uoftxchik

Hi Doug. We followed you live posts on the Dawn last November and then sailed on her at Xmas out of New Orleans. We are going on Bliss July 7th , 2018 and can't wait to read your review before we sail

 

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Umpisoccer, we were on your Dawn sailing (I still have the UMPI cap from the meet and greet...came in handy in the winter). We will be on Bliss about a month after you.

I am wondering if you have photos of the MDR menus by chance? If so, I would love to see them.

 

I am also wondering if the Christmas decorations were left up until the end of your cruise? The reason I ask is that we board the Dawn on December 28th this year and are hoping they will still be up. We were on the Celebrity Summit a couple of years ago and they left the Christmas decorations up til January 2nd. I read a review from the Christmas 2015 cruise on the Dawn and the individual reported that the decorations were all gone on the morning of December 26th when they awoke. I am not sure what day you disembarked, so you may not be able to help me with this question. I may have to ask people on the current Dawn cruise after they disembark.

We were on the Dawn sailing starting on 12/23 and ending on 12/30. The Christmas decorations remained up the entire time and showed no signs of removal when we left.

One last comment on the Thermal Spa....

 

When we were aboard the Dawn in an inside stateroom in 2010, we lived in the persistently-quiet spa. This may be one of the best bang-for-the-buck cruising options out there: inside stateroom + thermal spa pass.

 

 

 

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I think you just convinced me to buy a thermal pass (loved it on Ruby Princess). I'd been debating it but this comment + my OBC may seal the deal.

Is it possible to get to the Blue Hole from Harvest Caye? I don't know where Harvest Caye is in relation to the Blue Hole. I'm thinking it's not possible in a short day in port.

Looking at dining options on the Norwegian Dawn for a Christmas cruise. Would specialty dining or an MDR meal be better on Christmas Day? What about Christmas Eve?

Looking for thoughts on the Thermal Suite on the Dawn? Any photos? Is it worth it?

It was available in the MDR for breakfast too.

I've already posted about Jamaica--we stayed on the ship. :( It was beautiful though and I'm kind of sad we didn't get off which is why I'd like to do this itinerary again. We thought we would have two resort days, but since we missed GC, that didn't happen.

We spent our day in MoBay at the Hilton Rose Hall (I read that you considered it). We really enjoyed the lazy river and the resort. But the drinks were very weak (maybe they pour differently for the day pass bands?) and the food was decent but not great. Best things were the Jamaican items and beer-battered cod. The resort was lovely though and most of the service was good too.

As for MoBay itself, it was very dirty. I'm so glad we didn't do a tour of the town as we would have been very disappointed. I think we would choose Falmouth if we did this itinerary again.

Thanks! hope they offer the drink card on our cruise.

 

loving the report!

From what I understand, the drink card is going to be a regular thing on Liberty. It was in the Day 5 Compass but we were told at Café Promenade that it could not be sold that day (one of several drink glitches at CP), it was too early. It is usually only available on Days 6 and 7. However, after visiting guest services we were told that they would have to honor the mention in the Compass, even though it was a misprint, and sell the card that day. We also had a few glitches with the availability on Day 1 and Day 2 of sparkling water on our Royal Replenish package. However, the fresh squeezed OJ was readily available and the RR package worked great for us!

We were in the MDR for lunch on Day 2 and heard an Alpha Alpha Alpha call. I bet this was in relation to the medical emergency at the Pamper Party. Hope she was okay.

We spent last Friday at Mr. Sancho's. It's $17 each way for a taxi for 1-4 passengers. We got a taxi at the port. The line to get a taxi was about a 20-30 minute wait. Mr. Sancho's is about a 20 minute drive.

We booked separately from the ship and got back in plenty of time to shop and get on the boat with time to spare. We left Mr. Sancho's at 3PM for an "all aboard" at 5PM. We arrived about 10:15am and it was very quiet. It was more crowded as the day went on but it was not obnoxiously overcrowded. We had a table with a palapa near our lounge chairs.

Mr. Sancho's is very clean and staffed well. The vendors are friendly but call out to you every single time you pass them. Photographers bring out animals for you to take pictures with and then attempt to sell them to you later. We didn't feel harassed or annoyed by them.

The food was good (better than average but not gourmet). We did order guacamole but it never showed up. Super tender beef tips, the whole fried fish, coconut shrimp, fish tacos, shrimp quesadilla were yummy. We were very disappointed in the drinks. Frozen drinks had very little alcohol. My husband did order a white Russian that had a bit more power but was still watered down. We felt that this was a money saving tactic for Mr. Sancho's.

Make sure you do the fish pedicure at the Islander Fish Spa on the grounds of Mr. Sancho's should you choose to go there.

I'm having a hard time locating the port on a map. Any estimates on the cost of a taxi from the port to the Hilton Rose Hall?

Riley's Mom, how did your day pass from Shore Excursioneer work out? We're looking to book the pass but are concerned the resort will not honor it.

Thank you!

Thank you! We're very interested in Secrets but when I contacted the resort, they said day passes are not available through the resort. However, I've seen the passes for sale on shoreexcursioneer.com. The resort is aware those passes are available but will not confirm if they will be accepted. Have you purchased a day pass at Secrets before?

Check the post in this forum about the Juta taxi too. There is some good feedback about Dunn's. Thank you for responding!

There will be 25k people in port the same day as us at MB, Ocho Rios and Falmouth too. We're thinking of going to an all-inclusive resort for the day. Maybe it will be less crowded?

Glad you found the excursions with Doctor's Cave. I agree that the excursion doesn't provide enough time at the beach. I'm now looking at the Hilton Rose Hall day pass through resortforaday.com. The Secrets Wild Orchid in MoBay also offers day passes through shoreexcursioneer.com but I'm hesitant to purchase because the resort can't confirm if those passes are legitimate. The resort is aware of them but said to confirm with the provider. That could be dicey. In GC, we are doing a non-RCCL tour that includes 7 mile beach, Hell, turtle farm, snorkel and stingrays. This is my parent's first cruise! In Coz, we're going to Mr. Sanchos. We checked out the other beach clubs but we want to try the fish pedicure at Mr. Sanchos! Lol

Back to Dunn's, I checked the port load for MoBay that day and it was 8k passengers. Then I checked Falmouth and Ocho Rios...that makes about 24k passengers. That definitely knocked Dunn's out! Allure is docked at one of the other two ports.

I emailed Mr. Sanchos and they do honor the passes purchased on Shore Excursioneer.

I emailed Mr. Sanchos and they do honor the passes purchased on Shore Excursioneer.

I emailed Mr. Sancho's to confirm that they accept passes booked with Shore Excursioneer. I'll keep you posted.

We are traveling with my parents so there are four of us. We're using the same logic for Doctor's Cave. It's $12/person for entrance and a beach chair. So, $48 total plus transportation. We may also take the RCCL excursion as it is $39/person and includes transport. I like that Doctor's Cave is close to the Hip Strip which may or may not be worth checking out. We're interested in Dunn's River Falls but aren't wild about the 3 hour round trip drive and the crowds/queues that may be at the falls. We figured out excursions for the other two ports so easily! What are you doing in Grand Cayman and Cozumel?

We are on the same sailing! I've heard the same things as you about being refused admission upon arrival. I'm hesitant for the same reasons. We'll probably end up at Doctor's Cave Beach via taxi, through one of the RC excursions or at one of the Resort for a Day all-inclusives. We are really struggling with Montego Bay excursions. Seems easier to get to everything from Falmouth.

Have you purchased the Day Pass yet? We'd like to do the same. Where did you purchase it?

Yes, and it's a great site! Thank you.

We want to reserve a spot at Mr. Sanchos but their website is not secure. Where do you book ahead?