NCL Dawn 3/12-3/19 Review- Dolphins, Zipline, Villas...oh my!

Just had an amazing week on the Dawn! Thought I would attempt a review and answer any questions I can about our cruise.

Pre-Cruise:

We traveled as a family (myself, my husband, and our 21 year-old son) from the Dallas area to NOLA on Saturday to have at least a few hours to enjoy NOLA pre-cruise. We chose to stay at the Hilton NO Riverside mainly due to the ideal walking location to several places and mostly the easy walk to the port terminal the following morning.

We dropped our luggage curbside to have it tagged and held until we got parked. We parked at the Fulton Garage since it was reasonable for 9 days at about $100 for covered, security camera parking and only 2 blocks from hotel and port terminal. After parking we made our way 2 blocks to hotel and checked-in. Check-in was fast and easy and our luggage arrived promptly. Hotel is beautiful and in a great location.

We were starving so we made our way a few blocks down to Bourbon Street to check out the scene. It was St. Patrick's Day Saturday on Bourbon Street so quite a crowd of "green" and beads. We had planned to eat at Acme but the 1-2 hour line wait deterred us to a little shorted line at Felix's. It was delicious and reasonably priced.

After making our way down Bourbon and back we headed to the room to get at least a few hours of sleep.

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Yay I can't wait to read! Will be on her in October from Boston!

Yay I can't wait to read! Will be on her in October from Boston!

May take me a few nights but I'll get there...

View from hotel entrance

Cruise Day! We were excited to wake up to see the Dawn outside our window! Not so excited to see rain had moved in and it was cold and drizzling!

We did not have the "suite" life on this cruise but opted instead for spending a little more on port excursions this time. So we chose 11:30-12 check-in which gave us plenty of time to repack and stop for breakfast. Hilton is attached to the mall so it was an easy roll through the mall to the port check-in area.

So we headed down the escalator in the mall and rolled our way to the Cafe Du Monde in the mall for breakfast.

Continued on through the mall a short way, following the signs, and went up the elevator to arrive at check-in.

Embarkation/Check-in:

Line was LONG. Much to the delight of my 21 year-old son, we began to see hundreds of college-age spring breakers...umm...So much for peace and quiet. LOL...luckily we are pretty easy going so it didn't really bother us too much.

Finally about an hour later we had our cards in hand and headed for the ship. We had elected to put down just a small cash deposit for our OB account since we had pre-paid everything we could and had UBP/SD already included.

We stepped on-board and headed for the atrium for our first drinks! WOOHOO!!!

Went straight to guest services and put down $200 per person OBC. No line at guest services and no long line at Atruim bar?.... umm... Where was everyone?

Off we went to find out. BTW the Dawn was beautiful, fresh and clean off refurb!

Thanks for the review.

Explored a few areas and ended up at pool. Cool and drizzling still but we found the crowd. Every hot tub was packed overflowing with 20 somethings that were determined to take their UBP to the max already! HAHA! We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the pool buffett and found a seat to "people-watch" for a bit.

Roamed the boat a little more and then headed to find our room and see if it was ready. We were in room 9706 which was a HC balcony room that we had switched to when open booking opened up and it was still available.

Our room appeared ready but no sign of our steward.

Plenty of storage, shelves, closet space, and balcony space. Refurb decor looked great and bed was surprisingly semi-comfortable. Son had a pull down that was "okay" he said.

We took the "wet bar" set up and put in a drawer since we had no intention of paying for any use of that. We didn't find our steward or we would have just asked to have it removed.

Hung out in room and looked over Day 1 daily waiting on safety drill. We were assigned to Venetian for safety drill which was fairly painless except the deafening siren and having to look at the weird paintings in the Venetian. Why in the world would they paint random lines and blocks over a nice portrait? Really did not look classy or modern at all. Just weird.

After muester we headed back to room to find our luggage had arrived so we began unpacking.

I forgot to say that we chose not to buy internet wifi minutes and just downloaded the iConceirge app and paid the $9.95 per phone to have ability to call and text each other while on the ship. We downloaded app prior NOLA and then launched once on board before sail-away and paid the fees. All phones are automatically connected that belong to same stateroom. You can add other contacts of people on board with their name and room number.

We found it to work just fine for our needs.

We do have AT&T as our carrier which I signed up with AT&T for the free international plan which gave us the same unlimited data, calls, text priveledge in Mexico as we have in USA. In Roatan we had a little service at Victor's but it was not fast. In HC we had service in the villa that was fast. Most of our posting and checking in on family back home was just done from Cozumel and Costa Maya where we had LTE fast service. When leaving Costa Maya we actually had service for about an hour as we travelled down the Mexico coastline until we got in open waters. :_)

Looking forward to reading more! We sail on Sunday and absolutely can't wait.

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:) following :)

I'm anxiously reading your review to get ready for boarding the Dawn on April 2nd. I have a question already.......were Topsiders and the Bimini Bar open in the evening? It was my experience on the Gem in November, that the outdoor bars closed around 7-8:30 PM in the evening regardless of the number of guests around the pool deck. Was that your experience as well?

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We have avoided the Dawn so far because she's missing the Great Outdoors where we spend so much time. Thinking of giving her a try and love reading all the reviews and seeing the pictures!

I'm anxiously reading your review to get ready for boarding the Dawn on April 2nd. I have a question already.......were Topsiders and the Bimini Bar open in the evening? It was my experience on the Gem in November, that the outdoor bars closed around 7-8:30 PM in the evening regardless of the number of guests around the pool deck. Was that your experience as well?

Yes. Both Topsiders and Bimini bar closed at 8pm. We found the best place to sneak to get a drink to avoid the crowd was surprisingly Casino or Atrium. Most of the 20 somethings crowded the pool and Bliss bars and only in the late evenings the Casino bar. There was NEVER a wait at the wine bar, Mojito, or Los Lobos but they weren't "full service" bars so if you had a particular drink you may or may not have it at those locations. With 300+ college kids on board, however, we did not find getting alcohol a problem as long as you steered clear of pool and Bliss. :)

I am going to try to get some more review done today but will have to add the pictures when I get home from work because my work WIFI blocks photo bucket! UGH!

So I will detail out the next couple of days then go back and add in the pictures tonight. :)

Looking forward to reading more! We sail on Sunday and absolutely can't wait.

 

 

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Not sure if I'll get everything posted by Sunday but I will try! :)

Here is a link to my highlight video if your interested...

After unpacking, we headed down to casino to check out before dinner. Blackjack was $6 minimum/$2500 maximum. They also had roulette, craps, 3 card stud, and poker. Multi-slots from penny to $5 ones. I played a few hands of blackjack and after not catching a win in 5 deals in a row, down $30, I bailed out and tried luck at slots. BTW- Blackjack on ship is only a 2-1 pay with a blackjack/21. UGH!

Son ended up doing well on BJ table and came out about $100 up. DH lost at slots and down $100. I turned my remaining $70 into $310 on a Rainforest slot machine at a 90cent and $1.20 bet after hitting the bonus a few times. WOOHOO!

Casino bar ended up being our favorite place for drinks. They were really strong and guys were friendly. A $1.00 tip got you fast service, specialty request, and after the first day they knew our names and how we liked our drinks without even blinking an eye. :) Pretty sure after my multitude of Miami Vice's and Mudslide's requested with Malibu Coconut Rum they got it down perfect.

Headed for dinner reservations...

Dinner was at 7:00 at Cagney's. (1st of our 3 night Specialty) I did notice that it was Prime Rib night in O'Sheehans but we already had reserved Cagneys.

Cagney's was AMAZING! Being from Texas...we know our steaks and they were on point at Cagney's! Our waiter, Nachon "Knock-on" was wonderful and friendly.

With SD you get unlimited apps, sides, dessert, and 1 main entree. Or at least that is what we stuck to anyway.

DH had App: Oysters Rockafellar (great he said); Lobster Bisque (not so good/only one small morsel of lobster was found and salty); TOMAHAWK rib chop/medium rare(AMAZING!!!), Truffle mash potatoes (AMAZING),and roasted mushrooms.

Son had App: Chilled Colossal Shrimp (AMAZING), Baked potatoe soup (great); Bone-in King Cut Prime Rib (great but he ordered medium and it was overcooked and would have been great as medium rare), Truffle fries (good but preferred truffle mash)

I had app Chilled Colossal shrimp (Still AMAZING); Caesar salad, and YES..I did it... TOMAHAWK medium rare (OH MY GOSH!!!!), truffle mash, asparagus (great)

Desserts we shared an assortment. (I mean... why not!) Napolean chocolate cake was the least favorite, Brownie Explosion was good, and the Raspberry Creme Brulee was awesome.

OH my... can someone PLEASE wheel me out!

After unpacking, we headed down to casino to check out before dinner. Blackjack was $6 minimum/$2500 maximum. They also had roulette, craps, 3 card stud, and poker. Multi-slots from penny to $5 ones. I played a few hands of blackjack and after not catching a win in 5 deals in a row, down $30, I bailed out and tried luck at slots. BTW- Blackjack on ship is only a 2-1 pay with a blackjack/21. UGH!

Son ended up doing well on BJ table and came out about $100 up. DH lost at slots and down $100. I turned my remaining $70 into $310 on a Rainforest slot machine at a 90cent and $1.20 bet after hitting the bonus a few times. WOOHOO!

Casino bar ended up being our favorite place for drinks. They were really strong and guys were friendly. A $1.00 tip got you fast service, specialty request, and after the first day they knew our names and how we liked our drinks without even blinking an eye. :) Pretty sure after my multitude of Miami Vice's and Mudslide's requested with Malibu Coconut Rum they got it down perfect.

 

Headed for dinner reservations...

Agreed! Spent a lot of time at the casino bar during the same cruise as you - great bar tenders, told about life back home, fast service....and I also did well on the same Rainforest slot - THE ONLY SLOT I did well on. HAHA

Agreed! Spent a lot of time at the casino bar during the same cruise as you - great bar tenders, told about life back home, fast service....and I also did well on the same Rainforest slot - THE ONLY SLOT I did well on. HAHA

I accidentally hit on the Rio Carnival one right next to it on one evening. Hit blue ladies and wild carnival rio all the way across except ONE place and it paid me $600! WOOHOO! But other than that accidental hit, you are right I only could at least break almost even when playing the Rainforest one. Saw a lady do well almost every night on the chinese man machine right when you walk into the casino by the 3 card poker table but I tried it and no luck...

Hmmmm... looks like I'll have to look for the Rainforest slot when we board in June! Thank you for the review.. love reading it!

After rolling ourselves out of Cagney's, my son headed to Bliss to find the "college crowd". DH and I grabbed another drink or (maybe two) and headed to room to chill on balcony and then turn in for the night.

Slept with the balcony door cracked to hear the waves it was so peaceful. Our room was always quiet and other than a couple of times when the late night crowd was headed to their rooms did we even hear anything from inside the room.

Hmmmm... looks like I'll have to look for the Rainforest slot when we board in June! Thank you for the review.. love reading it!

On the back wall behind the roulette table. :) Couldn't get it to hit bonus for me on a max $1.50 bet but did get it alot on a $1.20 bet.

Day 2: Sea Day

DH and I slept in until about 9. Because our room was so close to O'She we headed down a flight to eat there for breakfast. (Which we ended up doing just about each day) Breakfast at O'She was basically the same type food as buffet but fresher and made to order and it was quieter. Choices were basic eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrown mini patties, potatoes/hash mix, french toast, toast, assorted pastry/fruit/yogurt. You could get bloody mary, tequila sunrise, and mimosa in morning there also.

After breakfast we headed back to room to get a game plan for Day 2 from the Daily and see if there was any movement in our son yet. He and about 300 others shut down Bliss dancing the night away from what he mumbled when he came in about 3 in morning! LOL

(Interestingly the next day several people/strangers kept saying "Hi Kaleb" to him....ummm???)

Game Plan for Sea Day:

11- Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at Le Bistro. Thanks to Walt for organizing it. Officers and main crew came and greeted and answered questions. I found it interesting they really emphasized that Harvest Caye was NOT NCL PRIVATE island but owned and ran by Belizean's and that is why UBP and food was not included. But did say that you could use your ship card while on HC and charge back to OBC.

11:45 ish- Slot pull for CC group. I think we had about 26 people participate and we didn't hit it big and get rich but we did manage to get $11 back after a slow start. :) Top winner got a bottle of NCL's sparkling wine in addition to the side pot split. (Side note: The NCL sparkling wine was NOT good to us)

After slot pull we headed to eat lunch at Venetian. I forgot to grab a picture of menu. I had popcorn shrimp appetizer and salad and it was great. We had meatloaf (so-so), fish/chips (okay), and son rolled out of bed to join us and got a philly steak sandwich (okay).

After lunch we all headed to the pool to check out Flavors Reggae band and the pool scene. Grabbed a drink on the way in Atrium knowing the pool bar would be crowded. Windy day, college group all crammed in hot tubs. Son stayed.

DH headed for a nap. I headed to Bliss for BINGO at 4. Stood in line for about 20 minutes for a card and then about died it was EXPENSIVE. I was not expecting to pay $45 for 6 cards. They were "giving" away official NCL Bingo T-shirts with purchase. $45...Darn it.. I better win! Kids get one card for free each game. As it would happen, the first 2 games guess who won.... KIDS! I was denied my chance to "boo" the winner feeling I couldn't "boo" a little kid...$180 or something they each won. OK... so I could still win the blackout for over $300. Blackout game I was excited only needing ONE number on 2 different cards and then I hear it.. BINGO... OH MAN DARN IT! Headed over to Bliss bar to grab a consolation Miami Vice to ease the defeat.

Messaged group to head back to room to get ready for dinner. It was NCL "Night Out" and we decided to dress up a little. Dress up for guys was khaki's with collared shirts and for me a pant suit. I love NCL's freestyle that doesn't force you to dress to the nine's unless you want to.

Off to Moderno for supper.

Moderno was very good. Very nice selection at the app/salad/cheese bar and so many meat choices to try. We ended up trying a small portion of each and our favorites were the mignon, sirloin, flank,and Parmesan chicken. For dessert we just split an almond creme brulee and it was good but not as good as the raspberry one at Cagneys.