Considering taking the Dawn, would like feedback.

[Joe_Antonelli]

Hello all,

Would you good folks who have sailed the Dawn give me some feedback about your experiences on this ship. We've sailed Royal Caribbean once and didn't care for it at all (hated the food, the show schedules often conflicted with dinner or shore excursions, and it was just a bad experience), sailed on Carnival many times - most recently in the summer of 2003 on the Pride to Bermuda (loved it), Princess is our "main" cruise line and have never had a bad experience, lastly we will be trying Celebrity for the first time ever this coming Holiday season.

Our little group consists of myself and wife both retired (I am 74, my wife 68); our grown children and their spouses (all in their mid to late 30s); and our grand-children ages ranging from 7 to 14.

We all love the looks of the Dawn and like the idea (at least we think we like the idea) of Freestyle Cruising and, we are aware that some restaurants will have a surcharge.

Given that information, do you beleive we will enjoy the Dawn? We are "foodies" so food quality is important - your recommendations of the best restaurants on board are more than welcomed - we don't mind the surcharge if it's worth it. We like the itinerary of the ship and, just would like to know if we should book the Dawn or take the Carnival Miracle which is offering a similar itinerary out of New York this summer.

Looking forward to your replies,

Joe Antonelli
Staten Island, NY

[howard6933]

Hi Joe: My wife and I (about the same age group
as you and your wife) sailed on the Dawn when it was going out of Miami, and we also sailed on sistership Star out of Honolulu. These ships are wonderful and I would recommend them
to anybody. I answered another person above about the Star & I will repeat that since Star
Cruises has taken over NCL, the whole company
has been upgraded. The Dawn and Star have great facilities and the Free Style program works for me. There are 10 restaurants that
all serve good varieties of food and if you don't feel like spending extra, the free
restaurants are excellent. If you do want to,
try the Japanese Tepanyaki restaurant which we
really enjoyed. I can't really tell you much about the facilities for kids, but on our Hawaii cruise there were a couple of hundred
kids and we hardly saw them. So I would guess
that the kids programs kept them busy. The ship
is gorgeous and the show lounge is the best I've
seen on any ship with perfect sightlines wherever you are sitting. They also have an indoor lap pool in the spa area, and it's at the
back of the ship with large windows and a nice
view. This pool was hardly ever crowded. The
entertainment is good and the company called the
Jean Ann Ryan singers and dancers are terrific.
My very first cruise in 1978 was on NCL and
I can honestly say that I have never really had
any cruise that I didn't enjoy. But NCL is now
up there with Royal Caribbean, Princess, and
Holland America, and in my opinion is a better
deal than Carnival. If you decide to go with the Dawn, I don't think you'll be sorry.

Howard
Transplanted New Yorker
originally from Brenwtood. LI

[ladymanor1]

My husband and I took the Dawn last Sept. The ship is beautiful....we found the staff to be for the most part plesant and friendly, with the exception of one or two waiters/waitresses, which is not to say we did not have some EXCELLENT dinning service for the most part.
My husband loved the food, but to be honest...and I know its all a matter of taste (no pun intended lol) I was not overly fond of the food itself. I enjoyed the shows for the most part....my husband was not impressed. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!
The ship was spotless...the room attendent exceptional. I can not comment on the kids program...as we were not traveling with children, and being that it was Sept..there were only a few children on board (pre school age).
I am sure you and your family will enjoy yourselves on the Dawn. We are, in fact, already booked to sail her again this coming Sept. this time we are bringing family [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
I don't think you will have any regrets in sailing with the Dawn.
Debbie
PS I am in Bay Shore [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;26;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[Tomct]

We just booked our 4th cruise, 3rd on the Dawn, the other cruise was also on the Star. This time we are taking the 10 day Caribbean in December.

We were attracted by Freestyle, and obvioulsly have no regrets. We love the ship, the food, the entertainment, and actually enjoy the itinerary, critcized by many. As long as you've got some guests who can enjoy Florida, even in the heat, it's a great cruise. Some cruisers actually take one or two of those days to enjoy the onboard facilties without the crowds.

Our favorite restaurants are Cagney's, LeBistro, and the Venetian. Everything is outstanding in these specialty restaurants, and we like Venetian because of its' large, grand, atomosphere, as well as good food and service. I personally like the Japanese restaurant on the Star, but with so many choices, and with new guests with us each time on the Dawn, we just haven't made it there. I trust we will be able to get there while on the 10 day.

Since the range of age groups on the Dawn and Star have been so broad, you will sure to feel compfortable on the Dawn, no matter when you go. Even in April, when we were out at night, other than passing many teens in the hallways, elevators, and stairwells, it did not feel much different than our two "in-school period" cruises.

The 1,000 seat theater was an unbelievable site when we first saw it on the Star. They normally have two shows each evening, so conflicts with dinner can usually be avoided.

We have had outstanding service all around, and with our two young grandkids on board this April, we also had a nice experience with Kid's Krew.

This is not a paid advertisement!!

Tom/Connecticut

[Joe_Antonelli]

Thanks all - I believe we just might give NCL a try. The Dawn looks like a beautiful ship and, the itinerary works well for us, the Grand-children want to go to Universal Studios, this way we all get what we want. Now, how about cabin suggestions...I'd love to be able to book that Villa Suite but my last name is Antonelli, not Rockefeller [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Can some of you offer your experiences and opinions regarding the balcony cabins vs. the mini-suites. Thanks.

Joe

[smeyer418]

The minisuites are slightly larger with a better couch. Other than that they are pretty much the same. The Dawn has a large bathroom in all the rooms..unless you are going full boar for a regular suite and unless its an offer you can't refuse, a balcony room is fine.

[rainy54]

I have taken 4 cruises and the Dawn was the best. You will love the ship. she is a beauty and the food was great. Would sail her again in a flash. I had the mini suite and loved it. Bigger then the outside veran stateroom. Enjoy your cruise.

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Till NCL Dawn cruise

[bnbcruisers]

Thanks for all the information we are just back from the Carnival Legend and the Dawn was docking right behind us. We are looking for a cruise in the fall. Leaving out of NY works well for us. And are considering the Dawn.(only cruised Carnival (4 times)) Any info on the shore excursions would be helpful. Would like to go to the Space center for the day. How is tipping handled in the resturants?
Thanks in advance!
Bill

[howard6933]

Hey Bill: I was on the Dawn when it sailed from
Miami, so of course now the itinerary is somewhat different. But is looks interesting,
but since I live in Florida I doubt if I would
be interested. Anyhow, a tour of Cape Canaveral
would be a good shore excursion for anyone who
has never been there. It's now like one of the
theme parks with one admission charge for everything. If you decide to go there, don't
miss the IMAX show, it's great. There are many
things to see in Miami, and since you'll be
there from 9AM to 6PM there should be plenty
of time to do things. Great Stirrup Cay is a
nice relaxing beach day and if you are a beach
person you'll love it. Nassau is OK, but nothing to write home about. A slow walk down
the main street from end to end is just about
the only thing that we do when we go there. The
straw market is fun to walk through, and lots
of shops to browse in. But most of all, the
Dawn is absolutely a great ship and I'm sure
you'll enjoy every minute of your cruise.

[howard6933]

Bill: Oops!!! Forgot to tell you about the
tipping policy. Your onboard account will be
charged with $10 per day per person for tips
to your cabin steward and the restaurant
personnel as well. You can add or subtract
to it as you see fit. The bar personnel have
15% added to their bills, so that's taken care of also.

[shoreguy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by howard6933:
Bill: Oops!!! Forgot to tell you about the
tipping policy. Your onboard account will be
charged with $10 per day per person for tips
to your cabin steward and the restaurant
personnel as well. You can add or subtract
to it as you see fit. The bar personnel have
15% added to their bills, so that's taken care of also.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you want to add do it with cash or it will never get to the crew members you want to thank.

Seaward 1/89,Southward II 1/91,Windward 10/93,
Norway 3/94,4/96
Dreamward 4/97
Dream 12/99
QE2 4/02
Carnival Spirit 7/02
NCL Sun 10/03
NCL Dawn 2/03,7/03,2/04

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=228b22&cdt=2004;8;22;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]  Alaska Sun

[david of nj]

Sailed on the Dawn out of NYC in September 2003 with wife, infant and mother. Had a mini-suite and if you can afford the price I would opt again for a mini-suite to avoid the claustrophobia effect.

Dawn is a great ship. Very clean, room was maintained well, even though crowded with a crib and a stroller. Fold out sofa and a queen bed.

Food was very good. Ate in the regular restaurants, a couple of times in the buffet restaurant, once poolside, a couple of times in the Mexican and the Japanese/Chinese restaurant, and almost nightly at the fast-food restaurant. All meals were pretty good, good service, good quality, good portions. Fast-food cafe had some great fried fish that served as an evening snack before heading off to movies or the casino.

Played some bingo, went to a few movies. If you get off at Great Stirrups Cay - leave early as the beach front had too many people on the sand. Not much of a sandy beach given the tide, so late arrivals have to sit on land. Nice barbecue offered. Visit to Miami was okay. We took the shuttle bus to South Beach, but even in September (end of the month) it was very hot. Nassau was okay as well. Shopped the stores, had some conch, did the straw market. Shortly after arriving, all the other cruise ships (3) arrived and the streets and shops were jammed.

All in all, it was a great trip. Leaving out of NYC, the port is not very organized. Parking is expensive - $30/day, and pick-up/drop-off at the curb is sheer chaos. Arrive as early as possible, otherwise it's jammed with cars dropping off and picking up.

Good luck and have a great trip.

[newcruiser99]

anyone stay in the oceanview cat "D" "E" or "F" on decks 4 or 5??

[Kell4321]

I stayed in an Oceanview on Deck 5, and will be staying there again in a few weeks. The windows are large picture windows, the bathroom was awesome. Separate toilet and shower stall. The shower stall is quite large. There is a Pullman bed attached to the wall and 2 other beds that can be pushed together. 2 nightstands. A TV, sitting area with long mirror, and only 1 plug-BRING A POWER STRIP! A hairdryer, coffee pot, and empty fridge (great so you can put your own stuff in there)!

The room stewards were awesome, towel animals every night. Very quiet deck and central to everything.

[crusin_claymate919]

ive been on 6 cruises, and the dawn was defintily my favorite. the food is great (aqUa was really really good...only ate there 3 times...) and its fun...gorgeous ship too