Just off the Dawn 7/8 - 7/15

Thought I'd take a minute to give a very quick review of our trip on the Dawn.

Stateroom: 12028 (Family Suite w/ Balcony - once onboard considered a penthouse suite).

Room was spacious. Balcony lacked any privacy as it is open on the top directly to deck 13. Because of the balcony I would chose not to book this room again and would aim for a balcony with a bit more privacy. Neighbors were smokers and we had to leave the balcony many times because of the smell. Certainly not NCL's fault that some lacked common courtesy but it would be nice if they at least posted no smoking signage somewhere in the stateroom.

Plumbing: I had read this was an issue on other trips. We did have two issues that we knew of. Both lasted about an hour and in that time the toilet would not flush. I called on it once and they said the plumbers were on it.

Butler: Reynaldo - he was nice but didn't do much for us. Afternoon snacks were delivered around 3:30 - chocolate covered Strawberries twice, cookies twice, sandwiches twice and a cheese plate. Really was not impressed with this part of the suite.

Conceirge: Ruel - super nice guy. We did ask for specialty reservations one night but he said there were none available. Another night we asked for a change to our reservation and he said he would try. Problem was that he ended up changing it but then never told us. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us at our original time so we wouldn't have to go find something to do for an hour.

Room Attendant: Aldrin - he was awesome! He really went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed.

Restaurants: Breakfasts and a few lunches we opted for Moderno (opened to Suites and above). Breakfast was my favorite there! O'Sheehan's we did a few days for lunch and I love their Thai Chili Wings! We ended up sticking with the Venetian and Aquan for dinners. One night we tried for a specialty restaurant but it was booked. The food was good but the selection, in my opinion, was lacking. Lots of seafood. We had no issues with dealing with my husbands food allergies and we did not preorder.

Shows: We went to every night time show other than the magician as we weren't impressed by what we saw during the Welcome and Elements show. Elements was good, Flyadage was awesome, Second City was fun, Band On The Run was fair and I really think needs an overhaul.

Pool: The seat hogging needs to be dealt with. You know you are dealing with professional seat hogs when they come complete with towel clips. Yesterday my husband was walking the track just after 7am and a guy covered two of the comfy chairs on deck 13 over looking the pool and didn't return for over 4 hours. If folks weren't wandering around looking for seating it would be one thing but when there isn't a single free seat the staff should be yanking towels.

Embarkation / debarkation: Thanks to the perks of being in a suite, these were a piece of cake.

Over all we had a great week!

Appreciate the feedback.

Thanks for the post any pictures

We were in a suite the week prior to your cruise, and I 100% agree about the seat hogs. One morning, my daughter and I set up on two chairs near the pool. I saw a guy save the next 4 chairs next to us, and didn't see him again until after lunch. I really wish they'd enforce their policy ... "items left unattended for more than 30 minutes will be subject to confiscation".

12028 was supposed to be our room in August!!! But, someone from NCL called and asked if we would switch to 12026, but i didn't want to go further to the front and chose 12030. Didn't really realize there was a smaller balcony, but I hope the room is bigger! But my 2 boys will have to share one bed, a 5'11 16 y.o. and a 5'4 12 y.o.!!! UGH!!!

Can you ask for different snack? I think we'd prefer chips, pretzel rolls, M&M's and BLT's.

Hope you enjoyed it! Our first trip to Bermuda, not really sure what to do. I'm thinking beaches on Sunday, explore on Monday and go shopping on Tuesday.

Can you ask for different snack? I think we'd prefer chips, pretzel rolls, M&M's and BLT's.

You can ask your butler to bring you just about anything you prefer. If the ship has it, the butler will bring it. The exception being if you get a bad/lazy butler. They do exist.

Our first trip to Bermuda, not really sure what to do. I'm thinking beaches on Sunday, explore on Monday and go shopping on Tuesday

Your plan sounds fine. Since you're in a suite you get to disembark first. There are buses and minivans to take you to the beach on Sunday. Monday is a good day to entertain going to St Geirge. There's a ferry at the dock near the ship. I might suggest checking out the Bermuda board for ideas. It's under the heading ports.

I should have Reynaldo...12028 is the room next to ours....I am not one to ask for a lot, but if he is bringing snacks, I just prefer something we would eat! My husband and boys are NOT cheese lovers!!! And the strawberries, well maybe me and my oldest! My youngest is picky, he has never even tried gum!!!! I guess that is not a bad thing, but, give him a bag of chips and he will eat all of them!

Can you ask for different snack? I think we'd prefer chips, pretzel rolls, M&M's and BLT's.

We typed a note to our Butler giving examples of treats we enjoy, and left it on the counter for him.

"We enjoy Oatmeal Cookies, Chocolate covered Strawberries, Cheese plates and Sandwiches"

Worked well and we only got one plate of something we didn't eat, but we never got any sandwiches:rolleyes:

How were the windows in the suite? Did they fog over or leak? That was a huge problem with them the past few years.

How were the windows in the suite? Did they fog over or leak? That was a huge problem with them the past few years.

Our windows in 12008 were clear, but our friends' windows in 12010 were foggy and you could barely see outside.

Thanks for sharing

Thought I'd take a minute to give a very quick review of our trip on the Dawn.

 

Stateroom: 12028 (Family Suite w/ Balcony - once onboard considered a penthouse suite).

Just curious, it's my 1st time w/NCL, but i have seen where they sendyou a letter asking what pillows you like, do they still do that? is it an e-mail or does it come in the mail?

Thank you! just wondering!

12028 was supposed to be our room in August!!! But, someone from NCL called and asked if we would switch to 12026, but i didn't want to go further to the front and chose 12030. Didn't really realize there was a smaller balcony, but I hope the room is bigger! But my 2 boys will have to share one bed, a 5'11 16 y.o. and a 5'4 12 y.o.!!! UGH!!!

Can you ask for different snack? I think we'd prefer chips, pretzel rolls, M&M's and BLT's.

Hope you enjoyed it! Our first trip to Bermuda, not really sure what to do. I'm thinking beaches on Sunday, explore on Monday and go shopping on Tuesday.

Not sure if 12030 is bigger and didn't peak around to see the size of the balcony but it was noticeably smaller.

Why do your boys have to sleep together? There was a pull out sofa and a murphy bed in our suite so I assume 12030 is the same.

I'm sure you can ask for different things but we weren't really sure what to ask for because we didn't know what would be delivered.

How were the windows in the suite? Did they fog over or leak? That was a huge problem with them the past few years.

Our windows were clear the entire week. No fog or leak.

Thanks for the post any pictures

Yes, I do have some but haven't had time to upload. Will post here as soon as I do!

Just curious, it's my 1st time w/NCL, but i have seen where they sendyou a letter asking what pillows you like, do they still do that? is it an e-mail or does it come in the mail?

Thank you! just wondering!

We didn't get anything like that. When we got on board we asked the butler to replace the pillows with non feather. I think he passed that along to the room attendant as he delivered us 2 foam and 2 hypo allergenic pillows a few hours later.

Enjoyed your report.

Keith

The butlers will rotate around so you may not have the same one that the poster had. Also, re the treats, some butlers will bring other things, others not.

The request for pillows can be made via pre-cruise concierge desk although they are not very good at filling requests with the onboard staff. There is a "reading wedge" pillow which appears to be very elusive in case you happen to ask for that one.

Not sure if 12030 is bigger and didn't peak around to see the size of the balcony but it was noticeably smaller.

 

Why do your boys have to sleep together? There was a pull out sofa and a murphy bed in our suite so I assume 12030 is the same.

 

I'm sure you can ask for different things but we weren't really sure what to ask for because we didn't know what would be delivered.

From my understanding, 12030 does not have the Murphy bed. Knowing my oldest, he might just sleep on the floor!!!

Thank you, OP, for posting your review.

If your neighbor's smoking was bothering you, you could report it to guest relations or security. NCL has a rule against smoking on balconies. The no-smoking signs are a good idea.

Thank you, OP, for posting your review.

 

If your neighbor's smoking was bothering you, you could report it to guest relations or security. NCL has a rule against smoking on balconies. The no-smoking signs are a good idea.

We also had an issue with smokers below us. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from at first so we told our butler about it. They all banded together to figure it out and by day 3 we were told that the culprit had been found. ;) The smoking smell got much better after that. A good butler will take care of things like that.

Smoking on the balconies was an issue on our June 17 cruise as well. A guest a few rooms down actually had a cigar out there, and despite other guests reminding him that there is no smoking on balconies, he kept right on smoking.Our neighbor called the front desk, but of course by the time they got there, the man had stopped smoking. I agree that they need signs to indicate that this is not allowed. There is a cigar lounge on board.

Did you visit the Spa or fitness area? Your comments or anyone who has visited post dry dock confused::confused:

Thanks;);)

Hi there. Just read your summary. We were on the Dawn last year in suite12030. The room is huge. It will fit you and your family adequately. It was myself and my husband and I actually thought it was to large for 2 people.The down side, the deck is really small. We were on the Dawn's July1-July 8 cruise (last week) in Suite 12028. The Suite was just a little smaller than 12030 but still a great size. The deck however was much bigger. What we found was the main deck was often crowded, so we would retreat back to our suite deck. We plan on going to Bermuda again next year (3rd time), and plan on booking 12028 again.

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12028 was supposed to be our room in August!!! But, someone from NCL called and asked if we would switch to 12026, but i didn't want to go further to the front and chose 12030. Didn't really realize there was a smaller balcony, but I hope the room is bigger! But my 2 boys will have to share one bed, a 5'11 16 y.o. and a 5'4 12 y.o.!!! UGH!!!

Can you ask for different snack? I think we'd prefer chips, pretzel rolls, M&M's and BLT's.

Hope you enjoyed it! Our first trip to Bermuda, not really sure what to do. I'm thinking beaches on Sunday, explore on Monday and go shopping on Tuesday.