arrived 30 minutes before the time we had specified,
although they did call us to warn us that the tray was about to be
delivered each morning. Several of the cabin service attendants need
to be told to change their diapers more often-they smelled awful-not a
pleasant odor first thing in the morning!

DINING ARRANGEMENTS: C-
Freestyle Dining certainly has its advantages-eating where ever and
when ever you choose. Additionally, one never felt rushed through a
meal and there were very few (if any) children in the dining rooms
that we frequented (Cagney's-twice, Le Bistro-twice, and Bamboo-three
times). We did not eat in any of the three on board regular/free of
cover charge dining rooms at all. HOWEVER, the problem is that
everyone feels pressured to make a reservation (as did we-so as at
least to know what time dinner would be served), but many did not show
up at their appointed times! Each restaurant Maitre D' had two
colored highlighters to mark their pre-arranged schedules (lines in
the Atrium to make daily dining reservations were often far too long),
yellow for "shows" and orange for "no-shows". We often saw a lot of
orange marker on each page!! NCL should refine their system and charge
the passengers for at least the cover charge at the time of making the
reservation! This should help to avoid the numerous "no-show"
problems! We were lucky-in the two instances where we had 10 pm
dinner reservations (much too late to eat, even for us!), we arrived
at 8 pm and told the Maitre D' that we were seated in the adjacent
bar. In both cases, the Maitre D' was able to get us in by 8:30 pm
due to the "no shows"!

SERVICE/DINING: C-
NCL needs to seriously consider more personnel in this area. There
were no sommaliers at all. In both Le Bistro and Bamboo, we had a
waiter and an assistant waiter who usually functioned interchangeably
to serve us food or wine, and clear away any completed dishes. In
Cagney's, all three jobs were done by just one person, and not very
well at that! On both nights that we ate at Cagney's, the poor server
seemed run off her feet and simply could not handle it!

FOOD: A+ (Bamboo), A- (Le Bistro), B (Cagney's)
As noted above, we ate in the specialty restaurants only, where a
cover charge is involved, but the food is much better, according to
what we had read and what we heard from other passengers. The food
overall was excellent, especially in Bamboo. Le Bistro offers a
delicious menu, but far too much to eat, especially in their
combination platters. Cagney's steaks were superb, but their
accompaniments need some help, especially the hard baked potatoes and
the soggy shrimp cocktails!

FOOD AND SERVICE/24 Hour Service in the Blue Lagoon: B
The Blue Lagoon is the 24 hour "room service" area of the ship. We
ate lunch here three times. The food was strictly short order, but
good, although the service was slow.

FOOD AND SERVICE/Lido: B
Room service on the Norwegian Dawn does not include any hot breakfast
items beyond tea and coffee (which invariably arrived 30 minutes prior
to the time we requested it), so we ate our breakfast in the Lido
every day and also had lunch here twice. The food was mediocre to
good. The fresh salad items were excellent. Service here was
non-existent-no sommaliers, no bar service, no one to help you carry a
tray to your table. There was an area of small tables and chairs
reserved just for the children-very nice touch!!

BAR SERVICE/NON-DINING: C
Here again is where NCL needs some serious improvement. In the vast
majority of cases, one of us had to walk up to the bar to ask for a
drink or a re-fill; bar service was simply non-existent. In most
cases, only one bartender and one server were present in any given
room during any given shift-and that includes the larger bar lounges!
Glasses were not chilled and ashtrays were rarely changed or changed
improperly with ashes flying everywhere before your
non-wiped ashtray was unceremoniously tossed back on to the table. In
one case, Derek got a bottle of beer that was warm and handed to him
across the bar without even so much as a glass-at least the bartender
opened the bottle for him! Two glaring exceptions to this rule where
Christina (from Romania) who looked after us in the Stargazers
Observation Lounge and David (from India) who looked after us in the
King's Pub. Both got to know us very quickly, and must have realized
that we were accustomed to somewhat more professional service.
Neither could change an ashtray properly, but at least they did
approach us for service each time they were on duty and we came into
their lounge! They quickly learned our drink orders and stopped for a
friendly chat whenever they could!
One novel/excellent feature of Bar service was the "Bar-Hoppers"
card. They gave us each a stiff paper card, and each time we bought a
drink in a different bar (6 bars in total) we got the card punched.
On the last day of the voyage, we had complete our "punchies" enough
to earn a free "glass" (actually a little aluminum cordial cup in our
case) inscribed with the NCL logo and served to us with a free liquor
of our choice-we had a sip of Amaretto each from it, and brought it
home as a special souvenir!

DRESS CODE: A-
This was a real surprise to us! Perhaps because this was a New Year's
voyage, but most of the people that we saw not only dressed for
dinner, but dressed nicely too, and many took advantage of the
optional formal nights to dress up, the second night out and on New
Year's Eve! We even saw men dressed in tuxes and ladies in gowns!! We
expected clean t-shirts and jeans!! We left our super-formal wear at
home, but were pleasantly surprised not to be over dressed in fancy
pant suits for Peg and nice dinner jackets with tie for Derek!

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION: A+
This is the fourth time we have spent New Year's at sea, and certainly
the best celebration arrangements we have seen by far! The ship came
to a dead stop several minutes before mid-night, reducing the wind on
the top deck substantially! Captain Niklas Peterstam, Master, came on
the P.A. system and announced our position as 26 degrees, 15.38
minutes North, 78 degrees, 51.98 minutes West. He commented that even
though the ship is only 389 days old, she has already sailed enough
miles to stretch 5.7 times around the equator! Impressive! Just before
he did the 10 second count down to midnight, he congratulated all of
us and especially commended his "fellow crew members" for all of their
hard work, which drew a very loud and hearty cheer! Two of the hot
tubs had been drained and converted into giant champagne tubs, plenty
for all, although you had to buy it by the bottle, not the glass.
Music was provided by the Disco group from the Spinnaker
Lounge-(Ronny, "Candy" and "Cookie"-although undoubtedly not their
real names) a Phillippino trio, but very lively and easy to understand
their lyrics. Crew, Staff, Officers and Passengers all had a
wonderful time! No buffet was set up, nor were there any special
2003/2004 ice sculptures, but it was a joyful celebration for all,
complete with an extensive conga-line!
New Year's Football Games were played live on the large screen TV
in the King's Pub and could also be watched on the in-cabin TV
service. Fish and Chips being available in the Pub each evening made
for a very nice appetizer!

SHIP'S OFFICERS: A+
In general, the Officers were not as visible as on other voyages, but
very friendly when we did encounter them. Captain Peterstam, Master,
was absolutely exceptional! He very kindly arranged for us to be
treated like VIPs even though we had done little to deserve it! We
met him and the other officers at the invitation-only VIP party (free
cocktails and munchies), heard from him every day over the loud system
("Noon Report From the Bridge"), and he made himself available on the
second night out/optional formal night to any passenger(s) who wanted
to have a photograph taken with him. When we followed him down from
the VIP party to get our picture taken with him, the conversation
quickly turned to our home on Manhattan. Turns out that he lives
about 5 blocks from us! Peg jokingly mentioned that perhaps he had a
son who needed a good private school to attend; his jaw dropped about
3 feet and he said "yes!!". His son is currently in Nursery/Pre-K at
a local school just across the street from us, and he and his wife are
about to begin searching for a private school for him for the
2005-2006 school year, although they had absolutely no idea where to
start searching! Peg wrote out detailed step by step instructions for
them and has already passed on their name to the Admissions office at
the school where she teaches! We shall look forward to welcoming the
Peterstams for a tour and an interview during the next school year!
The Hotel Director, Tony Becker, and Concierge, Amanda Brown,
also deserve particular praise! Both were exceptionally friendly
whenever we saw them, especially Amanda, who we saw at various points
around the ship virtually every day. Every night at 5:30 or 6 pm, we
received a delicious appetizer treat from Mr. Becker, and every night
at about 9 pm we received a delectable dessert treat from Amanda. How
kind-and simply fabulous treatment!! Bar Manager Alex also became a
good friend, and treated us to the occasional freebee!

SHIP'S STAFF:
CRUISE DIRECTOR: C-
Kierien was slimey as most CDs are, but not as bad as some
we have seen. He was friendly to chat with on a personal
level, but spent far too much of his time making unnecessary
announcements-running down the ship's activities three times a day on
the PA sytem. Too many announcements. Why can't they just assume
that passengers can at least read the Daily?

ASSISTANT CRUISE DIRECTOR: C
Julie was our "host" for our life boat drill and did a
superb job.
Beyond that, she was in charge of Bingo and appeared to have that as
her sole responsibility. Too many announcements.

ART AUCTION: F
Too many announcements and no dedicated space in which to hold the
auction. Pieces of art for auction scattered all over the
Dazzles Lounge and were never tidied up.

PHOTO SERVICE: A
Very friendly with a wide variety of photo opportunities and little
pressure to buy.

GIFT SHOP: D
Very limited selections of anything one might want to buy beyond the
Duty Free Liquor. Ship's souvenirs were especially poor-only 1 T-shirt
with an image of the ship on it. Other souvenirs were tacky or
over-priced.

GUEST RELATIONS DESK: A+
Excellent, helpful, courteous and went above and beyond the call to
help us out with a search for a 2004 calendar to help us decide the
date for which to book our next voyage on the Norwegian Dawn. Yes, we
booked the December 19, 2004 sailing (the Christmas Cruise-a first for
us!!) for next year, taking advantage of the on-board booking
discounts and sailing credit for our next trip!

SHORE EXCURSIONS:
The problems we experienced in this area were, admittedly, partially
our own fault, but not entirely.
(1) Port Canaveral: B-
We did the Sea World excursion since there was no local snorkeling to
do, even that which we tried to arrange on our own through local tour
companies in advance of sailing. The excursion was FAR too long (9
hours-exhausting)-their fault-and Sea World was grossly over-crowded
at this time of year-our fault for not realizing this would be the
case! The most enjoyable part was dining in the shark tank-amazing to
be surrounded by such dangerous animals and yet enjoy such terrific
food and remarkably good service! Food and drinks were over-priced,
but it was worth it for the experience. If anyone else decides to do
this, be sure to call Sea World in advance and make reservations (like
we did); the lines to get in to eat were horrendous! We also enjoyed
the Manatee display-very well done! All of the shows were horribly
crowded with long lines to even try to get in to see them. We saw
various live versions of "Shamu", but only through small holes in a
fence surrounding the show arena!
(2) Miami: F
This was a disaster! We had originally booked to do the "Captain's
Choice" snorkeling, but it was eliminated from the excursions list
several weeks before we got on board the ship. The Shore Excursions
desk talked us in to doing the Fossilized Reef and Kayak adventure,
specifically stating that we did not have to kayak unless we wanted
to. Neither of us is nearly in any sort of physical condition to do
any kayaking! At the onset, the bus driver got lost three times
trying to find the Park on Key Biscayne, so we were an hour late
arriving for the excursion. The Park staff enthusiastically welcomed
us and told us we would have the full time for the excursion and still
make it back to the ship in time for sailing. We signed the various
release forms, then listened carefully to their schpeel about the sea
conditions. They did mention that the waters were full of Portugese
Man of War jellyfish, but insisted that "they would not be a problem".
We also learned that we had to kayak in order to get to the snorkeling
site! Our hearts sank, but since this was our first opportunity to
swim and do underwater photography on the trip, we decided to
persevere. Once on the beach, the Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
were everywhere in the water-even in the shallows! Kayaking was
impossible for both of us, especially Peg who was in tears from the
shear pain in her lower back. We were towed back into the beach,
where Derek was stung by a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish getting out
of the kayak. That did it for us!! We changed back into dry clothes
and paid for a taxi to take us back to the ship. More tears from Peg
as we looked across the dock area to see the Celebrity Logo clearly
displayed on the RCI/Celebrity headquarters building adjacent to where
the Norwegian Dawn was tied in. NOT a happy day! We later learned
that many of the other passengers on this excursion had been stung,
especially one little boy who had a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
wrapped around his arm, stinging him so badly that he had to be
evacuated from the snorkeling site. NCL should have cancelled this
excursion before we even got on the bus!
(3) Stirrup Cay-NCL's private Island: A+
This was New Year's Day and a fabulous day it was!! The facilities on
Stirrup Cay rival that of Tabyanna on Roatan Island (Premier), and are
definitely preferable to Celebrity's Catalina stop. The beachfront is
more extensive, with bar structures as well as buildings to
accommodate the infamous BBQ and picnic areas. The tender landing
area is in the center of the beachfront, but there are much wider
places on either side for swimming and snorkeling (on one side) and
boating and rafting (on the other side). We took an early morning
tender and were delighted to see Captain Peterstam on board the
tender, checking out its engines and passenger safety features as we
made our short journey to the island. We initially snorkeled on the
boating/rafting side-not technically allowed, but no one stopped us as
long as we did not transgress into the tender lane. Visibility was
excellent, and we got a lot of great underwater photography shots-tons
of yellow tail snapper and other fish. After a rest break, we went
over to the swimming snorkeling zone, and saw even more fish (terrific
photo ops-these fish are obviously used to be near people), as well as
three stingrays and a large barracuda. We were glad of having our wet
suits with us-the water was very chilly! Lunch and more relaxation
followed-relaxing and interesting at the same time! They hosed down
our feet to remove sand as we got on board the tender to return to the
ship. Security did not fuss about having to hand-inspect our
underwater cameras once back on board either.
(4) Nassau-Atholl Island/Thunderball Reef/ Rose Island: A+
We had done this excursion before off the Galaxy in July 2003, so we
knew to expect some fabulous snorkeling. We were not disappointed!
On the map, the site is known as Rose Island, but it goes by the
popular name of Atholl island in the shore excursion booklets, both
for NCL and Celebrity. Many know it better as Thunderball Reef where
they shot a number of scenes for the James Bond movies. The site is
extensive and fabulous, with incredible varieties of just about every
reef fish imaginable, with them in abundance and super-sized too!
These fish are provisioned by the many tourists who come to snorkel
here, so they are dramatically large and not adverse to being
photographed at all. Huge angel fish (especially Grays and French),
some of the largest Parrotfish we have ever seen, which included
Midnight Blue Parrotfish on this particular trip. Plenty of other
varieties too! Once again, the water was chilly at this time of year,
but we were well equipped with our wet suits. The water is too deep in
places for photography, but the fish tend to swim up toward the
surface to take advantage of food from the tourists. Impressively, we
were accompanied on the entire excursion by Naomi and Wendy from the
Norwegian Dawn's "Dive-In" staff, who not only narrated the tour, but
also gave lessons to the uninitiated, and swam with us, bringing up
interesting marine life for all to see and photograph. A fabulous
excursion! We extend our personal congratulations to Wendy who is
about to be married to the on-board booking agent, their wedding
engagement being announced on board the ship on New Year's eve, just a
few minutes after midnight!

EMBARKATION: B
A longer and more tedious process with so much security at the Pier
(New York Passenger Ship Terminal), coupled with so many passengers
getting on to the ship in a relatively short period of time. It took
us exactly 50 minutes from our arrival at the Pier to the time we
arrived at our cabin. No juices or snacks on the pier; no escort
service to help us find our cabin (we found it quite easily anyway!!)
or carry our hand luggage. One interesting touch--they provide Purell
hand wash/no rinse or towel necessary solution upon arrival at the
ship, even after shore excursions, and wisely insist that every
passenger cleans his/her hands. Purell solution stations were also
available upon entry into any and all Dining facilities!

DISEMBARKATION: B
We were very amused by the instructions on the evaluation form that if
you "enjoyed" any given feature of the cruise, you were clearly
instructed to mark it "excellent" on your evaluation form! Actual
departure from the ship was easier than we had anticipated. We were
allowed to remain in our cabin until the stewards were ready to clean
it, then went up to the Lido for a leisurely breakfast. Our "Lime
Green" luggage tags were roughly in the middle of the cue of tags to
leave the ship, and we were off with ease at 11:45 am, following an
early arrival (8 am) at the Pier. The Taxi cue was horrendous-it
always is in NYC-but we were home by 1 pm.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: B+
We enjoyed this voyage to an even greater extent by the extra touches
we enjoyed as "VIPs" on board. This was also a very special trip give
the rest we needed from an extraordinarily hard time at work both this
summer and fall given the changes in our work loads and the various
family matters which we are coping with. Would we do it again? In a
heartbeat!!

Peg and Derek Caldwell-Ott



"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea now and then."

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 03:44:58 GMT, PegNDerek
wrote:

THE SHIP: A+

Simply gorgeous! She is too new (slightly over one year old) to have a
personality all her own overall..

Why do you say this? No scars of past cruises?





The Not So Fine Art Of Google
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E29A321E6

Well, Derek, those are some pretty fabulous "simply notes." I can't imagine
what your "prosaic flow" is like!

Fun read. Sounds like y'all had a fun holiday.

Diana Ball
Near Houston, TX
http://www.dianaball.net

NCL Sea – W Carib - Holidays 99
RCI Explorer – E Carib - Holidays 00
RCI Rhapsody – W Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back)
NCL Star – Hawaii - June 02
Dawn Princess – Alaska - July 02
Star Princess – Mex Riviera - Holidays 02
RCI Serenade – Transatlantic – Maiden 08/04/03
RCI Mariner – E Carib - Holidays 03


PegNDerek wrote:
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

We apologize to all in advance that these notes are simply
that-notes-but we have no time to smooth them out into a proper text
or formal review format due to the pressures of work and currently
complicated family matters that we must cope with. They still convey
our impressions, despite the lack of prosaic flow!

SAILING PARTICULARS:
Names: Margaret Caldwell-Ott (Peg) and Derek Ott
Booking Number: 2543808
Travel Agent: Lori Cunningham, Skyscraper Tours
Cruise Number: 1420031228
Sailing Date: December 28, 2003
Disembarkation Date: January 4, 2004
Cabin Number 8560

BASIS FOR COMPARISON: (Previous Voyages 1993-Date)
Celebrity Cruises: 12
Premier Cruises: 6
Holland America: 1
Regal Cruises: 1
Peg has an additional 15 voyages made with her parents between 1958
and 1978, one of which was on NCL's S/S Sunward in August 1972.

THE WEATHER: A+
Could not have been better! Calm seas and beautiful sunshine! Most
unusual for the North Atlantic at this time of year, which Captain
Niklas Peterstam, Master, pointed out to us on more than one occasion!
Yes, Sir, we certainly do appreciate how very lucky we were with the
weather on this particular voyage!!

THE SHIP: A+
Simply gorgeous! She is too new (slightly over one year old) to have a
personality all her own overall, but each room on board certainly does
have character, and we came away from the voyage with a lot of warmth
toward this vessel. Maintenance is strong, although not as visible as
on other ships we have sailed. Artwork is everywhere on board, most of
it labeled, but not all of it, especially that in the bars.

THE CABIN: A
Easy to spot on the pictures and postcards-we were the first cabin
forward of the lifeboats on the port side. Identical in size and
layout to many that we have had before, especially on the similarly
sized Celebrity vessels-Millennium and Summit. We liked the darker
wood paneling of this cabin better! Nice "sea-life" pictures on the
walls that we wish we could have taken home!
Yes, there was a small refrigerator, but no mini-bar. Curious, since
the fridge is obviously set up to be a mini-bar!
Storage space was ample, but we were missing a closet and a set of
drawers in comparison to what we are used to. Still, we managed to
store everything to keep the space relatively neat and tidy. Extra
shelf space on either side of the bed and above the little desk were
most helpful! Wall hooks adjacent to the bathroom only (2) and inside
the bathroom door (4) only.
Hair Dryer was in the cabin on the vanity instead of in the bathroom.
But, it was more powerful than what we have had before and it worked
very well-Peg did not have to use her hair dryer brought from home at
all.
Cabin insulation was excellent-but of course we had lifeboats on one
side and people (2 young girls and their mother) on the other. We
could not hear them, and our music did not disturb them.
Air controls included settings for both A/C and heat. We usually left
the balcony door open and enjoyed the fresh air!
We took advantage of the little wheel outside of the cabin door that
indicates to the Steward when the room needs to be made up, turned
down or is ready for us to occupy. Nice touch! There is a little mail
slot behind the wheel, which frequently had an envelope/invitation for
us!

CABIN BALCONY: A+
Same size as what we have had before, but the furniture was more
substantial with aluminum supports rather than just plastic. Small
table and two chairs-no lounger. Plenty of space and protected from
the wind to dry our snorkeling gear, especially the wet suits (Yes,
they do make them in our XXL and XXXL sizes-and we used them for every
swim on this voyage)

CABIN BATHROOM: A+
The bathroom was perfect-shower stall with sliding door on one side,
toilet with sliding door on the other and sink and mirror in the
center. The close-up mirror within the larger mirror was a nice
touch! Plenty of space for toiletries, although limited Kleenex supply
that was never replaced once it ran out. Peg kept a spare roll of TP
next to her side of the bed to soothe her nightly runny nose.

CABIN SERVICE: C
We only met our assistant steward, and he was very friendly and nice.
The actual cabin steward was totally invisible-we never even met him.
Neither of our stewards could ever figure out how to arrange the bed
properly for two people each requiring their own bedding, given
Derek's propensity as a "cover-thief" (comfy comforters with cover
provided for each of us). Peg's extra comforter was invariably left in
a heap on the floor or on the small couch next to the bed each day.
Bedspread was left on the floor of the closet for the entire
voyage-never appeared on the bed beyond the first day. Towel animals
were cute, especially the stingray, which we took a photo of. Pillow
chocolates invariably left next to the bed or handed to us by the
assistant cabin steward-they were never on the pillows. No ashtrays
provided-we had to snitch two from the Spinnaker Lounge on the first
day. Ice bucket was well insulated and refreshed twice each day. We
ate our breakfast in the Lido daily since there are no hot breakfast
items available on the Room Service breakfast menu. Coffee and Juice
tray invariably arrived 30 minutes before the time we had specified,
although they did call us to warn us that the tray was about to be
delivered each morning. Several of the cabin service attendants need
to be told to change their diapers more often-they smelled awful-not a
pleasant odor first thing in the morning!

DINING ARRANGEMENTS: C-
Freestyle Dining certainly has its advantages-eating where ever and
when ever you choose. Additionally, one never felt rushed through a
meal and there were very few (if any) children in the dining rooms
that we frequented (Cagney's-twice, Le Bistro-twice, and Bamboo-three
times). We did not eat in any of the three on board regular/free of
cover charge dining rooms at all. HOWEVER, the problem is that
everyone feels pressured to make a reservation (as did we-so as at
least to know what time dinner would be served), but many did not show
up at their appointed times! Each restaurant Maitre D' had two
colored highlighters to mark their pre-arranged schedules (lines in
the Atrium to make daily dining reservations were often far too long),
yellow for "shows" and orange for "no-shows". We often saw a lot of
orange marker on each page!! NCL should refine their system and charge
the passengers for at least the cover charge at the time of making the
reservation! This should help to avoid the numerous "no-show"
problems! We were lucky-in the two instances where we had 10 pm
dinner reservations (much too late to eat, even for us!), we arrived
at 8 pm and told the Maitre D' that we were seated in the adjacent
bar. In both cases, the Maitre D' was able to get us in by 8:30 pm
due to the "no shows"!

SERVICE/DINING: C-
NCL needs to seriously consider more personnel in this area. There
were no sommaliers at all. In both Le Bistro and Bamboo, we had a
waiter and an assistant waiter who usually functioned interchangeably
to serve us food or wine, and clear away any completed dishes. In
Cagney's, all three jobs were done by just one person, and not very
well at that! On both nights that we ate at Cagney's, the poor server
seemed run off her feet and simply could not handle it!

FOOD: A+ (Bamboo), A- (Le Bistro), B (Cagney's)
As noted above, we ate in the specialty restaurants only, where a
cover charge is involved, but the food is much better, according to
what we had read and what we heard from other passengers. The food
overall was excellent, especially in Bamboo. Le Bistro offers a
delicious menu, but far too much to eat, especially in their
combination platters. Cagney's steaks were superb, but their
accompaniments need some help, especially the hard baked potatoes and
the soggy shrimp cocktails!

FOOD AND SERVICE/24 Hour Service in the Blue Lagoon: B
The Blue Lagoon is the 24 hour "room service" area of the ship. We
ate lunch here three times. The food was strictly short order, but
good, although the service was slow.

FOOD AND SERVICE/Lido: B
Room service on the Norwegian Dawn does not include any hot breakfast
items beyond tea and coffee (which invariably arrived 30 minutes prior
to the time we requested it), so we ate our breakfast in the Lido
every day and also had lunch here twice. The food was mediocre to
good. The fresh salad items were excellent. Service here was
non-existent-no sommaliers, no bar service, no one to help you carry a
tray to your table. There was an area of small tables and chairs
reserved just for the children-very nice touch!!

BAR SERVICE/NON-DINING: C
Here again is where NCL needs some serious improvement. In the vast
majority of cases, one of us had to walk up to the bar to ask for a
drink or a re-fill; bar service was simply non-existent. In most
cases, only one bartender and one server were present in any given
room during any given shift-and that includes the larger bar lounges!
Glasses were not chilled and ashtrays were rarely changed or changed
improperly with ashes flying everywhere before your
non-wiped ashtray was unceremoniously tossed back on to the table. In
one case, Derek got a bottle of beer that was warm and handed to him
across the bar without even so much as a glass-at least the bartender
opened the bottle for him! Two glaring exceptions to this rule where
Christina (from Romania) who looked after us in the Stargazers
Observation Lounge and David (from India) who looked after us in the
King's Pub. Both got to know us very quickly, and must have realized
that we were accustomed to somewhat more professional service.
Neither could change an ashtray properly, but at least they did
approach us for service each time they were on duty and we came into
their lounge! They quickly learned our drink orders and stopped for a
friendly chat whenever they could!
One novel/excellent feature of Bar service was the "Bar-Hoppers"
card. They gave us each a stiff paper card, and each time we bought a
drink in a different bar (6 bars in total) we got the card punched.
On the last day of the voyage, we had complete our "punchies" enough
to earn a free "glass" (actually a little aluminum cordial cup in our
case) inscribed with the NCL logo and served to us with a free liquor
of our choice-we had a sip of Amaretto each from it, and brought it
home as a special souvenir!

DRESS CODE: A-
This was a real surprise to us! Perhaps because this was a New Year's
voyage, but most of the people that we saw not only dressed for
dinner, but dressed nicely too, and many took advantage of the
optional formal nights to dress up, the second night out and on New
Year's Eve! We even saw men dressed in tuxes and ladies in gowns!! We
expected clean t-shirts and jeans!! We left our super-formal wear at
home, but were pleasantly surprised not to be over dressed in fancy
pant suits for Peg and nice dinner jackets with tie for Derek!

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION: A+
This is the fourth time we have spent New Year's at sea, and certainly
the best celebration arrangements we have seen by far! The ship came
to a dead stop several minutes before mid-night, reducing the wind on
the top deck substantially! Captain Niklas Peterstam, Master, came on
the P.A. system and announced our position as 26 degrees, 15.38
minutes North, 78 degrees, 51.98 minutes West. He commented that even
though the ship is only 389 days old, she has already sailed enough
miles to stretch 5.7 times around the equator! Impressive! Just before
he did the 10 second count down to midnight, he congratulated all of
us and especially commended his "fellow crew members" for all of their
hard work, which drew a very loud and hearty cheer! Two of the hot
tubs had been drained and converted into giant champagne tubs, plenty
for all, although you had to buy it by the bottle, not the glass.
Music was provided by the Disco group from the Spinnaker
Lounge-(Ronny, "Candy" and "Cookie"-although undoubtedly not their
real names) a Phillippino trio, but very lively and easy to understand
their lyrics. Crew, Staff, Officers and Passengers all had a
wonderful time! No buffet was set up, nor were there any special
2003/2004 ice sculptures, but it was a joyful celebration for all,
complete with an extensive conga-line!
New Year's Football Games were played live on the large screen TV
in the King's Pub and could also be watched on the in-cabin TV
service. Fish and Chips being available in the Pub each evening made
for a very nice appetizer!

SHIP'S OFFICERS: A+
In general, the Officers were not as visible as on other voyages, but
very friendly when we did encounter them. Captain Peterstam, Master,
was absolutely exceptional! He very kindly arranged for us to be
treated like VIPs even though we had done little to deserve it! We
met him and the other officers at the invitation-only VIP party (free
cocktails and munchies), heard from him every day over the loud system
("Noon Report From the Bridge"), and he made himself available on the
second night out/optional formal night to any passenger(s) who wanted
to have a photograph taken with him. When we followed him down from
the VIP party to get our picture taken with him, the conversation
quickly turned to our home on Manhattan. Turns out that he lives
about 5 blocks from us! Peg jokingly mentioned that perhaps he had a
son who needed a good private school to attend; his jaw dropped about
3 feet and he said "yes!!". His son is currently in Nursery/Pre-K at
a local school just across the street from us, and he and his wife are
about to begin searching for a private school for him for the
2005-2006 school year, although they had absolutely no idea where to
start searching! Peg wrote out detailed step by step instructions for
them and has already passed on their name to the Admissions office at
the school where she teaches! We shall look forward to welcoming the
Peterstams for a tour and an interview during the next school year!
The Hotel Director, Tony Becker, and Concierge, Amanda Brown,
also deserve particular praise! Both were exceptionally friendly
whenever we saw them, especially Amanda, who we saw at various points
around the ship virtually every day. Every night at 5:30 or 6 pm, we
received a delicious appetizer treat from Mr. Becker, and every night
at about 9 pm we received a delectable dessert treat from Amanda. How
kind-and simply fabulous treatment!! Bar Manager Alex also became a
good friend, and treated us to the occasional freebee!

SHIP'S STAFF:
CRUISE DIRECTOR: C-
Kierien was slimey as most CDs are, but not as bad as some
we have seen. He was friendly to chat with on a personal
level, but spent far too much of his time making unnecessary
announcements-running down the ship's activities three times a day on
the PA sytem. Too many announcements. Why can't they just assume
that passengers can at least read the Daily?

ASSISTANT CRUISE DIRECTOR: C
Julie was our "host" for our life boat drill and did a
superb job.
Beyond that, she was in charge of Bingo and appeared to have that as
her sole responsibility. Too many announcements.

ART AUCTION: F
Too many announcements and no dedicated space in which to hold the
auction. Pieces of art for auction scattered all over the
Dazzles Lounge and were never tidied up.

PHOTO SERVICE: A
Very friendly with a wide variety of photo opportunities and little
pressure to buy.

GIFT SHOP: D
Very limited selections of anything one might want to buy beyond the
Duty Free Liquor. Ship's souvenirs were especially poor-only 1 T-shirt
with an image of the ship on it. Other souvenirs were tacky or
over-priced.

GUEST RELATIONS DESK: A+
Excellent, helpful, courteous and went above and beyond the call to
help us out with a search for a 2004 calendar to help us decide the
date for which to book our next voyage on the Norwegian Dawn. Yes, we
booked the December 19, 2004 sailing (the Christmas Cruise-a first for
us!!) for next year, taking advantage of the on-board booking
discounts and sailing credit for our next trip!

SHORE EXCURSIONS:
The problems we experienced in this area were, admittedly, partially
our own fault, but not entirely.
(1) Port Canaveral: B-
We did the Sea World excursion since there was no local snorkeling to
do, even that which we tried to arrange on our own through local tour
companies in advance of sailing. The excursion was FAR too long (9
hours-exhausting)-their fault-and Sea World was grossly over-crowded
at this time of year-our fault for not realizing this would be the
case! The most enjoyable part was dining in the shark tank-amazing to
be surrounded by such dangerous animals and yet enjoy such terrific
food and remarkably good service! Food and drinks were over-priced,
but it was worth it for the experience. If anyone else decides to do
this, be sure to call Sea World in advance and make reservations (like
we did); the lines to get in to eat were horrendous! We also enjoyed
the Manatee display-very well done! All of the shows were horribly
crowded with long lines to even try to get in to see them. We saw
various live versions of "Shamu", but only through small holes in a
fence surrounding the show arena!
(2) Miami: F
This was a disaster! We had originally booked to do the "Captain's
Choice" snorkeling, but it was eliminated from the excursions list
several weeks before we got on board the ship. The Shore Excursions
desk talked us in to doing the Fossilized Reef and Kayak adventure,
specifically stating that we did not have to kayak unless we wanted
to. Neither of us is nearly in any sort of physical condition to do
any kayaking! At the onset, the bus driver got lost three times
trying to find the Park on Key Biscayne, so we were an hour late
arriving for the excursion. The Park staff enthusiastically welcomed
us and told us we would have the full time for the excursion and still
make it back to the ship in time for sailing. We signed the various
release forms, then listened carefully to their schpeel about the sea
conditions. They did mention that the waters were full of Portugese
Man of War jellyfish, but insisted that "they would not be a problem".
We also learned that we had to kayak in order to get to the snorkeling
site! Our hearts sank, but since this was our first opportunity to
swim and do underwater photography on the trip, we decided to
persevere. Once on the beach, the Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
were everywhere in the water-even in the shallows! Kayaking was
impossible for both of us, especially Peg who was in tears from the
shear pain in her lower back. We were towed back into the beach,
where Derek was stung by a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish getting out
of the kayak. That did it for us!! We changed back into dry clothes
and paid for a taxi to take us back to the ship. More tears from Peg
as we looked across the dock area to see the Celebrity Logo clearly
displayed on the RCI/Celebrity headquarters building adjacent to where
the Norwegian Dawn was tied in. NOT a happy day! We later learned
that many of the other passengers on this excursion had been stung,
especially one little boy who had a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
wrapped around his arm, stinging him so badly that he had to be
evacuated from the snorkeling site. NCL should have cancelled this
excursion before we even got on the bus!
(3) Stirrup Cay-NCL's private Island: A+
This was New Year's Day and a fabulous day it was!! The facilities on
Stirrup Cay rival that of Tabyanna on Roatan Island (Premier), and are
definitely preferable to Celebrity's Catalina stop. The beachfront is
more extensive, with bar structures as well as buildings to
accommodate the infamous BBQ and picnic areas. The tender landing
area is in the center of the beachfront, but there are much wider
places on either side for swimming and snorkeling (on one side) and
boating and rafting (on the other side). We took an early morning
tender and were delighted to see Captain Peterstam on board the
tender, checking out its engines and passenger safety features as we
made our short journey to the island. We initially snorkeled on the
boating/rafting side-not technically allowed, but no one stopped us as
long as we did not transgress into the tender lane. Visibility was
excellent, and we got a lot of great underwater photography shots-tons
of yellow tail snapper and other fish. After a rest break, we went
over to the swimming snorkeling zone, and saw even more fish (terrific
photo ops-these fish are obviously used to be near people), as well as
three stingrays and a large barracuda. We were glad of having our wet
suits with us-the water was very chilly! Lunch and more relaxation
followed-relaxing and interesting at the same time! They hosed down
our feet to remove sand as we got on board the tender to return to the
ship. Security did not fuss about having to hand-inspect our
underwater cameras once back on board either.
(4) Nassau-Atholl Island/Thunderball Reef/ Rose Island: A+
We had done this excursion before off the Galaxy in July 2003, so we
knew to expect some fabulous snorkeling. We were not disappointed!
On the map, the site is known as Rose Island, but it goes by the
popular name of Atholl island in the shore excursion booklets, both
for NCL and Celebrity. Many know it better as Thunderball Reef where
they shot a number of scenes for the James Bond movies. The site is
extensive and fabulous, with incredible varieties of just about every
reef fish imaginable, with them in abundance and super-sized too!
These fish are provisioned by the many tourists who come to snorkel
here, so they are dramatically large and not adverse to being
photographed at all. Huge angel fish (especially Grays and French),
some of the largest Parrotfish we have ever seen, which included
Midnight Blue Parrotfish on this particular trip. Plenty of other
varieties too! Once again, the water was chilly at this time of year,
but we were well equipped with our wet suits. The water is too deep in
places for photography, but the fish tend to swim up toward the
surface to take advantage of food from the tourists. Impressively, we
were accompanied on the entire excursion by Naomi and Wendy from the
Norwegian Dawn's "Dive-In" staff, who not only narrated the tour, but
also gave lessons to the uninitiated, and swam with us, bringing up
interesting marine life for all to see and photograph. A fabulous
excursion! We extend our personal congratulations to Wendy who is
about to be married to the on-board booking agent, their wedding
engagement being announced on board the ship on New Year's eve, just a
few minutes after midnight!

EMBARKATION: B
A longer and more tedious process with so much security at the Pier
(New York Passenger Ship Terminal), coupled with so many passengers
getting on to the ship in a relatively short period of time. It took
us exactly 50 minutes from our arrival at the Pier to the time we
arrived at our cabin. No juices or snacks on the pier; no escort
service to help us find our cabin (we found it quite easily anyway!!)
or carry our hand luggage. One interesting touch--they provide Purell
hand wash/no rinse or towel necessary solution upon arrival at the
ship, even after shore excursions, and wisely insist that every
passenger cleans his/her hands. Purell solution stations were also
available upon entry into any and all Dining facilities!

DISEMBARKATION: B
We were very amused by the instructions on the evaluation form that if
you "enjoyed" any given feature of the cruise, you were clearly
instructed to mark it "excellent" on your evaluation form! Actual
departure from the ship was easier than we had anticipated. We were
allowed to remain in our cabin until the stewards were ready to clean
it, then went up to the Lido for a leisurely breakfast. Our "Lime
Green" luggage tags were roughly in the middle of the cue of tags to
leave the ship, and we were off with ease at 11:45 am, following an
early arrival (8 am) at the Pier. The Taxi cue was horrendous-it
always is in NYC-but we were home by 1 pm.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: B+
We enjoyed this voyage to an even greater extent by the extra touches
we enjoyed as "VIPs" on board. This was also a very special trip give
the rest we needed from an extraordinarily hard time at work both this
summer and fall given the changes in our work loads and the various
family matters which we are coping with. Would we do it again? In a
heartbeat!!

Peg and Derek Caldwell-Ott



"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea now and then."

Thorough, well-detailed summary. Claudine and I are glad to hear you had
a relaxing, enjoyable vacation and New Year's celebration.

Ben

PegNDerek wrote:
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: B+
We enjoyed this voyage to an even greater extent by the extra touches
we enjoyed as "VIPs" on board. This was also a very special trip give
the rest we needed from an extraordinarily hard time at work both this
summer and fall given the changes in our work loads and the various
family matters which we are coping with. Would we do it again? In a
heartbeat!!

Peg and Derek Caldwell-Ott



"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea now and then."

Well written and fair "notes" of the Dawn. We noticed some of the same
things. Thanks!
MrTractor
"PegNDerek" wrote in message
...
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

We apologize to all in advance that these notes are simply
that-notes-but we have no time to smooth them out into a proper text
or formal review format due to the pressures of work and currently
complicated family matters that we must cope with. They still convey
our impressions, despite the lack of prosaic flow!

SAILING PARTICULARS:
Names: Margaret Caldwell-Ott (Peg) and Derek Ott
Booking Number: 2543808
Travel Agent: Lori Cunningham, Skyscraper Tours
Cruise Number: 1420031228
Sailing Date: December 28, 2003
Disembarkation Date: January 4, 2004
Cabin Number 8560

BASIS FOR COMPARISON: (Previous Voyages 1993-Date)
Celebrity Cruises: 12
Premier Cruises: 6
Holland America: 1
Regal Cruises: 1
Peg has an additional 15 voyages made with her parents between 1958
and 1978, one of which was on NCL's S/S Sunward in August 1972.

THE WEATHER: A+
Could not have been better! Calm seas and beautiful sunshine! Most
unusual for the North Atlantic at this time of year, which Captain
Niklas Peterstam, Master, pointed out to us on more than one occasion!
Yes, Sir, we certainly do appreciate how very lucky we were with the
weather on this particular voyage!!

THE SHIP: A+
Simply gorgeous! She is too new (slightly over one year old) to have a
personality all her own overall, but each room on board certainly does
have character, and we came away from the voyage with a lot of warmth
toward this vessel. Maintenance is strong, although not as visible as
on other ships we have sailed. Artwork is everywhere on board, most of
it labeled, but not all of it, especially that in the bars.

THE CABIN: A
Easy to spot on the pictures and postcards-we were the first cabin
forward of the lifeboats on the port side. Identical in size and
layout to many that we have had before, especially on the similarly
sized Celebrity vessels-Millennium and Summit. We liked the darker
wood paneling of this cabin better! Nice "sea-life" pictures on the
walls that we wish we could have taken home!
Yes, there was a small refrigerator, but no mini-bar. Curious, since
the fridge is obviously set up to be a mini-bar!
Storage space was ample, but we were missing a closet and a set of
drawers in comparison to what we are used to. Still, we managed to
store everything to keep the space relatively neat and tidy. Extra
shelf space on either side of the bed and above the little desk were
most helpful! Wall hooks adjacent to the bathroom only (2) and inside
the bathroom door (4) only.
Hair Dryer was in the cabin on the vanity instead of in the bathroom.
But, it was more powerful than what we have had before and it worked
very well-Peg did not have to use her hair dryer brought from home at
all.
Cabin insulation was excellent-but of course we had lifeboats on one
side and people (2 young girls and their mother) on the other. We
could not hear them, and our music did not disturb them.
Air controls included settings for both A/C and heat. We usually left
the balcony door open and enjoyed the fresh air!
We took advantage of the little wheel outside of the cabin door that
indicates to the Steward when the room needs to be made up, turned
down or is ready for us to occupy. Nice touch! There is a little mail
slot behind the wheel, which frequently had an envelope/invitation for
us!

CABIN BALCONY: A+
Same size as what we have had before, but the furniture was more
substantial with aluminum supports rather than just plastic. Small
table and two chairs-no lounger. Plenty of space and protected from
the wind to dry our snorkeling gear, especially the wet suits (Yes,
they do make them in our XXL and XXXL sizes-and we used them for every
swim on this voyage)

CABIN BATHROOM: A+
The bathroom was perfect-shower stall with sliding door on one side,
toilet with sliding door on the other and sink and mirror in the
center. The close-up mirror within the larger mirror was a nice
touch! Plenty of space for toiletries, although limited Kleenex supply
that was never replaced once it ran out. Peg kept a spare roll of TP
next to her side of the bed to soothe her nightly runny nose.

CABIN SERVICE: C
We only met our assistant steward, and he was very friendly and nice.
The actual cabin steward was totally invisible-we never even met him.
Neither of our stewards could ever figure out how to arrange the bed
properly for two people each requiring their own bedding, given
Derek's propensity as a "cover-thief" (comfy comforters with cover
provided for each of us). Peg's extra comforter was invariably left in
a heap on the floor or on the small couch next to the bed each day.
Bedspread was left on the floor of the closet for the entire
voyage-never appeared on the bed beyond the first day. Towel animals
were cute, especially the stingray, which we took a photo of. Pillow
chocolates invariably left next to the bed or handed to us by the
assistant cabin steward-they were never on the pillows. No ashtrays
provided-we had to snitch two from the Spinnaker Lounge on the first
day. Ice bucket was well insulated and refreshed twice each day. We
ate our breakfast in the Lido daily since there are no hot breakfast
items available on the Room Service breakfast menu. Coffee and Juice
tray invariably arrived 30 minutes before the time we had specified,
although they did call us to warn us that the tray was about to be
delivered each morning. Several of the cabin service attendants need
to be told to change their diapers more often-they smelled awful-not a
pleasant odor first thing in the morning!

DINING ARRANGEMENTS: C-
Freestyle Dining certainly has its advantages-eating where ever and
when ever you choose. Additionally, one never felt rushed through a
meal and there were very few (if any) children in the dining rooms
that we frequented (Cagney's-twice, Le Bistro-twice, and Bamboo-three
times). We did not eat in any of the three on board regular/free of
cover charge dining rooms at all. HOWEVER, the problem is that
everyone feels pressured to make a reservation (as did we-so as at
least to know what time dinner would be served), but many did not show
up at their appointed times! Each restaurant Maitre D' had two
colored highlighters to mark their pre-arranged schedules (lines in
the Atrium to make daily dining reservations were often far too long),
yellow for "shows" and orange for "no-shows". We often saw a lot of
orange marker on each page!! NCL should refine their system and charge
the passengers for at least the cover charge at the time of making the
reservation! This should help to avoid the numerous "no-show"
problems! We were lucky-in the two instances where we had 10 pm
dinner reservations (much too late to eat, even for us!), we arrived
at 8 pm and told the Maitre D' that we were seated in the adjacent
bar. In both cases, the Maitre D' was able to get us in by 8:30 pm
due to the "no shows"!

SERVICE/DINING: C-
NCL needs to seriously consider more personnel in this area. There
were no sommaliers at all. In both Le Bistro and Bamboo, we had a
waiter and an assistant waiter who usually functioned interchangeably
to serve us food or wine, and clear away any completed dishes. In
Cagney's, all three jobs were done by just one person, and not very
well at that! On both nights that we ate at Cagney's, the poor server
seemed run off her feet and simply could not handle it!

FOOD: A+ (Bamboo), A- (Le Bistro), B (Cagney's)
As noted above, we ate in the specialty restaurants only, where a
cover charge is involved, but the food is much better, according to
what we had read and what we heard from other passengers. The food
overall was excellent, especially in Bamboo. Le Bistro offers a
delicious menu, but far too much to eat, especially in their
combination platters. Cagney's steaks were superb, but their
accompaniments need some help, especially the hard baked potatoes and
the soggy shrimp cocktails!

FOOD AND SERVICE/24 Hour Service in the Blue Lagoon: B
The Blue Lagoon is the 24 hour "room service" area of the ship. We
ate lunch here three times. The food was strictly short order, but
good, although the service was slow.

FOOD AND SERVICE/Lido: B
Room service on the Norwegian Dawn does not include any hot breakfast
items beyond tea and coffee (which invariably arrived 30 minutes prior
to the time we requested it), so we ate our breakfast in the Lido
every day and also had lunch here twice. The food was mediocre to
good. The fresh salad items were excellent. Service here was
non-existent-no sommaliers, no bar service, no one to help you carry a
tray to your table. There was an area of small tables and chairs
reserved just for the children-very nice touch!!

BAR SERVICE/NON-DINING: C
Here again is where NCL needs some serious improvement. In the vast
majority of cases, one of us had to walk up to the bar to ask for a
drink or a re-fill; bar service was simply non-existent. In most
cases, only one bartender and one server were present in any given
room during any given shift-and that includes the larger bar lounges!
Glasses were not chilled and ashtrays were rarely changed or changed
improperly with ashes flying everywhere before your
non-wiped ashtray was unceremoniously tossed back on to the table. In
one case, Derek got a bottle of beer that was warm and handed to him
across the bar without even so much as a glass-at least the bartender
opened the bottle for him! Two glaring exceptions to this rule where
Christina (from Romania) who looked after us in the Stargazers
Observation Lounge and David (from India) who looked after us in the
King's Pub. Both got to know us very quickly, and must have realized
that we were accustomed to somewhat more professional service.
Neither could change an ashtray properly, but at least they did
approach us for service each time they were on duty and we came into
their lounge! They quickly learned our drink orders and stopped for a
friendly chat whenever they could!
One novel/excellent feature of Bar service was the "Bar-Hoppers"
card. They gave us each a stiff paper card, and each time we bought a
drink in a different bar (6 bars in total) we got the card punched.
On the last day of the voyage, we had complete our "punchies" enough
to earn a free "glass" (actually a little aluminum cordial cup in our
case) inscribed with the NCL logo and served to us with a free liquor
of our choice-we had a sip of Amaretto each from it, and brought it
home as a special souvenir!

DRESS CODE: A-
This was a real surprise to us! Perhaps because this was a New Year's
voyage, but most of the people that we saw not only dressed for
dinner, but dressed nicely too, and many took advantage of the
optional formal nights to dress up, the second night out and on New
Year's Eve! We even saw men dressed in tuxes and ladies in gowns!! We
expected clean t-shirts and jeans!! We left our super-formal wear at
home, but were pleasantly surprised not to be over dressed in fancy
pant suits for Peg and nice dinner jackets with tie for Derek!

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION: A+
This is the fourth time we have spent New Year's at sea, and certainly
the best celebration arrangements we have seen by far! The ship came
to a dead stop several minutes before mid-night, reducing the wind on
the top deck substantially! Captain Niklas Peterstam, Master, came on
the P.A. system and announced our position as 26 degrees, 15.38
minutes North, 78 degrees, 51.98 minutes West. He commented that even
though the ship is only 389 days old, she has already sailed enough
miles to stretch 5.7 times around the equator! Impressive! Just before
he did the 10 second count down to midnight, he congratulated all of
us and especially commended his "fellow crew members" for all of their
hard work, which drew a very loud and hearty cheer! Two of the hot
tubs had been drained and converted into giant champagne tubs, plenty
for all, although you had to buy it by the bottle, not the glass.
Music was provided by the Disco group from the Spinnaker
Lounge-(Ronny, "Candy" and "Cookie"-although undoubtedly not their
real names) a Phillippino trio, but very lively and easy to understand
their lyrics. Crew, Staff, Officers and Passengers all had a
wonderful time! No buffet was set up, nor were there any special
2003/2004 ice sculptures, but it was a joyful celebration for all,
complete with an extensive conga-line!
New Year's Football Games were played live on the large screen TV
in the King's Pub and could also be watched on the in-cabin TV
service. Fish and Chips being available in the Pub each evening made
for a very nice appetizer!

SHIP'S OFFICERS: A+
In general, the Officers were not as visible as on other voyages, but
very friendly when we did encounter them. Captain Peterstam, Master,
was absolutely exceptional! He very kindly arranged for us to be
treated like VIPs even though we had done little to deserve it! We
met him and the other officers at the invitation-only VIP party (free
cocktails and munchies), heard from him every day over the loud system
("Noon Report From the Bridge"), and he made himself available on the
second night out/optional formal night to any passenger(s) who wanted
to have a photograph taken with him. When we followed him down from
the VIP party to get our picture taken with him, the conversation
quickly turned to our home on Manhattan. Turns out that he lives
about 5 blocks from us! Peg jokingly mentioned that perhaps he had a
son who needed a good private school to attend; his jaw dropped about
3 feet and he said "yes!!". His son is currently in Nursery/Pre-K at
a local school just across the street from us, and he and his wife are
about to begin searching for a private school for him for the
2005-2006 school year, although they had absolutely no idea where to
start searching! Peg wrote out detailed step by step instructions for
them and has already passed on their name to the Admissions office at
the school where she teaches! We shall look forward to welcoming the
Peterstams for a tour and an interview during the next school year!
The Hotel Director, Tony Becker, and Concierge, Amanda Brown,
also deserve particular praise! Both were exceptionally friendly
whenever we saw them, especially Amanda, who we saw at various points
around the ship virtually every day. Every night at 5:30 or 6 pm, we
received a delicious appetizer treat from Mr. Becker, and every night
at about 9 pm we received a delectable dessert treat from Amanda. How
kind-and simply fabulous treatment!! Bar Manager Alex also became a
good friend, and treated us to the occasional freebee!

SHIP'S STAFF:
CRUISE DIRECTOR: C-
Kierien was slimey as most CDs are, but not as bad as some
we have seen. He was friendly to chat with on a personal
level, but spent far too much of his time making unnecessary
announcements-running down the ship's activities three times a day on
the PA sytem. Too many announcements. Why can't they just assume
that passengers can at least read the Daily?

ASSISTANT CRUISE DIRECTOR: C
Julie was our "host" for our life boat drill and did a
superb job.
Beyond that, she was in charge of Bingo and appeared to have that as
her sole responsibility. Too many announcements.

ART AUCTION: F
Too many announcements and no dedicated space in which to hold the
auction. Pieces of art for auction scattered all over the
Dazzles Lounge and were never tidied up.

PHOTO SERVICE: A
Very friendly with a wide variety of photo opportunities and little
pressure to buy.

GIFT SHOP: D
Very limited selections of anything one might want to buy beyond the
Duty Free Liquor. Ship's souvenirs were especially poor-only 1 T-shirt
with an image of the ship on it. Other souvenirs were tacky or
over-priced.

GUEST RELATIONS DESK: A+
Excellent, helpful, courteous and went above and beyond the call to
help us out with a search for a 2004 calendar to help us decide the
date for which to book our next voyage on the Norwegian Dawn. Yes, we
booked the December 19, 2004 sailing (the Christmas Cruise-a first for
us!!) for next year, taking advantage of the on-board booking
discounts and sailing credit for our next trip!

SHORE EXCURSIONS:
The problems we experienced in this area were, admittedly, partially
our own fault, but not entirely.
(1) Port Canaveral: B-
We did the Sea World excursion since there was no local snorkeling to
do, even that which we tried to arrange on our own through local tour
companies in advance of sailing. The excursion was FAR too long (9
hours-exhausting)-their fault-and Sea World was grossly over-crowded
at this time of year-our fault for not realizing this would be the
case! The most enjoyable part was dining in the shark tank-amazing to
be surrounded by such dangerous animals and yet enjoy such terrific
food and remarkably good service! Food and drinks were over-priced,
but it was worth it for the experience. If anyone else decides to do
this, be sure to call Sea World in advance and make reservations (like
we did); the lines to get in to eat were horrendous! We also enjoyed
the Manatee display-very well done! All of the shows were horribly
crowded with long lines to even try to get in to see them. We saw
various live versions of "Shamu", but only through small holes in a
fence surrounding the show arena!
(2) Miami: F
This was a disaster! We had originally booked to do the "Captain's
Choice" snorkeling, but it was eliminated from the excursions list
several weeks before we got on board the ship. The Shore Excursions
desk talked us in to doing the Fossilized Reef and Kayak adventure,
specifically stating that we did not have to kayak unless we wanted
to. Neither of us is nearly in any sort of physical condition to do
any kayaking! At the onset, the bus driver got lost three times
trying to find the Park on Key Biscayne, so we were an hour late
arriving for the excursion. The Park staff enthusiastically welcomed
us and told us we would have the full time for the excursion and still
make it back to the ship in time for sailing. We signed the various
release forms, then listened carefully to their schpeel about the sea
conditions. They did mention that the waters were full of Portugese
Man of War jellyfish, but insisted that "they would not be a problem".
We also learned that we had to kayak in order to get to the snorkeling
site! Our hearts sank, but since this was our first opportunity to
swim and do underwater photography on the trip, we decided to
persevere. Once on the beach, the Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
were everywhere in the water-even in the shallows! Kayaking was
impossible for both of us, especially Peg who was in tears from the
shear pain in her lower back. We were towed back into the beach,
where Derek was stung by a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish getting out
of the kayak. That did it for us!! We changed back into dry clothes
and paid for a taxi to take us back to the ship. More tears from Peg
as we looked across the dock area to see the Celebrity Logo clearly
displayed on the RCI/Celebrity headquarters building adjacent to where
the Norwegian Dawn was tied in. NOT a happy day! We later learned
that many of the other passengers on this excursion had been stung,
especially one little boy who had a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish
wrapped around his arm, stinging him so badly that he had to be
evacuated from the snorkeling site. NCL should have cancelled this
excursion before we even got on the bus!
(3) Stirrup Cay-NCL's private Island: A+
This was New Year's Day and a fabulous day it was!! The facilities on
Stirrup Cay rival that of Tabyanna on Roatan Island (Premier), and are
definitely preferable to Celebrity's Catalina stop. The beachfront is
more extensive, with bar structures as well as buildings to
accommodate the infamous BBQ and picnic areas. The tender landing
area is in the center of the beachfront, but there are much wider
places on either side for swimming and snorkeling (on one side) and
boating and rafting (on the other side). We took an early morning
tender and were delighted to see Captain Peterstam on board the
tender, checking out its engines and passenger safety features as we
made our short journey to the island. We initially snorkeled on the
boating/rafting side-not technically allowed, but no one stopped us as
long as we did not transgress into the tender lane. Visibility was
excellent, and we got a lot of great underwater photography shots-tons
of yellow tail snapper and other fish. After a rest break, we went
over to the swimming snorkeling zone, and saw even more fish (terrific
photo ops-these fish are obviously used to be near people), as well as
three stingrays and a large barracuda. We were glad of having our wet
suits with us-the water was very chilly! Lunch and more relaxation
followed-relaxing and interesting at the same time! They hosed down
our feet to remove sand as we got on board the tender to return to the
ship. Security did not fuss about having to hand-inspect our
underwater cameras once back on board either.
(4) Nassau-Atholl Island/Thunderball Reef/ Rose Island: A+
We had done this excursion before off the Galaxy in July 2003, so we
knew to expect some fabulous snorkeling. We were not disappointed!
On the map, the site is known as Rose Island, but it goes by the
popular name of Atholl island in the shore excursion booklets, both
for NCL and Celebrity. Many know it better as Thunderball Reef where
they shot a number of scenes for the James Bond movies. The site is
extensive and fabulous, with incredible varieties of just about every
reef fish imaginable, with them in abundance and super-sized too!
These fish are provisioned by the many tourists who come to snorkel
here, so they are dramatically large and not adverse to being
photographed at all. Huge angel fish (especially Grays and French),
some of the largest Parrotfish we have ever seen, which included
Midnight Blue Parrotfish on this particular trip. Plenty of other
varieties too! Once again, the water was chilly at this time of year,
but we were well equipped with our wet suits. The water is too deep in
places for photography, but the fish tend to swim up toward the
surface to take advantage of food from the tourists. Impressively, we
were accompanied on the entire excursion by Naomi and Wendy from the
Norwegian Dawn's "Dive-In" staff, who not only narrated the tour, but
also gave lessons to the uninitiated, and swam with us, bringing up
interesting marine life for all to see and photograph. A fabulous
excursion! We extend our personal congratulations to Wendy who is
about to be married to the on-board booking agent, their wedding
engagement being announced on board the ship on New Year's eve, just a
few minutes after midnight!

EMBARKATION: B
A longer and more tedious process with so much security at the Pier
(New York Passenger Ship Terminal), coupled with so many passengers
getting on to the ship in a relatively short period of time. It took
us exactly 50 minutes from our arrival at the Pier to the time we
arrived at our cabin. No juices or snacks on the pier; no escort
service to help us find our cabin (we found it quite easily anyway!!)
or carry our hand luggage. One interesting touch--they provide Purell
hand wash/no rinse or towel necessary solution upon arrival at the
ship, even after shore excursions, and wisely insist that every
passenger cleans his/her hands. Purell solution stations were also
available upon entry into any and all Dining facilities!

DISEMBARKATION: B
We were very amused by the instructions on the evaluation form that if
you "enjoyed" any given feature of the cruise, you were clearly
instructed to mark it "excellent" on your evaluation form! Actual
departure from the ship was easier than we had anticipated. We were
allowed to remain in our cabin until the stewards were ready to clean
it, then went up to the Lido for a leisurely breakfast. Our "Lime
Green" luggage tags were roughly in the middle of the cue of tags to
leave the ship, and we were off with ease at 11:45 am, following an
early arrival (8 am) at the Pier. The Taxi cue was horrendous-it
always is in NYC-but we were home by 1 pm.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: B+
We enjoyed this voyage to an even greater extent by the extra touches
we enjoyed as "VIPs" on board. This was also a very special trip give
the rest we needed from an extraordinarily hard time at work both this
summer and fall given the changes in our work loads and the various
family matters which we are coping with. Would we do it again? In a
heartbeat!!

Peg and Derek Caldwell-Ott



"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea now and then."

Peg -- you do pretty darn good notes! I enjoyed reading them!

Jeff

"PegNDerek" wrote...
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

GREAT notes, Peg! Glad to hear you had a good cruise!!!

Linda
-----
CruiseDiva.com
http://cruisediva.com

Peg N Derek,

Thanks for your review. Enjoyed it as always. We'll have to get together and
do City Island again this summer IF and WHEN it ever gets warm in NY again


George in NY & Linda

Peg & Derek
Thank you so much for the review. It came just in time, as we're leaving
on the Dawn tomorrow.

Some of your observations won't pertain to us as we don't plan to eat in
the extra charge dining rooms & we're not drinkers.

Glad you had a great time & that most was very positive. We expect to do
even better, since we'll be on for 10 days & going to some great
islands.

Florence

your "notes" were great and it makes us want to seriously consider this
cruise!

--
Sheree
"Linda Coffman" wrote in message
...
"PegNDerek" wrote...
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN DAWN

GREAT notes, Peg! Glad to hear you had a good cruise!!!

Linda
-----
CruiseDiva.com
http://cruisediva.com