Spring Break (4/20) on the Dawn - a Newbie Review

[Justprettynpink]

The cast: Myself (40's), DH (50), DS (16), DSD (20) and her friend (20)

 

We had two cabins across from each other (balcony & inside)

 

DH and I were listed in different cabins due to ages. We got $200 OBC each (thanks for the HSN promo tip)

 

This was not our first rodeo but our first with NCL.

 

We stayed at the Embassy Suites the night before and did their parking package.

 

Since our group was so large, we decided to drop off the luggage at the port before trying to get on the shuttle. This worked well and took less than 15 minutes including drive time.

 

Our carry on's included 3 cases of soda and 2 cases of water. We used a portable hand truck to wheel them around.

 

NCL did a great job keeping the lines moving...DH and his DD checked in together and the other two were with me.

 

We were almost done checking in and I asked if they needed to see anything from my ex. They weren't going to ask...I had our custody order, DS' BC, my id with my name to match his BC, his passport and a non notarized letter from his Dad stating that he knew we were going on the cruise (listing the ship/dates and all the ports) Our relationship is not the best so I was happy I got something with his signature on it. ( I couldn't bring myself to have him sign a "permission" slip). They made a copy of the letter to keep and extra copies for me to bring ashore. Off we went to the ship....

 

We didn't see any place to have our embarkation photo taken....perhaps it was because I was on a mission to get to guest relations to make sure all the OBC was listed for the adults, get keys made since the girls were sleeping in the inside cabin, and to let the girls open their accounts with cash. We all had separate accounts.

 

Before we were done at Guest relations, the cabins were ready. We dropped off our carry ons and I was happy we did not need to wheel the drinks around.

 

We went off to eat in the "secret" location, the Venetian. I call it secret because when we boarded everyone was being directed to the buffet. "Where is guest services?" Answer: "The buffet on deck 12" :rolleyes:

 

Lunch was good and relaxing....maybe 40 people in there...

 

We went to the spa to take the tour. DH made an appt right after sail away for a massage.

 

The girls were at the pool area for the sail away.

 

DS and I sat on the balcony during sail away....it was fun waving at the folks watching us sail away...The cabin and balcony were smaller than I expected.

The balcony was about 4 x 10 but I still enjoyed it....

 

Everyone met in the spa for the drawing. I was used to the spa drawings being packed and not just 30 people...DH won a certificate that he gifted to me yay!

 

Dinner was in Moderno. The food was good and my DS enjoyed eating all the meat he could. There was maybe 10 other folks in there eating. DH and I turned to each other and asked...where is everyone? where are the crowds of people?

 

Girls went off the explore....DS wanted to watch movies in the cabin so DH and I went off to the casino to use our slot coupons.

 

 

 

Next....the first sea day....

[Speasda]

Did this cruise spring break 2013. Looking forward to compare your experiences

 

 

 

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[CruisersfromSD]

We were on this cruise as well. We had an amazing time! I look forward to reading your review :)

 

 

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[Justprettynpink]

We were to turn our clocks back an hour so when I got up all I had to check the time was my cell phone. I was unsure if it had done it automatically or not.(It had not) I was the only one up so I went to breakfast alone before my spa appt. I went to the Blue Lagoon. It is a small buffet all the basic breakfast items. There were maybe 5 people in there. The waitstaff would bring the drinks so it is across between the dining room and the Garden Cafe.

 

I had my wonderful treatment and went back to the cabin to get the men up for the meet & greet.

 

I went back to Blue Lagoon to eat with them before we headed to the meet and greet. We stopped by guest services to check our accounts. It is a good thing we did. This is the one area that NCL can improve on. DH had used his card for the dinner the night before and I had used his card for my spa treatment but the charges were on his DD's cash account. Apparently when you give your key card to be swiped it lists everyone alphabetically in the cabin and the swiper must chose the person to charge. So if they pick the non card holder then that's whose account gets charged. It would not be a big deal if everyone in the cabin is on the same account but in our case it did matter. The folks at guest services handled the situation but it did happen a couple more times during our cruise.

 

 

There were a lot of people at the meet & greet and we didn't get to mingle much before the crew began speaking. There was about a dozen crew members present and according to them, we were the largest meet & greet they had seen in a while. Join your roll call & go to the meet & greet! :-)

 

We decided that we would go a get some sun. I like to take the least items as possible so I put on my suit and off I went....We had no pool towels in our cabin.

 

I headed to the front of the ship because I had read that loungers would available and it would be more relaxing. As we headed to the front, I was getting a great burning sensation on the bottom of my feet....people you need to wear something on your feet...that deck is hot. We easily found our chairs and the view was awesome. We got something to eat from the pool BBQ. On the way there, we saw the girls so we knew they were still on the ship :D

 

We showered and then went to BINGO. Prices are $39,$49 or $69. We were lucky that time. DSD won a Bingo and DH was crowned Bingo King (which means he plays free the whole cruise) We attended every BINGO session but never won again. We had fun and just decided we were paying for the entertainment. The staff was fun and there was a small core group that was at every session.

 

This was Dress Up or not Night and dinner was in the Venetian. It was very good. The girls left us and DS wanted to watch movies, so DH & I hit the casino again.

 

Early night to get ready for Roatan.....

[AF-1]

Let the Good Times Roll. Fun,Fun,Fun