Dawn 4/18/2005 Review

Dawn 4/18/05

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier at @11:30 after a very easy drive from CT. My DH dropped us off with luggage and proceeded to park. I had e-tix and needed to do my tags at the piers. Thankfully I followed advice I read on the board and applied my pre-printed address labels to the tags. My son and I entered the pier and my DH & DD met us inside after parking. We sat in the waiting chairs for only about 20 minutes before they started the process of embarkation. During the wait and while in line, Dawn personnel were serving sandwiches, nut breads and juice through the line. When I entered the pier, I spoke to an employee that stated 200 cancellations. I asked her if it was possible to get an upgrade and she encouraged me to ask. While checking in I asked and was told I would need to ask on board. We were on the ship by 1:20 pm. I thought embarkation was very smooth. It was supposed to begin at 3:00 and although I was aware of that we did not know if the drive in would be so smooth. They apologized for the slow embarkation :confused: because their staffing was to meet the 3:00 embarkation.

Once on the ship, we proceeded to the main desk to ask about the upgrade. She told me they needed to hold rooms until after the first port in case people met up with us there. I think that they did not want to make any changes and figured by day 3 I would not want to pack up & move rooms. :cool: They were right & I did not check back.

We had an inside state room for 4 of us, and quite honestly it was fine. We did not spend time in the room other than changing and sleeping. I did utilize another CC tip of the shoe holder. I hung it on a hook in the bathroom and it took care of everything for the 4 of us.

Dinner in the Aqua- one of the smaller restaurants. We loved it and if you are on say hi to Lucia from Romania. :) She is a doll. We were comfortable here & it was close to our stateroom, so we ate here every night.

Breakfast in the Venetian seemed somehow disorganized. Toast came after the meal was practically finished. Order was never quite right. The last 3 days we went to the buffet and enjoyed it more. Waffle & omelet stations.

My 13 year old dd checked out the teen program. It wasn’t heavily utilized. I was concerned it would maybe be older kids. Late in day 2 she made a friend her age and they hung for the rest of the cruise picking up a couple more their age and joining all teen activities. The teen group was really only used by these 5 kids. Thursday, Friday & Saturday night she ate dinner with her new friends even when it was not a designated teen dinner. My 16 year old ds met several others his age on the basketball court. They meandered from basketball, to Spinnakers, to the card room, to the Blue Lagoon for his late night feedings. One night we even found him doing karaoke in Dazzles.:D

I had 2 young nieces on board that loved the kids Crew & the T-Rex pool.

Tuesday- CC meeting in the Star Bar. It was nice to be able to put faces with the posters. NCL had coffee/tea /juice and pastries. Never did make it to the laundry room-.:rolleyes: Greetings to CRUISECT!

We didn’t get off in Port Canaveral. It was a great day to use the pool and hot tubs. We saw all the wet carpets thrown in the dumpster and watched them load all the new carpets. Later in the cruise my son took a “wrong turn” and ended up getting a nice look at the finishing work before he was told he couldn’t be there. He said it looked great!!

GSC- crowded beach but the water was great. Braiding at the small straw market. The barbecue was ok—inferior barbecue and island compared to RCL’s Coco Cay. The teens played a lot of volleyball.

Nassau- we arrived at night and we took a taxi to Atlantis to tour the Dig for free. It is lacking without the sunlight to illuminate the tanks. We had seen it before. In the morning, we did a walking tour of Nassau. (I printed it off the web). We visited the parliament buildings, the Queen’s staircase, Fort Fincastle, Dunkin Donuts, & the Straw Market. It was an experience for the kids to bargain at the Straw Market.

The entertainment was top notch. Edge the juggler, Ed Alonzo the Magician, and Second City were all great. I enjoyed Bollywood. The final Cruise Line is it Anyway was hysterical. We enjoyed the game shows in Spinnakers. The Liar’s Club was GREAT!!! The Second City performers were so much fun and in talking to Kevin, NCL is happy with them and looking to extend contract to other ships. Cruise Director Paul Baya was so quick witted with his recaps of the Weakest Link. Also a very good singer. He joined in with the dance band one night in Spinnakers. Mike the Assistant Cruise Director was very funny. This was his last week on the Dawn.

We sailed from Nassau at noon and enjoyed our time at sea even though it meant we were getting closer to home and our cruise being over. I loved the Freestyle concept. It was nice to choose when & where to eat. Cold and rainy Saturday afternoon.

Thank You for the review. I am sure the next cruisers will be glad to hear about the renovations:D .

So glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thanks for the review!

Do you have an approximate # of teens, and younger kids onboard?

Thank you for the great review and the update on the repairs on the Dawn.

Do you know what cabins required the new carpets?

I agree that the Dawn's entertainment is terrific. Edge was great and the shows outstanding. We went in February and it was our first try at Freestyle Cruising and we loved it! We are back on the Dawn in August.

Don

wow 200 cancellations !!!!

wow 200 cancellations !!!!

Not very many - I agree. With the ship departing a day late and with 60 cabins (120 passengers) indicated needing at least to dry out. All the hype about a the Titanic and lost memories I would have expected more then the 8% no show.

I am not sure how many children were on board. I think there were a lot, however the only day they seemed to be hanging around on the staircases was Saturday because they couldn't be outside with the rain. I know the group my son hung around with went up & down in number from 8-20 depending on what they were doing.

The young kids crew seemed to have about 20-30 when they were doing their pirate or princess parades. I know a lot of families hung together and did not use the kids programs.

I am not sure which cabins, but there was a lot of carpet in the dumpster. I am sure they replaced what needed to be.

Saslis,

If I remember correctly, I think I heard the CD say at the debarkation talk that there was a little under 1000 kids on Dawn for the 4/17(18) sailing. (Or did I hear this from Klaus at our CC get-together?) Which ever it was, there were lots of under 18's on Dawn.

Julie :)

A Kids Crew counsellor told me there were 960 kids between 2 and 17 years old on this sailing. :eek:

I felt a bit sorry for some of the older folks as the kids could be quite noisy at times (but being a parent, I'm used to that).

The Freestyle concept is always going to be popular with families.

Thanks for the review, always nice to catch up with news from the Dawn! I thought that Paul Baya and Mike were both moving to another NCL ship. Maybe this happens in May. Does anyone know?

If Paul & Mike are leaving the Dawn, who will the next CD be? Is Colin coming back from vacation? We've sailed with both Paul and Colin. They are both great.

I believe I read that Colin is coming back May 1

Thanks for the review, always nice to catch up with news from the Dawn! I thought that Paul Baya and Mike were both moving to another NCL ship. Maybe this happens in May. Does anyone know?

Julie :)

Thanks for a great review!

Julsuz - I think I read somewhere that Colin was coming aboard in May. Sounds like Mike may be back? I sailed with Paul and Mike and they were fun, but I have read really GREAT things about Colin so I am looking forward to my upcoming cruise.

I am secretly hoping that they will make me a cruise director! Looks like soooo much fun!

Mike is on holidays starting April 24 (for 2 weeks, I think), and I'm unsure if he's moving to another ship. Paul is moving to the Jewel - I'm unsure of the timing of this.

 

Julie :)

both Paul and Mike are moving to the Jewel together

I did not make the disembarkation talk, so I defer to you Julie about the number of kids. I am also a parent and I only found a lot of kids hanging around on the last day.

:) Julie did a nice job arranging the CC get together.

I believe I read that Colin is coming back May 1

The passengers really enjoyed Colin when we were on the Dawn last year. Quite comical...endless energy.

I didn't feel that the number of kids were a problem at all. There was a lot of hanging around and sitting on the stairs. I thought the kids were well behaved although we did receive a letter in our cabin talking about destruction and people being put off the ship. I didn't know what that was about. My son is 15 and did not have a good cruise. He went to the activities the first night and a few times after and said that not many kids showed up at all. The ones that did were very young teens and the older ones were already in groups (knew each other). He said the counselors really didn't do anything to try and get the teens to show up. I know on other cruises the counselors go around and try to round up the kids and send reminders to the cabins about upcoming events. He spent a lot of time in the internet cafe (that was expensive) and in the cabin drawing pictures (he's an excellent cartoonist) of how bored he was. But I have to give him credit in that he made the best of it and didn't torture us with his misery. He went to dinner every night with us and to the shows. I would never bring him again on a cruise unless his older brother comes (unlikely) or he brings a friend. NCL could do with improving their teen program.

Thank you for the great review and the update on the repairs on the Dawn.

Do you know what cabins required the new carpets?

 

I agree that the Dawn's entertainment is terrific. Edge was great and the shows outstanding. We went in February and it was our first try at Freestyle Cruising and we loved it! We are back on the Dawn in August.

 

Don

When in August are you taking the Dawn? We'll be on August 14, 2005. 2 adults and 2 daughters ages 14 and 12. Glad to read so many good things about the Dawn. :)

both Paul and Mike are moving to the Jewel together

Hi Shoreguy! I am new to the whole cruise thing and this board but you seem to know alot of great and helpful information. I took my first cruise ever last week on the Norwegain Dawn and had a GREAT time! I was very happy with the entertainment and loved Paul the CD and Mike the assistant CD. They were great with all the activities (parties, Family Feud, the Liars Club, Cruise Line Is It Anyway?) and they were very funny and witty and had a great comadarie. Mike kept making references to how much he dislikes the Yankees (very enjoyable since I am a Red Sox fan) and I was wondering if you knew where he was from? You said that Paul & Mike are going to the Jewel. I was glad to hear that since I was looking at the Jewel for next year. When do sailing dates for NCL come out for after April 2006?