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Dawn, Aft 10728: Pictures, smuggling and everything else! Yippee!

simply_commenting

By simply_commenting,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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simply_commenting

simply_commenting

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Dawn, Aft 10728: Pictures, smuggling and everything else! Yippee!

 

Ok, my wife and I just finished an amazing 7 days with Norwegian on the Dawn. To the posters on this board, THANK YOU. I wish to return the favor by giving as complete a list of Pros/Cons, things to bring, thoughts, PICTURES, everything. Basically, for my next cruise, what I might do differently, or what was done well. Please consider that I am VERY VERY tired and writing this right after sailing.

 

What REALLY to Bring


  •  
    Soda & Water : I am listing this first because, as my wife has just said to me "BRING ALOT" Really consider bringing water - the water my wife and I drank seemed to not sit well with us and there never seemed to be enough. You can bring up to 200lbs on board (if you are flying in, this does not make sense however). I found you could spend $4 on a case of water - and it is well worth it. Soda is another good one to bring - i think it's $2.42 per can on board. I'm not big on soda, but by the end, rum and cokes are VERY VERY easy to make. Simple is good.
     
  • Big Drinking Plastic Glass/Mug. No joke, this is actually a very worthwhile item. You can make a drink in your room, bring this with you - and not have to go back to the room for a looong time. If you buy a drink and use the cruise novelty glasses, they last like 10 minutes.
     
     
  • Alcohol. Your choice, but my story is I emptied out a "smart water" liter, put rum in, got through security EASILY. Other cruisers and I decided it was because we weren't in spring break - security could care less. Really, I didn't hear of anyone having issues and I was SOOO stressed out. Don't be obvious and you should be ok. I stressed so much and when I did it - the first thing I thought was "that's it? that is IT???!!" I was proud that I spent only a $1 on the bottle to "smuggle" it in. I was slightly miffed the story wasn't better, but I was happy to have brought it.

 

That's it for what I felt was necessary. In summary: water, soda, rum, BIG plastic drinking mug. Simple. Good.

 

Room 10728, AFT

Given what we saw, 10728 AFT was the BEST! Big deck, big room, quiet, PRIVATE, close to: Garden Cafe, Spinnaker, Venetian, Pearly Kings. If you are on your honeymoon, try to get this room. Above you is the SPA - which didn't make sense for privacy until you find out the spa is quiet and no one can really look down. The room next to us, 10726, people could look down on them -not that people ever came back to the aft - but that I did not want. There were not too many aft balconies which makes you feel like you have the back of the ship to yourself. Plus, you can open the door to the balcony and listen to the ocean at night. Oh, you get to eat at Cagney's for free for breakfast and lunch which is probably the best "perk" of this level of room.

 

Pictures are here: (please note, i could never get a picture that really shows how big the balcony is. Take two lounge chairs end to end and that would be the length)

Entering the room

From the balcony.

From the Balcony, Different Angle

Best view of size of balcony.

Romantic or no?

View leaving Boston

View from Bermuda

Happy Newlyweds!

 

What to do on the ship

There are alot of things to do, basically the flow of the day is as follows: Mornings=working out, afternoons=light games like shuffleboard, evening=big shows, events. There are some events worth going to, my wife and I choose not to do many since our philosophy was "screw it, we're on our honeymoon". We had fun at the "almost newlywed" game, bollywood, and closed out the house for the "white hot party". We didn't feel like we missed much - there were many things we just were not interested in. The goal was to relax and not fill our days with things.

 

Getting on the ship (aka. craziness)

To get to the ship, drive in front of and past the South Boston Convention Center. When we arrived, we paid for week parking=$112. Worth it, most people I spoke with paid at least $60 for taxis. Then, we took our luggage and followed the crowds, (we thought we had special VIP entrance...but we found out...not yet!) You give them your non-carry on luggage, go upstairs and first thing is go through security. Don't sweat it. At this point, if you paid for room 10728 or something like it, you get 1st class treatment. You get your tickets and then proceed to VIP lounge (coffee snacks). From there, you can get on the ship as your conciege (ours was Virginia, very nice) brings you to your room.

 

How to get around on the ship

This can be confusing, even someone like I who knows directions VERY VERY WELL. I will keep this brief: walk on level 7 and level 12. I will give you a quick example. To get to AQUA, we would use the back or front elevators (stay away from the middle-of-the-ship elevators), go to seven...walk to the middle of the ship, then down to 6. The map says you can go to 6 to get to AQUA, but it doesn't say "you have to be in the middle of the ship to do that". The ship has some quirks, but those two levels are the best to use to get places.

 

Quick Rundown on Bars


  • Spinnaker (level 7). Party lounge. If you look at the daily events, gameshows occur here and at night, dancing occurs here or at the pool area.
     
  • Pearly Kings (level 7) . Nice bar, quiet. Busy at times, but good crowds watching sports or doing kareoke.
     
  • Gatsby (level 6). Think 1940's new york...this is a bar that is PACKED if you have an older crowd. Piano playing, and is surrounded by 4 restaurants: Teppenyaki, Bamboo, La Cucina, and Le Bistro. I would choose this or Pearly kings as good to get know the bartenders. I loved hearing the live piano - don't expect this bar to be quiet.
     
  • Starbar (level 14) . The ONLY time we went to this bar was to meet the captain. I have no idea how this bar is. Based only on my experience..it's gotta be a good one to go to since it is impossible to find. My one regret....
     
  • Bimini & Sprinkles (pool) . These two bars are located across from one another in the pool area. Busy because the pool area is where everyone goes during the day.

 

Places to eat

My wife and I tried to mix things up, but by no means did we go everywhere. That said, based on everything we heard and saw, Teppenyaki was our favorite: it was an amazing show and the best food wrapped in one. Hands down, worth the money. Everything else was just "eating out". It can only hold 20 people max, and unlike any other restaurant, there are only certain times you can eat there since it's a show. Like the levels on the ship, each has their quirks so just try them.

 

All About Bermuda

Ok, don't do scooters. Everyone I spoke with had horrible experiences with them - the locales drive crazy and the streets are very narrow and dangerous. Do night-time glass bottom boats and jets skis. The places to see in Bermuda: St. Georges (you can take a 45 min ferry there), Rum Swizzle Inn (the one near st. Georges), and the beaches. Hamilton seemed overrated - it was pretty, but the shopping was nothing special. We spent very little time there. Oh, and the last NIGHT you may want to go to the Hammerhead Bar at Snorkel Park - all the staff go there and it's supposed to be fun.

 

Enjoy your stay!

Edited by simply_commenting
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dafoester

dafoester

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I too was on this cruise and it was an absolute blast!The ship is beautiful and very clean.The staff of the Dawn is the BEST!!

 

I was also able to smuggle on whiskey.I emptied a snapple ice tea bottle and filled it up.No probs at all!!

 

Can't wait to go back on the Dawn!!!:D

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cruising2012

cruising2012

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Thank you, thank you! We will be in AFT 10728 on July 6, 2012! I was thrilled and surprised to find your review and photos. Thank you. Now I am really excited. Congratulations to you both on your honeymoon. We will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary together (with our 5 year old son). It looks like they have upgraded the sofa for a 3rd passenger.

 

Just curious, how did you find your butler? Any special requests you would comment on? I love your photos! Hope you had a memorable vacation in Bermuda.

 

A good friend of ours and his wife were on this cruise. We have yet to catch up with him to get his feedback.

 

Thank you again.

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fiftyguy

fiftyguy

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Hi and congrats on your wedding!

 

I had to post since 10728 is our favorite cabin. My wife and I are not newlyweds but we enjoyed a very romantic cruise this past march in 10728. In fact we have the suite booked for next April.

 

Thanks for the tips and pictures. You brought back some nice memories.

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fiftyguy

fiftyguy

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Thank you, thank you! We will be in AFT 10728 on July 6, 2012! I was thrilled and surprised to find your review and photos. Thank you. Now I am really excited. Congratulations to you both on your honeymoon. We will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary together (with our 5 year old son). It looks like they have upgraded the sofa for a 3rd passenger.

 

Just curious, how did you find your butler? Any special requests you would comment on? I love your photos! Hope you had a memorable vacation in Bermuda.

 

A good friend of ours and his wife were on this cruise. We have yet to catch up with him to get his feedback.

 

Thank you again.

 

My wife and I will be your neighbors (10726) when we cruise to Bermuda with our family on 7/6. Most of them will be forward, but we had to have aft.

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simply_commenting

simply_commenting

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Thank you all!

 

Just curious, how did you find your butler? Any special requests you would comment on? I love your photos! Hope you had a memorable vacation in Bermuda.

 

We didn't use the butler all that much. It was so easy to get anything because the staff parked their carts right outside the room and any extra towels and additional ice was 2 steps away. My advice: don't order room service the last night you are there.

 

I think you will be extremely happy - as my wife and I and other posters have put - 10728, or anything aft 10 is perhaps the best spot on the boat. I feel like the whole back of the ship was in a place all by themselves. It's so hard to find a place on the ship you won't be bothered so having the room/balcony was perfect.

 

Feel free to ask away about the room...I just didn't want to be hypercritical. Little things that annoyed us at first fixed themselves.

 

Some more pictures:

Oh, to be VIP!

Inside VIP room

One side, bathroom

Other side, bathroom

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simply_commenting

simply_commenting

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One more question. In one of your photos it looks to be either a keurig coffee machine or expresso type machine. If it is one of those machines that take the k-cups I would bring with me some Dunkin Donuts coffee.How was the bed? Was it comfortable?

 

To answer: Keurig type/espresso machine. I would bring your kcups/dunkin just in case - as their espresso coffee wasn't very good. I think on espresso machines you can just add hot water to make it normal - but I'm not the biggest coffee drinker. You may want to bring a nice sized coffee mug as well.

 

About the bed: bed was good, it was NOT two twins/full put together but actually a king sized. We were told we could choose from 5 different pillows on the "sales rep" phone, but we were too lazy to ask on board. I'm sure if you did they would change them. My wife is a princess in bed and she slept pretty well - the only thing waking her up was the rocking of the boat sometimes. You have blackout windows, and an extra blackout screen next to the bed...definitely works. I would keep the door shut at night if you like the room cold and hit the "instant" cool button often (you'll understand when you are in the room) and it will be good.

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trojangirl90066

trojangirl90066

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I was on the Star (sister ship to the Dawn) in that same cabin & loved it. We asked our room steward to bring us a regular coffee pot as we brought our own coffee. Also a good tip, put the bench at the end of the bed underneath the desk/counter that is across from it. It gives you so much more room. After bumping in to it 4 times, I finally figured that out.

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camz

camz

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I am a big fan of the Dawn Aft Balcony Cabins. I have not been in a suite, however, right nearby in cabin #10230 and I have posted numerous times what a great cabin and location it is. The Dawn is a beautiful with athe friendliest crew at sea!

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vermilch

vermilch

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Thanks for the review. I'm excited and looking forward to being on the Dawn in late November. Can you tell me, did the Pearly Kings do Karaoke every night or was it just a special event during the week?

 

We were on the Dawn last week and had a fabulous time. Karaoke was held most every night. I would say probably five nights out of the seven.

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cruise*enthusiast

cruise*enthusiast

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Congratulations on your marriage, and thanks so much for the great review and pics!

 

Did you have a difficult time getting a reservation for Teppanyaki? Can you give me some tips on when and where to go for reservations? We are setting sail this Friday, and were hoping to be able to get in there on the last night of the cruise. Also, do you happen to recall what time the sittings are?

 

Thanks a bunch!

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bonvoyagie

bonvoyagie

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Congrats on your marrage my it be long and fruitful.

 

Thanks for the pics of the suite - while not identical, they are similar to the SF catagory on the Pearl.

 

It looks like you had one of the infamous single sofa sleeper - in your opinion, would a double sleeper fit in that space ??? and would you put more than three people in that room??

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cruise*enthusiast

cruise*enthusiast

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Yes, me too.

 

Please give more details

 

Smart Water is an electrolyte enhanced water that is sold in most Shaw's, Market Basket's, and CVS. You'll find it in the isle where the water is sold, like Dasani or Poland Springs. Once it's empty, it makes a great container for alcohol smuggling. ;)

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monicajay

monicajay

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Smart Water is an electrolyte enhanced water that is sold in most Shaw's, Market Basket's, and CVS. You'll find it in the isle where the water is sold, like Dasani or Poland Springs. Once it's empty, it makes a great container for alcohol smuggling. ;)

 

Thanks!

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McDebbie

McDebbie

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Also a good tip, put the bench at the end of the bed underneath the desk/counter that is across from it. It gives you so much more room. After bumping in to it 4 times, I finally figured that out.

I second that, we did that on the Pearl after hitting too many shins. Not sure why it is even there.

 

Congrats on your marriage and so glad you had a great time! Great review and great pictures! I wonder if Virginia is the same Virginia we had on Sky two years ago? She was the best!

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iliv2cruz

iliv2cruz

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We too were in aft balcony 10230 9/16 - 9/23 (A few balconies to the left from "simply-commenting"...We've waved a few times to each other!) This was a great balcony, and even bigger than the Penthouse balcony my brother was staying in! We enjoyed every moment. (We lucked out on the price as it became open on Sept 9th so I upgraded from a BA to B1 for $70 pp more...Yatzee!!..normally the aft B1 balconies are approx. $500pp more! )

I've enclosed a few photos. If you're a balcony person, this room will not disappoint you. (fyi: the deck 10 aft B1 category balconies are larger then deck 9 and 8)

Happy Sailing!

DSC_0461.jpg.17fd74e6edcf383746ab2ef805ccdf6b.jpg

DSC_0224.jpg.78b345a0cd6634cba17aa3ab95bd0f5c.jpg

DSC_0222.jpg.e200d76550fc6def1892450ce68e401d.jpg

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