"The Suite Life of the Dawn Queen on The Dawn Fool's Cruise 3-28-09"

Here it is, it is only just the beginning, it is our Diary of the entire event. There are no mention of names except our own and no one will be embarrassed by the review. Promise. So to everyone on our cruise and to anyone who is planning on sailing on the Dawn, or anyone just dreaming about it...well here is our "Dream Come True". The book begins here and will be published daily. We love all of you....JW and Jerome

The Suite Life of the Dawn Queen on the Dawn Fool’s Cruise

First, let me preface by saying that our Cruise on the Norwegian Dawn (3-28-09 to 4-4-09) turned out to be the Trip Of Our Lifetime.

Having discovered Cruise Critic and finding our “Roll Call“ aptly named “The Dawn‘s Fool‘s Cruise“, we were able to build relationships with others traveling on the same cruise, sharing each other’s excitement as the departure date neared, and then sharing our experiences together instead of fending for ourselves once we got onboard. We had Instant Friends. It was what made this trip truly memorable.

We booked our Dawn cruise in January. Selected the Suite Guarantee category (AG). As the sail date neared, we were originally assigned an AF (Mini-Suite) stateroom. Then things just got better! We received a call from NCL, offering us an upgrade to the AD Romance Suite about a month before sailing. We were assigned stateroom 10226. Shortly thereafter, we found Cruise Critic and our Roll Call. For a solid month, we were addicted to CC and had a blast with the entire Roll Call. Secretly logging on at work, shhhh….staying up way too late at night just for one more post….got to get to bed!

Doing online research, we found our exact suite’s photographs published on various sites. And so, the magical dreams began. Dreams of seven sun and fun filled days in the Romance Suite……but wait….it got even better. Five days out, yet another call from NCL offering us an upgrade…..to the fabulous Owner’s Suite! It took us 20 minutes to decide whether or not to take it. You see, with all of our new found friends on Cruise Critic, we found out that several were on Deck 10, either right next to us, or in the vicinity. We had dubbed the aft of Deck 10 “Wisteria Lane” and were looking to Par-Tay with everyone together. But, well, the offer to upgrade got the best of us and so we did. And what a “Suite Life” it was! Our new Cabin assignment: Owner’s Suite 9006.

The best part about this upgrade came from one of our Cruise Critic Roll Call members who, after finding out that we upgraded to the Owner’s Suite, he surprised his other half by upgrading from his Balcony Stateroom to our Original Romance Suite…so it turned out to be a win-win for everyone!

Sail Day:

We both live in Sunny Florida and have a 2 ½ drive to the Miami Pier. We were busy talking to many of the Cruise Critic Roll Call Members, and with such bad weather around the country we were all worried that many coming from Canada, Colorado, New York and Maryland were not going to make it. Thankfully everyone made it to the Pier! There was also a Photo Essay created with all of our pics so we would recognize each other.

My other half, Jerome and I arrived at the Pier at 10:15AM in the morning, and I can describe it as organized Chaos. Passengers disembarking from the last cruise mixed with the new arrivals for the next. It was so well organized. We pulled our car up, dropped our eight (yes eight) suitcases off with the Valets at curbside, tipped him and then went to the doors to the boarding area. It was roped off and as the embarkation usually begins around 11AM. We decided to get into line behind the red rope with other early arrivals. It was then that two other couples came up to us and said “Aren’t you CruiseGuys2009?” Sure enough, reaching into our bags, out came all of our printed photos of each other and we began our introduction process! Then two more recognized us from a distance. What fun….the vacation has officially begun!

Shortly before the doors opened into the embarkation area, a Representative from Customs began handing out the standard Health Forms asking if you have recently had the flu etc. Who checks yes? Anyway, the doors opened, we produced our tickets and passports for entry and being in the Owner’s Suite, well we had a “Special Line” for us, and we were whisked into a Private Check-In Suite with Coffee, Juice, Sandwiches, Hor d’ourves, and Desserts to begin the munching process while we check in. Remember, on the Dawn with 13 eateries, you go on as a passenger and after eating your way across the Atlantic Ocean, come off a week later as Baggage!

The check-in process was fabulous, kind of like being in a bank, opening an account. You sit on one side of a desk, while a very professional gentleman is on the other side. We produced our ticket for him and our passports, then he swipes our credit card for on-board charges, takes our picture and voila, 3-5 minutes, we are checked-in.

The gentleman instructs us to wait a few moments and then magically appearing, is another gentleman with white gloves on, who then personally escorts us thru security and then into a specially reserved seating area in the terminal.

There was a delay in our boarding the ship, as we found out later the next morning at our CC Meet & Greet with the Captain, due to the fact that there were several Noro-Virus outbreaks on the ship’s previous sailing, and The Dawn had to be completely sterilized. Not enough outbreaks to cause alarm, but the ship was taking no precautions. Bravo for them to see to our well-being. The crew was rushing around, and from what we saw, they did a magnificent job getting the ship turned around in no time. There were no reports of illness on our Cruise, largely because of NCL’s proactive measures.

As we were sitting in our reserved area, many more CC Roll Caller’s began to come up to those of us there and new friendships began to materialize…..this was going to be one fun cruise.

Next, the Concierge came up and introduced himself to several of us. Imagine our surprise when I heard his name….Anchumann. He Said “Anchumann?” I had heard about this Legendary Concierge from reading all the posts from NCL‘s previous sailing stories on CC, but also heard he was on vacation. Can it be? Yes it was. The Legend Himself was standing there, ready to be our Concierge, on his first day back from a 2 month vacation!

In a few moments, we were escorted thru a special side entrance, the Sanitizer Spritzer Ladies were there (just like in Bloomingdales at Christmastime spritzing perfume!) and up the escalator we went….down the long, long, electric moving sidewalk, hallway to the gang way. You could see the ship from the windows and it just about makes you want to scream as the excitement builds. After memorizing the ship’s layouts from the website and truly worn out brochure, we knew exactly where our Suite’s side balcony’s were located. Cool, can this really be happening??? Then a quick stop at the Ships Photographer, snap of the camera and then turn a corner and truthfully, I had not realized we were actually on the ship….it was a truly surreal moment.

Then into the Main Atrium Entrance. We expected Champagne on arrival, a standard on NCL, but also found out the next morning at our M&G, that GI Restrictions and Precautions were in place to insure our safety for contacting the Noro-Virus. No champagne, no problem.

Our small group was then, yet again, “White Glove” escorted to the elevators where we were taken to Cagney’s for lunch. Our carry-on bags were left in the Lobby of Cagney’s and the six of us, as new found CC friends, joined together for our first lunch. It was a magnificent first moment and all you could do was look around at the wall of windows and gaze out at the view of the ship and of Miami. Being in a Suite, you can have Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney’s each day….don’t miss it! It was the first of many Perks we learned of.

Everything about Cagney’s that very first moment is exactly what every other CC member has written about. No more, no less. The service, impeccable. The presentation, artful and professional. The food, very good. This was lunch, so you can’t go wrong. There were no complaints at all about any of the above. Oh and The Martini……absolutely fabulous! The first of many!

After lunch, we looked up at the Bimini Bar from Cagney’s windows and saw the first two of our Dawn CC Roll Call. Unmistakable in recognizing their bright white “Osmond” teeth gleaming from the sunlight. We headed for the Light! Upon arriving, there they were, the first two for the casual “Sail Away Party” at the Bimini Bar.

Yes, the party really had begun. Oh my gosh. Blue Drinks that looked like you were drinking Windex, and Green drinks that looked like Scope, and Frilly Frothy Bushwackers that set you “Free”….yes the good times began to roll.

Almost everyone of our Roll Call showed up and we compared stories and reveled in our camaraderie!

I know all of you who sailed with us are all frothing at the bit with "What's he gonna say next?".....I have over 25 chapters so far, and they are only up until the infamous "Cocktail Party" and..... you are all in each chapter without being mentioned by name, but will also recognize each personality.....but that is the magic of Cruise Critic....keeping our "Dream" ALIVE until the next sailing....and....providing a "Dream" for those who have yet to sail on this magnificent ship.

Happy Easter....JW and Jerome

What a fantastic read. I'm very much looking forward to more installments. Thank you for the review.

was it good or not. not 12 pages

was it good or not. not 12 pages

Wait and see...the answer is a resounding YES!!!!!, but the experience...more than fantastic!

Shortly before 2PM an announcement came that everyone’s Staterooms were ready…..everyone wanted to see the Owner’s Suite, so that’s when the real Party began. We felt we were so fortunate to have been upgrade to this suite that Jerome and I always had our door open to all of the CC Roll Call. We desired to share it, and the experience with everyone! NCL truly had never seen anything like this before, as we were told many times by the crew. Wait it just gets better…….

The Owner’s Suite:

The pictures we found online do not do this justice. It is huge. First, it is called the “Madison Avenue Suite”, to which we changed the name to the “Wisteria Lane Suite” for this cruise, and upon opening the door, you can do nothing but gasp.

Marble entry way, beautiful living room, flat screen TV/DVD/CD, very large dining table, a full bar set up with cappuccino / espresso machine, a fully stocked refrigerator with sodas and mixers, bottled water, glassware (yes, Martini Glasses too!), barware, then onto the bedroom.

Two etched sliding glass doors open into the bedroom with a huge oversized King Size Bed, that once you get into, you do not want to get out of. So incredibly comfortable. A really unique chair and ottoman that everyone wants to sit in because it is that unusual, two full night tables too. There is a flat screen TV/DVD/CD on the wall.

The bathroom is an experience all it’s own. The glass door toilet is fun, the walk in shower has so many heads on it that you will guarantee to hit parts of your body you haven’t seen in years! The Jacuzzi tub is amazing, complete with bath salts and a television!!! Double sinks, Huge Towels, lots of storage…..and a window!!!!! There is a large walk in closet/dressing area with make-up mirrors and stool. Real wood hangers! Dual safes, just amazing!

Then onto the front deck, which has two full size wicker lounge chairs with cushions and a cocktail table. The deck (Not a balcony) is facing the front of the ship. Amazing views, and believe it or not, the wind is not that bad when the ship is underway.

There is another set of side balconies off the Living Room and Dining Room with two separate doors. This is located on the side of the ship, and there is a dining table with four chairs on this deck for breakfast or lunch or dinner, whatever you prefer.

The room is paneled in gorgeous shiny wood, the colors of the carpet bright and contemporary, and what am I forgetting….hmmm…oh yes, the best part about the Suite, any suite on the ship (except the Mini-Suites) you get your own private Butler!!!!

I've read that other people received a call from NCL to upgrade. how does this happen? Do you have to book directly with NCL? My husband and I recently sailed on the Dawn and it was our first time, so there are still new things to learn for our next cruise. The suites sound great. We were on deck 10 balcony -no perks.

I have no idea what their formula is, but we felt we won the lottery...mind you it came with a cost and each upgrade, there were three, was additional.

I've read that other people received a call from NCL to upgrade. how does this happen? Do you have to book directly with NCL? My husband and I recently sailed on the Dawn and it was our first time, so there are still new things to learn for our next cruise. The suites sound great. We were on deck 10 balcony -no perks.

You DO NOT need to book with NCL to possibly be called for an "upsell". It's not really an upgrade, since you have to pay for the higher grade cabin. However, the cost of the upsell is typically less than it would be for the full fare of the cruise. For instance, say the balcony cabin is $1000pp, and the AE Penthouse is $2000pp. If you had booked the balcony cabin and the AE Penthouse cabin remains unsold as it gets close to sail date, and NCL wants the category of cabin you are in so that they can get more people to book that ship, they will start calling people in your level of balcony category and ask if you might be interested in upgrading to the AE Penthouse for $250pp more (as an example. This amount can change depending on need). If you say no, they go to the next person on the list. If you say yes, you effectively have paid $1250pp for a cabin that was originally sold at $2000pp. I spoke in depth to my PCC at NCL, and she said the upsells will always be different for every cruise, as every cruise is going to have different cabins that are empty close to sailing. Obviously a popular date will be a pretty full ship, so there will be less "upsell" calls made. And there will be no way to guarantee that you will get a call no matter who you booked through. It will depend on the cruise lines needs for cabins. We booked through an online cruise agent last year and had a Penthouse and got the upsell call for the Owner's Suite. And this year we had a balcony cabin booked through NCL and got the upsell call for the Penthouse. Again, it all depends on what cabins they need to fill, and what the demand is for the cabin you are currently in. I hope that helps :)

Rob

We had read all about Ravi, one of the Butler's from so many other CC Posts, and were looking forward to meeting him. Our friends who were in our original Romance Suite ended up with him and he was fantastic. He made a special trip to come and meet us, but, he was not our Butler.

There was one other Butler that we had read about, and I have to dispel the rumors, he is NOT on American Idol. He was also, just on vacation.

Yes, we had the infamous ANOOP!!!!!!

Oh my gosh. He was more than a Butler. He became a magnificent friend, so incredibly attentive, knew what you wanted or needed , even before you asked….truly amazing. Anoop is a professional that genuinely wanted to be a part of your experience, never intrusive, but always there.

As the rest of the CC gang was rolling into our Suite, cocktails started to flow, and then Anoop arrived.

He provided a whirlwind of information…I was truly overwhelmed. Now the fun part.

There are MENUS galore with this Owner‘s Suite.

First, after he introduced himself to us, he introduced us to the Bar Menu. Apparently the Owner’s Suite comes with your choice of 3 full bottles of liquor. Now we knew we made the right decision to upgrade (why did it take us 20 minutes to decide?). Being the Wisteria Lane Suite with Wisteria Lane Martini’s, we ordered 3 bottles of Vodka Please!!

Anoop then gave a tour of the bar, instructed us on the Cappuccino Machine, glassware, etc. Too much to remember. He had to come back the next day to show us.

Then Anoop gave us a tour of the Suite. Things you just would not imagine were there.

First, A Pillow Menu. Yes I said Pillow Menu. We chose our pillows from the selection of Feather, to Foam, to Temperpedic to Hypo-whatever….they had them all.

Next came the Restaurant Menus. The suite comes with every menu from each and every dining venue on the ship.

Anoop wanted to make Reservations for us….another perk from the Suite Level is you may make individual reservations for any restaurant including the Venetian and Aqua. We had already decided prior to cruising that we wanted to eat at 8pm every night and which restaurants…however, changing reservations, especially at the last moment was never a problem either. We’ll get to that.

The next menu was the DVD Menu. Just in case you wanted to stay in your room and watch TV, the Dawn has a complete collection of current first run to classic movies onboard that Anoop would be happy to secure for us.

Also there was a beautiful set of Binoculars for gazing out at the islands and passing ships, plus a CD library complete with Madonna, Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffet, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra who knew?

Then Anoop brought a huge fresh tropical flower arrangement compliments of NCL, a champagne bucket with a full bottle of MOET was waiting for us in our suite and then the best thing happened…..

Where is Chapter 7 ???????????????????

There are 2 chapter 8's, I flubbed up....only you would notice!

Happy Easter everyone and always allow your dreams to come true!!! More tomorrow.....

Till then. Peace and Happieness.

JW and Jerome

I have been reading Cruise Critic cruise reviews for quite a few years now, and I don't think I have EVER read one as ENTHUSIASTIC AS YOUR'S.....!!! :D

Your Happiness Level is just SO MUCH FUN TO READ......!!!:D

We will be going on our 4th Dawn cruise this August, and your review had made me as excited as if it was our FIRST.....!!!:)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SUCH A DELIGHTFULL, FUN, HAPPY DAWN REVIEW......!!! I am looking forward to the remaining "Chapters" to this review.....!!!:D

You B@$#@*D....LOL

How dare you leave us at...."Then Anoop brought a huge fresh tropical flower arrangement compliments of NCL, a champagne bucket with a full bottle of MOET was waiting for us in our suite and then the best thing happened….."

Yes I am!....and Rob....you are part of the best thing that happened....so was Nikki, Marni, Debulicious, Charles, Kathy, Hunter, Doug, Heidi and Alan, and all the rest......I don't want to leave out the Dave Clan either!!!!

I have been reading Cruise Critic cruise reviews for quite a few years now, and I don't think I have EVER read one as ENTHUSIASTIC AS YOUR'S.....!!! :D

 

Your Happiness Level is just SO MUCH FUN TO READ......!!!:D

 

We will be going on our 4th Dawn cruise this August, and your review had made me as excited as if it was our FIRST.....!!!:)

 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SUCH A DELIGHTFULL, FUN, HAPPY DAWN REVIEW......!!! I am looking forward to the remaining "Chapters" to this review.....!!!:D

On behalf of Jerome and myself thank you. We did have a super fantastic time and I hope that you have just as wonderful time as we did...but of course you will, the Dawn will be back home in New York, and she is truly the New York State of mind ship....we were fortunate that New York loaned her to us for this week! The Dawn is a Dream! But after 4 Dawn cruises, you already know that.

More tomorrow.....

JW

To all of you that are reading, please check out our fun on Facebook. And...please give us a comment or two.

There are many of those members from our sailing reading this thread, and as you have seen, if you ask a question or are curious about something, we will be more than happy to answer. All we sincerely want to do is keep Our Dream alive and re-inforce your Dreams for the future.

On Facebook, it is listed as "NCL Dawn 3-28-09 Dawn Fools Cruise". Lots of pics and loads of fun.

With over 60 Cruise Critic members this sailing......it was a very emotional and powerful statement to NCL. Cruise Critics Rock!

what a fun review. we sailed the beautiful Dawn last November and we are sailing her again December 4th.

can't wait to hear the rest :)

Hey there Cruiseguys2009.

What a fantastic review. I can't wait to the next installment. You are keeping me at the edge of my seat. LOL

I tried to find your link of facebook, but I am having trouble finding it. can you tell me what i am doing wrong?:confused:

Thank you so much, and keep up the great work