Jump to content

DAWN 3-26 Thoughts, Comments and .... Follies


captNcrunch

Recommended Posts

Day 1 Embarkation, Being a latitudes member I felt that the process went rather smooth and quickly, however the lounge is rather small, the ceiling could have been a tad higher and the heat could have been turned down a few notches.

 

Buffet lunch was fine, great jalapeno corn chowder ( only time I found it all cruise). Cabins promised by 2, and they were ready at 2!. We were in a mini suite, only comment was closet space is very tight next time I need to get the DW to cut down on the shoes! :D Cabin was clean and every thing was in working order!

 

Enjoyed a wonderful 1/2 price dinner at Cagney's .. steak cooked to perfection and quite tasty!

 

Quite an interesting ride that night, noticed a few passengers were a little green around the gills! :rolleyes:

 

Entertainment by Best of Friends was exceptional, expecially if you like to sing along! Sitting at the bar I did note that each drink was made with a generous shot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Entertainment by Best of Friends was exceptional, expecially if you like to sing along! Sitting at the bar I did note that each drink was made with a generous shot!

 

Best of Friends were also cool guys. They would sit and listen to us passengers sing Karaoke sometimes, and they were highly complimentary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We feel this was our best vacation ever despite the noise from the pool equipment room above room 9227 (avoid this room!!) that woke us up several times a night and left me very sleep deprived for the first half of the cruise until we were finally moved. Met some awesome people! Had a blast in the ports. Danced almost everynight.

 

Brief reviews:

Food:

- Best dinner we had: Le Bistro for fillet mignon and best desert was the chocolate fondue in Le Bistro.

- try the cold fruit soups when offered as appetizers - they are just like having a fruit smoothie - delicious!!

- generally a nice selection everywhere. Be sure to check out all sections of the Garden Buffet. You might not realize that one side has a vegetarian section with a nice selection of flavourful dishes. They also have the New york deli section with different items too. Also, in the garden buffet, one section may not have an omelet station, but the next section will.

 

Dancing/Music:

- pretty good mix of music in The Spinnaker - Modal Magic is a great band.

- Jumari and Gabrielle sang in Dazzles several times - very good, excellent singing and great to dance to also. Not sure if they are regular entertainers on the Dawn though.

- They don't always offer what it says in the daily , e.g. one night in Dazzles it was supposed to be Motown at midnight, but got there and they said R+B, at the request of our group they played 3 Motown songs only.

- it really depends on your taste what you will like.

 

Ports:

Our favourite was Roatan. Loved them all though, they really made the cruise as great as it was. Again, it depends on what you are into.

 

Tips:

- We always bring ear plugs, but even these did not help in room 9227, but are good when in normal noise environments and worked well in our second room.

- a night light is helpful in the bathroom if someone in your party tends to wake up in the middle of the night to use the facilities - you can see well enough and don't have to turn on the bright bathroom light. The switch to the bathroom lights is outside of the bathroom, therefore, you can't avoid shining the light in their eyes and possibly waking them up when you turn it on.

- can't buy alcohol-to-go in Cozumel after 3 pm on Sundays. We didn't find this out until 3:30 pm when we were in line at the local grocery store with a basket full of liquid support. :mad:

- cheapest and best quality t- shirts in Cozumel were actually on the tender boat! $5 each. Sign says $5 each, but when you go to buy they say, oh it is $5 for kids shirts and $7 for adults, but if you walk away, then they say OK, $5 for adults. We only got one, wish now we bought more. Probably could get a better deal when you buy more. In some places in Cozumel they advertise 3 for $9, we checked them out, but you get what you pay for - The quality was much lower, but "THATS OK"! Depends on what or who :p you want them for.

- the Murder Mystery dinner was a hoot!! So much fun!!

 

Thats all for now - still feel like I am on the ship and swaying from side to side. I wasn't sick at all on the ship as I took ginger pills regulary, but after 10 hours on land yesterday, I was nauseated and sick as could be last night. Darn house would not stop rocking! :eek: I had to take a ginger pill again!!

 

Cheers and have fun!!

 

Hello to all the cruisin fools!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tell me everything! Quick too, because I'm leaving on the 16th.

 

Just a note about dining attire, all resturants were clearly posted when we boarded, no jeans, shorts, or tank tops, when we left the signs had been modified to include NO TOGAS! :D

toga.jpg.6845013c685ba3dfdf55ba1ce1ac310c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here I am, back at work ... UGH!!!

 

Just wanted to say it was great meeting all of you ... it was the best Meet and Greet group I've met ... and my sister and brother-in-law were impressed by the friendliness and warm welcoming of all the Cruisin' Fools :) ... and they said to say HI to everyone and that it was great meeting you all.

 

It's it so nice now when I go onto these boards I see faces instead of screen names ... it's the best!

 

The Murder Mystery dinner and toga party were great ... what a fun group ... sorry to have missed the final dinner in the Aqua ... but the time change didn't work for us ... so here is my "official" good-bye to all of you ... but hopefully, not forever ... hope to see some familiar faces on future cruises.

 

And to Laurel and Charlie (and of course, Sean) ... thank you so much for your hospitality ... you three are truly great people.

 

Well, I have to get back to work so I can book my next cruise :D .

 

I will keep checking in here, and looking forward to everyone's pics.

 

Lorraine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I left this message on the Roll Call board but wanted to leave it her in case people do not read that board.

 

 

Hi All.....Just wanted to say how nice it was meeting you all......I hear some of our Cruisin Fools decided to dress up in sheets....and run through the ship yelling toga toga(oh by the way Darcy thank you for the invite, sorry we missed your call)......I guess you just had to be one of the party harty cruisin fools....Congratulations to Tom and Sharon on winning the Bingo Cruise....Thank you flyingpirate for the invite to the sailaway party. Sorry Fundygirl for not being able to take you up on the invite to the Aqua for dinner. (Restaurant reservation already booked). Looking forward to maybe meeting you all again in the future. So long for now....

 

It was a great cruise. The menus could of been a little more selective but what can you do. And why do they all have to be the same in every restaurant? Last year there were different items in all the restaurant.

 

Our suite was great and the butler wonderful. His name is Putu Abradi from Bali. He was very attentive. Do recommend the Aft Suites great views and wonderful balcony sitting. No wind at all. When we cruise again it will be in an Aft location.

 

The ports were nice. Grand Cayman and Cozumel were our favorites.

 

Some of the shows left a lot to be desired. Bollywood was fantastic, do recommend it, and the Magician was good. Second City the same as last year not so good. The comedians could of been better.

 

Did not do the lounges as me are not real drinkers, so can not comment on them.

 

The pool area was crowded as usual. Chair Hogs were out in full swing. To many young kids in the Hot Tubs. We used the Spa Pool a lot.

 

Our favorite place was the Casino....Paid out really well for us. Went home with more money then we took with us. And also paid off all of our on board account with casino winnings. Can you tell we spent a lot of time there.

 

Well so much for my mini review............Hope to return to the Dawn in the near future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry I missed out on the meet and greet - I only found this site a few weeks before we sailed. You seemed like a fun group - I saw all of the togas - too bad I figure out now that you are all CC members! To all the CC members I now realize that I met on the beach volleyball court, Hi from Corinne and Tom! The games on the beach in Great Stirrup Cay were a blast!

 

Ports

Anyway, it was an amazing cruise with an awesome itinerary! We loved every stop after Jamaica and can't wait to return to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel. I definately reccommend the sting rays in Grand Cayman, Tabyana beach in Roatan, Cave tubing in Belize, and renting a car or scooter in Cozumel and exploring this awesome port. We fell in love with Scuba Diving after taking Discover Scuba in Roatan - definately reccomend this - our guides were AWESOME! We loved it so much, we signed up to do it again in Cozumel. We rented a little electric car (thing an egg-shaped golf cart) that was hysterical and SO much fun to drive - only $45 for the day, and trunk space for shopping purchases!Also, it would have been nice if NCL had given us passengers a little heads up about the "no liquor after 3pm" rule - luckily we found this out at 2:30 and did some fast tequilla tasting and buying.

 

Food

Aqua and Impressions were awesome, but service at the Venetion seemed very distracted and we only ate there once. Impressions staff were great, especially after we sat down one night and had to leave when my husband suddenly felt sick. They kept trying to get me to order a meal for myself to take with me to eat in the room and when I declined, they insisted that if we couldn't return, for me to call them and place an order and they would deliver it to me. Le Bistro was amazing - Definetely order the Filet Mignon and Chocolate Fondue. Cagneys was allright, but in the two times we ate there, my filet was underdone both times and so underdone on the second night that my medium filet was VERY rare and I had to send it back about half-way in as I couldn't eat it anymore. Though, the service was still top knotch there, because the waiter and maitre de apologized and ended up bringing me a completely new filet (which I didn't need or ask for - I just wanted my filet thrown back on the grill for a few more minutes, but was very nice of them).

We loved the chicken fingers, wings, and wonton soup at the blue lagoon. this was great for late night snacks after the casino or lounges - by the way, they can and will wrap up your plates if you would rather bring it back to your room to eat there. Breakfast was always the garden buffet as we were anxious to sleep in and get into the port as early as possible. It was very easy to grab a good breakfast quickly.

 

Other stuff

Second City improv comedy shows and workshops were hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!! We are still laughing at the jokes! You should have seen them try to act out a Chia Pet curling (you know, the sport on ice) with Fidel Castro or an undertaker shaving a sheep with a boomerang. You definately cannot miss them if you enjoy sketch or improv comedy! Anyone who saw the show that we met also seemed to be still laughing at the pepper jokes and "Hide-A-Bed".

The staff definately got friendlier as the cruise went on - guess they realized that the tips were coming soon. Bar service was awesome - I think I drank my weight in pina coladas!! Great shows and music every night. room stewards, Dinkie and Devon rocked!!!!!! We were pampered by them!

The only negative I can add is that if you notice the "little things", NCL may not be for you. As a regular passenger (no suite for me :( ), things were nice, but there wasn't too much of the cruise line trying to go the extra mile to pamper or help you unless you wanted to pay for it. It may not seem like much, but while I cannot name any one thing, it just seemed like people did a good job and didn't really go the extra mile for you until the last few days. We sailed Royal Carribbean 2 years ago, and it just seemed like we were pampered from when we set foot on the ship to when we left.

 

Sorry for such a long post, but it was in all, an awesome trip with amazing places to see and visit and I had to share. Also, Freestyle cruising was great because there was no stress about when we were eating! I can't wait to cruise again!!!!Thanks again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for an awesome trip fellow Cruisin' Fools!

 

I can't believe what great people and new friends we made this trip. I'm tearing up as I type this. More to come later. Just wanted to say "Hi" and say we made it home safe.

 

Oh, and once Laurel gets the email list out, if anyone wants to low-down on Ken & Barbie I've got the scoop. (Just happen to spend 15 mins. shopping in same store at LaGuardia yesterday.) You won't believe her real name!

 

I'm off to get our pics developed. Talk to ya later!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree it was a great cruise with a great bunch of nuts...er, people :P. I'll work on my part of the review for later today or tomorrow.

 

tweety, 25th Annual Spelling Bee is great! It's a definite laugh out loud one with some sections of pathos thrown in. Seats in Circle in the Square are the most comfortable I've seen on Broadway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a fantastic cruise!!!! We love the Dawn but this cruise was made extra special by all the wonderful friends we've made....can't wait to see you all again! Karen...I know what you mean...I've teared up a few times already just telling people about you guys!!!

 

Overall the cruise met our expectations...good food (I do agree it was not spectacular but THAT'S OK), great entertainment (Best of Friends are #1), friendly staff, great service and beautiful ports of call. Throw in a troop of Toga Wearing Cruisin Fools and you've got the formula for a perfect vacation....the best ever for us! :D

 

I'll be posting more details soon.....

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree it was a great cruise with a great bunch of nuts...er, people :P. I'll work on my part of the review for later today or tomorrow.

 

tweety, 25th Annual Spelling Bee is great! It's a definite laugh out loud one with some sections of pathos thrown in. Seats in Circle in the Square are the most comfortable I've seen on Broadway.

 

Thanks for the review, Al. I can't wait to see it. Don't forget the great trivia contests among all the great activites.

 

I definitely think that this was one of the best cruises we were ever on, mostly because of all of you guys

 

I want to say that if anyone ever goes to Belize, go cave tubing with Yhony. We had such a great time, and he takes such good care of you. And they are very funny, too. We had a great time on the bus going to the caves. We had 5 guides along for 19 people. They were very helpful in getting us going along in the river. I had trouble getting into the water, and they were right there to help get me in. We went through two caves, while the ship excursion only goes through one. Then we floated lazily down the river back to the beginning. It was awesome. The restaurant that we stopped at for lunch was great. We had a delicious local dish made with chicken and rice.

 

We also had a great time in Roatan. We toured with Cinthia and Diana, and I would definitely recommend them again. We had them for the whole day, and even when we went back to the ship for lunch, they were right there waiting for us to get right back to the touring. They took us to Paradise Beach, which was much less crowded than Tabyana. We had a great time snorkling.

 

The ship was awesome!! Everything...food, music, service. I really like the freestyle concept.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

;) Congrat's Tom & Sharon on winning a free cruise and also for the gift swap Monday morning that I got from you.....haven't tried the Brighams hot fudge sauce or the Buffalo Balm either but the Boston Baked Beans are great !!!

I agree that the heat could have been a little lower but over all considering they have 3000 +++ passengers to try and please I thought all went rather smooth also.....one can find fault if they look hard enough but a vacation is just that, time to relax and not let the details bother you !!!

We made it back to Maine by 11:15 that night, all went smooth except that I could have stayed for another few days on there.....My fluid problem is all over, guess my body doesnt like too much sodium or humid weather but I would do it all again in a minute...........Steve (paradise sailor) is back to work today and guess he will be there till midnight....the price you pay to play,lol......but it was worth it for sure and hope to meet you all again.....

Linda & Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry I missed out on the meet and greet - I only found this site a few weeks before we sailed. You seemed like a fun group - I saw all of the togas - too bad I figure out now that you are all CC members! To all the CC members I now realize that I met on the beach volleyball court, Hi from Corinne and Tom! The games on the beach in Great Stirrup Cay were a blast!

 

 

Hey, I remeber you guys! You guys were a blast on Stirrup Cay!

Glad to have met you and hope to see you again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and once Laurel gets the email list out, if anyone wants to low-down on Ken & Barbie I've got the scoop. (Just happen to spend 15 mins. shopping in same store at LaGuardia yesterday.) You won't believe her real name!

 

 

Hey Karen!!!! Darcy has my email address....can't wait to hear about your adventure at LaGuardia!

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great pics fundy girl. Still surrounded by a pyramid of laundry and just can't seem to get the energy to start. I sat at the table all morning and the butler never showed up with my breakfast. I was going to call my wife and complain, but decided against it.

 

Opened the fridge and realized that it is basically empty, so it's off to the market for us today. We returned to dreary, rainy weather - I want to go back :( . Oh well. I'll probably spend part of the day organizing my pics and working up my review. Glad to see that everyone seems to have made it home safely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still a bit on the nippy side, good day for exploring the ship!

 

Breakfast at the Garden Cafe, omlette cooked to perfection, bacon nice and crispy and toast that actually melted the butter!

 

Lunch at the Buffet - NY Deli good hot pastrami on tasty rye. ( They will toast the bread, but you have to ask )

 

Martini Clinic - very good, Vodka Martinis only. Not full sized but 5 in an hour! And where else can you have 5 martinis for $15.

 

Dinner at Slasa - Red Pepper soup was quite tasty, crab chowder was also wonderful. Being a former Texan I would say the fajitas were as good as any chain resturant. The guacamole was very good as well, and I don't think anyone can screw up sour cream. The food was not overly spicy no jalapenos served with the meal only poppers as an appitizer :mad: !

The salsa was out of a jar :mad: !

 

Tonight we were introduced to the sounds of Modal Magic, they were great, fantastic sound good dance music!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...