Dawn Review 3/16-3/26

We arrived at the pier at approx noon, and there was mass chaos!!!!

Absolutely the WORST embarkation I have ever witnessed!!!!

Nothing was organized, and people's tempers were flaring. NCL reps were not at all helpful, in fact, some of them were downright surly.

I think the major factor in the whole situation was that the ship was late to port and people were disembarking while the arrivals were anxious to start their vacations.........

But everything passes, and we boarded the Dawn, still as beautiful as ever!!! We had a balcony cabin on deck 9 forward, and though you could tell things are getting a little worn, it was comfortable and clean, and we had the nicest room attendants, Irene and Gene.

I asked for an egg crate for the bed, and it was there by the time we returned from lunch.

They were always on top of things, and the room was kept neat as a pin!!!

Meals were hit or miss, IMHO. But....food really is subjective, so...it is a hard subject to comment on. Lobster night was day 2, and we ate in Impressions. Now, on the menu, it stated Lobster with drawn Butter, but in fact, when we ordered it, the lobster tails were covered in brown sauce (extremely salty) No choice was given, everyone received the same. Strange........But....that was really the only bad meal......we ate at Cagneys twice, excellent as always, and also, the first and second nights of the cruise was 1/2 price, so....a fantastic bargain, to boot!!!!

We dined at Salsa's three times, (great fajitas!!) and the Trattoria once, where I had salmon (excellent!) and DH had lasagna (again, excellent)

One night we just went to the Garden Cafe, and it was okay.

I thought breakfasts were always good, although a lot of people complained, saying there was no variety. Honestly, how much variety can you have with breakfast?????

We had a few lunches in the Venetian, and they were always good, service was always prompt and courteous (in ALL the restaurants)

The Blue Lagoon has fantastic mac and cheese, by the way!!!

Excursion wise, we only did two beach getaways this time, both very nice. Magens Bay in St Thomas, (the best pina coladas!) and Cane Garden in Tortola. Enjoyed them both, but hey...you're at the beach...what could be bad?? LOL!

Only went to one show, to see Eddie Holman, the original singer of "Hey There, Lonely Girl" It was great, and the theatre was packed.

We have done this cruise twice before, and have seen the other shows, which, BTW are also great.

The Lattitudes Club was really pushing the New Bonus program, some days they were doing two presentations. We did buy a program, and immediately received $100 shipboard credit. Seems like a really good deal, and people were purchasing them. It wasn't a high pressure sales pitch...and even if you didn't purchase...there was free champagne!! LOL!!

GSC was rained out...the seas were rough, and even though we were not going ashore, I felt sorry for the people who had plans for the day, but...safety first!

The last two days of the cruise were choppy.....thankfully neither one of us has motion sickness, and I actually enjoyed the swaying of the ship. Puts you right to sleep!

Casino was good to us...no complaints there.....came home with a little extra!!!! That is always nice!

Boat arrived back in NYC early, docked around 9am, and we were off the boat at 10:15.

We are now going through withdrawl, :eek: and the only thing to do is to plan the next cruise!!!! :D

Hi Hey Toots,

We were on the same cruise. We may have met at the Cruise Critic get together. I can't remember everyone I met. The menu states the Lobster comes with drawn butter and Nantua Sauce. I ordered my Lobster without the Nantua Sauce, and it came without the sauce or butter. My experience may differ from others, but NCL should be ashamed to call it Lobster. I have had Prawns larger than the tail they served. I know, I know, I could have ordered more, but by the time I was done chewing the first one, I was kind of tired. It was somewhat like a pencil eraser, but more chewy and less tasty. Other menu items varied from quite good to not so good. Some items were over seasoned with salt to the point of being painful to the tongue (Beef stroganoff, Feta Terrine for example).

Hi Snorkel Bear!

I never made it to the CC Meeting..... I inadvertantly made a spa appt for the same time, so...even though I missed out on meeting all those great CC members, the spa TX was excellent!!! LOL!!

You are right about the salt......someone in the kitchen has a VERY heavy hand!!! Didn't know about the choice between the butter and sauce. In either case, it still would of been a very bad lobstertail!!

Hi Hey Toots,

 

We were on the same cruise. We may have met at the Cruise Critic get together. I can't remember everyone I met. The menu states the Lobster comes with drawn butter and Nantua Sauce. I ordered my Lobster without the Nantua Sauce, and it came without the sauce or butter. My experience may differ from others, but NCL should be ashamed to call it Lobster. I have had Prawns larger than the tail they served. I know, I know, I could have ordered more, but by the time I was done chewing the first one, I was kind of tired. It was somewhat like a pencil eraser, but more chewy and less tasty. Other menu items varied from quite good to not so good. Some items were over seasoned with salt to the point of being painful to the tongue (Beef stroganoff, Feta Terrine for example).

Would have to agree about the Lobster. They are called shorts and I thought

they were ilegal to purchase or sell. Obviously this was low quality at the best. Interesting,The Fish Dishes and stews were good. The Fried Rice in the

Blue Lagoon was better than in the Bamboo room !!!!