bakerintn

There is really no way to tell in advance. They use a 14-day cycle menu that does not recycle automatically....the executive chef makes his own choices.

Typically no need to plan in advance for specialty restaurants...besides, that would lose the spirit of "freestyle cruising".

I will have to say that on our last cruise on the Dawn three weeks ago, I did notice that each day in the MDR, there were really only 1 or 2 daily selections that interested me that day. However, in our group, we saw that what did not interest me, interested someone else...we really never all had the same thing.

remember also, if you see a side on another entree that interests you more than what is listed for your chosen entree, you can ask for that instead, so you really can do some mix and matching to fine tune your meal. And... you might want to ask for the desert menu before you order your meal, so that you can create a good combination, if you are in to deserts.

I found that the assorted fruits plus the cheese assortment went with just about every entree ... but for example, the bread pudding with the lobster was not such a good choice (way too rich!!).

Have a great cruise.

Which created one very interesting scenario while I was in the building, waiting for the escalator.

 

The escalator lead to a waiting queue for the passport checker peeps, and when that backed up, so did the escalator - - Literally.

 

People could not get off, so that had to start back-stepping (yes, with their luggage) up the down escalator. That is until the one person fell, and took out several others. :eek:

 

Suddenly we got the directive, "No more escalator. Either take the stairs or wait for the elevator".

 

Considered taking a picture, but that would've been a big NoNo. :o

 

.

When we disembarked using the escalator, their was a person at the top of the escalator that controlled access to it until there was space at the bottom for the next group of 10. Sounds like they did not do that this time, and caused even more problems. These are port terminal workers that are working for a contractor for the various cruise lines, not NCL direct employees. (Just like those who check you in).

My experience on the 11/17 sailing was that immigration was using a slower process for everyone than what I have experienced before. Instead of scanning a passport, for example, they were looking at the front page, looking at the person, typing in information or queries on the keyboard (our officer was a one finger typist). Our process for two persons took about 3-4 minutes whereas before it probably took less than one minute.

At the same time, they only had 3 immigration officers at the start and for the first 1.5 hours or so...then they increased the staffing to 7 out of the 8 available stations. They did not have someone at the end of the line to vector passengers to the next open officer, so that confusion added time to the process as well.

We did not learn "why" the immigration process had been changed to a slower one or why the staffing was so low for the first 2 hours.

I don't believe that the documentation requirements were changed, just that the staffing was too light and the clearance process was slower than usual.

So what is a good strategy? This will be the first cruise for both my girlfriend and for me, leaving this Sunday (12/8). If everyone arrives at 1:00, how will that be any better for lines than if we arrive at 12:00? Are they just counting on a certain number of people ignoring the message and arriving at 12:00 anyway?

 

When getting off the ship on the return to Tampa, is it possible to just hang out somewhere and wait until the line settles down, rather than standing for 2-3 hours?

If you have some way of knowing that the departure will be held up, you can certainly wait somewhere on the ship. I don't know if they will open the bars or not during that time, but you typically don't have to get off until 10 am and if the line is really long by that time, I don't think that they will bodily force you to stand in that line.

The funniest part of the review

 

"The worst....yes, just keeps getting better...We were having a drink with a couple that was in their 30's and they informed us, that this was also a "old swingers cruise". Ewe...how disgusting is that! No wonder old men and women were trying to flirt with us"

We sure didn't notice anything like that...darn, must have not been in the right place / time!

Aren't kids off for a holiday break right now? This looks like a little creative writing exercise.:rolleyes:

 

Too many thing to comment on. But, 2 1/2 hours to clear customs?

Actually, it also took us 2.5 hours to get from the ship through customs (the problem was understaffed Immigration and the fact that immigration was taking the slow process for each person (not scanning the passports, but reading them, typing on the computer, reading them again, looking at the pictures and the persons, etc).

Interesting that they indicated that the cruise was to Eastern Caribbean where actually it was west.

I just read this review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=244778

I was on the same cruise, and have to disagree with most of this review. I guess these folks really hate Neil Diamond, and did not do research before booking.

Our group only had two people over 70 and we all enjoyed the entertainment and the food. To say that the food was not "tasty" must mean that they have lost their taste buds. Oh, and the ocean view cabin was "small". DUH.

IMO A clear case of unreasonable expectations.

We used the regular port parking at $15/ day. We had to pay as we went in...got the token...and it opened the gate on the way out. We did not pay in advance.

It is a bit of a walk...so drop off all your luggage at the terminal and one person go park the car...the cross walk on Channelside Drive is way at the south end of that garage, so parking at that end (go to your left as you enter) can save you some walking. Your party will be guided to the north end of the terminal where the escalator is. I would guess the walk to be about equivalent to 4 city blocks.

The $20 premium for valet parking saves that walk, both ways.

You will arrive back in Tampa tomorrow, hope to hear that you did not tender!

 

snow bunny

We did not tender....we were at the Coxen Hole pier...two ships in town.

We are a couple in late 60's, travelling with other friends. This was our 3rd cruise on NCL.

Embarkation started later and was slower than what we had expected. NCL staff was not good at letting people know what was happening. The announcement system in the terminal could not be understood due to the crowd noise and low volume. Once moving, things went fast and we were on board about one hour after arriving at the terminal. We ate lunch as a group in the Venetian main dinning room and all enjoyed it.

The following days we ate breakfast in the Blue Lagoon or Garden Cafe. Blue lagoon service was slow on sea days at 7:30am, but fine at other times. We ate dinner the first night in the Venetian (surf and turf) which was much better than expected. The steak was very good, but small and the lobster was cold water lobster tail (with more offered from a tray during the meal). The melted butter was more like corn oil with butter flavoring added. We ate other dinners in the Venetian and Aqua, and in both places it took about 1.5-2 hours, which we had planned for. They were very accommodating in taking reservations for 10-12 people when needed during the week. Food was good to excellent in the main dinning rooms, but portion sizes are small and some recipes seem unusual (beets in beef stroganoff?). I did not notice that the sauces were way over-salted as we had experienced before. We did not have complaints about the waiter service in any restaurant except Blue Lagoon on sea days. Food in the Garden Cafe was good, but they never had the full buffet set up...only three of the four lines were ever active. This buffet layout does not have obvious "action stations", so the crowd stands in line to go through the whole thing. Many times a coffee machine or drink machine was empty. The food seemed to be about the same every day. They did have lemonade, ice tea and flavored waters in the buffet machines after breakfast hours.

We had a Cruise Critic "Meet and Greet" on the first sea day and all the key officers in the Hotel Directors staff attended.

Our cabin was a "sideways" inside cabin which really was no more room than a regular inside...not sure we would do that style again. We did have some crew voice noise at night from the adjacent crew work space.

We used the adult soda package and did not have any problems being served. We brought our own wine and that program worked well. On this sailing, they did have the VivaVino wine package available. Bar service seemed much less invasive than we had seen in the past...sometimes it was even hard to get a drink when we wanted one. We tried the martini tasting, and that was a great value.

The pool deck was very popular, but the band was way too loud. Passengers should be able to carry on a conversation while seated on this deck. And the entertainment staff everywhere only seem to know how to shout in to a microphone...this makes their voice less clear and when combined with their accent, does not help. The sound in the Stardust Theater was way too loud, and the music was too loud compared to the singers/speakers, so their words were very hard to make out. I measured the decibel level in several venues and it was often over 85 and over 93 in the Stardust...that level is damaging to ones hearing. That being said, the entertainment was good, although Bollywood was some kind of weird, disjointed production. Karaoke was lousy for the most part (the participants), and was often overtaken by the Second City cast. However, the comedian (Tim Kaminski) was really good. Really good.

Our cabin had some wear and tear showing (small carpet stains, shower door fell off the track, carpeted base board torn), but was otherwise clean and well managed by our cabin steward. Great towel animals all but the first night. We were charged for two bottles of vodka from our minibar (partial bottles were left by the former occupant and not caught by our steward in his rushed boarding day inventory). That took three requests and two days to get credited.

The port stops were as expected. We enjoyed a small-group catarmaran snorkel on Roatan, a private cave tubing in Belize, a beach front bar in Costa Maya and a palapa bar in downtown Cozumel (and of course, some shopping with $1 beers.). The tendering in Belize was a breeze with no long lines and nice fast tenders.

Disembarkation was a nightmare. Probably only 20% NCL's fault (80% US immigration), but we stood in line for 2.5 hours before we were on the terminal curb. The staff was not helpful in this long process....very few announcements...conflicting information....no beverage service...not allowed back in for a bathroom break...no apologies from any officer.

Some of the problems could be because this was the first 7-day cruise from Tampa this year for the Dawn and the Hotel Director and Captain were fairly new on this ship. Once again, NCL has dropped their level of what they provide, but it can still be a good bargain. Nothing about the NCL cruise turned us off much, but very little excited us. We might consider another line next time.

I was on the Dawn last week and had french toast and syrup every day.

In the buffet, I tried both the regular and the sugar free, and preferred the Smuckers sugar free (it was a bit thicker). The regular syrup was OK by me (I actually don't like the thin, pure real maple sugar syrup). It is like most US store bought major brand syrup.

I know that some beds are by the balcony and some are by the door. We have two connecting cabins: 13734 and 13736. How can I find out where the bed is in each cabin? Thanks.

Look at the online deck plans...the head of the bed goes in the indentation in the wall. Adjoining cabins will be opposite each other in this regard.

Based on what I see, 13734 has the bed in the middle and 13736 has it by the balcony door. BTW, these are adjoining cabins with a door between them.

When the ship returns back home, you can take your own luggage off or have them do it. There is often a huge line of passengers waiting to get off with their luggage.

If you have NCL take your luggage, there are so many bags in the pick up area (way more than you see on an airplane), it is wise to have your bags marked with something unique and easily recognized. And... if you do this, make sure that you carry your own "important" stuff off yourself (just like you should take those items yourself when you board)

Oops! Dang that voice recognition. I wiil report on our experience in roatan

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I will report back about the tender in row 10 Basshunter experience next week. We are also booked with the spirit of free radical unfortunately the weather looks terrible.

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The Coxen Hole port info indicates that the Dawn will dock there. NCL has had Roatan as tender on our docs for a 11/19 arrival, too. No explanation except we are betting that we won't tender. Our excursion folks indicate that it will dock there vs tender. Good luck!

Hoping to learn if the Dawn's Spinnaker Lounge is open on embarcation day before the muster drill...wanting a place for our group to meet up after 2 pm that day.

The menus for both have two "sides"...one is the always available selections (they don't change each day)....there is a slight difference between the two restaurants on this side (ie one has NY strip steak, the other has another cut).

The side that changes every day is the same for both restaurants.

Any differences in dress code will be noted in the daily newsletter.

The Venetian is larger and has more windows and a high ceiling (two decks).

Hawaii does not want you to take certain food items off the ship...don't know if they will catch you or not. I would not take fresh vegetables or fruit off the ship, just to be considerate of the State and it's population.

what a great way to trash a brand new ship!!

You might want to check with NCL group sales to get registered as a group. Maybe they have another solution to the MyNCL stuff.

855-625-4768.

requires 8 cabins and 16 people minimum...if qualified, you will get some perks.

and for those of us in inside cabins, if we look through the binocs "backwards", the cabin seems larger!!

Use your browser's "favorites" or "bookmarks" features rather than the website's.

My husband and I are going to be in separate rooms (because of the kids) - but, once we get onboard, we'll all be moving around. So, if we bought ahead of time, could he just buy it. I don't need it. As for the soda card - we once bought those for just the kids - no one said we had to buy them for every one in the room - is that the norm?

If both cabins are on the same credit card/folio, your idea won't work.

I believe that you will find a smoking area in the pool area on deck 12 (tables will have ashtrays) and on one side of the Great Outdoors (but people there move the ash trays...so no particular area is designated after the day gets going. And of course, passengers can smoke cigarettes on their balcony.