Review of NCL Dawn 2/19/17

Hi everyone! My husband and I just returned from the Dawn. Everyone on here was so helpful prior to our cruise, so I wanted to make sure I took the time to write a detailed review for those already booked or thinking about booking the Dawn.

A bit about us - we are in our mid 30s from New Jersey. This is our third cruise; we previously sailed on the Star to Bermuda and the Gem to the Eastern Caribbean.

Transportation to New Orleans: We scoured flights to find a good deal and ended up booking two separate one-way tickets from Phila to New Orleans. Philadelphia is generally much cheaper than Newark, so we drove the two hours and left our car in economy parking for the week. It was $11 per day and very easily accessible via the airport shuttle. We had a connection in Dulles that went smoothly, and we arrived at the airport in New Orleans Saturday night with no issues. We stayed in the Hampton Inn Convention Center, which I highly recommend for several reasons:

1. It is within walking distance to the port.

2. Mardi Gras is not only one day; it is a couple of weeks leading up to that day. Generally, traffic is a nightmare. Not only are there tons of people, but many streets are closed due to the parades. However, the Hampton Inn is located right off the highway, so we had no trouble getting there or back. We took a $36 taxi both ways.

3. When we returned, the hotel held our bags for a couple of hours while we wandered around New Orleans even though we weren't staying there again.

4. It is located right near some great restaurants as well as Harrah's casino and an outlet mall.

Since it wasn't too late, we ventured out on Saturday night and were able to catch one of the parades. We had never been to New Orleans, so it was definitely cool to be there for Mardi Gras.

Embarkation: We walked the 10 mins or so over to the port in the morning. Check in was a breeze, and we were soon on the ship.

Room: We booked an obstructed oceanview (8082), which we ended up liking. We did receive upsell offers and put a great deal of thought into upgrading to a suite, but in the end, we felt that money would be better used for other purposes. We tend not to stay in our room very much... I know that would be different if we had a balcony or suite, but there's always next year! We could see straight through the lifeboat outside our room, and when we used the boats for tendering in Roatan, we had a regular oceanview for a day! However, when they lowered the boats that morning, it was loud, so be prepared for that. Overall, the only other noise we heard in the room was from the squeaky crew door next to us, but it wasn't bad enough to ever disturb us.

Food: We are not foodies, so we chose the UBP and the $50 Shore Excursion Credit as opposed to the UDP. We ate at the Garden Cafe, Venetian, and O'Sheehans. We also tried a specialty restaurant for the first time - Los Lobos - because my husband LOVES Mexican food. We both found it to be delicious - especially the guacamole that is prepared table-side. We ended up eating there twice since it was also affordable. Our bill came to only $20 each time. Drinks were free there due to our UBP. Otherwise, we enjoyed the food everywhere else. And yes, the new decor in the Venetian is hideous, but no, it will not ruin your dinner. My only complaint is that the Dawn does not have the Great Outdoors like the Gem. It was easily my favorite place to relax and read on the Gem. There is a lounge area on deck 9 of the Dawn that is a good place for reading or playing cards.

Drinks: I am not a big drinker, but I decided that I wanted to try some new drinks on this cruise. I ended up loving long island iced teas, frozen margaritas (strawberry and mango!) and bushwackers, which basically tastes like a chocolate milkshake. My husband, who loves to drink, stuck to pinot grigio, Bud Lite, frozen strawberry dacquiris, bushwackers, and mudslides. All of the bartenders were great. There is a wine bar called Cellars that only serves wine. If you've been on the Star, you'll see the setup is exactly the same as the Red Lion Pub (not sure if it's there anymore). In the Red Lion, there was typically a bar, popcorn machine, hot dog machine, board games, and a pianist. We spent a ton of time there on the Star. However, I never saw more than two people in Cellars, so I really wish it were a pub.

Entertainment: We always go to all of the shows, so I can tell you a bit about each. The first night is basically a preview of what's to come, and it was good. Overall, I found that the singers and dancers weren't as good as they were on the other cruises, but they were still fine. The second night they performed Band on the Run, which is full of 70s songs. There was also a show that had the singers "battling" to win the most audience applause. It was sort of like American Idol, but with only Motown music. I didn't enjoy this one as much. We always enjoy the Second City comedy troupe, and we went to the general show, the family-friendly improv show, and the adults-only improv show. We thought most of what they did was very funny. The magicians were the typical Vegas-style magic act, which was good. The acrobats on the last night were AMAZING - definitely the highlight of the entertainment. On the second to last night, there was Elements, which is a combination of singing, dancing, magic, and acrobatics. It was great. Other than the shows in the Stardust and Bliss Lounge, there was usually music around the ship. However, while on previous cruises we have had the pleasure of listening to someone playing the guitar, there was not a guitar player on this cruise. The show band mostly played older music, and while the piano player was a good player and singer, the other cruisers seemed more interested in talking than listening. We love it when everyone sings along, but no one really did that.

Ports: In Cozumel, we had booked a day at Nachi Cocom on our own. I liked the fact that they only allow a certain number of guests in per day. We took an $18 taxi ride from the port and spent the day lounging on the beach drinking and eating Mexican food. You are assigned a personal waiter who will bring you anything as it is all-inclusive. We were looking for a chill beach day, which is exactly what we got. However, if you have kids or want a party atmosphere, there are lots of other options.

We tendered in Roatan, which was a first for us. I read some reviews of the Dawn in which people said the process was a nightmare and that they arrived on the island very late, but this was not the case for us. Sure, it is easier to just walk off the ship, but for the number of people NCL had to transport, I thought they did a good job. Because we had an NCL shore excursion booked, we did not need a tender ticket. We simply went down to the gangway and waited for the next boat. We booked Jolly Roger snorkeling, and while we spoke with other cruisers who said their other snorkeling excursions got canceled due to high waves, ours did not. It was a 20-25 minute van ride from the port, so I don't know if we went to calmer waters or what. We had a fabulous time snorkeling, and we saw tons of fish and beautiful coral. We also enjoyed the delicious lunch and drinks that the crew prepared for us. Best of all, the crew took pictures of us and underwater and posted them to their Facebook page. They were tons of fun, and we highly recommend this excursion.

Ah, Harvest Caye. From what I have gathered on CC, people are certainly split about this port. The CruiseNext director spent a ton of time at our Meet & Greet explaining that it is not NCL's private island. Obviously, they have been getting complaints that while you can use your ship card on the island, you have to pay for everything regardless of any packages you have. And the food and drinks are expensive - about $15 for a burger + 12.5% GST tax + 18% service charge. We chose not to eat or drink on the island. The walk off the ship is a bit long, but not too bad, and it is covered. There is a golf cart that runs back and forth as well. Overall, Harvest Caye looks exactly like a Caribbean Jurassic Park - minus the dinosaurs. It is certainly beautiful, but it is not an authentic Belize island. However, we found two chairs under an umbrella on the beach and enjoyed some time there. We also spent some time in the huge pool, which is lovely as well. The highlight of our day was our parasailing excursion, which we LOVED. Neither of us had been, so it was very exciting for us. The crew was great, and we would definitely do it again.

In Costa Maya, we went on the Chacchoben Deluxe Mayan Ruins tour. The "deluxe" means that there were only 10 people on our excursion, as opposed to about 30. My husband was a history major, so he was most looking forward to this port. Our excursion was fabulous. It was an hour van ride to the ruins, during which time our guide Roberto gave us tons of information. The ruins themselves are amazing, and we had a wonderful day. Roberto took the time to explain everything, and because we were in a small group, we were able to ask questions. There was time to walk around a bit on our own, but most of the tour was structured. In the beginning, Roberto did give us the option to just walk around on our own, but we enjoyed his commentary. There were also complimentary soft drinks, water, and beer in the van. When we returned, we spent a little bit of time walking around the shops at the port.

Debarkation - This was the smoothest debarkation we have ever had. Usually, we are the first off the cruise, but since we had a later flight, we took our time. We chose to carry our luggage off the ship, and when we were done with breakfast, we simply went downstairs with our bags and walked right off. There was no line at customs, and before we knew it, we were back on the street in New Orleans. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and wandered around the outlet mall before hopping a taxi back to the airport.

Transportation home - I wish I could say that this was as smooth as the debarkation. We booked a flight to Dulles, an hour layover, and then a quick flight to Phila. We boarded the flight from New Orleans to Dulles and were in the air for about 20 minutes when the captain announced that there was engine trouble and we had to return to New Orleans. I don't like flying in general, so I was not thrilled, to say the least. When we arrived back to the airport, United told us they had a mechanic on the way, but it would take some time to assess and possibly fix the problem. We knew we had no chance of making our connecting flight in Dulles, and that was the last flight out of Dulles to Phila for the night. United put us up in a hotel and gave us food vouchers. They also booked us on an American Airlines flight the next morning, which went off without a hitch.

Overall, we had a wonderful time on the Dawn. We have stuck to the smaller ships to avoid large crowds, and we felt this was the perfect size. Even though we felt like we were some of the youngest on the cruise (the average age was 54, and there were only 90 kids under the age of 18), we still enjoyed everyone's company, especially at the Meet and Greet and the slot pull where we won $1! Oh, and the best part of all - my husband won $1000 on the bonus in blackjack! We put down a deposit for a future cruise, so we are already scouring the itineraries to see what will be next. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you!

Great review! Thank you for doing it.

What time was the show the first night. I have read 8:00 and also read 8:30. We have reservations at Los Lobos that night at 6:30 and I am concerned it might be a little tight. How long did dinner take at Los Lobos?

What times were the other shows?

Was another ncl ship in Roatan with you? Is that why you had to tender?

Thanks. Ellen

Thanks for your review, we leave Sat. Did you find a good bar/ bartender or just try them all? Did you try the SPA, I have heard it is not the best

Thanks

I was also on this cruise, with my family, 3 kids (7,10,11) and wife. Kids loved the cruise. We had a fantastic time. 2nd cruise on Dawn, went Feb 14th last year also. Ate in all specialty dining, all excellent (La Cucina a bit slow). Service was great. Kids love Splash Academy. Less kids on board, but that's OK. Royal Caribbean ship is in Roatan dock slip. The Oceania Marina happened to be in Port that day also tendering. We loved Harvest Caye. Enjoy it for what it is. It was a nice feeling not eating or drinking for the 4 hours between breakfast and lunch while on the island. Surprised how many people felt the need to spend $ there. Anyway, glad to answer your questions.

Show on first night was 8:30pm. Los Lobos is great and not a slow meal. Other nights shows were 7pm and 9pm. Elements show was 6:30pn and 9pm. Agreed that acrobats on last night were amazing.

Perfect - all questions answered. Thanks so much.

Ellen

Great review! Thank you for doing it.

What time was the show the first night. I have read 8:00 and also read 8:30. We have reservations at Los Lobos that night at 6:30 and I am concerned it might be a little tight. How long did dinner take at Los Lobos?

 

What times were the other shows?

 

Was another ncl ship in Roatan with you? Is that why you had to tender?

 

 

Thanks. Ellen

I think you'll be fine with a 6:30 res and show. Maybe show up at 6:15pm. They are very very nice there. Be sure to try the house made ice cream for sure.. Ultra creamy surprised how good it was. Nobody talks about the desserts! And spicy margaritas is great!

Glad you had a wonderful time! Thanks for your review.